Whether it was when the illness worsened and when he was hospitalized, when he met Elena in the courtyard of this doctor's house.

Or when Elena used her body for rituals after her death

Dr. Tian was always by his side

Whether he is crying or laughing, he will always be that expressionless poker face, only occasionally when he touches his head, his fingertips will carry a gentle heart.

She loved him from the bottom of her heart.

If Xia Jing was them, they would choose to report it after the attack.

There is no need to notice, just launch a sneak attack without warning.

Because as long as Dr. Tian and Yao are killed, Ye Ya and others will inevitably rush to the scene desperately. It would be even more foolish if they didn't take their lives, kill them to death, and then kidnap one of them as a hostage.

Is it because the deer clan can't think of such a despicable method?

- Not true.

Ye Chun, who took advantage of the rebellion to hide from the world, could not have come up with such a simple trick.

So, why did she choose this method? Could there be a hidden purpose behind it?

The first thing that Xia Jing thought of was the possibility of striking the west.

The other party used the hospital as a bait to attract our attention, but in fact, he locked on Ah Ye as the target? This trick works wonderfully, if this is the case, then now Xia Jing can be said to have completely fallen into the trap. It is necessary to contact Shazi immediately and ask her to investigate the surroundings of Aye's house.

For half a month -- why have those guys been able to hold their breath?

Are you waiting for Xia Jing to return to the front? Due to the coincidence of timing, Xia Jing had always suspected this possibility at first, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't think of any reason why they had to do it. Wouldn't the best case be to end the struggle without Xia Jing knowing it? At least for Ye Chun.

In that case, why would they just stand still, and didn't even kill Yao and Ah Ye?

Wrong...... It's not like that.

The alarm bell in Xia Jing's mind kept ringing. I started to get irritable for no reason.

If......

If there are other reasons behind their continued immobility.

If it's not that they can't kill them, but that there is no need to kill them?

- Don't make a fuss.

What are you doing with all these ridiculous thoughts? You're just nervous and thinking in strange directions. Normally, when Xia Jing told himself to stop thinking nonsense, Dr. Tian, who was in the corner of the field of vision, slowed down slightly when he was about to pass behind Ye Ya.

I saw that the hand that he was faintly revealing seemed to have something shining brightly

"Yah!" Xia Jing shouted.

"Hurry up and leave Dr. Tian!"

「…… Hmm!"

Fortunately, Ye Ya did not let her guard down.

Before using his brain to think about the meaning of Xia Jing's shout, his body had already reacted and jumped forward.

"What's going on, Natsujing? Why ...... so suddenly?"

As soon as she stepped into the springboard, Xia Jing immediately rushed forward.

「…… What are you thinking?"

He took Ye Ya's hand and brought it to his side, then glared at Doctor Tian.

Stared at Dr. Tian, who was holding a scalpel.

「…… What is that scalpel?"

Ye Ya also noticed the presence of the scalpel and frowned.

She had clearly not yet realized the meaning of the scalpel, and she still had a surprised expression on her face. And rightfully so. The Deer Clan, especially Yaya, are particularly unresistant to such despicable tricks.

Silence lasted for several seconds. Then, in this silence, Dr. Tian took the questioning gaze of Xia Jing and Ye Ya, and said in a cold tone, "Count me into obeying you."

Dr. Tian gave up hiding the scalpel. While playing with the knife with one hand, he opened his eyes and said nonsense without blushing or panting.

"I saw the collar of Ya's clothes running out with a thread, and I wanted to help cut it off. Can't you?"

「…… You're pretty good at quibbling."

Ya sent out "Huh?" Confused, he touched his collar.

"Don't be stupid and be deceived, okay?"

"Huh? Is it a lie? But why ......?"

In order to let the confused Ye Ya understand the situation, Xia Jingyu teased Doctor Tian with a mocking smile.

"If what you said is true, can you please take that knife and cut your own finger first? This shouldn't be an unreasonable request, right? The premise is that the scalpel is just an ordinary knife...... And you did it out of kindness."

Naturally, Dr. Tian didn't take it seriously.

