The Rabbit and the Little Princess, Their First United Front

"You understand, but the Zhu Family's affairs aren't for outsiders to meddle in."

Commander Zhu raised an arm and pressed it down. The guards around them immediately closed in, their torches lighting up the edge of Broken Slope.

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect may carry weight in Heaven Dou, but that doesn't give you the right to meddle in the Zhu Family's marriage arrangements in the Star Luo Empire. If word of this gets out, even Sect Master Ning may have trouble explaining himself."

Ning Chuan stepped forward half a pace. The Seven Treasures Pattern token hung at his waist, and the guards had already spread out on both sides.

"Commander Zhu, don't speak too soon. My young lady is right behind me."

Commander Zhu sneered.

"Miss Ning is a pampered young lady. Why get her hands dirty for a runaway girl from the Zhu Family?"

From the woods came the rustle of a skirt brushing through the grass.

Ning Rongrong stepped out of the shadows. She took the Seven Treasures Token from her waist, its face catching the firelight.

"All I see is a group of people chasing an injured girl."

Commander Zhu's expression darkened.

"Miss Ning, this is family law."

Ning Rongrong raised the Seven Treasures Token to her chest.

"You bring your family law all the way to Broken Slope? The Zhu Family sure knows how to follow the rules."

Xiao Wu leaped out from the other side. The Concealment Talisman tucked inside her collar was firmly in place. She stood half a step in front of Zhu Zhuqing, her toes lightly touching the ground.

"And you have the nerve to bring up the marriage arrangement?"

"The runaway prince is living it up in Suotuo City. You don't go after him, but you chase his fiancée instead. The Zhu Family sure knows how to pick on the weak."

The guards behind Commander Zhu exchanged glances, and their torches dipped a little.

Zhu Zhuqing leaned against the edge of Broken Slope, her short dagger still held across her body. Blood from her shoulder had soaked through her clothes.

She didn't lower her dagger.

Su Hang stood in front of her, lightning crawling along the ground at his feet. It blocked their routes in and out without bearing down on her.

"It's only natural that she doesn't trust us."

Ning Rongrong turned her head and chimed in.

"If I'd been chased all the way here, I wouldn't trust people so easily either."

Xiao Wu glanced back at Zhu Zhuqing.

"Don't charge in yet. I'm right here. No one's getting past me."

Zhu Zhuqing didn't reply, but she shifted back half an inch, away from the crumbling edge.

Commander Zhu noticed the movement and swept his arm.

"Go around Su Hang and take Second Miss away."

Two Agility-type Soul Masters pressed in from the flanks at once. One slipped along the bushes; the other trod over the loose stones beside Broken Slope. Both moved swiftly.

Ning Chuan immediately sprang forward.

"Stop the one on the left."

A Soul Ring lit beneath Ning Rongrong's feet. The Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda rose above her palm, and a wash of colored light fell over Ning Chuan and the two guards.

"Seven Treasures Have Names, first: speed."

The Seven Treasures Guards immediately quickened. They rapidly made up the distance they'd fallen behind and intercepted the man on the left.

Ning Chuan called out in a low voice.

"Miss, keep the boost steady."

Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth, but the pagoda's light didn't waver.

"Quit talking and aim properly. This is my first time providing support in a real fight. Don't make me look bad."

Xiao Wu had already met the man on the right.

Soul Power surged beneath his feet as he tried to slip past her shoulder.

Xiao Wu bent at the waist and used the Soft Bone Movement Technique to evade his slashing arm. Then she hooked a foot into the back of his knee.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Thump.

The Agility-type Soul Master was kicked into a tree trunk. His back slammed against the rough bark, and his torch fell into the wet mud.

Xiao Wu landed and brushed off her skirt.

"Some Agility-type Soul Master you are. You can't even snatch someone properly."

Ning Rongrong immediately picked up the joke from behind her.

"Rabbit, I'm giving you extra points today."

Xiao Wu glanced back and gave a snort.

"Save the seat argument for later. Let's rescue her first."

Su Hang didn't use the Dark Demon Evil God Wings or unleash any big move.

