Blood ties are an unbreakable bond. The two individuals, moments ago locked in a tense standoff, settled into an easy familiarity after just a few minutes of light banter. Bingyu couldn't even tell if they were allies or adversaries; it looked more like a family disagreement between an uncle and nephew.

The two sat side-by-side on the ground, sinking back into a long silence. Finally, Li Taiming broke it, saying, "I'll take you to see him, but I have one condition."

"Spit it out," Xiaoshu replied, her gaze steady and utterly dismissive.

"You cannot interfere with his decisions—whether he lives or dies is up to him. Not everyone can enter into a Life-and-Death Pact. Since the Fountain of Youth chose him, there must be a reason. Defying fate never ends well."

Xiaoshu stretched out her legs, feeling the stiffness from sitting cross-legged for too long. She stood up, pulling Li Taiming up with her. "We might have different ideas about what constitutes defying fate, but I agree that forcing a melon doesn't make it sweet. Let's go." She tapped her toes on the ground, rotating her ankles left and right to loosen up.

"Go bring the vehicle around," Li Taiming signaled to Bingyu with a look. The girl immediately understood, sprinting out of the Goldware Street and returning less than four minutes later in a beat-up open-top Jeep. 'Open-top' was the polite way to put it. Bluntly, everything removable on that vehicle had been stripped bare, save for the four wheels that still turned. There wasn't even a proper seat in the driver's compartment. Bingyu somehow procured two stacked floor cushions, using them as a makeshift seat, and maneuvered the vehicle over to the two men by manipulating the gas and clutch pedals.

"Whoa..." Li Taiming let out a long whistle, spreading his hands toward Xiaoshu. "We can't have the young lady acting as our chauffeur. You driving or me?"

"What do you think?" Xiaoshu held up their shackled hands. Li Taiming's right hand was restrained, meaning he had to sit to Xiaoshu's left—the perfect position for driving.

With that, Bingyu hopped out of the driver's seat and automatically took up position in the rear, gripping the bare guardrails on the roof with both hands, looking perfectly at ease. The cooperation between Li Taiming and Li Xiaoshu, however, was anything but smooth. Li Taiming tried to maneuver around the front of the car to the left-side driver's seat, while Xiaoshu wanted to go around the back. They tugged and pulled at each other until, just as the cuff turned Xiaoshu's bronze-colored skin a deep crimson, Li Taiming sighed and followed her lead, circling around the rear to the main driver's side. Getting into the car involved another round of him-first, you-second bickering. The proper procedure—Xiaoshu getting in first and then climbing over to the passenger seat—was ruined when Li Taiming simply leaped in.

Using his unrestrained left hand to give a slight push off the cushions, he vaulted over Xiaoshu's head and landed solidly in the driver's seat, leaving his cuffed right hand dangling uselessly behind his back, abandoning Xiaoshu stranded outside the vehicle.

"Starting the nonsense again, are we?" Xiaoshu, left hand gripping the rear rail behind her back, performed a one-handed pull-up, hauling her body onto the frame. She hooked her toes near the passenger seat, twisting the cuffs until they were a tangled knot, and settled down next to Li Taiming.

"Couldn't you be a little gentler, you brute?" Li Taiming rubbed his wrist, complaining.

"Oh? Does it actually hurt you?" Xiaoshu asked casually, her expression unreadable. Li Taiming immediately clamped his mouth shut, released the brake, lifted the clutch, and let the car roll forward two or three meters before fully releasing the brake, stomping the gas pedal, and speeding away.