However, she herself seemed oblivious, focusing intently on the exquisite pastries and cakes on the elegant shelves.
Her slender, delicate fingers lightly traced the shelves, occasionally picking up a box or two to examine.
At this moment, she seemed the only one at ease; everyone else was a beat behind, somewhat dazed.
Even Shangguan Bei couldn't help but mutter, "This lady is really beautiful..."
Meanwhile, after that initial moment of infatuation, Lu Chen's vigilance was heightened.
This vigilance seemed to stem from another energy, the very subtle energy that had appeared before the inexplicable attack at the grilled fish stall. It always carried a warning, able to foresee danger.
It was the energy of the Divine Healer and this energy capable of generating warnings that repeatedly broke through the soul-capturing magic that the Soul-Severing Rosemary and the alluring woman had exerted on Lu Chen.
Lu Chen knew this woman was no ordinary person. Although she seemed like just a customer,
she was definitely not that simple!
He was already on guard.
Unbeknownst to him, the woman had walked to the shelf next to Lu Chen. She picked up a box of pearl egg tarts and cheerfully muttered to herself, "Hmm, these egg tarts are good. Waiter, give me three boxes of this..."
As she spoke, she turned her head, then playfully lowered it slightly, pressing down on the center of her sunglasses with one finger, revealing a pair of incredibly beautiful, bright eyes.
She looked around, her gaze landing on Lu Chen, Shangguan Bei, Qin Ma, and the others in turn.
When Lu Chen was looked at like that, he felt that her eyes were soft yet alluring, carrying the most captivating spring light, instantly drawing one in. It was a truly captivating feeling, an inescapable pull.
A shop assistant, looking somewhat dazed, approached. "Miss, you want these three boxes, right? I'll pack them up for you."
"Okay!" the woman said lightly, then casually removed her sunglasses, flicking them seemingly unintentionally.
In that instant, a tiny, transparent needle-like object, like an infinitesimally miniature syringe, flew out from behind the sunglasses, grazing the shop assistant's shoulder before hurtling towards Shangguan Bei.
It was incredibly fast, so fast that anyone who wasn't on guard wouldn't have noticed it at all.
Especially with the shop assistant's body as cover.
But Lu Chen noticed it. Because he was alert.
His divine energy activated rapidly, his mind focused on the needle-like object, and he uttered a single word: Freeze!
However, the needle-like object only paused in mid-air for a brief moment, at most about five microseconds, before swiftly piercing through the void again. Fortunately, after noticing the woman's strange behavior, Lu Chen deduced that she was definitely a master, far superior to any master he had encountered before.
Therefore, he understood that with his current energy, the effectiveness of his cursed god abilities was questionable.
So, as he uttered the word "freeze," Lu Chen grabbed a hammer left over from repairing the food cabinet on a nearby table and swung it fiercely at the needle-like object.
*Swoosh*
A very faint yet sharp sound sent chills down Lu Chen's spine. His hand holding the hammer suddenly trembled, as if something ghostly was about to leap out.
The hammerhead had blocked and struck the needle-like object. The needle, carrying an almost unbelievable force, crashed into the side of the hammerhead.
Lu Chen could even feel it gliding through the hard interior of the hammerhead!
The hammer stopped in mid-air, and then Lu Chen saw… The needle-like object had pierced the hammerhead, emerging from its other side. However, its momentum was already very weak; piercing a hammerhead was no easy feat.
This hollow, transparent needle, about seven centimeters long and two-thirds the thickness of an ordinary embroidery needle, paused slightly after completely emerging from the other side of the hammerhead, then fell to the ground with a thud.
Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, the transparent needle was less than half a meter away from Shangguan Bei.
Looking at this incredibly tiny object, he estimated that even a mere puncture to the skin of Shangguan Bei would cause serious, even fatal, injury, as it clearly contained some kind of toxin.
That was close! He really had to wipe away a cold sweat.
The woman, after a moment of stunned silence, gave Lu Chen a deep look, then turned her head and leaped away swiftly. Her figure was like a graceful cannonball!
Lu Chen shouted, "Chase her! She tried to kill Xiao Bei! Catch her! Bring her to justice!"
This time, Zhong Ji and the others standing at the door finally came to their senses. Hearing Lu Chen's furious shout, they didn't hesitate. They turned and, still cursing the vixen, rushed towards the woman, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief, then heard Shangguan Bei's slightly hoarse voice say, "Brother Chen, thank you! You saved me again!" Her voice was trembling with emotion.
Lu Chen turned his head and saw Shangguan Bei's beautiful, excited face.
Her eyes were glistening with tears. However, this was clearly not from fear, but from gratitude.
Lu Chen waved his hand: "It's alright. Everyone has their own guardian angel in their destiny. Maybe I'm yours."
"I think so too," Shangguan Bei smiled sweetly.
Lu Chen sighed, "I hope Zhong Ji and the others can catch that woman. She's really something. I reckon she's even more formidable than all the others we encountered at the grilled fish stall combined. Such bizarre skills..."
