Su Qingxue!?
Lin Chuan quickly looked over.
Sure enough, she was one of the women in the photo whose fates were intertwined with his nine masters.
In person, she was even more stunning than in the photograph.
She wore a wine-red silk evening gown with a slightly low-cut neckline that revealed her delicate collarbones and the proud fullness of her chest. Her facial contours were gentle yet sharp, her features exquisite and radiant.
Her thick, dark hair was gathered at the nape of her neck, exposing the ivory-white expanse of her back and neck.
Her figure was equally breath-taking: long limbs and a wasp waist, voluptuous curves in all the right places, with a body proportioned to absolute perfection—not an ounce too much, not a fraction too little.
Only, her current state seemed somewhat wrong.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes unfocused, and she swayed as she walked, looking as though she were heavily intoxicated.
After stepping out of the car, she stumbled forward.
The truck driver finally snapped back to his senses, hurried over, and grabbed Su Qingxue by the arm, shouting angrily, "Trying to run!? You wrecked my truck like this! Even if you are Su Qingxue, you're going to pay for the damages!!"
"Let go! Don't touch me!"
Su Qingxue shoved the truck driver's hand away, but lost her footing and staggered backward.
Lin Chuan moved swiftly, catching her in his arms.
Softness filled his embrace, accompanied by a wave of feminine fragrance, though there wasn't the slightest hint of alcohol.
Lin Chuan pressed his fingers against Su Qingxue's pulse. In a single instant, he diagnosed the situation: Su Qingxue wasn't drunk; she had been drugged.
"Let go, let me go..." Su Qingxue struggled continuously.
"Don't let go! Don't let her run away, I'm calling traffic control right now!" The truck driver angrily pulled out his phone, preparing to report the incident.
At that exact moment, a roar of engines echoed through the air.
Seven or eight black motorcycles came speeding over, surrounding the three of them in a tight circle.
The lead rider removed his helmet, swept his gaze over the scene, and stared coldly at Lin Chuan. "Kid, hand that woman over to me!"
"Are you people from the Su family? You want to take her away? Let me tell you, no way!" The truck driver brandished his phone and said, "I've already called the police, they'll be here any second, none of you are getting away!"
At the mention of the police, the rider's expression darkened.
"Do it, make it fast!"
The seven riders vaulted off their motorcycles, pulled collapsible batons and daggers from their waistbands, and charged forward.
Seeing this spectacle, the truck driver felt his legs turn to jelly, let out a terrified shriek, and turned to run.
Lin Chuan's brow furrowed. Shielding Su Qingxue with his left hand, he raised his right hand and lashed out with a slap.
Swish!
A blur flashed through the air.
The rider in the very front was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string.
Bang!
With a loud crash, the rider slammed into the ground.
The two riders immediately behind him didn't even have time to react before two more loud thuds rang out—their helmets shattered straight into pieces.
In less than a breath's time, three men were already sprawled on the ground, groaning in continuous agony.
The remaining four riders stopped dead in their tracks, panic-stricken.
"Kid, who the hell are you?! We advise you not to meddle in the Su family's business, or you won't even know how you died!"
"Hand her over right now, and it might not be too late!"
Lin Chuan shook his hand and said, "Even if you are from the Su family, there is no way I am handing a woman drugged with aphrodisiacs over to a bunch of men."
"Then you're asking for a death wish! Together, take him down!"
The four remaining riders swarmed in from different directions.
"Hah!"
Lin Chuan sneered and launched into action with fierce determination.
Another blur flashed by.
All four riders crashed to the ground simultaneously.
"How dare you ruin Young Master Cheng's plans... Kid, you're... dead..."
One of the riders managed to wheeze out those words before passing out cold.
"Young Master Cheng? Weren't they supposed to be from the Su family?"
Just as Lin Chuan was pondering this, he suddenly felt a pair of soft, burning hands wandering restlessly across his body.
One hand reached upward, sliding straight inside his collar.
The other groped downward, trying to breach the defense of his belt.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?!"
By this time, Su Qingxue's mind had been completely overtaken by the drug. Her body burned with an unbearable heat, her fair skin flushed with an abnormal crimson tint. Stray strands of hair clung to her sweat-slicked neck and face.
"I'm so hot... Save me, I'm so hot..."
She tore at her evening gown until her clothes were half-open, her eyes hazy. As she spoke, the tip of her tongue licked her red lips, and a trace of moisture spilled from the corner of her mouth.
Catching Lin Chuan off guard, she lunged forward and kissed him directly on the lips.
The moment their lips collided, Lin Chuan felt his heart contract violently.
A sensation he had never experienced in his eighteen years of life welled up from the depths of his heart.
The internal energy that had always circulated slowly within his body suddenly plunged into utter chaos at that exact moment.
"What the fuck!"
Lin Chuan gasped in shock and shoved Su Qingxue away.
"The bald monk at Dafu Temple was right after all—women are truly terrifying!" Lin Chuan muttered to himself, silently reciting the Heart-Cleansing Mantra to steady his mind.
Lin Chuan scooped Su Qingxue up in his arms and hurried toward the truck.
The drug had entered her system; if it wasn't neutralized quickly, her body temperature would keep rising, and in the worst-case scenario, it could fry her brain.
The truck driver was still hiding inside the vehicle. When he saw Lin Chuan approach, he swallowed hard, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "Young man, when you said you were a martial arts grandmaster, I thought you were just bullshitting. I had no idea... you're the real deal!"
"Mister! Let me borrow your truck for a second, I need to take care of something!" Lin Chuan said anxiously.
Only then did the truck driver notice that both of them were in a state of disarray—especially Su Qingxue, whose arms were wrapped tightly around Lin Chuan's neck, exuding an involuntary allure.
"Borrow... borrow the truck to take care of something? What, what, what kind of care?!" The driver swallowed hard and stammered, "You two are... aren't you moving a bit too fast?!"
"Sorry about this!"
Lin Chuan pushed the truck driver right out of the vehicle and slammed the door shut.
He laid Su Qingxue flat on the seat and drew a few silver needles from his tunic. Fortunately, her strapless, off-the-shoulder gown left all the necessary acupuncture points exposed, so there was no need to undress her. Lin Chuan drove the needles in with clean, precise motions.
Then, using his fingertip as a blade, he sliced open the palm of Su Qingxue's hand.
A thin black line was visible, slowly crawling down her arm until it finally turned into dark blood and dripped from the wound in her palm.
The entire process took less than two minutes.
The drug's poison was neutralized, and Su Qingxue began to calm down, though it would still take some time for her to fully regain consciousness.
Lin Chuan let out a breath of relief, opened the door, and hopped down.
The driver, who was sitting by the roadside preparing to bite into a watermelon, was stunned all over again when he saw Lin Chuan step out.
"Young man, you... isn't this a bit too fast?"
"Got it done in thirty seconds," Lin Chuan said as he walked over and asked, "Mister, can I have a piece of that melon?"
"Eat, eat away!"
With a look of profound pity, the driver handed over half the watermelon, leaned in close, and lowered his voice. "Young man, my uncle knows a miraculous doctor who specializes in men's ailments. Would you like me to introduce you?"
Before his voice had even faded away...
Suddenly, another roar of motorcycle engines pierced the air.