Chapter 73

An Xiaoyue put down the phone in her hand somewhat dejectedly. In the past few days, she had called Ding Ning several times, but the phone always indicated that the service was unavailable.

Ding Ning had already entered the mountainous area, where the signal was very poor.

After a few days of care, her mother had basically returned to normal. An Xiaoyue was very grateful to Ding Ning.

She was almost certain that if it weren't for Ding Ning, her mother wouldn't have woken up. The idea of using the power of love to call someone back was just a fairy tale; the number of people who truly woke up from a coma was negligible.

She also attended a high school in the coastal city, but she had only reported on the first day of the semester and then took leave to take care of her mother at home.

This morning, An Xiaoyue returned to the overpass, hoping to meet Ding Ning there.

But when she arrived at the park, Ding Ning wasn't there. An Xiaoyue lost her mood to practice boxing and wandered deeper into the park alone.

Ahead was a bamboo grove with a stone table in the middle. An Xiaoyue slowly walked over, sat on a stone bench, and rested.

On her wrist was the jade bracelet Ding Ning had given her. The bracelet was unremarkable, but An Xiaoyue liked it very much.

Wearing it, An Xiaoyue felt calm and saw everything as beautiful. Her skin had been moisturized for days, looking much better than with cosmetics.

Her wrist always felt cool, and An Xiaoyue could even feel the refreshing moisture nourishing her body and mind. Even her mother, after waking up, often praised her for becoming more beautiful.

Ding Ning's figure flashed in her mind. From the time she met him, he seemed to have lost some weight, and he looked good.

If he could lose a bit more weight and have a better background, it would be even better.

An Xiaoyue felt a bit flustered, her face turning red. Why was she thinking such things? These were impossible. Even if Ding Ning became thinner and more handsome, his background couldn't change. They would always be two parallel lines that never intersect.

At this moment, footsteps were heard from outside the bamboo grove.

An Xiaoyue looked up and saw a person with black hair and yellow skin, but clearly not Chinese, walking in.

This person was in his twenties, with a high nose, high cheekbones, and a stern face. He had a red silk band tied around his forehead and wore loose clothing.

An Xiaoyue instinctively straightened her back; this person felt dangerous.

The young man walked up to An Xiaoyue, bowed slightly, and said in broken Chinese, "What a beautiful girl. You don't mind making friends with Chachai, do you?"

An Xiaoyue politely returned the bow and calmly replied, "Chinese people are hospitable, but I'm not used to making friends with strangers. I'm very sorry."

This Chachai was probably Thai. He took another step forward and stared at An Xiaoyue's face rather boldly. "I heard the Chinese have a saying, 'meeting friends through martial arts.' Although I find it hard to imagine such a beautiful girl being an expert, Chachai still wants to learn from you."

"I'm very sorry, but I'm not interested."

An Xiaoyue disliked his bold gaze and stood up to leave.

"You can't leave if you can't defeat me."

Chachai stepped in front of An Xiaoyue, staring at her curvaceous figure. "I'm starting to regret taking this job. If the client doesn't double the payment, I'll give up the task. Compared to you, money really doesn't matter."

An Xiaoyue's face changed. The person wasn't here to make friends or meet through martial arts but to cause trouble. She didn't know who was targeting her.

Unlike ordinary girls who would scream for help when in danger, An Xiaoyue had practiced boxing since childhood and was very confident.

Chachai was very close to her. Suddenly, An Xiaoyue punched at his chest.

Looking at An Xiaoyue's small, pale fist, Chachai shook his head with a smile and raised his hand to block.

"Bang!"

A sudden burst of force hit Chachai's arm.

A man nearly 1.8 meters tall was pushed back several steps, his arm feeling numb.

Chachai looked surprised. "Is this short-range power?"

Seeing that Chachai had only retreated a few steps, An Xiaoyue was even more shocked. She had practiced short-range power for ten years and never showed it to anyone. Today, she used it suddenly, and even a big man could be knocked down with one punch. She didn't expect Chachai to be unharmed, definitely a master.

Seeing An Xiaoyue's expression, Chachai guessed her thoughts and sneered. "Very unfortunate, your physical strength is still too weak. Although you can defeat ordinary people, you are still too weak in front of a Thai boxing master."

