Chapter 251: Little Black

After seeing Shi Lan, Xiao Xie did not rush to show himself. Instead, he looked behind Shi Lan and, sure enough, about ten meters behind her, he spotted Shaoyu acting sneaky and trailing her.

"I need to get rid of this lightbulb," Xiao Xie thought to himself as he watched the stealthy Shaoyu. With a flash of movement, he appeared right behind him.

With a mischievous grin on his face, Xiao Xie slowly reached out and tapped Shaoyu on the shoulder.

"Ah... Ugh..." Shaoyu was completely absorbed in staring at Shi Lan ahead. Suddenly patted on the shoulder, he jumped in fright and was about to scream out, but a hand quickly muffled his mouth.

"Shh... Kid, don't yell, it's me!" Xiao Xie said, looking at the thoroughly shocked Shaoyu, before slowly releasing his hand.

"Brother Xiao, why are you here?" Shaoyu asked in a low voice, looking somewhat astonished.

"I just had a fight with Meng Tian's Golden Fire Cavalry. Then I got a bit hungry and was planning to get some food at Fat Lord Ding's place, when I happened to see you acting all stealthy, so I came over to say hi," Xiao Xie said casually, as if he hadn't just engaged in a fierce battle with the Golden Fire Cavalry, but was instead talking about something as mundane as eating and drinking.

"Brother Xiao, you fought Meng Tian's Golden Fire Cavalry? How did it go?" Shaoyu asked with burning curiosity.

"I killed two hundred of the Golden Fire Cavalry," Xiao Xie replied indifferently, then his expression shifted as he added, "Don't change the subject. Sneaking around behind a young maiden in the middle of the night—don't tell me you're up to no good!"

With that, Xiao Xie cast a look of utter contempt at Shaoyu.

Shaoyu's mouth twitched and he quickly explained, "I was just curious to see who she was delivering food to!"

"Curious about what? Not sleeping in the middle of the night and stealthily tailing a beautiful young maiden—there is nothing normal about that. Go back to sleep! You're still wanted by the authorities; if you get discovered, you'll just be stirring up unnecessary trouble," Xiao Xie said reproachfully.

"Fine, I'll go back then," Shaoyu said. Although he was still somewhat curious about Shi Lan's actions, hearing Xiao Xie's words, he had no choice but to head back.

After successfully sending Shaoyu packing, Xiao Xie quietly trailed behind Shi Lan without rushing to reveal himself. That fellow Yin Bat had already suffered losses at his hands twice. If he appeared now, Yin Bat would likely not dare to show his face at all. It would be better to wait until the exact moment Yin Bat made his move, and then step in to rescue Shi Lan. That way, the effect of playing the hero saving the damsel in distress would reach its absolute peak.

Watching Shi Lan feed the food from the basket to the injured black panther, Xiao Xie knew it was time for Yin Bat to make an entrance. Sure enough, a short while later, Xiao Xie heard the sound of rustling leaves.

"Hehehehe... I haven't tasted blood in days. To think I'd run into a little girl today—a young girl's blood is so fresh and tender. It seems my luck is quite good today!" Yin Bat hung upside down from a tree branch, laughing sinisterly.

Hearing Yin Bat's eerie laughter, Shi Lan instantly drew her short blade and gazed at him with sharp vigilance.

"Hehehehe, little girl, let me properly savor your blood!" Yin Bat licked the steel claws on his hand, wearing a bloodthirsty smile, and then lunged at Shi Lan like a bat.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

The short blade and the steel claws clashed, sending showers of sparks flying. However, Yin Bat's martial prowess was clearly far superior to Shi Lan's. If he hadn't been playing with her for amusement, Shi Lan's defense would have been shattered far beyond simply barely holding him off.

A flash of bloodthirsty crimson appeared in Yin Bat's eyes. Then, the steel claws in his hand slashed directly toward Shi Lan's beautiful, fair face. Facing a strike from which there was no escape, Shi Lan closed her eyes with a trace of reluctance.

"Bang! Ah!"

The expected pain never arrived. Feeling somewhat puzzled, Shi Lan heard a miserable shriek ring out, and the once ferocious Yin Bat had already crashed to the ground.

"Who threw that wild fruit?!" Yin Bat wiped the fruit juice and pulp from his face, roaring in fury toward the surrounding darkness. Just as he was about to taste blood, a wild fruit had materialized from nowhere, smashing directly into his face and knocking him flying. Moreover, the force behind the fruit was so immense that he could feel his back molars loosening.

