Chapter 5

A roar rang out beside his ear; the underling felt stars dancing before his eyes, shivered involuntarily, and moved behind the woman, while Li Si flashed a signal to the other men behind him.

Li Si led those men in pursuit, whispering to his underlings, "Wait for the right moment, then move in and tie her up."

"Yes," the underling replied immediately.

The woman's name was Xia Wusheng; she clenched her teeth, knowing there was still some distance to the house she needed to reach, for her grandfather needed that money.

After walking a while, Xia Wusheng felt a chill creeping up her back, as if something were tracking her, and she quickened her pace even more.

Seeing something amiss, Li Si flashed another signal to his underlings.

The meaning of that glance was clear: move forward and track her.

The underlings nodded in acknowledgment; Li Si made a hand gesture, and several of them surged out together, stirring up a gust of wind.

Xia Wusheng also felt that gust of wind; her alertness spiked, her feet moved even faster, and when she turned her head, she saw Li Si and his group of underlings, causing her to stare in shock before panic instantly seized her, and she cursed inwardly.

Just my luck that what I fear most comes true; if they catch up, I'm done for.

Thinking this, Xia Wusheng hurriedly sped up her limbs, but Li Si was not someone easy to escape; he had captured many girls before, and a small flight like Xia Wusheng's meant almost nothing to him.

The direction Xia Wusheng ran formed a circle; Li Si signaled his underlings, who immediately understood and split into two groups with Li Si to intercept her.

Xia Wusheng remained unaware, watching Li Si's pursuit behind her while also eyeing the chaotic crowd ahead.

"Thud!"

Xia Wusheng cried out in pain, feeling as though she had crashed into a wall; instinctively lifting her head to look up, she was stunned by the handsome face before her.

It was Luo En.

Luo En smiled; finally found, he then followed Xia Wusheng's line of sight to survey the situation, instantly understanding everything, and realizing they were surrounded, his eyes grew cold.

Li Si panted heavily, glaring viciously at Xia Wusheng, "Xia Wusheng, you run quite well; later, you'll certainly get a good lesson!"

Hearing Li Si's words, Xia Wusheng couldn't help but turn around, startled by his appearance, and instinctively stepped back, nearly falling into Luo En's arms.

Luo En exerted strength with both hands, sensing Xia Wusheng's latent Shadow talent, then steadied her, "Don't worry, I won't let them hurt you."

Hearing Luo En's words, Xia Wusheng felt a touch of emotion rise in her heart; she looked up at him gratefully, "You..."

Before Xia Wusheng could finish, Li Si cut her off, scoffing as he sized Luo En up from head to toe.

Luo En was extremely frail, looking just like a wooden stick.

Li Si clicked his tongue twice, glancing at Luo En with disdain, "You? Go home and grow vegetables!"

"If you know what's good for you, scram far away and don't meddle in others' affairs, otherwise watch out for your legs; my hands have been itching lately!"

Luo En's eyes turned cold; a bone-chilling chill made Li Si flinch, whereupon he flew into a rage, roaring, "You really think too highly of yourself!"

"Ordinary cattle and horses, not even fit to be called beasts," Luo En sneered, a faint smile playing on his lips as he raised his eyes slightly, his face full of indifference, as if dismissing the matter entirely.

This thoroughly enraged Li Si; he spat fiercely, "If I don't show you my power today, you probably don't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth!"

Saying this, he raised his hand, "Brothers, give him a taste of our power!"

"Yes!" Accompanying Li Si's command, the others rushed toward Luo En like sharp swords, their expressions fierce.

Xia Wusheng couldn't help but let out a startled cry, instinctively closing her eyes as her whole body trembled.

Luo En chuckled lightly, covering Xia Wusheng's eyes with his hand while his movements became swift and clean.

Xia Wusheng felt gusts of wind swirling around her body; she could sense Luo En guiding her, as if they were dancing.

She couldn't help but open her eyes; first there was darkness, then those hands vanished, and before her appeared the several men who had been flaunting their power moments ago, now all writhing on the ground in agony, moaning endlessly.

Turning her head, she saw Luo En with cold eyes, gazing straight ahead, facing directly toward Li Si.

She followed Luo En's gaze to look at Li Si as well.

Li Si's eyes widened as he looked at his underlings, his legs trembling, then he turned to look at Luo En, his voice also quivering.

"You... how did you do that?"

Having mixed in the Hidden Leaf Village for so many years, this was the first time he had seen someone deal with so many people bare-handed.

What kind of terrifying existence was this?

Luo En scoffed, offering no reply, his gaze sharpening until Li Si could not help but feel a chill of fear.

