Chapter 130: Enemies Often Cross Paths

The delicate body surged toward him with fierce momentum, and in a fleeting instant, Su Yi was met with a tight, intimate collision. He felt the supple elasticity and firm, powerful strength of the figure, yet this sensation lasted only a moment before the person, who had slammed into him head-on, was sent reeling back by Su Yi’s rock-hard frame.

"Ah!"

With a soft cry, the girl stumbled back several steps, nearly losing her balance and falling to the ground. After barely steadying herself, she instinctively glanced at the culprit who had caused her pain. However, she clearly had no appetite for seeking retribution; the slight panic on her face suggested she was in a dire situation.

Ignoring Su Yi, the woman moved to leave, but at that moment, a chorus of shouts and curses erupted, piercing the silence of the night. Flames flickered to life as a group of men brandishing torches appeared, fiercely surrounding Su Yi and the woman, whose expression shifted abruptly.

"You stinking bitch! You’ve led us in circles all day—how about that? You’ve finally fallen into our hands, haven’t you?!"

"Captain, this woman has worn our brothers out for an entire day. We must teach her a lesson—why don't we just take turns and run her into the ground?"

"Good! Good! Well said! Have at her!"

Threats and insults filled the air. The woman, seemingly familiar with their methods, trembled slightly upon hearing these words. Under the glow of the torches, her beautiful face was clearly revealed, though it was now deathly pale. Her eyes, which possessed a unique beauty, were filled with terror. Judging by the graceful, winding shadow she cast on the ground, one could tell just how slender and alluring her figure was.

She was stunningly built, with long, straight legs that were hard to look away from. Yet, Su Yi spared little attention for such things. Since the moment the group appeared, he had quietly unleashed his soul perception to gauge their strength. To his surprise, all twenty or so men possessed decent capabilities; seven or eight of them were at least seventh or eighth-level fighters. As for the man in the center, referred to as the Captain, his strength made Su Yi’s brow twitch—the man was a True Fighter!

Furthermore, the fluctuations of the man’s aura were even stronger than those of Qin San, likely placing him at the twelfth level. Su Yi had deemed himself no match for Qin San at the time; encountering this man now would be even more troublesome. The fact that a mercenary company had chased this woman all day, combined with their leader being a True Fighter, left Su Yi with an ominous premonition.

The Captain stepped forward, his face twisted in a mixture of rage and malice. His eyes, sharp as blades, locked onto the woman. He didn't even glance at Su Yi, seeing him only as a youth without a shred of internal energy—hardly worth the concern. The woman, however, was different. She had used some unknown method to conceal her strength, and while it didn't match his own, her talent was impressive for someone under twenty.

"Yao Xin, I suggest you be sensible and hand over that martial art manual. Did you really think that just because you stole it while I was distracted, you had the ability to escape my grasp?" the Captain sneered coldly.

"Captain Ji, I suppose my luck ran out falling into your hands. But if you dare come any closer, I will destroy this Profound-tier manual!" Although fear lingered on her face, Yao Xin knew pleading was useless. She suddenly pulled out a scroll and held it as if to tear it apart, snarling fiercely.

The scroll looked tattered, far inferior to those Su Yi had seen at auctions. It looked less refined than even some Yellow-tier manuals. It seemed she had likely stumbled upon it by luck in some nameless cave, much like Di Yuan had.

Su Yi realized that this group of mercenaries, led by the man surnamed Ji, was the same one he had heard rumors about at the market regarding a stolen martial art. He felt a bit speechless; after dealing with that burly vice-captain earlier, he had left in the middle of the night specifically to avoid trouble, only to have it backfire and run into them here.

As for the brute, Su Yi knew that if he hadn't struck first, the man would have attacked him anyway. Given the man’s insatiable greed, who knew if he would have continued to extort him even after receiving twenty thousand gold coins? After making that so-called vice-captain pay a heavy price, Su Yi had simply seized the chance to rob the group as well. Truth be told, he felt a flicker of pride at walking away with a third-tier demonic core, but this current situation made him sigh at the irony of "enemies crossing paths on a narrow road."

With a cold laugh, Captain Ji’s eyes glinted with lewd intent as he took another step forward. "I was planning to search you thoroughly myself, but I didn't expect you to hand it over on your own...!"

