The crowd was shoved aside by an irresistible force, opening a path for Gu Shenge and Medusa. The onlookers turned to stare at the couple. When they saw Medusa, their eyes widened, filled with awe and undisguised greed.
Though Medusa wore a red veil that hid her face, just her enchanting, soul-stirring eyes and flawless, alluring figure were enough to leave anyone weak-kneed. Her slender, snow-white waist swayed with each step, radiating a teasing allure that made onlookers drool.
Some with less self-control even swallowed audibly.
Sensing the ants around her peeping at her, Medusa gave a cold snort. At once, those people felt as if a heavy hammer had slammed into their heads. Their minds took a severe blow, leaving them dizzy and splitting with pain. The greed and lust rising in their hearts vanished without a trace, replaced by fear.
After what had just happened, how could they fail to realize that the veiled beauty in red was a powerful expert? They looked terrified and didn't dare linger. They scattered like birds and beasts, afraid that if they were a moment too slow, Medusa would kill them on the spot.
Gu Shenge glanced at the people fleeing in panic, a trace of disdain in his eyes. They dared lust after my beloved wife. They were asking for death.
If Medusa hadn't spoken up, he would have taught those fools a lesson himself.
His gaze shifted to Qing Lin, whose braid was being held by a desert merchant.
She looked thirteen or fourteen, with two long, slender braids and a delicate, pretty face shaped like a melon seed. Her skin was fair as a porcelain doll's, and her face showed a hint of panic and fear. Her jade-green eyes were clouded with pain.
She wore a pale green dress that left her shoulders bare, with green sleeves covering her arms. Though petite, she was quite developed, with a curvy figure, though she still looked a little young.
Especially her slender waist, so fine it seemed one could encircle it with a single hand. As she struggled and twisted, she looked like a little beauty snake showing off her sinuous figure, with an allure all her own.
Seeing the onlookers run off, the desert merchant looked puzzled. But when he noticed the two people still there, dressed like no ordinary couple, he assumed they had come to buy something. He quickly let go of Qing Lin's braid, and his sharp-featured face turned ingratiating as he smiled and asked, "May I ask what you two would like to buy? I have fine porcelain from the Jia Ma Empire. Every piece was made by a Grandmaster and is exquisite and elegant. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Gu Shenge ignored the desert merchant completely. He walked up to Qing Lin and, seeing how frightened and flustered she looked, asked gently, "Little girl, don't be afraid. My name is Gu Shenge. I'd like to take you away from here. Would you come with me?"
"Hm?" Qing Lin felt a flicker of confusion. She didn't understand why this stranger had suddenly approached her and offered to take her away.
Seeing that Gu Shenge had come for Qing Lin, the desert merchant immediately changed his tune.
"Sir, you can take this little monster away if you like, but first you'll have to pay me a hundred gold coins for her. She made me drop and break a fine piece of porcelain. She has to compensate me."
Qing Lin hurriedly shook her head, her little face full of grievance. Like a kitten wrongly accused, she kept defending herself. "I didn't break his porcelain. He dropped it himself."
"Hey! If I say you broke it, then you broke it! If that little monster hadn't passed by and startled me, how would the porcelain have fallen?"
Watching the desert merchant twist the truth and frame her, Gu Shenge felt disgusted. He released a trace of Dou Emperor pressure, crushing down on the merchant.
The desert merchant instantly felt a heavy weight on his back, as if a mountain had appeared out of nowhere and pressed him to the ground. He was forced to his knees, his head striking the earth, utterly humiliated.
He realized that the young man before him was a terrifying expert he couldn't afford to offend. Trembling with fear that Gu Shenge might kill him at any moment, he repeatedly kowtowed and begged for mercy, tears streaming down his face.
"Sir, I was wrong! I didn't know this little mon—this young lady was with you. If I'd known, I wouldn't have dared make trouble for her, even if I had a hundred lives! Please spare me!"
Seeing the desert merchant who had been bullying her suddenly kneel and beg, Qing Lin looked surprised. The Grand Commander had told her that experts who cultivated Battle Qi to an extremely high level could easily suppress ordinary cultivators with nothing more than a glance. Could this man be one of those experts?
But why was he helping her?
Gu Shenge looked at the desert merchant kowtowing for mercy and pointed at Qing Lin. "You should apologize to her, not beg me for mercy."
The merchant hurriedly apologized to Qing Lin, begging her to forgive him.
"I'm sorry, little girl. I shouldn't have bullied you. Please forgive me! If you do, I'll give you a thousand gold coins as compensation. Please!"
Between money and his life, the desert merchant chose his life without hesitation. He could earn more money, but if he lost his life, he'd lose everything.
Faced with the merchant's pleas, Qing Lin didn't want to prolong the matter. She nodded, choosing to forgive him.
The merchant breathed a huge sigh of relief. Gu Shenge also withdrew that trace of pressure, and the weight on the merchant's back lifted. The merchant looked at Qing Lin with gratitude and didn't waste any time. He scrambled to his feet, took a two-pattern gold card from his Storage Ring, and offered it to Qing Lin with both hands.
"Little girl, there are fifteen hundred gold coins on this card. The extra is compensation from me. Thank you for forgiving me."
With that, he immediately turned and fled in a panic, abandoning his stall. He was terrified that Gu Shenge might change his mind and slap him to death.
Qing Lin stared blankly at the gold card in her hands, then looked at Gu Shenge. She quickly bowed to thank him for helping her and offered him the card.
"Thank you for helping me out. Please keep this gold card."
Gu Shenge shook his head and pushed the card back. He reached out to pat Qing Lin on the head and said gently with a smile, "Little girl, keep the card. That man gave it to you as compensation. If you want to thank me, why not come away with me? As long as I'm here, I guarantee no one will bully or insult you again. What do you say?"
Hearing the mysterious man ask once more to take her away, Qing Lin was even more confused.
Everyone else avoided her as if she were a plague. Why was he so determined to take her with him?
Seeing the little girl's confused expression, a glint of green flashed in Gu Shenge's eyes. His originally dark pupils turned jade-green. He lifted a hand and pointed to his eyes, quietly explaining to Qing Lin, "I'm sure you're wondering why I want to take you with me. It's because we have the same eyes. In other words, we're the same kind."
"We're...the same kind?"
Those words left Qing Lin stunned. She stared blankly into Gu Shenge's eyes, the same jade-green as hers, and even a little prettier. Could he be like her, a half-breed of the Snake-people and humans?
"So, Qing Lin, are you willing to come with me?"
Faced with Gu Shenge's question once more, Qing Lin fell deep in thought.
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