"Shut up!"
Just then, Gu Yue finally couldn't take it anymore.
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie were both such weaklings. They couldn't even beat a random Two-Ring Soul Master. They were completely useless.
"Shut up!"
Just then, Gu Yue finally couldn't take it anymore.
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie were both such weaklings. They couldn't even beat a random Two-Ring Soul Master. They were completely useless.
Besides, she hated it when people interrupted her while she was eating!
The next moment.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
A fierce wind suddenly sprang up.
A terrifying fireball abruptly gathered within the gale, carrying waves of scorching heat as it slammed toward Light Dragon, who had his back to her!
The fireball was already incredibly fast. Now, with the gale propelling it violently forward, it moved so quickly that no one could react. Almost the instant it formed, it was already behind Light Dragon.
"What?!"
Light Dragon barely had time to feel the terrifying heat and pressure of the wind rushing at him from the side. Alarm bells rang in his mind, and he was horrified.
Relying entirely on his battle instincts, he hastily poured Soul Power into his Martial Soul, the Iron Armored Dragon. Layer upon layer of gray scales instantly covered his body as he tried to withstand the sudden attack.
Then...
"BOOM—!!!"
The fireball, infused with the combined elemental power of wind and fire, slammed squarely into Light Dragon's completely unguarded back!
"AAAH—!!!"
A shrill scream rang through the little shop.
Light Dragon flew forward several meters like a rag doll, crashed heavily to the ground, then tumbled several times before coming to a stop.
The clothes on his back instantly turned to ash. Under the violent elemental impact, the scales covering him burst apart like paper, leaving him torn open and bloody.
It wasn't just his back, which had taken the direct hit. The powerful shock wave and scattering sparks left scorch marks all over the rest of his body, too.
A large patch of his gleaming bald head had been singed as well, leaving him in a sorry state.
The agonizing pain made his vision go black, and he passed out on the spot, foaming at the mouth. He had clearly suffered severe injuries and wouldn't be able to fight again anytime soon.
"Boss! Boss, are you okay?!"
The two lackeys Light Dragon had brought along, who had been watching from the doorway, finally snapped out of it. They shrieked in terror as they rushed over and fumbled to help the half-dead Light Dragon up.
One of them plucked up the courage to shout at Gu Yue, putting on a brave front despite his fear. "Y-You dared to hurt our boss! Do you know his big brother is the captain of Eastsea City's Mecha Squad? Our boss won't let you get away with this!"
"Get lost!"
Gu Yue couldn't even be bothered to raise her eyelids. She merely waved her hand impatiently.
"Rumble!"
The ground shook violently, and several hard rocks suddenly thrust up from beneath the two lackeys' feet!
"Ah!"
The two lackeys had no time to dodge. With screams, they were flung into the air and landed in a heap.
Now they were completely terrified. They didn't dare threaten anyone anymore. Scrambling back to their feet, they ignored their pain and hurriedly joined forces to carry the unconscious Light Dragon away from the shop. They didn't even dare look back.
"So... so strong..."
Nearby, Xie Xie, who had just gotten up from the floor, and Tang Wulin, who was clutching his backside, were both stunned.
Light Dragon, whom the two of them had struggled to handle together, had been instantly defeated by Gu Yue.
They had known Gu Yue was strong, but they hadn't realized just how wide the gap between them was.
Now that they had a comparison, they finally understood how vast the difference was.
"Th-Thank you for saving us, miss! We really owe you one!"
Uncle Li, the shopkeeper, hurried to his feet and bowed deeply to Gu Yue. "Today's Braised Beef Stew is on the house for all of you! I can't thank you enough!"
Although most of his shop had been wrecked in the fight,
he understood that if she hadn't stepped in, Light Dragon and his men would probably have smashed the whole place to pieces.
"Don't thank me. I just hate it when people interrupt me while I'm eating."
Gu Yue waved a hand and said casually.
To her, dealing with Light Dragon had been no more than swatting away a noisy fly. The only thing that mattered was that the fly had disturbed her meal. Nothing more.
"Boss, I'm sorry about this."
Su Chen walked over, a hint of apology on his face.
He casually took a heavy little cloth pouch from his Storage Soul Tool and insisted on pressing it into the shopkeeper's hand. "This is compensation for the damage my junior sister did to your shop. Sorry for disrupting your business."
Uncle Li felt the weight of the pouch in his hand. It was definitely filled with plenty of Gold Soul Coins.
He hurriedly tried to give it back. "I can't accept this! You helped me out so much. How could I take your money, too?"
