Qiliu Lane in Pingyang.

Shu Yun had just seen Feng Ziyi off when he walked in the drizzling rain, holding an umbrella. His blue Taoist robe was dampened by the falling raindrops, and the color gradually deepened, spreading across the hem and cuffs.

As I passed through a narrow, dark alleyway, I suddenly heard the sound of something heavy falling to the ground, mixed with a muffled groan of pain.

Shu Yun turned her head to look into the alley and could vaguely see several tall and strong men punching and kicking a dark figure at her feet.

"You stole! You're incorrigible."

The man spat, "This time, Bao Niang gave the order to beat you to death, so that I wouldn't let you off the hook, you ungrateful wretch, and you still come to steal things."

"I... I didn't..."

The dark figure that had been hit suddenly spoke, its weak voice broken and intermittent due to prolonged hunger and injuries, making it impossible to understand what it was saying without careful listening.

The burly men didn't care what the kid was saying. Last time, when Miss Liu'er's hairpin was stolen, they took pity on him and let him go. But instead of being grateful, he repaid kindness with enmity and stole Miss Liu'er's money.

The men struck hard and ruthlessly, clearly aiming to kill.

Shu Yun paused at the alley entrance for a few seconds, but she heard clearly what the others hadn't heard.

The boy who was being beaten kept repeating the words "I didn't steal" in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

For some reason, the boy suddenly looked up at the alley entrance and saw a female Taoist in green standing with an umbrella. A breeze rustled her robes, and rainwater flowed down the umbrella ribs to the edge, then fell vertically and hit the bluestone slabs at her feet.

The boy spoke silently: "Save me."

He was clearly in so much pain that he couldn't speak, but looking into her clear, cold eyes, he felt as if this ethereal female Taoist had heard what he was saying.

Shu Yun originally planned to leave. As a high god of Penglai, she had long since transcended the mortal world. Her trip to the mortal realm to help Feng Ziyi was only due to the request of an old friend. If she interfered too much, it would not be conducive to the stability of the Three Realms.

As she lifted her foot to leave, the dying boy suddenly looked up at her, his eyes shining brightly in the dark alley, as if burning with a raging flame—a yearning for life.

She heard the boy crying and begging her to save him.

Shu Yun hesitated at the alley entrance.

The light in the boy's eyes gradually faded, and finally he closed his eyes in despair, no longer holding onto hope.

"well."

Shu Yun sighed softly. The narrow alleyway didn't allow her to walk through with an umbrella, so she closed it and let the drizzle fall on her hair and shoulders, turning the blue fabric dark.

"Stop hitting them," she said, stopping the men.

The boy suddenly opened his eyes and looked at her, a faint glimmer of light flashing in them.

Seeing that she was wearing a Taoist robe, those people assumed she was a Taoist priestess who had taken pity on her and waved her away, saying, "Go away, go away, get out of the way."

Shu Yun didn't care about their attitude and said calmly, "I'll compensate you for whatever those things are worth."

"You?" The men looked her up and down; it was just an ordinary blue Taoist robe. "Can you afford to pay for it?"

Shu Yun stepped forward, holding an umbrella to shield the young man. Not wanting to say anything more to these people, she took out a silver note from her sleeve and handed it over.

"Consider this money as compensation. Don't cause any more trouble for this boy in the future."

The burly man at the head of the group took the silver note, looked at the amount, and stared at the female Taoist priest in disbelief. Unfortunately, after giving them the silver note, she ignored them completely.

The person behind him suddenly remembered something and stepped forward to whisper, "Could it be that person from the Feng family..."

The leader suddenly became respectful and bowed, "Are you Master Shu?"

Shu Yun reached out and gently touched the lying boy for a while. He had serious external injuries and a broken leg bone. He probably wouldn't be able to stand up now.

She wasn't sure if the person in question was referring to her, so she replied, "My Taoist name is Chiying, and I am currently residing in Fengfu."

Upon hearing this, the burly men realized that she was the patron of Feng Ziyi, the young master of the Feng family, and dared not press the matter further. "This kid is truly lucky to have met Master Shu. In that case, we will take our leave."

After saying that, he glared at the boy on the ground and beckoned his men to walk out of the alley.

Shu Yun switched the umbrella to her left hand, carefully reached her right hand around the boy's thin back, placed her palm under his thigh, and lifted the extremely thin boy up with one hand.

The boy lay on the long-accumulated mud in the alley, his body covered in dirt, and the places where he touched Shu Yun stained his blue robes with mud.

He stared wide-eyed in fear, his thin frame shifting as he tried to get away from her, not wanting to get her clothes dirty.

Shu Yun tightened her grip on his right hand, afraid he would fall, and whispered, "Don't move."

The injured boy in her arms immediately calmed down, like a little animal quietly staying in her arms and no longer struggling or moving.

After carrying him out of the alley, Shu Yun's left hand was a little inconvenient. She stopped the eager boy in her arms and slowly opened the umbrella with her left hand to shield them from the drizzle falling from above.

Still just a teenager, Shu Yun was worried about jolting him with his injuries, so she walked steadily. As they turned left and right in the deep alley, the hungry, tired, and injured boy leaned on her shoulder and couldn't help but fall asleep.

After Shu Yun walked to the courtyard where they were temporarily staying, she gently placed him on the bed.

Even so, it immediately woke him up.

The boy opened his beautiful eyes wide and saw the dirty blue robe and the bed sheet. He tried to climb off the bed using his hands and feet.

Shu Yun held him down, somewhat helplessly wondering why the child was so restless.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!