Chapter 3

Snow City is located at the northernmost edge of the vast Cangmiao Continent. It is covered in snow throughout the year, and usually only some ordinary cultivators come here to exchange spiritual beast pelts. Higher-level cultivators rarely visit this frigid place.

Outside the city, there are several small villages, mainly inhabited by hunters. They hunt spiritual beasts in the snowy mountains and exchange their pelts for provisions in the city.

Nan Yuan carried Xu Xiaotang, walking on the pure white snow, leaving a trail of footprints and making a creaking sound with each step.

Suddenly, a black shadow flashed through the snowy forest.

To others, the speed seemed as fast as the wind, but to Nan Yuan, it appeared as if a staggering baby

She called out to the shadow, “Hey, kid, I have a question for you.”

The shadow hesitated for a moment and ran even faster.

Nan Yuan walked calmly, and in the blink of an eye, she reached the front of the shadow.

Then, she reached out and blocked its way.

The dark figure crashed into her palm and fell to the ground.

The dynamic shadow turned into a static figure.

Indeed, it was a… child.

The child had a slender body and looked like a ten-year-old, knocked down by Nan Yuan’s palm. His unkempt hair scattered around, and his clothes, a size too small, revealed a large portion of his arms and legs. He wore worn-out grass shoes, and the exposed parts of his skin were already bruised and frostbitten in this cold city outside the snow.

If it weren’t for cultivators, an ordinary person dressed so lightly would have frozen to death long ago.

But this person had no trace of a cultivator’s aura; he was clearly an ordinary individual.

Under the dirty hair, a pair of jet-black eyes looked through the dense hair towards Nan Yuan.

The gaze was alert and sharp, extremely sinister.

When the sharp, sinister gaze saw Nan Yuan’s appearance clearly, it froze for a moment and then became even more vicious.

Nan Yuan found the expression amusing, but she couldn’t laugh. She had a poker face.

Just as she approached, a foul smell emanated from the dirty child, and Nan Yuan, somewhat disgusted, took a few steps back.

She was a bit of a neat freak.

Her actions caused a mocking expression to appear in his fierce eyes.

“There he is!” Someone suddenly shouted from a distance.

Upon hearing the voice, the dirty child’s gaze hardened. He got up and continued running forward.

Four or five individuals, all around the age of twelve or thirteen, had caught the dirty child and were beating him with punches and kicks, uttering words laced with venom.

“You little wretch, you run so fast! Keep running! If you steal food from my house again, I’ll beat you to death, you little wretch!”

“Don’t even mention it; this freak is tough as nails. No matter how much you beat him, he won’t die!”

“Last time, he even stole and ate the shit my hunting dog dropped, smearing his mouth with poop. My goodness, it made me sick!”

“Oh my god, this thing eats shit! Hahaha, truly a little wretch, specializing in eating dog crap…”

The dirty child’s hand was pressed down by a foot, and that foot pressed hard a few times until the object the child had tightly held finally slipped out of his grasp.

It was a piece of dried meat from some unknown spiritual beast.

The dirty child on the ground remained silent, curled up into a ball.

Nan Yuan squinted slightly, not making a move yet. However, Xu Xiaotang, nestled in her arms, couldn’t hold back and made an indignant squeaking sound.

When there were outsiders around, Xu Xiaotang dared not speak human words.

“Do you think this child is pitiful?”

“Squeak, squeak, squeak!” (So pitiful, Wuwuwu.)

“In a world where the strong prey on the weak, the weak deserve to be beaten,” she often said, beating those short-sighted ants.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak.” (Yuanyuan, did you forget? We’re supposed to do good deeds.)

Nan Yuan’s lips twitched imperceptibly. “Fine, I’ll go along with you; let’s save him.”

In fact, if she hadn’t intervened just now, he probably would have escaped by now.

Nan Yuan flicked her fingers, and several kids flew out instantly.

The kids cried out in pain. As soon as they saw Nan Yuan, a beauty like a celestial, they were all stunned.

They had never seen such a beautiful woman; she must be an aristocrat from the city!

Pei Yueying’s appearance was indeed outstanding. As someone who cared about her looks, even as a martial cultivator, she took good care of herself. Her skin was as delicate as jade, her eyes held a hint of autumn, and her lips resembled lotus petals…

“Fairy, don’t be fooled by this ugly thing! He often steals things and is a freak!”

The leader of the kids got up from the ground, ran over, grabbed the dirty child’s hair, and revealed his face.

Nan Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

Earlier, the child’s face was covered by his hair, and she hadn’t seen it clearly. She didn’t expect him to have this appearance.

He really is… a unique little being.