The performance soon ended, causing an uproar as people asked for more. However, Miao Miao smiled and executed a graceful curtsey, before leading her troupe out of the stage. Many people rushed to drop money in the porcelain bowl one of the girls was carrying. In the chaos, some fell to the floor and unscrupulous people quickly began to pick them.

Soon, they began to push the girl holding the bowl, making more of the contents fall to the floor. The rest of the dance troupe already left the stage, but the girl with the money bowl was trapped in the middle of the crowd, screaming at them to make way.

"Those bastards!" Anthony growled as he saw what was happening.

Two despicable men took advantage of the chaos to grab the girl's butt and boobs, pretending that someone pushed them and that they grabbed her to regain their balance. The girl burst into tears. The rest of the troupe also realized that she was trapped and tried to rescue her, but the crowd wouldn't make way, even as they shouted themselves hoarse.

Some of the people picking up the money fell to the ground in the stampede, causing others to step all over them.

"Goodness! What are they doing? Tong Tong!" Ms Meng shouted anxiously, cranking her neck to get a better look at the girl being mauled.

"Damn it!"

Anthony quickly used a wind and space technique combination to force the crowd to scatter and make way in the middle. Some of those trampled remained on the floor, probably unconscious, while the rest got up and ran away, grateful to have survived their close shave with death. Two stupid ones got up and continued to pick the money, making Anthony fling them into the crowd, eliciting shouts of shock and horror to saturate the atmosphere. As for the girl, Tong Tong, she was still shivering and crying, scared witless.

Anthony walked to her and grabbed her hand. She screamed in fear, thinking it was one of the molesters taking advantage of the chaos.

"Don't scream, it's me, young master An." She finally looked up to see that a path had cleared in the middle. She began to cry harder and collapsed into his arms.

Anthony carried her to the house which he knew belonged to the chief and the public was not allowed entry, except the special guests with the chief's personal invitation. The guards made way for him because they recognized him and Tong Tong. They also saw what happened since the carnival took place in the square right outside the chief's compound, and they also heard the rumors that he was from a powerful family. No, they also saw him clear the path by summoning heavy wind. What's more? His horse was stabled in the chief's house, and he took a nap in one of the rooms after his lunch, as he waited for the main feast to be ready. Before he then returned to the booth where they had prepared a spot for him to enjoy everything from his strategic position. He sat there all day till Miss Meng dragged him up to go watch the performance.

Anthony set her down on a mat. The mat was made with raffia palm fronds, and an animal fur blanket was thrown over it to make it soft and comfortable.

"Stop crying." He whispered, using the little piece of cotton handkerchief hidden in his sleeves to wipe her tears.

"Thank you, young master An."

"It's nothing." He whispered, watching her hiccup as she tried to ease her mind from the terror she just experienced.

Anthony sighed and looked at her.

"You need to learn how to fight and defend yourself. If all you do when you're in danger is cry, it would only be a matter of time before you lose your life or get terribly hurt. You must learn to defend yourself instead of leaving yourself vulnerable to attacks."

The other girls ran in at that moment, finally catching up to them.

"Tong Tong, are you alright?"

"Tong Tong, are you hurt?"

"You frightened our lives out of us."

"Do you know how terrified I was? Do you know how worried seeing you like that made me?"

Anthony stepped back as the girls fussed over her, expressing concern as they turned her around examining her.

Xinglan sighed in relief and turned to Anthony.

"Young master An, thank you for what you did there. I appreciate. This bow is for you." Miao Miao whispered, bowing before Anthony, even before Xinglan could speak.

"Same here, young master An. Thank you for saving Tong Tong. Thank you for not letting the greedy crowd cause casualties in the chaos. We would have returned immediately but we had to revive those that didn't get up after being trampled. Thankfully, they're all fine with minor injuries which could easily be resolved."

"It's okay, it's alright. I can't just sit back and watch things go wrong when I have the ability to solve it, especially when it's Miao Miao's place. How can I let such bad things happen at a party being hosted by my good friend?"

