As dusk fell, the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the earth in a warm, golden hue. A young woman, dressed in a pale pink dress, adorned with matching pearl flowers in her hair, and held up by a jade hairpin with long tassels cascading down her chest, sat quietly by the window, her hand supporting her chin, her gaze dreamy.

"Sigh... Why hasn't Liu Lang returned yet?" Kong Qingyan's voice drifted over, filled with endless melancholy and longing. In just one afternoon, she had already begun to miss Liu Lang.

Love between men and women can sometimes be so passionate. Ever since Liu Yishui rescued a damsel in distress on the street, he has noticed a charming and lively figure by his side.

The man was unmarried and the woman was unmarried. The talented scholar and the beautiful woman quickly fell in love within half a month of meeting.

Kong Qingyan ran away to the mortal world for two reasons: to escape her arranged marriage and to enjoy the world. After all, a thousand years ago, her activities were limited to a small town. She had never seen the beautiful landscapes of the mortal world before, so she was determined to explore it.

Her first stop in the mortal realm was Jingzhou City, but once there, she had lost all interest in sightseeing and instead focused her attention entirely on Liu Yishui.

A young girl's feelings always come with such fervor and intensity.

At this moment, the door opened and a slender figure walked in. Kong Qingyan walked forward with a smile on her face, but when she saw the other person's face, she couldn't help but widen her eyes.

"Liu Lang, what's wrong with you? Who hit you?" The girl's face was flushed with anger, her eyes wide open, clearly extremely angry.

"I'm fine, I just fell by accident." Liu Yishui tugged at the corner of his mouth, but accidentally aggravated the wound on his lip, hissed softly, and shook his head in denial.

"How could you have fallen like this? You can't lie to me." Chun Chun wasn't stupid, and Kong Qingyan wasn't easily fooled. "Did that good-for-nothing Cao Xiu bully you?"

"It's alright, as long as you're okay." Liu Yishui smiled and shook his head, reaching out to grab Kong Qingyan's hand, speaking affectionately.

Kong Qingyan blushed and said nothing more. Her mind and eyes were completely occupied by the man in front of her, and she completely forgot about her engagement.

A handsome man and a beautiful woman, holding hands and gazing at each other under the moonlight, appeared hazy yet beautiful. A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling their hair, the dark strands intertwined, like the affection between them.

This beautiful scene was witnessed by the three of them. Tang Chi gripped his sword tightly, wishing he could draw it and immediately behead Liu Yishui to quell the hatred in his heart.

Although he had no deep feelings for Kong Qingyan, she was still his nominal fiancée. It was a disgrace to Tang Chi that she was flirting with other men like this.

Just as he was about to draw his sword and take a life, a pair of fair hands pressed down on Tang Chi's restless sword, and a voice rang in his mind, "Calm down."

As the voice rang out, a cool energy flowed through Tang Chi's body, extinguishing his heat and anger, and calming him down considerably. He coldly observed the affectionate couple, gave a soft snort, and turned to leave.

After everyone left, Wuyou glanced at Liu Yishui, a hint of confusion flashing in her clear, peach-blossom eyes. How could the original owner have fallen for this scholar? He had neither money nor power, his looks were only average, and his only redeeming quality was his talent. He was just an ant that could be crushed with a single finger.

Wuyou then turned her gaze to Kong Qingyan. Could this be the legendary case of "the rice in someone else's bowl is the most delicious"? Was it because of jealousy?

Liu Yishui suddenly felt a chill and subconsciously looked around, but found nothing. He could only tell himself that he was overthinking things.

The next morning, Kong Qingyan got up early and went to the market to stroll around and buy some ingredients. During this time, she had been staying at Liu Yishui's house, ostensibly to seek refuge with relatives and search for someone, but in reality, she just wanted to stay by his side.

In fact, Liu Yishui had been asking about her relatives lately, trying to help her find her family, but where did she get any family? Kong Qingyan was unusually troubled.

Standing in the market, Kong Qingyan, holding a tender cabbage, frowned and stood there thinking for a full half-incense stick's time, until the shouts finally woke her up. She put down the cabbage and went to see what was going on.

"Girl...Girl, please save my son...I'm kneeling down for you..." Kong Qingyan, who had just stepped into the crowd, hadn't even had time to react when a pair of rough hands grabbed her arm with considerable force.

Upon closer inspection, Kong Qingyan realized that the person who had grabbed her was a short woman dressed in coarse linen clothes, with gray hair and a wrinkled face. Her cloudy old eyes were brimming with tears, and her voice was trembling with sobs, making her look pitiful. The others just pointed and whispered around them, without intervening.

"Grandma, please get up. Tell me what's wrong, and I'll help you if I can." Kong Qingyan helped the woman up, her face filled with compassion. As the daughter of the benevolent Kong family, Kong Qingyan inherited her father's kindness, and her inexperience made her more prone to pity.

Moreover, although her cultivation level is not high, she is still a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so dealing with ordinary people is naturally no problem for her.

"My son is about to be beaten to death, please, young lady, have mercy and help us..." the old woman pleaded on her knees.

Kong Qingyan was being led away by the old woman, and in the nearby alley, there were commotion and the sounds of fists being punched.

"Go to hell, you dare to come to the gambling den when you have no money? If I see you again, I'll beat you to death..." Inside the alley, four or five tall and strong men surrounded a figure and beat him wildly, punching and kicking him while cursing and swearing.

"Stop—" Kong Qingyan cried out and rushed forward in three steps, not noticing the smile in the old woman's eyes behind her.

"Damn it, why are there always meddlesome people like you everywhere? If you keep meddling, I'll sell you to a brothel!" The gambling den thug was furious, practically pointing his finger at him and cursing.

“Even if he owes you money, you shouldn’t beat him like this!” Kong Qingyan felt she was right, especially since gambling dens shouldn’t exist in the first place. She had been in the mortal realm for almost a month, during which time Liu Yishui had taught her a lot, and influenced by him, she also deeply hated gambling dens.

After all, such places lure people into gambling with high returns, creating a chaotic and unpleasant atmosphere; they are hardly good places.

"Damn it, grab him! Don't ruin her beautiful face, I'm going to sell her!" The gambling den thugs were very agitated, and with a wave of their hands, a group of them rushed forward.

In the blink of an eye, four or five people were lying on the ground, looking quite pitiful, while the frail woman stood gracefully on the slope, displaying a heroic air.