Chapter 19 : The Second Victim

Yuhui shook his head.
“You and I both know how destructive ‘Xeno-ice’ is. And she also has astonishing physical abilities and powerful fighting skills. On what grounds do you and the Duke expect her to lay down her life for you? And why should the Duke trust a dangerous person of unknown origin?”

“That’s not my concern. That’s for the Duke to consider.”

“Then why didn’t you tell her my identity, but instead hid it from her as well?” he asked again.

“Because you’ve misunderstood something. Rachel won’t go with you,” Luo Hao’s expression changed.
“She won’t go to Duke Ronald, at least not now.”

“Why?” The answer was unexpected for Yuhui.
“You can’t be seriously thinking of keeping her here with you, can you? That’s an absurd idea. Then you shouldn’t have told Duke Ronald about her in the first place.”

“How could I have thought of that at the time? When you encounter someone like that, you report to the Duke first,” Luo Hao said, leaning back and closing his eyes.
“I didn’t think too much at first. I just wanted to send this little monster I picked up to the Duke. But after working together for a long time, I realized that she’s just a silly kid, honest and stubborn. I’m afraid she’ll make enemies and have a hard time if she goes there.”

“You’ve grown attached? I think you’re the one who really treats her like a daughter,” Yuhui didn’t quite understand.
“But you’ve only been together for a year. Is she really that likable?”

“Yes, she’s that likable,” Luo Hao picked up where Yuhui left off.
“You’re this old and still not married? I think if you worked with her for a year, you would have long since become one of her many admirers, madly pursuing her.”

Yuhui didn’t know how to respond to that, so he changed the subject.
“Let’s change the topic. Since you were going to hide my identity, I thought you would change my name as well.”

“What’s important is not you, but your past identity. With Duke Ronald’s guarantee, no one in a remote place like Sinhe can find out about your past. A name is just a name. There’s no need to change it.”

“Wait,” Luo Hao suddenly felt something was wrong.
“Why are you changing the topic? You haven’t fallen for her already, have you? It’s only been half a day! I don’t consent. Our daughter isn’t thinking of getting married yet!”

Yuhui was stunned for a moment.
“What are you even thinking about… wait, why are you so anxious?”

“Don’t think I don’t know! You’ve been using that face of yours to get girls to flock around you. Even Nie Yiyi’s androphobia is ineffective against you,” Luo Hao stared at Yuhui warily.
“I’m not worried about other people pursuing Rachel, because she doesn’t want to be in a relationship herself. She’ll reject anyone who pursues her. But I have to pay extra attention to you.”

“Honestly, you’re being a bit ridiculous right now,” Yuhui didn’t even want to say anything.
“What wife would I marry, to be left a widow? I don’t want to ruin someone else’s life.”

The word “widow” calmed Luo Hao down a bit.
He said, “I’ve said it before, you don’t have to be so pessimistic. The situation in the Imperial Capital is changing rapidly, and the current situation is still unclear. You might not be in danger.”

“Don’t comfort me. It’s not like I haven’t been in that environment before. It’s always the big shots who get into trouble, and the small fries who suffer first,” Yuhui’s gaze fell on the two pistols on the coffee table.
“But I don’t care about these things. As long as I can get things done.”

“By the way,” he suddenly remembered something.
“You also know that the Duke is recruiting people now. You should pay more attention.”

“I will. If there are any suitable candidates.”

“I’m not asking you to pay attention to that. I’m saying, if you don’t want Rachel to leave your side too soon, then try not to let her attract any unnecessary attention.”

Luo Hao understood what he meant.

“Alright.”

Then, a silence fell over them again.
Yuhui leaned his back against the sofa and closed his eyes to rest.
Luo Hao fell into deep thought.

“You know,” Yuhui suddenly asked, “is Blake Morton a valuable talent? The Duke might need someone like him.”

He wasn’t joking.
His tone was very serious, just discussing a possibility with Luo Hao.

Hearing this, Luo Hao was struck as if by lightning.
He looked up in disbelief and saw that Yuhui still had his eyes closed, his face peaceful.

“Are you really not joking with me? ‘Arsonist’ Blake Morton? Him?”

Luo Hao wanted to say more, but a knock came from outside the door.

Yuhui got up and opened the door.
A subordinate rushed in and said:

“Lishui Avenue, Number 33, there’s been an incident.”

Rachel walked out onto the empty street.
It was not yet time for work to end or school to let out.
She looked up at the overcast sky.
Although it had rained heavily in the morning, the clouds had not dispersed, and the surroundings were as dark as night.
A flash of lightning would occasionally streak across the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.

She walked to the bus stop and took a bus to Lishui Avenue—she didn’t have her own transportation, so she could only take the bus when she went out alone.

When she arrived at the place Yuhui had told her to come to, Rachel saw that it was already cordoned off with police tape.
In the crowd, she saw Yuhui wearing a trench coat.

“Yuhui!” Rachel waved and came to his side.

“What were you doing?” Yuhui looked up at her.
“What are you wearing?”

Rachel looked down and saw the sailor uniform and white stockings she was wearing.
Only then did she remember that she had forgotten to change her clothes when she went out.

Oh no, I’m done for.

Not only Yuhui had noticed, but the surrounding passersby also cast their gazes at Rachel.
It wasn’t just because of her clothes, but because a young and beautiful woman naturally attracted the attention of the opposite s*x.

“Ah… I was in a hurry to get here and didn’t have time to change…” she explained, her face blushing.

‘Wait, why am I explaining?’

“You said earlier that you went to see someone…” Yuhui’s gaze fell on Rachel’s open collar.

Rachel grabbed his shoulder and hurriedly shouted, “Are you misunderstanding something? I didn’t go on a date, and I certainly didn’t trade my body for information! I just went home after seeing someone!”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“It’s a personal hobby! I wear it for myself at home. Don’t get the wrong idea!”

“I called you here because another body was found,” Yuhui went straight to the point.
“The deceased is named Leslie Thompson. 32 years old, single and divorced, with a daughter from her ex-husband. The daughter is raised by the ex-husband, and she lives alone.”

“Like the last victim, part of her body was severed. This time, the missing part is her waist. There are traces of magic in the room. We can basically confirm it was Blake.”

Seeing the situation, Rachel also immediately got into character.
“Is there any discovery that can track him down?”

“Not yet,” Yuhui said.
“They plan to check the surrounding surveillance footage from before and after the incident, and also bring in the people who passed by here during the time of the incident and the witnesses at the scene for questioning, to see if they can find any useful information.”