Rescuing Little Kitten

Lu Xian cursed the other party for wasting time. Well, how about that? They'd been cornered.

Seeing that every escape route was blocked, a flicker of despair crossed Little Kitten's eyes.

But there was no way she'd surrender without a fight. Two Soul Rings rose in succession from beneath her feet, and she looked ready to make a desperate last stand.

Cruel smiles spread across the faces of the pursuing killers. Their leader stepped forward and eyed the wounded Little Kitten with a mocking grin.

"Why put yourself through this, miss? Why not just surrender?"

After speaking, the leader glanced at Lu Xian nearby and furrowed his brow.

"Why's there someone else here?"

"No idea. Maybe he's a traveler who happened to pass by."

"Hmph. Then take care of him quickly. His bad luck."

With that, the leader didn't spare Lu Xian another glance. His attention was fixed entirely on Little Kitten.

"Yes, boss."

Watching one of the killers approach him with a sneer, Lu Xian nearly laughed in anger.

He hadn't even planned to get involved!

But they'd decided his fate after only a few words. It seemed he needed to teach these people a lesson.

In fact, if Qian Renxue hadn't been around, Zhu Zhuqing would have been the best candidate for his sixth employee.

Now that he thought about it, she'd make a decent reserve for his Seventh Soul Ring.

"Kid, blame your bad luck."

"I'll make it quick. You won't feel any pain..."

Before he'd even finished speaking, the killer who'd been sneering so arrogantly turned into an ice statue in an instant. His cruel grin remained frozen on his face. Clearly, he hadn't even realized what had happened.

The sight drew everyone's attention at once, including Little Kitten's.

The leader turned and stared at Lu Xian in disbelief.

"So you're a Soul Master too?"

The three killers surrounded Lu Xian in a triangle and released their Martial Souls.

All three were Soul Elders, with the optimal Soul Ring configuration.

Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth, but in the end decided to warn him. After all, she was the reason these killers had come.

He'd been caught in the crossfire.

"Be careful. These men are strong."

"Strong? How strong?"

"Just seven Soul Elders and one Soul Ancestor."

"Oh, no. This one here's a dead man, so that leaves six Soul Elders."

Lu Xian's utter disregard for them left the killers stunned. Then their expressions darkened, and they fixed him with murderous stares.

"Kid, are you asking to die?"

Lu Xian's age was misleading. Even now, the leader still thought they had the advantage.

With a quiet laugh, Lu Xian slowly stepped forward until he was beside the Soul Elder frozen in ice.

He flicked the statue lightly with his index finger. It shattered at once, scattering into countless pieces across the ground.

Then he looked around and addressed the leader.

"Nice place. You don't mind if it becomes your graveyard, do you?"

Before the killer could answer, Lu Xian moved. A purple Soul Ring quietly rose and lit up.

The moisture in the air instantly condensed, forming a sky full of ice spikes that blanketed everything within a hundred meters.

Only then did the killers realize the difference in strength between them.

The leader shot Zhu Zhuqing a dark look, then gave his order.

"Fall back! Scatter!"

The others watched their boss sprint into the distance in a daze, then quickly turned and fled after him.

But how could Lu Xian let them put on a show and run away?

He pressed one hand down in midair. The ice spikes overhead seemed to receive his command and plunged down at once.

Screams quickly spread throughout the forest. The slower killers were soon skewered like hedgehogs.

The ice spikes turned blood-red.

The lone leader, who'd managed to flee faster than the others, had barely started to celebrate when a nearly five-meter-long emerald python burst out of the woods in front of him.

The giant serpent swiftly coiled around him, bundling him up like a dumpling before he could react.

Just as the leader prepared to fight back with all his strength, Xiao Qing opened his mouth and spat out a cloud of poison. The surrounding vegetation withered at a visible speed.

The killer had already been struggling to breathe under the python's crushing coils. After inhaling a few mouthfuls of poison, he instantly lost the ability to resist.

Half a minute later, his eyes rolled back and he stopped breathing.

Lu Xian surveyed the area, clapped his hands in satisfaction, then turned toward Zhu Zhuqing.

"I was saying, after you saw me just now, you could've simply gone around—uh..."

Lu Xian had been about to scold her, but he saw Little Kitten lying on her side in a bizarre pose, trembling on the ground.

Several half-meter-long ice spikes were embedded beside her calves, waist, and neck.

Her skin was already showing varying degrees of frostbite.

Zhu Zhuqing stared at Lu Xian in terror. Whether from fear or cold, her voice trembled as she spoke.

"C-can you get me out first?"

At that, Lu Xian slapped his forehead.

He'd been so busy dealing with the killers that he'd forgotten Little Kitten was near the edge of the attack's range too.

Luckily, there hadn't been as many ice spikes on her side. Otherwise, she'd have turned into a hedgehog by now.

He stepped closer and saw that the spikes had pinned Zhu Zhuqing to the ground, leaving her unable to move.

And Little Kitten's legs-spread pose was truly indecent.

He snapped his fingers. The ice spikes embedded in the ground shattered on the spot.

Newly freed, Zhu Zhuqing hurriedly rubbed her arms. She was clearly too cold to bear it.

"Uh, that was an accident. An accident!"

Zhu Zhuqing rolled her eyes and used her Soul Power to drive the chill from her body. Only then did she get up and take a careful look at the person who'd saved her life.

"Thank you."

"No problem. You're from the Zhu Family of Star Luo, right?"

"Judging by the situation, you're a contender for this generation's position as imperial consort?"

Zhu Zhuqing lowered her eyes, her expression a little gloomy. She didn't seem surprised that Lu Xian had recognized her at a glance.

The old customs of the Star Luo Empire were hardly a secret.

"All right. If there's nothing else, go do what you need to do. This place reeks of blood, so I can't stay here. I'll find somewhere else too."

After a brief chat, Lu Xian had no intention of saying more to his potential employee.

He had to act like a proper capitalist if he wanted to exploit his employees more effectively.

Women would only slow his progress.

Watching Lu Xian return to pack his tent without the slightest hesitation, Zhu Zhuqing raised her hand a little, then lowered it again.

She still had her own business to take care of. She couldn't waste too much time here either.

A thousand words caught in her throat became a single "thank you." Then she turned and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

Rescuing Zhu Zhuqing had been a brief detour. With no appetite left for camping, Lu Xian took out his Broom and rode off toward Suotuo City once more.

As luck would have it, Lu Xian spotted Little Kitten running below him.

Only then did he remember that she seemed to be heading toward Suotuo City too.

He steered the Broom lower, weaving nimbly through the dense forest.

Little Kitten had her head down as she hurried along when she suddenly felt a gust of wind sweep overhead. She looked up and saw a remarkable sight.

The man who'd just saved her was riding a broom, hovering motionless above her.

Little Kitten, caught off guard, jumped in fright and ran straight into the giant tree in front of her.

"Ah!"

"Thud!"

Leaves fluttered slowly down.

Lu Xian stopped and covered his face, unable to watch.