What a Huge Kitty~

Zhu Zhuqing had no time to react at all.

That razor-sharp beam of light was incredibly fast, carrying a chilly killing intent as it shot straight toward the back of her head!

She had already expended considerable energy protecting Lin Ye earlier, and at that moment, her vigilance was at its lowest.

Death was inches away!

Just as the beam was about to strike the back of Zhu Zhuqing's head,

A powerful hand suddenly shot out, seized Zhu Zhuqing's wrist, and yanked her over with tremendous force.

Bang!

Zhu Zhuqing crashed straight into a broad, solid embrace.

The beam whistled past her hair and slammed into a large tree behind her, blasting the bowl-thick trunk cleanly into two pieces.

Wood chips and leaves scattered through the air.

Zhu Zhuqing's face was pressed tightly against Lin Ye's chest, and she could clearly feel his powerful heartbeat.

As well as the clean scent unique to a young man.

Her mind instantly went blank.

What had just happened?

She had nearly died?

Had he saved her?

Still shaken by the close call, Zhu Zhuqing instinctively clutched Lin Ye's collar with both hands, her entire body stiff in his arms.

Meanwhile, when Lin Ye had pulled Zhu Zhuqing into his embrace, his gaze involuntarily drifted downward.

Because...

Two incredibly soft, remarkably substantial things were pressing firmly against his abdomen.

That sensation... how should he put it?

It was even more jarring than the impact of a Darkrock Giant Rhino.

Lin Ye's eyes could not help settling on Zhu Zhuqing's taut, full chest.

Her black leather bodysuit, soaked by water and then dried by the wind, had become even tighter in that position, outlining a contour that was simply unfair.

Wasn't that figure a little too outrageous?

A hundred wildly inappropriate thoughts flashed through Lin Ye's mind, and he froze for a full two seconds.

Yet his mouth moved one step ahead of his brain.

"Wh-what a huge kitty."

Lin Ye's voice was not loud, but in the silent forest at night, it came through with perfect clarity.

Zhu Zhuqing: "???"

She abruptly raised her head and met Lin Ye's slightly startled eyes.

Then, following his gaze, she looked down.

She saw the two parts of her chest being squeezed so tightly that they nearly seemed ready to burst free.

Then she looked at Lin Ye's subtle expression of, "I didn't mean to look, but I definitely saw it."

Zhu Zhuqing's face instantly flushed from the base of her neck all the way to the tips of her ears.

"Lin Ye, you!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Zhu Zhuqing sprang away, covered her chest with both hands, and retreated three steps!

"P-pervert! What are you talking about?"

Her usually cold and proud face was now bright red. Even her eyes glistened with moisture as shame and anger mingled within them.

Lin Ye gave a dry cough and looked away.

"Um... I meant your martial soul, the Netherworld Spirit Cat. A cat, you know, a kitty. Wh-what were you thinking?"

"Hmph, stop trying to argue!" Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth, her voice trembling.

"You were clearly looking at my..."

Halfway through, she simply could not bring herself to say it. Her entire face was burning as though steam might rise from it.

As the second young lady of the Zhu Household of the Star Luo Empire, she had never had such intimate contact with any man.

Much less had someone stared at that part of her!

The key was that he had even said it out loud!

A huge kitty?

Kitty?

"Bastard! Pervert!"

Zhu Zhuqing wanted nothing more than to crawl into a crack in the ground.

Yet an indescribable emotion remained trapped in her heart, because she knew perfectly well

That Lin Ye had saved her life just now.

If he had not reacted quickly, the back of her head would have exploded.

Why were you calling him a pervert? He was saving you! And you just started cursing him!

But... but what he said had gone too far!

Zhu Zhuqing's mind had turned into a complete mess.

However, Lin Ye's expression had completely changed by then.

His gaze passed over Zhu Zhuqing and locked firmly onto the dark woods ahead.

That attack just now could never have come from a soul beast.

It had been a human.

And there was more than one.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's senses fully activated at that moment, and Lin Ye clearly caught three human presences rapidly approaching.

"Enough, big kitty. Stop fussing."

Lin Ye's voice abruptly turned cold. The lazy tone instantly vanished, replaced by a killing intent that sent chills down the spine.

"Someone's coming."

Zhu Zhuqing froze.

The turmoil in her heart caused by embarrassment instantly cleared. The flush had not yet faded from her face, but her eyes had already regained their icy calm.

"Assassins."

Zhu Zhuqing kept her voice low, but every word trembled. It was not fear—it was hatred.

"They're assassins sent by my sister."

Lin Ye cast her a sidelong glance.

"Looks like your dear sister is pretty persistent. She won't rest until you're dead."

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, but her hands had already clenched into fists.

At that moment,

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

Footsteps came from the bushes ahead, drawing closer and closer. They made no effort to conceal themselves, carrying the calm amusement of hunters.

"Well, if it isn't the abandoned little wretch from the Zhu Household?"

A mocking male voice emerged from the darkness first.

"You ran for two days and two nights and got yourself into this miserable state, but we found you in the end."

"Careful. They're coming." Lin Ye's voice suddenly sank.

His gaze pierced through the night, locking tightly onto the darkness ahead.

Zhu Zhuqing also immediately reined in all her emotions. Her martial soul activated, and the phantom of the Netherworld Spirit Cat enveloped her body as two yellow Soul Rings slowly lit up.

Her nerves were stretched to the limit.

The power of that sneak attack just now had been at least at the level of a Great Soul Master.

At that moment,

Three dark figures slowly emerged from three different directions.

Moonlight fell upon them. All three wore identical black combat outfits, with masks covering their noses and mouths and exposing only pairs of sinister eyes.

The leader was tall, roughly 1.9 meters, and his presence was on an entirely different level from the two behind him.

Three Soul Rings slowly lit beneath his feet—two yellow and one purple!

He was a Soul Elder!

A thirty-first-rank, three-ring Soul Elder!

The two behind him each had two yellow Soul Rings beneath their feet.

They were Great Soul Masters.

Zhu Zhuqing's heart tightened.

She recognized them.

They were her sister's people.

"Second Lady Zhu Zhuqing, it has been a long time."

The leading man in black slowly removed his mask, revealing a face covered in flesh.

His voice was low and chilling.

"I never expected you to run all the way to the Star Dou Great Forest by yourself. You made the three of us brothers chase you for three whole days."

"You really are something, aren't you?"

The leading three-ring Soul Elder licked his lips, his gaze roaming brazenly over Zhu Zhuqing's voluptuous figure, his eyes filled with undisguised lechery.

Zhu Zhuqing's body trembled slightly, but her gaze remained as cold as frost.

Then the three-ring Soul Elder shifted his gaze from Zhu Zhuqing to Lin Ye and looked him over from head to toe.

"Well, well, Second Lady Zhu."

"Out here in these wild mountains, you even found yourself some pretty boy company?"