Chapter 16

Long Chen was deep in thought about how to gradually uncover the mastermind behind the scenes when suddenly a huge net fell from the sky. Before he could react, he was instantly enveloped.

The net was intricately designed, and as soon as it covered Long Chen, it quickly tightened, firmly binding him.

Just as Long Chen was about to struggle, he suddenly felt his body become light, and he found himself airborne. Only then did he realize there was a giant hawk above his head.

The hawk was not a magical beast but a wild animal. However, due to its large size and gentle nature, many powerful individuals liked to use them as mounts.

Clearly, this hawk was a mount, but it was too late for Long Chen to regret his carelessness. He had fallen for the trap.

Now, the hawk had flown to a height of a hundred feet, and looking down at the ground, Long Chen was so frightened that his face turned green, and he didn't dare move.

He hoped the net was of high quality; if it broke, even if he had ten lives, he would lose them all from such a height.

Even if Long Chen had great abilities, he would still be smashed into a pancake if he fell, and the area would be even larger than when he had thrown Zhou Yaoyang.

"Hmph, you insolent servant, how dare you bully my brother."

At that moment, a clear and delicate voice came from the back of the hawk. The voice was very pleasant, but the anger it contained made Long Chen inwardly call out in distress.

Long Chen tightly held onto the net but couldn't see the person on the hawk's back. He remained silent, fearing that if he angered the woman, she might let go, and he would be finished.

A good man doesn't fight with a woman; I won't stoop to your level, Long Chen thought, closing his mouth and not saying a word, making it seem as if he was afraid.

The woman on the hawk, seeing that Long Chen didn't speak, also remained silent. Suddenly, she saw a large mountain and immediately urged her mount to fly over.

This mountain was none other than the Luoxia Mountain where Long Chen had been before, but it was completely different from the last time Meng Qi had brought him there.

Last time, he was on the hawk's back, but this time, he was being carried. Moreover, the landing was different; last time, it was a steady descent.

This time, the treatment wasn't as good. When they were still dozens of feet from the ground, Long Chen was dropped.

"Bang"

A loud noise echoed. Although he was prepared and used his qi to protect himself, being thrown from such a height still left him dazed and seeing stars.

"Hmph, you insolent servant, if I don't teach you a lesson today, you won't know how to respect your master."

Hearing the voice, Long Chen's eyes blazed with anger. Now that he was on the ground, if he didn't break her nose, she wouldn't know how to respect him.

Long Chen's eyes burned with flames as he suddenly turned around, but the moment he turned, the flames in his eyes were extinguished by half.

Although he knew the other party was a woman, when he saw her, Long Chen couldn't help but be stunned.

The woman looked to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, with a slender figure, full chest, and a shapely waist. She wore a white robe, with a jade belt around her waist, accentuating her ample chest.

What surprised Long Chen the most was that the woman had eyebrows like willow leaves, eyes like peach blossoms, a straight and delicate nose, and a small mouth with a hint of anger, giving her a unique beauty.

"Insolent servant, what are you looking at?" The woman, seeing Long Chen staring at her, couldn't help but be angry.

The anger that had just subsided was reignited by her calling him a servant. Long Chen sneered, "Girl, are you on the wrong medication or have you taken too much? What crazy talk are you spouting? Why did you kidnap me here? Could it be that you have a crush on me and are lusting after my beauty, planning to do something improper?"

As Long Chen spoke, his face showed shock and regret, making the young woman's face turn bright red with anger.

"You shameless scoundrel, you bullied my brother, and I'm here to avenge him. Even if I were blind, I wouldn't look at someone like you," the woman angrily rebuked.

"Your brother?" Long Chen was a bit puzzled.

"Hmph, my brother is the Seventh Prince, Chu Feng. You made him lose face today, and I'm here to avenge him."

The woman was none other than Chu Feng's older sister, Chu Yao, the Third Princess of the empire. Emperor Fengming had seven sons and three daughters, and Chu Yao and Chu Feng were the youngest.

When Chu Yao saw Chu Feng return in a daze today, she was puzzled and asked him the reason, but Chu Feng was too scared to speak.

Chu Yao learned through other means that Chu Feng had been summoned by the Heir of the Manhuang Marquis. She soon found out the details of the incident.

Upon learning that her brother had been frightened, Chu Yao was furious and wanted to confront Long Chen, but as a princess, she couldn't act too openly. So, she secretly waited on the path Long Chen would take to return home.

Long Chen was so engrossed in his thoughts that he never expected someone to openly attack him in the capital, and he was caught off guard.

"It seems I didn't do anything to your brother," Long Chen said, frowning.

"Insolent servant, scaring my brother like that is a capital offense. Don't you understand the hierarchy?" Chu Yao said coldly.

Being called a servant repeatedly, Long Chen's anger flared up, and he shouted, "Stupid woman, don't think I won't deal with you just because you're a woman. Don't push me too far, or I'll even hit myself."

