With Me Here, They Cannot Take You Away!

Fortunately, the strength of the men in black was not particularly formidable, and they failed to react in the first instant.

In that very moment, Zhu Zhuqing seized the opportunity to break through their encirclement.

"Hurry, chase her!"

Although they only saw a fleeting afterimage, the men in black still recognized Zhu Zhuqing and immediately ordered the pursuit.

Zhu Zhuyun, not far away, also gave chase.

Following that, the group wove continuously through the outer perimeter.

Their commotion disturbed many soul beasts, but fortunately, their numbers were sufficient that the soul beasts did not react immediately and chose to hide instead.

"Interesting!"

Luo Yan watched these people chasing one another and smiled slightly.

Seeing that they were about to move out of his spiritual sense range, he also revealed himself and followed, though he trailed slowly behind without stepping forward.

At the beginning, the men in black were able to gradually close the distance to Zhu Zhuqing by relying on their numbers.

But as night fell, Zhu Zhuqing relied on her agile movement technique to widen the gap once again.

However, during the flight, the injuries on Zhu Zhuqing's body continued to worsen, as the men in black were armed with weapons.

By the middle of the night, Zhu Zhuqing could barely hold on.

This escape had consumed not only Zhu Zhuqing's mental energy but also the soul power within her body.

Being able to hold on until now was a testament to her iron will.

She had no choice but to stop again and find a place to hide.

High up in a large tree not far from Zhu Zhuqing, Luo Yan quietly observed her situation.

Zhu Zhuyun also noticed that Zhu Zhuqing had stopped and began ordering the men in black to search for her location.

The men in black scattered upon hearing the command.

Hoo~

Zhu Zhuqing breathed a secret sigh of relief; she was currently lying in a patch of grass.

Coincidentally, there was a small depression in the ground at this spot, and by curling up inside it, even if the men in black pushed aside the grass above, they would not see her below.

However, every time footsteps sounded, she dared not breathe, terrified of being discovered.

Fortunately, this group of men in black did not bring any hounds, nor did anyone possess a martial soul adept at tracking scents.

Although the men in black had not yet found Zhu Zhuqing's hiding spot, she was in a great deal of pain.

During the escape earlier, she had been struck in the waist by a soul skill from one of the men in black, resulting in a large wound.

The small pit she was hiding in was tiny, barely enough to accommodate her body, and she could not move at all, making it impossible to stop the bleeding.

As her blood continued to flow, Zhu Zhuqing felt her head growing dizzy.

She had been relying on her willpower to hold on, refusing to let herself lose consciousness.

Am I going to die here?

Zhu Zhuqing glanced at the dense grass, her eyes filled with a hint of despair.

Going out meant being taken back, which was no different from death, and if she continued to hide, she felt she could not last much longer.

Twenty meters away from Zhu Zhuqing, Zhu Zhuyun looked at the men in black before her, her expression extremely ugly.

Despite the search by dozens of men in black, they had not found a trace of Zhu Zhuqing in this area.

Based on the commotion Zhu Zhuqing had made earlier, Zhu Zhuyun was certain she was still nearby, yet the men in black simply could not find her.

"Damn it, what are you all good for!"

"Keep searching! I want to see her alive or see her corpse!"

Zhu Zhuyun was furious; she had not expected that so many of them could not capture a single Soul Grand Master.

However, after searching for another hour, they still could not find Zhu Zhuqing.

In the grass they had failed to notice, Zhu Zhuqing was in extreme agony, her face deathly pale from excessive blood loss.

She felt she could no longer hold on.

"Hold on, with me here, no one dares to take you!"

Just as she was about to give up, a low voice suddenly rang out.

Seeing no one to her left or right, Zhu Zhuqing thought her condition had deteriorated so much that she was suffering from auditory hallucinations.

Just as she thought she was hallucinating, a pair of slender, elegant arms parted the grass, pushing all the way to the bottom to reveal her figure.

"Who are you..."

Zhu Zhuqing looked vigilant, but because of her weakened state, her tone sounded extremely frail.

"Don't worry, with me here, they won't be able to take you away!"

Luo Yan did not answer Zhu Zhuqing's question; he reached out and picked her up.

Zhu Zhuqing was extremely weak and completely unable to resist, so she could only let Luo Yan hold her.

After taking Zhu Zhuqing into his arms, Luo Yan first circulated his spiritual power to stop the bleeding from her wounds.

Zhu Zhuyun, who had failed to find any trace of Zhu Zhuqing after three searches, had been intending to retreat.

However, the commotion on Luo Yan's side caught the attention of Zhu Zhuyun and the men in black, and the group rushed toward him.

Furthermore, they formed a perimeter as they closed in.

Luo Yan paid no mind to these people; in his eyes, they were nothing more than ants, incapable of stirring up any trouble.

He remained focused on channeling his spiritual power to mend Zhu Zhuqing's wounds.

Zhu Zhuqing could clearly feel waves of warmth radiating from the palm pressed against her wound, spreading throughout her entire body.

As her gaze shifted to Luo Yan's focused eyes, a sudden ache rose in her nose.

This was the first time she had truly and tangibly felt someone's care.

In that moment, Zhu Zhuqing extinguished any thought of breaking free from his embrace, wishing only for time to stop at this very moment.

"Uh..."

Noticing Zhu Zhuqing's burning gaze, Luo Yan was a bit bewildered.

He had originally only intended to save Zhu Zhuqing in her moment of crisis to leave an indelible impression on her.

He hadn't expected that such a simple act would cause her to react so intensely...

Just then, Zhu Zhuyun arrived with her men and surrounded them.

Catching sight of the men in black in her peripheral vision, a flicker of panic appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's face.

She wasn't afraid of being dragged back, but rather worried that Zhu Zhuyun and the others would harm Luo Yan; she didn't want to implicate him.

"You go first, they won't make things difficult for you..."

Taking advantage of the fact that Zhu Zhuyun hadn't approached yet, Zhu Zhuqing used all her remaining strength to wrap her arms around Luo Yan's neck and whispered.

Feeling the softness against his chest, Luo Yan paid no heed to her words. He patted her back with his free hand, comforting her:

"Don't worry, didn't I tell you? With me here, they aren't taking you anywhere!"

Luo Yan didn't take the group of men in black seriously in the slightest.

At this moment, the men in black had already tightly surrounded the two, leaving no gaps.

Seeing this, Zhu Zhuqing felt a trace of despair.

In her view, Luo Yan was only a teenager; it was impossible for him to escape this encirclement, let alone while carrying a burden like her.

Her innate kindness told her that she could not drag Luo Yan down with her.

Zhu Zhuqing thought about getting down from Luo Yan to stop Zhu Zhuyun and the others herself, buying time for him.

"Don't move, or your wounds will worsen!"

Feeling Zhu Zhuqing struggling, Luo Yan pulled her even tighter.

"Put me down, their target is me. As long as I go back with them, they won't make things difficult for you!"

Seeing that she couldn't break free, Zhu Zhuqing could only plead in a low voice.