I'm here!
A gentle voice, like a wisp of spring breeze, drifted into Lu Sheng's ears.
Lu Sheng's body stiffened slightly.
The scarlet in his eyes and the fury in his heart seemed to gradually quiet beneath that spring-breeze-like voice.
At some point, Lan Linglong, dressed in black, had appeared before Lu Sheng.
Her arm, white as jade, lightly blocked Lu Sheng's path.
That seemingly slender, powerless arm contained tremendous strength at this moment.
Lu Sheng stared blankly at Lan Linglong before him, and the fire in his heart gradually subsided.
His voice lingered in his throat for a moment before emerging hoarsely.
"Senior Sister!"
Beneath that hoarse voice lay emotions of a different kind.
Just moments ago, Lu Sheng had been consumed by rage. He hated the Middle-aged Man in Hemp Clothes who wanted to kill him, hated Bai Mo, the mastermind behind it all.
He hated this world where the strong devoured the weak even more.
Yet when Lan Linglong's voice reached him and her figure stood before him, the anger and resentment in Lu Sheng's heart vanished without a trace.
Lan Linglong looked at Lu Sheng as he gradually calmed down and smiled slightly, a playful look at the corner of her lips.
She reached out and gently ruffled Lu Sheng's hair, speaking in a voice like a flowing stream.
"Everything is covered by your senior sister!"
"We... are family!"
Hearing those words, Lu Sheng's nose stung again.
"Yes, family!"
Lu Sheng murmured softly in his heart.
Lu Sheng had thought that after crossing into this world, he was all alone.
It was only after he became Kong Yunzhang's disciple and met Lan Linglong that he slowly began to feel a trace of warmth.
Yet deep in Lu Sheng's heart, he had always been lonely.
But now...
The warmth that came with Lan Linglong's appearance at that moment was like a tiny spark finding kindling.
It began to burn fiercely, growing brilliant and ever more surging.
Lan Linglong slowly withdrew her gaze, and the gentleness on her face gradually faded away.
She calmly looked at the Middle-aged Man in Hemp Clothes ahead without saying a word.
Yet she brought immense pressure upon him.
The Middle-aged Man in Hemp Clothes stood rooted where he was, staring intently at Lan Linglong as though judging her strength.
After a moment, his gaze darkened slightly as he said in a deep voice, "The Bai Family of Cloud City is handling matters. I ask that you do not interfere!"
He did not know the background of the woman before him, but he knew that the faint aura she gave off was enough to make him feel a powerful sense of danger.
But as the Bai Family's steward, he was confident that within Cloud City, no one would refuse to give the Bai Family face.
Other than the Martial Alliance and the Military, virtually no one would provoke a local tyrant like a Martial Arts Family.
"The Bai Family..."
Lan Linglong lightly brushed aside the strands of hair before her brow. Though her voice was cold, it still carried a hint of liveliness.
"Are they that impressive?"
Her indifferent words made the Middle-aged Man in Hemp Clothes's heart sink sharply!
The other party actually gave the Bai Family no face at all!
"Your Excellency, my Bai Family's position in Cloud City is absolute, and we even have a Viscera Refining Realm martial artist personally overseeing us!"
"Do not provoke my Bai Family for the sake of a mere Blood Qi Realm martial artist!"
"Do not bring ruin upon yourself!!"
When the Middle-aged Man in Hemp Clothes mentioned that his family had a Viscera Refining Realm martial artist, he deliberately stressed his words.
One had to know that in a remote city like Cloud City, other than the Martial Alliance and the Military, which had martial artists beyond the Viscera Refining Realm stationed there, Viscera Refining Realm martial artists were already the highest existence beneath the heavens.
He did not believe anyone would not fear a Martial Arts Family guarded by a Viscera Refining Realm martial artist!
In his view, he knew most of Cloud City's Viscera Refining Realm martial artists, but none of those he knew was the woman before him.
Even though this woman gave him a powerful sense of danger and did not put the Bai Family in her eyes, the Middle-aged Man in Hemp Clothes merely believed that she might not know how terrifying the Bai Family truly was.
As long as he laid everything out, she would surely choose to stand by and watch out of fear of the Bai Family's power.
Only...
Just as the Middle-aged Man in Hemp Clothes was thinking this, not even the slightest ripple appeared on Lan Linglong's exquisite face.
"What a Bai Family!"
"A Viscera Refining Realm martial artist overseeing them..."
"What imposing majesty!!"
Lan Linglong's voice gradually turned icy. Although she appeared exceptionally gentle most of the time,
that did not mean Lan Linglong lacked a decisive side!
When her bottom line was crossed...
Even she, gentle as water, would turn into bone-piercing ice!
And unfortunately...
The junior disciples of the Heaven and Earth Dojo—or rather, Lu Sheng...
were Lan Linglong's bottom line!
