33 Little Red vs Blocking part 1 (1/2)

”Your father is in trouble.”

Qiao Mei was terrified to hear that. She loved her parents very much and couldn't stand the thought of them suffering. She wouldn't think twice about running to try to help her father. But she didn't know what kind of difficulties he was in, so she couldn't drag Nero into her problems.

When she denied that Nero followed her, he looked away, and she understood that he would not insist. Qiao Mei did not know if she should be happy or not because she told him not to meddle in the matter, but maybe she wanted him not to leave her alone.

Anyway, she didn't have time for that kind of thinking now that her father needed help, so while Nero looked to the side, she took the boy's hand and ran out of the inn. The boy said that her father was in the square, which was very close, so they ran there.

”No! Dad...”

When Qiao Mei approached the square, she could see her father being beaten on the floor, and she felt a pain in her chest that she had never felt before. That brutal scene was too much for a good girl like her. Qiao Mei was a novice cultivator, but she had never fought hard except with the old teacher who helped young people with the way of cultivation.

Qiao Mei was a girl who was always protected by her father. She was not spoiled because since she was very young, she was already helping with housework, and when Qiao Mei turned sixteen, she started working. But she still didn't know the ugly side of the world. She never saw violence like the one that was happening to her father.

Having the first contact with that kind of brutality was a very strong impact on Qiao Mei. And the worst was that it was happening to her father that she loved so much. Qiao Mei's mind was a mess because she didn't know what to do to stop it.

As she ran towards the platform, she thought of several things. She didn't know what had happened, but she was sure that her father was innocent because he was the best person she knew, so there was no way he could have hurt anyone.

”Those men... Why are they doing that to my father?”

”They should stop... They must stop! If I could stop them...”

The distance between Qiao Mei and the center of the square was not large, but in those few seconds, a lot passed through her mind. She first wondered why it was happening and concluded that it was all the fault of those men. Then she started cursing them because she knew she didn't have the strength to stop them.

As she ran, her father continued to be beaten, and she became more desperate. When she was close to them, she couldn't contain her screaming heart.

”DAD!!!”

Qiao Mei shouted as loud as she could, wishing her pain would stop those men. She would never be prepared for what happened next. Nobody would be prepared...

Qiao Mei felt a wind pass by her side, and before her cry traveled across the square, the heads of the men who beat her father exploded in a bloody mess.

She who already felt a whirlwind of emotions now had new feelings in the mix. She felt fear, confusion, relief, and then security.

She, as everyone feared the unknown and the one who killed men so quickly, should be a monster. How could anyone be so fast? Anyone would feel a lot of confusion for not understanding movements so fast. How could she not be relieved that the men who caused her father so much pain died?

But all of those feelings were still weaker than despair until she looked at the face of the man in black and realized that he was someone dear to her. Someone that she didn't want to cause problems but also wanted beside her.

When she realized that he would not abandon her, everything was better. Qiao Mei felt that with Nero's help, she would fear nothing. Perhaps it was strange for anyone to trust someone they had known for less than a day, but it seemed so natural for her to believe that he was a mountain that would protect her from everything.

Qiao Mei ran towards Nero and her father.

”Dad!”

”Mei!”

Qiao Kun got up with the help of the stranger who had just saved him, and before he knew it, he was hugged by his crying daughter. Qiao Kun couldn't help hugging her tightly while crying too.

”Everything will be fine. They can't hurt you anymore.”

Nero did not interfere with the father-daughter moment, but he faced Tao Jian and made his point clear. He would never act on impulse and always tried to think twice before following a plan of action. Nero did not have to ask Sarah about the strength of the group, as she also knew his way of thinking.

When he was still coming, Sarah said that most of the men were from the ninth and tenth layers of Qi Refinement Realm. Only one of them was much stronger than the others being in the third layer of Martial Warrior Realm, so he should be the leader.

Nero knew that this fight would not be easy. But Sarah said that if he used his speed well, there was a good chance of victory. Sarah's confidence was all Nero needed to face any challenge.

When he saw the poor man's suffering and Qiao Mei's despair at not being able to help him, Nero remembered his family and how he felt useless for not being able to do anything for them. He would not let people dear to him suffer the same terrible fate, so he had already decided that this group would die no matter what.

”I am Tao Jian, and I was sent here by the Duke himself! Who are you to kill my guards?!”

*Wooosh* *Creack*

”Too slow!”

Nero heard someone pull the string from a bow the moment he faced the one who was supposed to be the leader of the group. Nero could even hear the hard breathing of the person who was very nervous as he kept the bow taut.

When Nero saw the leader of the group nod slightly when he introduced himself, Nero knew it was a signal to the archer who did not think twice before releasing the bowstring. Nero heard the sound of the arrow passing through the bow until it was free-flying towards him.

Cultivators can specialize in various types of weapons. An archer was one of the most dangerous kinds of cultivators as they were far away, and with their superior senses, it was easy to kill the target from several different angles. There is also the question of the quality of the bow and arrow that could even be magic weapons made by great masters of formation.

While the arrow flew towards Nero, he concluded that it was better to block than to dodge because he could feel the arrow was not strong enough to cause much damage to his 'Blood Gauntlet' (Name that Nero thought was appropriate to call the gauntlet made of Qi Guardian).