Yu Xiaolong's large hand gave the pert curve a light smack.
The slap rang out, met with a springy bounce.
Bai Chenxiang jolted upright as if electrocuted, her pretty face instantly flushing crimson.
"Y-you... what are you doing!"
Both embarrassed and furious, she glared at him with wide almond-shaped eyes, wishing she could leap up and bite the old man.
The place no one had ever touched before burned hot.
A strange, tingling numbness crept up her spine, leaving her legs a little weak.
Huo Wu had just come around from behind the tree and happened to see the scene.
The old man's hand still lingered in midair, as if reluctant to leave.
Meanwhile, Bai Chenxiang covered her bottom, her face so red it looked ready to bleed.
"You lecher!"
Huo Wu gritted her teeth and spat the words out. A ball of flame shot into her palm with a whoosh.
She'd known this old man was a lecher, not a decent person. And in broad daylight, he was actually...
Flames danced in her palm, casting shifting light over her beautiful face.
"Hold on."
Yu Xiaolong suddenly raised a hand, his voice turning grave. "Something's moving."
"Something's moving? I think you're the one with a guilty conscience!"
Huo Wu sneered, assuming the old lecher was just changing the subject.
She flipped her wrist, about to send the flames flying.
The next moment, Yu Xiaolong's figure darted toward her like a ghost.
He seized Huo Wu's wrist and used the momentum of her lunge to pull her whole body to his side.
His other hand followed, landing squarely on a full, firm softness.
Through the thin fabric, its astonishing springiness and warmth came clearly into his palm.
Huo Wu was wearing a form-fitting red outfit today, its neckline slightly open.
From this angle, Yu Xiaolong could even see a glimpse of a snowy-white curve, squeezed out of shape through the opening.
"Mm—"
Huo Wu's eyes widened, her mind going completely blank.
Her body—and her chest in particular—was extremely sensitive.
That damned old man was actually doing this in broad daylight...
The seemingly aged hand on her chest was scorching hot, like a branding iron, making her whole body tremble.
"You... you..."
Huo Wu's voice went strangely high, the blush on her face spreading from her cheeks all the way to her ears.
She raised a hand to slap him, but he had her wrist in a crushing grip, leaving her unable to move.
"Don't move."
Yu Xiaolong's voice was low, utterly devoid of humor.
His gaze passed over her shoulder, fixed on the depths of the forest, his pupils contracting slightly.
An intensely frigid presence emanated from there, as if something had opened its eyes in the darkness.
Huo Wu abruptly stopped struggling.
Bai Chenxiang sensed something amiss too. The chill made the hairs on her back stand on end.
The two girls exchanged a glance and simultaneously drew in their auras.
Only then did Yu Xiaolong release Huo Wu. She immediately stepped back twice, shielding her chest with both hands.
She bit her lower lip, wanting to curse him out, but the oppressive presence choked off her words.
Bai Chenxiang took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
As an agility-type Soul Master, speed was her greatest advantage. She was the obvious choice to scout ahead.
"I'll go take a look."
She lowered her voice, touched a toe to the tree trunk, and shot off like a wisp of smoke.
Huo Wu instinctively tried to stop her, but it was already too late.
Bai Chenxiang's figure darted through the forest, leaping several times and circling around a few towering ancient trees.
Moonlight filtered through gaps in the canopy, casting mottled shadows across the ground.
She stopped on a thick branch, held her breath, and parted the leaves in front of her.
Then she saw it.
A dense mass of black fog churned and writhed among the trees, streaked with eerie green light.
Within the fog, a lean figure appeared and disappeared, cloaked from head to toe in black.
On the other side of the Ghost Fog, a young Soul Master lay sprawled on the ground, his face ashen.
Gui Mei raised a hand. A revolting aura of darkness gathered in his gaunt palm.
He was going to kill someone.
Bai Chenxiang had no time to think. Her body had already reacted.
"Stop!"
She shouted and shot out from the canopy, landing in front of the young Soul Master.
Her Martial Soul, the Sharp-tailed Swallow, took shape behind her, its wings gleaming blue-green in the moonlight.
Gui Mei's movements paused slightly, and the black fog slowly turned toward her.
Beneath his hood, a pair of scarlet eyes regarded the unexpected visitor with interest.
Bai Chenxiang spread her arms, shielding the complete stranger behind her.
"Who are you? Why are you trying to kill him? That's wrong!"
Her voice was clear, carrying a young girl's stubbornness and innocence.
There was no fear in her bright eyes, only pure anger and confusion.
As far as she'd understood the world growing up, Soul Masters were supposed to fight openly and fairly, not bully the weak with their strength.
Gui Mei said nothing. He only tilted his head.
As if he'd heard a joke that was too funny for words.
"Wrong?"
His voice was hoarse and grating, like rusty metal scraping across glass.
At the other end of the clearing, Ye Renxin had just arrived with Ye Lingling.
The old man recognized the mass of Ghost Fog at once, and his heart sank.
That was Gui Mei, an elder of Spirit Hall and a Titled Douluo—one of the most powerful figures on the entire continent.
And the young girl standing in front of Gui Mei was actually trying to reason with him.
"This is bad... this is bad..."
Ye Renxin murmured, his face ashen.
Ye Lingling clutched her grandfather's sleeve tightly. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
Her bearing was cool and aloof, but her eyes were more urgent than anyone else's.
That girl had no idea what she was up against.
They weren't even on the same level. She was trying to debate the god of death.
Gui Mei licked his cracked lips and gave a cruel smile.
He said nothing. He simply raised the hand gathering Soul Power.
"Ghost Claw Assault."
His voice was low, as if it had come from a grave.
Fourth Spirit Skill.
The black fog erupted. Several pitch-black claw shadows burst out of it, so fast they tore through the air.
Bai Chenxiang's pupils contracted sharply.
She tried to dodge, but the frigid aura was like countless chains, binding her limbs tight.
It was the pressure of a Titled Douluo, so overwhelming that even her Martial Soul wailed.
She'd never known the gap between people could be this vast.
So vast that she couldn't even dodge.
The pitch-black claws struck her chest, and a terrifying force sent her flying.
Her body sailed like a kite with its strings cut, snapping several thick branches before crashing into the trunk of a tree.
Bai Chenxiang spat out a mouthful of blood. The pain in her chest nearly suffocated her.
Her consciousness began to blur, and her body fell helplessly toward the ground.
Is it... over just like this?
A thought flashed through her mind, desperate and cold.
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