Now...
The other party had already crossed that line!
When the Middle-aged Man in Hemp Clothes first heard Lan Linglong's words, he was somewhat pleased with himself. After all, a Martial Arts Family with a Viscera Refining Realm martial artist overseeing it was absolutely among the finest in all of Cloud City.
But as he listened further, he began to feel that something was wrong.
The Middle-aged Man in Hemp Clothes said in a deep voice, "Your Excellency, are you planning not to give my Bai Family—"
But before he could finish speaking, Lan Linglong's figure had already vanished from where she stood.
The next moment, like a black phantom, Lan Linglong instantly appeared before the Middle-aged Man in Hemp Clothes.
The middle-aged man had not even had time to react when he saw Lan Linglong lightly raise her arm.
A piercing pain came from his throat.
The middle-aged man wanted to say something, only to discover that his throat seemed to have been seized at that instant. He could not make a sound.
Immediately afterward, his vision gradually blurred. At last, darkness fell before his eyes, and he toppled stiffly backward.
Lan Linglong stood where she was, indifferently watching the middle-aged man's body fall. She took out a handkerchief from her clothes and gently wiped away the blood remaining on her hand.
Then she turned around. Yet when she looked at Lu Sheng, the frost on her face melted in an instant.
She smiled slightly at Lu Sheng and beckoned.
"Come on, Junior Disciple Brother. Let's... go home!"
Lu Sheng stared blankly at the scene before him. Only when Lan Linglong's voice sounded beside his ear did a smile appear on his face.
"Mm!"
Along the way, Lu Sheng remained silent, while Lan Linglong quietly walked ahead of him.
Only after they had both entered Cloud City did Lu Sheng look at Lan Linglong's back and finally ask.
"Senior Sister, did I cause trouble for you all?"
When Lu Sheng said this, he lowered his head.
In his previous life, Lu Sheng had been an online novel writer. His personality had been somewhat withdrawn, and he did not have many friends.
He also hated troubling others.
Even after crossing over, Lu Sheng had always held to the principle that if he could avoid troubling others, then he would avoid troubling them.
And now, the threat posed by the Middle-aged Man in Hemp Clothes had been resolved by Lan Linglong.
But it had also caused Lan Linglong to completely offend the Bai Family.
This warmed Lu Sheng's heart immensely. While he was grateful to Lan Linglong, he was also somewhat worried that because she had stood up for him, the Bai Family's wrath would be redirected toward her.
Although Lan Linglong was a Viscera Refining Realm martial artist, the Bai Family was no weaker.
Furthermore, the Bai Family was Cloud City's local tyrant. It was not as simple as merely having one Viscera Refining Realm martial artist overseeing them.
If his actions caused Lan Linglong, or even the entire Heaven and Earth Dojo, to suffer the Bai Family's wrath, Lu Sheng would feel even more guilty.
That was why Lu Sheng had remained silent the entire way.
Lan Linglong did not immediately answer Lu Sheng's question, and silence returned between them.
Only when the gates of the Heaven and Earth Dojo appeared before them did Lan Linglong pause slightly.
She slowly turned around.
She looked seriously at Lu Sheng, reached out to ruffle his hair, and smiled gently. "From the moment you became Teacher's disciple and my Junior Disciple Brother, we became family!"
"A family should be whole and together. We can refrain from causing trouble, but if trouble truly comes knocking at our door..."
"You must always remember that whether it is me, Teacher, or First Senior Sister, we will always stand behind you!"
"As for the Bai Family you are worried about..."
Lan Linglong smiled, and her smile grew even more radiant than before.
"You can rest assured about that. Though our Heaven and Earth Dojo has never revealed its edge, when it comes to certain scum of Great Xia..."
"the dojo would not mind showing its blade!"
Listening to Lan Linglong's words, the knot in Lu Sheng's heart slowly dissolved.
Lu Sheng slowly raised his head. The gloom on his face was swept away, replaced by a brilliant smile.
At that moment, the youthful spirit of a young man slowly emerged from Lu Sheng once more.
"Mm, I understand, Senior Sister!"
Seeing Lu Sheng gradually calm down, the smile on Lan Linglong's face became increasingly bright.
She chuckled. "All right, don't overthink it. When you get back, take a good bath, sleep comfortably, and forget all about this."
Lu Sheng nodded. Then he gave Lan Linglong a deep bow and headed toward the rented house.
Lan Linglong watched Lu Sheng's back gradually fade from view, and the smile on her face slowly disappeared.
She took out a phone, found a number in her contacts, and dialed it.
"Hello!"
A moment later, a calm voice came through the phone.
Lan Linglong spoke softly as well.
"Hello, First Senior Sister!"
"Someone... is stirring up trouble!"
Before you continue