Mayor Lawrence looked at the room full of agitated residents, then at Angelina, who was kneeling on the ground with blood trickling down her forehead, and remained silent for a long time.
He knew better than anyone that Holkin deserved to die.
Over the years, the townspeople had suffered endlessly from his harassment, and Angelina's plight was something everyone had witnessed firsthand.
But the laws of the Empire were absolute, and as the mayor, he could not openly bend the rules.
Finally, he sighed and raised his hand to signal for quiet.
"Everyone, quiet down."
The noisy office instantly fell silent. Everyone held their breath, looking at him nervously.
Mayor Lawrence's gaze fell upon Ye Chuan, and he spoke in a heavy tone, "A life for a life is the law of the Empire... but you did it to save someone, and with the entire town pleading for you, I can give you a chance to redeem yourself."
He paused, lowering his voice a fraction, a barely perceptible meaning flashing in his eyes.
"Recently, a Tier 3 magical beast, a Demon Wolf, has appeared in the Black Pine Forest north of town."
"This beast is incredibly brutal and has already killed seven or eight passing merchants and adventurers."
"Now, no one dares to even approach the Black Pine Forest."
"If you can slay this Demon Wolf within a month and rid the town of this major threat, I will officially petition the Empire in my capacity as the Mayor of Yisu Town to pardon your death sentence."
"If you don't return..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but the implication was clear.
The office was dead silent for a few seconds.
Tier 3?
Wasn't this just making things impossibly difficult?
How could Ye Chuan possibly do that!
He normally only hunted slimes outside!
The bakery owner was just about to say something when he met Mayor Lawrence's meaningful gaze.
He froze for a moment, then suddenly realized what was going on.
A Tier 3 Demon Wolf!
How could Ye Chuan, a novice whose power level wasn't even known, possibly defeat it?
The mayor wasn't asking him to redeem himself; he was clearly finding an excuse to let him live!
As long as he left Yisu Town, ran far away, and never came back, this whole matter would naturally just fade away.
"I see..." the bakery owner quickly changed his tune and said loudly.
"The Mayor is right! This is indeed a great opportunity! Ye Chuan, you are so strong, you can definitely kill that Demon Wolf!"
The surrounding residents also caught on and hurriedly chimed in:
"Yes, yes! Ye Chuan can definitely do it!"
"This is your only chance, you have to seize it!"
"Hurry up and go, it'll be too late if you delay!"
Everyone spoke over each other, their eyes filled with urging and worry.
They all hoped Ye Chuan would take this opportunity to quickly leave this place of trouble.
Ye Chuan looked into Mayor Lawrence's eyes, then at the eager faces of the residents around him, and instantly understood their intentions.
A warm feeling welled up in his heart.
He had thought he was a dead man for sure. He never expected these neighbors, whom he had only known for a few months, to help him like this.
Even the mayor was willing to risk violating the Empire's laws to give him a way out.
"I understand." Ye Chuan looked up at Mayor Lawrence, his tone incredibly firm.
"Thank you, Mr. Mayor... I will go to the Black Pine Forest, slay that Demon Wolf, and I will definitely return."
He didn't choose to run away.
He couldn't run.
More importantly, Angelina was still here.
Would the people who used to bully her come back and do it again?
Mayor Lawrence was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting Ye Chuan to actually intend to hunt the Demon Wolf.
But thinking about it carefully, Ye Chuan was probably just saying that.
It was simply impossible to accomplish.
The Demon Wolf had been bountied for a long time, and it was said they even appeared in packs.
He waved his hand at the guards. "Untie him."
The guards stepped forward and untied the hemp ropes binding Ye Chuan's hands.
Ye Chuan rolled his numb wrists, walked briskly over to Angelina, squatted down, and gently wiped the tears and blood from her face.
"Stop crying, I'm fine."
Angelina looked up, her red eyes staring at him, and asked in a small voice, "Is the Demon Wolf... very strong?"
"Yeah, it's a bit strong." Ye Chuan smiled, not lying to her. "But it's okay, I can beat it."
Angelina threw herself into Ye Chuan's arms.
...
At the north gate of Yisu Town.
Ye Chuan carried a simple cloth bag on his back containing a few pieces of bread and a flask of water, holding his rusty iron sword in his hand.
Angelina stood in front of him, her small hands tightly gripping the hem of his shirt. Her head was bowed, and her shoulders trembled slightly.
"Can I go with you?" she suddenly spoke. Though her voice was soft, it carried an undeniable firmness.
Angelina had just heard from the neighbors that Ye Chuan wasn't actually going to hunt the Demon Wolf, because that was simply impossible for an ordinary person.
This was just the mayor's disguised way of giving Ye Chuan a chance to live.
Ye Chuan would leave this small town and leave everyone behind.
Angelina wanted to stay by Ye Chuan's side.
"No," Ye Chuan shook his head.
Angelina shuddered, as if realizing something. "I know... I'm a burden..."
"I'm sorry..."
"I didn't mean to be..."
"But... you're all I have..."
"I'll go anywhere, I just want to be by your side..."
"That's not it." Ye Chuan knelt down, placed both hands on her shoulders, and looked earnestly into her eyes.
"Angelina, listen to me... I'm not abandoning you. I really am going to kill the Demon Wolf."
"I promised you that I'd heal your leg, buy you pretty dresses, and make sure you could eat delicious bread every day. I also promised you that no one would ever bully you again."
He reached out and gently stroked her hair, his eyes gentle yet resolute. "So I will definitely return. I will come back with the Demon Wolf's head."
"When that time comes, we can live openly in Yisu Town without ever having to live in fear again."
"I will let you live in the sunlight, Angelina."
Angelina looked into his clear and determined eyes. Listening to his promises word by word, the emotions she had bottled up for so long finally burst forth.
She threw herself into Ye Chuan's arms and began to cry loudly, her hands tightly wrapping around his waist as if he would disappear the moment she let go.
Even though they had only known each other for a few months, this young girl barely in her double digits treated Ye Chuan as her everything.
The setting sun gradually sank below the horizon, dyeing the sky a vibrant orange-red.
Ye Chuan let go of Angelina, took one last look at her, then turned around. Gripping his iron sword tightly, he walked toward the pitch-black Black Pine Forest in the distance.
His back was tall and resolute as he stepped forward, gradually disappearing into the twilight.
Angelina stood at the town gate, watching the direction he left in until she could no longer see his silhouette.
In her hand, she tightly clutched a torn piece of cloth from the hem of Ye Chuan's shirt, silently whispering in her heart:
"I will wait for you..."
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
