35 Protection

In the center of the limestone cave lay a lake, occasionally bubbling up with a trail of gas. Bizarrely, the water was pitch black like ink, appearing viscous, much like molten lava that had yet to cool.

Having lost dozens of pounds of raw stone in an instant, I had no face to return. Cutting into any of those five remaining stones was absolutely out of the question; I would never agree to it.

"That may be what you say, but I suspect you and Danzhu are still itching to go, frustrated that I didn't let you see it for yourselves?" The Empress Dowager glanced at her, a faint smile on her lips.

Helan Yao hesitated for a moment before placing her hand in Long Shaoyan’s palm, walking toward the seats alongside him.

The Dragon King of the Sea performed a hand seal, searched for a brief moment, and then pointed a finger to emit a ray of light. The light automatically descended upon an archaic black book.

"Enough, you may withdraw!" Gan Ran, having no patience for idle chatter with a servant, waved Hongluan away and walked slowly toward Su Ruhui.

In her sleep, the young woman’s body had been severed diagonally from the lungs. Her expression was one of astonishment and confusion. Her eyes, widened in agony, were fixed directly upon the murderer who had ended her life.

"Don't die, your family is still waiting for you." Tony muttered to himself, disengaged the safety on the arm-mounted missile, and strode toward the cave entrance, where the silence had become unsettling.

Yet, outside Chu Feng’s dantian, one could only see his face pale, his entire body trembling, and his teeth clenched tight, as if enduring unimaginable pain.

Wang Yue had to give his all. His opponent used a flexible baton, while he wielded a machete. In the hands of someone skilled, how could a machete ever prevail against such a nimble weapon?

Seeing the fire-element Cold Shadow Guard’s attack imminent, Nie Chen had no choice but to unleash the Extreme Collapse Break. However, without the infusion of Asura energy, the attack’s power was greatly diminished. When it collided with the Cold Shadow Guard’s blade, Nie Chen was instantly sent reeling.

"Yes, I beg you, spare my son..." Ouyang Bao paused, speaking heavily. By now, he understood that Han Yu was no ordinary person. Someone capable of ruining him overnight had to be more ruthless than the mayor.

The two inhaled simultaneously, their bodies crisscrossed with wounds from the swords. In the next moment, they unleashed their techniques in unison. Two surges of spiritual energy erupted, gradually morphing into a flaming dragon that shattered the multitude of swords and struck toward Xuanyuan Xiao.

"Director Liu, why the gloomy face? Losing a match isn't the end of the world, no need to be so angry, is it?" Zhang Lijiao said with a mocking, sarcastic tone.

"Huanxi... she cannot come out for the time being," Qingyuan said in a very calm tone. "I am sorry." He lowered his head in silence, his heart aching—for them, and for the reckless, uncontrollable path of fate unfolding before him.

Seeing that he was unharmed, the old maids relaxed slightly, their breaths hitched. "Young Master, what happened to you? Did you encounter something?" one asked tentatively.

Thinking of this, she stole a glance at Chang Le. Fortunately, there was nothing unusual; it seemed he truly felt nothing for this father.

"Someone!" Rou Dai ordered the jailer to summon a physician to tend to Qingyuan’s wounds as she walked out. Having given the command, she flicked her sleeves and left. The stench of the prison was suffocating, making her head spin, and she had no desire to linger.

With the parents agreeing, the agent could not leave immediately and had no choice but to bite the bullet and force an apology.

Withdrawing his gaze, he walked straight toward the island. Meanwhile, Blueberry in his arms seemed dazed, remaining silent and letting Mu Jiang carry her.

Because Chen Yang had called her, telling her to stay home and not go wandering. As for what Chen Yang was up to, Han Qin had no idea.

At the same time, Qin Muxue was filled with confusion and worry upon learning that Chen Yang would be staying in Dongjiang City for another three days instead of coming home.

Recently, he had been playing games or listening to all sorts of chaotic, hypnotic music.

As soon as she said this, the faces of the Song family members grew grim, and Song Lan was no different.

That’s how it was; whoever dared to feign compliance while secretly defying orders would get a good thrashing with a heavy club, and naturally, everyone would fall into line.

In order to make it easier to find his master, and for his master to find him, he had been forced to reveal his whereabouts. This wave after wave of trouble had indeed caused others much inconvenience.

He stretched and yawned, his gaze drifting unintentionally toward a shop named "Facing the Sun" on the street.

Hearing Jun Hao put it this way, Yun Youran felt even more confident: "Doesn't that settle it? Since she and I were split from the same soul, our fundamental nature should be much the same."

"I told you I would let them go, and you saw it yourselves. They have been away from their bodies for too long and can no longer fuse with their flesh, so they are destined to return to my side," the creature said, feeling completely secure.

"One year, I suppose! I might come back next year to film for a while, but I won't stay long," Lin Mu said.

Tang Feng’s heart trembled. He really did not want to fight this beast with such formidable predatory instincts. The reticulated python, a snake as notorious as the Amazonian anaconda, had records of killing caimans, wild boars, and even jaguars—beasts with significant combat prowess. But at this point, the arrow was already on the string.

"No, cooking is just my hobby. Farming is my main occupation. In truth, I am just a farmer," Zhang Donghai said with a pretentious air.

Mu Zhi had not yet left; she knocked on the door a few more times, leaning in close to listen for any movement inside.

"What will you do then?" Zhao Ya asked, a sentence almost slipping out: "Do you need an investor?"

Thinking of this, a terrifying chill flashed in Tang Feng’s eyes. A majestic aura radiated from his body—the kind of presence inadvertently emitted by someone who had spent a lifetime on the battlefield.

Wild boars were a rare commodity for those city folk. This time, Zhang Donghai had killed quite a few—over a dozen.

"I can't help you here. I only take adults. Besides this restaurant, I have a farm that needs strong laborers. If you can introduce people to me, I’ll give you a referral fee of one hundred yuan each," Zhang Donghai said.

The so-called "stick" was their local slang for ginseng. The famous specialty of White Mountain was ginseng, so many people in the area worked in this industry.