Little Flower, why won't you just listen

At some point, three figures clad in night-traveling gear appeared on the low rooftops nearby.

Without needing to ask, Zhu Zhuqing already knew the purpose of their arrival.

Over the past few years, this was not the first time such a thing had happened.

The opponents did not seem to be in a hurry, standing there quietly, their eyes—the only parts visible beneath their masks—flashing with a hint of mockery.

"Miss of the Zhu Family, I didn't expect that instead of rushing to flee with your useless fiancé, you would still have the mood to tease a pet here."

Zhu Zhuqing stared coldly at the speaker, while not forgetting to divide her attention to track the positions of the other two.

"Why say so much? Just do it. If I die, my sister will no longer have any threats." Her voice was incomparably cold, especially when she mentioned the word "sister," as if the surrounding temperature had dropped by several degrees.

"No, no, no, you've got it wrong," the black-clad man who spoke earlier said.

"We are just a group of desperate robbers with nowhere else to go; this has nothing to do with the Zhu Family."

By now, their true intentions were practically common knowledge, but they still could not be brought out into the open.

"Heh." Zhu Zhuqing sneered, not bothering to dwell on this issue.

What difference did it make whether they admitted it or not? She had understood everything long ago.

"Woof, woof, woof!"

The puppy barked incessantly at the men in black, its small body blocking the path in front of Zhu Zhuqing.

Watching this scene, a warm current flowed through Zhu Zhuqing's heart.

She never expected that her closest blood relative would be inferior to a dog she had met by chance.

"Where did this stray dog come from? How dare it block your grandfather's path?" The man in black cursed angrily, followed by a lewd smile.

"But come to think of it, you little girl have a great figure. I really want to strip off that school uniform of yours and see what you're really like."

"Bastards..." Zhu Zhuqing's eyes were icy, her fists clenched tightly, and a small dagger appeared in her hand at some unknown moment.

She secretly decided that if she truly couldn't escape, she would rather commit suicide than let these bastards defile her body, which was as pure as jade.

If only my fiancé were a peerless hero, how wonderful that would be...

Zhu Zhuqing thought longingly, but fantasies were fantasies after all, and they were soon shattered by the cruel reality.

Her fiancé had already abandoned her...

"Woof, woof, woof~" The puppy in front of her suddenly barked happily, its originally round eyes now curved into beautiful crescent shapes.

"Are you saying that your master has arrived?"

Zhu Zhuqing clearly understood the puppy's barks and couldn't help but look around.

At the same time, a lazy voice sounded from behind her.

"Little Flower, why did you run here? You really are a little lecherous dog. You just lean on any pretty girl you see. I've told you so many times, but you just won't listen."

A youth in ordinary clothes stood at the entrance of the alley, and the voice came from there. It was unknown when he had appeared; if not for hearing his voice, no one present would have noticed him.

The youth seemed to have eyes only for the fire-red puppy and did not even turn to look anywhere else, only nodding and smiling politely as he passed Zhu Zhuqing. As for the three big men, he completely ignored them.

The person who arrived was none other than Mu Qian.

Although his tone carried a trace of reproach, he was already blooming with joy inside.

He had been watching the show for a long time, and it was time for him to make his entrance; he couldn't just watch his dear Zhuqing being bullied by three big men.

Mu Qian hadn't expected that anyone would dare to assassinate a direct descendant of the Zhu Family in Star Luo City.

He hadn't been intentionally following them; appearing here with Little Flower was just a coincidence.

"Miss, I'm truly sorry. My dog is disobedient; he didn't cause you any trouble, did he?" Mu Qian said with an apologetic laugh.

If he hadn't run into them, that would be one thing, but since he had, he couldn't just stand by and watch.

Seeing his master appear, Little Flower leaped happily into his arms.

Zhu Zhuqing was completely bewildered. Can't you see the swords are drawn and bows are bent? What is with this carefree attitude of yours?

However, this boy, who looked to be about the same age as her, was... so outstanding in appearance...

"It... it's fine..."

Zhu Zhuqing had never been a talkative person, and for these two words to come out of her mouth, it was already quite an achievement.

Perhaps because he was Little Flower's master, the first impression Mu Qian left on her was quite good.

"I was wondering why you weren't running away with your fiancé—so you had someone on the side!" The previous man in black, seeing himself being ignored by Mu Qian, couldn't help but feel anger rise in his heart.

"Regardless, since you've seen us, you two can just be a pair of doomed lovers."

"Oh, and before that, you'll have to watch your woman being played with by us in turns. Hahahaha."

Mu Qian curled his lips. Do these people really have such strong self-confidence?

Where on earth did they steal their courage from?

"I don't know him, he has nothing to do with this," Zhu Zhuqing realized the situation and subconsciously offered an explanation.

Mu Qian looked to be about the same age as her; how high could his strength possibly be?

She did not want to involve unrelated people because of her own affairs.

Mu Qian looked at Zhu Zhuqing in surprise.

In this situation, he might be her only straw to clutch at.

Not only did she not ask him for help, but she was actually worried about implicating him?

Mu Qian sighed, no longer able to pretend he didn't see them.

"Huh? Why are you three big brothers here? Didn't you tell me you were going to help a VIP of the Zhu Family with something?"

Mu Qian clicked his tongue in a show of pretense, as if the matter were truly real.

"What nonsense are you spouting, kid? Who knows you!" The man in black was running out of patience, and visible anger could be seen in his eyes.

"Dressed in night-traveler gear in the middle of the night, as if you're afraid people won't know you're assassins. Three Soul Ancestors bullying a little girl, how are you not ashamed?"

Mu Qian still didn't take them seriously, his expression light and breezy as he spoke with sarcasm.

The three men in black and Zhu Zhuqing were all shocked at the same time.

How did he know their cultivation levels?

Could it be that they really knew each other?

A sense of inexplicable crisis welled up in the heart of the leader of the men in black; a strong intuition told him that this kid was strange and they could not delay any longer.

"Second and Third, we can't wait any longer. Release your soul rings!"

Before the words had even faded, the man in black struck first, and waves of soul power instantly filled the entire alley as one white and three yellow soul rings suddenly rose up.

The other two did not fall behind, and their own four soul rings—also two white and two yellow—slowly emerged, just as Mu Qian had said: they were all Soul Ancestors.

Even though their soul ring configuration was extremely ordinary, the momentum created by three Soul Ancestors was not something Zhu Zhuqing, a soul master who had yet to attach her second soul ring, could withstand.

She instinctively leaned against the wall behind her, a fine layer of sweat appearing on her forehead.