Dark Purple Lightning spread low across the ground. The wet mud in the woods smoked as it crackled with electricity, and every time the pursuers tried to move, their legs went numb for half a beat.

Commander Zhu quickly realized something was wrong.

"His lightning is blocking the way. Don't step into the dark patches."

Su Hang raised a fingertip, and the line of lightning shifted forward by half a foot.

"A bit late with that warning."

The Soul Master on the right had just gotten back up and tried to charge again. The moment his toes touched the lightning, his legs locked up, and he pitched straight forward.

Xiao Wu added a kick, sending him back into the guards.

"Get back in line. No cutting."

Zhu Zhuqing stood at the edge of Broken Slope, her short dagger lowered and her cat tail swaying lightly.

She didn't let this opening pass.

The speed granted by her Hell Spirit Cat possession surged again. She darted along the edge of the lightning, her short dagger slicing across one pursuer's sleeve.

The fabric split, and his wrist guard fell to the ground.

The pursuer staggered back several steps, humiliated.

Zhu Zhuqing's voice rang out coldly.

"I'm not done yet."

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up, and she immediately called out.

"Good one, Zhu Zhuqing! Beautiful strike!"

Xiao Wu nodded too.

"You've got spirit. I like you."

Hearing them, Commander Zhu's expression turned utterly grim.

"Second Miss, have you forgotten how the Zhu Family raised you all these years?"

The wound in Zhu Zhuqing's shoulder pulled open. She stumbled, but still raised her short dagger.

"The Zhu Family raised me so it could shove me into this marriage arrangement and make me fight for my life."

Commander Zhu pressed forward a step.

"Without the Zhu Family, where would you have gotten your Martial Soul cultivation? Who would have provided your resources?"

Zhu Zhuqing steadied herself, her reply even colder.

"You gave me resources, so now you want my life in return?"

Commander Zhu was briefly stumped, then barked, "The marriage between the Dai and Zhu families concerns the Star Luo Empire's grand design. As the Zhu Family's Second Miss, you should accept this path."

Ning Rongrong immediately blew up.

"Spare me that. Using the grand design to pressure people is easy when you're not the one paying the price."

Xiao Wu planted her feet more firmly.

"You talk about the grand design, Dai Mubai talks about living carefree, and in the end, she's the only one carrying the burden. The Zhu Family sure knows how to work an abacus."

Ning Chuan led the Seven Treasures Guards in holding the left flank. With the pagoda's speed boost, the Zhu Family's pursuers couldn't get into position at all.

Sweat began to gather on Ning Rongrong's forehead, but she kept the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda steady in her palm.

"Uncle Ning Chuan, don't let them circle around behind us."

Ning Chuan replied, "Don't worry, miss. They can't get through the left flank."

Commander Zhu fixed his eyes on Su Hang.

"Su Hang, are you really going to stand between Zhu Zhuqing and the Zhu Family?"

Su Hang stepped down on a line of lightning. The light joined across the mud in a half-circle, sealing off every route in front of Zhu Zhuqing.

"If she wants to leave, the Zhu Family can't hold her."

Commander Zhu gritted his teeth.

"Can you bear the pressure from the Star Luo Empire?"

Su Hang looked at him, his tone even.

"First, get through tonight."

The beast fur on Commander Zhu's arm bristled again. Soul Power surged over the torchlight. He was clearly about to take action himself.

Zhu Zhuqing tried to step forward, but the wound in her shoulder made her stagger.

Su Hang raised an arm to steady her for half a step, then quickly let go, leaving a clear distance between them.

Once she had steadied herself, Zhu Zhuqing still didn't lower her dagger.

Su Hang stepped back half a pace.

"If you can still fight, stand and choose."

Beneath the torchlight, Zhu Zhuqing looked up at Su Hang and raised her short dagger across her body again.

Su Hang finished what he'd been saying.

"And if you can't, no one's making you kneel."

Blood continued to seep down from Zhu Zhuqing's shoulder, but she held her back straight, and the Soul Power of the Hell Spirit Cat gathered around her feet once more.

"I won't kneel."