Chapter 813: Too Young...
"Stop fighting, all of you..."
"Surrender! I don't want to kill you..."
Lin Qingqing weaved and dodged, her movements surprisingly nimble as she avoided Qin Erhu's wild fists and the clumsy lunges of his tattooed thugs. She ducked under a swinging arm, her voice earnest and pleading.
She really couldn't keep this up. If she did, someone was going to die.
Lin Qingqing was terrified by her own strength. She had only been studying with Master Chen for two months. After finishing her exams, she'd gone traveling. While hiking, she had slipped and fallen from a cliff, only to be found by Chen Yuhua, who was cultivating in the valley below. The woman had taken her in as a disciple and imparted a portion of her power to her.
In just two short months, she had transformed from a helpless young woman into a powerhouse. A light, casual punch, thrown with less than a tenth of her full strength, could shatter a grown man's leg.
What would happen if she wasn't careful? What if she actually killed someone?
Her gaze fell upon the blonde thug writhing on the ground, his hands clutching a leg bent at an unnatural angle as he wailed in agony. Tears began to stream down Lin Qingqing's adorable, round face. This was it. She was definitely going to have a criminal record now. There was no way she could pass the civil service exam.
'Qingqing is still too naive…'
Observing from a distance, Chen Yuhua shook her head. Her disciple was still just a simple, inexperienced student. Even with immense talent and overwhelming power, she lacked the mindset and the courage to truly wield it.
If it were Chen Yuhua in this situation, facing thugs who preyed on the innocent, she would have crippled them long ago—at the very least, she would have shattered all their limbs.
The only thing that restrained her was her own heart; the laws and morals of the mortal world were shackles she had long since cast aside.
…
"You damn woman! I'd like to see you try and kill us!" Hearing Lin Qingqing's pleas, Qin Erhu and his men only grew more enraged.
"Damn it! Brothers, get her! Take this bitch down! We'll torture her first, then we'll kill her!" Qin Erhu's expression twisted into a vicious snarl, the words grinding between his teeth.
These were not good men. They were already burdened with numerous criminal cases, with even more that had yet to be uncovered. Deep in the Qinling Mountains, there was no telling how many travelers had fallen victim to them. If the Qin Family Village wasn't situated at the very entrance to the mountain range, providing them an escape route at a moment's notice, they would have been arrested and executed long ago.
Lin Qingqing had thoroughly ignited Qin Erhu's fury. He, Brother Hu, had always considered himself a man's man. How could he tolerate being looked down on by a slip of a girl in front of all his subordinates?
However, her strength had also secretly astonished him. She was definitely not someone they could handle with brute force alone. But he still had a trump card.
Exchanging a subtle glance with his men, Qin Erhu's forward lunge slowed just a fraction. A sinister, triumphant glint flashed in his eyes as his right hand slipped into his pocket, clearly preparing to use some dirty trick.
"Don't fight anymore, or I'll get really angry..." Lin Qingqing, still oblivious, continued to earnestly persuade the tattooed thugs to surrender, puffing out her cheeks like a goldfish blowing bubbles.
From her vantage point, Chen Yuhua's gaze remained cold and distant. Her right hand rose from behind her back, her index finger, middle finger, and thumb forming a delicate hand seal as she prepared to intervene.
She wanted Lin Qingqing to gain experience, but she wasn't willing to let her disciple truly suffer. She could be ruthless to herself, but she had always been soft-hearted toward those she cared for.
'I'll have to give Qingqing a good scolding later…' Chen Yuhua thought to herself.
But just as she was about to act, a piercing whoosh tore through the air from a hundred meters away. It was the sound of violent friction, like a windbreaker being ripped apart or a supersonic jet breaking the sound barrier at low altitude. The shockwave rattled the windows of the houses lining the street.
'You damn woman, eat my poison powder!' At that exact moment, a twisted grin spread across Qin Erhu's face. He yanked a paper bag from his pocket and flung its contents directly at Lin Qingqing.
His thugs, acting in concert, moved to block her vision and cut off her escape routes.
