Chapter 16: Alas, it's truly a miserable fate!

  The sky brightened, and in the secluded valley amidst the rocky peaks, colorful rare flowers bloomed simultaneously, their dew-kissed petals shimmering with a crystalline luster. The delicate stamens emitted waves of fragrance, while amidst this intense scent, a subtle, refreshing aroma wafted gently.

  "Look, the flower has bloomed, the flower has bloomed!" Wan Xichen opened his eyes and saw that the seven-colored Linglong had fully bloomed. The seven petals were like a cluster of stars surrounding the golden stamen, each petal having its own color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The seven different colored petals were like a circular rainbow, so beautiful it took one's breath away. Wan Xichen couldn't help but exclaim in surprise and delight.

  Zhu Ge Mingyue and Xue Zihao also emerged from their tent and saw it.

  "How beautiful." Xue Zihao exclaimed.

  "We must hurry to pick them up, the seven-colored flowers have a very short flowering period. After blooming for two or three hours, they will wither and become worthless." Zhuge Mingyue was the first to come back to her senses and said to herself.

  "Oh." Wan Xi Zhen heard the worthless words, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately got up and pounced on Qi Ling.

  "Idiot! Stop it! You're making it worthless like this!" Zhuge Mingyue snatched the bow from Xue Zihao's hand, directly knocking down Wan Qi Chen. After giving him a displeased glance, she took out a semi-transparent porcelain bottle, stepped forward, and covered the seven-colored flower from top to bottom. She quickly cut off the stem and sealed the bottle tightly.

  Zhuge Mingyue let out a sigh of relief as he carefully put away the porcelain bottle, but when he turned around, he saw Xue Zihao leaning against the stone wall with a vigilant expression on his face. One hand was tightly gripping his longbow and the other was holding an arrow. Zhuge Mingyue's heart tightened at this sight, for he was all too familiar with Xue Zihao's expression. Over the past few days, whenever something unusual happened, Xue Zihao's face would always take on this look.

  Isn't there danger? Zhuge Mingyue didn't doubt Xue Zihao's power of observation. As an archer, he indeed had a congenital advantage in terms of sensing danger.

  Wan Qi Chen also discovered that something was wrong at this time and quietly moved towards Xue Zi Hao's position with Zhuge Ming Yue.

  Xue Zihao drew his bow and nocked an arrow, the tip of which moved slightly before finally stopping in a certain direction, with a glint of light flashing in his narrowed eyes.

  "Not bad, this way I can also find you." Along with a hoarse voice, the rock in front of him moved slightly, cracked into countless fine lines, and then peeled off piece by piece, revealing a tattered figure.

  "Who is that?" Only then did Zhuge Mingyue and the others see clearly, it turned out that this person was covered in thick mud, which had dried to a color very similar to that of the rocks. Added to the fact that he hadn't moved before, the group had been too concerned with the Seven-Colored Linglong to notice his presence.

  When did this person come here? They didn't notice at all. However, that's no longer important. What's important is that several people felt a sense of danger from him. It was a deadly danger, and the feeling he gave them was very oppressive. His gaze at them was like that of a hunting venomous snake.

  This man didn't say a word, brazenly sizing up Zhuge Mingyue and the other two. He twisted his neck and stretched his muscles, standing up straight afterwards. Only then did Zhuge Mingyue and the others notice that this man's body was extremely robust, exuding an air of ferocity from head to toe. His tattered clothes had been cut open by a sharp object, revealing several deep and long scars on his body. The wounds had already scabbed over, but were still frighteningly gruesome with the mixture of dried blood and mud.

  "Bring some water and food." The man turned his head, casually ordering Zhuge Mingyue and the others, completely ignoring the bow and arrow in Xue Zihao's hand.

  Wan Qi Chen's eyebrows furrowed, and he was about to erupt. However, Zhuge Mingyue stretched out her hand to stop him. Xue Zihao and Wan Qi Chen couldn't see it, but she could. The person in front of them exuded a dangerous aura all over his body, which only came from having blood on one's hands. In other words, the person in front of them was no ordinary bandit. This person had more than one life on their hands. Such a person was not someone they could currently contend with.

  After Zhuge Mingyue stopped Wan Qi Chen's rash action, she bent down to the package on the ground, took out clear water and food, and threw them at that person.

  The man was apparently very satisfied with Zhuge Mingyue's behavior, and after taking the food and water, he began to devour them voraciously. However, Zhuge Mingyue keenly discovered that although this person was very hungry, he still did not lower his guard while devouring the food, constantly paying attention to the movements of the few people. This made Zhuge Mingyue even more wary in her heart.

  After eating and drinking enough, he smiled and said to Zhuge Mingyue: "Little girl, give me the seven-colored Linglong you just picked."

  "What makes you think I should give it to you?" Wan Xi Chen shouted angrily.

  "Here you go." Zhuge Mingyue threw the collected seven-colored Linglong to that person, and said, "You've eaten your fill, drunk enough, and gotten what you wanted. Can we leave now?"

  Wan Qi Chen and Xue Zi Hao saw Zhuge Mingyue's attitude, and they also understood that the person in front of them might be more dangerous than they had imagined.

  Who would have thought that after he got the Seven-Colored Linglong, his face revealed a sinister smile: "Little girl, you're not bad. How about this, serve me for a while and I'll be happy to spare your life."

  Wan Qi Chen and Xue Zi Hao's faces changed suddenly, especially Wan Qi Chen, who immediately wanted to summon his magic pet. However, the next moment, that person had already made a move. Wan Qi Chen only felt a flash in front of his eyes, severe abdominal pain. Then his entire body flew up, heavily crashing into the cliff wall. The pain was so intense that he couldn't get up, and his curse was naturally interrupted. That person just used one kick to take care of Wan Qi Chen.

