After the two procurers left, many of the children looked tempted.
"If we work at the gear factory, we'll get to eat our fill!"
Tong Shao blurted, "Forget it. I heard the machines in factories eat people~"
One child chimed in, "My younger cousin went there. The machine bit off one of his hands!"
The children chattered away, while the three adults gathered to discuss the situation.
Lu Li asked, "Who were those two?"
Xiao Cha said coldly, "Those two beasts are Official Tooth agents, appointed by the government. They're at the Bone Forging stage."
Anyone who could work in this line of business must have powerful backers. And with their Martial Arts cultivation, they were no easy opponents.
Wan Qing looked worried. "The Tooth Brokerage agents have clearly set their sights on these children. What should we do..."
"Don't be afraid. I'll make sure the children stay safe!" Xiao Cha flicked her Nine-Section Whip and said confidently, "Those two aren't a match for me. I doubt they'd dare try anything!"
The Nine-Section Whip was what gave Xiao Cha her confidence.
Whips were powerful weapons, and their flexible, retractable design made them easy to conceal. Lu Li looked intrigued.
Xiao Cha naturally noticed, but the whip was a family heirloom, a secret technique she couldn't teach an outsider.
All she could do was pretend not to see his interest and continue, "I'm about to reach Organ Refining! When I do, I'll beat those two beasts to death!"
Hearing that, Tong Shao called from a distance, "Organ Refining Martial Masters can kill people without breaking the law, but they still have to pay a fine. You don't have any money~"
"Hey, you little brat~"
Xiao Cha laughed and scolded her, but suddenly felt her head spin.
Strong people were always too confident in their own bodies. She shook her head and didn't think much of it.
Little did she know, the Wang brothers hadn't gone far after leaving the clinic.
Wang Wu asked urgently, "Brother, did it work?"
"It worked! That little bitch got hit, and she has no idea~"
Wang Wen unfolded the recruitment flyer. On its reverse side, a dark-red character had appeared: "Nightmare"!
His face twisted with pain. "The Jiu Shan Sect's Nightmare Curse. That cost a hundred Ocean Dollars!"
Wang Wu was ecstatic. "That bitch has been occupying this street and ruining our business for years! I'm going to kill her!"
At the clinic
By evening, Wan Qing had arranged some food for the children, and they began leaving one after another.
Only Tong Shao stayed to help with everything, leaving last.
The courtyard had fallen quiet when Tong Shao suddenly cried out:
"Sister Xiao Cha, what's wrong with you? Someone, come quick!"
Lu Li was resting in his room. He was the first to rush over when he heard the commotion.
Xiao Cha lay motionless on the ground, but her eyes darted about in terror.
Wan Qing soon arrived too and hurried to feel her pulse.
She looked puzzled. Xiao Cha seemed perfectly fine, yet for some inexplicable reason, only her eyes could move.
Wan Qing thought for a moment, then suddenly pinched Xiao Cha's philtrum hard.
The intense stimulus finally let Xiao Cha speak. "I'm under a Nightmare Curse..."
After only a few words, she lost the ability to speak again.
A "nightmare" was like sleep paralysis: the person was awake, but unable to move.
Tong Shao cried out, "Someone used sorcery to hurt her!"
Wan Qing's expression turned grim. There was no need to guess who was responsible.
She quickly ordered, "Tong Shao, hurry and call our neighbors for help! Quickly!"
Tong Shao knew how serious it was. Without another word, she darted out like a little rabbit.
Lu Li scooped Xiao Cha up in his arms and gently laid her on the bed in the east wing.
Then he hurried back to his room in the west wing, found his backpack with the pistol, and took out an M1911.
This pistol had been around for nearly a century. It had withstood the test of several large-scale wars and was a classic killing weapon.
Lu Li pulled back the slide, removed the magazine, and carefully inspected it. Once he was sure everything was in order, he tucked the gun into his waistband.
He'd barely finished when Tong Shao came running back, sobbing.
"Waaah! None of them would come! They said they were honest farmers and wouldn't get mixed up in anything illegal!"
Wan Qing's face turned pale.
The neighbors had received plenty of help from the clinic, yet not one of them had come when it mattered.
Just then, someone kicked open the clinic's front gate.
