Consider it what the world owes you.

"No!"

Xia Lengyue threw herself at the spot where Ye Xuan had disappeared, her hands clawing frantically at the air, trying to grasp even the slightest trace of his aura.

But there was nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Not even a single ripple of spiritual energy was left behind.

He was really gone.

He didn't want her anymore.

He thought she was dirty.

"Ye Xuan! Come back! Come back to me!"

"You are mine! You can only be mine!"

"Who allowed you to go! Who allowed you to leave me!"

Xia Lengyue knelt on the ground, screaming at the sky.

Two trails of bloody tears slid down her breathtakingly beautiful face, dripping onto her bright red wedding dress and blooming into a shocking, dark crimson patch.

"Pfft!"

Overcome by extreme agitation, she violently spat out a mouthful of blood, her cultivation base actually showing signs of instability.

"Haha... hahaha... hahahaha!"

Suddenly.

She laughed.

The laughter was mournful and manic, like the cry of a night owl.

She stood up unsteadily, her hair disheveled and her face covered in bloodstains.

She looked at the guests and disciples below the stage, who were silent as winter cicadas and wearing expressions of terror.

"He said we owe each other nothing?"

"He said we would never see each other again until death?"

Xia Lengyue tilted her head, the last glimmer of reason in her eyes completely extinguishing.

Replaced by bottomless darkness and madness.

"Dream on."

"Ye Xuan, you are dreaming."

"Pass down my decree!"

Xia Lengyue's voice was hoarse and gloomy, echoing throughout the entire Azure Cloud Sect and the entire Eastern Continent:

"Exhaust the entire sect's power! Hunt down Ye Xuan!"

"I want to see him alive, or see his corpse if he's dead!"

"Even if you have to turn over the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths!"

"I will... drag him back!"

"I'm going to lock him to a bed! I'm going to break his legs! I'm going to gouge out his eyes! I will make him spend the rest of his life... only able to look at me! Only belonging to me!"

Rumble!

Following her furious roar, thunder rolled in the sky above the Azure Cloud Sect, and blood-red clouds bore down on the city.

This day.

Which was supposed to be a day of great rejoicing.

Became the beginning of the darkest day for the Azure Cloud Sect and even the entire Azure Continent's cultivation world.

The unbearably arrogant "Blood Rakshasa" Xia Lengyue.

Had completely... gone mad.

Great Qian Dynasty, northern frontier.

An ancient and dense primeval forest. Towering ancient trees obscured the sky and sun, and thick moss lay like a green carpet across the winding paths.

Sunlight filtered through the overlapping leaves, casting mottled shadows that danced like shattered gold on Ye Xuan's face.

Ye Xuan stood beneath a massive redwood tree and took a deep breath.

The spiritual energy here was so thin it was almost negligible. To a cultivator, this place was like a parched desert, a suffocating deadland.

But Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth curving into an unprecedented smile that came from the depths of his soul.

"So this is... the taste of freedom."

He opened his arms, feeling the touch of the breeze brushing past his cheeks.

No prying spiritual senses, no monitoring from the Concentric Curse, and no crazy woman who would pin him down at any moment.

Even though this was the mortal realm, even though the air here was terribly murky, to Ye Xuan's nose, it was ten thousand times sweeter than the medicinal fragrance that lingered for ten thousand years on Cold Moon Peak.

"The most dangerous place is the safest place."

At this moment, Xia Lengyue was probably frantically searching for his traces in major secret realms or cultivation holy lands rich in spiritual energy.

She would absolutely never imagine that a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator pursuing immortality would willingly hide in this spiritually barren mortal dynasty to be an ordinary person.

"Since I'm here, I might as well settle down."

Ye Xuan adjusted his clothes. By now, he had concealed all his cultivator aura.

His bridegroom's Dharma robe had already been put away, replaced by a simple cyan cloth gown he casually bought at a roadside tailor shop.

An unsharpened iron sword hung at his waist, and he held a wine gourd in his hand.

At first glance, he looked like a down-and-out wandering swordsman roaming the martial world.

"From today onwards, my name is not Ye Xuan."

He tilted his head back and took a gulp of the mortal world's murky wine. It was spicy going down his throat, but it burned with a warm feeling in his chest.

"My name is Ye Xiaoyao."

Great Qian Dynasty, Falling Cloud City.

Along both sides of the street, shops stood in great numbers, and banners fluttered in the wind.

The mortal world was bustling with a cacophony of voices.

"Candied hawthorns for sale! Big and sweet candied hawthorns!"

"Top-quality rouge and powder, would the young lady like to take a look?"

"Freshly baked flatbreads! Fragrant and delicious flatbreads!"

