Chapter 116: The Flower Thief

With a whistle, he accelerated instantly in a tiger-leaping-the-ravine posture, pouncing before the Flower Thief.

The Flower Thief did not dodge; he knew Zhou You's background clearly—it was merely Jinli Level.

If he were facing other Blood-Qi martial artists, he certainly would not linger in battle and would turn to leave immediately.

If he became entangled for too long, he might capsize in the gutter.

However, Zhou You was only at the Jinli Level, which in his eyes was not worth mentioning; he might as well take a moment to kill him.

"A petty trick, take my Bone-Crushing Awl."

The Flower Thief twisted his palm and protruded his fingers, shaped like a blunt awl, striking down at Zhou You's head.

A shrill, piercing sound of tearing air rang out, showing how vicious and fierce this move was.

A ferocious grin hung on the corner of his mouth, just waiting for Zhou You to rush before him so he could smash his skull to pieces.

"Eh?"

The Flower Thief's smile suddenly froze.

It turned out that the Zhou You in his sight had spun around, raising a gust of wind on the spot.

Wind-Chasing Triple Technique, the first move: Riding the Wind.

Fearing the thief would use Lightness Skill to dodge, Zhou You operated his lv2 Lightness Skill at full speed under his feet.

"Hard Lean."

This move connected the previous and the next, making it the hardest to defend against.

Zhou You's figure turned into a wisp of smoke, forcefully sticking to the Flower Thief's side.

Not good!

The hair all over the Flower Thief's body stood on end; he vaguely sensed that the lethality contained in this move was far from being as simple as Jinli.

The momentum of the lead hand alone already possessed a terrifying lethality that threatened Blood-Qi.

The Flower Thief's Lightness Skill and fist techniques were all at the solid Blood-Qi level.

Defense was his weak point; he tried his best to dodge when facing opponents who were also at the Blood-Qi level, as being hit would definitely result in injury.

When Zhou You executed the final move, Great Fierce Kill, fearing the output would not be enough, faint patterns appeared on his fist.

Tiger Aura, a lv1-level Tiger Aura.

The final strike was actually the Wind-Chasing Triple Technique with the Tiger Aura superimposed.

The Flower Thief's face was twisted and deformed by the force of the Jinli, and a heart-wrenching roar rang in his ears.

He dared not be arrogant and desperately used his fastest Lightness Skill speed to dodge.

Escaping unscathed was already impossible; the best response was to open up distance and weaken the opponent's attack power.

"Thud!"

A muffled sound rang out.

Zhou You hit the Bone-Crushing Awl, his whole body shook violently, and half of his arm hung limply.

His shoulder joint was dislocated.

The sound of liquid dripping rang out at the Flower Thief's feet; one could see the skin and flesh on his wrist split open, and fresh blood gushed out like a spring.

The Tiger Aura broke through his flesh-and-blood defense, leaving a wound deep enough to see the bone.

A thick, bloody smell permeated the air.

"Kid, you want the person, right? Here!"

The Flower Thief's face was sinister as he kicked the sack in front of Zhou You.

The woman in the sack let out a muffled groan but endured it, refusing to let out a cry of pain.

Zhou You gritted his teeth and said nothing; his situation was very serious, and with his arm dislocated, he had no strength left to fight.

Looking left and right, there was no one around! A ruthless look appeared on Zhou You's face; only by using the Seven Step Poison Sand to kill the Flower Thief could he have a glimmer of hope for survival.

"Kid, you've snatched two people from my hands; after today, you will surely be famous far and wide. State your name."

"Zhou You."

The Flower Thief laughed after hearing this, "You don't even have a nickname; how will you have a tombstone erected after you die?"

He once again formed the Bone-Crushing Awl gesture with his hand, stood on his tiptoes, and assumed a posture to launch an attack.

Suddenly, a shrill sound of a brass gong rang out not far away.

Immediately following, fireworks shot up from the ground, piercing fiercely into the depths of the night sky.

"The Flower Thief is here, the Flower Thief is here!"

At first, one person shouted, and then the shouts of dozens, then hundreds of people, rose like a mountain and a tide.

Smoke rose into the air, and torches patrolled the city! The Flower Thief's eyes were full of resentment as he glared fiercely at Zhou You, "I'll remember you." He did not drag things out, leaped high, flipped over a roof, and disappeared into the depths of the night.

