Dai Mubai and Tang San hurried over to Oscar and Ma Hongjun.
Tang San's expression was grave. He crouched beside Oscar and examined the claw mark on his shoulder, deep enough to expose bone. Soul Power gathered at his fingertips as he swiftly tapped several acupoints, temporarily stemming the gushing blood.
Then he took some wound-healing powder from Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges and sprinkled it over the injury.
The wound on Ma Hongjun's chest looked even more frightening, with flesh torn and curled back. Fortunately, he had a thick layer of fat, and his internal organs were unharmed.
Already gritting his teeth against the pain, he grabbed one of the Recovery Big Sausages Oscar had made that day and wolfed it down. His complexion improved somewhat.
Dai Mubai stood in front of the two of them, staring at Zhu Zhuqing across from him with a complicated look and furrowed brows.
The Hell Spirit Cat... He knew that Martial Soul all too well!
It was a top-tier agility-type Martial Soul passed down through generations of the Zhu Clan in the Star Luo Empire. It complemented the Dai Clan's White Tiger Martial Soul, and the two families had a tradition of intermarriage.
But why would a girl with the Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul suddenly appear in a border town of the Heaven Dou Empire?
And judging by her age and Soul Power... A dreadful suspicion surfaced in his mind.
Zhu Zhuqing merely stared back at him coldly. There wasn't a ripple in her catlike eyes, as if she were looking at a stranger.
She hadn't dispelled her Martial Soul Possession, keeping herself ready to strike again at any moment.
Just as Dai Mubai parted his lips, hoping to cautiously ask her something, Ning Rongrong fearlessly stepped forward and shielded Zhu Zhuqing slightly behind her.
Her little face was full of anger as she demanded in a clear voice:
"What? From the looks of you, are you pals with those two lechers?"
"First the little ones, now the big ones?"
She put extra emphasis on "big ones" as her gaze swept over Dai Mubai and Tang San.
"Boss Dai! I can't swallow this, Fatty! Get revenge for your brother!"
Ma Hongjun shouted indistinctly around his mouthful of sausage, his little eyes full of spite.
At Ma Hongjun's cry, Dai Mubai temporarily suppressed his suspicions. His expression darkened as he looked at Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, his voice pressing them for an answer:
"You two went too far. You injured my companions, so you owe us an explanation."
"An explanation?" Ning Rongrong gave a cold laugh, as though she'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. Her voice suddenly rose. "You've got some nerve!"
"Your companions were the ones who came over to harass us first, making lewd remarks and behaving rudely!"
"We merely acted in self-defense. How did that somehow become our fault?"
"Were the two of us supposed to stand there and let your pack of thugs harass us and lay their hands on us?"
Her words rang clear and forceful, her reasoning sound. Among the diners and guests who had initially only been watching the commotion, quite a few now looked approving or scornful, pointing and whispering about Dai Mubai and the others.
"Hmph! Enough talk!"
Dai Mubai's face burned with embarrassment, and his anger flared.
Yellow, yellow, and purple Soul Rings rose beneath his feet. The phantom of the Evil Eye White Tiger appeared faintly behind him, and he released the full pressure of a Soul Elder, hoping to intimidate them with his strength.
"This is the world of Soul Masters! Strength is the only truth!"
"If you don't give my companions a satisfactory explanation today, you're not leaving here so easily!"
"Ha! Big words!"
Ning Rongrong wasn't scared in the least. Instead, she laughed in anger, puffed out her little chest, and said each word distinctly:
"Forget you—even if the king of the Balak Kingdom himself were here, he wouldn't dare speak to me that way!"
The moment she said this, the entire hall fell silent in shock!
The onlookers looked at one another and started whispering.
"The king of the Balak Kingdom wouldn't dare talk to her like that? Who is this girl?"
"She's bluffing, right? She's young, but she sure has a big mouth!"
"Look at her bearing and clothes, and that Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda... Maybe she really does have some powerful connections..."
Dai Mubai's heart tightened too, but with the arrow already nocked, he had no choice but to go through with it. He forced himself to sound imposing, though his words betrayed his unease:
"Aren't you just a disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? Other people may fear your sect, but I, Dai Mubai, don't!"
"Apologize right now and compensate my companions for their injuries. Then I might consider letting you off!"
Even so, the hint of retreat in his voice was unmistakable.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was one of the Upper Three Sects, richer than a kingdom and allied with powers across the land. He couldn't afford to provoke them carelessly.
"Why should we apologize?" Ning Rongrong refused to yield. Her clear, ringing voice carried across the entire hall. "Your companions were the ones who harassed and provoked us first! We were only defending ourselves!"
"According to your logic, does having the bigger fist mean you can twist right and wrong and do whatever you please?!"
"Exactly!"
A cruel glint flashed in Dai Mubai's eyes. Almost without thinking, he blurted out the distorted "might makes right" logic of Shrek.
"Because I'm stronger than you! According to the rules of the Soul Master World..."
"Oh? The rules of the Soul Master World?"
A clear yet somewhat icy voice came from the staircase on the second floor.
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw a pretty young girl in a pink-and-white dress walking down the stairs one step at a time.
Her features were delicate and adorable, but her face was expressionless. She swept her gaze over Dai Mubai and the others, then said coldly:
"According to the rules of the Soul Master World, if we're stronger than you, does that mean we can make you kneel, kowtow, apologize, and submit to our every whim?"
"Xiao Wu?!" The instant Tang San saw the girl in pink, his heart gave a violent jolt. This is bad!
Xiao Wu was that bastard Zhao Linchuan's personal maid!
If she was here, then... that terrifying Zhao Linchuan might be nearby too!
He instinctively wanted to grab Dai Mubai and warn him to be careful.
But Dai Mubai was already furious after being repeatedly challenged by Ning Rongrong. Now he saw a pink-clad girl who looked even younger and, apparently, easier to bully daring to butt in. He immediately took out his anger on her.
He looked Xiao Wu up and down and said scornfully:
"You? A little yellow-haired brat who hasn't even finished growing, and you dare run your mouth here?"
"Yellow-haired brat?!" At those four words, Xiao Wu's eyes instantly turned cold.
It was one thing for her young master to tease her now and then, but who did this clueless little punk think he was, calling her that?
Her gaze sharpened, and a layer of pink Soul Power glimmered around her. Her figure instantly blurred!
The very next moment—
Xiao Wu appeared out of thin air a foot in front of Dai Mubai, her figure as elusive as mist!
She was so close that Dai Mubai could even catch the faint, sweet fragrance of a young girl!
"What?!" Dai Mubai was horrified. Her speed was simply astonishing!
He reflexively tried to activate the White Tiger Protection Barrier and throw a punch in retaliation.
But it was too late!
Before you continue