Chapter 7: A Beauty Saves the Hero

On the official highway a thousand miles outside the capital, a slowly moving carriage suddenly came to a halt. From both sides, a group of men in black wielding long blades suddenly swarmed out, surrounding the entire carriage so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.

"Master, someone is blocking the road," the driver reported in a low voice to the interior, showing not a hint of fear.

"What?" Following a cry of exclamation mixed with wild joy, the carriage curtain was yanked open by Shangguan Ling. She blinked her large eyes. Oh my, a real robbery? She had finally witnessed such a cliché scene. "Pretty Brother, don't be afraid, I will protect you properly!"

"Eh, are you here to rob wealth or rob beauty?" Shangguan Ling clapped her hands and asked with a beaming smile.

"Yo, this milk-baby actually has some looks. If we sell her to the Yihong Courtyard, we might even get a good price." The bandit rubbed his hands, a lewd glint appearing in his eyes. That gaze, which looked as if he were inspecting merchandise, made Shangguan Ling a little scared. Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly lunged into Feng Jinmo's embrace. "Pretty Brother, save me! They want to sell me! I don't want to leave you!"

Feng Jinmo's wicked, charming face darkened slightly, a trace of cold light hidden in his eyes. Just as he was about to speak to comfort her, unexpectedly, Shangguan Ling pushed him away with great force. Wearing an expression of heroic sacrifice, she rushed out of the carriage. From the air came her aggressive words: "For the sake of Pretty Brother's chastity, I am not afraid! Brother, run quickly!"

Was she trying to protect him? A faint ripple shimmered in his bewitching peach-blossom eyes.

"You are not allowed to approach the carriage, otherwise! Otherwise, I will fight you to the death!" Shangguan Ling spread her arms to protect the left side of the carriage.

A hundred meters behind, Shangguan Ruoyu, who had been so startled by that powerful declaration that he stumbled and nearly fell off his wooden cart, laughed through gritted teeth with a dark face. "Hehe... fine, very fine. I have actually raised such a brave and fearless daughter."

"Mother, I will educate my younger sister properly." Shangguan Bai felt that as the eldest brother, his responsibility was even greater. He made up his mind to properly educate this person who forgot her family for the sake of a man.

"It's fine, it's fine. Mother isn't angry at all. Girls are just extroverted, I understand, I can understand." Understand my ass! She had gone through countless hardships to raise her children, and in the end, this daughter actually wouldn't even value her own life for the sake of a man?

A whip whistled down, striking the carriage heavily as she drove toward the source of the voice.

"Hahaha, let me see just what kind of skill this milk-baby actually has!" The bandit brandished his long blade and charged toward Shangguan Ling, his momentum fierce and imposing.

Shangguan Ling was scared witless. She froze completely in place, staring foolishly as the long blade swung down toward her head. Mommy mia! Was she going to die?

*Bang!* A red figure leaped out of the carriage as fast as lightning. In the next second, the bandit, along with his blade, was kicked several yards away, crashing into the muddy ground with a loud thud, vomiting blood incessantly.

His robes fluttered and his black hair flowed like clouds; his wicked and unrestrained aura was no longer concealed.

Shangguan Ling stared dumbfounded at the man who had descended before her like a celestial deity. A lyric her mother used to hum suddenly rang in her mind: *This is love, it's hard to explain.*

"Baby, are you hurt, hmm?" Feng Jinmo didn't even look at the fallen bandit. He narrowed his eyes and scanned her from head to toe.

"So handsome!" Shangguan Ling's eyes turned into red hearts. "Pretty Brother, you saved me."

Meeting her tearful, grateful gaze, Feng Jinmo's eye twitched. "It was my duty."

"How should I repay you?"

"No, no need to repay me." His answer was selectively ignored by Shangguan Ling, who skillfully burrowed herself into his embrace.

"How about... I give myself to you in marriage?" Her gaze was filled with thousands of expectations, sincere and burning.

Feng Jinmo's eyelid twitched. Just as he was about to refuse, unexpectedly, a crisp and pleasant voice drifted slowly from not far away.

"Oh? Since you are discussing marriage, isn't it a bit improper for me, the mother, to be absent?"