Translator: Silavin As for Gongshu Zhiyi’s questions, Qin Yichen answered them all without the slightest impatience. Lu Xiaoguan observed all this and felt extremely uncomfortable. How he wished that the one chatting enthusiastically with Gongshu Zhiyi was him, not Qin Yichen. However, in truth, he could not answer any of Gongshu Zhiyi’s questions either. After all, he was not familiar with the outside world. Gongshu Zhiyi’s behaviour had attracted the attention of several ill-intentioned individuals. Two youths whose beards had barely grown, along with a girl who clearly had not ventured out before, all wearing decent clothes… in the eyes of the ‘experienced’, they were fat sheep ready for slaughter. Qin Yichen had sensed these furtive glances, but as long as they did not do anything excessive, he could not be bothered to deal with them. “Brother Yichen, what’s that?” Gongshu Zhiyi tugged at Qin Yichen’s sleeve, pointing at a building draped with red cloth on all four sides. “That’s…” Qin Yichen was about to answer, but after glancing and realising it was a brothel, he suddenly felt awkward and did not know what to say. He did not want to corrupt this pure and adorable little girl. “Hehe… Little Sister, that’s a fun place!” Just as Qin Yichen was hesitating, a malicious voice sounded from Gongshu Zhiyi’s side. “A fun place?” Upon hearing the words ‘fun place’, Gongshu Zhiyi’s beautiful eyes immediately lit up with joy. Qin Yichen frowned because as that voice rang out, three burly men blocked their path. “Little Sister, I’ll take you there to play. It’s really fun. Your Brother won’t mind, right?” The burly man beside Gongshu Zhiyi first tempted her, then his expression chilled as he questioned Qin Yichen, his words full of threatening intent. “Brother Yichen…” Having their path blocked by several rough-looking men, Gongshu Zhiyi finally sensed something was wrong. She instinctively moved closer to Qin Yichen, her small hand gripping his sleeve. “I do mind!” Qin Yichen had no interest in these weak men. He shrugged his shoulders, pushed past the large man in front of him, and led Gongshu Zhiyi away. “Since you refuse to drink the toast, then face the consequence for it!” Seeing this young man being so bold, the surrounding men immediately grew more malicious. They had observed earlier that there were no guards following these three youths! “Kill those two. I’ll take the little girl. After I’ve enjoyed her, I’ll give her to you guys!” The man who had first tempted Gongshu Zhiyi appeared to be their leader. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes as he ordered. Clang! The other three mercenaries licked their lips, their eyes gleaming with filth, and drew the gleaming weapons from their waists. Noticing the commotion, the originally bustling crowd immediately cleared out a large space. Evidently, the people of Cloud Forest City were accustomed to such incidents. “Go easy on them. Just cripple them.” Just as many were secretly feeling sorry for Qin Yichen and his companions, he spoke without even turning his head, his voice floating out with complete indifference. Then, under numerous stunned gazes, Qin Yichen directly led Gongshu Zhiyi into a nearby tavern, as if he had not taken these them seriously at all. Of the three, only Lu Xiaoguan remained, standing with a gloomy face. He felt indignant. But thinking of his Father’s instructions… he could only vent his anger on these people! Initially, due to Qin Yichen’s words, the four had cautiously scanned their surroundings. Under their fierce glares, the onlookers all sheepishly drew in their necks, with no one showing any intention of intervening. “Trying to fool us!? Do you think this place is owned by your Father?” Having hesitated due to that youth’s words, the men all burned with shame and anger. They seemed to have detected mocking smiles from the watching crowd. To be frightened by a mere youth was absolutely humiliating! “I’ll kill this brat first!” One man angrily shouted, holding his knife with both hands and fiercely chopping towards Lu Xiaoguan’s neck. “Ah!” Seeing this, many onlookers turned away, unable to bear the sight. Those less accustomed to such bloody scenes even let out screams, closing their eyes tightly, unwilling to witness the outcome. Lu Xiaoguan was very angry at this moment! [These bastards dared to flirt with Zhiyi!] Moreover, as the strongest of the Lu Clan’s young generation, he had been reduced to being Qin Yichen’s henchman! “Since you like to daydream, I’ll send you on your way!” Seeing this youth standing dumbfounded like an idiot, the man’s eyes flashed with ferocity. With a loud shout, not only did he not stop his knife, but he put even more force into it, slashing violently towards Lu Xiaoguan. Bang! A crisp sound echoed through the street. Those who had been preparing to enjoy the spectacle now narrowed their eyes. The scene before them was not what they had imagined – a head flying into the air. What surprised them was that without seeing the youth make any movement, the mercenary’s knife had shattered. Most bizarre of all, the fragments of the broken knife had not fallen to the ground but were floating silently around the youth. “This is… Spiritual Energy. Could he be an Alchemy Master!?” The man who had attacked first also had shock surging in his eyes. He sensed what seemed to be a subtle wave spreading out, and then his sharp knife had shattered. At this moment, the previously noisy street fell silent, with all eyes perplexedly watching the floating knife fragments. Whoosh! Under the gaze of countless eyes, the next instant, these fragments suddenly shot out. “Ah! Ah!” The four men did not even have any time to react before they collapsed to the ground, with miserable screams coming from their mouths. “Hmph, if he hadn’t instructed me to merely cripple you, none of you would be walking away today!” Lu Xiaoguan snorted coldly, gave the four men lying on the ground a cold glance, and then strode towards the tavern Qin Yichen had entered. Siiii… Around them, the sound of sharp intakes of breath arose, with eyes full of shock. In their hearts, those mercenaries were already considered extremely powerful, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to act so tyrannically within the city. Yet Lu Xiaoguan had brought them all down without even raising a hand. What level of strength did that require? More importantly, it seemed this person was merely the… ‘follower’ of the previous two?