Ning Que cracked open one eyelid, then quickly let it droop again.
He didn’t care where he went.
As long as there was food to eat and somewhere to sleep, that was… Good enough.
His eyelid drooped again, too heavy to keep open.
Just as it was about to close completely, a young man and woman caught his attention.
The young man wore a light-blue outfit suited for movement and had a well-proportioned build.
Beside him was a girl with long, jet-black hair tied into a scorpion braid that fell past her calves.
Her steps were light and lively, and her large eyes were especially bright and animated.
Tang San.
Xiao Wu.
Oh.
The protagonists.
So what?
“Xiao San, so this is Suo Tuo City?
It doesn’t feel as lively as Nuoding City,” Xiao Wu said, holding onto Tang San’s arm as she looked around.
Tang San smiled faintly and was just about to say something when his gaze swept toward the place where the surrounding crowd’s attention had gathered.
It wasn’t just him.
Xiao Wu blinked as well, making sure she hadn’t seen it wrong.
Was a girl carrying a boy on her back?
She instinctively looked the young man up and down.
Both his arms were perfectly fine.
Both his legs were perfectly fine.
There wasn’t a single visible injury anywhere on him.
Yet there he was, lying comfortably on the girl’s back, sleeping soundly as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
He even smacked his lips in his sleep.
Xiao Wu’s brows immediately furrowed.
“Xiao San, look at that person.” She tugged on Tang San’s sleeve and nodded toward Ning Que.
“A grown man is making a girl carry him around?
What kind of behavior is that?” Tang San glanced over but said nothing.
What caught his attention wasn’t who was carrying whom, but the clothes worn by the two.
They were clearly not children from ordinary families.
When traveling outside, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.
“Xiao Wu, let’s go.
We should find somewhere to stay first.” “No!” Before Tang San could stop her, Xiao Wu’s sense of justice surged.
She released his arm and strode toward Ning Rongrong.
“Hey!
You’re letting a girl carry you around?
Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” Xiao Wu planted her hands on her hips.
Her voice was crisp but completely unceremonious.
“Even if you have a problem with your legs, you can use a cane, right?
Who lets someone carry them around like this?
Don’t you know how tiring it is for her?” Ning Rongrong looked at the strange girl who had suddenly appeared before her with confusion and suspicion.
“Who are you?” “Who I am isn’t important!” Xiao Wu took two steps forward and reached out toward Ning Que on Ning Rongrong’s back.
“What matters is the person you’re carrying.
Hey, I’m talking to you!
Wake up!
If you’re a man, get down and walk yourself!” Her hand had barely reached halfway.
Smack!
Ning Rongrong slapped her hand away.
She immediately took a step back, looking like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and shielded Ning Que completely behind her.
“Don’t touch him!
He’s mine!” Her voice was crisp and loud.
Several nearby pedestrians immediately turned their heads.
Xiao Wu was stunned for a moment before her brows shot upward.
“What are you doing?!
Look at him!
He’s obviously taking advantage of you!
I’m trying to help you!” “Who asked you to interfere?
I like it this way!” Ning Rongrong lifted her chin, looking exactly like a little tiger protecting its food.
“I’ll carry him if I want to.
What’s it to you?” Xiao Wu’s eyes widened.
She had genuinely been trying to help.
How had she somehow become the one meddling in someone else’s business?
Her gaze fell upon Ning Que’s completely guiltless expression.
Xiao Wu’s tone became even sharper.
“A perfectly healthy person is letting a girl carry him around.
If that’s not taking advantage of her, what is?
Either he’s lazy, or he’s crippled…” “You’re the cripple!
Your whole family is crippled!” Ning Rongrong instantly exploded.
Her voice rose several pitches.
She glared at the black-haired girl with the scorpion braid, her chest heaving and her eyes turning red with anger.
How dare she insult Ning Que?
Ning Que was hers!
Who gave anyone else the right to criticize him?
Xiao Wu was stunned by the outburst as well, her expression shifting from astonishment to anger.
