The moment Vienna Judd opened her eyes, her head spun violently. Two long legs swayed in and out of focus before her as her forehead repeatedly knocked against someone’s back.
Her face pale with nausea, she patted the firm buttocks right in front of her and rasped, “Hey, big guy… put me down.”
The person carrying her stiffened and ran even faster. Vienna rolled her eyes and couldn’t suppress a dry heave. The man shuddered and hastily flung her off his shoulder.
“Gonna puke?”
Vienna nodded. The man’s face darkened as he snapped, “Hold it in!”
She quickly nodded with exaggerated seriousness. “Don’t worry.”
Then, gripping his arm for support, she bent over and vomited violently, directly onto the man’s legs.
“……”
“Oops, my bad.” Vienna scratched the back of her head sheepishly, offering an apologetic grin. “But really, it’s your fault for being so damn solid. Heh, you kinda jabbed my stomach.”
The Judd family had dominated the martial world for decades, reigning as the successive leaders of the martial alliance generation after generation. However, by this generation, the family had dwindled in numbers. The old alliance leader took several concubines, yet only managed to have one daughter, raised secluded in the inner chambers.
Rumors claimed this young lady of the Judd family was well-educated, gentle in temperament, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and blessed with breathtaking beauty. Vande Bustle cast a cold glance at Vienna, who sat primly by the tree trunk, her legs trembling like a sieve.
He always said he hated those martial world tabloids the most. See? Not a single word was true.
“Big brother, your hairstyle is really something.”
Vienna gazed delightedly at the man in black, her little heart brimming with joy. After being hit by a chalk piece from her professor and flung out of the 21st century, the first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was this handsome young man—naturally, she was over the moon.
“Shut up!”
A vein throbbed on Vande’s forehead. Vienna pouted and earnestly suggested, “If you really can’t hold it in, just take your pants off.” When Vande remained silent, she added shyly, “Actually, if it’s inconvenient for you, I can help you take them off.”
Vande felt his entire being unravel.
Had he not personally carried Vienna out from the Judd family young lady’s bed, he would never have believed that the famed beauty set to hold an open marriage contest in three months could be like this.
Seeing his agonized expression, Vienna was about to offer some comforting words when suddenly, a group of people rushed out from the woods, surrounding them in the blink of an eye.
The leader pointed at the man and shouted, “Vande! Surrender now!”
Vande instantly perked up, his headache vanished, his legs stopped shaking. He pulled Vienna into his arms and sneered coldly, “No need for words!”
With that, he clashed with the newcomers. Vienna, tossed around until dizzy, suddenly heard Vande whisper in her ear, “You’ve got fifteen minutes. Run if you want.”
Before she could react, Vande flung her out of the crowd with a swing of his arm, then drew a flexible sword from his waist and engaged in fierce combat.
Vande’s martial skills weren’t weak, but the sheer number of opponents overwhelmed him. Before long, he was at a disadvantage. By the time he finally took down the last one, his shoulders bore two bloody wounds.
Blood gushed out. Vande’s body weakened, and he began to collapse, only to be caught by a pair of hands. The two of them tumbled to the ground with a thud.
“You’re so heavy! You’re crushing me!”
Vande stared in shock at Vienna, who glared back at him, full of reproach.
“Why didn’t you run?”
Vienna grinned, laughing heartily. “Isn’t this the perfect moment for unwavering loyalty to win a beauty’s heart? So, are you moved?”
Vande rolled his eyes and said flatly,
“Idiot. Those people were here to rescue you.”
As the martial arts tabloids plastered headlines about the rescue of the Judd family’s young lady across the entire Centrum, Vienna was crouched by the riverbank, scrubbing clothes in her hands.
She glanced sideways at Vande behind her, unable to hide the misery on his face. Vande glared at her, and Vienna quickly ducked her head, continuing to scrub.
So this was the legendary kidnapped damsel, sold off and still helping the kidnappers count the money.
“The esteemed young lady of the Judd family doesn’t know a single martial art. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?”
Vande leaned against a rock, bandaging his wounds while sneering. He had lost too much blood earlier, leaving a trail of dripping red all the way. Vienna’s skirt was stained with blood, and the garment she was washing was that ill-fated outer robe.
“What’s wrong with not knowing martial arts? Who even learns that stuff these days? Excavators are more useful than that. Besides, what I know, you probably don’t.”
Vande said coldly, “What could you possibly know? Embroidery?”
Vienna turned her head and shot him a look. “If you can do it, I’ll kneel to you. Hey, what’s wrong with you?”