Land of Lightning Pursuers

Tears shimmered in Samui's eyes. As the most direct victim of this whole affair, she felt utterly helpless.

"Mingyou, what... what should I do?"

Mingyou reached out and pulled her into his arms, gently stroking her soft hair as he comforted her in a low voice. "You can't go back to the Land of Lightning. I'm afraid you can only follow me from now on."

Hearing Mingyou's voice murmuring by her ear, Samui could no longer hold back her emotions and burst into tears.

"Wuwu... But my family, everything I have, is in the Land of Lightning. Wuwu... You want me to just leave with you? Wouldn't that mean wandering everywhere from now on, never seeing my family again?"

Seeing Samui cry so sorrowfully, Mingyou's heart ached as well. His arms unconsciously tightened around her.

That was right. Leaving one's homeland was something no one wanted to do, but sometimes things simply went against one's wishes.

What had happened had happened. There was no longer any path back for Samui.

If she truly returned, even if the enraged Raikage did not kill her, she would probably only spend her days imprisoned in a cell from then on.

After a long while, Samui finally seemed to have cried herself out, and her sobs gradually stopped.

"I'm fine now, Mingyou. Let me go."

"Hehe, let you go? How could there be such a good thing?" Mingyou chuckled wickedly. Having held that soft body in his arms all this time, his desire had long been stirred. How could he possibly let her off so easily?

Without another word, Mingyou scooped Samui up and placed her atop a stone platform. He gently undid her buttons, lowered his head, and began kissing her.

This was not Samui's first time being intimate with Mingyou, so she did not resist at all. Instead, she responded eagerly and passionately.

After a fierce bout of lovemaking, the two finally settled down and gradually regained their composure.

"Grrr~~"

Samui's stomach let out an embarrassing growl. Her cheeks flushed red as she said, "I'm hungry. I haven't eaten anything all day."

"I heard it. Your stomach's pretty loud." Mingyou nodded and rolled over, sitting up from the platform.

"Hmph!" Samui snorted and shot Mingyou a slightly reproachful glare. "Are you planning to keep me locked up here for the rest of my life?"

"Who said that? I couldn't bear to." Mingyou shook his head and began straightening his clothes. "You'll stay with me from now on, okay?"

"I'll keep you safe. As for your family in the Land of Lightning, I'll find a way to bring them over someday too. How does that sound?"

Samui's body trembled slightly. She had not expected Mingyou to have taken all the things she said earlier to heart.

It seemed that this guy, who was several years younger than her, had plenty of good qualities aside from being a shameless womanizer.

At least he thought about others.

Samui's eyes reddened as she nodded. "Mm. Thank you, Mingyou."

Smack!

Mingyou raised a hand and gave Samui's perky backside a slap, a smile appearing on his lips. "There's no need to say that between us."

Amid a violent wave of spatial distortion, Mingyou and Samui appeared out of thin air.

It was already close to midnight. Apart from the chirping of insects, the forest was exceptionally quiet.

Mingyou led Samui swiftly out of the woods and raced toward the next town.

They definitely could not casually return to the town where the Lord's Manor was located.

The Fourth Raikage might already have dispatched a large number of people to search the city for Mingyou's whereabouts.

Thus, they could only travel along the route out of the Land of Hot Springs while looking for an inn to rest in.

They passed through the forest all the way without any mishaps.

They had not even seen a single living person.

About two hours later, Mingyou and Samui finally emerged from the forest. In the distance, they could see a brightly lit town.

"Let's go."

Mingyou called out and led Samui racing toward it.

It was not only Samui who had not eaten. Mingyou was in the same situation. They had spent the past few days rushing along the road and had barely rested properly.

They had only just arrived at the Lord of Hot Springs's Manor when they happened to encounter the Four Kage Summit.

There was no need to mention what followed. Other than drinking a pot of tea and eating a few pastries in the guest room, Mingyou, like Samui, had not eaten anything all day.

His stomach had long been growling with hunger.

Soon, the two stepped onto the streets of the small town. It was past two in the morning, yet quite a few vendors were still busy at roadside stalls selling snacks along the night market streets.

Although there were not many pedestrians, there were quite a few people coming out in twos and threes to buy late-night food.

"They're over there. Hurry back and report to Lord Raikage."

"They look like they came out to eat. Should we gather the people nearby and surround them first?"

At the entrance of a dark alley, two ragged men who looked like beggars pointed at Mingyou and Samui.

After the two beggars exchanged a few words, one of them backed away and swiftly fled the scene, running deeper into the alley.

Meanwhile, Mingyou and Samui, who were already starving, had yet to notice the anomaly in the darkness by the alley entrance.

They ordered a huge pile of food and sat at a small table set up by the vendor for customers, eating with great relish.

"Eat slower. Are you rushing to reincarnate? Be careful not to choke."

Samui glared at Mingyou helplessly. The way he wolfed down his food made him look as though he had not eaten in eight hundred years.

"It's good, so of course I have to eat fast."

With his mouth stuffed full of rice balls, Mingyou explained indistinctly, "If you eat as slowly as you do, when will you ever get full?"

"I can't argue with you." Samui rolled her eyes at Mingyou, but she continued chewing and swallowing at her own leisurely pace.

But before long, Samui suddenly sensed that something was wrong. Some of the people around them seemed to glance in their direction, intentionally or otherwise.

"Hey, Mingyou, I think we're being watched."

"I know." Mingyou nodded and continued eating. "That's why I told you to hurry up. We'll have to start fighting again soon."

"Huh?" Samui was speechless. So that was what Mingyou had meant.

From dark corners, figures appeared one after another and began closing in on Mingyou and Samui.

Mingyou finished the last meat skewer in one bite, rose to his feet, and looked around.

Most of the people surrounding them erupted in puffs of white smoke as they dispelled their Transformation Jutsu and returned to their original appearances.

It turned out that every one of them was a ninja from the Land of Lightning, disguised and lying in wait here.

"Samui, come back with us obediently. You don't want Lord Raikage to be completely disappointed in you, do you?"

Darui drew the massive cleaver from his back and slowly stepped forward, silently staring at Samui.