Liu Mang stared at those burly men, sizing them up.
Each one of them was agile and sharp-eyed, especially the leader of the group, who was clearly not an easy target, nothing like the few small-time ruffians they had encountered before,
and it seemed that they had some significant connection with Lin Jiaojiao. It was very likely that they were after her.
Lin Jiaojiao was pale, and said in a low voice, "They are the thugs from that entertainment city, they must have come to capture me. Liu Mang, you are so skilled, how about you take them down for me?"
"I can fight, but there are many skilled fighters in this world." Liu Mang pointed at one of the burly men, "See that guy, he's no simpleton."
Following Liu Mang's gesture, Lin Jiaojiao's gaze settled on a skinny man in his thirties, "You really have a sharp eye, his skills are indeed good. My dad says there are hardly a few in Jiangnan City that can beat him. How about this, let's just run away."
"Let's go." Liu Mang took Lin Jiaojiao's hand, and they slowly started moving backwards, planning to leave without a sound.
The group of hawk-like burly men quickly found some thugs lying unconscious on the ground.
The leading skinny man lifted one of the passed-out thugs, slapped him awake with a few cracks, and asked in a stern voice, "Where is she, the girl you guys captured before?"
"I don't know." The thug was utterly confused, knowing nothing but the unbearable pain all over his body, his strength completely drained.
"You don't know, is it? I'll make you know!" The skinny man grabbed one of the thug's arms and twisted it hard with his fingers. A bone-cracking sound echoed as he broke the arm.
A bloodcurdling scream erupted from the thug's mouth, "Mama, my mama, I know, I know now, that chick was snatched by some guy dressed like a bumpkin, totally a construction worker-looking dude."
"What's his name, where did he go?"
"I don't know, I've never seen him before and I don't know where he went. I got knocked out by him and after that, I knew nothing. Let me go, it hurts, it hurts so bad... Doctor, get me a doctor quick..."
"Forget the doctor, you'd better meet the King of Hell instead!"
Tossing aside the thug, and after scanning the surroundings, the skinny man loudly commanded his subordinates, "Search, find any trace of her, you must find her for me!"
Liu Mang had already led Lin Jiaojiao through the park's small woods to the edge of the park.
Beyond its front and back gates, the park was enclosed by a yard wall about two meters high, and the two of them stopped beneath the wall.
Peeking around to make sure no one else was watching, Liu Mang hopped on the spot, grabbed the top of the wall with his hands, pushed off with his feet, and with a combination of arm and leg strength, easily climbed over.
Sitting atop the wall, Liu Mang stretched out his hand to Lin Jiaojiao and pulled her up.
After helping Lin Jiaojiao to sit on the wall top, Liu Mang jumped down to the outside of the park.
Liu Mang went down, but Lin Jiaojiao still sat on the wall, motionless. She looked down and her legs turned to jelly from fright.
Liu Mang said, "Come on down."
"I'm scared." For Lin Jiaojiao, jumping from a wall was an entirely new experience. A two-meter-high wall might not seem tall, but it was a different story when sitting on it and looking down.
Liu Mang spread his arms, "It's okay, I've got you."
"Alright, but you better catch me." Lin Jiaojiao bit her lip, even closed her eyes, and counted down three, two, one, jump.
The next second, Lin Jiaojiao was still sitting on top of the wall, having not dared to jump, still overwhelmed by fear.
Liu Mang urged, "Hurry up, or they will discover us."
Suddenly, a man's voice came from inside the park, "Found them, they're here!"
Hearing the voice, Lin Jiaojiao no longer cared about being scared and hurriedly leaped forward, jumping towards Liu Mang.
Liu Mang stood with his arms wide open, ready to catch Lin Jiaojiao, but instead of landing in his arms, she jumped towards his head, slamming hard into it.
This momentarily stunned Liu Mang and Lin Jiaojiao hit him hard on the ground, causing him to knock the back of his head on the pavement—Jiaojiao, did you have to be so brutal?
While the two were briefly dazed, a shadow leaped over the wall like a hawk swooping down, landing and rushing straight towards them.
Liu Mang sensed a sharp aura. He had been locked in by the incoming person's murderous intent!
Pushing Lin Jiaojiao away slightly, Liu Mang sprang up with a swift carp's flip.
The one who vaulted the wall was one of the burly men from earlier, a 27 or 28-year-old with a buzz cut, bulging muscles all over his body, and height exceeding 1.9 meters, a true brute.