As he spoke, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, almost leaping out of his chest. He rushed towards the door, shouting, "Hey! Hey! A few of you, come back! Don't all chase after her. What if she's using a diversionary tactic? What if she shakes you off and comes back..."
Then, he slowly backed away, a wry smile on his face, his hands raised.
"You...you...you...let's talk this out. Don't be so rude. Such a beautiful woman, isn't she? Be careful the gun doesn't go off..."
Inside, several shop assistants huddled to one side, terrified. Shangguan Bei was also startled, but Qin Ma, though frightened, seemed extremely dutiful. She stepped forward, resolutely shielding Shangguan Bei.
She shouted, "You dare harm my young lady! The Shangguan family will search heaven and earth to catch you and kill you!"
It was the same beautiful woman from before; she had such quick reflexes, shaking off Zhong Ji and his men and returning.
Even more deadly, she was holding a delicate silver pistol.
This pistol was pointed directly at Lu Chen's chest. She forced her way in through the door, her slender foot slamming it shut. Then, with another flick of her foot, her heel, as if it had eyes, kicked the bolt shut as well.
The Moon's Fang shop's layout consisted of a glass wall and a Mediterranean-style door. The glass wall was newly installed, and the protective paper was still on, while the door blocked the view from the outside. Therefore, even if a murder had occurred in the pastry shop, no one would have witnessed it.
Unless Zhong Ji and his men could return quickly.
Lu Chen wore a smile that was both ingratiating and admonishing as he earnestly said, "Beautiful lady, murder is a serious crime, and intentional homicide is the most heinous of crimes. In our China, this kind of behavior is punishable by death! You're in the prime of your life, youthful and beautiful. Do you have a boyfriend yet? A girl as beautiful as you, with an absolutely stunning figure, must have many men pursuing you! Young and beautiful girls, you should enjoy the pleasure of being pursued by men, don't think about doing anything rash..."
As he spoke, Lu Chen began to feel that something was amiss. It sounded like he was advising someone against suicide.
Regardless, it was true that a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle.
The woman looked at Lu Chen indifferently, then suddenly gave a sneer: "And you? Are you going to pursue me?"
"Hehe." Lu Chen grinned, gently picking up a plate of flower cake from the side and presenting it to the woman with both hands: "You're so beautiful and charming. If you're willing to lay down your gun and become a Buddha, of course I'd be willing to pursue you!"
"Hmph!" The woman scoffed: "I've seen plenty of smooth-talking men. Someone like you, even if you're handsome, is still disgusting."
Lu Chen felt embarrassed, but inwardly he was cursing. *Damn it, I'd say you're disgusting too! Using strange spices and vixen-like seduction techniques to seduce people, have you thought about what your parents would say if they knew what you're doing?*
Of course, he could only think these thoughts in his mind.
The woman's voice suddenly became sharp: "Tell me, who exactly are you? You shouldn't be just an ordinary pastry chef. Ordinary people can't break my mechanisms, can't withstand my Soul-Sealing Needles. Where did you come from?!"
Soul-Sealing Needles? "Was that thing called a Soul-Capturing Needle? That's a scary name."
Lu Chen smiled ingratiatingly, "Yes, I'm not just any pastry chef, I'm a very skilled one! Everyone loves my pastries! Try it!"
As he spoke, he raised the flower cake towards the woman again. When it was almost up to her mouth, he suddenly flipped his hand and slammed it down hard on the pistol she was holding.
At the same time, his cursed supernatural ability activated again: "The bullet won't fire!"
As the cake hit the pistol in the woman's hand, she snorted and abruptly pulled her hand back, avoiding being hit. Clearly, she was prepared. Then, the pistol was pointed at Lu Chen's chest, and just as she was about to pull the trigger, a flicker of hesitation crossed her face. Then she lowered the muzzle and pulled the trigger towards Lu Chen's left foot.
Clearly, for some reason, she didn't want Lu Chen dead; she only wanted to injure him.
Strangely, with a bang, the gun fired, but the bullet didn't travel; instead, it limply fell from the muzzle. It landed on the ground with a thud, like a small stone.
At the same time, Lu Chen suddenly felt a jolt throughout his body, as if all his strength had been instantly drained, leaving him feeling weak and extremely uncomfortable.
He understood that using the cursed energy to stop the bullet had instantly consumed a large amount of energy.
He endured the numbing sensation, lunged forward, and grabbed the beautiful woman who was stunned by the bullet's failure to fire. Then, with all his might, he twisted her, unleashing a torrent of internal energy, and actually managed to wrestle her to the ground.
The gun in the woman's hand was thrown away by this violent twist.
Lu Chen immediately shouted, "Qin Ma, quickly take Xiao Bei and go find Zhong Ji to protect you! I'll handle this… oh my god! My… back!" As he shouted, a sudden scream rang out. It turned out that the woman he had tightly embraced from the side, by both arms and waist, had suddenly become aggressive. She broke free with one arm and then slammed backward violently.