74: Girl Ding Qiao

Ding Qiao never believed in fate; she considered herself one of the lowliest people in Flower City.

Living in a dirty and messy Urban Village, staying in a windowless room, she looked up at the strength of others while she could only survive on the spare change her brothers scared out of people.

She once firmly believed her life was bleak and often felt she would spend her whole life in such a state of decadence.

Until half a month ago, a handsome young Demon Tamer who happened to appear in the Urban Village gave her a glimmer of hope. Of course, there was also a bit of fear—after all, that was a real wolf... Since then, she felt she had a greater pursuit: starting by becoming beautiful.

But despite changing her look every day and appearing at the alley entrance, she never saw that handsome young man again. She wondered if he had been scared away by the sight of her.

She thought she would never see him again in this lifetime, but fate played another joke on her.

“Are you okay?”

A gentle and questioning voice snapped her back to her senses, and she hurriedly stood up from the ground.

“Ah, I'm fine, I'm fine... I'm good... Thank you...” Her face flushed red as she spoke incoherently, her heart thumping uncontrollably.

The anxious Mo Yu didn't care about her reaction and rushed forward to question her: “Hey! Why are you wearing my sister's clothes? Where is my sister?”

“Your sister?” Ding Qiao was stunned for a moment before she realized. “You're finally here. Quick, follow me!”

After saying that, she pulled Mo Yu and ran, with Xie Ning following closely behind.

Xie Ning could sense that this familiar-looking Girl meant no harm, so he didn't stop her and instead followed closely.

After turning left and right several times, just as Xie Ning and Mo Yu were wondering if they were lost, the Girl took out her phone and swiped it. The main door opened, and she led them upstairs.

By the time they reached the seventh floor, Mo Yu was out of breath, but the Girl wasn't panting at all, as relaxed as if she were taking a stroll in a garden.

The Girl knocked rhythmically on the door, and with a click, it opened from the inside. Several wary-looking delinquent boys poked their heads out.

Seeing these people, Xie Ning suddenly realized.

So it was this group.

These were the same delinquent youths who had previously blocked Xie Ning's path to rob him, only to be scared off by him instead.

In that case, the clean-faced Girl from just now was the same Girl who had the most exaggerated makeup back then. This transformation left Xie Ning somewhat astonished.

The delinquent youths also saw Xie Ning and appeared very excited, grinning at him, which startled Mo Yu.

“That older sister is injured; she's inside. After I changed into her clothes to lure away that man in black, I was afraid someone else might target her, so I had my brothers protect her.” At this point, Ding Qiao added, “Don't worry, my brothers only look like delinquent youths, but they're actually good people. They won't do anything to her.”

Actually, before she could finish, Mo Yu had already rushed in.

Xie Ning waited for her to finish and understood what had happened. He patted her shoulder and said, “Thank you, you saved my friend. I owe you a favor.”

“It... it's nothing, I wanted to do it... Hehe~” Ding Qiao finally laughed with a red face, looking quite embarrassed.

Xie Ning nodded to the delinquent youths, thanked them, and then walked into the room.

It was a three-bedroom apartment. In the two boys' rooms, there were bunk beds with iron frames. Smelly socks and dirty clothes were piled on the beds, unfinished instant noodles sat on the tables, and there was even a crawling southern cockroach.

The Girl's room, however, was surprisingly clean. It had pink walls, quilts, and pillows. A few average-quality plush toys were on the bed. Next to the bed was a vanity, which wasn't messy; dozens of cheap cosmetics and skincare products were neatly arranged on it, with some bottles nearly empty.

Aside from some faint, indelible bloodstains on the bedding, it looked quite clean overall.

It seemed that while this Girl came from a humble background, she had some very good brothers.

Thinking this, Xie Ning didn't gossip about others' lives and walked into the Girl's room.

At this moment, Mo Yu was sitting on the edge of the bed. Mo Han lay on the bed with her eyes tightly shut, her face pale with a bluish tint and her lips white. She was covered by a quilt, revealing a bit of her snowy-white shoulder wrapped in bandages. She seemed to be wearing nothing under the quilt. At the other end of the bed, the Wood Source Crane was lying down to rest. It looked exhausted, with bandages on its wings that were faintly stained red.

However, at this time, Xie Ning forgot to turn off his sensory sharing. Through the images from the wind, he clearly 'saw' the view under the quilt. His heart couldn't help but flutter, so he quickly cut off the sensory sharing, took a few deep breaths to steady himself, and changed the subject:

“How is she?”

“She's okay. She has some injuries on her back, but they aren't life-threatening. She should be fine after a few days of good rest.”

Xie Ning nodded, walked to the foot of the bed, and gently picked up the Wood Source Crane. Under its questioning gaze, he took out an intermediate energy potion, dripped a few drops onto its wings, and then unwrapped the bandages.

The wing that had been pierced was recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye. The Wood Source Crane cried out happily.

In less than two minutes, most of its injuries had healed, and its spirits were much better.

Ding Qiao happened to be at the door, watching Xie Ning's actions curiously. Her brothers, however, were in the living room and didn't come over.

“Thank you for setting aside past grudges and saving my friend.” Xie Ning came into the living room, smiled warmly at them, and then took out a card and a piece of paper. “This is a thank-you gift for you. I hope you'll accept it.”

“This...” The group was both tempted and hesitant, looking at each other. Finally, the scrawny blonde-haired youth spoke up: “Thank you, but we didn't really do much. We can't accept this. Please take it back.”

“Don't be so quick to refuse,” Xie Ning smiled and continued, “This is a copy of a Beast Taming Technique, along with 200,000 yuan. The money should be enough for you to buy a few decent Yao Beast cubs or eggs. After all, you are all people who need to protect your sister.”

Hearing this, the youths were stunned, staring blankly at the paper and card Xie Ning handed over. Finally, the blonde-haired youth was the first to react, his hands trembling as he took the paper and card with as much care as if he were holding a rare treasure.

“We definitely won't let your expectations down.” The blonde-haired youth's eyes were filled with tears. He took a deep breath and bowed to Xie Ning.

The other youths followed suit and bowed. Xie Ning simply stepped slightly to the side, neither stopping them nor fully accepting the gesture.

At this moment, one of the fairer-skinned youths scratched his head and asked:

“Um... I'm actually the youngest one. Ding Qiao is my older sister. Can I have some too?”

Xie Ning: “...”

To prevent any Fallen Demon Tamers from coming back with more ideas, Xie Ning declined the delinquent youths' invitation to stay. After having Mo Yu dress Mo Han, he took her and left the Urban Village.