He groaned instantly.
He had actually caught the arrow with his bare hands, but it had clearly pierced his palm, and blood gushed out.
Zhong Ji shouted, "Protect Miss!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Two more arrows streaked across the sky, one of them aimed directly at Lu Chen.
Lu Chen's hair stood on end. He realized he couldn't dodge! The time was incredibly short, just a fleeting moment, and Lu Chen could already see the arrow closing in.
A voice screamed in his mind: You can't hit me.
The power of the Curse God surged forth, but the arrow wasn't a living being, and it had already been launched with perfect accuracy. Lu Chen didn't know if the Curse God would be effective.
The arrowhead pierced Lu Chen's forehead in an instant.
Liu Li screamed in panic beside him.
In his heart, Lu Chen cried out in anguish: "Damn it, am I really going to die at such a young age at a fish stall? I'm not even married yet, I haven't gone back to find my beauties! This can't be happening!"
However, it only pierced that thin layer of skin. Then, the arrow stopped, as if it had hit a steel plate, and fell to the ground.
Lu Chen was initially confused, but after Liu Li cried out in a panic, "Lu Chen, are you alright?" he came to his senses. He touched his forehead; it was just a little blood, and the slight sting was nothing to worry about.
Lu Chen grinned. The curse god's energy was really effective. Although it hadn't prevented the arrow from hitting him, it had only pierced his skin, which was acceptable.
He chuckled, "Sister Li, don't worry, I've practiced Iron Shirt since I was a child. It's just an arrow, like a dried radish!" As he spoke, his legs went weak, and he suddenly slumped into a chair. Only then did Lu Chen realize he was drenched in cold sweat, his legs and shoulders weak, as if he'd just finished a 10,000-meter run—completely exhausted.
He was practically paralyzed, panting heavily. A wave of horror washed over him; using his cursed power must have drained him too much, causing him to feel like he was going into shock.
Meanwhile, the unfortunate Lu Chen and Liu Li were clearly collateral damage. Gritting his teeth, Lu Chen mustered his remaining strength, flipped the table over, and pulled Liu Li down, both of them falling to the ground. He then covered them with the table, holding Liu Li tightly, and said in a low voice, "Keep your face low, don't move!"
Liu Li clung tightly to Lu Chen, her face pressed against his chest, and nodded, "Mmm!"
"Are you scared?" Lu Chen suddenly asked.
"I feel safe with you here," Liu Li said sweetly.
Hearing this, Lu Chen couldn't resist a little mischief, placing one hand near Liu Li's bottom and gently pinching her full, upturned buttocks.
Liu Li gave a soft, coquettish hum, then pinched Lu Chen's hand back. However, it was so light that it barely hurt.
Outside, the thugs who had suddenly appeared were mainly attacking Zhong Ji and his group, ignoring Lu Chen and Liu Li hiding under the table. The customers around the barbecue area were already screaming and running away, heads in their hands.
The thugs were mainly attacking with arrows, clearly fired from crossbows, carrying powerful penetrating force. Zhong Ji and the other bodyguards surrounding the old woman and Shangguan Bei also had weapons for retaliation.
Sometimes ago, each of them was holding a small machete in their right hand and a thin, high-quality steel shield, about the size of a pot lid, in their left.
Their main task was to raise shields, trying to protect Shangguan Bei's vitals. Their cleavers, meanwhile, were used to deflect the arrows flying from all directions.
The arrows were fast, but their movements were equally swift. Zhong Ji, in particular, exuded an aura of invincibility, like a single man holding off ten thousand. When an arrow flew towards them, he roared, and with a flick of his cleaver, knocked it to the ground!
It seemed they were quite competent as bodyguards.
However, seven or eight enemy soldiers flanked them, all armed with small crossbows, continuously firing arrows.
It was clear they intended to kill Zhong Ji and his men with these crossbow bolts.
Soon, two bodyguards cried out in pain, one in the shoulder, the other in the thigh, both struck by arrows. The one hit in the thigh couldn't bear the pain and immediately knelt down, revealing a gash.
Zhong Ji was instantly terrified and shouted, "Zhong Xiong, get up! Protect Miss!"
"Brother, my... my legs are numb, I can't stand up..." Zhong Xiong, kneeling on the ground, cried out with a mournful face.
At that moment, another sharp arrow flew towards them, aimed directly at the opening exposed by Zhong Xiong's kneeling position, its target being Shangguan Bei inside. If Shangguan Bei were hit, she would be seriously injured at the very least.
It was too late for Zhong Ji to defend himself. He roared, "Miss, lie down!"
In an instant, the arrow was less than a meter away from Shangguan Bei, who was sitting in a wheelchair, and the old woman, in her terror, was frozen in place. Suddenly, something strange happened.
The arrow paused in mid-air, and its surface rippled slightly, like water.
It crouched for less than a second, then, in the blink of an eye, like a tiger released from its cage, it was about to pounce again! And now, there was enough time!
A sharp roar rang out, and a figure lunged through the gap, swinging a beer bottle and smashing it down. Bang! Like smashing a rat, the arrow was knocked to the ground.
