"Oh no, they've come again!"
Those thugs made Lin Ru very uneasy.
If they found her, not only would Uncle Yi lose his life, but she would also be...
She shook her head, not daring to imagine such a fate.
Zhou Yi, however, was much calmer: "Don't worry, with your Uncle Yi here, they can't hurt you!"
"Don't underestimate Uncle Yi just because he's old; his skills are excellent!"
Excellent skills?
Lin Ru couldn't help but hesitate.
No matter how you look at it, Uncle Yi is just an old man.
Although he does have some special skills, such as his family's inherited medical knowledge, that doesn't mean he can defeat those thugs, does it?
Besides, those thugs are all wielding mountain-opening swords!
Anyone who gets slashed by a sword...
Lin Ru shook her head, only thinking that Zhou Yi was saying that to comfort her.
Her inner turmoil only increased.
At this moment, the broken door of the room was suddenly kicked open.
A blinding flashlight beam shone in.
Following it came the surprised voices of the thugs: "Found them! They're here!"
"Haha, that girl is here too!"
Immediately afterwards, the remaining four thugs rushed over.
Lin Ru was so frightened that she quickly retreated to the corner.
The flashlight beam shone on her, and the kidnappers' voices became even more arrogant: "Oh! This girl looks pretty good!"
"A smooth, bright head! This time, we brothers are lucky!"
Zhou Yi, however, remained unfazed, holding two table legs that he had somehow stripped off.
"Don't be afraid, little girl, I'm here!"
"I'm a Tai Chi Grandmaster and a descendant of the Huo family's Mystical Steps technique. They're just a few petty thieves; let's see how I deal with them!"
This wasn't boasting; Zhou Yi was genuinely confident.
If it were before, that would certainly be impossible.
Traditional Tai Chi, at most, could only handle ten or eight unarmed opponents.
But encountering someone armed with a sword, that's a different story.
After all, a swordsman has an absolute advantage over an unarmored opponent.
Every master would tell their disciples, if they encountered someone armed with a sword, they should run away as fast as possible.
But now, Zhou Yi has the Huo family's Mystical Steps to protect him.
He can remain unscathed amidst a hail of enemies!
These thugs wielding knives couldn't even touch a single hair on his head!
If it weren't for this level of strength, he would have long since taken Lin Ru and broken through the window to escape to Yao Yao.
However, Lin Ru didn't know his true abilities.
Hearing Zhou Yi's words, she was stunned for a long time.
What?!
A Tai Chi master? A descendant of the Mystical Steps?
Before Lin Ru could react, the thugs on the other side burst into laughter.
"This old geezer is quite something, even on his deathbed he still claims to be a Tai Chi master!"
"A dying old man, wielding two table legs, dares to challenge us?"
"Fifth brother, send this old man on his way!"
One of the thugs, his eyes flashing with ferocity, swung his knife at Zhou Yi.
Lin Ru was so frightened she didn't dare look.
Finally, what caught her eye was Chu Yi's back, standing alone in front of a group of thugs.
She was both anxious and scared, almost in tears.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Yi... I shouldn't have agreed to let you come along..."
"It's all my fault, I've dragged you into this..."
Just then, a scream came from ahead.
"Ah ah ah!!!"
"Uncle Yi!" Lin Ru suddenly opened her eyes.
However, she didn't see Chu Yi being hacked to the ground by a flurry of knives.
Instead, she saw the thug who had rushed forward clutching his leg and groaning.
It seemed his calf had been broken by something.
She couldn't help but widen her eyes.
"What just happened...?"
The remaining thugs seemed terrified by the scene, momentarily intimidated and hesitant to step forward.
Zhou Yi, meanwhile, wielded his staff with a flourish.
Then, calmly looking at the others, he said, "Why are you all afraid to move?"
"I'm waiting for you all to send me on my way!"
A group of thugs stared at Chu Yi, their eyes wide with disbelief.
What had just happened?
It seemed like the fifth guy had swung his sword at this old man several times, but hadn't hit him, and he'd dodged them all.