  The next moment, Xue Zihao had retreated several steps back, drew his bow and shot an arrow at the man's back. However, as soon as the arrow was shot out, the man didn't even turn around, stretched out his hand and deflected the arrow to the ground.

  "Not bad, but unfortunately, there's no power behind it." The man sneered and turned around to face Xue Zihao, punching him hard in the abdomen. Xue Zihao let out a muffled groan, flew backward, and fell to the ground, clutching his stomach in agony.

  "You, what kind of person are you..." Xue Zihao asked with great difficulty. He finally thoroughly understood why Zhuge Mingyue was so polite earlier. This man was extremely strong, far stronger than them. It would be easy for him to kill them.

  "I'll let you know my name. It's Luo Xiao." Luo Xiao sneered, and after finishing speaking, he no longer paid attention to Xue Zihao, whose face had changed color, but instead turned around to look at the trembling Zhuge Mingyue. "Little girl, serve me well, and I'll spare your life."

  "What about... what about my companions?" Zhuge Mingyue's face was pale, her whole body trembling as if she had summoned all her courage to ask.

  "You're too greedy, little girl. Leaving you with your life is already a favor to you." Luo Xiao raised an eyebrow and laughed unscrupulously.

  Wan Xi Chen and Xue Zi Hao clenched their fists tightly, and after a moment of shock, anger and resentment surged up. Luo Xiao, this name they had all heard before. A notorious border outlaw with cruel means and great strength. A B-level wanted criminal, who had been wanted for a long time but no one could catch him. It was clear how cunning his nature was. But, such a person, how could he appear in the Cang Feng City's Xun Long mountain range? And now, he was going to deal with Zhuge Buji and they were powerless against him!

  "Zhuge, medicine... water..." Wan Xichen endured the severe pain in his abdomen and shouted to Zhuge Mingyue.

  "I, I only refined two bottles, and you all drank them up, they're gone!" Zhuge Mingyue said with a sob. Wan Qi Chen and Xue Zihao felt despair in their hearts, more pain and anger, were they really going to watch helplessly as Zhuge was ravished by that person?

  Luō Jiàn couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Little girl, you're really amusing. Do you still want to resist? However, listening to your words, it seems like a pity that your trump cards are all gone. Don't worry, I won't kill your companions so soon. I'll let them witness the beautiful scene between us first, and then finish them off." In Luō Jiàn's eyes, Wàn Xī Chén and Xuè Zǐ Hào were completely harmless, especially now that they had been beaten by him and lost their ability to act.

  "I, I..." Zhuge Mingyue blinked her eyes, with tears at the corners, "I, I know I'm not your match, so just now I told my companions not to make a move."

  "Haha... you're really cute." Luo Xiao was pleased by Zhuge Mingyue's attitude, and looking at her tearful appearance, he felt a perverted sense of satisfaction rising in his heart. He stretched out his hand and hooked it around her, "Come, little girl, let me have my way with you. I keep my promises, I won't kill you."

  "Then, then you have to be gentle." Zhuge Mingyue asked cautiously.

  "Hahaha......" Luo Xiao laughed even harder and walked towards Zhuge Mingyue with big strides. Zhuge Mingyue's tense hands were clasped together.

  Wan Xi Chen and Xue Zi Hao closed their eyes in agony.

  Zhuge Mingyue stood still on the spot, waiting for Luo Xiao to approach, but suddenly raised his left hand and aimed at Luo Xiao's face.

  "Whoosh!" A small but icy arrow shot out.

  The distance was so close that Luo Xiao's face changed greatly, and he suddenly dodged to the side in fright. The arrow narrowly brushed past Luo Xiao's face, leaving a deep gash on his cheek, and blood immediately gushed out.

  "Despicable person!" Luo Xiao's furious roar echoed out, and he was about to charge towards Zhuge Mingyue.

  Xue Zikao and Wan Qichen opened their eyes, looked at this scene, and were both stunned.

  "Look at the arrow!" Zhuge Mingyue raised his right hand again and shouted loudly.

  Luo Hua was startled again and dodged, but found that there was no movement. He stared blankly, looking at Zhuge Mingyue, but saw that Zhuge Mingyue's face was panicked, and he raised his right hand to aim at Luo Hua, shouting "Look out for the arrow! Look out for the arrow!" However, there was still no movement. Zhuge Mingyue became anxious and started sweating profusely.

  Luo Xiao regained his composure and burst out laughing, slowly walking towards Zhuge Mingyue: "You wretch, I originally wanted to spare your life, but it seems you're looking for death yourself."

  Zhuge Mingyue looked at Luo Xiao, who was getting closer and closer, and became very flustered. Wan Qi Chen and Xue Zihao were anxious beyond measure. Xue Zihao silently mouthed a few words to Wan Qi Chen. This time, Wan Qi Chen came back to his senses, hastily concentrated his mind, closed his eyes, and began reciting an incantation.

  At this time, Luo Xiao had approached Zhu Ge Mingyue and was about to pinch her shoulder. At this moment, Zhu Ge Mingyue raised her right hand again and shouted loudly: "Look at the arrow!"

  Luo Xiao sneered and reached out to pinch Zhuge Mingyue's shoulder, without dodging or evading.

  However, mutation suddenly emerged!

  From Zhuge Mingyue's right sleeve, a small arrow shot out, shining with cold light. This is not the point, the point is where Zhuge Mingyue aimed, between Luo Xiao's legs, the most important part of a man!

  Digression

  Ah~ I went out today, so I didn't update at 11 am this morning, updating now.

  It will be more wonderful, you know!