"Stinking bat, you really never learn your lesson. Out to cause trouble again, are you? Looks like your wounds have fully healed," Xiao Xie remarked playfully as he stood upon a tree branch.

"It's you again!" Upon seeing Xiao Xie, Yin Bat's expression changed instantly. Without turning back, he immediately deployed his lightness skill and fled. He had already developed a psychological trauma regarding Xiao Xie.

Previously, Xiao Xie had rescued Big Hammer from his clutches and kicked Yin Bat into severe injuries with a single blow. Later, Yin Bat captured Duanmu Rong, and when Xiao Xie intervened to save her, he flattened Yin Bat with another single palm strike, reducing him to critical condition once more. And now he was here again! Unless Yin Bat had water in his brain, he would never dare to make a move against Xiao Xie. After all, trying to fight Xiao Xie was purely looking for a one-sided beating. The moment he recognized Xiao Xie, he turned tail and ran without a second glance.

Seeing Yin Bat run away so decisively, Xiao Xie was slightly stunned, but he chose not to pursue him. Instead, he flew down to stand before Shi Lan. Looking at her now restored to female attire, he smiled and said, "I thought you looked too delicate to be a boy before, but it turns out my guess was right. You truly are a girl, and a remarkably pretty one at that."

"Brother Xiao, thank you. You've helped me again," Shi Lan said awkwardly. Almost every time she met Xiao Xie, it happened to be when she was in a miserable state, which made her feel quite embarrassed.

"People always say that the debt of saving a life can only be repaid with one's body. A simple 'thank you' won't cut it, oh!" With one arm, Xiao Xie pulled Shi Lan's slender waist close, while his other hand reached out to lift her fair chin, forcing her to look straight at him. Then, amidst Shi Lan's shocked gaze, he gently pressed his lips against her tender ones.

"Mmh!" Feeling the scorching warmth transmitted through her lips, Shi Lan's beautiful eyes widened in astonishment. She shoved Xiao Xie away, lowered her delicate head, and said with a bashful blush, "Brother Xiao, please don't be like this."

At that moment, Shi Lan's thoughts were in utter turmoil. Given how Xiao Xie had helped her on previous occasions, coupled with saving her life just now, she held a very favorable impression of him. However, she had not been mentally prepared for him to steal her first kiss. Yet, she didn't loathe Xiao Xie at all; instead, her mind was flooded with typical maidenly shyness.

"Roar..."

A panther's roar echoed through the air. Following that, a massive black panther standing two meters tall suddenly lunged out from the nearby bushes straight at Xiao Xie.

"Xiao Hei, no!" Seeing this, Shi Lan cried out in alarm.

Facing the charging black panther, Xiao Xie rapidly formed a series of hand seals. Suddenly, four thick vines, roughly the size of a human arm, burst forth from the ground, wrapping tightly around the panther's limbs and pinning it firmly to the earth.

Seeing that the black panther had not harmed Xiao Xie, Shi Lan let out a sigh of relief. She hurried over to the beast, stroked its head, and soothed it, "Xiao Hei, Brother Xiao is not an enemy!"

After comforting the black panther for a moment, Shi Lan turned to Xiao Xie and said, "Brother Xiao, you can release Xiao Hei now. It won't attack you anymore."

Hearing Shi Lan's words, Xiao Xie formed a few more seals and released the black panther. He roughly understood why the beast had suddenly attacked him: it had probably witnessed him kissing Shi Lan and then being pushed away, mistaking his actions for bullying her, and thus lunged forward to protect her.

"It's injured," Xiao Xie noted at a glance, recognizing that the black panther was suffering from internal injuries; otherwise, Shi Lan wouldn't have been personally delivering food to it. With that, Xiao Xie produced a Jade Dew Pill, handed it to Shi Lan, and smiled, "Feed this to it; it will recover much faster."

"Thank you, Brother Xiao." Seeing Xiao Xie's smiling face, Shi Lan bashfully took the Jade Dew Pill from his hand, stroked the black panther's head once more, and fed it the pill.

Watching the black panther gradually calm down under Shi Lan's soothing touch, Xiao Xie also reached out and petted its massive head. Realizing that Xiao Xie harbored no hostility, the panther merely glanced at him and allowed him to stroke it. Immediately afterward, a stream of internal energy flowed from Xiao Xie's palm directly into the panther's body, initiating treatment for its internal injuries.

"Roo-owl..."

Feeling the comforting surge of internal energy flowing from Xiao Xie's hand, the black panther let out a low, satisfied grunt. It then rubbed its giant head against Xiao Xie and nudged itself further into his arms.