"I underestimated you earlier, brat, but not anymore!" the man roared, and with both his fists engulfed in his fiery Qi, he rushed towards Yi Chen.

Yi Chen glanced towards his sword, which had developed a subtle crack.

'I have only one chance,' he thought with his forehead creased.

The very next moment, before the burly man could close in on him, Yi Chen threw his sword straight towards the man's chest like a spear.

Seeing the enormous speed of the incoming sword, the burly man was forced to use his Qi-infused hands to block it.

The moment Yi Chen saw the man doing this, he rushed in from the side and punched his stomach with all his might.

'Impossible…' The man's eyes widened in disbelief at seeing this scene.

The next moment, he started coughing up blood as life seemed to fade away from his eyes.

'…a one-hit kill?'

Yi Chen had initially expected his attack to smash the man behind the wall.

To see that his fist was so easily able to penetrate the man's body was mind-blowing for him.

It also revealed to him something crucial.

The bodies of cultivators in the [Meridian Refinement Stage] weren't much different from a mortal…or so he concluded.

'So what if they can use Qi-infused attacks on me? It would all be over if one of my attacks landed on them!' Yi Chen thought with confidence apparent in his gaze.

He pulled out his bloodied hand the next moment as the burly man's lifeless body slumped on the floor.

The guards and the Inn staff had gathered around the door by now.

Yi Chen gestured for them to stay there and approached Zhou Mei, who was still sitting curled up in the bed's corner.

"I've dealt with him, Little Mei. Come, I'll take you to a different room so that you can rest," Yi Chen said with a comforting smile as he extended his hand towards her.

Seeing this, Zhou Mei reached her trembling hand towards his and stood up from the bed.

Holding her hand, Yi Chen came out of the room the next moment.

That very moment, the Inn owner who had also been standing outside apologised profusely.

"I'm not in the mood to hear all that. Show Miss Zhou her new room," Yi Chen stated.

"Y-yes, Young Master," the owner nodded with sweat beads apparent on his forehead.

However, before he could do so, Yi Chen felt a small tug on his hand and looked towards Zhou Mei.

"Brother Chen…can't I just sleep in your room tonight? I won't be able to calm my mind if you're not near," She stated with fear apparent in her voice.

"Alright then," Yi Chen nodded with a gentle smile and told the Inn owner, "Discuss everything that needs to be done with the two guards."

Yi Chen gestured towards them and continued, "We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, so I don't want to get disturbed."

"Yes, Young Master," the Inn owner nodded and busied himself with dealing with the aftermath.

As for Yi Chen, he took Zhou Mei to his room to let her rest.

Using a piece of cloth to wipe the blood on his hands, he took a seat on a chair beside the bed and said, "Rest without worry, I'll be beside you the whole night."

Zhou Mei nodded and got into bed. However, she was unable to sleep.

Twisting and turning inside her blanket, she finally turned her body towards Yi Chen and called with her head peeking out of the blanket.

"Brother Chen..."

Since the candles were put out, she was unable to see whether Yi Chen's eyes were open or not under the dim moonlight.

"Yes, what's wrong?" Yi Chen asked.

Hearing his voice comforted her greatly as she soon asked the question which was plaguing her mind

"W-Will they come again?"

Sensing the worry laced in her voice, Yi Chen comforted, "No, they won't,"

'If they will, then they won't be going back alive,' he completed the other half of the sentence in his mind.

"That's good…" feeling much better because of his reassurance, Zhou Mei covered her head with the blanket and closed her eyes.

Not more than five minutes had passed, and Yi Chen was able to hear the sound of her relaxed breathing. She had fallen asleep.

A warm smile formed on his face the next moment.

'To think they would go after a little girl so relentlessly…bloody politics,' Yi Chen subtly clenched his jaw the next moment.

The night passed with no other attacks happening.

Early in the morning, they all boarded the carriage a little earlier than planned and left the city.

"From what the city guards said, the man was the head of a criminal guild in this city. Apparently, the bandit leader whom you defeated the other day was their vice leader," Guard Bai told Yi Chen along the way.

"Is that so?" Yi Chen mused over his words and said, "Still, we can't be sure whether more criminal guilds have been involved or not…it would be best if we keep moving without stopping in cities for a while."

"Don't worry, Young Master," Guard Bai said with a nod, "We have stocked enough supplies to skip the next two cities along the way to the capital."

"Yes, that would be for the best," Yi Chen replied and turned towards Zhou Mei.

After facing a second attack, her face had lost its previous cheerfulness.

"Little Mei, when we arrive at Jade City, why don't you show me around the marketplace? I've heard that it's the largest marketplace in the whole kingdom, and I fear I'll get lost if I go there by myself," Yi Chen said in a helpless manner while gesturing with his hand.

"I didn't know that Brother Chen was clumsy when it comes to things like that," Zhou Mei chuckled when she heard his helpless tone and continued with a cheerful smile, "Don't worry, brother, I'll make sure that you'll remember all the shops by heart in just a few weeks."

"I knew I could depend upon Little Mei! Now my heart can rest at ease. What all shops do you personally recommend there?"

"Oh that…"

With this, Zhou Mei's mood became vibrant, and the mood inside the carriage began to turn light-hearted again.

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