After following the system's directions, I finally found Lu Xiaoran. He was staring intently at someone. Following the direction of his gaze, I saw Lu Zhang, Lin Chen, and Xia Yan. Lin Chen and Xia Yan were holding hands, while Lu Zhang acted like their servant. Seeing them, Lu Xiaoran clenched his fist so tightly that it started to bleed. I approached him, placed a hand on his shoulder, and urged him to control his emotions.
Pov: Lu Xiaoran
Once Roman calmed me down, I regained some control over my feelings. After taking a deep breath, I said, "Thank you, Roman. I got a bit lost in my emotions."
Roman replied, "It's okay, Lu Xiaoran, but we should move. Your earlier display of anger has been noticed, and Lin Chen is looking our way. I assume you don't want to encounter him right now."
Hearing his words made me realize that Lin Chen had indeed spotted me, possibly sensing the killing intent I had shown earlier. He said something to Lu Zhang, who looked frightened and then got back into the car. Next, Lin Chen told Xia Yan to get into the car, and she had an oblivious expression.
The car suddenly sped away, leaving the area behind. Soon, dozens of black SUVs approached from the back of the club. Several men carrying various weapons, like swords, knives, and spears, emerged from the vehicles. Most of them were cultivators, primarily at the late Qi refining stage, but some were in the Foundation establishment stage. I could assess their strength at a glance. Surrounded by these men, Lin Chen looked in our direction. The distance between us was about 500 meters, which was nothing for a cultivator. He was encircled, not to mention that he himself was a cultivator in the Golden Core realm. From the aura he emitted, he had advanced from the early stage to the middle stage of the Golden Core realm. He was currently at the same level as me, and the spiritual energy around him indicated he was weaker than I was, but something about him eluded my understanding.
I thought it best to gauge his strength before any confrontation, so I said to Roman, "Yes, Roman, you're right. I don't want to meet him now. Let him enjoy his life for a bit."
Roman nodded at my words. Just as we were about to leave, I heard a voice say, "My friends, why are you in such a hurry? Why don't you come chat with me a little? We can also try the drinks at the club; you know this place serves the best drinks in the city."
His tone dripped with contempt and arrogance, as if he saw the whole world beneath him. I turned my head toward the speaker. A short distance away, Lin Chen stood with his men.
Without waiting for me to respond, Roman said, "You don't need to beat around the bush. Just say what you want to ask." He adjusted his voice to a harsh tone that almost sounded robotic.
Lin Chen displayed annoyance and replied, "So you don't want to talk nicely? Fine, let's get to the point. I want to know who you are, who is with you, and why you followed me. If you answer these questions properly, I might let you go home in one piece."
He still had that arrogant air, thinking the world revolved around him. But that wouldn't last long. This time, I responded, "You don't need to know about us. You don't have what it takes to know anything, so it's better for you to mind your own business."
That made him angry. He said, "Alright, let's see how you can escape from here." He raised his hand, and his men began charging toward us. I prepared a fire attack to burn them all and aimed it at them. Just as I was about to launch it, Roman grabbed my hand, stopping me. He said, "Young master, focus. We are not here to fight."
Saying this, he conjured a magic circle beneath our feet, engulfing us in blue light. I recognized it as a short-distance teleportation circle. As we were enveloped in light, Lin Chen shouted at us, "Fight me if you have the guts, you cowards!"
We didn't hear anything else as we soon found ourselves in another part of the city. Looking around, I realized we were in the government district, where many important buildings like the city court and government offices were located. We were standing in front of the Governor's office, where a protest was underway. People were holding banners that read "Return Our Land!" and shouting phrases like, "We won't give up our land!" and "Leave our village alone!" From the looks of it, they were protesting against some new infrastructure project affecting their land.
We blended into the crowd for cover and moved slowly, waiting for a chance to leave. Just then, the police, stationed at the barricade in front of the Governor's office, started throwing tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd. The peaceful protest turned violent as people began to run aimlessly, trying to escape the police who surrounded the crowd, arresting individuals left and right.
As Roman and I prepared to teleport again, someone grabbed my hand. I turned and saw a girl around my age. Instinctively, I went into an alert position, ready to react, but she pulled me toward her and said, "Why are you standing here? Run with me before the police catch us!"
I hesitated to go with her, but Roman spoke up, "Young master, it's best if we physically escape. Teleporting might alert the authorities. It's better to go with other people."
I nodded at his advice and started running with the girl. We narrowly escaped the police and entered a back alley, moving into another part of the city. However, she didn't stop there. Still holding my hand, she led us to the outskirts, where we found ourselves in front of a rundown housing complex. Although the complex looked old, lights were still on inside, indicating people lived there.
Reaching the gate, the girl finally let go of my hand and began panting from the distance she had run. Facing us, she said, "Why are you standing still? Are you waiting for the police to arrest you?"
After catching her breath, she continued, "Now tell me, which village are you from so I can call someone from your village?" As she spoke, many people from the complex emerged, mostly elderly and women. One elderly woman asked her, "Jessy, where are the others? Why did you only come back with two people?"
Hearing this, the girl named Jessy replied, "Grandma, all the others got separated from me when the police suddenly started arresting us. I'm sure they'll arrive soon."
Looking at us again, she added, "You should rest a bit. People from your village will be here shortly, so take a break." I sensed she mistook us for someone else, but I nodded in response. She then rejoined the people from the complex, explaining what had happened during the protest.
While Roman and I stood in front of the complex, I heard a familiar voice say, "Young man, why don't you rest a bit?" Recognizing the voice, I turned to see my master. However, he looked strange. His clothes and body were covered in a foul odor, and his clothes were filthy with waste stains. It looked like he had come straight from a dump.