"You... you... you scoundrel."

In her entire life, no one had ever spoken to Chu Yao like that. Now, being insulted by Long Chen, her beautiful face turned cold with anger.

She extended her hand and struck at Long Chen. What Long Chen didn't expect was that Chu Yao was a Ninth Rank Qi Gathering Realm expert.

Her palm strike released a scorching aura, as if flames were attached to her hand, clearly a mid-grade human-level combat technique.

Long Chen immediately recognized the unusual nature of the strike. Although he wasn't afraid, he didn't want to use brute force to fight her.

"Whoosh"

Just as her hand was about to touch Long Chen's body, he slid back, lightly guiding her strike away, making it hit empty air.

Chu Yao's full-strength strike was easily deflected by Long Chen, making her feel as if she had hit a cotton ball, which was extremely frustrating.

"Scoundrel, you dare to dodge," Chu Yao shouted, leaping forward like a butterfly in a flower, and struck again.

Long Chen almost burst out laughing at Chu Yao's words. How could such a beautiful woman speak so rudely?

Although Long Chen was also angry, he couldn't bring himself to hit a beautiful woman. If it were Zhou Yaoyang, he would have already kicked and punched him.

After dodging several strikes, Long Chen noticed that although Chu Yao's cultivation was high, her foundation was very weak, and her actual strength was probably not even as good as a Fifth Rank Qi Gathering Realm.

Her techniques, though intricate, were too rigid, and what made Long Chen almost burst out laughing was that Chu Yao's moves were repetitive.

No matter if Long Chen dodged or blocked, she continued the same set of moves, never changing her technique, which made Long Chen almost laugh out loud.

"Scoundrel, what are you laughing at?" Chu Yao, unable to defeat Long Chen, stomped her feet in anger. Seeing Long Chen's strained face, she was even more furious.

"You unskilled brute, if you have the ability, fight me according to the rules."

Long Chen couldn't help but burst out laughing, his anger dissipating. He had never encountered such an interesting woman in his life.

His laughter, however, made Chu Yao's face turn iron gray, as she saw it as the greatest mockery.

"Scoundrel"

Chu Yao shouted, suddenly abandoning her techniques and pouncing on Long Chen like someone who knew nothing about martial arts.

This greatly surprised Long Chen. He had never seen such a fighting style before and quickly reached out to push Chu Yao away.

However, Chu Yao, in a mad frenzy, ignored Long Chen's hands and continued to pounce on him.

As a result, Long Chen's large hand tightly pressed against Chu Yao's chest, the soft sensation making him widen his eyes in shock.

Chu Yao, feeling a pair of large hands covering her chest, stiffened as if struck by lightning, her eyes full of disbelief.

"Misunderstanding, absolutely a misunderstanding," Long Chen quickly explained, but in his nervousness, he forgot to remove his hand.

"Scoundrel, I'll fight you to the death."

Chu Yao suddenly grabbed Long Chen's arm, opened her mouth, and bit down hard on his arm.

"Hey, hey, stop, no, stop biting, ouch."

Long Chen's arm was in excruciating pain. Chu Yao bit down hard and wouldn't let go. No matter how many times he shook his arm, she wouldn't release it, and the pain only intensified.

In a fit of anger, Long Chen, without thinking, slapped Chu Yao's buttocks.

"Slap"

The elastic sensation made Long Chen's heart flutter, but the pain in his arm quickly brought him back to reality.

"Let go of me, or I'll hit your butt again," Long Chen threatened loudly.

The pain in her buttocks made Chu Yao gasp, but she didn't release Long Chen's arm and continued to bite down hard.

Another wave of pain came, and Long Chen, in a fit of anger, raised his hand and slapped her buttocks three times, this time with much more force.

Chu Yao gasped in pain, tears streaming down her face, partly from the pain and partly from the injustice, but she refused to let go.

However, what surprised Chu Yao was that after three slaps, Long Chen stopped, allowing her to continue biting without moving.

After a while, perhaps because her mouth was sore or she was tired, Chu Yao slowly released her bite.

Long Chen's arm was now a bloody mess, with blood soaking his sleeve. He sighed, "Are you feeling better now?"

Chu Yao looked at Long Chen, seeing no trace of anger on his face, only a hint of melancholy. For some reason, it made her heart tremble.

"You... why didn't you hit me again?" Chu Yao asked, not knowing why, and immediately regretted it, her face turning red.

"Beating women isn't my specialty," Long Chen said irritably.

After saying that, he tore off his sleeve, revealing an arm that was almost missing a chunk of flesh, and tore a piece of cloth to bandage it.

Chu Yao's face turned red at Long Chen's words, and the anger she had felt earlier disappeared without a trace.

Seeing that Long Chen couldn't bandage his arm with one hand, she extended her hand, took the cloth from him, and said softly, "Let me help you bandage it."