At exactly seven o'clock in the evening, darkness began to envelop the slums on the outskirts of the city. Wei Yan stood silently in the shadows, his sharp eyes locked on the figure of a patched woman sitting frozen in front of her shack. Under the dim flickering streetlight, Wei Yan noticed something even more tragic: the woman's skin was covered in bluish bruises, contrasting with the rainbow glow that had just seeped in. The wounds appeared fresh, likely inflicted by the violence of those closest to her who were supposed to protect her.
Curious, Wei Yan activated his esoteric vision, examining the woman's bone structure and meridian flow more closely. The next instant, Wei Yan's breath caught in his throat—a surprise he had rarely felt during his travels across dimensions.
"Huh?! The Xuanyin Body?!" Wei Yan thought, his eyes widening. "Isn't this one of the physiques considered the highest for women in most of the cultivator multiverses I've visited? It's said that besides having limitless cultivation potential, the benefits of dual cultivation with the owner of this body will grant an immeasurable increase in strength to the partner! What an unexpected asset to find in such a desolate place."
Wei Yan grinned faintly. The spot on the woman's face was merely a natural "seal," or perhaps a disguise of destiny to protect the overly dazzling pearl. However, as he was admiring the precious find, the sound of heavy, unsteady footsteps broke the silence.
A middle-aged man in shabby clothes staggered toward the woman's hut, carrying a bottle of liquor, his mouth babbling incoherently. His face was filled with anger dulled by the alcohol.
"This must be her unlucky relative," Wei Yan muttered coldly, his gaze turning flat.
To better understand the woman's situation, Wei Yan decided to remain in the shadows and let what happened between them unfold naturally. He wanted to see how much this "trash" had damaged his precious asset.
As soon as the drunk man reached the hut's door, the woman with the patch stood up, her body trembling violently, her hands clutching the hem of her tattered clothes. "F-Father... are you home?" Her voice was barely audible, filled with ingrained fear.
"Where's the money?!" the man snapped bluntly, his alcohol-laced breath hitting the woman's face. "Don't call me Father if you're empty-handed! Damn it, today was a really bad day at the gambling table. It's all gone!"
"But... but this afternoon, Father took the last of our money for food..." the woman groaned, taking a step back.
"Just make excuses, you ugly face!" The man raised his hand and delivered a hard slap, sending the woman crashing to the ground. "Your face alone is already bringing bad luck to me! Quickly give me what you're hiding!"
Hearing the commotion outside, a middle-aged woman with an equally pale face emerged from the hut. She immediately embraced her sprawled daughter. "Enough, Sir! Don't hit her anymore! She's worked all day at the market, and you've literally taken all her money!"
"Oh, so you want to be a hero now?" the man laughed sarcastically, his eyes red with uncontrollable rage. He grabbed the mother's hair roughly. "Listen, if it weren't for me marrying a widow like you and taking in your disabled child, you'd be dead on the streets! Now, give me some jewelry or anything I can sell, or I guarantee that tonight neither of you will see the sun rise again!"
"We have nothing left, Sir... please, have mercy on us..." the mother cried as the man's kick landed on her side.
Wei Yan, observing their interaction from afar, began to understand the disgusting dynamics unfolding before his eyes. The man was merely a stepfather—a parasite clinging to the lives of these two women, squeezing them to their breaking point. To Wei Yan, this was no longer just a family drama, but an insult to the owner of the Xuanyin Body, whom he should have revered.
"So, you consider yourself their savior because you married their mother?" Wei Yan muttered quietly in the shadows, the corners of his lips curling into a chilling smile. "You've blackmailed them, beaten them, and considered yourself the owner of their lives. What a perfect excuse for someone to 'disappear' from the face of the earth."
The sounds of beatings and groans of pain continued to echo from within the hut, causing the energy around Wei Yan to tremble under the pressure of the murderous intent he had suppressed.
Without thinking, Wei Yan dashed out of the darkness. The sound of his shoes hitting the ground sounded like a death sentence. Before the drunken man could land another blow on his mother, Wei Yan's hand gripped his wrist with a force that could crush steel.
"These filthy hands... you use them to hit a woman?" Wei Yan whispered, his voice low but vibrating the air around them.
"Who are you?! Let go! This is a family matter—"
CRACK!
A precise kick slammed into the man's knee, protruding his shinbone. The man howled in pain, but Wei Yan quickly silenced him with a flurry of punches to the ribs and face.
"Family? You don't even deserve to be called human," Wei Yan cursed, slamming the man's head against the wooden pillar of the hut. "You extort them, suck their blood for gambling, and now you dare to call yourself a hero? You disgusting piece of trash!"
