Chapter 23 — Arrival and Rescue
In the small forest, the Dragon Lord and Snake Matron, having deactivated their Spirit Fusion due to excessive soul power expenditure, were surrounded by a group of ruthless thugs. Their faces were pale, their breaths shallow, yet their eyes were fixed intently on the enemies.
Li Feiyu and Li Tianyu, also pale, stood at the front of the attackers.
Li Feiyu's expression was ruthless as he gripped Meng Yiran's neck, applying slight pressure. The little girl's cute face immediately flushed red from the blood being forced upward.
Seeing their granddaughter in danger, the Dragon Lord and Snake Matron panicked. "Stop! Stop! We'll give you the spirit bone!"
Quickly, the Dragon Lord retrieved a spirit bone from his storage ring.
Li Feiyu and his brother exchanged a glance, both secretly relieved. Though Li Feiyu appeared vicious, he did not dare push too far — if Meng Yiran died, the Dragon-Snake couple would have nothing to lose, and they were still capable of using Spirit Fusion one more time if desperate.
The brothers could not risk that.
"Cough, cough—"
Li Feiyu loosened his grip, and the little girl coughed violently, her flushed face gradually returning to normal.
Li Tianyu glared at the Dragon Lord. "Throw the spirit bone over!"
The Dragon Lord was not naive. "Release my granddaughter first, then I'll hand it over!"
Handing over the spirit bone without leverage would leave Meng Yiran's life at the mercy of these thugs.
"You old man, don't you understand the situation? We have the advantage! You have no right to negotiate!"
Li Feiyu squeezed Meng Yiran's hand tighter. "Do you want your granddaughter to die? Hurry and give us the spirit bone!"
The little girl, struggling, said through red cheeks, "Grandpa, don't give it to him!"
Li Feiyu glared viciously. "Shut up, brat! One more word and I'll crush you!"
The Dragon Lord gritted his teeth, fury burning, wishing he could tear these monsters apart. But seeing Meng Yiran in pain, he had no choice but to compromise.
He gently tossed the spirit bone. It arced through the air and landed at Li Tianyu's feet.
Li Tianyu picked it up with a triumphant grin, finally obtaining the fruit of their efforts.
Snake Matron coldly demanded, "You have the spirit bone. Are you going to release my granddaughter now?"
Li Feiyu grinned darkly. "Not yet. This girl is our insurance. For our safety, wait until we leave; then we'll return her."
The Dragon-Snake couple's faces flushed red with anger. "You! Don't push your luck!"
From the treetops, Dugu Bo observed the scene, his expression cold. "Watch over my granddaughter for me!"
With that, he descended slowly from the canopy, landing about ten meters from the confrontation.
Yu Luomian, observing Dugu Bo's descent, found it unusual. This old schemer, normally gloomy and difficult, had suddenly chosen to help the Dragon-Snake couple, with whom he had only met once.
"Who's there?"
The arrival of Dugu Bo shocked the thugs. Each looked nervously at him. Somehow, this person had remained hidden nearby, unnoticed by their entire group…
Dugu Bo cast a cold glance at them. "Using such dirty tricks against two elderly people… isn't this a bit too much?"
No one noticed a faint green light spreading from Dugu Bo's feet across the area.
Li Tianyu fumbled, unsure of Dugu Bo's identity. "This doesn't concern you, right?"
Li Feiyu said nothing, tightening his grip on Meng Yiran as if she were his only security.
Dugu Bo casually stepped forward. "It's not my business… but trash like you doesn't deserve to live."
The moment he finished speaking, Li Feiyu felt his body weaken, and his grip on Meng Yiran loosened uncontrollably.
Li Tianyu and the others tried to attack, only to find they could not lift a finger.
Li Feiyu stared at Dugu Bo. "You… have poison…"
Before he could finish, Dugu Bo vanished from sight.
The next moment, everything went black, and Li Feiyu was sent flying.
"Damn it!"
Seeing his brother thrown, Li Tianyu struggled to use his soul skill. Dugu Bo appeared again before him, striking like swatting a fly. The Title Soul master was blasted backward with terrifying speed.
Bang!
He crashed into a towering tree.
Boom!
The tree splintered under Li Tianyu's body, falling heavily and kicking up clouds of dust.
The remaining attackers froze in terror, unable to move as if their bodies had turned to noodles. They could only stare at Dugu Bo in disbelief.
Who was this young-looking man with such terrifying strength? Even the Dragon-Snake couple was stunned, momentarily forgetting to rescue their granddaughter.
Dugu Bo ignored them. He lifted Meng Yiran from the ground. "Are you alright, little one?"
Meng Yiran blinked at him, realizing she had been saved. "I'm fine… Thank you, senior, for saving me!"
The Dragon-Snake couple snapped out of their shock, hurrying to Dugu Bo. Seeing his youthful face, they hesitated briefly. "Thank… you, senior."
Dugu Bo casually picked up the fallen spirit bone and tossed it to the Dragon-Snake couple.
The Dragon Lord, stunned, caught it. He had assumed this mysterious expert was after the spirit bone, but not only had he rescued their family, he had returned the stolen spirit bone as well.
Yu Luomian and Dugu Yan then descended from the canopy.
Dugu Yan ran to Dugu Bo, clenching her small fists with excitement. "Grandpa is amazing!"
Dugu Bo smiled and patted his granddaughter's head.
The Dragon-Snake couple's expressions grew even stranger.
Yu Luomian seemed to read their thoughts. He glanced at Dugu Bo and said, "This is Dugu Bo. Don't let his appearance fool you — although he looks barely thirty, this guy is already seventy!"
Even Yu Luomian was puzzled. Only recently, he had been wrinkled and aged — how had he suddenly become so young?
Could someone actually get younger as they lived? It was completely absurd!