"Is the Li family over there?" Chu Lian pointed in a direction and asked Chu Chu. She had never been to the Li family residence, nor had she made any precise inquiries. She was simply judging based on the information she usually picked up.
"A bit further to the side." Chu Chu reached out and adjusted the direction of Chu Lian's finger, pointing slightly to the side. "We can get there from here. It's about a fifteen-minute distance. It's eight o'clock now. If we don't use Suicune or take a taxi, and run at full speed, we should be able to get there in ten minutes."
"If we move along the walls or rooftops, we'll be even faster." Chu Lian raised her hand and pointed at the uneven rooftops in the distance, turning slightly toward the others as she spoke.
"Why not let Suicune come out? With Suicune, we'd be even faster, right?" Chu Chu had already put away Liya, and she was starting to miss the comfortable feeling of riding on Suicune's back.
"Suicune... I can summon it, but not in the city. There are too many eyes here, and surveillance cameras are everywhere. There are even some weirdos filming all kinds of things. I'm worried that if Suicune appears, it'll cause chaos and a huge commotion. That would make things troublesome." It wasn't that Chu Lian didn't want to summon Suicune. It was just that the city was very different from the outskirts. If Suicune appeared here, the chance of being discovered was extremely high.
Although the world was gradually changing, especially after the appearance of dragons, various countries had begun—intentionally or not—to let the public become aware that supernatural phenomena existed around them.
But the time had still been too short. For now, there was barely any real effect. A being like Suicune, which clearly looked extraordinary, would undoubtedly trigger another wave of public uproar.
It was even possible that people would think Suicune, like the dragon in Miami, had come to attack the city. If that happened, things would get messy. A group of unknown "experts" would surely be more than happy to "drive away" her and Suicune.
Hearing Chu Lian's explanation, the girls understood the reasoning and stopped insisting. Instead, they gradually increased their speed. After entering the urban area, they searched for hidden spots and leapt onto rooftops, moving swiftly through the shadows.
They didn't have to worry about ending up like Suicune. First, they were human. Even if they were spotted, it wouldn't cause panic—at most, curiosity and surprise. Second, aside from Hiyori, who was nearly two meters tall, the rest of them were slender and petite girls. Spotting them in the night was extremely difficult.
As for Hiyori, she wore black armor. The Umbral Knight's innate ability allowed her to perfectly blend into darkness, so there was no need to worry about being seen.
"Seriously, why can't buildings be like those in Nihon or ancient times? Why do they have to be built so tall? Jumping around on these five- or six-story buildings is making me nervous."
Chu Lian wasn't afraid of heights. It was just that the uneven design of these buildings made it hard for her to enjoy moving across them. Even though big cities were all like this, they weren't Spider-Man—they couldn't move freely however they pleased.
"There's no helping it. I'd also love to see rows of traditional Huaxia-style buildings shining in the city, but those structures would be destroyed in an earthquake or even slightly intense combat. Their durability isn't on the same level as modern reinforced concrete buildings."
Chu Chu also felt a bit resentful, but she could see things more clearly. "Well, to prevent your home from being destroyed by even a small disturbance, building like this is inevitable. Not everyone can be like the Wang family, using the latest technology to construct Huaxia-style architecture."
"Fair enough." Chu Lian shrugged and glanced at the other girls, feeling a bit helpless.
Out of the five of them, aside from herself and Chu Chu, the others were all quiet types. Any conversation had to be carried by the two of them.
Inori didn't like to talk much unless it concerned her own matters. Most of the time, she remained silent.
Kurosaki Satsuki's past experiences made her withdrawn. Unless someone took the initiative to speak to her, she could remain silent to the point of being easily overlooked.
As for Hiyori, Umbral Knights were people of action. To them, actions spoke louder than words, so she naturally didn't interrupt.
And then there was that useless cat—just ignore her. After eating, she had reverted to her cat form and was now lazily sleeping on Chu Chu's ample chest, showing no signs of waking up. Chu Lian even had the urge to grab her by the neck and toss her off.
After about five minutes of movement, from afar, they could vaguely see Sudi High School in the night. Chu Lian slowed slightly and suddenly realized that this was a view she had never seen before.
But she didn't have time to appreciate it for long. From the distance, a girl's cry for help suddenly rang out.
"Help!"
The voice startled both Chu Lian and Chu Chu. They exchanged glances, their brows furrowing. They had no choice but to stop lingering and immediately rushed toward the direction of the sound.
On a dark rooftop, a small girl shrank near the edge, watching several men closing in on her. With a trace of fear, she said, "Don't come any closer. I'll give you money—lots of money."
"Tch, you still think we're killing you for money? No, no, no. It's just because you're too damn annoying. I've lived this long and never met anyone who pissed me off this much at first sight. You've ruined my appetite. I just wanted to beat you up, but you ran. Now don't blame me for settling things here."
