An Mo did not answer immediately. His thoughts were still trapped in what he had just witnessed.
For a moment, he simply stared at Xuan Long.
Then something strange stirred within his heart.
A realization.
So this was what love looked like.
This was what it meant to truly care for someone.
His gaze lingered on Xuan Long’s face. He could clearly see the vulnerability hidden beneath the powerful serpent’s calm exterior. The reluctance. The unwillingness to leave. The quiet pain that he was trying so hard to conceal.
For a brief moment, An Mo found it difficult to reconcile the man standing before him with the Xuan Long he had once known.
This was the feared tyrant of the Teng Serpent Clan.
The beast whose heart had once been colder than stone.
Yet now he looked no different from any ordinary male deeply and hopelessly in love.
Life truly was remarkable.
And love...
Love was perhaps even more remarkable.
It could change a person completely.
Xuan Long frowned slightly when An Mo failed to respond.
"An Mo?"
The voice finally pulled him back to reality. A faint smile appeared on An Mo’s face.
"I will."
The simple promise immediately eased some of the tension within Xuan Long’s heart. He nodded once before turning toward Su Qinglan again.
Neither of them moved, yet countless emotions passed silently between them. Everything that words could never fully express.
After what felt like an eternity, Xuan Long finally smiled.
"Lanlan... Wait for me."
The next moment, his figure vanished. Just like that he was gone.
The room suddenly felt empty. Su Qinglan stared at the place where he had been standing only seconds earlier.
A sharp pain squeezed her heart. So painful that it almost stole her breath away. She did not want him to leave.
But she also knew he had to go.
If she wanted her plans to succeed...
If she wanted to secure a safe future for their family...
Then Xuan Long has to go...
A warm tear suddenly slid down her cheek. Yet she barely noticed. Her thoughts were elsewhere.
Slowly lowering her head, she whispered so softly that the words almost disappeared into the silence.
"I’m sorry."
"I’m sorry, my dear Xuan Long."
A dangerous light flickered deep within her eyes.
"But this is necessary."
Her voice gradually hardened.
"For us."
"For our cub."
The gentleness that usually filled her expression slowly disappeared. In its place remained only cold determination.
"I won’t allow anyone who harmed my cub to continue living peacefully."
"If it hurts this much, why did you ask him to leave?"
Su Qinglan nearly jumped out of her skin. Her heart skipped several beats as she spun around.
An Mo stood there quietly. His eyes remained fixed on her. The gaze was calm and steady. Yet somehow it felt as though he could see directly through every wall she had carefully built around herself.
Su Qinglan’s fingers tightened involuntarily.

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