Chapter 35

The young man who made the move was Xu Yan. He suddenly darted out from the crowd and launched a surprise attack on the criminal. Although the thug was fierce, he was caught off guard and was immediately kicked to the ground by Xu Yan.

Xu Yan, having landed his blow, immediately scooped up the little girl and turned to run, heading towards the police who were coming to reinforce—there were only a few dozen meters left, and it would take just a few seconds to reach them. Surely, the thug wouldn't be able to do anything to him, right?

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a foul wind came from behind. Xu Yan knew something was wrong and turned to look. He saw the monster was already very close, and he could even smell its foul odor. It turned out that Xu Yan was too naive. The monster, which had knocked down so many police officers, was not only incredibly strong but also extremely fast. Despite being caught off guard by Xu Yan's attack, its reaction speed was terrifying. It leaped up from the ground without hesitation and pounced towards Xu Yan's back. Its movements were so swift, it seemed like a ghost, and it was about to pounce on Xu Yan's back!

At this moment, Xu Yan's heart nearly stopped. Just as he was about to face life and death, he felt a gust of wind pass by his face. Zhu Youxiang passed by him, and a sigh echoed in his ear: "Sigh~"

Then, Xu Yan didn't know what happened next. He held the little girl and ran as fast as he could. Although it only took a few seconds, it felt like a lifetime to him. He ran towards the police and crashed into the crowd of officers, who warmly embraced him: "Well done, young man!"

"You're safe now, young man, no need to run anymore!"

"Let go, let go, slowly put down the little girl. It's all over, it's all over!"

Xu Yan slowly let go, and someone took the crying little girl from his arms. His heart was pounding, and he was breathing heavily. Xu Yan, who had narrowly escaped death, was in a daze. After a while, he came to his senses and called out to the police: "Xuan Yun! Xuan Yun saved me... you should go help her..."

He quickly turned to look for Zhu Youxiang, but to his surprise, she was already standing right behind him, as if she had never moved.

Seeing that Zhu Youxiang was unharmed, Xu Yan felt relieved—although he knew she was skilled, and dealing with a few strong men shouldn't be a problem, the monster looked incredibly powerful, even immune to bullets. By suddenly rushing out to save the child, he had forced Zhu Youxiang to face the monster, and he was a bit worried that she might have been hurt.

In a hurry, Xu Yan glanced back at the direction of the thug, only to see a large group of police officers surrounding the area, shouting for an ambulance, but he couldn't see what was happening inside.

Zhu Youxiang whispered, "Young Master Xu, it's all over. The monster has been killed, you don't need to worry."

"Ah, it's dead?" Xu Yan was surprised. He knew Zhu Youxiang was strong, but the monster had looked incredibly powerful, surviving dozens of bullets and injuring many police officers. Xu Yan thought that if Zhu Youxiang faced it, it would likely be a tough battle. He never expected that in just a moment, Zhu Youxiang would calmly tell him that the monster was already dead.

In ancient times, there was the story of Wenji斩Huaxiong with warm wine. What did Zhu Youxiang do? Blink and the monster was dead?

"Xuan Yun, you're so amazing! How did you do it? Your movements were so fast!"

Zhu Youxiang smiled faintly and looked around, then said softly, "Young Master Xu, let's leave now to avoid drawing the attention of the authorities."

Xu Yan immediately realized: Yes, now the police were all gathered around the thug's body or busy rescuing the injured. If they didn't leave now, the police would soon come to take statements, which would be troublesome.

So, the two of them quietly slipped into the crowd of onlookers and quickly left through the side door of the mall.

When Xu Yan and Zhu Youxiang came out of the mall, the sun was already setting, and the golden sunlight bathed the city. The sky was filled with a brilliant and colorful sunset. Under the sky, the entire city was bathed in golden light, with skyscrapers stretching as far as the eye could see, their glass facades reflecting the sunset, making the city look magnificent and grand.

Looking at this magnificent city, even Zhu Youxiang, who had seen much, couldn't help but be amazed. She stood on the street, gazing for a long time. Finally, she sighed sincerely, "Young Master Xu, your city is truly... magnificent!"

Hearing Zhu Youxiang's praise, Xu Yan felt a sense of pride. He smiled and said, "Xuan Yun, in the evening, I'll take you to the 40th floor observation deck of the Jin Yun Building. The night view from there, the sea of lights, is even more beautiful!"

Zhu Youxiang smiled faintly and nodded, "Thank you for your kindness, Young Master." Looking at the red sky, she said softly, "Just now, Young Master Xu, was it intentional?"

"Ah!"

Zhu Youxiang's words were vague, but Xu Yan, who was already feeling guilty, immediately understood her meaning. His face turned red, and he stared at his feet—when he rushed out to save the child, he indeed had a hidden motive: Zhu Youxiang had said she would save him if he was in danger. Since she was so powerful, she wouldn't just stand by and watch him be killed by the monster, right? She wouldn't just let him die, right?

Then, Zhu Youxiang indeed came to his rescue and killed the monster. Xu Yan felt a bit guilty: he had deliberately put himself in danger, using their friendship to force Zhu Youxiang to act. This was indeed not a good way to treat a friend. Moreover, as a man, he had relied on a girl to save him, which was embarrassing.

Xu Yan's face turned red, and he said softly, "This... Xuan Yun, are you angry?" He didn't dare to look at Zhu Youxiang's face.

Zhu Youxiang smiled and didn't answer Xu Yan's question. Instead, she said, "Young Master Xu, from the moment we met, I knew you were a good person... a truly kind and noble gentleman."