Wei Yan beat him until the man was no longer able to scream, only the sound of shallow gasps and the sound of breaking bones echoed in the silence of the night. After the man collapsed in a mangled state, Wei Yan dumped him into the trash heap beside the hut like a corpse.
He then turned around. His cold, deadly expression evaporated, replaced by a calm yet intense gaze. Subtly, he released an aphrodisiac from his body, an energy frequency that triggered hormones of trust and instant attraction, and then targeted the woman with the mole.
"Are you all right?" Wei Yan asked softly. He approached and extended his hand.
The woman with the freckles stared at Wei Yan's trembling hand. As their fingers touched, a strange yet addictive warmth spread throughout her body. Her droopy eyes began to well up with tears, staring at Wei Yan as if he were the only light in the world.
"S-Sir... why did you help us? We are nothing..." the woman whimpered, her voice trembling with the sudden emotional dependence that had grown so strong.
"Because I saw something precious in you that those scum couldn't see," Wei Yan replied as he helped his mother to her feet.
"Thank you, son... thank you. We don't know how to repay you," the mother sobbed, clutching her bruised waist.
"You must go to the hospital now," Wei Yan asserted, his voice carrying undeniable authority. "You are very weak. You are severely malnourished, especially your mother. If she is left untreated for another night, her body will collapse."
"But we don't have any money... my stepfather already took everything," the woman with the patch said desperately, her hand unconsciously gripping Wei Yan's sleeve, as if afraid he would disappear if she let go.
"Don't think about it. From now on, no one will dare touch you," Wei Yan whispered right into her ear, making the woman with the patch's heart beat faster with a sense of security. "Come with me. I'll take care of everything."
The woman could only nod obediently, her eyes glued to Wei Yan's profile, feeling an invisible bond beginning to seal her fate.
"What was your name before?" Wei Yan asked in a much calmer tone, a stark contrast to the harshness he had just displayed.
The woman lowered her head, trying to hide her bruised and patchy face behind her dull hair. "N-Ning Shuang," she stammered.
Wei Yan smiled gently, an expression so sincere that it made Ning Shuang's heart flutter. "It's a beautiful name. Shuang means pure frost, right?"
"Thank you, Sir..."
"Why thank you? You should be proud of yourself for having such a beautiful name," Wei Yan interrupted gently.
"But..." Ning Shuang wrung her fingers. "But what?" Wei Yan pressed softly.
"M-my name... doesn't suit my appearance. People always make fun of me, saying this beautiful name is just a burden on my ugly face," Ning Shuang whispered in a tone full of self-deprecation.
Wei Yan paused for a moment, then took a step closer, his masculine, soothing scent enveloping Ning Shuang's senses. "Okay, I understand your perspective. But, if your appearance becomes as beautiful as your name, will you be with me forever?"
Ning Shuang's eyes widened. She looked up, meeting Wei Yan's eyes, which glinted with mystery yet seemed so sincere. "Ah... t-that... Master was joking?"
"It's okay. I'll prove it to you tomorrow. So, prepare yourself mentally because you'll be following me from now on. There will be no more of this hut, no more fear," Wei Yan said with undeniable finality.
"Um..." Ning Shuang nodded slowly, as if hypnotized by the promise the stranger had just made.
"Wait a moment, I need to call someone," Wei Yan said as he took a few steps away.
He took out his cell phone and called Li Yuantong. The call was answered on the first ring.
"Honey? You're not home yet?" Yuantong's voice came from the other end.
"There's been a slight change in plans. I've discovered a very valuable asset, the Xuanyin Body. I need you to send a private medical vehicle to the coordinates I sent you. There are two women who need intensive care and nutritional resuscitation," Wei Yan ordered matter-of-factly.
"Xuanyin Body? In a place like that?" Yuantong sounded surprised but quickly returned to his professional mode. "Okay, the car will be here in fifteen minutes. Is there anything else?"
Wei Yan glanced at the middle-aged man still unconscious on the pile of trash. His gaze turned completely cold. "There's one piece of trash that needs to be cleaned up. He's the stepfather who dared to touch my assets. Deal with him permanently. I never want to see him again in this city, or anywhere else."
"Understood, My Emperor. That piece of trash will be gone before dawn. What about accommodations for the two women?"
"Take them to the hospital for treatment tonight. And tomorrow afternoon, before my coming-of-age ceremony, I'll personally pick one of them up," Wei Yan concluded before ending the call.
He looked back at Ning Shuang, who was still standing there waiting for him, dependently. In Wei Yan's mind, he was already imagining how the Xuanyin Body's aura would explode once he had purged the "impurities" of destiny that were clogging the woman's potential before him.