To Luo Chenxi's surprise, besides Smof, there were others in this mountain range who could use such advanced wind magic, and the boy's technique was so subtle that even he couldn't notice it. His power... was clearly above Smof's!

But Luo Chenxi didn't care about Slu's praise. To him, it was nothing more than naked mockery.

He extended his hand towards the middle-aged man and said coldly, "The key is with you, right? Hand it over."

"The key?" Slu sneered, shaking his head and asking in return, "I'd like to ask you, where did you take our important princess?"

"Princess?" Luo Chenxi widened his eyes slightly at the mention of it.

"Hahaha, look at you, you didn't even know that girl was the princess of this empire, did you?"

"Well, I was a little surprised."

Although he had known from before that Anna was a noble of the empire and had guessed that her background was extraordinary, it seemed her identity... was even more impressive than he had imagined!

After all, he couldn't have expected that the child he saved from the roadside would turn out to be the princess of this empire...

Indeed, that girl herself was already a huge trouble, and Luo Chenxi was feeling a bit troubled.

"Heh, kid! Let me give you a piece of advice. That girl is an important pawn who can overthrow the entire empire. It's not something that someone like you, who stays out of it, should interfere with. I hope you can hand her over to me! I don't want to be enemies with you, and I'll even compensate you with five million gold coins afterwards. We can both mind our own business."

After finishing, he looked at Luo Chenxi with a calm expression and added, "Of course! We're willing to negotiate with you because I recognize your strength. I'd be happy to be friends with a strong person like you. In the future, we can help each other out. What do you think?"

Slu spoke confidently, but after hearing it, Luo Chenxi couldn't help but laugh.

"Friend? Do you even qualify to talk about friendship with me?"

"Could it be... you're not satisfied with the conditions I proposed?"

"It has nothing to do with the conditions."

Luo Chenxi retorted, staring at the middle-aged man in front of him with increasingly cold eyes.

"For me to consider someone a friend, there's no need for the likes of you to meddle and give your opinion. Don't you even look at yourself in the mirror? Your face is covered in disgusting stubble that's practically oozing oil. To call you a friend, someone who feels nothing but disgust!"

Luo Chenxi didn't know how much five million gold coins meant in this world, nor did he know if he would receive such a hefty reward after bringing Anna back.

But none of that mattered because what he hated the most was when others tried to win him over with money.

"You're asking for trouble! You'll pay for the decision you made today, you brat!"

Caught off guard by Luo Chenxi's verbal attack, Slu's forehead veins bulged, and a huge amount of magic began surging around him, unsettling Luo Chenxi slightly.

He now understood why Anna didn't want him to go back and deal with these kidnappers. It was like the man in front of him, who was clearly not an easy opponent.

The impression Luo Chenxi got from him was as if a child had encountered a murderer. His intuition told him that this man was stained with countless lives and blood, and even time couldn't wash away the bloodiness and hostility emanating from him.

But he had no intention of backing down either.

Luo Chenxi casually put his hands in his pockets and grinned sarcastically at Slu, saying, "The decision I made, I've never regretted it."

To save or not to save Anna was simply a decision in Luo Chenxi's mind.

Slu's offer was indeed tempting, but why should he refuse this man in comparison to the princess who was like a hot potato?

For some reason, Anna's tear-stained face from their first meeting suddenly flashed in Luo Chenxi's mind.

With that thought, he sighed wryly and shook his head.

The reason for refusing was actually simple...

He simply didn't like this person.