Xu Yan smiled bitterly and said, "Is this a 'good person card'? Everyone has always said I'm a good person, and now even you say it."

Zhu Youxiang didn't know what a 'good person card' was, but she smiled, "However, Young Master, you should also know that being a good person is not enough in this world. Is there something you have considered?"

"Ah, considered what?"

Zhu Youxiang turned her gaze from the colorful sky and looked at Xu Yan. The sunset light illuminated her face, making her face and eyes glow with a golden light. "In the future, Young Master Xu, what kind of person do you want to be?"

Xu Yan was taken aback. He never expected Zhu Youxiang to ask him such an unrelated question at this moment—what kind of person did he want to be?

In Xu Yan's imagination, his life was predictable. As an ordinary college student, after graduation, he wanted to become a civil servant or work in a large company, find a stable job, earn a salary, take out a loan to buy a house, find a girl he liked, get married, start a family, have a successful career, have children, and live until old age—yes, this was the future life that an ordinary Chinese youth imagined.

"Xuan Yun, I don't quite understand what you mean. But I think my life... should be similar to that of my classmates, right? After graduation, find a job, earn money to support the family, take out a loan to buy a house, find a wife, and start a family—yes, something like that."

Hearing Xu Yan's words, Zhu Youxiang smiled and shook her head, "Young Master, what you described is your future life; what I asked is what kind of person you want to be. They are not the same thing. You might want to think about it."

As for how they were different, Zhu Youxiang didn't explain. She changed the topic, "Young Master, you said you would take me to a good place to see the night view, right? A gentleman's word is a promise, remember?"

Xu Yan was glad to escape the awkward topic. He patted his chest and said, "Xuan Yun, don't worry, I will definitely keep my promise! I have a senior brother who works at the Jin Yun Group, and he has the key to the internal observation deck!"

Afraid that Zhu Youxiang would bring up the previous topic again, Xu Yan quickly asked her how she had killed the monster so quickly. Zhu Youxiang seemed to downplay it, saying, "The monster is a low-level creature from the demon realm. The Spring Cicada Sword is naturally effective against it. When it encountered the sword, it was like grass being burned by fire, and it was instantly destroyed."

"Wow!" Xu Yan was amazed. He had seen the monster's ferocity with his own eyes—immune to bullets, half its head blown off, incredibly strong, and fast. Such a creature, in Zhu Youxiang's words, was just a minor nuisance?

He couldn't help but ask, "Xuan Yun, what about the stronger demons from the demon realm? What are they like?"

Hearing Xu Yan's question, Zhu Youxiang turned to look at him. In her eyes, Xu Yan saw a hint of fear. In that moment, her face was clouded with a shadow.

"My teacher, Xia Weigong, was a third-year student at the White Deer Academy. At that time, there were 492 students, all of whom were the best of their generation, far surpassing us now. Among them, many were even stronger than my teacher.

But now, including my teacher, only fewer than five of the third-year students are still alive. The others have all perished in various disasters. Whenever my teacher thinks about this, he is deeply saddened. He often says that if those students had survived, the country would have gained over a hundred grandmasters, and at least twenty of them would have had the chance to reach the pinnacle of their art.

The great disasters of our country have not been seen for two hundred years, and I, like Young Master Xu, have never witnessed them. However, according to my teacher's descriptions and the notes of the predecessors, the severity of the great disasters is unimaginable. My teacher once said that even with his cultivation, he might not have been able to survive those catastrophic disasters."

Xu Yan listened vaguely but understood the general meaning—Zhu Youxiang was describing the severity of the disasters. He sighed, "So, these demon creatures are really terrifying. But fortunately, our Earth is fine, and we haven't heard of any disasters. You guys often deal with these creatures, it must be tough for you!"

Zhu Youxiang glanced at him and smiled, saying meaningfully, "I hope so."—Xu Yan had no idea what it meant for a demon's spirit to appear on Earth. Even if it was a low-level demon, its appearance indicated that a gap or a passage had opened between the Earth plane and the demon realm. If it was just a temporary gap, it would be manageable, and only some low-level demons would infiltrate. With Earth's native martial power, it would be challenging but not impossible to handle. However, if this was a sign of a large-scale overlap between the two planes, Earth would be doomed.

Zhu Youxiang had personally observed the martial power of Earth's authorities: the police, who were the standard for a country's combat capability. Even if they were not as strong as the elite soldiers of the official army, they used standard weapons provided by the government. Observing their martial power could give an idea of the country's military strength.

After witnessing the Earth authorities' battle against the demon, Zhu Youxiang was quite disappointed. Even against a low-level demon, the Earth authorities were in a very difficult situation. It was clear that with Earth's martial power, they could not handle the endless demons from the demon realm. If a great disaster were to occur, the fate of Earth's humans would be easy to imagine.

Thinking about the collapse of civilization and the death of millions, Zhu Youxiang sighed. Looking at the bustling city, she felt a deep sense of regret: "What a pity. As a remote region, this place is indeed quite nice. Such a bustling city, so much delicious food, although it doesn't quite match our country, it is still quite rare... If this civilization were destroyed by a disaster, it would indeed be a very regrettable thing."

As she was thinking, Xu Yan suddenly shouted, "Oh no, this is bad!"

Hearing Xu Yan's sudden shout, Zhu Youxiang was startled, "Young Master Xu, what's wrong?"

"It's bad, Xuan Yun! We forgot to take all the clothes we bought!" Xu Yan was distressed, "We spent over ten thousand yuan on high-quality clothes!"

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