Huai City was a transfer station, where Ding Fan got off the bus with Ning Luoxi.

He asked for her address from Ning Luoxi, ready to go to Dongcheng to treat her father's late-stage liver cancer, which was incurable on Earth, but not necessarily beyond Ding Fan's abilities to heal.

The reason Ding Fan wanted to cure Ning Luoxi's father was simple; he was after the storage ring around her neck. Having met by chance, it would be too abrupt for him to directly ask for the ring, and he couldn't bring himself to do so.

Ning Luoxi wrote her home address on a piece of paper and gave it to Ding Fan. Although the other passengers on the bus did not believe in Ding Fan's claim that he could treat late-stage cancer, and some even kindly warned her to be wary of him, Ning Luoxi chose to trust Ding Fan.

The aura emanating from Ding Fan's body was very calming, and his demeanor was quite extraordinary. Ning Luoxi had an intuition that Ding Fan would never deceive her.

After parting with Ning Luoxi, out of concern for Zhou Ruoran's safety, Ding Fan hired a taxi for himself.

With no delay along the way, Ding Fan arrived in Dancheng three hours later.

After getting out of the taxi, Ding Fan bought a duckbill cap. There were still many people in Dancheng who recognized him, and at this special time, he felt it necessary to disguise himself.

After making these preparations, Ding Fan hailed a car straight for the Huaqiang District villas. As he drew closer to home, his nerves increasingly tightened. Hopefully, Zhou Ruoran was safe...

...

Zhou Ruran had not been anywhere in recent days. With serene dedication, she tended to the garden that Ding Fan had left behind, where the tender shoots in the spot once planted with Xiao Bai flowers were now growing larger and even sprouting a leaf.

The interview for the postgraduate program at the Central Institute of Politics and Law had passed, and in the end, Zhou Ruoran chose not to go to the Central Institute of Politics and Law. She felt she had left something in Dancheng and feared she would regret it for the rest of her life if she left.

In this time, persuaded by Wu Min, she had found a job. After all, she had to eat while waiting for Ding Fan's return.

Being a top graduate from the Dancheng Institute of Political Science and Law, it was not difficult for Zhou Ruoran to find a job. Once her resume was submitted, she was hired by a large law firm as a lawyer. She was to start work the next day.

In the afternoon, Zhou Ruoran went to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities.

When she returned home and opened her door, she was shocked to find that the door was ajar.

Zhou Ruoran was startled, then a wild joy overtook her. Only she and Ding Fan had keys to the house—could it be that Ding Fan had returned?

"Ding Fan?! Are you back?" Zhou Ruoran asked, her voice trembling with excitement, unaware of how it cracked.

Having misunderstood so much, all Zhou Ruoran wished for was to see Ding Fan again, to apologize face to face. Night and day, she longed for his early return...

"Ding Fan? He should never be able to come back..."

At that moment, a young man in a suit, holding a cigar, spoke indifferently from the living room.

"Who... who are you? How did you get in here?" Zhou Ruoran demanded, her face full of suspicion.

"My name is Wang Luohao," the visitor said calmly. "From the Yanjing Royal Family."

Lin Qingqing had mentioned that the Yanjing Royal Family meant harm to Ding Fan. Zhou Ruoran had a bad feeling about this.

"What have you done to Ding Fan?"

"He's no longer in this world," Wang Luohao stated flatly.

Clang...

Just then, the front door suddenly shut. Zhou Ruoran turned to look, only to see that, at some unknown point, two men in suits had locked the door from the inside.

"Did you kill Ding Fan?" Zhou Ruoran, her face devoid of fear, stared directly at Wang Luohao.

"You seem very concerned about the welfare of that prodigal, what are you to him?" Wang Luohao asked, toying with his cigar.

"I am Ding Fan's fiancée," Zhou Ruoran said solemnly.

"Fiancée?" Wang Luohao nodded. "Good! Since you're Ding Fan's fiancée, did he leave anything for you? Perhaps some ancient books, medicine pills..."

Previously, Ding Fan was nothing but a failure, a nobody at the mercy of others, but in just a short period, he had turned into a master capable of treating deadly diseases and killing professional assassins.

Wang Luohao suspected that Ding Fan had fortuitously received the legacy of an Ancient Martial Arts master. His trip to Dancheng was firstly to look for that legacy, and secondly, if there was no such inheritance, then Wang Luohao would take the opportunity to eradicate any potential threats. Anyone associated with Ding Fan was a target for Wang Luohao.

