Chapter 426: Chapter 305: Is This Any Time to Worry About Propriety?
Despite the two masked thugs’ vicious threats, the woman refused to let go.
The two masked thugs were afraid of dragging this out. They worried the commotion would attract attention, and if someone else arrived, things would get complicated.
So, the taller masked thug steeled himself and viciously stabbed at the woman’s heart with his small knife.
He had only given her a few light cuts with the knife before, hoping to scare her into letting go. He hadn’t intended to kill her. This time, however, he was striking to kill.
"Stop!" Lin Li bellowed upon seeing the scene unfold.
Hearing Lin Li’s shout, the two masked thugs froze. They turned toward the voice and saw a young man staring at them, his face filled with rage.
"Where did this idiot come from? Mind your own damn business. Piss off if you know what’s good for you, or we’ll kill you too," the shorter masked thug, who was yanking on the woman’s backpack, snarled at Lin Li.
"Help... Save me." The woman, nearly exhausted from her struggle with the two masked thugs, cried out to Lin Li as if he were her last hope.
"Help? My ass! Just die!"
The taller masked thug was already short-tempered. Hearing the tenacious woman cry for help confirmed his decision to stab her. He swung the knife again, aiming for her heart.
THUD.
A figure shot forward with lightning speed, appearing before the two masked thugs in the blink of an eye.
He lashed out with a flying kick, sending the thug who was about to stab the woman flying several meters away.
Lin Li hadn’t expected the two masked thugs to be so vicious. They didn’t even try to run after being seen, instead choosing to continue their assault right in front of him.
He had channeled all his rage into the attack, holding nothing back.
The taller masked thug, who had been kicked in the chest, slammed heavily into a wall before collapsing to the ground, motionless.
Had anyone turned him over, they would have seen his chest caved in where the kick had landed. Broken ribs had pierced his organs, and blood was rapidly pouring from his mouth and nose.
After all, he was just an ordinary person. No matter how tough he might have been, he stood no chance against a full-force, rage-fueled blow from a Second Order High Rank Cultivator. He was killed instantly.
"Number Two?!!"
The shorter masked thug cried out in panic when he saw his companion sent flying, now lying motionless and face down on the ground.
When his companion didn’t respond, fear gripped the shorter thug. His previous ferocity vanished in an instant.
He let go of the woman’s backpack and began to slowly back away from the expressionless Lin Li.
Overcome with fear, he stumbled and fell flat on his ass. The sharp pebbles on the ground made the fall agonizingly painful.
Normally, he would have cried out in pain, but the menacing young man staring him down kept him from making a single sound.
These kinds of vicious thugs were bullies and cowards, unleashing their cruelty on the weak without reservation. But the moment they met someone stronger, their spineless nature was on full display.
"You’re nothing but trash who preys on the weak. Scum like you don’t deserve to live," Lin Li said. Having witnessed their brutality, he felt no mercy for the two criminals.
"No, don’t come any closer..." the shorter thug shrieked in terror as Lin Li advanced on him. He scrambled to his feet, trying to flee.
But Lin Li, having already decided to kill him, wasn’t about to let him escape.
THUD.
Another full-force flying kick. The shorter masked thug coughed up a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying over ten meters. When he landed, he was no longer breathing.
With two simple kicks, he had finished off two vicious scumbags. The anger in Lin Li’s heart slowly subsided.
He then rushed over to the blood-soaked woman. "Miss, are you alright?" he asked with concern.
As soon as he said it, Lin Li looked at her blood-soaked state and berated himself. ’What a stupid question. Of course she’s not alright, look at her.’
"Hang in there. I’ll take you to a clinic..."
Lin Li was about to help the blood-soaked woman to her feet and take her to the clinic he had seen earlier while he was out.
Just as his hand was about to touch her, the blood-soaked woman said something that made Lin Li freeze.
"Thank you, my savior. You don’t have to take me to a clinic. I’m not seriously hurt. I’ll be fine after some rest."
Lin Li looked at the woman before him. With bloody gashes on her shoulders, arms, and thighs, she looked anything but "not seriously hurt."
"Miss, you really should go to the clinic. In your condition, it’s best to have a professional physician take a look at you.
You could have an undiscovered injury in a vital area that might become life-threatening."
Hearing Lin Li’s insistence, the woman fell silent for a moment before saying quietly, "I don’t have the money to see a doctor."
"..." Hearing that she had no money for treatment, Lin Li finally understood why she had refused to go.
Looking at her rough, seemingly washed-out linen clothes, he could guess that her financial situation was far from good.
Still, to not even have enough money to see a doctor was beyond Lin Li’s imagination.
After all, the medical care and healthcare system on Blue Star were quite advanced. Treatment was subsidized, so patients only had to pay a small portion. No one should be unable to afford seeing a doctor.
’Sigh, the standard of living for people in this world still has a long way to go,’ Lin Li mused. He then turned to the woman on the ground, whose face was obscured by her disheveled hair, and said,
"I’ll take you to the clinic. Don’t worry about the money; I’ll cover it."
"My savior, I can never repay you for saving my life. How could I possibly let you pay for my medical bills, too? I’m really fine. Don’t mind all these cuts; they’re just superficial."
As if to prove she was alright, the woman struggled to her feet. She intended to walk a few steps to show she was fine, but as soon as she took one, she grew dizzy, her body went limp, and she pitched forward, about to fall flat on her face.
Just as she was about to get a face full of bruises, a pair of arms shot out, catching her by an uninjured spot on her shoulder and steadying her.
"Never mind that ’debt you can never repay’ talk. I’m going to have you repay me for saving your life right now..."
"Huh???" The woman, steadied by Lin Li, had just come to her senses. Hearing his words, she was utterly confused.
"I saved your life," Lin Li said. "So your repayment is to listen to me and come to the clinic."
"But I..." the woman began, but Lin Li cut her off. "You’re supposed to repay a kindness, so stop arguing with me."
"Mm," the woman agreed softly, seeing how insistent Lin Li was.
Lin Li crouched down.
"Sir, what are you...?" the woman asked, confused.
"How are you supposed to walk in your condition? The clinic is a ways from here. I’ll carry you," Lin Li said, looking back and gesturing for her to hurry.
"But... men and women shouldn’t have such close physical contact..." the woman whispered.
...
’Is this woman serious?’ Lin Li thought, his brow twitching in exasperation. ’This is hardly the time to be worried about propriety...’
...
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