Instead, he shrugged his shoulders.

"Oops. Have you seen through it? I didn't think your instincts were quite sharp."

"I just stumbled upon it. I almost got you done, and I had time to stop it."

When Xia Jing was making various assumptions just now, he inadvertently became suspicious of Yao and Ah Ye.

"If Ye Chun hesitates and they secretly collude......" such thoughts flashed through his mind.

Just as Xia Jing reflexively refuted his idea of living the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain—he found that Dr. Tian had a scalpel in his hand.

Perhaps we should be glad that both are happening at the same time. If it weren't for that, Ye Ya might have been planted with a wound that would continue to grow.

"Xia Jing, could it be that ......?"

"That's right."

Xia Jing nodded to Ye Ya, who finally thought of that possibility.

「…… The scalpel was made from a fragment of a sword. It is no joke that such an insidious and cunning trick could be come up with. Did you come up with that?"

"It's not like I'm the only one who came up with it. You were the one who inspired me, Ya. The thought of how you took this thing and recast it into a chainsaw struck me. With a little processing, wouldn't this be used for assassination? …… However, I was surprised that the Deer Clan had never thought of using it in such a way."

"It's a shame they're not as vile as we humans."

Xia Jing remembered what Anno's father had said.

The reason why the deer people insist on not lending their treasures to humans for use.

That is, because humans know far better than they know how to use it

「…… Why?"

Ye Ya's voice was a mixture of shock and sadness.

"Why do you want to ......?"

Dr. Tian did not answer.

It was as if it were saying that it was useless to say more. Not only that, but the expression on his face was exactly the same as it had just been before the fact of his defection became clear, and it had not changed.

"Someone made a promise to help him cure his illness...... I think that's it—that's what happened."

So Xia Jingyu answered for him with disdain.

The sword is a treasure knife that stores the life absorbed by the blade in the scabbard, and then converts life into energy. Ye Chun, who stopped growing, was trying to use that energy to make himself an adult.

In the same way, he is also suffering from a disease endemic to the deer tribe – and may be able to use it to cure lung disease. At least, that's how Dr. Tian heard about it, so he took refuge on the other side on the condition of curing his wife's illness.

"You have a good eye."

Dr. Tian raised his eyebrows teasingly, holding a scalpel in his hand, and lit the cigarette that was held to his mouth.

It's like saying, "Even if you say it, so what?"

"Why? That kind of convention...... That kind of condition ......."

Xia Jing glared angrily.

"You don't have to think about it to know it's a lie! Do you think they will really help heal my sister as promised? Even Sister Yao's illness can be cured is uncertain. However...... But you ......!"

"Well, you're still a child, Xia Jing."

"What did you say?"

"How could I not understand what you said?"

Dr. Tian extinguished the cigarette that had only been smoked for a few days on the ashtray.

"Nangong, they didn't mean to help Yao heal his illness. Even if they did have that will, the power of the sword might not necessarily work. I know all of this."

"Then why ......?"

"But I'm human, and the other side is a deer. You should be able to understand what that means, right?"

Dr. Tian smirked.

"And as long as I join forces with them, I won't be afraid that they will turn the finger at me in a short time. Terrorists who will never show mercy to their enemies, and innocent children who can't even kill the enemy...... If your own safety is the priority, I think the answer is obvious."

「…… Woo!"

Xia Jing was dumbfounded.

- I'm a human, and I'm a deer.

Simply...... It is a very cold and humane logic of thinking to calculate the situation.

Even if Nangong and the others have no intention of curing the disease, even if it is a trap full of flaws, it is because they are full of flaws, so they will plan it instead. He pretends to be deceived and does not know it, and intends to wait for an opportunity to take away the sword.

Moreover, even though the two sides have different goals, Dr. Tian's process of achieving their goals is the same as that of Nangong and them. To make the scabbard full of power Gu, it takes the life of a clan. Since there is only one way to go, he is determined to help kill Xia Jing and others who disagree with him-this should be the case.

"The question is if you do this, will Sister Yao be happy! Even if he could really cure the disease, that person would not ......."