Various hawking sounds, horse hooves, and bargaining noises intertwined.

Ye Xuan strolled through the crowd.

He wore an exquisitely textured moon-white brocade robe, a warm mutton-fat jade pendant hanging at his waist, a longsword strapped to his back, and his long hair tied up with a simple wooden hairpin.

A peerlessly handsome face, coupled with an otherworldly temperament radiating from his bones, made him the focus of the crowd wherever he went.

"What a handsome young master!"

"I wonder which noble family's son has come out to travel."

"Look at his eyes, they're so bright."

The girls upstairs pushed open their windows, shyly tossing down handkerchiefs and scented sachets.

Ye Xuan reached out and caught a falling begonia flower, smiling faintly at the beauties upstairs, drawing a chorus of gasps.

He was very rich now.

His storage ring was piled high with vast amounts of gold and silver. These things, which were like dirt in the cultivation world, were hard currency here.

Thus, he lived an extremely extravagant life.

The best inn, the number one Heaven-grade room, he booked it.

The most expensive restaurant, signature dishes served like running water, taking only a single bite of each.

Listening to music, admiring flowers, boating on the lake.

He was using this kind of retaliatory spending to make up for the repressed time of these past years.

He just stopped and went like this, like a true wandering swordsman, and also like a silk-pants young master who didn't know the suffering of the mortal world.

Until the fifth day.

The south of the city, the edge of the slums.

There was no prosperity of Vermilion Bird Street here. The air was filled with the sour stench of sewers and the smoky smell of cheap coal.

Ye Xuan arrived in front of an inconspicuous noodle stand.

"Boss, a bowl of plain noodles, extra chopped green onions, and add an egg."

Ye Xuan lifted the hem of his robe and sat on the somewhat greasy wooden stool without putting on any airs.

"Alright! Please wait a moment, guest!"

The boss was a simple and honest middle-aged man, and he nimbly cooked the noodles.

The steaming noodles were quickly brought over. It was a clear broth with floating emerald green onions, a few drops of sesame oil, and a golden fried egg.

Ye Xuan picked up his chopsticks, just about to feast.

Suddenly, a faint, barely discernible rotting stench drifted over.

He frowned slightly and turned his head.

He saw a ragged figure standing by the pillar of the noodle stand, not knowing when they had arrived.

It was a young girl.

About eighteen years old, her figure was so emaciated that it seemed a gust of wind could blow her over.

The clothes on her body could no longer show their original color. They were covered in patches and holes, revealing purplish bruises and pale skin underneath.

Her hair was messy, tangled together like withered grass, and her face was covered in black grime.

But her eyes were the only exception.

Although filled with fear, longing, and despair, one could still see their original clarity. The eye shape was standard almond eyes. If she washed clean, she would surely be a delicate beauty.

She stared fixedly at the noodles in Ye Xuan's bowl, her throat bobbing up and down uncontrollably, letting out a loud gulping sound.

Ye Xuan put down his chopsticks.

He didn't speak, just looked at her quietly.

The young girl seemed to have mustered all the courage in her life, walking over unsteadily. With every step, she seemed to endure some tremendous pain, her legs trembling unnaturally.

She walked up to Ye Xuan's table. Instead of begging, she spoke in a low voice, her tone humble to the dust:

"Sir... Young master..."

"Could you please reward me with a bowl of noodles?"

Her voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of a tremor, her fingers tightly clutching the hem of her clothes until her knuckles turned white.

"After I finish eating... I can sleep with you."

"Whatever you want to do... is fine."

The surrounding diners burst into a roar of laughter.

"It's this crazy girl again."

"Why doesn't she take a look at herself in a puddle of piss? With that face, she wants to sleep with the young master?"

"Hahaha, don't ruin the young master's appetite!"

Ye Xuan did not laugh.

His gaze calmly swept over the girl's bloodshot eyes, and then looked at her hands, covered in chilblains from the cold.

He was very familiar with this kind of look.

It was the look of someone whose dignity had been completely crushed, leaving only the instinct to survive.

"Boss."

Ye Xuan withdrew his gaze, his voice flat:

"Get her a bowl of noodles."

"Put extra chopped green onions and add two eggs."

The boss froze for a moment, looked at the filthy girl, then at the brightly dressed Ye Xuan, and sighed:

"Guest, you have a kind heart. But this girl..."

"Hurry up and make the noodles."

Ye Xuan interrupted him, tossing a piece of broken silver onto the table. "Keep the change."

"Ah! Right away!"

Seeing the silver, the boss said no more and quickly brought over a bowl full to the brim with noodles.

