People Fallen on Hard Times

Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind her.

They were disorderly and unsteady, nothing like the steps of a well-trained enemy.

Then the other party swiftly reached toward Luo Qingqing, aiming directly for the pack on her back.

"Smack."

Luo Qingqing turned around and effortlessly caught the newcomer's arm.

It was a boy only as tall as her chest, his wrist as thin as kindling. Seeing himself caught, he immediately turned pale with fright. "Aren't you blind?! Let me go!"

"You were trying to steal my things?" Luo Qingqing asked.

The boy did not answer. Seeing that he could not break free, he lunged forward and opened his mouth to bite her hand.

Theft was a crime, but not one punishable by death. Luo Qingqing had no choice but to withdraw her hand and release him.

Having bitten at empty air, the boy nearly fell flat on his face. He scrambled up, turned around, and ran toward the houses lining the road.

Through her sensing of qi, she noticed several more figures waiting for the boy among the houses and alleys.

Was this really Qianren City? A question could not help surfacing in Luo Qingqing's mind. She had lived at the Luo Family Estate for a long time, so she knew the city well enough. As one of You Province's major cities, Qianren City had markets and residential districts around it, but they were far smaller in scale than Jinxia City after its rapid expansion. Yet now, she discovered that these gray, low-roofed residential areas seemed to have multiplied, almost encircling the entire outer ring of the city.

If the city had entered a period of rapid expansion as well, the handful of pedestrians on the main road did not match that picture. Besides, with the Luo Family stationed in Qianren City, security