After Qiao Ying left, Xiao Xiao was still curiously trying on a string of bracelets.
"Miss, this string of shell bracelets looks beautiful on you!"
The proprietress, a middle-aged woman, complimented Xiao Xiao with a smile.
"I'll take two strings of these!"
Xiao Xiao happily bought them and continued to stroll.
...
A considerable distance behind Xiao Xiao,
"Brother Huo Lang, is that little girl our target?"
A man in a baseball cap whispered to a fierce, burly man with a black eyepatch over his left eye and many scars on his face.
"Of course. Don't let the girl's appearance fool you; she's only sixteen or seventeen, but she's incredibly rich. She was just eating and drinking with a slightly older beautiful woman and bought a lot of things!"
"Later, that older beautiful woman seemed to have something to attend to and left!"
"But that's even better. A smaller target will be easier to catch!"
Huo Lang narrowed his remaining right eye, a fierce glint flashing within.
"But boss, that little girl is so delicate, and with so much money, she might be from a powerful faction!"
A red-haired man next to Huo Lang looked somewhat concerned.
"Don't worry, I've investigated. She's not from the Adventurer's Guild. Besides, once we grab her and run, no one will be able to catch us!"
As he spoke, Huo Lang blended into the crowd, walking towards Xiao Xiao. His subordinates exchanged glances before also following him.
...
On the other side,
Ye Feng arrived at a somewhat secluded alley, where many ragged beggars were present.
"Come out!"
Ye Feng, who had been leisurely strolling, suddenly turned his head and looked behind him.
"Heh heh, you actually found me!"
As the words fell, a burly, bearded man slowly materialized in Ye Feng's sight.
"A chameleon-like ability?"
Ye Feng frowned slightly.
"Kid, treasures are for the capable. The large chest you're carrying, judging by the arcane energy it emits, is at least of Gold grade!"
"Hand it over, and I'll spare your life!"
As he spoke, the bearded man extended his scarlet, long tongue and licked the gleaming Damascus knife in his hand.
"Swish~ Crack~ Clang~!"
As the bearded man finished speaking, a beggar beside Ye Feng suddenly produced a pair of shackles and cuffed Ye Feng.
"This..."
Ye Feng's expression changed slightly. The shackles were engraved with arcane runes, and the moment he channeled his arcane energy, it was absorbed.
"Bang bang bang!~"
Immediately following, a series of explosions sounded. The arcane runes attached to the shackles had detonated.
"As expected, someone with a Gold treasure chest isn't easy to deal with!"
As the explosion's flames and dust slightly dissipated, the bearded man grunted.
"Whoosh!"
Before his words even landed, the bearded man flashed and instantly appeared beside Ye Feng, his Damascus knife slashing directly at Ye Feng's neck.
Ye Feng did not dodge. Arcane energy surged, and he struck out with his palm, hitting the Damascus knife directly.
"Boom!~ Clang!~"
The hard and sharp Damascus knife shattered upon impact.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Ye Feng's expression changed. After the Damascus knife shattered, it began to glow and formed a strange magic circle around him, draining his arcane energy.
"It's a Gu Talisman?!"
Ye Feng was quite surprised because, according to Wu Ye Lin, this was a secret technique of the Huang family.
"Are you from the Huang family?"
Ye Feng frowned slightly and asked.
"Die!"
Upon hearing Ye Feng's words, the bearded man's face changed. He quickly formed a hand seal, and the Gu Talisman surged madly, rapidly coiling around Ye Feng.
"Swish swish swish!~"
At this moment, the beggar on the ground, holding a large saber, began to hack wildly at Ye Feng. In a blink of an eye, the package on Ye Feng's back fell into the other's hands.
"Master Dao, it's a Diamond treasure chest!"
"Uh~ Woo~ Woo........."
After the beggar opened the package, his voice was incredibly excited, but it quickly turned into a whimper. Blood continuously spilled from his mouth as a Damascus blade pierced his neck.
"You... you... you..."
The beggar stuttered "you" three times before his body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.
"The Gu Talisman was actually broken... How did you do that?"
The bearded man's eyes were filled with astonishment. He quickly retreated a step, simultaneously throwing a handful of talismans towards Ye Feng.
"Bang bang bang!~ Boom~ Boom~"
Huge explosions instantly engulfed Ye Feng, but the bearded man didn't check. At this moment, he had only one thought: to escape... escape far away...
"Whoosh!~ Sizzle!~"
"Ah~!"
A whistling sound broke through the air. Amidst the explosion's flames, two long sabers shot out, striking the bearded man's shoulders and pinning him to the wall.
"Clang clang!~"
The bearded man directly snapped the sabers. Ignoring the gushing blood, he forcibly broke free.
At this moment, his body began to gradually become transparent, intending to escape like he had been tracking Ye Feng.
"Bang~ Crack~"
"Ah!~ Crack!~ Ah!"
However, Ye Feng had already arrived beside the bearded man. Several heavy punches landed on the other's body. The man screamed in pain, and his translucent body reappeared.
"Speak, who do you belong to?"
Ye Feng looked at the bearded man with icy eyes.
"Kid, you do have some strength, but this is the Adventurer's Guild. Do you know who I am?"
"Let me tell you, I am from the Wu Ye Adventurer's Guild... Ah... Ah..."
Before the bearded man could finish his sentence, he let out a shrill scream.
...
After a while, Ye Feng finally left the alley where he had been attacked.
"What the hell is going on? People from the Huang family impersonating people from the Wu Ye family, robbing adventurers everywhere..."
Ye Feng was puzzled.
The bearded man from before was named Huang Kuang. He had received orders from the Huang family's higher-ups to specifically impersonate people from the Wu Ye family and rob adventurers and adventuring parties with high-value items.
"Bang~ Boom!~"
As Ye Feng pondered where to go next, a burst of flames suddenly erupted in the distance.
"I'll go take a look~"
Bored, Ye Feng decided to go and see the commotion. He immediately jumped onto a rooftop and headed straight for the place where the explosion had just occurred.
...
Ye Feng's movements were quite fast. In a short while, he arrived at the place where flames had been soaring earlier.
"Huh? Xiao Xiao!"
As Ye Feng curiously observed, intending to spectate the drama, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure amidst the flames: it was Xiao Xiao.
At this moment, Xiao Xiao was enveloped in arcane energy flames. She held a flaming long saber in her right hand. Several people lay on the ground around her. Directly in front of her was a giant jackal, completely engulfed in flames.