"Say that again!" Lu Xiaoqing yelled furiously, looking like a fierce tigress with her hands on her hips.
"Haha, I’m kidding, I'm kidding. Come in, take a seat. As the saying goes, joy is to have a faraway friend visiting! No, wait, that's wrong. You're not from very far away at all," Xiang Shaoyun laughed.
After a slight hesitation, Lu Xiaoqing stepped into the courtyard. Little White was sleeping to the side when she walked in. He opened his eyes and gave her a glance before ignoring her and resuming his sleep.
Recently, Little White had been focused on digesting the demonic core he had swallowed not long ago. He spent most of his time sleeping. When Lu Xiaoqing saw Little White, a cheery look covered her face, and she exclaimed, "Wow! Such a cute kitty!"
She ran over and tried lifting Little White. But before she could even get near him, he darted to a different spot with a flash.
"Meow!"
Little White yelled resentfully while glowering at Lu Xiaoqing, seemingly warning her against approaching him.
"Don't be rude, Little White. Shoo, go resume your sleep somewhere else," Xiang Shaoyun said.
But Little White did not move away. Instead, he leaped onto Xiang Shaoyun's shoulder.
"Shaoyun, is this your pet? He's so cute! I wish I had a kitten this cute, too!" Lu Xiaoqing said enviously.
"If you like beasts, I will get you a Demon King beast in the future!" Xiang Shaoyun promised generously.
"Pffft. You just can't stop bluffing, can you?" Lu Xiaoqing did not trust a word of that. Demon King was the demonic beast's equivalent of the human's King Realm. It wouldn't be that easy to get one.
"I knew nobody would trust me when I speak the truth." Xiang Shaoyun shrugged helplessly. He spoke again, "Take a seat first. I'll go get something for you."
Then, Xiang Shaoyun entered the house. As for Lu Xiaoqing, she started getting nervous for no apparent reason.
H-he's g-going to give me something? What would it be? I-is he trying to confess to me? B-but I'm not prepared for that yet! Lu Xiaoqing thought to herself, her face red.
Soon, Xiang Shaoyun came out again. He was carrying a jade bottle. "Here, for you."
Lu Xiaoqing looked at the jade bottle and asked curiously, "What's this?"
"Earth Star Spring," Xiang Shaoyun replied indifferently.
"T-this is Earth Star Spring? Y-you found it?" Lu Xiaoqing was startled.
"Nothing surprising about it. This young master is a beloved child of heaven, accompanied by good fortune wherever I go. If I want a spiritual treasure, it will come with a snap of my finger," Xiang Shaoyun said as he flung his hair around.
Xiang Shaoyun had always been quite handsome, and for some reason, flinging his hair really did work on causing the young lady's heartbeat to speed up.
Lu Xiaoqing was sent into a daze again, and instead of accepting the Earth Star Spring, she said, "I can't take something this valuable!"
"Stop dilly dallying. Just take it. Otherwise, I will take it as you looking down on me," Xiang Shaoyun grunted. He added, "If you refuse, I might as well throw it away. No point keeping it with me."
"No, don't. Fine, I'll take it," Lu Xiaoqing said.
"That's more like it," Xiang Shaoyun said in satisfaction.
Lu Xiaoqing accepted the jade bottle, her heart thumping furiously as she thought to herself, Why is he treating me so nicely? H-has he fallen in love with me?
As Lu Xiaoqing was indulging her thoughts, Little White suddenly meowed, and his fur all stood up on end. He bared his fangs, as if a large enemy was approaching. The moment Xiang Shaoyun noticed Little White's behavior, he started paying attention to his surroundings. He was very clear on the sharp senses demonic beasts had. Little White wouldn't behave like that for no reason. But they were currently within the Martial Hall Palace. What danger could there be?
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a figure streaked across the air like a phantom. Then, a black sack wrapped around Xiang Shaoyun from above. Even though Xiang Shaoyun was already on alert, he still couldn't react in time and was subdued just like that. Little White was the only one who could react in time. He leaped away and was able to avoid being captured together with Xiang Shaoyun.
"What the hell? What's going on?" Xiang Shaoyun cursed to himself before he started struggling.
"Keep still!" the kidnapper bellowed and slapped Xiang Shaoyun.
Bang!
The slap was extremely powerful, as it caused Xiang Shaoyun to spit blood with one attack. His inner organs almost exploded, and he fainted from the slap. No Astral Realm cultivator could unleash an attack like this. The kidnapper was at the very least a Transformation Realm expert.
Lu Xiaoqing was greatly frightened, and just as she was about to shout, a kick sent her flying. Fortunately, the kidnapper did not seem to intend to kill her. Otherwise, she would've been killed with one kick. Even so, she was still sent flying several meters and coughed up blood and fainted.
As for the kidnapper, he quickly left with Xiang Shaoyun. Not far from the residence, a carriage was waiting. The kidnapper directly leaped into the carriage with Xiang Shaoyun.
"Gya!" The coachman immediately whipped the horse, and the carriage sped toward Martial Hall Palace's exit.
"Meow!"
Little White was hot in pursuit, and shortly after, he caught up and hid beneath the carriage. The people on the carriage had their attention somewhere else so they did not notice Little White. The carriage arrived at the exit. The guards took a look at the coachman before stepping aside to make way for the elder's carriage. Upon leaving the Martial Hall Palace, the people on the carriage heaved a breath of relief. Next, the carriage headed toward Wu Clan's estate.
Meanwhile, Zi Changhe had just returned to Xiang Shaoyun's residence as he had suddenly had a bad feeling. However, when he had returned, he only found an unconscious Lu Xiaoqing. His face immediately fell. He rushed over and woke Lu Xiaoqing before asking, "What happened? Where's Xiang Shaoyun?"
"H-he was kidnapped!" Lu Xiaoqing struggled out a reply.
"Damn it!" Zi Changhe bellowed in fury.
Xiang Shaoyun was his junior brother and also had Elder Zhen Peng as his follower. Yet someone still dared to make a move against Xiang Shaoyun? That person was too brazen! After feeding Lu Xiaoqing a healing pill, Zi Changhe rushed to the exit.
"Did you see anyone leaving earlier?" Zi Changhe shouted at the guards.
"Nineteenth elder, too many people are coming and leaving today. May I know who you are looking for?" one guard replied nervously.
"I asked about earlier. Just a short while ago. Did you see any suspicious people leaving? My junior brother Xiang Shaoyun just got kidnapped. Have none of you noticed anything?" Zi Changhe roared.
