Chapter 45 – You Are Under Arrest

“But… I need some time.”

White Li’s momentum instantly wilted.

The ice crystal at her fingertip shattered with a snap, scattering into fine powder.

“How long do you need?”

The Knight stared at Xiao Yu in the distance.

She was warily facing off with Lin Du, as if reassessing the strength of the silver-gray opponent before her.

“Let me think…”

White Li rubbed her temples, her mind racing.

Chanting preparation time, magical energy accumulation, ice crystal formation range… She had never used such a large-scale freezing spell in real combat.

Last time, she only froze Huang Mao up to his chest, and he broke free.

This time, she had to freeze him completely, not even leaving a finger exposed.

“Three minutes.”

She held up three fingers.

“At least three minutes.”

“Understood.”

Before the words faded, the Knight had already charged.

His silver-gray armor left a blur.

Before White Li could react, he had crossed a dozen meters and punched straight at Xiao Yu’s face.

Xiao Yu dodged sideways.

The spikes rising from the ground scraped across Lin Du’s breastplate, leaving a trail of sparks.

Lin Du stepped closer and shot a pillar of flame from his palm, straight at Xiao Yu’s face.

Xiao Yu’s body was much more agile than Huang Mao’s.

She lowered herself, and the scorching air only singed a few strands of fur, causing no real damage.

Then she kicked off with her hind legs, bouncing several meters back, reopening the distance with Lin Du.

Lin Du frowned.

From the exchange just now, this creature’s strength was not as great as Huang Mao’s, but its ability to control the ground was truly troublesome.

He had no advantage in a long-range barrage—no matter how fierce his flames, they were useless if they didn’t hit.

He had to close the distance.

Lin Du took a deep breath and advanced again.

Xiao Yu anticipated his movement.

She raised her front paw and slammed the ground.

The earth beneath Lin Du suddenly collapsed, revealing a pitch-black pit.

Lin Du lightly tapped the edge of the pit, used the momentum to leap, spun in the air, and landed steadily on the other side.

Xiao Yu tapped the ground with her toes.

Several stone pillars burst from the earth, shooting toward him like giant pythons.

Lin Du ducked to dodge one, raised his fist to shatter another.

Stones flew everywhere, dust filled the air.

He continued charging through the dust, closing the distance inch by inch.

The scales of victory seemed to be tipping in his favor.

Roar!

But Xiao Yu abruptly opened her mouth and let out a shrill howl.

The walls on both sides began to crack.

Whole facades of brick and stone peeled off and pressed toward Lin Du from left and right simultaneously.

‘Can she even control the dirt on the walls?’

Lin Du’s pupils contracted.

It was too late to retreat.

Boom!

The walls on both sides slammed shut, trapping him in between.

Brick and concrete surged like a tidal wave, burying him completely.

“Hey! Are you okay?”

White Li shouted.

The dust cleared, leaving only a pile of rubble.

Xiao Yu turned her head.

Her ash-black slit pupils locked onto White Li.

She took a step and slowly walked toward her.

“Damn… this guy’s useless at the crucial moment.”

White Li took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

The chant was mostly complete; frost flowed through her body.

“Looks like I have to rely on myself in the end!”

She poured all her magical energy into the last segment of the spell.

Blade-sharp light swirled at her feet.

‘Just a little more. Give her ten more seconds.’

Xiao Yu got closer.

She opened her mouth, ready to swallow the little one before her.

White Li snapped her eyes open and thrust her hands forward.

[Frost Thorn Prison]

Frost erupted from the ground.

Countless ice crystals grew from the soil like barbs, spreading from White Li’s feet all the way to Xiao Yu’s.

The ice spikes layered upon each other, like a blooming flower of ice.

Xiao Yu noticed the abnormality in the ground and tried to jump away, but the ice spikes grew too fast.

Shing—

An ice spike pierced her hind leg.

Then countless spikes stabbed from all directions, weaving into a giant icy prison, wrapping around her entire body.

The ice spread from her toes upward, quickly engulfing her body.

Finally, even her head was covered in ice, leaving only her eyes moving behind the frost.

“Huff—huff—!”

White Li gasped for air, hands on her knees.

The magic consumption was too great; she could barely handle it.

She had frozen Xiao Yu into an ice statue from head to toe, not even a single hair exposed.

Thump!

Suddenly, a sound came from the rubble pile.

Stones rolled off the top, and a hand reached out from the debris.

The Knight climbed out of the ruins, covered in dust and mud, his goggles smeared with dirt.

