Chapter Thirty-Five: Seen Again

“Hold on tight...” A giant, whose face was obscured and whose gender could not be discerned, stretched out a massive hand to support Li Sanjian.

Li Sanjian stood trembling atop the giant’s palm, teetering as the mountain winds tore at his clothing, nearly flattening it against his body, almost blowing him off the enormous hand.

“Rise...” The giant’s voice, sounding distinctly feminine, boomed as she soared into the sky, accompanied by a shrill gust, ascending swiftly. The mountain wind roared past Li Sanjian’s ears.

At first, Li Sanjian was terrified, kneeling on one leg atop the giant’s palm, unable to lift his head. Gradually, he grew accustomed to the dizzying ascent.

He finally looked up to see the houses, trees, and everything below shrinking rapidly. The giant had risen above the clouds, where the morning sun was rising and the mist thinning. The fog, pushed by the gentle breeze, rolled like iceberg peaks, resembling the celestial realms of legends, a mirage—scenery so breathtaking that it soothed the soul.

“Ah...” Li Sanjian was still admiring the sunrise when the giant suddenly flipped her palm, tossing him down.

He let out a series of desperate screams, plummeting headfirst toward the ground. In stark contrast to the ascent, the houses and trees below grew larger and larger, the wind howling past his ears.

“My life is over!” Li Sanjian cried out, closing his eyes in despair.

At the critical moment, just before he was about to be smashed to pieces, he felt his ankle tightened—someone had caught him midair, barely two inches above the damp earth. Li Sanjian could almost smell the fragrance of fresh grass.

But he had no mind to savor it; his heart churned violently, as if all his organs threatened to burst from his chest.

“Was it fun?” The female giant transformed into a stunning, fairy-like maiden, dangling Li Sanjian by his feet, smiling sweetly.

“No... not fun...” Li Sanjian stammered, pale with fright.

“What? You dare say I’m not fun?” The beautiful maiden’s face darkened, anger flashing in her eyes.

“Fun... it’s fun...” Li Sanjian hastily corrected himself, sensing her wrath.

“What? You dare say I am fun? Shameless scoundrel!” The maiden’s fury only grew, and she transformed once more into a giant, snatching Li Sanjian and flying skyward again...

After being tossed about three times, Li Sanjian’s fear turned into anger.

“You wretch, this is no way to treat a person!” He shouted when the maiden reverted to her human form, lunging at her with reckless abandon, attempting to wrestle her to the ground for a beating. But Li Sanjian had neither training nor technique; clumsy and flailing, his hands landed squarely on the maiden’s chest...

The beautiful maiden recoiled in panic, drawing a dazzling golden sword and pointing it at Li Sanjian, scolding, “Lecher! Face my blade!”

The sword’s edge glittered in the sunlight, its sparks flashing as it thrust straight for Li Sanjian’s throat.

“Ah...” Li Sanjian screamed, jerking upright from his bed, mouth parched and tongue dry.

It had all been a dream—a nightmare that startled him awake.

“Lecher! Face my blade!” At that very moment, a bright light flashed; from outside the window with a gaping hole came a shrill shout, followed by a sword piercing the window paper, aiming straight at Li Sanjian.

The little sprout, who had slept curled beside Li Sanjian all night, was startled awake by the commotion and, terrified, burrowed under the covers, her tiny body trembling.

Li Sanjian was alarmed, yelling as he rolled off the bed. With a thud, the sword stabbed into the pillow.

Immediately, a petite figure leapt through the window.

“It’s you...? Ke’er, what are you doing?” Li Sanjian, chest heaving and still shaken, finally recognized the maiden’s features—it was none other than Chen Ke’er.

“Silence! Don’t call me Ke’er... You... you... you are utterly shameless and depraved, even preying on someone so young, worse than a beast... utterly...” Chen Ke’er pointed her sword at Li Sanjian, her anger so great that words failed her.

“Injustice, heroine!” Li Sanjian glanced at the window with its gaping hole and protested bitterly. He regretted not patching it sooner—so much trouble could have been avoided, and he wouldn’t always be falsely accused.

“She... she is my... Ouch!” Before he could finish explaining, Chen Ke’er stabbed at him again.

“Mountain Chief... Help!” Li Sanjian scrambled out the door, shouting for help.

“Lecher, where do you think you’re going?” Chen Ke’er vaulted onto the window sill, intending to pursue Li Sanjian through the window.

Heroes leap across rooftops; to use the door would be beneath them.

