"I said back off." Her voice rang through the alley, no longer quiet. It was final, like the slam of a gavel.
"You want to play the desperate card? Fine. Let's see how far your desperation gets you with your flesh peeling off your bones."
One man near the front, younger, maybe no older than twenty, raised a crowbar.
"She's bluffing. She won't burn a kid."
Qingran raised her palm.
Blue fire sparked instantly, licking the air.
"Try me. My moral compass kinda broken right now.."
The tension broke.
The mob hesitated for a second too long.
Ruihuang lunged.
His blade whistled through the air, the first strike not aimed to kill but to maim. The sound of metal meeting bone was immediate.
A cry followed, sharp and high.
Blood splattered across the wall beside them.
"Aahh!!"
Someone screamed. T
he crowd jolted like cattle catching the scent of slaughter.
But it was too late to run.
Meng Nian slammed into one of them from behind, his machete drawn, blade flashing.
