CHAPTER 185: CHAPTER 53: SAVING LIVES [FIRST UPDATE]

After resting at the guesthouse for a while, the ever-energetic Gu Qingqing dragged Jun Wu out for a walk, only to be bumped into by Yue Zhao. Although Yue Zhao wasn’t as opposed to Jun Wu and Gu Qingqing being together anymore, he still wasn’t too keen on seeing them together. So, in the end, they all went out together.

Walking down the street, they stood out quite a bit in contrast to the main street of Galuo City, attracting considerable attention.

"This Galuo City doesn’t seem to have anything special. It feels..." Gu Qingqing looked around and then glanced at the gloomy sky, "a bit oppressive here."

"Although it’s relatively close to Daxing City, the two are incomparable. Fortunately, we’re only here for one night." Yun Ran also looked around, noticing the hurried demeanor of the people on the street, and said earnestly.

"It’s normal to become oppressed when you’re under pressure for too long." Yue Zhao’s lips curved slightly as he glanced at the shop next to them, speaking indifferently.

They walked for a while and arrived at the entrance of a pastry shop. Aromas wafted out from inside, and Gu Qingqing paused, her eyes lighting up. She turned toward the pastry shop and walked over without hesitation.

The others, noticing Gu Qingqing’s actions, followed her over.

The pastry shop didn’t look big. There was a counter inside displaying five types of pastries: peach blossom cake, pear blossom cake, sweet-scented osmanthus cake, cherry blossom cake, and mung bean cake.

The pastry maker was very skilled. Every pastry looked exceptionally exquisite, no less than those Gu Qingqing had eaten in the Lingxi Sacred Land and the Yunlan Sacred Land.

A middle-aged woman stood behind the counter, her eyes lighting up upon seeing Gu Qingqing and the others.

"Dear customers, which kind of pastry would you like? Our pastries are all delicious." The middle-aged woman greeted Gu Qingqing and the others warmly, with a smile on her face.

"Wrap two of each kind of pastry for me." Gu Qingqing’s gaze slid over the five kinds of pastries. Being a sweet tooth untroubled by money, if she wanted to try them all, of course, she needed to have them all!

"Sure, you’ve got great taste, dear customer. Every pastry we have is very delicious!" The middle-aged woman’s smile grew wider upon hearing Gu Qingqing’s words, and she became even more enthusiastic.

With deft hands, she swiftly prepared two sets of every pastry for Gu Qingqing, carefully handing them over, which Jun Wu directly accepted and gave her ten medium-grade Spirit Stones, more than she had asked for, making her overjoyed.

After leaving the pastry shop, Gu Qingqing couldn’t wait to open a set of peach blossom cake. She asked Jun Wu to hold it for her, reached inside to take out a piece, and was about to eat it when she suddenly sensed something flying toward her. Before she could react, Jun Wu wrapped an arm around her waist and quickly moved her to the side.

Once he stopped, he looked at where she had been standing and realized that what had just flown over was a middle-aged man. The man seemed injured, with blood at the corner of his mouth, not even glancing at Gu Qingqing and the others, but rather dashing toward something not far away.

Gu Qingqing’s gaze followed the man’s figure and saw that not far away, a dozen guard-like individuals were grabbing a young boy. The boy was quite handsome and was currently struggling fiercely, his eyes fixed on the middle-aged man.

Mu Chen stood not far from Gu Qingqing. Upon seeing the middle-aged man, he froze for a moment, slightly surprised because he realized the middle-aged man was the same one who had warned him at the city gate!

Qian San didn’t notice Mu Chen; his attention was entirely on his son at that moment.

Immediately after entering the city, he had rushed home and just shared his latest findings with his wife and son when the door to their home was broken down. A group of people barged in, glanced around, and set their sights directly on his son.

His son was sixteen years old this year, with cultivation already at the sixth stage. Although he couldn’t compare with the disciples of the major powers, he was still quite talented. He had been saving money to move his family to the Wuji Sect, waiting for the sect’s disciple recruitment days, aiming to have his son join the Wuji Sect.

But who would have thought that his son inexplicably caught the eye of that Yang family wastrel, who wanted to take him back as some sort of boy toy? Of course, they didn’t comply, but sadly, the people who came seemed to have done their homework; there were two with an eighth-stage cultivation among them. While he could handle one at a time, he was quickly injured by two eighth-stagers.

"Let go of my son!" he yelled, his eyes red and expression frantic as he stared at the dozen or so guards.

"Stop wasting your efforts. The fact that our young master is interested in your son is his good fortune. Once your son serves our young master well, your family will prosper, and you can live comfortably, so why resist?" One of the eighth-stage men said to Qian San in a cold tone.

Upon hearing this, Qian San’s expression grew even more frenzied. Watching his captured son, he felt as if his heart was being cut with a knife. His hands tightly clenched into fists, so much that the sound of bones cracking could be heard, and a sense of powerlessness surged in his heart.