He clapped his hands and made a hugging gesture. "Come, girl, come into my arms, and I won't hurt you."

An Xiaoyue gritted her teeth and didn't speak, then punched Chachai again.

But before An Xiaoyue's fist reached him, Chachai suddenly kicked out.

This kick was fierce and sharp, even breaking the air. It was a standard Thai boxing kick. If An Xiaoyue blocked it, her bones would be broken.

An Xiaoyue quickly retreated. Chachai was too strong, and she wasn't his match in a direct fight.

Fortunately, she still had Tai Chi. After Ding Ning's guidance, her understanding of Tai Chi had deepened.

Chachai threw another straight punch. An Xiaoyue wrapped her wrist around his arm, pulling back to unbalance him, and then kicked out with a sweeping leg.

Chachai's eyes lit up. He turned his body, using one leg as an axis, and kicked back at An Xiaoyue's leg.

An Xiaoyue didn't dare to resist and retreated again.

"Crack!"

Chachai kicked a bamboo stick in half.

Sweat appeared on An Xiaoyue's smooth forehead. She didn't dare to clash with Chachai again.

Chachai's attacks were fierce, his punches and kicks like the wind. An Xiaoyue used the force of the bamboo grove to her advantage, using Tai Chi to counter his attacks.

After a few quick exchanges, Chachai became impatient.

This girl wasn't his match, but she was slippery. It wasn't easy to deal with her in the bamboo grove.

He had a mission and couldn't afford to waste time. If An Xiaoyue screamed for help, it would be troublesome.

A fierce look flashed in his eyes. Chachai flicked his wrist, and a green light shot out from his sleeve toward An Xiaoyue.

An Xiaoyue didn't see what it was, but she reached out and grabbed the center of the green light.

It was slippery and wriggling, clearly a living thing.

Upon closer inspection, it was a bamboo pit viper, with a flat triangular head and cold, small eyes.

Girls have a natural fear of reptiles. An Xiaoyue screamed and tried to throw the snake to the ground.

But the snake was very agile. It wrapped around An Xiaoyue's wrist, and its small head opened wide, biting down on her wrist!

Chachai sneered. He could detoxify, but after being bitten, An Xiaoyue would be paralyzed for a while, and he could take her away.

An Xiaoyue couldn't dodge in time. Whether being bitten by the venomous snake or being taken away by this person, both were terrifying outcomes she didn't want to face.

In that moment, An Xiaoyue felt utterly hopeless.

At the critical moment, the bracelet on her wrist changed.

The fourth jade bead suddenly shattered, and a powerful force, imperceptible to ordinary people, descended and pressed down on the bamboo pit viper.

The snake couldn't withstand the pressure, and it couldn't wrap around An Xiaoyue's wrist anymore. It was forcefully pressed to the ground!

"Thud!"

The ground was a path of green bricks. The snake's scales were pressed so hard that blood seeped out. The bamboo pit viper struggled to escape the pressure, but the pressure was so great that its struggle looked more like convulsions.

Chachai was shocked. He whistled repeatedly, trying to get the bamboo pit viper to move.

This was a pet his master had raised and was somewhat reluctant to give him. The snake was very intelligent and highly venomous. Chachai was confident it would deal with An Xiaoyue, but he didn't expect this to happen.

An Xiaoyue, having narrowly escaped, didn't dare to stay and ran away.

Chachai wanted to chase her but was worried about the snake dying. A cold look flashed in his eyes, and he pulled out a thin tube from his pocket and put it to his mouth.

It was a blowpipe with a range of nearly thirty meters, containing a sedative. If it hit An Xiaoyue, it would render her helpless.

He blew hard, and a needle-like arrow shot out, heading straight for An Xiaoyue's back.

A silver light flashed in the bamboo grove, and another jade bead on An Xiaoyue's wrist shattered.

"Boom!"

A bolt of lightning accurately struck the arrow about to hit her, turning it black and making it fall to the ground.

An Xiaoyue turned around, saw the blowpipe in Chachai's hand, and her face turned pale. She ran faster, quickly leaving the bamboo grove.

Chachai watched An Xiaoyue run out of the bamboo grove and into the crowd in the park, then muttered, "It... it's thundering!"