"Fine, fine, whatever. At least Second Lu didn't drag us back," Duanmu Furong said resentfully. As long as Duanmu Shiqing didn't drag her back, she could play for a few more days.
"Miss, we should really head back to the manor. Now that you're awake, as long as you don't say anything and I don't say anything, no one will ever know about today." Seeing Duanmu Furong awake and lively, Hong Yue felt as though she had cheated death. Her heart's single desire was to hurry back to Duanmu Manor before any more trouble could brew. Since Duanmu Furong was alive and kicking, even if the truth came out, at worst she would only face a scolding or some light punishment—a far cry from lying there unconscious.
"I'm not going back. If you want to go back, go by yourself," Duanmu Furong said icily, her mood clearly soured.
"Then I will go back by myself!" Hong Yue actually did quicken her pace, leaving Duanmu Furong behind by a good distance. *You already fell in the water and still refuse to go back, Eldest Miss Duanmu?* Hong Yue felt genuinely exasperated.
Indeed, those who are favored can afford to be bold.
"Hong Yue, come back! Leave my things!" Duanmu Furong stopped, pointing a finger at Hong Yue as she shouted. *If you want to be mad, fine, go ahead and leave, but leave my things behind!* Duanmu Furong was dead set against returning to Duanmu Manor; even if Hong Yue went back, she wouldn't. Of course, deep down, Duanmu Furong still believed Hong Yue wouldn't simply abandon her.
"No! I'm not giving them back!" Hong Yue grew even angrier. Seething with rage, eyes wide and breathing heavily, she strode forward even faster. Hong Yue was truly furious with Duanmu Furong—the girl was simply incorrigible.
Still, the thought of walking all the way back like this didn't seem entirely unacceptable to Hong Yue.
With their disagreement irreconcilable, Hong Yue marched swiftly toward the South City Gate while Duanmu Furong pursued her from behind.
Up ahead on the road stood three men: one solidly built, one tall and thin, and one thickset and robust.
The Four Lu Brothers.
Second Lu had been captured by Mu Tang, leaving only Eldest Lu, Third Lu, and Fourth Lu on the road.
From a distance, the burly Fourth Lu spotted Hong Yue.
"There's a chick up ahead, and she looks quite tender. Hahaha... I never thought I'd run into such good fortune—just the thing to shake off this bad luck. Hahaha..." The burly man laughed heartily as he strode rapidly toward Hong Yue and Duanmu Furong.
"Fourth Brother, we've just arrived here, don't stir up trouble," the tall, thin Third Lu said to the burly man, his face expressionless. He made no move to stop him, keeping his eyes fixed on Fourth Lu.
"Sigh..." The solidly built Eldest Lu let out a sigh. When traveling far from home, one shouldn't invite extraneous complications.
"Third Brother, look at that timid look of yours. Out here in the middle of nowhere, since we've crossed paths, it'd be a waste not to take a bite. I'll go first, and you can have whatever's left. Relying on that pretty-boy face of yours gets you nowhere... Hahaha!" Fourth Lu laughed with unbridled arrogance.
Nursing her anger, Hong Yue was walking at a brisk pace with wind in her wake. Her eyes were wide, but she wasn't paying close attention to the road until she heard Fourth Lu's arrogant laughter closing in, which abruptly snapped her out of her thoughts.
Ahead of them were three men, spaced out in single file with quite a distance between them.
Fourth Lu was only a hundred meters or so from Hong Yue, and moving fast, he covered the distance in the blink of an eye.
The situation arose too suddenly, and Hong Yue froze for a moment; it was already too late to turn and run.
Because Hong Yue had been walking fast while Duanmu Furong lagged behind, the two were separated by more than twenty meters.
Overjoyed at the sight of Hong Yue, Fourth Lu focused his entire attention on her, completely failing to notice Duanmu Furong trailing behind. Eldest Lu and Third Lu, keeping their eyes on Fourth Lu in the lead, hadn't noticed Duanmu Furong either. But Duanmu Furong saw the Lu Brothers. Fourth Lu was charging straight at Hong Yue, his eyes locked on her. Sensing danger, Duanmu Furong's heart skipped a beat as she thought, *Oh no!* They had run into thugs!
Overcome with panic, Duanmu Furong screamed at the top of her lungs, "Hong Yue! Watch out!"
Fourth Lu was now only twenty or thirty meters from Hong Yue.
"I was just hoping to mess around with one chick, but there are two! Even better, even better! Are there any more? Send another one over so each of us brothers can have one! Hahaha!"
"Two tender young chicks to wash away today's bad luck! Hahaha!"
Fourth Lu closed in on Hong Yue like a fierce, unhindered gale sweeping across the plains.
Fourth Lu's wild laughter made Hong Yue's eardrums ring.
Already dizzy with anger, Hong Yue was entirely unequipped to handle such a sudden crisis, especially with Fourth Lu's burly, aggressive presence bearing down on her.
Eldest Lu and Third Lu followed closely behind Fourth Lu.
Three men against two women.
Three men against two young maidens who had not yet even been betrothed.
And only Hong Yue was up front, while Duanmu Furong was still hurrying forward.
Hong Yue's mind simply refused to process or function normally.
Her face turned ashen white with terror, and she stood frozen, unable to utter a single word.
With both arms outstretched and hands clawing forward, Fourth Lu charged straight at Hong Yue as if he intended to snatch her up in his grasp.
Duanmu Furong finally reached Hong Yue's side just as Fourth Lu closed the distance, stopping a mere two meters away.
*With us Lu Brothers here, you're a duck ready for the pot—you think you've got the wings to fly away?* Fourth Lu thought, paying no mind to Duanmu Furong at all.
"Miss..." Duanmu Furong's approach snapped Hong Yue out of her stupor. Hong Yue grabbed Duanmu Furong's hand tightly, utterly at a loss.
Hong Yue's hands were trembling.
To steady Hong Yue's nerves, Duanmu Furong fought hard to keep her own hands from shaking.
True to form, Hong Yue rallied somewhat, losing the petrified look she'd had a moment before.
"Hahaha, 'Miss,' is it? Today I'm claiming both master and servant! You're plenty tender, but the young mistress looks even tastier! Hahaha..." Fourth Lu's excitement radiated in all directions. Laughing as he spoke, his voice was deafening.
Looking at Fourth Lu's vulgar appearance and hearing his harsh, booming voice, Duanmu Furong felt wave after wave of nausea rise within her. She fought hard to suppress it and maintain her composure.
With his eyes narrowed into slits and his greasy bald head looking as though it had been coated in oil, Fourth Lu eyed Hong Yue and Duanmu Furong like a hunter sizing up his prey.
Fourth Lu stepped forward, closing in on Hong Yue and Duanmu Furong.
"Miss! Run!" Hong Yue let go of Duanmu Furong's hand and shoved her forcibly to the side with both hands.
Caught off-guard, Duanmu Furong staggered two or three steps away. When she looked back, Hong Yue was biting her lower lip hard, glaring at Fourth Lu with wide, fierce eyes, showing not a shred of submission.
"You still want to run!" Fourth Lu's face contorted with anger.
"Neither of you is getting away!" Fourth Lu shouted, reaching out to grab Hong Yue's wrist. Hong Yue sidestepped and dodged out of the way.
Fourth Lu shuffled toward Hong Yue and lunged to grab her again.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Having recovered her footing, Duanmu Furong rushed to Hong Yue's side, pulled her behind her, and shielded her with her own body.