Chapter 101: Phoenix Remnant Clan (Part 1)
Lan Xueruo carefully examined Yun Che's injuries. The result made her heave a long sigh of relief, and at the same time, it also shocked her greatly. Because Yun Che's injuries were far better than she had anticipated. His shoulder had suffered such severe trauma, yet it had already stopped bleeding, and there were no signs of deterioration. Instead, it was slowly healing at a surprisingly fast rate, visibly discernible to the naked eye. There were countless other wounds on his body, but all were minor. His body was quite weak, but it was only weakness—no damage to his core, and his internal injuries were also very light.
Falling from such a height, and even pushing her away with full force, causing himself to fall faster under the reaction force, yet only sustaining injuries of this degree—this was completely unbelievable.
She lifted Yun Che from the ground and placed him on the soft grass nearby. This was the first time she had ever picked up a man's body. She did it very carefully, accompanied by the uncontrollably chaotic beating of her heart. Then she quietly stayed by his side, waiting for him to wake up again.
This was a mountainous area. Countless hills and cliffs of moderate height filled the entire field of vision. Although it was lush with greenery, it carried an extremely desolate aura.
In the distance, the prolonged roars of Xuan Beasts could be heard from time to time. This also made Lan Xueruo stay close to Yun Che, not daring to leave for even half a step, for fear that some Xuan Beast might approach and harm Yun Che. After about half an hour, her brow suddenly twitched, and she looked to her right. In her line of sight, five people were walking this way: three adults and two small children.
The three adults appeared to be in their thirties or forties, with fierce and vicious looks. They wore identical light armor, and the exposed muscles were dark and rough, clearly indicating they were people who often roamed outside. The one who looked the oldest was tall and sturdy, with a face full of rough flesh, carrying a huge battle-axe on his shoulder. The one who looked the youngest was thin and gaunt, with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, dragging an iron rod over a meter long in his hand. The last one had a horse-like face, also carrying a large iron rod. In terms of Xuan power cultivation, the highest was already at the Xuan Entry Realm, Level 8, and the lowest was at the Xuan Entry Realm, Level 6.
As for the two small children, they looked only seven or eight years old—one boy and one girl. They wore coarse cloth clothing. What caught one's attention was that on their foreheads, there was a very faint red mark, shaped like a cluster of burning flames. Their arms were each held tightly by one of the men. As they walked forward step by step, traces of still-unevaporated tears were clearly visible on their faces.
When Lan Xueruo saw them, they also saw her. Almost simultaneously, the three men stopped in their tracks, their eyes fixed dead set on Lan Xueruo, releasing a light like that of hungry wolves.
"Quick... look! That chick over there... such a stunning chick! Sigh... I've never seen such a beautiful woman in my life." The horse-faced man said, uncontrollably drooling.
The sharp-faced man was even worse. He clamped his legs together, his whole body trembling: "She's a hundred times more beautiful than the fairy in my dreams. My legs are about to give out. If we capture her and make her our commander's wife, the commander will be ecstatic. Maybe he'll even reward us with a deputy commander position..."
"You fucking idiot!" The axe-wielding man slapped the sharp-faced man on the neck, then licked his lips heavily, his eyes shimmering with lust: "If we take this chick back, the commander will be singing and dancing all night long. What chance do we have? Tsk tsk, running into such a beauty in a place like this—it's like the heavens sent her down to reward us."
The sharp-faced man's eyes lit up, and his legs trembled even more violently. He nodded vigorously: "Right! Right! Big brother is right! So what are we waiting for?"
"But this beauty looks only seventeen or eighteen, yet she has a cultivation of Xuan Entry Realm, Level 8." The axe-wielding man frowned slightly.
"What? Xuan Entry Realm, Level 8?" The sharp-faced man and the horse-faced man were both startled. "So young yet with such strong Xuan power cultivation—she might be a disciple of some big clan, possibly even a genius-level talent. If we make a move, if her clan finds out..."
"Cut it out! Look at your cowardice." The axe-wielding man shot him a disdainful look, then licked his lips and snickered lecherously: "Our Black Demon Mercenary Group lives on the edge of the blade every single day. Who have we ever feared? Even if she's a disciple of some big clan, since we've run into her, hehehehe, even if she were the emperor's daughter, we'd still take her today! Tsk tsk, being able to enjoy a celestial beauty like this, one you can't even dream of—even if we die right after, it's worth it!"
The sharp-faced man and the horse-faced man nodded like chickens pecking at rice, so excited and thrilled they could barely walk straight.
Their conversation, though whispered, was clear enough for the two children they were dragging to hear. The children's faces showed fear and worry. The little boy held his breath, then suddenly shouted loudly: "Big sister, run! They're bad people! They're going to hurt you... Ah!!"
The little boy was kicked to the ground by the horse-faced man, letting out a pained cry. The little girl quickly ran over and picked him up, hugging him as she sobbed.