“Who are you calling a cripple?!” “Whoever sticks their nose where it doesn’t belong!” The two girls glared at each other, the tension between them growing thicker by the second.
Tang San stood to the side, his brows furrowing even deeper.
He hadn’t wanted to get involved in the first place.
He knew Xiao Wu’s personality.
She could be impulsive, but her intentions were good.
There was no reason for things to escalate this far.
But the girl before them had not only refused Xiao Wu’s kindness, she had even insulted Xiao Wu’s family.
That was going too far.
Insulting Xiao Wu’s family was no different from insulting him.
“Friend.” Tang San stepped forward and gently moved Xiao Wu behind him.
His tone remained relatively calm.
“My companion’s words were indeed inappropriate, but she meant well.
If your friend truly has no problem with his legs, why not let him get down and walk himself?
It would be better for everyone.” Ning Rongrong gave him a sideways glance without even bothering to look at him properly.
“What’s it got to do with you?” “…” Tang San’s expression froze for a moment.
“If he really does have some kind of problem,” he said after taking a deep breath and suppressing the trace of displeasure in his heart, “I happen to know a little about medicine.
I can examine him.
If your friend is suffering from some ailment, perhaps I can help.” He had already put it quite politely.
Medicine and poison were closely related, and he had considerable confidence in his medical knowledge.
Besides, since Xiao Wu had asked him to help, he was willing to lend a hand.
But then… “Do you not understand human speech?” Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes impatiently.
“I said, what’s it got to do with you?” Tang San’s expression darkened completely.
Xiao Wu was so angry that her braid practically stood on end.
She immediately poked her head out from behind Tang San and pointed at Ning Rongrong.
“How can you be so ungrateful?!
My Third Brother is kindly offering to help you, and what do you do?
You insult me, then insult him!
You really don’t know a good thing when you see one!” “Did I ask you to help me?” Ning Rongrong curled her lips.
“You came over here looking for trouble, and now you’re blaming me for being ungrateful?
What do you call that?” She paused.
“That’s called asking for it.” “You—!” Xiao Wu’s face flushed red with anger.
Tang San raised a hand and pressed it against Xiao Wu’s shoulder, signaling for her to calm down.
He then took another step forward.
This time, his presence suddenly changed.
Though he wasn’t very old, there was a faint pressure in his eyes that made the onlookers instinctively take several steps back.
Xiao Wu and Tang San stood on either side of her.
They had surrounded her.
“Friend, I originally had no intention of arguing with you,” Tang San said calmly, though there was an unmistakable chill in his voice.
“But you first insulted Xiao Wu’s family, then responded to our goodwill with hostility.
At the very least, you should apologize.” Xiao Wu crossed her arms and snorted.
“Exactly!
You have to apologize!” Ning Rongrong carried Ning Que on her back, facing the pressure from the two without the slightest intention of backing down.
Instead, she raised her chin even higher.
Who were they?
She was the young miss of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ever since she was little, even Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone had been reluctant to say a harsh word to her.
Her father, Ning Fengzhi, practically held her in the palm of his hand.
Who did these two strangers think they were, demanding that she apologize?
“Apologize?” Ning Rongrong sneered.
She pushed Ning Que higher on her back and actually took a step forward.
“Who do you two think you are?
You think you’re worthy of making me apologize?” Tang San’s eyes turned cold.
Xiao Wu clenched her fists.
The air seemed to freeze.
The vendors along the roadside had already retreated several yards.
Those with better instincts had even begun packing up their stalls.
A fight was clearly about to break out.
“Hu…” A soft breath came from Ning Rongrong’s shoulder.
It wasn’t loud.
But all three of them heard it.
Ning Que frowned in his sleep, apparently finding the noise outside too bothersome.
He shifted his face to the other side, buried it deeper into the hollow of Ning Rongrong’s shoulder, and rubbed against her.
“…” At that moment— Tang San’s imposing aura faltered.
Xiao Wu’s clenched fist froze in midair.
End of Chapter