Before returning, he had thought that with his latest findings, they could finally leave this damn Galuo City, full of hope for the future. Who knew that within less than half an hour, reality would defeat him!

"Sun Yi is right. You are no match for the two of us. Trying to take your son from us is impossible. You’d be better off knowing your place, letting your son serve the young master well, and you’ll be rewarded in return!" Another man with an eighth-tier cultivation spoke as well, exchanging a glance with the Sun Yi he mentioned, both with malicious smiles on their faces.

Qian San wished he could spit in their faces. Who didn’t know how notorious the spoiled one from the Yang Family was? Anyone taken by him, regardless of gender, rarely survived more than three months. If his son truly fell into that guy’s hands, it wouldn’t end well. How could he agree to that!

Mu Chen stood nearby, listening to their conversation. He roughly understood what was happening. Seeing Qian San’s look of despair, his eyes flickered. He walked over to Qian San and pulled on his arm.

"Greetings again, fellow Daoist." When Qian San looked over, Mu Chen instinctively curled his lips and said.

Qian San was momentarily stunned upon seeing Mu Chen, then remembered what he had said to Mu Chen at the city gate moments ago. He weakly curled his lips, "I don’t know you!"

With that, he turned his head away, clearly not wanting to drag Mu Chen into the matter.

Although Qian San’s reaction was a bit unexpected for Mu Chen, the smile on Mu Chen’s lips deepened a bit.

"Fellow Daoist, to thank you for your warning at the city gate just now, I’ll help you retrieve your son." Mu Chen looked at the dozen or so guards not far away and spoke softly.

He wasn’t the type to meddle in others’ affairs, to the point of being cold-blooded at times. But Qian San’s warning at the city gate made him feel that Qian San was a good person, especially since Qian San pretended not to know him to keep him out of trouble. This made him feel that he could help Qian San.

"You don’t..." Qian San began to reprimand Mu Chen for not meddling but saw that Mu Chen had already moved.

Mu Chen clasped both hands, and the Red Flame Spear directly appeared in his grasp. He shook his body, moved quickly, and arrived in front of Qian San’s son, Qian Zhili. Apart from the two eighth-tier men, the rest of the guards were at the fifth or sixth tier, not Mu Chen’s match. Mu Chen didn’t even need to use his Spiritual Power, forcing the guards to release their hold and rescuing Qian Zhili.

He pushed Qian Zhili into the arms of the stunned Qian San, turned around, and stood protectively in front of the father and son.

"Who are you? How dare you meddle in the Yang Family’s business? Are you tired of living?" Sun Yi didn’t react until Mu Chen rescued Qian Zhili, his expression changing dramatically as he looked at Mu Chen with a sinister gaze, shouting loudly.

"Enough talk. I’m determined to rescue him today. Let’s see if you have the skills to take him from me!" Mu Chen’s face was cold as he spun the long spear in his hand, directly attacking the two men.

Exchanging a glance, the two men drew their weapons together, attacking Mu Chen from the left and right.

Apart from them, the other guards also charged at Mu Chen, joining the two in dealing with him.

Seeing Mu Chen besieged by over ten people, Qian San and Qian Zhili were both a bit nervous. Their hearts were in their throats as they worriedly watched Mu Chen’s side.

"Red Flame·Fire Sea!"

Mu Chen let out a low shout, sweeping the long spear. A line of fire instantly formed in front of him. The nearby guards immediately caught on fire and hastily tried to extinguish it, while the others quickly retreated to avoid the flames.

Flashing his body, Mu Chen arrived in front of Sun Yi, thrusting the long spear at Sun Yi’s chest. Sun Yi blocked with his blade. With a forceful thrust, Sun Yi was directly shaken and staggered five or six steps back before steadying himself.

The other eighth-tier man, Li Qiang, attacked Mu Chen from behind, but Mu Chen evaded with a backflip. In mid-air, he kicked Li Qiang in the back, sending him sprawling forward, almost falling to the ground.

Mu Chen’s body was still in mid-air when he swept the long spear. A red beam of light shot towards Sun Yi. Sun Yi hastily retreated, swinging his blade. Their attacks collided in mid-air, causing the ground to explode. Sun Yi’s blade aura disappeared, but the red light continued flying towards him.

Confident that his blade aura would block Mu Chen’s attack, Sun Yi panicked when he saw the red light coming. He tried to block with the blade, but the red light slashed across his abdomen, leaving a horizontal wound over a dozen centimeters long, from which blood began to flow.

Simultaneously, Mu Chen’s second attack reached Sun Yi. Without time to clutch his wound, Sun Yi could only raise his blade to block Mu Chen’s attack. This time, his chest was hit, leaving another long wound seeping blood.

Seeing Sun Yi injured, Li Qiang was startled. Rising into the air, he raised his sword, striking fiercely at Mu Chen’s direction. Yellow Sword Qi attacked Mu Chen.