Na'er? What a Lovely Name!

"Hahaha, you sure know how to talk, kid. Of course, we'll have to show this child some proper affection. We can treat her afterward, no problem. Make sure she remembers us well."

As they spoke, the several filthy hooligans turned toward the girl and walked over. But seemingly drawn by the girl, they suddenly noticed Wu Yang Jin standing beside her.

"What about that... little boy over there, Boss?" one of the lackeys asked quietly.

"Hm? Leave that kind of child alone. This little girl is worth a lot right now. She looks like she'll grow into a real beauty. Don't you want to take care of her yourself?"

The two of them exchanged lewd glances, wearing disgusting expressions as they licked their lips, clearly having no intention of bothering with Wu Yang Jin.

By then, the girl had long since begun to feel uncomfortable. Trembling all over, she hurriedly hid behind Wu Yang Jin, not knowing what else to do.

She could only clutch him tightly, feeling as though tears were about to spill from her eyes.

Wu Yang Jin had originally planned to wait until she finished eating, take her to where he lived, and ask his uncle and aunt to help out the next day.

But it seemed the situation would not allow that now. Besides, these two actually dared to ignore him?

"Hey, move aside, kid. Don't block the way," the leader said.

"Huh? But you uncles look so fierce. You're scaring me so much I can't move my feet."

Wu Yang Jin suddenly spoke in a pitiful tone.

Very quickly, they looked at him with smiling faces, putting on a different expression.

"Ah... little friend, this child... Well, actually, she's our family's child. We're taking her home. She's always running around, so sometimes we have to properly take... care... of her..."

Wu Yang Jin clearly felt the tiny body behind him trembling and curling up even more fiercely, clutching him even tighter.

"Fine, I won't pretend anymore. You should leave right now. I can't let you take her away..."

Upon hearing that, the two men froze for a moment before suddenly growing furious, glaring at Wu Yang Jin through gritted teeth.

"You little brat, don't be ungrateful!"

"Huh? Sorry, who's calling?"

Wu Yang Jin suddenly mocked them, putting on a taunting expression. Seriously, was that something a nearly six-year-old child would say? Hahaha.

"You... brat, you've made me angry!"

As he spoke, the leader charged forward at once. The young man behind him also suddenly revealed a vicious look.

Wu Yang Jin naturally noticed it. Without giving the two of them any opportunity, he immediately summoned his Black Dragon Martial Soul, propelled himself with both legs, and delivered several sweeping kicks at the leader.

It was obvious that they wanted to use him as a distraction while the other man snatched the little girl away. Or perhaps they were trying to confuse him; they might even have hidden weapons.

"What?!"

When the leader suddenly saw Wu Yang Jin shoot forward, he had no time to react and was kicked so hard that his teeth nearly scattered across the ground. A wave of searing pain shot through his leg as well.

"Boss!"

The other man had not even begun before it was already over. He stepped forward to help his boss up, then, while Wu Yang Jin thought he was truly concerned about his boss, he stabbed at him.

But who was Wu Yang Jin?

"Careful, Yang Jin. He has a dagger," Old Long warned.

Wu Yang Jin immediately noticed the dagger. The instant it thrust toward him, he dodged to the right, grabbed the man's hand, and twisted it.

The intense pain instantly made the man drop the dagger. Taking advantage of that moment, Wu Yang Jin switched to his Snow Enchantress Martial Soul, Snow Empress, gathered a streak of icy power in his hand, and struck the man.

After all, he did not want to give his opponent a chance to catch his breath. What if he merely sent him flying this time, and the man recovered afterward?

"So slow..."

He was not especially surprised, but he had not expected that, with the enhancement of his Martial Soul and his own physique, his opponent's movements would look so slow.

Moreover, he was only six years old, yet with the coordination of his Martial Soul, his strength had already surpassed what it should have been.

To that man, he was just a little brat who did not need any special attention. In the end, Wu Yang Jin had dodged his attack and seen through his plan.

He had no time to be shocked. His face was filled with pain instead.