But true heroes rely on superb martial arts. Unfortunately, Chen Ke’er was still young and her skills were not yet refined. Her foot caught on the window frame, and with a cry, she fell backward, landing squarely on Li Sanjian as he dashed out.

Li Sanjian, fleeing for his life, suddenly saw something flying toward him. Without thinking, he reached out to catch it, only to find his hands pressed against Chen Ke’er’s chest.

He even gave a squeeze—hmm, not bad...

With a clang, her sword fell, slicing through Li Sanjian’s belt, causing his trousers to drop and revealing his undergarments...

And so the scene was set: a rakish scoundrel molesting a beautiful heroine!

“Lecher, let me go... Let me go or I’ll kill you!” Chen Ke’er struggled desperately, but unable to break free, she drove her elbow into Li Sanjian’s stomach.

“You... you... you’re utterly unreasonable!” Li Sanjian, stung with pain and fury, pinned Chen Ke’er to the ground and slapped her bottom, scolding, “Do you even know who she is? She’s my sister! She’s so young, how could I ever do such a thing? You’re completely out of line, utterly nonsensical!”

Chen Ke’er’s constant accusations of lechery had stoked Li Sanjian’s anger. He’d been called a lecher in his dream, and now, upon waking, the insult continued...

He’d been falsely accused by Chen Ke’er before, and now again.

He’d never even been intimate with a woman, yet was branded a lecher? The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt, and his blows grew harsher. He continued to slap and pinch until Chen Ke’er was crying bitterly.

The more he punished her, the more satisfied he felt. Just as he was reveling in his triumph, he was suddenly shoved aside by a tremendous force, as if caught in a whirlwind, stumbling a full ten feet away. Alarmed, he looked up to see, standing before him, a man in green robes wearing a bronze mask, its terrifying gleam chilling in the sunlight.

The mask concealed the man’s face and age, but Li Sanjian noticed his hands: knobby knuckles thick with calluses, clearly not young.

“If you dare show disrespect to my lady again, I’ll take your worthless life,” the green-robed man said coldly.

“You...” Before Li Sanjian could respond, the Mountain Chief arrived, roaring in anger and stepping forward, fists swinging toward the masked man’s face.

The Mountain Chief had been practicing martial arts for some time and was beginning to show skill; his fists, large as sand pots, whistled through the air with ferocity.

Just as his fists were about to connect, the masked man seemed not to move at all—Li Sanjian and the others saw only a blur, and the masked man was suddenly behind the Mountain Chief.

The Mountain Chief missed entirely, stumbling awkwardly.

The masked man waved, and the Mountain Chief collapsed to the ground like a felled mountain, raising a cloud of dust.

“Your strength is decent, but your foundation is unstable,” the masked man remarked, shaking his head.

The Mountain Chief leaped up, wiped blood from his mouth, and with a roar, attacked again.

The masked man dodged, shaking his head, and knocked him down once more.

“Mountain Chief, stop! You’re no match for him!” Li Sanjian called out in distress.

“Master, run!” The Mountain Chief, ignoring his pain, shouted at Li Sanjian.

He thought the situation was dire, but Li Sanjian disagreed. If the masked man had wanted to kill him, he could have done so easily, but he hadn’t; he merely warned him.

If he had intended to kill Li Sanjian, would he need to warn him first?

“Uncle Qin, enough, stand down,” Chen Ke’er said, rubbing her sore, reddened bottom as she approached.

The masked man bowed and retreated.

“What are you here for?” Li Sanjian asked impatiently.

Because of Chen Ke’er, both he and the Mountain Chief had been humiliated; Li Sanjian now harbored some resentment toward her.

“I... is she really your sister?” Chen Ke’er asked, pointing at Little Sprout, whose tiny face peeked from behind the door, eyes wide with fear.

“Who she is has nothing to do with you,” Li Sanjian replied angrily.

“You...” Chen Ke’er was so furious she could barely speak.

Her father, upon learning that Li Sanjian had gone alone to Lingshan County in Qinzou and was penniless, intended to send him some money and supplies to aid his studies.

Chen Ke’er, eager for adventure, volunteered to deliver them herself. Yet her well-intentioned act had led her to witness Li Sanjian shamelessly embracing a young girl in his sleep, provoking her outrage.

“Here, my father asked me to bring this to you.” Chen Ke’er tossed a bundle onto the ground, saying bitterly, “Uncle Qin, let’s go.”

“Wait!” Li Sanjian shouted.