On the snowy white plains, the young man's hurried footsteps were unsteady, like a kite with a broken string.

The approaching footsteps of the bandits grew louder, like the summons of death.

He had been wrong from the moment he stepped onto this chaotic, snow-covered land alone.

Scattered across the snowfield, rocks and ice fissures created a slightly undulating terrain, subtle differences causing the light to cast faint shadows, revealing only hints of grayish-white. These rocks were both tough and sharp, each with a different shape, buried alone in the snow, like works of art sculpted by nature. But for those who didn't live here year-round, they were dangerous, difficult-to-see obstacles.

Finally, the young man's increasingly sluggish steps tripped him to the ground. Before he could stand up again, he was almost overtaken by several strong men.

"Still trying to run?"

As the bandit's voice rose, a hand reached out to grab the boy. Instantly, a silver-white, shimmering, transparent barrier appeared as if rising up in front of him, like a wall made of air, separating him from the bandits.

The bandits stopped abruptly, surprised by the sudden barrier.

They stared at it, their initial surprise quickly replaced by sneers.

The most burly of the bandits, a cruel smile on his face, struck the barrier heavily with a piece of iron, sparks flying as a resounding clang echoed like the din of a foundry.

"You think this can hold us back for long?"

The bandit leader's eyes gleamed with greed and cruelty.

"This thing looks like it can only stop us for a little while. Just drop it, and we'll treat you better."

The other thugs joined in the mockery, surrounding the barrier, seemingly enjoying this cat-and-mouse game.

"I am the eleventh head of the Candice family! A true noble of the Empire! If you take me to Qineston City, Viscount Qineston will pay you!"

Trapped within his final defense, with nowhere to escape, Xia shouted loudly, his lungs stinging from the cold air.

The bandits hesitated for a moment, then burst into laughter.

They were mocking the young man's words and his overly naive proposal.

They didn't know if this boy really thought they were fools, or if he thought he could trick them into going to Qineston City so that Viscount Qineston could have them killed.

"Are you trying to amuse us in this godforsaken place?"

"How can the most ruthless assassin family be so weak?"

"I guess it's been peaceful for too long. Even demons become cowards."

"That's right. If you can retire comfortably in the warm and stable south, you wouldn't want to come to a place like the north, even if you can't get married, right?"

"We just want to enjoy the warmth of a southern young lady as soon as possible."

Each attack on the barrier was accompanied by the bandits' rampant laughter.

"But I'm a guy!"

Xia said, collapsing.

Although his looks weren't bad in the family, he wasn't so pretty that he'd be mistaken for a woman. Perhaps it was because his family, with its elven blood, had a habit of wearing long hair, combined with the poor visibility in the snow and the heavy clothes he was wearing.

If he had known the security in the north was so terrible, he wouldn't have left Box Hill Province and set foot on this snowfield, even to keep an appointment!

"A beautiful young man? Even better! Makes us even more eager!"

Instantly, the bandits became even more excited.

"?!"

Xia felt a chill. It seemed these people had seen through his gender a long time ago and were just teasing him.

Realizing this, he felt that these bandits were more terrifying than a billion murderers!

This was beyond anything he understood.

He'd rather die than be caught by these people!

But as a second-level cultivator, there was no way he could defeat these bandits, who were probably at the third or fourth level.

His family didn't have the money to hire guards for him.

In the imperial capital of Heluo, sixth-level super experts might be common, but in those border areas, fourth-level cultivators were already considered powerful adventurers and mercenaries.

Or rather, in their area, it was very difficult to find guards above the fourth level, unless they commissioned the Batian Branch or the Mourning Branch.

What was currently protecting him was a first-level pink sacred spell left by his ancestors. The barrier was about to fail.

Fear was about to consume him.

This was a sacred-level spell that was infinitely close to legendary.

It belonged to mental and psychokinetic magic and would manifest the family head's mental image, transforming it into a weapon.

But all he could use it for was a protective umbrella-like barrier.

Never had a family head's weapon been as cowardly as his.

Moreover, the effect was getting weaker and weaker because of his fear.

Looking at the barrier, which was starting to crack, and the burly men constantly laughing, licking their lips, and staring at him with lustful eyes.

"Goddess, please save me!"

In despair, on the verge of collapse, Xia could only helplessly raise his head and shout loudly.

The only response was the howling wind and faint echoes of the vast snowfield.

Immediately, another burst of ear-splitting laughter erupted around him.

"Heh, how pitiful. If praying like a maiden was useful, would there still be bad people in this world?"

"On this snowfield, where even mercenaries don't dare to tread, there won't be any more cruel villains than us. You can imagine in advance what we're going to do to you!"

"The Church of the Goddess of Fate is a cult now. Do you want to summon an evil god to save you?"

However.

In the midst of this laughter.

After a while.

From the dense forest dozens of meters away, the sound of branches being pulled apart came, and snow fluttered down.

"Logically speaking, this is the only road."

"Sid, let's just hire a scout. You really don't have the talent for it. If I hadn't heard the noise, I would've circled around twice more and still not found this road."

"Say that again and I'll deduct your affinity points."

A man and a woman emerged.

Both were wearing outdoor-style, warm fleece-lined, hooded jackets, sun hats, and holding hiking poles, looking at a map while gazing ahead.

The strong men, who were still frantically attacking the barrier, temporarily stopped waving their weapons and turned to look at the movement at the edge of the snow forest.

Seeing them clearly, the corners of the bandits' eyes twitched.

Were these two here to hike and sightsee?

In the distance.

The young man and woman walked out of the bushes with difficulty, a look of joy on their faces as they finally reached the road.

They immediately looked in the direction of the people.

"Excuse me, is this the way to Qineston City..."

The green-eyed young man stopped halfway through his sentence, his brow furrowed, his expression immediately becoming serious.

"Hey, you over there, are you engaging in illegal activities such as robbing others of their property, restricting personal freedom, kidnapping, trafficking, or even harvesting organs?"

The young man pointed over here righteously.

—

Begging for monthly tickets from all the Daddies! Xi Xi is kowtowing non-stop!

(End of Chapter)