"Summer view."

At this time

Xia Jing's excited shouting was suddenly interrupted by Dr. Tian.

Calm but hard to ignore, there is a voice of strong faith hidden in the view.

Dr. Tian said, "Don't measure our relationship by your values, how many times do you want me to say that? You're enough."

He pulled out another cigarette and lit it.

"How can you be happy? The reason why I did this was completely my own will...... I prioritized curing her illness more than happiness. But he accepted my idea."

It was as if there were no objections.

"To love oneself is to be able to be enlightened, to be able to accept the other's cutness. So I came to my senses and accepted my decision. That's how we act. It's just as simple as that."

There was not the slightest wavering in his eloquent tone

Xia Jing suddenly thought.

When he first met him, he talked about his feelings.

Dr. Tian said he was ready to come to his senses. So not only did he turn his back on his neutral position, but he didn't even show a trace of hesitation or even confusion when he started to attack Raya. Even if he had been confused, from the moment he was ready to sleep, he should have completely killed his hesitation.

It was the same back then. Seeing Yao sacrifice his life to fight, he didn't see any worry from his words and deeds, and he said the same thing as Xia Jing.

But.

Even after listening to the repeated words again, Xia Jing's thoughts still did not change.

Wrong. That's not right.

That's not what kind of enlightenment is. It's just paranoia

"Doctor Tian."

Beside Xia Jing, who was gritting his teeth, Ye Ya muttered.

At the same time, Xia Jing's fingers were grabbed, and after realizing that it was Ye Ya's fingers, he held them tightly. Then, as if he had let go of his uneasiness, he let out a sigh of relief

"You couldn't be more wrong."

Yatha clearly stated, "To love one person is not to be enlightened, but to support the other half's enlightenment. And...... Loving someone is not blindly accepting everything from the other half. It's about always trying hard to make the other person willing to accept you."

Bright and reserved with a momentum of not being angry and arrogant, Ye Ya's attitude reveals her usual style.

"I...... I hope that I am a woman worthy of Xia Jing, and I will work hard towards that goal. Presumably, Xia Jing's mood is the same as that of the slave family, and it is precisely because they both have such a mood that they can love each other deeply. So, once the other half does something wrong, it's time to take the initiative to correct it, isn't it? Otherwise, there will be no point in supporting each other."

…… It's just that it's significantly different from the previous Yaya.

That upright reserve and unangry momentum was no longer based on the position of the second daughter of the family, but the confidence brought about by the support of the cherished people, Xia Jing and Fang Yuan, and the will to live up to their support.

"So please don't do anything stupid, Dr. Tian. Kill me to cure my old sickness? Even if he is immortalized because of this, will he live a happy life? Do you think that the kind of man who will not hesitate to take his life in order to save his wife...... Do you deserve the love of the dead?"

I'm afraid this is not only aimed at Dr. Tian, but also at his sister.

Dr. Tian and Ye Chun's actions are very similar.

Commit murder for the sake of a loved one. Sin for the sake of a loved one.

However, if what they do is not what their lover wants, then it is only one-sided wishful thinking after all.

Even if the other half doesn't want the other person to do this kind of thing for themselves

"Put your weapons on the table, Dr. Tian."

Ye Ya stared intently at the fragments of the sword that had been hammered into a scalpel.

"It's not too late to stop the precipice. You must be able to come up with an excuse to prevaricate, right? For Nangong and them, you just need to continue to deceive. If you are willing to stop, today can be treated as if it never happened."

If it was Ye Ya in the past, maybe he wouldn't have said such humane words. Xia Jing also hesitated to echo Ye Ya's words.

However, 「…… Hmph."

Ya's persuasion did not seem to impress Dr. Tian himself.

"Young people are young people, and it really teaches me to envy. Ya, if I were as old as you, I might have burst into tears and regretted it, and I might have thrown the knife on the ground. Regretful. It's a shame."

「…… What does this mean?"

"I mean, there's no going back."

Dr. Tian laughed at himself as if he had dropped this sentence.