"No... You've killed my husband, even if there was something, do you think I would tell you?" Zhou Ruoran scoffed as if she'd heard the world's funniest joke.

Zhou Ruoran had never wanted to be associated with Ding Fan, but at that moment, she felt proud to be his wife.

"A wastrel, an ugly girl! The two of you are really a pair! Since you are so eager to die, I will grant your wish and let you join her in death," Wang Luohao said with a cold sneer.

At this moment, two men in suits rushed down from the second floor.

"Young Master Luohao, we've searched the entire villa, but we haven't found anything."

Wang Luohao stood up, glanced at Zhou Ruoran, then addressed his subordinates, "Burn down this house, and let this woman be the burial sacrifice! From today on, the Ding Family will be completely eradicated by me!"

"Yes."

Then the two men in suits walked over and tied up Zhou Ruoran.

"Now, if you're willing to tell me about Ding Fan's circumstances after the Ding Family's downfall, I might consider letting you go," Wang Luohao said condescendingly to the bound Zhou Ruoran.

"Dream on. I can tell you that you won't hear a single thing about Ding Fan from me."

At this moment, Zhou Ruoran was certain that Ding Fan must have changed, he must possess something that Wang Luohao feared; otherwise, why would the other party be so persistent in asking about Ding Fan's situation?

"Go to hell!" Zhou Ruoran took advantage of Wang Luohao's distraction and kicked out fiercely.

Wang Luohao never expected Zhou Ruoran to kick him before her death, her foot striking his lower abdomen. He staggered back several steps, and if it weren't for his subordinates catching him, he would have fallen over.

"You're courting death! Since you're so eager to die, then go join Ding Fan!"

As Wang Luohao spoke, he stepped forward and kicked at Zhou Ruoran's chest. Zhou Ruoran, frail in body, couldn't withstand Wang Luohao's kick and immediately lost consciousness.

"Set her on fire and burn her to death!" Wang Luohao shouted at his subordinates, enraged.

Seeing their master furious, his subordinates didn't dare delay. They quickly started sprinkling the gasoline they had prepared around every corner of the villa, which soon filled the entire place with the scent of gasoline...

...

Ding Fan had just arrived at Huaqiang District by car when he saw the distant flames.

A sense of unease washed over Ding Fan, and without any hesitation, he proceeded into the district, only to see that the villa ablaze was the one he and Zhou Ruoran used to live in.

Ding Fan clenched his fists tightly. He didn't need anyone to tell him that this fire was most likely set by Wang Luohao.

The blaze was intense by this point, and although the fire department hadn't arrived yet and some people had gathered around, they were merely onlookers from a distance, obviously just there for the spectacle.

At that moment, Ding Fan frantically scanned the villa with his Divine Sense. His primary concern was Zhou Ruoran's safety, and indeed, there was someone in the living room of the villa.

Could it be Zhou Ruoran?

Ding Fan grew anxious. Because of the intense heat of the flames, his Divine Sense couldn't identify the person inside clearly.

Deciding to rush into the inferno to save the person, who was eighty percent likely to be Zhou Ruoran, Ding Fan couldn't stand by and watch her be burned alive!

The fire was very fierce at the moment, and even for Ding Fan, entering would be exceedingly dangerous, but he didn't care—even at the risk of serious injury or death, he was determined to rescue Zhou Ruoran.

Thereupon, Ding Fan protected his body with True Qi and dashed directly into the flames...

...

When Zhou Ruoran regained consciousness, she found herself surrounded by a sea of fire. She tried to move in panic, only then realizing she was bound to a chair, completely immobile.

Whoosh... A huge, flaming beam fell from above, directly targeting Zhou Ruoran.

Immobile, Zhou Ruoran closed her eyes, resigned to the fact that she would die there that day.

Facing death, Zhou Ruoran was no longer afraid; upon hearing that Ding Fan was dead, her heart had turned to ash...

Boom... An abrupt loud noise erupted suddenly.

Zhou Ruoran was startled. She hadn't felt the beam hit her and, astonished, she opened her eyes. At that moment, she saw a halo appear in front of her.

The halo shimmered with dazzling colors, looking beautiful, apparently deflecting the falling beam.

But what exactly was this halo?

Whoosh... A tongue of fire lunged toward her, but just as it was about to reach her, another halo shielded her.

What's going on? Zhou Ruoran was bewildered. However, looking down, she saw the bracelet that Ding Fan had given her, and she could clearly see that as one of the beads shattered facing the oncoming flame, it was halted by the halo...

It was him...