The one speaking was a bald, heavily tattooed man. His face was filled with disgust as he looked at the small girl, as if she were the most repulsive thing in the world. "Of course, you can jump off yourself. That way, you won't dirty our hands, and you won't suffer either. Your choice."
"You can't do this! Killing people is illegal!" The small girl still tried to resist. The fear on her face, reflected in the men's eyes, gave them a twisted pleasure—as if they had taken drugs.
That strange thrill made them laugh.
"Hahaha, yeah, that's the expression! Seeing you this scared makes us unbelievably happy."
After laughing for a while, the leader straightened up, his expression dripping with disdain. "As for breaking the law? Heh. We've done this plenty of times—where are the consequences? There are things in this world that clueless little girls like you, who've never stepped outside and know nothing about reality, will never understand. So go quietly. Someone will take care of your body."
By now, they had no interest in playing around anymore. The disgust the girl had stirred in them had already lessened somewhat after all this. In the end, as long as she disappeared from their sight, everything would be fine.
"Help!" With no other choice, the small girl screamed with all her strength as she saw the bald man reaching out, his hands about to touch her.
A trace of deep revulsion flashed through her eyes. She turned around, grabbed the railing, climbed onto it, and looked down from the eighth floor. Closing her eyes, she leapt.
"You're really reckless!" Her body was caught midair, and a girl's exasperated scolding rang in her ear. She opened her eyes and saw Chu Lian. A relieved smile spread across her face as she wrapped her arms tightly around Chu Lian's neck and said happily, "I knew you'd come to save me."
"Using your life as a wager just to get close to me—is it worth it?" Chu Lian cast a flight spell on herself, stopping at the height of the fourth floor. Then, holding the girl in one arm and grabbing onto a balcony with the other, she leapt up onto it.
"Why not? I calculated everything. It was all planned—I was just waiting for you to save me." The girl didn't deny it after being exposed. Instead, she admitted it openly.
"You really are shameless." Chu Lian was exasperated by her rogue-like demeanor. She set her down on the balcony and threatened, "Believe it or not, I could just leave you here. If there are men inside, your situation could get very dangerous."
"Then I'll just jump again and see if you'll save me." The girl was completely unconcerned. She had already calculated that Chu Lian wouldn't do such a thing.
"You win." Helpless, Chu Lian rubbed her forehead with a wry smile. She picked up the small girl again, flipped over the balcony, and condensed spiritual power beneath her feet into a thin platform. Stepping on it, she walked back toward the rooftop.
"Oh my god! Honey, come out quick—look what I found!" This was already a residential area. The weather in May was perfect for enjoying the breeze on the balcony. Chu Lian's bold and almost miraculous actions were instantly noticed, causing an uproar.
They had just seen her carry the girl into the balcony, only to jump out again moments later and ascend into the air as if walking on nothing. Everyone was stunned. Could this be what the country had been talking about—cultivators? It was incredible.
Many people had already taken out their phones to record the scene, planning to upload it online afterward.
Although the darkness and Chu Lian's deliberate concealment meant that neither of their faces was captured, the act of walking through the air was recorded clearly, stirring endless longing in the viewers' hearts.
"Phew, finally made it up." Chu Lian carried the small girl back onto the rooftop. Seeing that the others had already subdued those men, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Hey, hey, hey—Qu Ningmeng, what are you even doing? Don't you know how special you are? You actually ran out alone and let these men corner you. If we hadn't happened to be here, you could've died and no one would even know who did it!"
Seeing the small girl enjoying herself in Chu Lian's arms, Chu Chu walked over angrily and pinched her cheek.
"Well, nothing happened, did it?" In front of Chu Lian, she could be honest. But in front of others—even Chu Chu, who was very close to Chu Lian—she wouldn't be the same.
"Alright, alright. It's good that nothing happened. Otherwise, it would've been troublesome." Chu Lian didn't expose Qu Ningmeng's true nature. Right now, she actually wanted to "play" with this girl—to see who could uncover the other's secrets and true origins first.
The game had already begun, but not tonight. She didn't plan to get entangled any further. Right now, the most important thing was still to bring Xiu'er out of the Li family.
"What should we do with these people?" Inori, dressed in a pink-and-white bodysuit, pointed at the subdued men and asked.
"Hmm, these people probably have some background. Handing them over to the police casually won't resolve anything. Call Mom." Chu Lian hadn't heard much of their earlier conversation, but based on her judgment, she could tell these men were somewhat troublesome.
Hearing this, Chu Chu took out her phone and stepped aside to call Li Mingxue.
At this moment, Chu Lian looked at the girl in her arms and asked, "When are you going to let go?"