Du Wuchen looked at him, his brows slowly knitting together. His expression clearly showed that he was trying to process what he had just heard.

"...Sir," he said after a moment, "can we be a bit more reasonable?"

Yang Qingxi lowered her gaze, pressing her lips together. Her shoulders trembled faintly as she tried to hold back a reaction. Zhang Xulin and Leng Shuang also had strange expressions. But thinking of the hell they go through every day during training. It seems there’s nothing wrong with calling it a revival.

Su Mo narrowed his eyes slightly. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Do you think I’m lying?"

Du Wuchen didn’t answer directly, but his silence was already enough to explain what he thought.

Su Mo let out a soft scoff. "Fine. Then I’ll let you experience it yourself."

The moment his words fell—

The fruit knife on the table suddenly lifted into the air.

Before Du Wuchen could react, it shot forward like a streak of light.

A sharp slash cut through the air.

The next instant, his left arm fell.

The pain hit him immediately.

*AAAHH!*

Du Wuchen staggered back, a groan escaping his throat. His mind went blank for a moment as he stared at the blood and the arm that had just been separated from his body.

Nothing made sense.

He hadn’t even seen how it happened clearly.

And before he could understand anything—

Su Mo moved.

It was less like movement and more like disappearance. One moment, he was seated, and the next, he was already standing in front of Du Wuchen.

In his hand was the severed arm.

Du Wuchen’s eyes widened. "Wha—"

Before he could finish, Su Mo calmly placed the arm back onto the wound.

A soft green light gathered in his palm, flowing into the connection point. It spread quickly, covering the entire arm in a faint glow.

In just a second, the wound closed.

The blood disappeared.

Even the pain faded completely.

Du Wuchen froze.

He lowered his head slowly and looked at his arm.

He clenched his fist.

Opened it.

Moved his fingers again.

Everything worked perfectly, as if nothing had happened.

He looked up at Su Mo, then back at his arm again, repeating the motion like he was trying to confirm it wasn’t an illusion.

After a few seconds, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself.

A clear sound echoed in the room.

He paused.

"...It hurts," he muttered.

Yang Qingxi was shocked by Su Mo’s move; however, Du Wuchen’s comical reaction made her turn her face away, as her lips pressed tightly together.

Su Mo, on the other hand, looked slightly annoyed.

"I’ve already shown you this much," he said, "and you still don’t believe me?"

Du Wuchen opened his mouth, but no words came out.

His mind was a mess.

Everything he had just experienced completely overturned his understanding of reality.

Before he could organise his thoughts, Su Mo waved his hand dismissively.

"Forget it," he said. "Go back to the room you woke up in."

Du Wuchen blinked, still dazed.

"If you need anything, ask the maids or the butler," Su Mo continued calmly. "Take some time to clear your head. We’ll talk later."

"Wait, I—"

Before Du Wuchen could finish his sentence, an invisible force suddenly wrapped around him.

His body lifted off the ground without warning.

His expression froze.

Then, in the next instant, he was pushed out of the study.

The door closed behind him with a neat click.

Silence returned to the room.

Outside—

Du Wuchen stood in the corridor, unmoving.

For a long moment, he didn’t react.

He slowly raised his hand and looked at it again, turning it back and forth.

Then he touched his arm, pressing lightly as if checking for pain.

There was nothing.

No wound or discomfort.

Everything felt normal.

He frowned slightly and slapped himself again, though not as hard this time.

"...Still hurts," he muttered.

His gaze shifted to the closed study door.

Then back to his arm.

"...So I didn’t imagine it?"

He stood there quietly, trying to sort through everything.

But the more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

After a while, he let out a slow breath.

"...Did I really die?"

A short pause followed.

"...And get brought back?"

His fingers flexed unconsciously.

"...And my arm..."

He stopped mid-sentence, staring at it again.

Nothing.

No trace of what had just happened.

Du Wuchen remained standing in the corridor, completely still.

For the first time in a long while, he seriously began to question his life.

In his mind, there was another doubt he couldn’t answer.

***

Back in the study, the atmosphere gradually returned to normal.

Yang Qingxi was the first to speak, breaking the silence that followed Du Wuchen’s rather... confusing exit.

"Since that is settled," she said calmly, "let’s return to the main topic."

She didn’t ask why Su Mo had to cut his arm to display his technique, as she believed he must have his reasons.

And he did indeed. Su Mo had already confirmed that the Yang Energy inside Du Wuchen had increased for some reason. He wondered if it was because of the healing technique he had used on Du Wuchen before, which stimulated his Yang energy.

This hands-off experience can answer his suspicion. If it works, Su Mo would have a training direction for Du Wuchen in the future.

Back to the scene.

As Yang Qingxi spoke, her gaze shifted toward Leng Shuang.

Su Mo followed her line of sight as well.

"Shuang," he said, "how did the task go?"

Leng Shuang nodded slightly. "It worked. Qian Lian successfully hijacked their communication line and sent false information to both sides."

She paused briefly before continuing.

"At present, Ye Chen’s cadres have already changed their route. They are heading toward the Vermilion Canvas Hotel."

"And Ye Chen himself believes his subordinates will take a few more days to arrive," she added. "We also made it seem like they are being followed, so he won’t doubt the delay."