This place is no longer safe; must run!

This thought flashed through his mind, and his legs immediately started moving fast, vanishing from sight in an instant.

Luo En disdained to chase; such a small fry would naturally be tamed by someone else later, and if he encountered such brutality again, he would simply fight.

Seeing Li Si flee, Xia Wusheng paused for a moment, recalling the sensations from earlier, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment as she lowered her head.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome; next time you encounter such matters, remember to run and head toward crowded areas; there are many people in Konoha who know some martial arts," Luo En glanced at the girl and replied.

"Mm-hmm," Xia Wusheng's face flushed even redder as she nodded.

This man truly fulfilled her childhood fantasy of an unparalleled hero; if she could be with such a man, surely the rest of her life would be free from worry?

8, obtained (no need to read)

Luo En frowned; he had just stepped out and seen this group, and now they wouldn't even let him leave, which truly disgusted him; his expression was extremely cold, and his words cut like frost.

"What do you want to do?"

The leader laughed, his face covered in stubble that looked glaring, "This family owes quite a bit of money; since you came out from in front of this family, shouldn't you pay it back?"

Xia Wusheng widened her eyes, marching angrily to Luo En's side, "Don't slander us with false accusations; clearly, years ago you drove me and my grandparents away, the three of us relying on each other for survival; when did we ever borrow money from you?"

The leader laughed loudly, his eagle-like eyes narrowing with ferocity, "If I say there is debt, then there is debt; I advise you to hand over the money, otherwise you'll learn just how powerful we are."

"Although the village chief now advocates peace, I wouldn't mind inflicting internal injuries on you, so don't think about preaching any great principles to me."

"The people I've hired now are all professionals..."

Unexpectedly, before he could finish speaking, a gust of wind swept past, his throat was seized, and the leader felt a sudden dizziness in his eyes before meeting Luo En's gaze.

His hands and feet also felt as though they were suspended in midair, completely devoid of freedom.

"You!" The leader widened his eyes, looking at Luo En in disbelief.

Who would have thought that the moment he finished speaking, he suddenly felt his throat tighten, the sensation of suffocation rushing in.

"Boss!" his underlings shouted, their eyes on Luo En, but they didn't dare make any move.

"Hey, let him go! Otherwise we won't let you off!"

At that moment someone glared over, eyes bloodshot, brimming with rage.

"Let you off?" Hearing that man's words, Luo En smiled a half-smile, walked straight over, kicked the man to the ground with one foot, his gaze icy.

"I wonder how you plan not to let me off?"

That man felt his whole body shrink, looking at Luo En he instinctively grew timid, his heart gave a sudden lurch, and immediately changed his attitude.

"Hero, spare my life, I beg you to let me go."

"Quick, get the village chief over here."

Someone nearby said softly to the person beside him.

Xia Wusheng came to his senses at this moment, hurried over to block that man, snorted coldly, "Want to run off and find the village chief to frame me? How shameless!"

Seeing Xia Wusheng do this, that man went straight over trying to force his way through.

But he ran straight into Luo En, and with another kick, he was sent flying out in an instant.

His whole body instantly felt excruciating pain, that man felt as if his entire body had been crushed.

He raised his head to look at Luo En.

"Quite the fine job of slandering people, and now what? Want to turn the tables on me?" Luo En raised a bloodthirsty smile, watching the man panic.

And the leader was still being choked by Luo En, stammering, wanting Luo En to let go.

Luo En unceremoniously flung him away, and the leader instantly felt intense pain.

"If you dare do this again, it won't be this simple—now get lost!"

Luo En swept his gaze over everyone present, his eyes growing colder.

Everyone present shrank back a little, Xia Wusheng looked at Luo En, unable to stop herself from feeling admiration.

This bearing, this ability—she was growing more and more in awe of this man.

"Let's go!" The leader coughed a few times, his throat still feeling terribly uncomfortable; he truly never wanted to suffer this again.

The others followed the leader and left one after another.

"I'm really so grateful to you. That leader is my uncle—he wanted to seize the family property before, so he drove me and my grandparents out."

"Now hearing rumors that my grandparents made money, he wants to come snatch something. He came once before, and I scared him off by invoking the village chief's advocacy of peace, afraid I'd go to the village chief."

Xia Wusheng sighed repeatedly, "I didn't expect these people to still be unreconciled, to actually make a comeback, and to have dragged you into it—I'm sorry."

"It's fine, just be more careful next time. Though the chances of them coming back will be small."

Luo En glanced at Xia Wusheng, and once again patted her shoulder.