The Fleeing Girl

"Brother, stop messing around. If you keep this up, there won't be any bedsheets left tonight."

Xiao Wu slapped Zhao Linchuan's hand away and continued,

"After my Soul Ring finished forming, my Soul Power Level, boosted by both the Soul Ring and the Immortal Herb, reached level forty-four."

"And I feel that in at most half a month, I'll successfully break through to level forty-five."

"My Xiao Wu is really amazing." Zhao Linchuan did not hold back his praise. "Judging by your age and Soul Power Level, aside from your brother here, you're the youngest Soul Ancestor on the continent."

As he spoke, he held Xiao Wu a little tighter, wrapping an arm around her waist and drawing her entire body into his embrace.

"Let's get a good rest today. Tomorrow morning, we'll go catch a few big fish."

"What are we catching big fish for?" Xiao Wu asked in confusion.

"To fish for a little fat cat..."

Several days later.

Late at night, in Star Dou Forest.

Fluorescent lights of every color flickered among the trees like stars that had fallen from the heavens to the mortal world.

Deep beastly roars echoed from afar from time to time, one after another, rising and falling as they made one's eardrums go numb.

A woman dressed in tight black clothes leaped and darted continuously through the forest.

Her expression was tense. She had more than a dozen wounds all over her body, and her black outfit had been torn in several places, exposing mangled flesh beneath.

Blood ran down her arms, gathering into droplets at her fingertips before being flung onto the fallen leaves behind her.

None of those wounds were fatal, but while running at high speed, every stretch and contraction of her muscles tugged at them, making her bare her teeth in pain as cold sweat poured down her face.

"Stop! Zhu Zhuqing!"

"Don't even think about crossing Star Dou Forest and finding some place where no one knows you to hide away in a border town of the Heaven Dou Empire!"

A furious shout came from behind her, followed immediately by—

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!"

More than a dozen arrow-type soul skills in different colors tore through the air from behind her, trailing multicolored flames like a sudden meteor shower as they densely sealed off every possible route of escape.

Zhu Zhuqing's ears twitched at the sound. While sprinting at high speed, her body suddenly sank, as though an invisible hand had pressed down on her from above.

Her waist twisted at an unbelievable angle, lowering her center of gravity until she nearly slid across the ground.

The first wave of arrows whistled over her head, cutting off several strands of hair.

Her right foot stomped violently against the ground, launching her body into the air as she spun once.

The second wave of arrows grazed her back, tearing another hole in the back of her tight clothes.

"Ah—!"

A muffled groan of pain escaped her lips.

After dodging more than ten arrows, her strength finally reached its limit.

An arrow brushed past her shoulder. Its sharp, spinning arrowhead tore through her flesh, leaving a mangled wound as blood instantly gushed out, flowing down her arm and dripping onto the dead leaves.

"Urgh—"

Her left arm fell limply to her side. Her right hand clutched the wound on her shoulder tightly, her fingers slick with thick blood.

Then her knees gave way, and she dropped to one knee.

Despair flooded her heart like an icy tide, spreading inch by inch from the soles of her feet until it reached her throat.

"Is this... the end?"

"Tap, tap, tap, tap—"

Chaotic footsteps approached from afar. More than a dozen figures emerged from the darkness, spreading into a fan-shaped formation as they slowly closed in on Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth and struggled to stand, but the injury to her left arm and her exhausted strength made even that simple action impossible.

Just as she thought she could only stop here in regret—

"Roar—!"

A majestic dragon's roar exploded beside her ears!

The sound was like thunder from the ninth heavens crashing down upon the world. In an instant, all the chirping insects and birds in the forest fell silent, and even the beast roars rising and falling in the distance quieted at that moment.

Zhu Zhuqing's heart tightened, and she instinctively looked up.

A massive azure energy beast nearly ten meters long floated in midair.

Its entire body was condensed from translucent azure light. Its scales were grim and imposing, its whiskers and mane flared wide, and its four sharp claws glinted coldly beneath the moonlight.

Its enormous eyes were like two burning suns, looking down upon everything below.

And standing atop the beast's head were a teenage boy and girl!

The boy stood with his hands behind his back, his robes snapping in the night wind.

The girl stood at his side, one hand resting on his shoulder and the other on her waist, her eyes lowered in silence.

The boy lowered his head, his gaze landing on the pursuing soldiers below, and spoke loudly.

"Everyone, stop there!"

The leading middle-aged man's pupils contracted. He instinctively halted.

He raised his head and stared fixedly at the energy beast in the sky and the boy standing on its head. The flesh on his face twitched twice.

After a moment, he shouted, "You want to stand up for her?"

Zhao Linchuan looked down at him and answered calmly, "What if I do?"

"Heh heh." For some reason, the leading man's expression actually relaxed slightly at those words.

His gaze swept back and forth between Zhao Linchuan and Zhu Zhuqing twice, and he fell silent for a moment.

In the end, he tugged at the corner of his mouth, forcing out a smile that did not reach his eyes, and continued loudly,

"This woman is a wanted criminal of the Star Luo Empire!"

"If you insist on standing up for her, we truly cannot stop you."

"But you will also suffer the endless pursuit of the Star Luo Empire because of this!"

"Unless you take her with you and hide somewhere no one can find you for the rest of your lives."

"Otherwise, neither of you will come to a good end!"

After saying that, seemingly afraid Zhao Linchuan would suddenly attack, he turned around at once, waved his hand, and said to those behind him, "Let's go!"

The group turned and left in a grand procession, moving several times faster than when they had arrived. Within only a few breaths, they had disappeared into the darkness.

Standing atop the dragon's head, Zhao Linchuan watched those figures depart before lowering his gaze to the girl kneeling on the ground.

Under the moonlight, her figure was as frail as a fallen leaf that could be blown away at any moment. Her black clothes were tattered, and the exposed skin beneath was covered in bloody marks and wounds.

Seeing this, Zhao Linchuan flicked his fingertip. A streak of azure light flew from it, like the first spring breeze brushing silently over a lake, and entered the girl's body without a sound.

Zhu Zhuqing's body trembled slightly as a warm, itchy sensation spread from the wound on her shoulder.

She lowered her head in disbelief and looked at her left arm. The arm she had not even been able to lift before had now regained some strength.

Zhao Linchuan spoke calmly,

"This isn't a place to stay for long. Come with me..."