Chapter 9: Witch Shirley

After taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Rod, who stood motionless behind her. Her expression darkened instantly. “You’re really ruthless! Hmph! I’m going to tell Grandpa that you bullied me that night, tore my clothes, and tried to do something bad to me. I’ll tell everyone so they’ll know you’re a pervert! Just wait and see what you’ll do then!”
Failing to persuade him, furious Shirley resorted to threats in front of Rod! Only she would do such a thing.
“You… are being unreasonable!” Rod was helpless now. Meeting someone like her was his bad luck. Glancing at Shirley, he complained. Who uses such threats? Threats that brought him no benefit at all.
“Your clothes are still with me. Let’s see who everyone will believe then! If you want to be despised, go ahead! Let some delicate and cute girl throw herself into the wolves’ mouth!” With a devilish smile, Shirley looked at Rod as if she had him completely in her grasp, then walked away nonchalantly into the woods without looking back.
One sentence changed Rod’s expression. He had truly forgotten that his clothes were in her hands. Such a little girl could do anything. If pushed to the extreme and she really did that, he would be in deep trouble. With her delicate and cute appearance, taking advantage of humans’ innate sympathy, he had no chance of turning things around.
Watching Shirley slowly walk deeper into the woods, Rod gritted his teeth. “Damn you, you brat!” He cursed under his breath but still couldn’t help following her. It wasn’t that Shirley’s threats actually worked, but he was worried about letting such a girl enter the forest, even during the day.
But the daylight now was no different from night—except for the light, it might even be more dangerous. Besides, if that bastard was really in the woods, things would get even worse.
With a helpless sigh, Rod quickened his pace and soon caught up to Shirley.
Feeling Rod chasing after her, a sly smirk appeared on her lips as she continued walking ahead. If Rod saw this, he would surely be driven mad—jumping into a trap knowing full well it was one. Wasn’t that asking for trouble?
“Which way did he go?” Rod asked calmly as he joined her and walked alongside her.

“Wow, even the great hero has come! I thought you wouldn’t show up! I’m truly honored!” With a bright smile, Shirley continued to tease Rod despite having already won.

“Over there, in the direction you saw him last time—go that way. He’s acting suspiciously; there must be some scheme. Hurry up and check it out!” Realizing the joke had gone far enough, she grew serious.

“Be quiet and hurry! I don’t have time to waste here with you!” Rod rolled his eyes as he watched Shirley strutting forward slowly. How could she still think of following someone? If he hadn’t come, she would have really fallen into danger on her own!

Hearing Rod’s reminder, Shirley seemed to realize this at last. She slowed down and quickened her pace to follow Rod.

After passing through layers of trees, the two finally reached the location of the incident. It was empty—no sign of anyone. Frowning and concentrating, Rod focused his combat energy on his ears to silence Shirley, then pricked up his ears to listen carefully, hoping to find any clues.

As expected, he heard some noise in the distance across from them—faint cries of a woman! Hearing this, Rod’s brows furrowed, and his expression turned icy.

“Over there! Go check it out now!” Without waiting for Shirley, he rushed forward alone. His agile movements allowed him to move swiftly through the dense forest, his light footsteps making no sound at all.

The woman’s cries grew louder and clearer. Rod’s face was now utterly cold—he didn’t need to wonder what was happening; her screams already told him everything.

“Damn you! Don’t fall into my hands this time!” He cursed inwardly, speeding up as he concentrated his combat energy beneath his feet, moving like a gust of wind toward the source of the sound.

“Hey, wait for me! You bastard, don’t leave me behind! Wait for me—I’m scared…” Seeing Rod suddenly speed up, ignoring her safety, Shirley’s expression changed. Looking around at the emptiness, fear appeared on her face as she cried out anxiously, even with a hint of sobbing in her voice. After all, this place had brought her too much fear and nightmares!