"You... don't come any closer! If you move again, I really will tear it!" Seeing that the man was not retreating but closing in, Yao Xin shuddered and took a few steps back. Her voice was louder, but clearly lacked conviction.

"Go ahead and tear it. The moment you do—" Captain Ji chuckled lowly, his expression turning savage. "I’ll strip you bare, parade you through every corner of the empire, and let everyone see your filthy, naked body. I'll let every man here have his way with you day and night! Do you want to try me?!"

Hearing these horrifying threats, Yao Xin shook violently. In a moment of distraction, she left an opening. Captain Ji seized the chance, lunging forward to snatch the scroll before flipping his palm and striking directly at her chest!

Yao Xin’s expression shifted instantly. With a sharp cry, she erupted with internal energy and thrust her palms out to meet him. When their forces collided, the air exploded. The shockwave left Captain Ji unmoved, while Yao Xin groaned in pain and retreated several steps. The disparity in their strength was clear at a glance.

"Are you alright?"

Yao Xin had retreated right next to Su Yi. He instinctively reached out his right hand to catch her slender waist, stopping her momentum. While marveling at her soft, delicate body, he was surprised to find that even after his soul perception scan, he still couldn't gauge her true strength!

This puzzled Su Yi. The power she had displayed while parrying the attack should have been that of a sixth or seventh-level fighter. As he held her, he probed once more, only to be met with a sense of chaotic ambiguity. She was about his age, yet already a sixth or seventh-level fighter—if she were in Changling City, she would surely be hailed as a genius.

Su Yi’s attempt at kindness was unappreciated; Yao Xin steadied herself, swatted his hand away, and glared at him with annoyance. "Don't you interfere! If it weren't for you, would I have been caught by them?!"

"Uh..." Su Yi thought for a moment, calculated the time, and looked up at the beautiful girl. "You probably would have been caught anyway."

"You—!"

Yao Xin was furious, and in her agitation, she coughed several times. She stared at Su Yi with wide, clear eyes, as if he were an accomplice.

"Captain, how should we handle this brat?" one of the mercenaries asked, gesturing toward Su Yi.

*If you don't have anything to say, nobody is going to mistake you for a mute!* Su Yi thought, rolling his eyes at the mercenary before turning his attention to Captain Ji with his guard fully up. The Captain, having retrieved the manual, seemed to be in high spirits. After verifying it was intact, he carefully tucked it into his robes, looking as if he were about to worship it. Su Yi had a sudden urge to smash him with a Profound-high or even Earth-tier manual, but he held back.

While the manuals Su Yi carried were at least Profound-high grade, to the average person, even a Profound-low manual was a treasure; after all, that was the pinnacle of the renowned Aubon family’s collection.

"Haha, it's fate that we met this little brother here. Little brother, would you like to watch as we have our fun with this little vixen?" Perhaps because he was in such a good mood, Captain Ji actually bothered to address Su Yi, his tone seemingly friendly. On any other day, he wouldn't have spared a glance at a boy like Su Yi who appeared to have no internal energy. As for whether Su Yi was Yao Xin’s accomplice, Captain Ji didn't even consider it—what did it matter? Surely, a kid couldn't turn the tables.

Upon hearing this, Yao Xin’s face paled with terror and despair. She was surrounded, and now that she was injured, even escaping was impossible. To stay here meant suffering a cruel, humiliating fate—a fate worse than death.

"Watch here?" Su Yi tilted his head slightly, his gaze piercing the dark shadows of the trees as his brow furrowed.

"Of course. We'll finish it right here, and then kill her once we're done! You're so young, you've probably never seen how a real man takes a woman, have you? You’re in for a treat. Heh heh, if you want a turn, I might even let you have the last one. How’s that?"

The surrounding men erupted in lewd laughter. Even the pale-faced Yao Xin looked at Su Yi with a hint of disgust in her eyes. This guy looked decent enough—was he just as rotten as the rest of them?!

"I think I'll pass," Su Yi shook his head and sighed. "I think we’ve been surrounded..."

"Awoooo—!"

Before the words had even left his lips, a sound like a wolf’s howl tore through the night sky. Suddenly, a massive pack of wolf-like demonic beasts appeared before the terrified group!