Immediately afterward, the figure also fell to the ground, his forehead striking Shangguan Bei's exposed, white toes through her sandals. The posture was as if he were kneeling in worship.
It was Lu Chen. After telling Liu Li not to move, he had darted out from under the table in time.
Actually, it wasn't exactly timely. While his speed was fast, it wasn't as fast as an arrow. He probably knocked it down before Shangguan Bei was also down. However, with his last ounce of energy, he unleashed the power of a curse.
"Stop!"
And so, the arrow paused in mid-air—that little bit of time was enough.
However, Lu Chen was also exhausted. All his strength had been drained, and his bones ached. He knelt at Shangguan Bei's feet, barely managing to lift his face and force a smile: "Little girl, are you alright?"
"I'm alright! I'm alright! You...how are you?" Shangguan Bei's eyes were filled with tears. She knew perfectly well that if it weren't for this young man in front of her, she would already be dead! She bent down to help Lu Chen up, but Lu Chen quickly waved his hands: "No...don't, you...you can't lift me, you...ow!"
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Chen suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream!
It turned out that when Shangguan Bei bent down, she lost her balance and fell off her wheelchair, landing squarely on top of Lu Chen, crushing his back.
The wheelchair, too, tipped over, landing on top of Shangguan Bei as well. So, they were both on top of each other. Two sharp arrows whizzed by; one was cleaved in two by Zhong Ji, and the other struck the wheelchair.
Beneath the wheelchair, Shangguan Bei was visibly embarrassed: "Brother Lu Chen, I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to. I was just trying to help you up, I didn't expect... Are you alright?"
Lu Chen was already sprawled on the ground like a turtle. He weakly said, "I'm... fine, I'm alright..."
"Brother Lu Chen, hang in there! My bodyguards are very strong, they can take down those bastards," Shangguan Bei chattered on. "Just bear with it, I know you're hurt. Once those bastards are driven back, I'll immediately have someone take you to the hospital. Hang in there, you can do it!" As she spoke, Shangguan Bei, clinging to Lu Chen, patted his shoulder with her small hand.
But Lu Chen didn't respond.
"Brother Lu Chen, Brother Lu Chen? Hey, hey..." Shangguan Bei was anxious.
Lu Chen had already passed out.
And the battle had reached its most intense moment. The seven or eight attackers had run out of crossbow bolts and drew long knives, each over three feet long, and charged forward.
Zhong Ji, his eyes bloodshot with rage, charged forward with another uninjured bodyguard and began to fight. Knives clashed, flashing blades, blood spurting out intermittently!
The two wounded bodyguards, struggling to their feet, glared fiercely at their enemies.
A thug, brandishing a large knife, charged forward like a demon. Zhong Xiong, who had been shot in the thigh, yelled and swung his small shield like a flying saucer.
Bang!
A large chunk of the thug's scalp was sliced off; his skull was likely fractured. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his head and howling in pain.
Two more thugs charged forward.
Suddenly, the roar of engines filled the air. Two black Land Rovers sped up, the first one slamming into the two attackers.
With two loud thuds, two figures flew through the night air like birds, then crashed to the ground with a thud.
That crash was absolutely deadly!
The two Land Rovers immediately stopped, the doors opened, and nearly ten burly, strong-willed, and cold-faced young bodyguards jumped out and rushed towards the attackers.
From the Land Rover behind, an elderly man around seventy years old, escorted by two bodyguards, also stepped out.
The old woman who had been cowering beside Shangguan Bei cried out in surprise, "It's alright, it's alright, Miss! The master is here! We're saved! Luckily I called in time!"
Her tone carried a hint of self-satisfaction. However, Shangguan Bei didn't pay attention. She forcefully pushed away the wheelchair that was pressing down on her, moved off Lu Chen, and gently pushed him, saying, "Brother Lu Chen, wake up! We're alright…"
But Lu Chen didn't wake up.
"Xiao Bei, how are you now? Are you alright? Who is he?" At this moment, the old man had reached Shangguan Bei's side and asked. His tone was calm, yet filled with deep concern.
This elderly man was named Shangguan Yingneng, the patriarch of the Shangguan family, one of the four major families in Yunzhou City, and chairman of the Flying Eagle Group, controlled by the Shangguan family. His group spanned industries such as catering, tourism, real estate, and mining resources, with a net worth of tens of billions. Under his patronage, his faction had influence throughout the officialdom of Yunzhou City and even Fuhai Province, known as the Shangguan Gang.
Shangguan Yingneng might not be able to control everything in Yunzhou City, but he could certainly make the ground tremble with a stomp of his foot.
"Grandpa, I'm alright! Quickly call someone from the hospital! He saved me! If it weren't for Brother Lu Chen, I would be dead…" Shangguan Bei cried as she spoke, sobbing against Lu Chen's back.
Meanwhile, Liu Li ran over and knelt down beside him, anxiously whispering Lu Chen's name.
Shangguan Yingneng personally helped the wheelchair up and then carried his granddaughter back.