Chapter 14: The White-Cd Young Lord

  Sanbao felt Sanhuabao nudging her insistently, pawing at her leg. She lowered her head, scooping up the little cat, and asked softly, "What’s wrong, little one?"

  At that moment, a sudden unfamiliar voice echoed in her mind: "Wake up! Something’s wrong!"

  "???" Sanbao blinked in confusion. "Who are you?" she asked mentally.

  "Wake up! They’re already here!" The voice ignored her question, urging her with increasing urgency.

  A chill ran through Sanbao’s heart. She snapped her eyes open.

  She was still lying in the bath. Sanhuabao was standing at the edge of the tub, pawing anxiously at her shoulder.

  So the glorious scene of defeating the bandits… had been a dream. Realizing this, Sanbao's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. *And I even ughed so theatrically in my sleep… how mortifying!*

  She rubbed her temples, feeling a little disoriented. "Xiaon, bring me my clothes," she called out.

  No response.

  Sanbao frowned and called again, louder this time. Still, no answer.

  Wrapping herself hastily in a towel, she stepped out of the bath and into the bedroom.

  The room was empty. Xiaon was nowhere to be seen.

  A sense of unease gripped her. She realized that since she entered the room earlier, she hadn’t seen Yuyu either.

  Where had they gone?

  A sudden dizziness struck her. Sanbao’s eyes narrowed as she noticed a faint, misty white fog drifting through the room.

  *Something’s wrong with this fog!*

  She snapped to full alert. Forming a quick hand seal, she chanted a short incantation. The water from the bath leapt up, forming a shimmering water bubble that enveloped her, isoting her from the mist.

  *That voice earlier… who was it?* *And who are "they"?*

  Before she could figure it out, the door smmed open.

  A group of masked figures dressed in bck stormed into the room, only their eyes visible.

  The leader spoke in a low, mocking voice: "You must be Miss Sanbao of the Xu family from Moling. Come quietly, or we’ll make you."

  Sanbao narrowed her eyes coldly. "Who are you?"

  The leader chuckled darkly. "You don’t need to know who we are. Just know you have two choices—come with us, or resist. You’re a water-type ability user, a genius, sure… but with nothing but a towel on, you’ll find it hard to cast spells, won’t you?"

  A wave of lewd ughter broke out among the masked men.

  Sanbao flushed with rage, her heart pounding in fear. Despite years of training, Xu was only a minor noble house, and she had yet to obtain many powerful cultivation resources. She was still barely stepping onto the path of cultivation.

  For ability users below the fifth rank, casting spells required both hand seals and incantations—and wrapped only in a towel, she was at a clear disadvantage.

  *They pnned this!* Sanbao clenched her fists in frustration.

  She forced herself to stay calm, curling her lips into a cold smirk. "Your leader's already rotting in the woods after I killed him. If you value your lives, leave now."

  The bck-cd leader sneered.

  "That useless fool Li? He couldn’t handle you even with a relic designed to counter water abilities. But don’t worry—we’re not so incompetent. Wanna try?"

  Their ughter grew louder.

  In that moment, Sanbao understood—these men were allies of the bandits. The ambush on the road had been premeditated.

  *Who else knew about our escape that day?* A terrible thought crossed her mind: Could there be a traitor among them?

  Xiaon had been by her side the entire time. Yuyu had helped with preparations—but she had disappeared when danger struck.

  *Could it be her?* But then again, Yuyu had fought fiercely against the bandits, even revealing her hidden second-stage metal-type powers.

  *Was it all a show?* Sanbao’s mind raced.

  "Have you decided yet?" The leader’s voice snapped her back to reality.

  The bck-cd men closed in, forming a half-circle to trap her.

  Cornered against the wall, Sanbao readied herself to weave a desperate spell.

  Suddenly, there was a loud crash!

  The ceiling above them shattered—and a white-robed young man descended gracefully from the night sky like a falling star.

  For a moment, Sanbao stared in awe, stars dancing in her eyes. *So handsome!*

  The young man curled his lips into a disdainful smile, his voice cold and proud: "With trash like you, you think you’re worthy to know my name?"

  With a casual flick of his wrist, he pulled a gleaming white longsword from a brocade pouch. The bde shone with a biting chill, as if it could slice through the heavens themselves.

  He swung lightly—the sword whistled through the air with a deep, resonant hum.

  "A spatial artifact? The Condensed Snow Sword? You’re the eldest son of the Wang family from Haicheng?" The masked leader’s face darkened.

  *Another chuunibyou…* Sanbao almost stumbled in embarrassment. *There goes the perfect image I just had of him.*

  "In theory, since Wang Gongzi has stepped in, we should respect the Wang family and the Medicine King Valley by backing off," the masked leader said hesitantly. "But orders are orders… we can't return empty-handed."

  The white-cd youth impatiently waved his hand. "Return?" He let out a cold ugh, eyes fshing with scorn.

  "Now that I am here—your fates are sealed. There’s only one path left for you: death. When you see the King of Hell, remember to tell him who sent you on your way."

  He turned to Sanbao, his expression softening, his voice steady and reassuring:

  "Miss, you need not fear. With me here, no harm shall come to you. Rest easy—leave everything to me."

  Sanbao nearly curled her toes into the floor in secondhand embarrassment. *I can’t listen to this anymore!*

  But outwardly, she forced a calm nod.

  The bck-cd men spread out, forming a tighter semicircle. The tension in the room thickened—

  A fierce battle was about to erupt.