Liam Yang staggered backward, and the three men behind him prepared to attack from the rear. Only then did Liam realize he'd been duped. He shouted, "Damn it!" Then, using a spatial teleport, he appeared atop a nearby building. Seeing Liam suddenly appear there, the veiled woman removed her scarf and joined the three, flashing up to the rooftop and surrounding Liam in the center.
"You people actually dared to trick grandpa!" Liam shouted angrily.
"Kid, that just means you're way too easy to fool. I only cried out a few times and you risked your life to save me—I'm honestly touched," the woman said seductively.
"Damn it, what are you anyway? Your voice is awful! And your face is even uglier!" Liam shot back mercilessly.
The woman instantly flared up. "How dare you call me ugly? And say my voice is awful? I'll make sure you open your eyes wide! You three, hold his eyes open for me!"
"Yes!" The three men moved to attack. Though Liam was injured, he used spatial techniques to teleport short distances, taking advantage of this to ambush the three.
After a quarter of an hour, all three were knocked down, each with different injuries, lying on the ground. The woman, seeing this, shouted angrily, "Useless trash! Three of you can't even catch one person? You can all go die!"
"Madam Blaze, don't—" one of them screamed, but the woman had already extended her hand. Three fireballs incinerated the men on the spot. Liam was stunned for a moment, but then laughed, "You're really vicious—even your own people aren't safe from you."
"What's the use of keeping trash like that? Why don't you join me instead? Whatever you want, I'll give you—even my body." The woman smiled seductively, her laughter alluring. Liam wasn't fooled, though. He grinned, "You're so poisonous, I doubt I could handle it. Better keep yourself to yourself."
"Damn it, you dare reject me? Tired of living, huh? Since you won't listen, there's no need to keep you around." With that, Madam Blaze spread her hands, unleashing countless flames that wrapped Liam in the center. When Liam tried to use spatial teleport, he discovered something seemed to block the space around him.
"It's useless, haha! I'm Madam Blaze. You can teleport, right? But I have a treasure specifically for dealing with spatial movement. Look around—see that shiny glow?" Madam Blaze laughed.
Liam glanced around and sure enough, something seemed to isolate the space around him.
"Your treasure is impressive, but it can't stop me." Liam said, forming a cross with his hands and shouting, "Open!"
With that, Liam forced himself through the isolating membrane and vanished on the spot. Madam Blaze was shocked—her treasure was supposed to restrain spatial teleportation unless someone used a secret art. As Liam left, he laughed, "Grandpa's outta here! You can play by yourself!"
Madam Blaze quickly lost track of Liam and fumed, "Damn it, today was a total disaster. But I won't let you off!"
By now, Liam was already in the woods outside the city. Seeing no one chasing him, he spat out a mouthful of blood and cursed, "What a scam! They actually tried to trick grandpa. Once I've recovered, if I run into that poisonous woman again, I won't let her off!"
Getting injured on his very first day out left Liam frustrated, but he also gained a deeper understanding of the outside world—at the very least, he couldn't afford to be careless and had to stay alert at all times.
He found a dense, deserted grove and began to recuperate.
Unable to find Liam, Madam Blaze stayed in the city, furious. Three days later, Liam reappeared, fully recovered and swaggering down the main street, browsing here and there and muttering, "That old geezer really isn't coming back? Damn it."
After wandering around for a while, he saw a commotion up ahead. A heavily guarded procession marched down the street, watched by crowds on both sides.