Help Arrived!

"Let her go now!" Wu Jian's voice wavered as tension pulled tight around him.

Every plan he had crafted to save the situation was crumbling, and the glances exchanged between him and the other Nascent Soul cultivators weren't providing much reassurance.

They had to act soon, but nobody wanted to be the first to make a mistake.

Meanwhile, Su Xiaobai wasn't exactly swimming in confidence either.

He knew they'd eventually snap, and when they did, things were bound to get messy.

But then, like a gift from the heavens—

"What's happening here!?" A booming voice tore through the forest, carrying a pressure that immediately dwarfed Wu Jian's own.

Grandpa Wei.

Su Xiaobai couldn't help but chuckle under his breath. 'I swear, I've never been so happy to see an old man in my life.'

"Brother Su? Ling Er?" came the slightly less thundering voice of Wei Jun, who showed up right behind.

His eyes widened at the sight of so many dead guards, Xiao Hei standing atop the carriage like a blood-soaked demon warlord, and Su Xiaobai... well, Su Xiaobai with his arm wrapped around his sister's waist.

Ling Er looked like a delicate flower, trembling in Su Xiaobai's grip, her tear-filled eyes only enhancing her pitiful, soft appearance.

The thin line of blood on her jade-like neck added a beautiful touch, her pale skin almost glowing like morning dew.

Wei Jun's frown deepened as he processed the scene. 'Sure, I joked about introducing them, but this? What the hell is this?' he thought, his eyes narrowing at the fact that Su Xiaobai was a little too close to his sister's soft waist.

"Grand Elder... Prince?" Wu Jian, still fuming but relieved by the reinforcements, finally exhaled.

Wei Jun, however, waved him off and approached the carriage with a forced smile, clearly trying to keep things civil. "Brother Su, you really didn't give me any face today, did you?" he said, sighing dramatically. "I always thought of you as the righteous type, but here you are, holding my sister hostage and injuring her on top of it. You've wounded my heart, you know~~"

Su Xiaobai raised an eyebrow, a lazy smirk playing on his lips. "Oh?" His voice was light, almost playful. "Your little sister and I were just having a bit of fun. She's clever, you know, so lovable. How could I ever hurt her?" His voice dripped with sarcastic innocence.

With a flick of his wrist, Su Xiaobai made the spirit-grade dagger vanish and, in a smooth motion, covered the small wound on Ling Er's neck with his hand.

His fingers brushed against her soft skin, causing her to shiver.

She trembled more, her eyes wide, her lips quivering as she thought, 'Lier...'

Wei Jun raised an eyebrow, shaking his head with a sigh, 'Sure, she looks like a mess, but Brother Su's acting like she fell in love with him instead of trying to escape with her life.'

Wu Jian, however, wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"This..." His face was red with fury, fists clenched, ready to explode. "—You dare disobey orders, kidnap the princess, injure her, and now you stand here lying to the Grand Elder and Prince Wei to cover your tracks?" His voice trembled with rage as he stepped forward, sword in hand.

The other guards, despite the bloodied mess they were in, seemed ready to pounce.

But none dared take the first step.

Ling Er's pitful state—her silk robes disheveled, her exposed jade skin glistening with sweat and fear—was enough to hold them back.

Nobody wanted to make a move that could cost the princess her head.

Su Xiaobai shot a sly glance at Wu Jian, his one visible eye gleaming with mischief. His hand still gently stroked the delicate nape of the Little Princess's neck, causing her to shiver ever so slightly.

The tension in her body melted away as if she were growing weak in his grasp, her pitiful gaze making her seem even more fragile.

"Right?" Su Xiaobai smirked, his voice dripping with mockery. "So tell me, exactly which spot did I injure the Little Princess?"

Wu Jian's voice came cold and sharp. "You drew a blade on her neck—everyone saw it. Even if it's only a minor wound, the body of the princess is worth more than a thousand gold daughters. No one has ever dared to injure her before! If you fall into my hands, I'll return those blades a hundredfold!" He snorted, his anger barely contained, his eyes filled with fury. "You think you have skill, but you've overstepped, and I will make sure you pay for it."

Wei Jun frowned, his voice dropping to a low, threatening tone, clearly trying to make things harder for Su Xiaobai. "What do you mean by this? Even if you did harm my younger sister, I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt... but you've really disappointed me this time."

Su Xiaobai glared at Wei Jun for a moment, his annoyance clear as sky, before his gaze shifted to Grandpa Wei, who was simply observing, not interfering.

Then his attention fell back on Wu Jian, a faint smile creeping onto his lips. "What if I told you that there's no scar on the Little Princess's neck?"

Wu Jian's expression turned dark, his fists tightening around his sword. "If there's no scar, I'll dig out my own eye!" he shouted, his voice thick with disbelief.

"Good," Su Xiaobai replied coolly. "Remember what you've said."

With a calm, almost bored expression, Su Xiaobai slowly moved his hand away from the Little Princess's neck, revealing her flawless, snow-white skin. The crowd watched in stunned silence. There was no scar. Not even a trace of blood remained. Her neck was as pure and smooth as jade.

Wu Jian's eyes widened in shock, his face freezing in a look of disbelief. His mouth opened and closed as if trying to speak, but no words came out. Behind him, the guards—who had been burning with anger moments ago—now wore expressions of sheer confusion. They rubbed their eyes, thinking they had witnessed some illusion.

Wei Jun, after staring for what felt like an eternity, finally stepped forward, his voice faltering as he spoke. "This… this is impossible. Brother Su, could it be that you were only playing just now...?" He trailed off, unable to reconcile what he had seen with the reality before him.

Because they had all seen it—the blade cutting, the blood flowing, and the Little Princess crying out in pain. But now, the wound was gone, completely vanished as if it had never existed. No disguise, no illusion could explain this.

Even the Little Princess herself seemed confused, her small hands carefully tracing the spot where she had been cut. Her delicate mouth pouted as she whispered, "Quite strange… I felt it hurt before, but now the pain is gone. And it wasn't even that painful to begin with..."

She looked up suddenly, her large, sparkling eyes locking onto Su Xiaobai, her voice chirping in innocent wonder. "Big Bastard, did you do this? Teach me how! I could scare people so well if I learned this!" Her excitement made her look more like a mischievous child than a princess.

Su Xiaobai raised an eyebrow, his amusement growing. "Big Bastard?" he repeated with a smirk. "If you want me to teach you, at least call me 'Big Brother.'"