Luo En pulled down his hat and quickened his pace, navigating through the bustling streets of Bayam in the evening.
Suddenly, his brow furrowed slightly. Just now, he had felt an extremely subtle, yet peculiar spiritual fluctuation that was out of place with its surroundings.
He subconsciously looked up, his gaze directed towards the source of the spiritual fluctuation.
Then, he saw a woman dressed in a simple, pure white robe slowly walking towards him from across the street.
The woman had black hair and blue eyes, a clear and beautiful appearance, skin like snow, and was as tender as a young girl. She possessed an indescribable, unique charm that seemed capable of captivating one's soul. She walked among the crowd, yet it was as if she was isolated from the entire world; everyone's gaze was uncontrollably drawn to her.
Luo En was no exception; he subconsciously took another look at her.
Katarina also noticed Luo En's gaze. She smiled slightly, her expression alluring.
However, just as she was about to take a step forward and actively approach to "tease" this somewhat special young man with glasses, Luo En suddenly composed himself, withdrew his gaze, and then, without looking back, brushed past her and disappeared into the crowd.
The smile on Katarina's face froze slightly.
As an experienced Demoness, she felt challenged.
She stopped, turned around, and watched the departing figure, who showed no reluctance. She gently rested a slender finger on her chin, lost in thought.
She didn't believe her charm was insufficient. She also absolutely refused to believe that there was any man in this world who could be completely indifferent to her smile just now.
She licked her red lips and chuckled, "Interesting."
While beautiful women are indeed pleasing to the eye, now is not the time to focus on such things!
Luo En told himself in his heart as he walked quickly.
At a time like this, he shouldn't be thinking about such unnecessary things.
"Damn it, I took the wrong turn!"
A moment of wandering thoughts led Luo En to successfully take a wrong turn. Just as he was anxiously heading back, preparing to take a shortcut through a dark, narrow alley—
"What do you want to do?!"
A soft cry, tinged with a hint of panic and tremble, suddenly came from deep within the alley.
Luo En's steps subconsciously halted.
He followed the sound and found that inside the alley was the beautiful lady in the white robe he had encountered on the street earlier.
And at this moment, she was surrounded by three local tough men in short sleeves, showing off their tattoos, and looking menacing. Their faces were full of lewd smiles, and they were gradually cornering the lady.
"Miss, don't be scared," the scar-faced leader said with a lewd smile. "We just saw you alone and wanted to invite you for a drink."
"That's right, come with us!"
Honestly, seeing this scene, Luo En's first reaction was to immediately turn around, pretend he saw nothing, and quickly leave.
He knew very well that given his current situation, burdened with a huge bounty, any act of meddling would only attract unnecessary trouble and might even expose his identity.
But he looked at the lady, who was cornered and, despite trying to remain calm, had a hint of helplessness and fear in her eyes.
He watched as the ruffians became increasingly brazen, their dirty hands about to reach for her.
Alas, having too high a moral standard isn't always a good thing.
He hadn't expected to experience such a cliché situation again.
Luo En cursed inwardly, but ultimately couldn't convince himself to stand by and do nothing.
He sighed, adjusted his collar and glasses, and stepped into the dark alley.
"Gentlemen," he said in a calm, yet undeniable tone, "I believe this lady does not seem willing to accept your 'invitation'."
"Who are you, kid? How dare you meddle!" The scar-faced leader, seeing someone spoil his fun, immediately turned his attention to Luo En and walked aggressively towards him.
"Hmph—" Luo En sighed, clenching his fists.
Honestly, he had intended to reason with them, but it was clear that reasoning with these guys would be too slow.
The Monster Pathway's direct combat ability was indeed lacking. But that was only when compared to other Beyonders.
III
A few minutes later, accompanied by the last dull thud, the three tough men were all lying unconscious, bruised and swollen, on the dirty alley ground.
Normally, an ordinary woman who had experienced such a scene would be too scared to speak, frozen in place.
Just as Luo En dusted off his hands and was about to turn and leave without a word—
A soft body, carrying a unique fragrance, suddenly pressed against him from behind, and a pair of fair arms tightly embraced his arm.
Feeling the softness on his arm, Luo En's body instantly stiffened.
He turned his head and saw the lady pressing closely against him. The mature and alluring aura she had earlier was gone, replaced by a pure dependence and lingering fear, like that of a young girl.
"Th-thank you, sir." She looked up, her clear blue eyes filled with tears, gazing at him pitifully. "I-I was so scared."
Somehow, looking at her like this, Luo En felt his heartbeat quicken uncontrollably. A faint, intoxicating, peculiar scent permeated his surroundings.
Suddenly, Katarina leaned in closer, her flawless, delicate face almost touching his. She said in a trembling, soft voice, "I-I'm here for travel, and I didn't expect to encounter something so terrifying. Sir, could you—could you escort me for a while?"
Luo En forced a poker face, intending to refuse directly in the coldest tone.
But for some reason, when the words reached his lips, they inexplicably turned into a single word.
"...Okay."
"Really? Thank you so much!" Katarina's face immediately bloomed into a joyful, sun-like smile. Her hand, holding Luo En's arm, tightened even more.
Walking on the evening street, Katarina's astonishing beauty attracted the gaze of all passersby. As her male companion, Luo En received envious and jealous looks from all men, and even some women.
"No—this development is wrong, I must do something," Luo En told himself.
This experience reminded him of a certain parasitic beast. A strange feeling immediately enveloped Luo En's heart, and he felt a sense of familiarity with the lady beside him. "Madam, have we—have we met somewhere before?" he suddenly asked.
"No," Katarina shook her head, a hint of innocent confusion on her face. "This is our first meeting, isn't it?"
"Is that so?" Luo En lowered his head, pondering something.
Katarina didn't continue to tease, and the two walked step by step down the street. Just as Katarina was silently calculating her next "script" in her mind, thinking about how to proceed to better get closer to Luo En.
Luo En, beside her, suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" Katarina looked up, asking with concern.
Luo En still maintained his expressionless poker face. He raised his hand and pointed to the street corner.
"Madam, over there," he said in a flat tone, "is a small police station, with many patrol officers standing at the entrance."
"I imagine they would be very happy to escort a beautiful lady like yourself safely back to your residence."
"Ah?"
Then, in Katarina's brief, incredulous astonishment.
Luo En quickly pulled his arm out of her embrace, then, without looking back, turned quickly and disappeared into the distance of the crowd.
A moment later, Katarina recovered. She looked in the direction Luo En had left, and a slight smile played on her lips:
"Oh my~ I somewhat understand why little Tracy would fall for you."