"You're willing to let me go?"
At those words, Lu Qian's face darkened with exasperation.
Utterly speechless, he said:
"Have you ever seen a robber as handsome as me?"
"Uh..."
Ning Rongrong was momentarily at a loss for words.
Her reaction only made Lu Qian angrier.
"You! Fine! You're awake now anyway, so fend for yourself. Bye!"
With that, Lu Qian turned and stormed off in a huff.
The direction he chose, however, was precisely the way to Suotuo City.
Sure enough, before Lu Qian had gone very far, Ning Rongrong took the initiative to catch up.
Displaying a remarkable lack of conversational skill, she asked:
"Hey, are you really not a robber?"
Lu Qian stopped, gave Ning Rongrong a cold look without saying a word, then continued walking.
But Ning Rongrong refused to give up and kept following him, asking:
"Were you really the one who saved me?"
"..."
"But there were so many of them."
"..."
"Then shouldn't I thank you somehow?"
The moment he heard Ning Rongrong wanted to thank him, Lu Qian stopped and worked hard to produce a reasonably radiant smile.
"Fifty Gold Soul Coins."
Though Ning Rongrong was a wealthy little lady, she was no fool. Hearing Lu Qian demand fifty Gold Soul Coins right off the bat, she immediately shouted at him:
"Fifty Gold Soul Coins! And you still say you're not a robber!"
"You're the one who said you wanted to thank me!"
Lu Qian quibbled.
"Hmph! In your dreams!"
Ning Rongrong pouted, getting angry too.
Lu Qian thought for a moment, then continued smiling as he said:
"Then, thirty?"
"Drop dead! Isn't this supposed to be a hero saving a beauty?"
Ning Rongrong was indignant at Lu Qian's shameless behavior, and this scenario was nothing like what she had imagined!
"Exactly. A hero saving a beauty. That'll be thirty, please."
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! I misspoke just now. You're no hero. You're a greedy robber!"
With that, Ning Rongrong even pulled a face at Lu Qian.
"I'm warning you, stop calling me a robber. If I really were one, that price might change."
Lu Qian spoke threateningly.
"Nyah, nyah, nyah!"
Ning Rongrong provoked him again.
But just as Lu Qian was about to teach the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect a lesson, a strange noise suddenly came from behind them.
Alert as he was, Lu Qian naturally noticed immediately and swiftly pulled Ning Rongrong into the bushes beside them.
"You..."
Ning Rongrong was startled by his sudden movement, but Lu Qian covered her little mouth just in time.
After the two hid in the bushes, several Soul Masters appeared behind the spot where they had just been standing.
"Hiss!"
A sudden stab of pain nearly made Lu Qian cry out.
Looking down, he discovered that Ning Rongrong was biting hard on the large hand he had clamped over her mouth.
"Were you born a dog?"
Lu Qian could not help growling through gritted teeth.
He then turned Ning Rongrong's head so she could see those Soul Masters.
"Do you know these people?"
Lu Qian asked in a hushed voice.
"Ah! It's them! They're the ones who kidnapped me! I recognize their robes."
Lu Qian took a look. They all wore matching white robes, but there were no markings on them. They probably did not belong to any major faction.
"I see."
Lu Qian began to think.
"What should we do?"
Listening to Ning Rongrong's tone, why did Lu Qian get the feeling this little girl was rather excited?
Then he would give her something even more thrilling!
Lu Qian lowered his head to Ning Rongrong's ear and said:
"Give me a hundred Gold Soul Coins, or I'll hand you over to them."
"What did you say!"
Ning Rongrong was completely stunned.
Weren't they supposed to be discussing how to escape right now?
Yet Lu Qian was still thinking about looting a burning house!
"One hundred. No bargaining."
Lu Qian smiled at Ning Rongrong again.
Ning Rongrong hated him so much her teeth itched, but under another's eaves, she had no choice but to bow her head. Deeply humiliated, she could only hand Lu Qian a piece of jewelry she wore.
She said irritably:
"Here! It's worth more than a hundred!"
"Thank you."
Lu Qian smiled and accepted Ning Rongrong's little ornament with complete satisfaction.
"Can we run away now?"
Ning Rongrong urged him.
Lu Qian, meanwhile, carefully observed the Soul Masters outside. There were three of them, all merely at the Soul Grandmaster level.
If they expected to capture Ning Rongrong with just that, weren't they being a little too careless?
Lu Qian also overheard their conversation, but there was nothing of value in it.
"Come with me."
Lu Qian took Ning Rongrong's little hand quite naturally and ran deeper into the woods.
Unexpectedly, Ning Rongrong still accidentally made a little noise. The men outside immediately came searching in their direction, so Lu Qian simply hoisted Ning Rongrong onto his back again and swiftly fled the area.
Lu Qian was certainly capable of killing these men, but who knew where their reinforcements were or when they would appear? He would never take that risk, so he would rather tire himself out carrying Ning Rongrong as he fled.
Besides, since it was Ning Rongrong he was carrying, Lu Qian felt he was not exactly losing out.
After running for about an hour, Lu Qian slowed down and found an open spot to set Ning Rongrong down.
After being carried by Lu Qian for so long, Ning Rongrong suddenly felt rather embarrassed about calling him a robber and such.
And when Ning Rongrong stole a glance at Lu Qian resting beside her, this fellow did not seem quite so detestable. He was even a little handsome.
So Ning Rongrong decided to thank Lu Qian. Looking slightly shy, she said to him:
"Um, thank you for carrying me for so long while we escaped."
"You're welcome. That costs extra."
Lu Qian spoke without even turning his head.
"You-what did you say?"
Ning Rongrong did not quite process it for a moment. What did he mean, extra?
"I carried you while we escaped. That costs extra. Normally, a hundred Gold Soul Coins would be enough for me to take you along while escaping, but carrying you on my back costs at least two hundred. After all, it takes a lot of my stamina too, wouldn't you agree?"
"Didn't I already give you a hundred Gold Soul Coins?"
Ning Rongrong grew anxious.
"No, no, no, that's different. That hundred bought you my not handing you over to them. These two hundred are for taking you on the run. So, well, you see, hehe."
Lu Qian could not help rubbing his hands together.
"Take it all!"
This time, Ning Rongrong seemed genuinely angry. She roughly yanked the ornaments off both her wrists and threw them all at Lu Qian.
Seeing this, Lu Qian caught the ornaments hurled at him and muttered inwardly:
Did I take the joke too far?
As though confirming Lu Qian's guess, Ning Rongrong immediately left him in a fury.
Before you continue