Chapter 197: Do you know us?

Upon receiving her father's strong response, Chu Yue's hanging heart settled a little, and her steps gradually slowed.

She even stopped preparing to continue fleeing.

She took a deep breath, forced composure, stopped her steps calmly, her delicate brows furrowed as she coldly gazed at the sky.

This sudden change left everyone who had come chasing after her stunned.

They all hid in the shadows, not daring to breathe, filled with doubt as they wondered why Chu Yue had suddenly stopped fleeing.

Chu Yue stood still in place for several seconds, seeing that those who had caught up were merely hiding in the shadows with no intention to act.

A feeling of contempt welled up in her heart, and she silently thought: "A bunch of cowards with thieving hearts but no guts!"

Immediately.

She straightened her back, full of arrogance, faced those hiding in the shadows, and spoke loudly.

"First, the Lion King Bone you want is right here!"

Saying this, she unhesitatingly took out the Lion King Bone and placed it plainly before everyone's eyes.

The Lion King Bone, emitting a fiery blaze, flashed with a cold light.

In an instant, several powerful auras hidden in the shadows fluctuated.

The owners of those auras trembled all over with excitement at seeing the Lion King Bone, nearly unable to suppress their own aura.

They wished they could rush out right then and snatch the Lion King Bone in one grab.

However, Chu Yue's following words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing their impulse.

Chu Yue, calm and composed, said lightly: "However, since you have the heart of a thief, I hope you also have the guts."

"I have already contacted my father; he is on his way here. If you still want to try to seize the Lion King Bone, then come and try!"

Upon saying that.

The surroundings fell into a terrifying silence, the onlookers glancing at each other.

Everyone stared at one another, not daring to breathe.

After all, the prestige of the Grand Dao Sect Sect Master is like thunder in one's ears; whoever hears it must weigh its significance in their heart.

Moreover, nobody wants to be the first to stick their head out and invite bad luck.

Seeing those followers frightened into inaction, Chu Yue couldn't help but feel a cold smile rise in her heart.

In her eyes, these people were nothing more than a rabble.

"What's wrong? Where did that courage go when you were chasing me just now? Now you're all like turtles pulling into their shells, afraid to move."

Chu Yue didn't care at all, raising her voice to mock them loudly.

Her voice was full of disdain and arrogance.

Faced with her humiliation, everyone remained silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to breathe.

The prestige of the Grand Dao Sect Sect Master was like a towering mountain, heavily pressing on everyone's hearts, leaving them unable to dare the slightest movement.

"What a bunch of trash!"

Chu Yue let out a cold snort from her nose, convinced in her heart that these people had been completely cowed by her.

Immediately, she prepared to linger no longer, turning to leave this place of right and wrong.

However, just as she lifted her foot to step.

Among the crowd, two mysterious masked men appeared without warning.

"Miss Chu, please stay."

The man wearing the dragon-pattern mask deliberately lowered his voice, which sounded hoarse and strange, as if coming from a deep ancient well.

Chu Yue's foot paused, she slowly turned around, and lifted her eyes to assess these two uninvited guests.

Her eyes full of wariness and impatience, she asked coldly: "What? What do you want?"

The dragon-pattern masked man slightly lifted his head, his gaze through the slit in his mask fixed on Chu Yue, and said: "Miss Chu, may I ask boldly, can you recognize our identities?"

Chu Yue furrowed her brows, examining the two of them from head to toe.

She saw that they not only wore tight masks on their faces, but their clothing was deliberately disguised, covering them completely, leaving no flaw to be seen.

She gave them a disdainful glare, then said irritably: "You two idiots, wearing masks and hiding your heads while exposing your tails—how could I possibly recognize who you are? Utterly foolish!"

Upon hearing that.

After the dragon-pattern masked man remained silent for two seconds, his aura suddenly turned icy and piercing, as if the surrounding air had condensed a bit.

"Such is good."

He muttered softly, then quickly turned his head to look at the tiger-pattern masked man beside him.

As their eyes met, they seemed to reach some silent agreement.

"She can't tell who we are—then let's attack!"

Almost at the same moment the words fell.

The tiger-pattern masked man struck like a bolt of black lightning.

His speed was extreme; Chu Yue didn't even have time to react.

She only felt a black shadow flash before her eyes, and the Lion King Bone she had tightly gripped changed hands.

"You..."

Chu Yue widened her eyes, her face full of disbelief, her whole body frozen in place.

A few seconds later, fury surged into her heart; she trembled with anger, her shaking finger pointed at the two masked men, wanting to unleash a torrent of curses.

But her throat felt blocked, and though the words reached her lips, she couldn't utter them.

Though her heart burned with anger and resentment, she realized she didn't even know who the opponents were.

And the two masked men who had succeeded had no intention of lingering in battle.

After exchanging a glance.

He lightly tapped the ground with his feet, his figure like a ghost as he fled swiftly toward the distance.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the vast night.

"You..."

Chu Yue shouted hoarsely in the direction the two had gone, her voice full of anger and despair.

"How dare you steal my belongings, give them back!"

However, only the howling wind answered her; the two had already vanished without a trace.

Chu Yue felt unwilling, yet there was nothing she could do.

She could only stomp her foot in anger, gritting her teeth: "I will definitely have my father kill you, I will definitely tear you apart!"

At that moment, the experts lurking in the dark saw that the Lion King Bone had already been snatched by the two masked men.

They secretly calculated that since the treasure was no longer in Chu Yue's hands, continuing to pester her would be pointless.

Thus.

One of them spoke first, his tone sincere and righteous: "Miss Chu, those two scoundrels are utterly outrageous, daring to steal your treasure in broad daylight—it's lawless!"

"We will certainly not stand by; we will definitely enforce heavenly justice and seek redress for you!"

"Rest assured, even if we have to sacrifice our lives, we will definitely capture those two villains and bring them back to you!"

As soon as his words fell, the other lurkers echoed in agreement.

Immediately, streaks of light flew out from the darkness, rushing toward the direction the masked men had fled.

They appeared to be pursuing the treasure for Chu Yue, but in fact each harbored his own ulterior motive.

Each was secretly scheming how, amidst this chaos, to find an opportunity to seize the Lion King Bone for himself.