Lin Qingqing was still a bit bewildered. She turned her head just in time to see a large cloud of grayish-white powder scattering toward her.
'What is that?'She wanted to dodge, but seeing the thugs blocking her path, she hesitated, wondering if she should just push them aside. That single moment of indecision was all it took. It was too late.'Oh no, Master Chen is definitely going to scold me for this…'
As the grayish-white powder enveloped her, this was the only thought that surfaced in Lin Qingqing's mind. Even in the face of danger, all she could worry about was getting a lecture.
But in the next instant, she felt a warmth encircle her waist as a large hand wrapped around her. Her entire body shifted a dozen meters to the side, landing lightly on the pavement.
"Huh? Handsome big brother?" Lin Qingqing's beautiful eyes widened, her soft, pink lips parting slightly as she stared in surprise at Shen Anyu's handsome face.
She recognized him at a glance. He had left a deep impression on her when she witnessed him display his divine might at the Tianshi Sect, suppressing the Young Master of the Tianshi Sect, Zhang Zhiyun. She had seen him again at the Yu Family's old residence.
"Handsome big brother, why are you here?" Lin Qingqing asked, a hint of pleasant surprise coloring her voice.
Shen Anyu was a little speechless. She was almost painfully naive, with a natural ditziness that was both endearing and alarming.
He simply pointed back to where they had just been. "Look."
Lin Qingqing tilted her small head in confusion, her gaze following his. "What happened to them?"
She saw Qin Erhu and his tattooed thugs sprawled on the ground, their faces pale and their breathing faint. A fine layer of grayish-white powder coated their skin. When Shen Anyu had arrived, a casual wave of his hand had sent the noxious cloud right back into their faces, forcing them to suffer the consequences of their own vile scheme.
"Oh, I know! They're poisoned!" Lin Qingqing's mind flashed with understanding, and she puffed her chest out slightly, looking as if she was very clever and not the least bit silly.
'Good, she's not a complete idiot. Being too much of an idiot ought to be illegal,' Shen Anyu thought, amused. Lin Qingqing wasn't stupid, just too simple, slow on the uptake, and adorably clumsy.
"So, handsome big brother saved me?" Lin Qingqing turned to look at Shen Anyu, her star-like eyes sparkling with admiration.
"Of course. Who else would it be?"
"Hehe, handsome big brother is so nice, just as nice as Master Chen..."
[Ding! Detected that the Destined Heroine Lin Qingqing's favorability has increased by +30. Plundering +90,000 destiny value!]
"You... you need to be more careful in the future," Shen Anyu began, his eyes flickering slightly as he adopted a stern, lecturing tone. "When it's time to act, you act. Besides, these people are just thugs who bully others. You're dispensing justice, so there's no need to be so timid."
"I... I'm afraid of getting a criminal record... Then I won't be able to pass the civil service exam..." Lin Qingqing said, her voice laced with a sense of grievance. Her parents had drilled it into her head: after graduation, she absolutely had to pass the exam and secure a stable government job.
"What are you afraid of?" Shen Anyu said with a smile. "As long as you're doing the right thing, if you get a criminal record, I'll help you clear it." This clumsy girl. She was already a cultivator, yet she was still worried about passing some mundane exam.
She had no idea that the ability to cultivate was something even the highest-ranking officials would envy to the point of death. The handful of top figures in the world would likely trade all their power and position for a chance to walk the path of cultivation. Ancient emperors had sacrificed everything for it.
"Mm-hmm! Qingqing will listen to handsome big brother!" Lin Qingqing nodded enthusiastically, like a little chick pecking at grain. Her gaze toward Shen Anyu grew even more affectionate. Besides her parents and Master Chen, this handsome big brother was the nicest person she had ever met.
[Ding! Detected that the Destined Heroine Lin Qingqing's favorability has increased by +10. Plundering +30,000 destiny value!]
…
From her hiding spot, Chen Yuhua slowly withdrew her hand, her gaze fixed on the pair. Watching Shen Anyu rescue Lin Qingqing and then patiently guide her, a flicker of surprise appeared in her cold eyes.
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