Lan Shengxue stopped in her tracks, momentarily unsure whether to follow Jiang Fan or search according to her own ideas.
After just two seconds of silence, Lan Shengxue made her decision and plunged into the dim alley in the direction where Jiang Fan had disappeared.
By the roadside, a burly man was dragging Tang Guo and Lan Xinyu toward a car.
"No! Let go of me!"
Although Tang Guo and Lan Xinyu were young, both understood perfectly well that they had to struggle with all their might. Once the criminal took them away, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to find them again.
"Fuck! You little brats! Keep making trouble and see if I don't smack you!" Ding 3 threatened viciously.
Tang Guo opened her mouth and bit him, just as she had bitten Ding 123 earlier.
"Fuck!" Ding 3 slapped Tang Guo across the face.
Her tender little cheek swelled at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Tang Guo and Lan Xinyu still tried to struggle, but they were only two little girls. How could they possibly resist an adult who was a late-stage martial apprentice?
Soon, Ding 3 dragged both of them into the car, shut the door, and started the engine.
Jiang Fan arrived just in time to see this.
He knew there was absolutely no way he could catch a speeding car on foot alone.
The next second, Jiang Fan's gaze abruptly landed on a private car parked by the roadside ahead.
Gritting his teeth, he summoned every ounce of strength and unleashed his psychic power, wrapping it around the car.
With his psychic power unleashed at full force, his eyes turned blood-red, webbed with bloodshot veins. His eyeballs felt as though they might burst at any moment.
"Aaaah-"
At last! The car moved, hurtling into the road to block the other vehicle.
"Holy shit!" Ding 3 hastily wrenched the steering wheel, the tires screeching against the pavement.
The front of the car finally crashed into the planted median.
There was a deafening bang.
With such a loud commotion, the people from the Police Bureau must have heard it. They might arrive at any moment.
At that thought, Ding 3 could no longer spare any concern for Tang Guo or Lan Xinyu. He hurriedly pulled the door open, climbed out, and fled in a panic.
Jiang Fan immediately rushed to the car and lifted Tang Guo and Lan Xinyu out.
"Big Brother Xiao Fan!" Tang Guo threw herself into Jiang Fan's arms, her eyes red.
Jiang Fan stroked the little girl's head. "Don't be scared. It's all over now."
"Mm-hmm..." With Jiang Fan comforting her, the little girl was no longer afraid at all.
Jiang Fan touched the swollen half of Tang Guo's face, frost settling in his eyes. "Does it hurt?"
"No, it doesn't hurt at all." Tang Guo smiled and shook her head.
Jiang Fan knew that Tang Guo must be in great pain. She simply did not want him to worry.
Just then, Lan Shengxue caught up.
Jiang Fan looked at Lan Shengxue. "Look after them for now."
With that, he set down his F-grade alloy saber to lighten his load and raced after the fleeing Ding 3.
After all, he was only an early-stage martial apprentice, and his vitality was very low. Controlling the F-grade alloy weighted rings was already his limit. He still could not wield this saber as he pleased.
"Hey! You-"
Before Lan Shengxue could get the words out, Jiang Fan had already run a considerable distance.
She wanted to say that the man was a late-stage martial apprentice. Who had given an early-stage martial apprentice like him the guts to chase after him?
Lan Shengxue wanted to go help subdue the criminal, but if she left and there were other criminals hiding nearby, wouldn't her younger sister and Jiang Fan's younger sister be in danger?
This Jiang Fan really was far too impulsive!
While Lan Shengxue was thinking this, Jiang Fan was steadily closing the distance between himself and Ding 3.
Ding 3 looked back and immediately let loose a classic national curse.
As luck would have it, a passerby on a motorcycle came by.
Ding 3 reached out with his long arm, yanked the rider straight off, and tossed them aside like garbage before climbing on himself.
In an instant, he left Jiang Fan far behind.
Ding 3 turned his head, flipped Jiang Fan the middle finger, and spat behind him.
Jiang Fan sprinted at full speed. As he passed a road sign, his large hand closed around it.
"Aaaah-" With a sudden burst of strength, he tore through the sturdy signpost, wrapped it in psychic power, swung his arm, and hurled it straight at Ding 3.
Whoosh! It flew so fast it seemed about to tear through the night, striking Ding 3 squarely in the left side of his chest.
At the sight, Lan Shengxue froze, shock rippling through her beautiful eyes, though she did not forget to cover Tang Guo's and Lan Xinyu's eyes.
Ding 3 stiffly lowered his head to look at the signpost impaling his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief and terror of death.
Without Ding 3 controlling it, the motorcycle careened out of control and crashed into an oncoming truck.
With a bang, both man and motorcycle were smashed to pieces.
[Ding! Congratulations, Master! You killed a criminal and performed a good deed. Points +30]
Jiang Fan stood hunched over, so exhausted he could barely stay upright. He remained where he was, watching the scene without expression.
Not far behind him, Lan Shengxue took it all in.
The boy's figure was slender and looked too frail to withstand the wind, like an autumn leaf on the verge of falling. Yet he gave the impression of a pine rooted in a cliff, possessing a tenacity that was difficult to shake.
Jiang Fan turned around and staggered back to Tang Guo's side.
"I got revenge for you."
Those few words made Tang Guo's eyes redden and fill with moisture, great tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Waaah-aaah-" Tang Guo clung to Jiang Fan's leg and burst into loud sobs.
Lan Xinyu and Lan Shengxue exchanged a glance, both moved in a way they could not describe.
Suddenly, Lan Shengxue thought back to the martial studies registration a few days earlier.
He remembered that Jiang Fan had answered the question in the final section like this.
Question: What do you practice martial arts for?
Jiang Fan's answer: Family.
At that moment, Lan Shengxue understood all the more deeply how important that single word, "family," was to Jiang Fan.
"Come on. Let's go home." Jiang Fan took Tang Guo's hand.
"Okay!" Tang Guo nodded obediently.
One big, one small, one tall, one short-the scene was so harmonious, so beautiful.
It was as though nothing could shatter that scene.
Lan Xinyu tugged at Lan Shengxue's hand, and Lan Shengxue looked down in puzzlement.
"What is it?"
"Big Sister, I've decided." Lan Xinyu clenched her little fists.
Lan Shengxue was utterly confused. "Decided what?"
Watching Jiang Fan's retreating figure, Lan Xinyu said, "This man is worth marrying!"
Lan Shengxue was speechless.
Footsteps sounded behind her. Lan Shengxue snapped out of her speechlessness and turned to look, seeing Wei Cangyue in a trench coat.
"Instructor Wei," Lan Shengxue greeted him politely.
Wei Cangyue nodded, then turned his attention to the gruesome scene.
"Was this your doing?"
Lan Shengxue shook her head. "It wasn't me."
Wei Cangyue was surprised. "There's no one else here besides you."
Lan Xinyu cut in, her voice brimming with excitement and admiration. "It was that big brother! He was so cool!"
"Big brother?" Wei Cangyue thought for a moment, then asked in considerable surprise, "Jiang Fan?"
Lan Shengxue nodded. "It was him."
Wei Cangyue examined Ding 3's corpse. The fatal wound was a signpost driven straight through the heart. The precision and force were simply beyond what an ordinary early-stage martial apprentice could achieve.