The little boy's shout and the following scene all reached Lan Xueruo's ears and eyes. She frowned slightly and stood up from the ground. At that moment, the axe-wielding man and the sharp-faced man had also walked over, standing in front of her with lecherous smiles. The sharp-faced man's eyes revealed an unmistakable lust, his hands rubbing together impatiently. If not for their fear of her Xuan Entry Realm, Level 8 Xuan power cultivation, he would have already pounced: "Little sister, why are you here alone? Are you lost? Do you want big brother to take you away from here?"
Lan Xueruo had faced similar looks and expressions many, many times before, but never had anyone been so blatant and undisguised. The reason was obvious: this was a desolate place, and she was alone. Deep disgust condensed in her brow. She replied indifferently: "Let go of those two children, and get lost!"
Even without the little boy's earlier shout, she could tell at a glance that the two children had been forcibly abducted by these men.
"Ooh!" The axe-wielding man was amused. "This chick is not only gorgeous, but she's got some spirit! Brothers, this time we can really have some fun, hehehehe..."
"Big sister! Run! They're bad people, really strong bad people... Run! Ah!!!"
The little boy shouted to Lan Xueruo again, but was immediately slapped to the ground by the horse-faced man, who snarled: "Shut up, you little bastard! If you weren't still of some use, I'd have torn you apart already. If you yell again, I'll tear your mouth off first."
The boy and girl hugged each other tightly, their eyes full of fear, their bodies trembling.
Lan Xueruo's face showed anger. Just because of the boy's goodwill in warning her without regard for the consequences, she absolutely couldn't let these three disgusting villains continue to take the children away. But Yun Che was lying right beside her. If a fight broke out, he might be caught in the crossfire. She clenched her fists and said angrily: "I'll say it one more time: let go of those children and get out of here now!"
"Hehehehe!" Faced with Lan Xueruo's reprimand, the three not only showed no change of expression, but all burst into laughter. The axe-wielding man said lecherously: "The beauty wants us to roll? We'd be more than happy... Is the beauty thinking we should roll right here on the ground? Or roll on the grass? Or roll back into bed?"
The sharp-faced man and the horse-faced man immediately joined in the laughter. Lan Xueruo's brow sank, her face covered in frost. She said in a low voice: "Looking for death!"
As her voice fell, her right hand touched her left hand, and a sword, pure white like jade, appeared in her grip. Instantly, the eyes of the three men lit up: "A Space Ring! That's actually a Space Ring! We're going to make a killing this time! And that sword—it's definitely no ordinary item."
Even the lowest-grade Space Ring was extremely expensive, far beyond what ordinary people could afford. A thick greed began to mix into the three men's lecherous gazes.
Lan Xueruo stepped forward and thrust her sword at the axe-wielding man. He had Xuan Entry Realm, Level 8 strength—the greatest threat.
"Hahaha! Let's see how well we three brothers can train this little beauty today!" Amidst wild laughter, the axe-wielding man swung his huge battle-axe in a horizontal sweep toward Lan Xueruo's incoming jade sword. The sharp-faced man also let out a lecherous laugh, grabbing his iron rod with both hands and swinging it upward in a mighty arc.
The axe and the rod struck Lan Xueruo's jade sword one after the other, shattering her sword momentum and causing her tiger's mouth to ache faintly. She quickly stepped back, let out a low shout, and traced a slanted arc with her sword, covering both men's midline:
"Seven Stars Lifting the Moon!"
One sword strike was followed by over a dozen more in quick succession, an unbroken chain of sword momentum. The white jade sword scattered brilliant white afterimages as her body danced. Her current Xuan power was at Xuan Entry Realm, Level 8—tied with the axe-wielding man. However, she was still young, and when it came to combat experience, she couldn't compare to the axe-wielding man. Her Xuan power depth was also inferior. Thus, facing the axe-wielding man alone would already be difficult, let alone with the addition of a Xuan Entry Realm, Level 7 opponent... and not far away, a Xuan Entry Realm, Level 6 horse-faced man controlling the two children, watching eagerly.
After about a dozen exchanges, all of Lan Xueruo's attacks were repelled. Several times, her sword nearly slipped from her hand. The axe-wielding man laughed heartily, then suddenly leaped high into the air, his massive axe descending with astonishing force:
"Thousand Jun Breaker!"
Clang!!
Lan Xueruo's sword momentum was instantly completely shattered. Her whole body trembled, and she staggered back five steps, her right arm shaking faintly, her sword nearly escaping her grip once more.
"Hehehehe, mighty as always, boss." The sharp-faced man flattered him, then leered: "Little beauty, you'd better just give in to us. If we keep fighting, and we accidentally hurt your beautiful body, tsk tsk, what a waste that would be."
Lan Xueruo's chest heaved, but her expression remained calm. She reached out, grasped the gemstone necklace that had been hanging around her neck, and gently pulled it off.
The moment the gemstone necklace left her fair neck, her Xuan power aura surged explosively. Her beautiful eyes slowly began to reveal a sacred golden light. She slowly raised her jade sword in her hand... On the snow-white blade, a layer of golden radiance had clearly appeared.