A broad smile spread on her.

"So you consider me your friend."

"Of course, you have treated me so well, and you're kind. You're definitely my good friend. All of you are my friends." Anthony said and winked at them, making them giggle in that way that made them seem cute.

"It's truly an honor to be friends with someone like you." Ms Meng said, smiling broadly at him.

****

Anthony blinked, adjusting his eyes to the darkness. He had fallen asleep after returning to the booth late in the evening and slept for two hours.

"This seems to be twelve midnight, or one in the morning. But everywhere is still lively. Some people have retired for the night, but most people are still singing, dancing and eating. They live a simple life but they're full of happiness." Anthony whispered, feeling envious as he watched numerous kids playing, something he never got to do as a child. However, Anthony forgot that a mortal's life was fraught with uncertainties and weakness. An enemy could eliminate them as easy as sneezing, just like lambs taken to the slaughter. And they wouldn't even be able to put up a struggle, talk more of retaliating. They easily fall sick and die, work hard all the days of their lives to earn their daily meal, stuck in one little town for decades, and totally unknown. Just another speck of dust destined to be forgotten in the sands of time.

Anthony sighed and checked himself, noticing that his money pouch was still on him, same with his jade and everything else.

"Mmm, even the gold bar I intentionally placed beside me to distract thieves and assassins is still there. People living here are truly honest." He said and chuckled.

"Or perhaps they're too terrified to attempt anything on me. Good. This despicable character pattern is present everywhere, fearing the strong and bullying the weak. Yesterday, they nearly killed people and took advantage of a poor girl for money. Yet they won't take the gold bar I so generously placed beside me." He muttered and scoffed, picking up his pouch. He checked the content and it was still intact, before he returned the gold bar and sat up. Just then, his eyes caught sight of a sneaky person. A young man dressed in dark blue cultivator robe tapped A'Jiu from the back. The moment she saw him, a huge smile blossomed on her face. They looked at each other and the man disappeared into the crowd.

A'Jiu found a servant and made up an excuse, shoving the food tray to her. She sneaked to a corner and brought out some items from the bag hung around her waist and applied powder on her face. Once she was satisfied with her look, she sprinkled some flower essence on her hair and wrists.

"Oh? It seems like I'm about to witness a secret tryst." Anthony muttered watching her with interest as she sneaked away. He quickly got up and secretly followed her.

A'Jiu kept looking around, taking numerous complicated turns till she came to a grove near the beach. The area she stopped in was between the forest and the beach. There was a huge boulder at a corner, shielding the spot from the view of people coming from the beach. While the trees shielded them from the other side, and the waves crashed intermittently a distance away. However, that spot was slightly elevated, making it dry and full of comfortable white sand, perfect for a secret tryst.

"Chu Lan!" A'Jiu whispered, making the man standing there turn around. The girl rushed into his arms, and they embraced for a while.

Anthony quickly found a good spot on a leafy branch and blended in with the surrounding, ready to commence his investigation.

"I have missed you." The young man whispered. He was a bit handsome with a high nose, brown eyes, black hair, and pale pink lips. He was handsome but not so handsome that he would cause a commotion or be noticed wherever he went. He seemed stoic and dependable, holding his black sword with his left hand while his right hand held her waist, hugging her tightly. Chu Lan was tall and well built, quickly developing into a formidable warrior.

He looked to be about twenty or twenty one, a good fit when paired against A'Jiu who seemed to be about seventeen to nineteen years, the perfect age to be hot blooded in love.

"Why did you not come to see me all these while? Do you know how worried I was?" A'Jiu asked, hitting his chest as she sniffed.

"I'm so sorry. I was sent on a mission. Besides, I was getting things ready so that we could quickly put our plans in motion. Even if we lose the Chu clan, we will still have plan B to fall back on."

The mention of plans immediately made Anthony more interested and his ear sharpened, ready to prove his suspicion.

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