"Killing you is impossible. I still want you to have a bunch of monkeys for me," the rapist said, drooling.
Just then, a voice echoed from the darkness: "If you want a bunch of monkeys, you should find a female monkey to have them with."
"Who!" The rapist, who was grilling, whipped his head towards the source of the sound, his expression changing. He hadn't sensed anyone approaching.
Changsun Qinghe also nervously looked into the darkness, spotting a man in black.
"Heh, I'm here to take your life," Zhou Hong said, stepping out of the shadows with a cold smile.
"Who are you? How arrogant! Do you think taking my life is that easy?" the rapist sneered, though inwardly he was far from calm. He immediately prepared to attack.
"For me, it really is that easy," Zhou Hong said with a curl of his lip.
"Then let me see what you've got." The rapist instantly drew a curved saber from his waist and lunged at Zhou Hong.
"Be careful!" Changsun Qinghe cried out.
But in the next second, Changsun Qinghe didn't even see how Zhou Hong moved. She only saw Zhou Hong's two fingers pinch the curved saber.
"Crack!" In an instant, Zhou Hong's fingers flexed slightly. The curved saber shattered like potato chips, scattering on the ground, leaving only the hilt in the rapist's hand.
"Ah." The rapist was stunned. It was like a massacre.
Changsun Qinghe was also dumbfounded. This masked powerhouse was so strong. The rapist, who she had thought very capable, was defeated effortlessly.
"Run!" The rapist realized he had encountered an ultimate expert. He quickly recovered, tossed the saber hilt aside, and attempted to flee.
However, before he could take half a step, Zhou Hong reached out, grabbed the back of his head, and yanked him back.
"Bang!" Zhou Hong grabbed his head and smashed it hard against the ground.
"Ah." The rapist let out a scream and immediately fell unconscious.
Zhou Hong didn't pay him much mind for the moment. The rapist wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, and even if he did, he'd be crippled, as Zhou Hong had severed his meridians.
Zhou Hong walked over to Changsun Qinghe and untied her ropes.
"Thank you, senior. I am deeply grateful for saving my life," Changsun Qinghe said, bowing to Zhou Hong.
"You're welcome. It was just a small matter."
"Senior, what should we do with this criminal? Will he wake up?" Changsun Qinghe quickly asked.
"Heh, his meridians are severed. He'll be a cripple even if he wakes up. He's yours now. Do as you wish," Zhou Hong said calmly.
"Thank you, senior. If you hadn't come to my rescue just now, I'm afraid I would have already…!" Changsun Qinghe couldn't finish her sentence.
"Heh, Captain Changsun is so beautiful, it's only natural he'd want to assault you. But luckily, this criminal wanted to eat first, otherwise, even if I came, it would have been too late," Zhou Hong smiled slightly.
"Thank you again for saving me, senior. By the way, senior, you're masked. I presume you're afraid of your identity being revealed, and perhaps being sought for revenge by this criminal's accomplices later?" Changsun Qinghe asked.
"Of course not. That kind of scum doesn't warrant my fear. I just don't want to be recognized."
"Thank you, senior. Since that's the case, would it be convenient for me to see your face? So that I might repay your kindness if the opportunity arises." Changsun Qinghe pleaded.
"Heh, it's nothing shameful. Why wouldn't I? But once you see me, don't tell anyone," Zhou Hong said, then immediately removed the black cloth from his face.
"Ah." Changsun Qinghe gasped in surprise upon seeing Zhou Hong.
"What? You know me?" Zhou Hong asked, confused.
"No, you… how can you be so young?" Changsun Qinghe stared, dumbfounded. She had expected Zhou Hong to be much older, perhaps an elder. But never in her wildest dreams did she imagine such a young man.
"Heh, not that young. I'm already twenty," Zhou Hong said with a smile.
Changsun Qinghe was speechless. At twenty, he claimed not to be young, and he was two years younger than her.
For a moment, Changsun Qinghe didn't know what to say. Someone younger than her possessed such formidable strength.
Just then, Zhou Hong noticed the roasted chicken on the fire was cooked. He walked over and took it.
"Captain Changsun, the rapist's roasted chicken is just done. It would be a shame to waste it. Come, let's share it," Zhou Hong said with a slight smile.
"This!" Changsun Qinghe was a little speechless.
"You haven't had dinner yet, right? Don't be polite. It's not too late to leave after we eat."
Zhou Hong tore off a chicken leg and handed it to Changsun Qinghe.
"Thank you, senior."
"Alright, no need to be so formal." Zhou Hong took a bite of the roasted chicken. It tasted quite good.
Changsun Qinghe carefully sat beside Zhou Hong and took a small bite, her lips pursed.
"May I ask, senior, what is your cultivation level?" Changsun Qinghe mustered the courage to ask.
"Why ask that? I don't know."
Changsun Qinghe was speechless. Who wouldn't know their own cultivation level? Perhaps he just didn't want to say. Changsun Qinghe didn't press further.
"By the way, Captain Changsun, why did you become a law enforcement officer?" Zhou Hong asked as he ate.
"I come from a third-rate family in the capital. My family was constantly oppressed there, and I felt suffocated. So, I left the capital and came to this small place to be a law enforcement officer and to hone myself."
"Oh, I see." Zhou Hong nodded.
"Senior, what about you? You're so young and so strong. I imagine you're not from around here either. Are you perhaps from the capital as well?"
"The capital? Never heard of it. Is it a backward place?" Zhou Hong asked, confused.
"Heh, senior, you're quite the joker," Changsun Qinghe said with a wry smile.
"However, senior, if you were from the capital, I should have heard of you. After all, at such a young age with such great strength, you'd be considered at least a third-rate genius in the capital, perhaps even second-rate." Changsun Qinghe added.
Zhou Hong was speechless. She was calling him a third-rate talent in some capital. But Zhou Hong was too lazy to argue. If she thought he was third-rate, so be it.
"Alright, never mind what rank. I have nothing else to do, so I'll be going now." Zhou Hong stood up.
"Senior, may I ask your name?" Changsun Qinghe quickly asked as Zhou Hong prepared to leave.
"Heh, if fate allows, we will meet again," Zhou Hong said with a laugh and quickly vanished into the darkness.