Chapter 45: Delicate Beauty in My Arms

Page (1/3)

“I had anticipated that the daughter of the An family would certainly have her protectors, but I hadn't expected it to be an old man of the eighth level of the Advanced True Qi Realm…”
The weathered voice of the man in the black robe slowly emerged from within.
Uncle Fu’s gaze locked onto the three, “Scoundrels, do you dare show your true faces?”
Upon hearing Uncle Fu’s words, the figure within the black robe clearly became agitated. “Hahaha… Initially, I only intended to take a single item and spare your lives, but it seems today none of you will leave here.”
“Then let me see if you truly have the ability to do so…” Uncle Fu replied, and a golden brush appeared in his palm.
At that moment, the other black-robed man, who had not spoken before, focused his gaze.
He stared straight at the brush in Uncle Fu’s hand, excitement flickering in his eyes.
He spoke, “The Golden Yuan Brush… I never imagined that old An would entrust the An family’s treasured Golden Yuan Brush to you…”
“No wonder you are so confident, but so what…”
The black-robed man stepped forward, his aura bursting forth.
Eighth level of the Advanced True Qi Realm!
But that was not all—he spread his hand.
A golden greatsword appeared.
A low-grade spiritual weapon!
Seeing this, Uncle Fu furrowed his brow.
The An family had been established for hundreds of years, and within their clan, there was only a single spiritual weapon.
It was the mid-grade spiritual weapon, the Golden Yuan Brush, which he now held.
In his view, the only ones in Dragon City who could possess spiritual weapons were the three great clans and the City Lord’s Mansion; no other faction should have such a thing.
Could these attackers not be from Dragon City?
This thought weighed heavily on Uncle Fu’s heart.
Though theirs was a secular clan, there were cultivators among them, and some who, rejected by the three sects, had pledged themselves to the An family.
The opponent, a cultivator of the eighth level of the Advanced True Qi Realm, would be ranked among the top three even within the great families.
Moreover, he was flanked by a seventh-level and a fifth-level cultivator as allies.
Even with the young miss at his side, Uncle Fu had little confidence that they could repel these three.
Weighing his options, he made a decision, “Miss, in a moment I will hold them off… you take the item and break through…”
“Go directly to seek Lord Qiu Ming’s help…”
An An, seeing that Uncle Fu intended to face the three alone, cried urgently, “No… Uncle Fu, I will not abandon you and flee…”
She knew in her heart that if she truly left, Uncle Fu would have no chance of survival.
Uncle Fu turned to the girl, “Silly child, don’t be stubborn this time. Listen to me just this once…”
“Go!”
“Go?… Too bad none of you will leave…” sneered another figure in a black robe.
A flash of light, and he drew a blood-red longsword.
Another low-grade spiritual weapon!
“Girl, go…”

Page (2/3)

Uncle Fu’s right hand formed a seal, and with a stroke of the Golden Yuan Brush, he drew a talisman before him.
It rushed toward the three adversaries.
Boom!
A deafening explosion.
The talisman detonated before the three, forcing them to combine their efforts to defend.
Even so, the shockwaves from the blast swept away many of the knife-wielding bandits nearby, some even falling unconscious.
After casting the spell, Uncle Fu’s face grew pale.
Clearly, the technique had cost him much of his spiritual power.
“Hurry… go…”
“Go!” Seeing his young mistress still unmoving, Uncle Fu shouted anxiously.
“An An will not go… I cannot abandon you all to save myself. Uncle Fu, if it comes to it, I will fight to exhaustion alongside you!”
Seemingly remembering something, she quickly turned to Lin Cheng, “Lin Cheng, you leave first. This has nothing to do with you—go now…”
Lin Cheng rolled his eyes.
He glanced at the wall of people surrounding them, then shrugged helplessly.
An An realized the difficulty and could only cast an apologetic look at Lin Cheng.
Even in such dire straits, this girl still cared about his safety; the thought warmed Lin Cheng’s heart.
Looking at the girl who would rather die than abandon her companions, Lin Cheng’s admiration for her only deepened.
By now, the aftermath of the explosion had faded.
The three stood unharmed across from them, only a bit disheveled, but otherwise unscathed.
The figure in the black robe grinned wickedly, “Old man, today is the day you die…”
He glanced to either side, “Let’s move together—make it swift, lest something unexpected occurs…”
With those words, the three launched their attack.
Sword lights filled the air, arrows layered and overlapping, covering Uncle Fu and An An.
“Defend!”
Uncle Fu drew a talisman with his golden brush, which flashed green as it met the assault.
An An’s long whip caught the wind, transforming into a rope dozens of feet long, trying to entangle the three attackers.
For a moment, the battle was fierce and evenly matched.
Though it was two against three, Uncle Fu wielding a mid-grade spiritual weapon was not without strength.
Seeing this, the guards of the escort agency breathed a little easier.
What they didn’t know was that continually activating a mid-grade spiritual weapon drained immense energy.
Lin Cheng estimated that with Uncle Fu’s current cultivation, he could last no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
Sure enough, as the attackers pressed harder, Uncle Fu began to falter.
His defeat seemed imminent.
Bang!
Bang!

Page (3/3)

Two figures were sent flying.
A crimson wound at Uncle Fu’s waist gushed blood, soaking his robe as he crashed to the ground.
Just as An An was about to fall,
a figure appeared like a phantom,
catching her gently, her delicate form landing in his arms.
An An, still dazed, looked up and met a pair of clear, bright eyes.
She stared at the chiseled face, momentarily lost in thought.
Lin Cheng winked at her, a mischievous smile curling at his lips.
An An came to her senses, gave Lin Cheng’s chest a light punch, pushed him away, and pouted in protest.
Lin Cheng, unable to savor the softness in his arms, sighed and handed An An a bottle of Yuan Yang Pills. “Leave it to me now—go tend to Uncle Fu.”
Watching Lin Cheng step forward, the girl suddenly felt a sense of peace settle in her heart.
“Where did this reckless fool come from, trying to win the beauty’s favor at such a time…”
The shadowy man among the three assumed Lin Cheng had stepped forward to court the An family’s daughter and paid him no mind.
Lin Cheng curled his lips, “I think now is precisely the right time…”
“Don’t waste words with him…”
“If he wants to stand out, let’s finish him first. Anyway, none of them are leaving here alive…” the black-robed man in the center said impatiently.
He lunged first, stabbing his golden longsword at Lin Cheng, intending to kill him with one blow.
“Come, right here…”
Lin Cheng activated his Five Element Sword Body, pointing to his chest.
To everyone’s shock, he spread his arms wide, utterly defenseless, and stepped toward the black-robed man’s greatsword.
Courting death!
Infuriated by Lin Cheng’s contempt, the black-robed man stabbed his golden sword forcefully.
“Lin Cheng…”
At the rear, An An, having just administered the Yuan Yang Pill to Uncle Fu, witnessed this and her eyes widened in horror.
The guards, too, stared dumbfounded as the golden sword pierced Lin Cheng’s chest.
All hope that had just been rekindled was dashed once more!
The black-robed man’s two companions burst out laughing.
Seeing the sword had impaled Lin Cheng, they relaxed completely.
“To think I once suspected he was old An’s trump card…”
“Turns out he’s nothing but a pretty boy seeking attention.”
……