He shook his head, brushed off the rubble, knelt on one knee, and coughed twice.

Then he stood up, his gaze falling on the ice statue.

“Frozen?”

“Hmph, frozen solid.”

White Li nodded, her tail swishing behind her.

“Can’t escape this time.”

“Good job.”

Lin Du crouched slightly, moving his right foot half a step back.

Flames shot up from his sole, enveloping his entire right leg.

The red glow grew brighter and hotter, distorting the surrounding air.

“!”

White Li was startled.

She had seen this move before.

It was the Blazing Knight’s ultimate skill, Blazing Strike.

One kick and no monster could survive standing.

“Wait!”

White Li rushed over and grabbed his arm.

Lin Du staggered from her pull, almost losing his balance.

“What are you doing?”

“You can’t kill!”

White Li’s voice was urgent.

“She’s not evil! She was drugged! She used to be a cat girl, working at a Cat Cafe, has a Popo, legal status, she just…”

“Let go.”

“No!”

“I said let go.”

Lin Du’s right foot was still ablaze.

He stood there, looking down at White Li hanging on his arm.

“She still has a Popo waiting for her at home!”

White Li looked up.

“If you kick her to death, what about that Popo? She’ll lose her only family!”

Lin Du was silent for a few seconds.

The flames at his foot gradually died down, the red patterns fading.

“You said she was drugged,”

he spoke.

“Who did it?”

White Li opened her mouth to answer, but before she could—

Crack.

A fissure appeared on the ice statue’s surface, then spread from top to bottom.

Inside the ice, something was expanding, pushing outward.

“How could…”

White Li’s eyes widened.

She had frozen it thick enough.

How could it be breaking so soon?

Crack—crash!

The ice layer exploded.

Countless sharp stone pillars thrust out from inside the ice statue, shattering the crystals into thousands of pieces.

Xiao Yu had covered her body with a thick layer of earth before being frozen, searching for the weakest point in the ice to break through.

Her body had grown even larger—continuous combat was steadily increasing her power.

White Li stepped back, her legs beginning to weaken.

Roar—

Xiao Yu lowered her head, a low growl rumbling from her throat, and lunged at the two.

Lin Du shielded White Li behind him, clenching his fists as flames rekindled in his palms.

“Any other ideas?”

“I… don’t have any…”

White Li bit her lip, her mind blank.

“Xiao Yu?”

An elderly voice came from the alley entrance.

Xiao Yu’s steps halted.

Her eyes snapped toward the entrance.

Under the streetlight, a stooped figure stood there.

All white hair, a face full of wrinkles, holding a wooden walking stick.

She stood at the alley entrance, squinting at the grotesque monster under the moonlight.

“Xiao Yu,”

she called again, her voice trembling.

“Is it you?”

Xiao Yu let out a low gurgle from her throat.

In those eyes, madness and chaos receded like a tide, revealing a faint glimmer beneath.

“Po…po…”

Broken syllables came from her mouth.

“She’s that Popo!”

White Li said.

“Xiao Yu’s Popo.”

Lin Du glanced at her, then at the old woman in the distance.

The old woman leaned on her cane, step by step into the alley.

Her legs were bad; she walked very slowly, pebbles rolling under her feet.

She nearly slipped, steadied herself with the cane, and continued forward.

“Xiao Yu, have you forgotten what Popo told you?”

Xiao Yu’s body trembled.

She lowered her head, looking at the old woman several times shorter than herself.

The gurgling in her throat turned into sobbing.

“You’re a good child,”

Popo’s voice was soft.

“No matter what you become, you’ll always be Popo’s good child.”

She walked up to Xiao Yu, reached out, and tremblingly touched that face that was no longer recognizable as human.

“Come back,”

she said.

“Popo has been waiting for you at home.”

Xiao Yu let out a long sob.

Her body began to shrink, fangs shortened, revealing the delicate girl underneath.

“Popo… Popo…”

She knelt on the ground, threw herself into Popo’s arms, crying like a little child.

“I was wrong… I was so scared…”

Popo held her, gently patting her back.

“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Popo is here.”

White Li stood nearby, watching this scene.

Her nose stung.

“How wonderful…”

Click—

A crisp metal lock sound rang out.

White Li looked down and found a pair of handcuffs on her wrists.

A familiar suppressing force spread from her wrists.

She jerked her head up to meet the red goggles.

“As much as I hate to break this touching scene,”

the Knight’s voice was cold,

“but you’re both coming with me.”

“Can’t you at least wait until she’s done crying?!”

White Li shouted.