“Hehe… Girl, come here, let old man give you some pleasure!” That familiar lewd voice reached his ears, followed by a woman’s cries for help, screams, and struggles. “Hehe, keep screaming. See if anyone will pay attention to you…” Rod had no mood to listen to what came next. Not caring to hide his presence, he quickly accelerated, moving with a whooshing sound and arriving in a small clearing in the blink of an eye. There were a few trees, and the clearing was large enough to hold only three or four people.

At that moment, in the clearing, the man he had beaten away last time had stripped off his shirt. In front of him, on the ground, sat a young girl around twenty years old, with beautiful features and a delicate appearance—truly a beauty. But her face was filled with terror; her hands and feet were tied, and she lay there, groaning weakly and trying to move. She stared at the man in front of her with fearful eyes as he stripped and stepped closer to her.

Rod could even clearly sense her helplessness, fear, and despair.

“Bastard! Stop it!” An angry shout erupted from Rod, who could no longer hold back.

Immediately, the man, stunned, rushed over quickly.

Hearing this shout, the man’s expression changed drastically. Ignoring his shirt, he rushed forward, pulling a dagger from his hand. He lifted the girl from the ground and pressed it against the man’s throat!

“Monster, let her go! Otherwise, you’ll die today!” With narrowed eyes and a murderous glare, Rod shouted fiercely at the man holding the girl. That idiot had done this again—clearly he hadn’t learned his lesson.

“Hmph, it’s you again, Brado. Damn you! I have no grudges against you, so why do you keep ruining my plans? What does this bitch have to do with you? She’s just a woman, and not even a virgin. If you like her, you can have her too. I don’t mind sharing her—there’s no need to go to such extremes!” The man glared at Rod in anger. It was because of this guy that he had failed last time to get the girl he wanted, and he had also lost several of his brothers. Now, he was alone, hiding in Iron Bar Town!

What was even more infuriating was that he had wasted a scroll he had spent a fortune on last time, putting himself in a humiliating situation. Well, he hadn’t sought revenge on that guy. Just as things were going well today, this fellow showed up again to cause trouble. Such behavior drove him to the brink of madness.

Looking at the woman across from him, she stopped crying upon seeing him and stared at him with boundless hope. Her expectant gaze made Rod’s mood even heavier—he could sense that she had placed all her hopes on him.

“Let her go. I’ll count to three!” Rod ordered coldly, glaring at the man, ignoring completely his despicable demands.

“Hmph, back off! Otherwise, I’ll shave this bitch’s head! If I die, I’ll take her with me!” The man shouted, eyes wide, gripping his dagger tighter.

Rod had no doubt he would do it. He stood still, deep in thought, not daring to make any move—for no matter how fast he was, he couldn’t outpace that man.

“Let her go, and I’ll let you go!” Rod said in a deep voice after a moment.

“Do you think I’m a child? Try fooling a three-year-old! Do you think I’ll live if I let her go?” The man sneered at Rod. Such a lie wouldn’t even fool a fool.

Watching the man, Rod rolled his eyes and began to back away. The woman could no longer bear the threat of the dagger; he had to back off immediately, while frantically thinking of a solution.

“Skora, stop!” Suddenly, Rod widened his eyes and shouted loudly behind the man, pretending to be extremely anxious and shocked. Hearing Rod’s sudden shout and seeing his expression, the man panicked and quickly glanced behind, moving the woman aside as well.

The moment he spoke, as the man turned around, Rod moved like the wind, pushing his speed to its limit in an instant. Like a flash of white light, accompanied by the sharp sound of a sword drawing, he appeared before the two of them. With a swift swing, his sword intercepted the dagger with a clear clang.

After the sound, the dark dagger was flung into the air, escaping the man’s grasp. Rod finally breathed a sigh of relief—his risky plan had succeeded. By using Skora’s name to distract the man, he had seized the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, which proved absolutely effective!

The dagger slipped from his hand. The man’s eyes widened in horror as he stared at Rod, who was right in front of him. With a roar, he threw the woman in front of him far to the right, then rushed swiftly to the left. Realizing he had no chance, he chose to flee, hoping to escape from that place.