The Wang brothers had arrived, determined not to give their prey a moment to catch its breath!
The two procurers sauntered into the middle of the courtyard.
Wang Wu leered. "Is Doctor Mo here? Come out and take a look at my illness~"
Xiao Cha was frantic. She forced her eyes wide open.
The Wang brothers had cursed her. Whatever they were plotting now went far beyond taking a few little beggars.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't utter a word.
Wan Qing gently touched her face, then took a deep breath and forced herself to stay calm as she walked outside. She said coldly, "What do you want? Murdering an officer and breaking into a home to rob it are crimes punishable by death through dismemberment!"
Wang Wen smiled without warmth. "Don't worry, Doctor Mo. If my brother and I dared to come here, we've made sure to cover our tracks."
Wang Wu's eyes bulged like copper bells as he swallowed hard.
"Brother, look at those tits, that ass! How'd a woman get so gorgeous? I can't take it anymore!"
As he spoke, he started undoing his belt. His intentions were obvious.
Wang Wen kicked his younger brother.
"Fuck! She's a Watery Charm, worth at least a thousand Ocean Dollars! If you so much as pull out one hair, I'll castrate you!"
Wan Qing clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. Her voice trembled. "I'll go with you. Leave Xiao Cha alone."
Wang Wen sneered. "Doctor Mo, don't joke around. You know that bitch and I are sworn enemies."
Wang Wu leered. "I'll go look for that bitch. I can't have my way with a Watery Charm, but a woman constable will do just fine~"
He started toward the back courtyard.
But just then, Lu Li emerged from the west wing and slowly approached them.
Wang Wen glanced at him and scoffed. "It's that cripple. Doctor Mo, is he your lover?"
Wan Qing cried out, "This has nothing to do with Young Master Lu... Young Master Lu, run!"
Wang Wu pulled out an Ox-ear Dagger. "Let's kill him. He'll only get in the way."
Despair filled Wan Qing's eyes!
Spirit Refining Cultivators at the early stages had few ways to protect themselves, and this Young Master was disabled. How could he possibly stand against two Bone Forging cultivators?
Xiao Cha thought the same.
She clenched her teeth until the veins bulged on her forehead and neck, but she still couldn't move.
But just then, the Wang brothers suddenly cried out! A deafening blast followed!
"A firearm!?"
Lu Li wasn't a sharpshooter. His aim was mediocre; he'd only hit his targets earlier because they'd been right beside him.
So now he had to get as close to his targets as possible.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. He got within his ideal combat range of fifteen meters.
Wang Wu even pulled out an Ox-ear Dagger and charged at him.
A Bone Forging martial artist's explosive power was no weaker than a sprinter's, and their movements were so swift that ordinary people couldn't react in time.
But Lu Li entered the Spirit Concentration State. In his eyes, everything slowed to 0.7 speed, and he clearly tracked his target's movements.
He reached for his waist and drew his M1911. As the Wang brothers stared in shock, he immediately fired three shots in a row—bang, bang, bang!
From ten meters away, with the target moving at high speed, Lu Li aimed at the torso, the largest and easiest target to hit.
Three bloody holes burst open across Wang Wu's chest and abdomen. He hit the ground, twitching and bleeding everywhere, then died with despair on his face.
"Brother!"
Wang Wen's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. Roaring, he charged forward with his dagger like a wild boar!
Lu Li swung the gun toward him and squeezed the trigger. A bullet screamed out amid the thunderous report.
But Wang Wen was consumed by rage, flooding his body with adrenaline. The pain faded as his body's systems surged to their limits.
Even after taking two shots, he kept charging forward with a howl! The dagger in his hand was about to stab into Lu Li!
Lu Li kept pulling the trigger, firing the last two bullets in the gun. They hit Wang Wen in the shoulder and abdomen.
The .45 ACP rounds fired by the M1911 had heavy, rounded bullets that released tremendous kinetic energy and were extremely lethal.
Even with the physique of an Olympic athlete, Wang Wen lost the ability to move after the fourth shot.
His steps faltered, but momentum carried him forward.
Lu Li merely sidestepped, and Wang Wen fell to the ground.
A small pool of blood soon spread beneath him. Wang Wen gave a couple of gurgles and fell silent.
Before you continue