Zhu Zhuqing hesitated, then said to Lin En:
"Um... I gave you fifty thousand before. Can that count toward this time?"
At her words, a brilliant smile appeared on Lin En's face:
"Of course... not!!"
Zhu Zhuqing froze. "Why?"
Lin En folded his arms across his chest and looked down at her:
"Then was then, and now is now. Stop treating then like now. I'm the one calling the shots here..."
After hearing his bandit-like words, Zhu Zhuqing fell utterly silent.
How could anyone in this world be so utterly shameless?
"All right, enough nonsense. Hand over everything valuable you've got."
Lin En looked at them calmly and spoke slowly.
Once again, Zhu Zhuqing was the first to act. She handed everything valuable she had over to Lin En.
The card worth fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins from earlier had already represented all her savings.
Aside from a few loose Gold Soul Coins in her Storage Soul Tool, only the jewelry she wore was worth anything.
Lin En looked at the jewelry in his hand, still carrying a trace of warmth from her body. He casually tossed it up and down, giving Zhu Zhuqing a sidelong look:
"That's all?"
Zhu Zhuqing hesitated. Finally, resolve appeared in her eyes, and she placed the last valuable thing she had, the Storage Ring on her hand, into Lin En's palm.
Her gaze met Lin En's before her beautiful eyes lowered, and she stammered:
"This is... everything I own. Can you let me go?"
The corner of Lin En's mouth twitched. Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's somewhat evasive gaze, he felt rather speechless.
You didn't even think to bring more money when you ran away. You're making me look like an idiot, you know?
Having squeezed the last scrap of value out of Zhu Zhuqing, Lin En did not make things too difficult for her.
He checked the space inside the ring. It was more than twice the size of the one he currently used.
Lin En happily slipped it onto his hand, then tossed Zhu Zhuqing the small Storage Ring he had previously stolen in Star Dou.
"It's yours. One look at you tells me your enemies have been chasing you through the streets for over ten days. Take it for emergencies on the road."
Zhu Zhuqing held out both hands and caught the Storage Ring Lin En tossed over.
She sent a wisp of Soul Power inside to inspect it. Lin En had removed everything, leaving only a separate space measuring five cubic meters.
Although it was smaller than hers, at least it could hold a water flask and dry rations without any trouble.
"Th-thank you."
Zhu Zhuqing did not mind that Lin En had worn it. She slipped it straight onto her finger.
"No problem. What can I say? I'm just warmhearted."
Lin En smiled brightly.
Then he turned toward the men in black, his expression instantly turning icy:
"Hey, have you scraped the money together yet? If you haven't, stretch out your necks and prepare to die!"
Before his words had even faded, Sageross's gaze instantly turned a vivid, almost dripping crimson.
Dark purple claws tore through the air, like an assassin locking onto prey in the dead of night, cold-blooded and deadly.
"Wait, we have money! Don't kill me!"
"You had money and didn't hand it over sooner? You've really grown some fat, plump guts..."
Lin En glared.
The man in black gritted his teeth, then gathered his remaining brothers. Together, they scraped together another hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins to ransom themselves.
Of course, having already paid once, they simply did not have that many Gold Soul Coins left. Lin En had mercifully allowed them to settle the bill with their valuables.
Thus, they contributed five or six Storage Soul Tools and some weapons forged from refined iron before finally putting together enough for the ransom.
Smiling, Lin En stowed everything in his Storage Soul Tool. "Scram. Don't let me see you again!"
"You won't come after us again this time, will you?"
The man in black had had enough of this unrestrained extortion and simply asked Lin En outright.
"Well... if you're lucky, you probably won't run into me again!"
Lin En thought for a moment, then turned and said with a smile.
"All right..."
Hearing this, the man in black immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Then he gathered the others and set off in pursuit again.
"Ah, I really am a great philanthropist. After I helped lighten their load, even their running speed improved!"
Lin En sighed softly, then grinned and said:
"Sageross, let's go. Time to reap the final harvest!"
"Saa-"
Sageross spread his wings and carried Lin En into the sky, pursuing them in the direction they had left.
Zhu Zhuqing ran ahead, while the men in black chased behind.
As for who followed behind them, that was naturally Lin En, the oriole. The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.
Several dozen minutes later.
Zhu Zhuqing was surrounded again, and the men in black gradually tightened their encirclement.
"Run! Why don't you keep running? Third Young Miss, come back with us obediently!"
"Back in the Star Luo Empire, you'll have food and drink. Oh... and your dearest loved ones, your own flesh and blood."
"I'm sure they'll be delighted to see you..."
The man in black gave a savage grin. This entire trip had been unbearably frustrating, all because of that damned brat.
If not for him, they would never have ended up in such a sorry state.
At his words, Zhu Zhuqing's heart filled with despair. Go back?
Go back and let my own elder sister persecute me?
Rather than that, she might as well die here in the Star Dou Great Forest, bringing an ending to her long, lonely flight.
That was what Zhu Zhuqing thought.
For some reason, that money-grubbing figure surfaced in her mind again. Would he appear this time too?
A moment later, she shook her head mockingly.
She had nothing left. Even if they met again, wouldn't death still be her only fate?
She calmly closed her eyes, ready to prove her resolve through death.
The moon was like heavy silver.
The forest lay silent, yet at some unknown moment, fierce winds surged like waves. Wind blades sliced through the forest, and a massive dark shadow plummeted from the sky.
"Keh heh heh! So sorry to disappoint you!"
Lin En stood up from Sageross's back and looked at the men in black, a cold smile curling his lips.
"You again! Didn't you say that was the last time?"
The man in black completely lost his composure.
He finally understood. The other party had never intended to leave them any way out.
Like a cat toying with mice, once he had played enough, he would catch them all in one net.
"Brothers, he's not leaving us any way out! Fight him to the death!"
"Kill..."
Watching them attack together, Lin En curled his lips into a cold sneer:
"Sageross, finish them!"
"Saa-"
Sageross swept both blades horizontally, swiftly unleashing dozens of arcs of blade energy. The first men in black to approach were instantly cut down.
Yet more men in black lunged close.
"Watch out."
Zhu Zhuqing called out a warning from behind. At the same time, a man in black had already taken advantage of her inattention to launch a sneak attack from behind.
"Sageross, use Godspeed."
In an instant, Sageross and Lin En became a blur and vanished.
The man's attack struck the afterimage, which slowly dissipated.
"Where did he go?"
"Above..."
At that moment, all the men in black raised their heads in unison.
"Sageross, Twin-Blade Light!"
"Saa-"
Sageross descended from the heavens like a king, his enormous purple scythes raised high as the reaper's blades harvested lives in a frenzy.
A glint of cold light arrived first, followed by peerless blade energy soaring through the air.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
Sageross moved like a phantom, slipping out of the men's encirclement in the blink of an eye.
Their faces were terrified, their expressions seemingly frozen in a single moment.
"Crack..."
The next instant, thin seams appeared all over the men in black, and they fell to the ground in dismembered pieces.
Only Lin En and Zhu Zhuqing remained at the scene.
When Sageross turned around, she burst into aggrieved tears:
"Really, not a single drop left!"
Before you continue