Chapter 71: Hallucinating?
"Hey, if the Old Master really did hide something back in the day, just how much treasure are we talking about? The Eldest and Second Masters already have plenty of valuables, so why are they still so fixated on it?"
"You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" the shorter man said with a chuckle. "Anyway, as long as Brother Sheng and Brother Ming don’t give the word, we can’t leave this place. Besides, we’re just grunts. We do whatever the bosses tell us to do."
"Brother Sheng hasn’t been around for the past couple of days. Where do you think he went?"
"How should I know?"
The two men squatted at the foot of the hill, smoking for a while and making small talk before finally leaving.
Only after the two men had disappeared from sight did Su Qing stand up. She gazed in the direction they had gone, a slight frown creasing her brow. ’I’ll have to come into the mountains often to look for herbs, since I still haven’t found the Purple Danshen and Chicken Blood Vine. But it looks like there are a lot of people in these mountains now. I’ll have to be more careful when I use my Wood Ability from now on.’
Seeing it was getting late, Su Qing decided to head down the mountain and go home. But when she turned around, she saw the same two men from the foot of the hill walking toward her with ill intent.
Su Qing raised an eyebrow. ’So they found me.’
The taller man chuckled. "What’d I tell you, Taozi? I said I smelled a faint fragrance, a woman’s scent, but you didn’t believe me. Well, look! Isn’t this a woman?"
The shorter man, Taozi, gave Su Qing a disdainful look. "She’s hideous. I’m telling you, Da Dong, your standards can’t be *this* low. You’d even go for someone who looks like this? Be a little pickier, for crying out loud."
The taller man, Da Dong, laughed. "We’re stuck out here in the mountains. We’re lucky to see a woman at all. What’s there to be picky about? At least she’s young, right?"
With that, Da Dong sauntered toward Su Qing, a smirk playing on his lips. "Little girl, running into us today is your lucky day. Stick with us, and if you make us happy, we’ll take you to Xiangcheng. I guarantee you’ll live in luxury, wearing gold and silver. It’s way, way better than scraping by in these mountains. How about it? HAHAHAHA!"
In Da Dong’s eyes, Su Qing was just a frail little village girl who hadn’t seen anything of the world. All he needed to do was coax her a little, and she’d be his.
Su Qing took a step back, her expression guarded. "What do you want?"
"Hahaha, I made it perfectly clear, and she’s still asking what I want," Da Dong said to Taozi, bursting into laughter.
"Heh, village girls. So clueless," Taozi said, also finding it amusing. He shot Su Qing a contemptuous look. ’Hicks will be hicks. She can’t even understand plain language.’
"Heh," Da Dong said with a smile, stepping forward. "Let’s go, little girl. Come with us. I guarantee you won’t regret it."
"Get lost. I’m going home. Who said I was going with you?" Su Qing’s expression turned cold. ’From what they said, it’s obvious these two are from Xiangcheng.’
’I know what kind of place Xiangcheng is. Right now, it’s a chaotic mess of gangs and mafias, a place where gunfights could break out at any moment. And these two are clearly hired muscle for some wealthy family.’
"Well now, Da Dong, she’s not taking the hint." Taozi turned to Da Dong, then sneered at Su Qing. "Little girl, Brother Da Dong is offering to treat you well, so you’d better show some respect. Don’t be so shameless. With that scar on your face, anyone who saw you in the middle of the night would have nightmares. Do you think you’re some kind of goddess? The fact that Brother Da Dong is even giving you the time of day is a blessing. Don’t be so ungrateful."
Taozi’s words made anger surge through Su Qing. ’A personal attack!’
’If I wasn’t afraid of it being too conspicuous, I would’ve healed this scar long ago. I’m a girl too, and I want to be beautiful, you know!’
’He could have attacked anything else, but he just had to go for my looks. There’s no way I’m letting that slide.’
Su Qing’s eyes flashed with fury. She lunged forward and kicked Taozi, sending him flying.
"AGH—!" Neither Da Dong nor Taozi had expected her to strike. Taozi, completely unprepared, was sent flying backward by the kick. He slammed into a nearby tree, the back of his head cracking against the trunk and leaving him dazed.
"You fucking bitch, you dare hit him?" Da Dong was stunned. He’d never imagined this frail-looking girl could send Taozi flying with a single kick. ’This country girl is surprisingly strong.’ He forgot all about going easy on a woman and swung his fist at Su Qing.
’My skills were forged in the apocalypse. This body’s coordination isn’t perfect yet, but it’s more than enough to handle a brawl like this.’
Su Qing sidestepped, easily dodging Da Dong’s punch. Then, she balled her right hand into a fist and smashed it into his face.
"ARGH!" The punch landed squarely on Da Dong’s face. He staggered back a couple of steps, and when he touched his nose, his hand came away wet with blood.
"Dammit, you fucking bitch! You’re asking to die!" The sight of his own blood brought a savage look to Da Dong’s eyes. He whipped a dagger from his belt and lunged at Su Qing.
Su Qing narrowed her eyes and deftly dodged the dagger. In a single exchange, she knocked the weapon from his hand and then sent him flying with another kick.
"Dammit, you fucking bitch, go to hell!" It was Taozi’s voice, shouting from behind her.
A loud "BANG!" followed—a gunshot.
Without a second thought, Su Qing dropped and rolled. A bullet struck the spot where she had just been standing, kicking up a spray of dirt.
It was Taozi who had fired the gun.
He had been sent flying by Su Qing’s kick, and the impact of his head against the tree had left him dizzy. Then he saw Da Dong, even with a dagger, getting thrashed by Su Qing, completely unable to fight back. Taozi was filled with rage and utter humiliation. Two grown men, unable to handle a single woman. If word of this got out, they’d become a total laughingstock.
And so, without a second thought, Taozi had fired at Su Qing.
But to his shock, she had dodged it.
Taozi’s eyes narrowed viciously. He aimed and, without hesitation, fired a second time.
Su Qing saw the second bullet hurtling toward her. As she moved to dodge, she suddenly felt her right ankle being grabbed.
’It must be Da Dong,’ Su Qing thought. ’These two are really trying to kill me today.’
With her foot held fast, she couldn’t dodge. In the two men’s eyes, she was a dead woman. However, what happened next made them wonder if they were hallucinating.
Su Qing slammed her hand on the ground. Instantly, the vines covering the forest floor shot into the air, weaving themselves into a thick, living wall that stopped the bullet in its tracks.