"Boss, this guy doesn't seem to have any tricks up his sleeve," the thin man said, unable to resist, looking at his leader whose expression was a bit strange.
That cry for help, which almost pierced their eardrums, made their previous preparations seem a bit redundant.
Of course, as the leader said, in this line of work, you can never be too careful, otherwise, you could run into trouble at any time and fall flat on your face.
"Hmph, let's go, we're going over there," the leader snorted in annoyance, then got up and walked towards Soraya, who was already surrounded.
Just now, seeing his unchanging expression, they thought he was some formidable character. They didn't expect him to be just putting on a show.
"Still calling for help, kid? Don't you even look at where this is? What good will it do even if you scream yourself hoarse?" The thin man said with a sinister smile on his face, uttering the classic villain line.
"Ugh..." Soraya curled up on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably.
As a scholar who came from Sumeru to Liyue for study, Soraya had encountered dangers along the way.
He had met Treasure Hoarders, Hilichurls, and even the Geovishaps of Liyue.
But this was the first time he had been in such a perilous situation.
This time, he was truly surrounded by Treasure Hoarders, and there were so many of them.
He was just a weak man, with no weapons, and no self-defense skills.
Facing so many vicious thugs, he was probably going to perish here this time...
"You, you guys don't come any closer!" Although Soraya was scared, he still put up a final resistance verbally.
"Hahahaha..."
As expected, after Soraya finished speaking in a trembling voice, he was immediately met with laughter from all the surrounding Treasure Hoarders.
It sounded very arrogant, but Soraya was helpless.
The more he showed fear, the more excited these people would become.
"Kid, I advise you to cooperate with us. Otherwise, we can't guarantee that the knives in our hands won't cut you."
As he spoke, a rope appeared in the thin man's hand at some point, and he slowly walked towards Soraya.
"If you want to blame someone, blame that bastard Precious Baby for losing the artifact we worked so hard to get."
"Don't worry, we won't harm you until you help us find the artifact... At least we won't take your life."
Listening to the man's words, Soraya closed his eyes in despair.
They wouldn't take his life, but who knew what terrible things would happen to him? Falling into the hands of the Treasure Hoarders, he might be better off dead...
The thin man finally reached Soraya, and his withered hand slowly moved towards Soraya.
Just then, something unexpected happened.
"Ah!!"
"Enemy attack!!"
"Quick, grab him... Ah ah ah ah!!"
The expected pain did not fall upon him; instead, his ears were filled with the continuous screams of the Treasure Hoarders.
The screams didn't last too long; in a moment, the surrounding sounds gradually ceased.
Soraya was still trembling, still not daring to open his eyes.
"Are you alright?" A pleasant voice reached his ears, and at the same time, Soraya could feel that someone seemed to be standing in front of him.
Soraya finally slowly raised his head.
Under the sunlight, the other person's gray hair seemed to shimmer with brilliance, and his beautiful face showed concern for him.
Those golden eyes were unlike anything Soraya had ever seen; for a moment, Soraya was utterly captivated.
He could swear to the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata that this was absolutely the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life.
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"...Are you alright?" Stelle tilted his head slightly in confusion, then reached out to pull him up.
He didn't know if this Damselette was scared silly or if his ears were a bit faulty, as he seemed not to have heard what he just said.
"Ah! No, I'm fine!" Soraya's cheeks instantly flushed. He quickly took Stelle's hand and slowly stood up.
Such soft little hands...
Soraya thought this to himself, even feeling a bit reluctant to let go.
Unfortunately, before he could react much, the other party withdrew his hand.
"Um, th-thank you for saving me... I am Soraya, a Driyosh from Sumeru." Soraya turned to look at the Treasure Hoarders lying scattered on the ground, then thanked Stelle with lingering fear.
He didn't know if these people were dead or alive, but Soraya didn't pay attention to such small matters.
"Oh? You're Soraya? That's great, good thing I arrived in time..." Stelle raised his eyebrows slightly, then said happily.
He had actually guessed it earlier, as this girl's attire was quite different from that of typical Liyue people.
"Eh? You know me?" Soraya didn't know why, but hearing Stelle say this seemed to make him a bit happy.
"Mhm, the proprietress of Wangshu Inn asked me to inquire about your whereabouts, because this area is always frequented by Gods and Treasure Hoarders. She was a bit worried about your safety."
"Oh, I see. He truly went to so much trouble..." Soraya nodded.
Actually, when he set out to investigate here, the proprietress had already warned him, but the desire for research had overridden that hint of fear in his heart.
Besides, he still had some ways to deal with a few Gods, but he didn't expect to be targeted by the Treasure Hoarders.
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Stelle, and I am an Adventurer who accepted a commission."
"H-hello, Miss Stelle, thank you again for your assistance." Soraya also quickly said.
"It's nothing, when something like this happens, I naturally can't refuse!" Stelle patted his chest and said with a smile.
"But it really was dangerous. Why were you surrounded by Treasure Hoarders?" Stelle asked with a hint of confusion.
Although Treasure Hoarders are extremely vicious and kidnapping people seems to require no reason, looking at the situation just now, it was clear that the group of Treasure Hoarders had been eyeing Soraya for more than a day or two.
With such thorough preparations, it was probably not as simple as just kidnapping for ransom.
"They said they wanted me, a scholar, to help locate valuable artifacts. Sigh, the Treasure Hoarders are truly becoming more and more rampant..." Soraya sighed and slowly said.
"Asking a scholar to help locate valuable artifacts... Does that mean Precious Baby might also be in danger?" Stelle stroked his chin, muttering to himself.
Although Precious Baby carried a large axe and looked formidable, he was, after all, only one person. If he encountered vicious Treasure Hoarders, he probably wouldn't fare well.
"Precious Baby?" Soraya looked at Stelle in surprise.
Just now, he seemed to have heard the exact same name from the mouths of the Treasure Hoarders.
It shouldn't be the same person, right?
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