Chapter 252: Heaven Dou Hooligans? A Strange Stone, Ah Yin's Abnormal Reaction
Zhu Zhuqing accepted the candy figurine.
The aura around her instantly turned cold as well, as though even the surrounding temperature had dropped by several degrees.
Soul Power quietly circulated within her body, and the Hell Spirit Cat martial soul began to emerge faintly.
Those cat-like eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a dangerous glint.
She and Xiao Wu had cooperated so many times already.
With just a single glance, they knew what the other intended to do. There was no need for any extra communication.
The moment Xiao Wu stepped forward,
Zhu Zhuqing silently cut off the retreat routes of those youths.
Her movements were as light as a cat poised to strike.
Those youths still had no idea they had provoked two fiends and continued approaching with grinning faces.
The leader reached out to touch Xiao Wu's face while muttering filthy words:
"Little sister, don't be scared. Big brother here isn't going to eat you…"
Xiao Wu snorted coldly. Her figure swayed as she casually avoided that filthy hand.
At the same time,
Her foot suddenly exerted force as she delivered a clean and swift side kick directly into the youth's stomach.
The kick was both fast and vicious, carrying a trace of soul power. It was definitely not something an ordinary person could endure.
"Ahhh—"
The youth screamed miserably as his entire body flew backward like a torn sack.
He crashed heavily onto the ground over thirty feet away, rolling twice before finally stopping.
Curled into a ball from the pain, he clutched his stomach with both hands. Cold sweat poured from his forehead while pig-slaughter-like screams escaped his lips. He could not even crawl back up for a long while.
His miserable appearance was a stark contrast to the arrogant swagger he had moments ago.
The remaining youths all changed expressions drastically when they saw this.
They had never imagined that this seemingly delicate girl could fight so fiercely, kicking their boss flying with a single strike.
They looked at each other as fear flashed through their eyes, but it was quickly overtaken by viciousness.
One after another, they released their martial souls.
Every single one of them was merely a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, and not even one possessed a hundred-year first soul ring.
Howling loudly, they charged toward Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu was completely fearless.
Her figure moved flexibly through the crowd, and the opponents could not even touch the corner of her clothes.
Her kicking techniques became increasingly skillful. Every strike of her leg carried sharp, forceful winds, being both precise and ruthless.
Zhu Zhuqing moved as well.
Her speed was as fast as a black bolt of lightning, to the point where her figure was nearly impossible to see in the night.
Sharp cat claws extended from her fingertips, gleaming coldly beneath the lights. In only a few moves, she knocked the remaining youths to the ground.
Her movements were clean and efficient, without the slightest unnecessary motion. Every action was perfectly controlled.
She neither struck vital points nor left the opponents with any ability to resist.
In merely a few breaths, these youths who had been showing off arrogantly moments ago were all sprawled across the ground in disarray.
Crying out for their parents in pain, their wails rose and fell with no trace of their former arrogance.
The surrounding spectators all burst into applause and cheers.
Some even gave Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing a thumbs-up.
With admiration, they exclaimed, "These two girls truly have impressive skills. They've rid our street of several pests."
Xiao Wu placed her hands on her waist and coldly snorted at the youths lying on the ground.
Her chin lifted slightly, looking exactly like a general who had won a battle:
"You dared provoke this young lady? I think you're tired of living!"
"If I see you harassing girls again next time, I'll break your legs—all three of them!"
The moment those words left her mouth, the hooligans all shuddered in fear.
Subconsciously, they tightly clamped their legs together, and even their wails became quieter.
How could they dare utter another word? One by one, they forced themselves up and scrambled away in panic.
They feared that if they ran too slowly, this little ancestor would truly chase after them and fulfill her promise.
Zhu Zhuqing tugged lightly on Xiao Wu's arm. Her tone carried a trace of helplessness, though a faint smile hid within her eyes.
"Alright, let's go."
"It's getting late. We should head back."
Xiao Wu stuck out her tongue, took back the candy figurine from Zhu Zhuqing, and bit off another huge mouthful. The bright smile instantly returned to her face, and all the cold sharpness from earlier disappeared completely.
"Got it, got it. We're heading back now."
She curled her lips and could not help but complain:
"This is Heaven Dou City, the royal capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, yet the public security is actually this terrible. They can't even control street hooligans like these."
She muttered complaints under her breath as she linked arms with Zhu Zhuqing. The two gradually disappeared into the dusk.
…
Lin Qingmo did not leave together with Xiao Wu and the others.
Instead, he returned alone to the permanent sales exhibition area inside the auction house, wanting to see if there was anything worth buying.
The auction hall's main venue had already emptied out.
Yet the permanent exhibition area remained noisy and crowded, with guests constantly coming and going.
The display counters were lined neatly along the walls.
Every single counter was packed with people, so crowded it was nearly impossible to move through.
The display cases held all kinds of rare herbs and precious gemstones…
Each item carried an expensive price tag, drawing waves of astonished exclamations from the crowd.
However, items like soul bones were nowhere to be seen here.
Lin Qingmo's gaze slowly swept across one display case after another, his expression remaining completely calm.
Those thousand-year herbs treasured by the surrounding people were nothing special in his eyes.
After all, he possessed all the immortal herbs within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
To him, the items in these exhibition areas were no different from roadside stones.
"As expected, there really aren't many good things in auction houses during this era."
He shook his head somewhat disappointedly.
One had to know that during Huo Yuhao's era, even ten-thousand-year soul bones were commonplace at auctions.
He turned to leave.
Yet suddenly, Blue Silver Grass branches extended from within his sleeve. Carrying unprecedented urgency and trembling, they tightly wrapped around his wrist.
"Hm?"
Lin Qingmo lowered his head to look.
The tips of Ah Yin's branches poked out from his sleeve, seemingly pointing directly toward the most neglected display case in the corner of the exhibition area.
Lin Qingmo paused, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.
"Could it be that Ah Yin discovered some kind of treasure?"
He looked in the direction pointed out by the Blue Silver Grass branches.
In the farthest corner of the exhibition area stood an utterly inconspicuous display case.
A thin layer of dust covered the counter. Even the salesperson could not be bothered to stand guard there, and not a single person was nearby.
It formed a stark contrast with the overcrowded display cases beside it.
Inside the display case, among a pile of completely ordinary decorative stones, sat a rough green stone roughly the size of a fist.
The stone was entirely dark green.
Its surface was rough and completely lacking in luster.
It looked no different from the pebbles commonly found by the roadside.
Lin Qingmo focused his mind. His spiritual power spread outward and slowly enveloped the green rough stone.
Yet after carefully scanning it, all he could determine was that it was merely an average decorative raw stone.
There was not the slightest fluctuation of soul power nor any trace of energy aura.
Even the nearby price tag of one thousand gold soul coins failed to stir the slightest interest.
But right then, the Blue Silver Grass branches inside his sleeve trembled even more intensely.
Lin Qingmo raised his brows slightly, his heart filled with confusion.
Ah Yin vaguely transmitted blurry information.
"Life force?"
That was Lin Qingmo's interpretation of the message.
End of Chapter
[35+ advanced chapters available on Patreon—next arc already unlocked (search: Taichu372).]