Zhou You let out a breath, sat on the ground, and used his intact left hand to untie the knot of the rope.

"Young Miss, I can't support you with one hand; come out yourself."

A rustling sound rang out.

Zhou You turned his head and almost twisted his neck.

The woman who crawled out of the sack was not Wang Yan!

A young woman with a wasp waist and long legs, phoenix brows reaching into her temples, and bright, star-like eyes, carried a vibrant, heroic spirit.

Strangely, she wore the hairstyle of a married woman.

It was common knowledge that the Flower Thief only targeted unmarried young girls and had never had an exception.

"Are you the one who saved me from the Flower Thief?"

The woman's eyes were as bright as stars, which made Zhou You feel a bit moved.

The sharp pain coming from his shoulder reminded him to reset his dislocated left arm as soon as possible.

"Let me help you."

The woman stepped forward a few paces, her supple palm pressing onto Zhou You's shoulder, her other hand gripping his arm.

With a crisp *snap*, the dislocated joint was set back into place.

Zhou You moved his joint; everything was as good as new, and he couldn't help but thank her, "Many thanks."

"It is I who should thank you. If not for your intervention, my virtue would have been hard to preserve!"

The woman paused for a moment and asked, "I seemed to hear just now, is your name Zhou You?"

"An Apprentice of Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall, Zhou You."

The woman was silent for a moment, then spoke with some hesitation: "Bao Shuixian of Iron Peak Martial Arts Hall."

Bao Shuixian—the name sounded somewhat familiar.

Zhou You suddenly slapped his forehead; one Mastiff suppresses ten tigers—the Mastiff woman who beat Li Hao so miserably was called Bao Shuixian.

The other party's skilled bone-setting technique definitely meant she was a martial artist by background, and she was also a married woman.

Combining all these characteristics, it proved she was indeed the Mastiff woman.

Why did the Flower-Plucking Thief capture her? Zhou You felt it was strange; he was no longer anxious now, as Wang Yan had not fallen into the hands of the Flower-Plucking Thief.

According to the situation at the time, the Flower-Plucking Thief had only captured the young lady of Zeng Fu before he stumbled upon their trail, leaving the thief no time to act against her.

But why would the Flower-Plucking Thief target Bao Shuixian? Given the Flower-Plucking Thief's consistent style, he only loved virgins and had never been interested in married women.

Strange!

"My father ordered me to act as a body double for the legitimate daughter of the Qi Family to guard against the Flower-Plucking Thief's depredations."

"The Flower-Plucking Thief attacked tonight and mistakenly abducted me."

Bao Shuixian seemed to see through what Zhou You was thinking and answered his question.

Zhou You thought to himself how ruthless; in order to curry favor with a noble family, they were willing to use their own daughter as bait.

The strong winds sweeping across the roofs on both sides crisscrossed back and forth; it was the Qi-Blood martial artists of the Hunting Team searching for the Flower-Plucking Thief's trail.

Young, strong martial artists holding torches patrolled the streets back and forth, the clamor constant.

Bao Shuixian cupped her hands to Zhou You, "Great kindness need not be spoken; farewell!"

Zhou You waved his hand; he did not want to get involved with the Iron Peak Martial Arts Hall.

……

When he returned to Zeng Fu, the surrounding buildings were brightly lit, and Wang Yan was keeping the young lady of Zeng Fu company.

"Zhou You, good lad, I knew you could come back alive."

Pan Jinshan laughed heartily when he saw Zhou You return safely.

He had just knocked on the doors of the neighbors to borrow gongs and fireworks, and had gathered men to shout loudly.

The Flower-Plucking Thief's trail had been exposed, and he was currently fleeing east and west through the city, in a sorry state.

"You saved our young lady; from now on, we are brothers."

Pan Jinshan put his arm around Zhou You's shoulder, "How did you train your Lightness Skill? Amazing!"

To the side, a sleepy-eyed Wang Yan was still blankly listening to the young lady of Zeng Fu recount the heart-stopping process from just a moment ago.

She had been woken up in the middle of the night and only then learned how perilously close she had come to brushing past the Flower-Plucking Thief.

Wang Yan looked at Zhou You with curiosity; was this lad truly that formidable? Even the Flower-Plucking Thief had suffered a loss at his hands.

(End of chapter)