"Come on, boss. Let's not talk about that."
Su Chen cut off the shopkeeper's protests, shoved the pouch into his hand, and urged him, "Go finish making the rest of the Braised Beef Stew. We have other things to do after we eat."
The Gold Soul Coins were more than enough to cover the damage to the shop. They could even make up for the losses from being unable to open for the next ten days or half a month.
Su Chen wasn't deliberately trying to be charitable. He just felt that Gu Yue had no idea how to hold back and had damaged public property.
As her senior brother, it was only reasonable for him to clean up after her.
As for the extra, he'd give it to the shopkeeper as a small gesture, simply because he liked the man.
He always did whatever he felt like.
"Thank you... thank you all! I'll get right on it. It'll be ready in a moment!"
After speaking, the shopkeeper clutched the pouch tightly and hurried back to the kitchen, full of energy.
Su Chen and Gu Yue returned to the relatively clean table and sat down.
Xie Xie limped over, his face still dusty and his clothes torn. He looked rather bedraggled.
He looked at Su Chen and Gu Yue, opening his mouth as if he couldn't quite bring himself to speak. In the end, he managed to squeeze out a quiet, "Th-Thanks..."
He was usually proud, but they had genuinely saved his life. He could at least bring himself to thank them for that.
Still, his attempt to maintain his cool, composed manner while looking so miserable was rather comical.
"Little brat, you really care about your pride."
Gu Yue set down her cup and glanced at him, her tone clearly teasing.
"W-What do you mean, little brat?!"
Xie Xie was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He bristled at once, his face turning bright red. "We're practically the same age!"
"Humph."
Gu Yue couldn't be bothered to argue. She simply gave him a disdainful glance and turned away, as if even looking at him for one more second would be a waste of time.
Xie Xie: "..."
Xie Xie was so angry that his chest heaved and his fists clenched.
But he couldn't beat her, and she had just saved his life. What could he do?
All he could do was glare at her in frustration, his face growing even redder.
"All right, Gu Yue. Stop picking on him."
Su Chen rubbed his forehead helplessly and said to Gu Yue, "And next time you fight, try to control your strength. Look at what you've done to the shop!"
He pointed at the wreckage of tables, chairs, and walls around them, looking exasperated.
If the shop had had no load-bearing columns where they'd fought, Gu Yue's fireball might have brought the whole building down.
After Gu Yue had been separated from Na'er, she had lost some of her kindness and taken on quite a bit of the Little Demoness's character.
"How was I supposed to worry about all that at the time?"
Gu Yue gave Su Chen a sly wink. There wasn't the slightest trace of remorse on her face. If anything, she looked entirely justified.
Drawing out her words, she said with a grin, "Besides, don't I have you to bail me out, my dear senior brother?"
She had actually done it on purpose.
After all, with Su Chen there as her senior brother, she didn't need to worry about cleaning up afterward.
The feeling was new to her.
When she had been the Lord of Soul Beasts, she had always stood in front of all the Soul Beasts, shouldering the immense burden of keeping the entire race alive and bailing them out.
Now, all of a sudden, there was someone who could stand in front of her and handle all these trivial troubles for her. It made her feel lighter than ever before—and even a little indulgent.
"All right, all right. You win..."
Looking at Gu Yue's utterly unapologetic expression, Su Chen could only shake his head and smile wryly.
Gu Yue was right. After all, she was his junior sister.
Cleaning up a few little messes for her seemed only natural.
Besides, he knew Gu Yue. She had a bit of a fiery temper and didn't know how to hold back, but she wasn't a bad person. She wouldn't do anything truly outrageous. At worst, she'd cause him a little trouble like she had today.
Even if he went to Leng Yaozhu and complained about this, it wouldn't help.
The youngest junior sister was always the most doted on.
No matter how much Leng Yaozhu liked Su Chen, when it came to this matter, she would absolutely take Gu Yue's side.
She might even scold Su Chen for not looking after Gu Yue properly.
Su Chen knew this all too well.
In a flash, Uncle Li came hurrying over with a steaming pot of Braised Beef Stew, wearing a grateful smile. "Here, here! It's just come off the stove, so be careful—it's hot. Take your time, everyone. There's plenty!"
The rich fragrance of the meat filled the air again, temporarily driving away the smell of gunpowder left by the fight.
Gu Yue's eyes lit up. She immediately picked up her chopsticks, having completely forgotten the little disturbance from earlier.
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie also dug in heartily.
Before you continue