"Hmph, brat, who do you think you are?!"

Getting injured while dealing with a little brat was truly humiliating!

"And who are you? Trying to bully a little girl? Have some shame! Go on, then. If you don't want to freeze to death or have your bones shattered, come at me. I'm a Soul Master. Come on! Come over here!"

Afterward, he crooked a finger at them. He only did it because he found it amusing, though the current situation was not particularly amusing.

He then activated the Snow Enchantress Martial Soul, Snow Empress, at the forefront. Its figure appeared, but this time it was smaller and more indistinct.

This had actually been discussed long ago. They felt that, in case they encountered suspicious people, it would be better to use a smaller form.

A wave of extreme cold spread outward, though the little girl alone was unaffected.

Here on the Douluo Continent, every Soul Master was an extremely valuable resource, let alone a child who possessed Soul Power. Both the Sun Moon Federation and the Spirit Pagoda maintained special records for such children.

If something happened to a child like that, the authorities would certainly intensify their investigation into the cause. Unless someone could cover the sky with one hand, there was no way to conceal it.

"This kid... has Soul Power! Boss, run! And after he hit me with that palm, I feel unbearably cold. Besides, harming a Soul Master child like this would mean at least twenty years in prison. They might even blast us with a Soul Guidance Cannon and several other Soul Guidance Weapons!"

One of the lackeys behind the leading young man reminded him.

"Tch... what a hassle! What rotten luck! Let's go!"

Hearing the reminder, the leading young man also understood the seriousness of the matter. He was furious, but his strength was insufficient. With an unwilling snort, he quickly fled in disgrace with his companion.

"Phew! That really was... my first battle."

As he spoke, he recalled that brief moment. He had actually been somewhat nervous, since it was his first time doing something like that. Still, the result was good, and that was what mattered.

As he was thinking, the girl behind him tugged at him again, then poked him.

"Hm? Ah, I almost forgot."

As he spoke, he crouched down and looked her over to see whether she felt unwell or had been injured anywhere.

Though the little girl had been frightened, she felt very comfortable and relaxed when he touched her. Her large eyes stared at Wu Yang Jin.

"Mm, it looks like you're fine. Um... I don't know if you'd be willing, but do you want to come to my home?"

"Home...?" the girl asked.

"That's right. I live by myself... Ah, alone."

Upon hearing that, the little girl thought she had said something wrong. Seeing that Wu Yang Jin had suddenly fallen silent, she became a little flustered.

"Hm? It's okay. Would you like to come? It's just me right now, and I could use a family member to look after too. We could live together."

Live... together? Family? Look after...?

"Mm... I... I want to go."

The little girl nodded. Then she shakily stood up, though she did not seem very steady on her feet.

"Heave-ho!"

As he spoke, Wu Yang Jin hoisted the little girl onto his back. Her legs slipped into his large pants pockets, warming her little feet, which were clearly somewhat frostbitten.

"Huh?! I... ah..."

The girl was instantly at a loss and squirmed about in panic.

"It's okay. If you don't mind, you can stay at my home for now. Your feet are frostbitten, and you were so frightened that you can barely stand. As a boy, I'll take care of you. I hope you can trust yourself to me."

As he spoke, the girl buried her head in the hood behind Wu Yang Jin's back. Her face reddened, and she did not know what to say. Just as she was about to say something...

"Here, a potato cake! We can eat the grilled fish once we get home. It might be a little cold, but go ahead and eat."

As he spoke, Wu Yang Jin gave the little girl another potato cake. She noticed it and accepted it, taking small bites. As she ate, she felt her body gradually growing warm.

Even her feet began to feel warm and comfortable.

"By the way, what's your name?" Wu Yang Jin asked.

"I... I'm Na'er."

"Na'er? That's a really nice name. It sounds lovely."

As he spoke, the girl continued listening to Wu Yang Jin while lowering her head to eat the potato cake in her hand. Warmth surged through her heart and her entire body. Suddenly, she felt incredibly happy as well.