Then, he'd broken his leg with one foot!
The leader of the thugs pondered for a long time.
He couldn't figure out how this old man had dodged so many blows.
He only remembered that his figure was like a ghost!
What was this old man's background?
Could he really be some kind of martial arts master?
"What? Four or five young men facing me, an old man, with swords, and you're all too scared to move?"
"Why don't you all just turn yourselves in? I might spare your legs!"
The leader of the thugs was instantly enraged.
This old man was too arrogant!
But then again, it's true, with so many of us armed with knives, what's there to be afraid of?
So, he gave them a look: "Charge together!"
Then, the remaining four thugs swung their knives and attacked.
"Watch out!" Lin Ru was anxious, frantically searching for something handy, like a brick.
At least, she wanted something to help Uncle Yi!
But in this pitch-black darkness, finding something was incredibly difficult.
Before she could find anything, there was movement on Zhou Yi's side.
"Ah ah ah!!!"
Another scream rang out.
Turning around, she saw another thug had his leg broken!
"What?!" Lin Ru stared in disbelief.
The scene that followed left her even more speechless.
Zhou Yi's figure moved like a ghost, darting and shifting between the thugs.
Four gleaming daggers flew about, yet not even touching the hem of his robe.
He, however, struck one thug after another with his staff.
Each strike severed a thug's leg.
In less than ten seconds, three of the four thugs lay on the ground groaning.
Only the leader remained.
But he was already terrified.
After all, he saw that this old man easily took down four of them, and every move resulted in broken legs.
And what about his own? He hadn't even touched the hem of his robe.
Is this even a human being?
Looking at the old man's snow-white hair and his aura of an immortal,
Could he be a cultivator?
He didn't dare think about it anymore; he threw his knife and wanted to flee quickly.
But before he could take more than a few steps, someone delivered a high kick, sending him spinning 180 degrees in mid-air before falling unconscious to the ground.
Looking closely, he saw that the person who had arrived was Ye Nan Cheng.
"I've pretty much dealt with the thugs; this area should be safe now!"
...
Soon after, the investigators arrived.
When they learned that Ye Nan Cheng and his team had dismantled a crime den, the investigators' eyes widened.
They didn't disbelieve it, they simply couldn't believe it!
Only when they saw the thugs groaning on the ground did they fully accept it.
They even praised the men for their bravery, saying they wanted to report it to the city and have them awarded a citizen honor.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yi's eyelids twitched.
Unexpectedly, Ye Nan Cheng alone took over the entire criminal den.
When they were surrounded, Zhou Yi roughly counted, there were at least over 20 thugs!
One can only say, he truly lives up to his reputation as the Dragon King.
I still can't compare to him now!
It's better to just stay put.
While staying put, I'll also take advantage of his female confidantes.
This time, cutting off Lin Ru's favorability not only earned me a system reward, but also allowed for further interaction next time.
It could be said to be a great gain.
"Uncle Yi." At this moment, Lin Ru came to find him.
Because her armband had already turned into cloth, she used it to bandage Zhou Yi.
So now, she was wearing a coat.
To perfectly conceal the scene.
"What's wrong, little girl?" Chu Yi asked worriedly.
"Well," Lin Ru paused, "I actually wanted to ask from the beginning, are you some kind of reclusive master?"
"Reclusive master?" Chu Yi laughed, "I'm just an old geezer!"
"But your martial arts just now..."
"Isn't it normal for me to learn some martial arts and make a fuss in the medical room?"
"Is that so?" Lin Ru tilted her head in confusion.
On the other side, Ye Nan Cheng finished his questioning and came over.
"Sister Ru, are you alright?"
Lin Ru shook her head, indicating she was fine.
At this moment, Ye Nan Cheng suddenly smiled and said, "Sister Ru, why is there a strand of hair at the corner of your mouth?"
Hair?
Lin Ru waved her hand and pulled down a black strand of hair. It's just that this hair looks a bit short.
And it's a little curly?