"Albe, go bring Katarina and Sarin."

"Huh?"

"Hurry!"

"O-okay!"

After giving those instructions to Albe, Qiong Xing hurried down the side alley where the men had disappeared.

Unlike the marketplace, the alley was narrow and dim.

It was an ideal place to drag someone into.

"For a kid, she’s got a pretty nice chest."

"Huh? As long as it fits, that’s all that matters, right? At that age, she probably hasn’t done it yet."

"If you’re gonna do it, kids are the best. It’s way tighter."

The men’s revolting words made anger surge within him.

As if to silence them, he stepped out in front of them.

They looked startled for a moment, before those disgusting expressions returned.

"Well, well. What’s this, kid?"

"Hahaha! You lost or something? Or you wanna join us? Don’t tell me..."

"Let her go."

"Huh?"

"Let go of that child right now."

At Qiong Xing’s words, the men who had been pinning the girl down turned their attention to him.

Their smirking faces as if they were enjoying this made him sick.

"Let go of that child right now. Otherwise—"

"Or what? Oh, you gonna take her place instead? Hahahaha!"

Men like these would never listen, no matter what was said.

He had seen plenty of them in his previous life.

If that was the case, dealing with them through words was a waste of time.

Before they could resist, he bound them with magic and even sealed their mouths to stop their noise.

"This child is neither your slave nor a tool to satisfy your lust. I will not allow you to touch her with those filthy hands."

When he looking down at the struggling men, he positioned himself so that the girl wouldn’t have to see them and shielding her behind his back.

He would have liked to free her from her restraints, but after what had just happened, being touched by a man even Qiong Xing would likely only terrify her more.

So he refrained himself and waited for Katarina and Sarin to arrive.

"Qiong Xing!!"

Katarina and Sarin came running sooner than expected.

As he letting out a breath, he briefly explained what had happened.

He th n entrusted the girl to them and handed the men over to the guards.

"I’m just glad you’re safe. You suddenly told us to come with you, so I was worried something had happened."

"I’m sorry. There wasn’t time to explain. And dealing with what comes after would have been difficult for me, so I thought it would be faster to call you."

Capturing suspicious men was easy enough for Qiong Xing and the others, but handling the guards afterward and especially dealing with the traumatized girl was something he judged would be better left to Katarina and Sarin.

Not knowing how much psychological shock the girl had suffered, Qiong Xing figured that having Katarina approaching her would make her feel more at ease than if he, a man, tried to touch her carelessly.

"Oh, I’m not blaming you, Qiong Xing. If anything, I’m grateful for how quickly you acted. Thank you. I’m just glad both the girl and you weren’t hurt."

Sarin gently patted his head and Qiong Xing smiled also expressing his gratitude to Katarina for her concern.

"Is that girl alright?"

"You got there just in time. It didn’t turn into the worst-case scenario. But..."

"But?"

At Katarina’s hesitant tone, Qiong Xing asked what was wrong and Sarin answered in her place as if it was difficult for her to say.

"She’s still in shock, I think... but she’s become afraid of people. She won’t let anyone get close."

"We’d like to find her family, but she won’t speak. She’s just trembling and crouched in the corner of the room."

If she had been abducted, her family should be searching for her, but there had been no such reports and even if they tried to ask her directly, she was too frightened to say anything.

"Judging by her appearance, she seems well-off. She might be a noble’s child from somewhere."

"And since they probably don’t want to make a scene, no missing report has been filed."

"That’s right. If word gets out about what happened, not only would it affect her family, but it would likely make it impossible for her to marry in the future."

For now, Katarina and Sarin were searching discreetly.

"...Albe, could you bring Lian here?"

"Hm? Now?"

When Qiong Xing nodded, Albe didn’t question it further and headed outside.

"We can’t just do nothing while we wait for her family to be found. I don’t know if it will work, but if there’s a possibility, we should try."

If her family was found quickly, that would be best, but if it dragged on, her physical condition would also become a concern.

If even Katarina, a woman, couldn’t approach her, then...

"Let’s place our hopes on a child."

Thinking it might work, Qiong Xing waited for Lian to arrive.

"Mom!"

When Lian ran over, Qiong Xing picked her up.

Behind her, he noticed Albe holding the twins and Cari.

He had only asked for Lian to be brought.

"They wouldn’t listen and insisted on coming..."

Qiong Xing gave a wry smile at Albe’s troubled expression, but he was grateful that he had brought them all.

"Then please have Rui and Yue play with Albe. Could you also look after Cari?"

"Yeah! Cari is a big brother!"

When Qiong Xing patted Cari’s head and thanked him, he carried Lian toward the room where the injured girl was.

"Lian, I have a request. Could you go into that room and say ’pain, pain, go away’ to the big sister inside?"

"Pain pain?"

"Yes. But Mama and the others seem scary to her, so can Lian do it instead?"

"Okay!"

Even though she was still very carefree, Qiong Xing smiled at her acceptance.

To avoid frightening the girl, he set Lian down in front of the room.

Without any fear, she stepped inside.