The moment the girl saw the noodles, the light that burst from her eyes was even fiercer than that of a starving wolf.

She didn't even care about the heat, directly reaching out with her dirty hands to grab the noodles and stuff them into her mouth.

"Slurp... slurp..."

The boiling hot noodles, mixed with the broth, were wolfed down into her stomach.

She ate too fast and choked, but she didn't dare to stop. She pounded her chest hard, forcefully swallowing it down, tears squeezing out from the choking.

Ye Xuan looked at her and pushed his own untouched bowl of noodles in front of her as well.

"Eat slowly."

The girl paused, looking up at Ye Xuan with eyes full of disbelief.

But hunger quickly overcame reason; she grabbed the second bowl of noodles and continued eating madly.

She even drank the broth until not a single drop was left.

With two bowls of noodles in her stomach, the girl finally seemed to come alive.

She let out a burp, slumped onto the ground, and a look of complete satisfaction appeared on her face, as if she could die without regrets.

But immediately after, as if remembering something, she hurriedly scrambled up and awkwardly wiped the grease from her mouth.

"I... I'm full."

She lowered her head, not daring to look at Ye Xuan, her voice as faint as a mosquito:

"Sir... where... where are we going to sleep?"

"That alley over there is fine... or... right under this table is okay too..."

Ye Xuan looked at her, frowning slightly:

"How many days has it been since you last ate?"

"Three... three days." The girl held up three scrawny fingers. "But I keep my word. I ate two bowls of your noodles, so I will definitely sleep with you twice. I won't renege on my debt."

Ye Xuan fell silent.

He looked at the girl's face. Although dirty and messy, one could still see its youthful contours.

Eighteen years old.

The blooming age of a flower.

In the Azure Cloud Sect, eighteen-year-old female disciples would be wearing beautiful silk skirts, catching butterflies among the flowers, blushing over a single glance from a senior brother.

Yet in this mortal corner, an eighteen-year-old girl was selling herself like rotting meat just for two bowls of noodles.

"Boss."

Ye Xuan turned his head, looking at the noodle stall boss who was clearing the bowls and chopsticks:

"Has she always been like this?"

The boss sighed, wiped his hands with a rag, his eyes showing some pity:

"Alas, this girl is named Huang Ying. She's a poor soul too."

"She used to be the daughter of a well-off family in this Jinling City. It's just a pity that two years ago, her parents both died of a plague. The family's shop was seized by her black-hearted uncles, and she was kicked out."

"A weak woman, wandering the streets, what could she do?"

"At first, she could still do some mending for people, but later..." The boss shook his head and lowered his voice, "Later, she was sold to a brothel."

"In order to survive, she could only... sigh."

The boss glanced at Ye Xuan, hesitated for a moment, and then leaned in to say:

"Young master, it's fine that you are kind-hearted enough to give her a meal. But absolutely do not touch her."

"She contracted a venereal disease and was thrown out by the brothel."

"Several parts of her body have festered. I heard she doesn't have many days left to live."

Boom.

The girl trembled all over, as if struck by lightning.

She jerked her head up, looking at Ye Xuan in terror, deeply afraid of seeing disgust and revulsion on his face.

She hurriedly waved her hands, explaining incoherently:

"No... it's not like that... I didn't mean to trick you..."

"I... I was just too hungry..."

"Please don't hit me... don't make me throw up the noodles..."

As she spoke, her whole body shook, tears washing two white streaks down her filthy face.

Ye Xuan looked at her quietly.

No disgust.

No disdain.

Only a kind of sorrow, looking through time at his past self.

Ye Xuan whispered softly to himself.

He took out a heavy silver ingot from his robes—a full fifty taels.

He pulled the girl's dirty, chilblain-covered hand over and placed the silver in her palm.

The silver was cold, but the girl's hand was shockingly hot; she was running a fever.

"Take it."

Ye Xuan's voice was very soft, yet carried an unquestionable power:

"Go to the best medical clinic and get your illness cured."

"Use the remaining money to start a small business, or leave this place."

The girl was dumbfounded.

She held the silver ingot as if holding a red-hot branding iron.

She trembled even more violently, her teeth chattering:

"Wh... why?"

"I... I'm sick... I'm very dirty..."

"Why are you giving me so much silver?"

Ye Xuan stood up, picked up the sword on the table, and slung it onto his back.

He looked at the bustling crowd in the distance, his gaze profound:

"It's nothing."

"Just consider it... a debt the people of this world owe you."

After saying that, he didn't stay any longer, turning around and blending into the flow of people.

Leaving only the girl kneeling blankly in place, holding the silver in her hands, her tears falling like rain.