Chapter 86: Shengsheng, Are You Worried About Me?
"Lin Mo, this is the Tower. It’s not a place for you to act so brazenly!"
The aura around Bai Ye sharpened instantly, and the phantom image of the Holy Light White Tiger began to coalesce behind him.
Si Jin tilted his head slightly, a mocking amusement flickering across his face. It was as if he relished plucking the string of Bai Ye’s self-control.
"Oh? So the War God can do whatever he pleases, is that it?"
"I have no obligation to explain myself to you."
Suppressing his rage, Bai Ye didn’t waste any more words.
He stepped forward, intending to force Si Jin back with his actions.
But Si Jin didn’t move an inch, seemingly unfazed by the immense pressure emanating from Bai Ye—the pressure of an SSS-level Sentinel.
The air between them grew increasingly taut.
The commotion had already drawn the attention of many people nearby.
Whispers began to spread.
"Who is that guy? How dare he go up against General Bai?"
"I don’t recognize him... Is he a Sentinel? His aura doesn’t feel like a High-level Sentinel’s, yet he dares provoke General Bai. Is he crazy?"
"Exactly. General Bai is being way too patient. Anyone else would have already made a move, right?"
The murmurs reached Si Jin’s ears, but instead of backing down, he stared at Bai Ye and raised his chin in defiance.
"If General Bai doesn’t offer an explanation and let Shengsheng go today, I’m not moving."
Bai Ye’s brow arched into a dangerous curve. "Lin Mo," he said coldly, "you’re not acting like an ordinary physician at all."
The suspicion he’d felt when they first met last night wasn’t unfounded. An ordinary physician shouldn’t possess such a casual disregard for the rules, much less this excessive composure and confidence when facing him now.
’Just because his identification is in order doesn’t mean his identity itself is clean.’
Hearing this, Si Jin just scoffed, his face full of ridicule.
"What, now that you’re done suspecting Shengsheng, you’re starting on me, General Bai? It must be nice to be the War God. You can suspect whoever you want, arrest whoever you want. What’s next? Are you going to have me dragged in for questioning, too?"
He deliberately raised his voice, his inflammatory words clearly reaching the ears of the growing crowd of onlookers.
Some people’s gazes turned peculiar, while others stared at Si Jin, thinking he was overestimating himself.
Bai Ye met Si Jin’s provocative gaze without flinching and took another half-step forward.
"Suspicion is based on illogical behavior. Lin Mo, you know best whether there’s a problem with your words and actions. As for arresting people..."
"The Tower enforces the law based on evidence and regulations. Your current actions constitute obstruction of official duties. If you continue to block my path, according to Chapter Three, Article Seven of the Tower Security Regulations, the enforcement team has the right to detain you for interrogation and a thorough investigation!"
These words not only responded to Si Jin’s provocation but also served as a clear statement to all the onlookers.
He, Bai Ye, did not act on personal whims but in accordance with the law.
If Si Jin continued to obstruct him, it would be considered obstruction of official duties and a blatant defiance of Tower regulations.
The surroundings fell silent. Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on Si Jin.
They watched to see if he would be sensible and step aside, or if he would continue to stand his ground...
Just then, a clear voice called out from a short distance away.
"Lin Mo."
It was Yun Sheng.
She had just come out of the interrogation room and was standing at the end of the hallway.
The moment her voice sounded, the sharp, hostile energy surrounding Si Jin vanished.
He turned without hesitation and walked straight toward Yun Sheng.
The people around them stared, dumbfounded.
The man who had just resembled a ferocious beast poised to strike, walked a few steps to the girl’s side, his expression and gaze instantly softening into something gentle, even tender.
He was like a completely different person from moments before.
"Are you okay?" Si Jin asked, his voice laced with concern as he looked Yun Sheng up and down.
"I’m fine. They’re done asking questions."
Yun Sheng shook her head, her gaze naturally falling on Si Jin’s face. It held none of the wariness and distance she showed Bai Ye, only trust and a hint of reliance.
Si Jin reached out with practiced ease and took her hand.
Yun Sheng’s fingers twitched, but she didn’t pull away, letting him hold her hand.
"Who is that?" someone whispered.
"I think that’s the daughter the Lin Family just acknowledged..."
"Tsk, and they’re holding hands? Don’t tell me they’re a couple. Was he provoking General Bai earlier because of her?"
The surrounding chatter started up again, and everyone couldn’t help but steal glances at Bai Ye, who remained standing in place like a cold, stone statue.
Bai Ye watched Si Jin walk to Yun Sheng’s side, watched Yun Sheng’s expression of complete trust in him, watched their joined hands...
It all happened so naturally, so quickly—so fast that it was as if the confrontation moments ago, Si Jin’s deliberate provocations and sharp antagonism, had never happened at all!
That familiar, suffocating feeling clogged his chest again, a dull ache with no outlet for release.
He remained standing ramrod straight, his uniform crisp, his face expressionless.
Only the knuckles of the hand hanging at his side, half-hidden by his sleeve, whitened as he silently clenched his fist.
The more sensitive Sentinels and guides in the vicinity could faintly sense it: the Spiritual Force Field centered on Bai Ye, usually so imposing and steady, was silently growing heavy and oppressive, like a turbulent undercurrent beneath a glacier.
He wasn’t looking at the pair; his gaze was fixed on an empty spot, frozen solid.
Just then, Si Jin, still holding Yun Sheng’s hand, walked directly toward Bai Ye.
As they drew near, he paused, tilted his head, and the corner of his mouth curved into a slight smirk.
"General Bai, the interrogation is over, so Shengsheng and I will be leaving. I hope... you’ve truly gotten to the bottom of things this time. And in the future, you’d best not bother Shengsheng over this matter again."
Led by Si Jin, Yun Sheng heard his words and simply lifted her gaze, giving Bai Ye a look of cool indifference.
Her lips were pressed into a thin line. She said nothing, but her silence was a form of tacit agreement.
Bai Ye’s gaze slowly fell upon Yun Sheng’s face and lingered there for several seconds.
His eyes were deep and heavy, swirling with countless complex emotions that ultimately settled into a bottomless calm.
’The Chen Family has already been pressured and warned as they should be. They won’t dare to make a move on Yun Sheng anytime soon.’
’She’s safe to leave the Tower now.’
But he wouldn’t say any of this aloud.
"There won’t be a next time."
Bai Ye finally spoke, his voice hoarse, as if one more word would snap the taut string of his composure.
With that, he looked at neither of them, turned abruptly, and left before they could.
Yun Sheng watched Bai Ye’s rapidly retreating back until it disappeared completely. Only then did she gently tug on Si Jin’s hand and lower her voice, a note of disapproval in her tone.
"Why did you... have to provoke him like that just now?"
Si Jin looked down at her, his fingertips gently caressing the back of her delicate hand.
"I just don’t like the look of him."
He twitched the corner of his lip, his tone remarkably casual.
Yun Sheng’s own mouth twitched. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with obvious worry.
"Are you really not afraid he’ll see through your disguise right then and there? This is the Tower. If he gets dead set on investigating you..."
Before she could finish, Si Jin suddenly leaned in closer.
The distance between them shrank abruptly. His focused gaze enveloped her, tinged with a hint of playfulness.
"Shengsheng," he deliberately slowed his speech, his deep voice like a tiny hook gently scraping her eardrum, "are you... worried about me? Afraid I’ll get caught by that high-and-mighty War God?"