He strode towards Liu Mang with increasing speed, exuding a fierce aura of killing intent, much like an enraged bear seeking to tear Liu Mang to shreds.
Liu Mang didn't run, but charged towards the burly man instead.
Running wasn't an option now; alone he might have managed it, but with a delicate beauty in tow, escape was impossible. If the burly man caught them, it would be troublesome when his companions arrived.
He only had one choice, which was to engage in a quick battle and knock out his opponent in the shortest time possible.
While the burly man radiated a domineering killing intent, Liu Mang remained calm and collected, utterly unfazed.
One step, two steps... ten steps, Liu Mang took large strides forward, nearly upon the burly man, and swung his hand at him.
The burly man lashed out as well, his fist barreling towards Liu Mang's chest with brutal force.
The next second, Liu Mang spread his fingers wide, a handful of white powder scattering right into the burly man's face.
Confronted with the white powder, the burly man had not anticipated this and, despite desperately trying to dodge backward, ended up with a face full of it.
Having landed a hit, Liu Mang ran back, scooped up Lin Jiaojiao who was still seated on the ground, and quickly made for the distance.
Lin Jiaojiao, being held in a man's arms, felt somewhat shy, but the urgency of the situation left her no room for such feelings.
Craning her neck to see the burly man, Lin Jiaojiao noticed him stagger a few steps before collapsing onto the ground. "Liu Mang, what did you just throw?" she asked.
Liu Mang said, "My specially made knockout powder."
"What, knockout powder!" Lin Jiaojiao gave Liu Mang the cutest smile, raising her thumb in approval, "You really are quite despicable, aren't you?"
"Hahaha, thanks for the compliment."
Holding Lin Jiaojiao, Liu Mang ran for his life, weaving through over twenty streets before coming to a stop.
In his haste, he hadn't thought about where to go. Now, as they paused, Liu Mang realized he had brought Lin Jiaojiao to the area under an overpass.
Lin Jiaojiao kept her gaze fixed on Liu Mang, impressed by how he could run for so long without showing any signs of exhaustion or even breaking a sweat; his physical strength was extraordinary. "What did you do before? You have such good stamina. Were you a construction worker?" she queried.
"Would you let someone as handsome as me labor away?" Liu Mang quipped, "I'm a doctor, actually."
"A doctor?" Lin Jiaojiao examined Liu Mang, "From head to toe, I just can't see it in you."
"It's no wonder you don't believe me. I'll have to show you some time." Thinking they must have put enough distance between themselves and the bulky men, Liu Mang was about to let Lin Jiaojiao down but quickly felt reluctant to do so.
Carrying a dainty beauty in his arms was something Liu Mang had only dreamt of; now that the dream had come true, he was loath to let her go.
Lin Jiaojiao seemed to realize their closeness as well, and bashfully twisted her waist, whispering, "You must be tired, you can put me down now."
"Not tired, not tired at all."
Far from letting go, Liu Mang tightened his grip, causing Lin Jiaojiao's cheeks to flush even redder.
"Let go of me." Finally wriggling free from Liu Mang's embrace, Lin Jiaojiao busied herself with straightening her somewhat disheveled dress, only to look up and catch him staring at her, igniting a blend of embarrassment and annoyance in her. "Stop that, don't look!"
"There's nothing much to see. You don't have a boyfriend, do you?" Liu Mang pointed at his own face with a grin, "Hehe, what do you think of me?"
"Ruffian! Humph, I'm ignoring you now."
Lin Jiaojiao didn't know what to make of Liu Mang anymore.
She was somewhat fond of him for saving her, but he was too forward with his hands and even more so with his mouth.
Talking about becoming her boyfriend... Ugh, such words he dared to say without any shame.
Suddenly, Lin Jiaojiao felt a chill; an icy coldness emanated from within her.
Sensing the coldness, her complexion turned unsightly in an instant, "Why so soon, why not give me even a little time?"
Liu Mang said, "Hey, what's wrong with you?"
"No, nothing." Lin Jiaojiao crouched down, hugging her knees tightly as the extreme cold made it nearly impossible for her to speak.
"How can it be nothing?" Liu Mang touched Lin Jiaojiao's forehead, his hand chilled to the bone. Activating his Penetrating Eye, Lin Jiaojiao's body turned as transparent as glass in his vision, a tumult of cold energy swirling within. "You have an innate cold body!"