Bibi Xi

Immediately after, she delivered a beautiful flying kick, planting it solidly in the back of the man in black.

"Urgh!"

The man in black let out a miserable cry as the tremendous force sent him sprawling face-first onto the ground, where he rolled twice in a pathetic tumble.

Ling Yuan landed lightly, darted forward in a single stride, pinned his lower back with her knee, and twisted one of his arms behind him with one hand. Her movements were crisp and efficient, the entire takedown flowing seamlessly.

"Behave yourself and hand over what you stole!"

"I didn't steal anything!"

After saying that, the person beneath her struggled, seemingly trying to turn his head.

Ling Yuan increased the force in her grip. "Still trying to deny it? Hurry—"

Her words abruptly stopped.

Because at that moment, the thief she had firmly subdued painfully turned his head to the side.

Revealing an extraordinarily young face—one that could even be called handsome.

But what made Ling Yuan's pupils contract and her mind go blank was that the contours of his brows and eyes bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Saintess Bibi Dong.

"S-Saintess?" Ling Yuan cried out in shock, unconsciously loosening her grip.

Impossible.

Why would the Saintess be here?

And dressed as a man, playing the part of a thief?

No, the voice was wrong, the temperament was wrong, and besides, the Saintess was clearly with the Pope.

"Hey, are you crazy?! Let me go!"

The young man beneath her growled furiously and struggled hard. "I was helping someone catch a thief."

"Huh?" Ling Yuan was completely dumbfounded.

Just then, the fat middle-aged man finally panted his way to the mouth of the alley. Bracing himself against the wall, he gasped, "M-Miss, you... you caught the wrong person."

"This young man... he was helping me."

Ling Yuan: "..."

She felt a rush of heat shoot to the top of her head, her cheeks instantly burning. She wished she could dig a hole in the ground with a Soul Skill and crawl into it.

She hurriedly got to her feet and looked helplessly at the purple-haired youth on the ground, who was clutching his back and grimacing as he climbed up.

"I-I'm sorry. I... I didn't know. I thought..."

The young man stood, dusted off his clothes, and shot her an irritated glare.

He wore a neat set of black fitted clothes and was rather tall. His face indeed looked remarkably similar to Bibi Dong's, though his features were somewhat tougher.

"You thought? Thought my ass!"

"I heard someone yelling about a thief and saw that bastard running this way. I kindly helped chase him down, and what happened? The thief got away, and I got kicked first."

Ling Yuan was in the wrong. After being scolded, she could not even raise her head and could only apologize repeatedly. "Sorry, sorry. I really didn't mean to. I was too anxious."

"A-Are you okay? Is it serious?"

"I'm fine. Forget it, forget it! I'll just consider myself unlucky!"

At that moment, footsteps and angry shouting came from the other end of the alley.

Ling Yuan looked toward the sound and saw two Soul Masters wearing Yelin City patrol uniforms escorting a skinny, shifty-eyed man bound tightly with ropes made of Soul Power. One of them held a bulging money pouch.

"See if this is your money pouch." A patrolman handed it to the fat man.

The fat man took it, inspected it, and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, this is mine."

"Thank you, sirs. And thank you, young man."

He looked gratefully at the black-clad youth, then said to Ling Yuan, "And thank you too, miss, for being so kindhearted. It's just... ahem, ahem, next time, take a closer look first."

Ling Yuan's face reddened even more, and she wanted nothing more than to bury her head in the ground.

The patrolmen briefly asked about what had happened. Upon learning it was a misunderstanding and seeing that no serious harm had been done, they escorted the thief away.

After expressing his gratitude over and over, the fat man also hurried off, clutching his money pouch.

The dim alley was once again left with only Ling Yuan and the displeased purple-haired youth. The atmosphere was so awkward it practically dripped.

"Um... shall I brush off the shoeprint for you?" Ling Yuan stepped forward and reached out her hand.

"No need." The young man turned around and retreated two steps, watching her warily.

"Don't come any closer. Who knows if you'll punch me next?"

Ling Yuan's hand froze in midair before she awkwardly withdrew it.

Looking at the young man's face, so similar to Bibi Dong's, she felt an exceedingly strange sensation quietly arise beneath her embarrassment.

Could there really be people in this world who looked so alike yet had no relation at all?

Or could it be...

"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first." With that, he turned to leave.

"Hey, wait!" As she spoke, she reached out and grabbed his wrist.

The young man stiffened and turned back. "What now?"

"I..."

"My... my name is Ling Yuan."

"You... what's your name?"

The young man raised a brow, seemingly somewhat surprised by her questioning.

"Bibi Xi."

"Bibi... Xi?"

Ling Yuan repeated the name, her heart suddenly skipping a beat.

Not only did he look alike, even his surname was the same?

Only one character differed.

This... this coincidence was far too much, wasn't it?

She instantly recalled the rumors surrounding Saintess Bibi Dong's origins: supposedly, she was an orphan adopted by Spirit Hall at a young age, and her background was a mystery.

Could it be... the Saintess's relatives had not all passed away?

Could this young man be the Saintess's... close relative?

Seeing her continue staring at his face, Bibi Xi suddenly got another idea.

He stroked his chin, the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifting into what he believed was an incredibly charming, slightly roguish smile.

He even casually ran a hand through the loose purple hair hanging over his forehead.

"Miss, although I know I'm quite handsome, you don't need to keep staring at me like that, right? You're making me embarrassed."

Ling Yuan's mouth twitched at his sudden narcissistic remark and hair-flipping gesture.

She rolled her eyes internally. Handsome? He was nowhere near as handsome as His Holiness the Pope.

Oh, no, this face resembled the Saintess... but why was his temperament so punchable?

But she did not show it, because she still had questions.

"Are you... alone?"

"Yeah, single. Currently all alone with no family."

Ling Yuan: "..."

Who was asking about that?

She took a deep breath and resisted the urge to kick him again.

"I wasn't asking whether you were single!"

"Then what were you asking?"

Ling Yuan opened her mouth. The question, "Are your parents still alive? Do you have any sisters?" nearly slipped out.

But when the words reached her lips, she swallowed them back.

No, that was too abrupt.

They had only just met. Asking someone directly whether their parents were still alive was far too rude.

Her eyes shifted as she swiftly changed tactics.

Then, an overly brilliant smile instantly spread across Ling Yuan's face. "Wow, so you're single!"

"As my deepest apology to you, look, I kicked you without knowing the facts and delayed you from catching a thief while doing a good deed. No matter how you look at it, I should properly compensate you."

"Compensate me?"

"Mm, I happen to be hungry too. There's a restaurant up ahead that looks pretty good. My treat. What do you say?"

In her view, this was the perfect solution that killed two birds with one stone.

Not only could she make up for accidentally hurting him, but more importantly, she would have a legitimate reason to spend more time with this Bibi Xi, sound him out, and find out who he really was—and whether he had anything to do with the Saintess.