Was it really that hard to find a moment of peace in this world? Although May occasionally indulged in the mentality of a hero from another world, at the moment it was more of a nuisance to her, and she would rather have some good meal and listen to some decent music than to solve another person's problems.

  “The scream came from that direction,” said Zihan Jin, leading May behind him. He seemed strangely excited, which was quite a departure from his usual behavior.

  Wait... Was he just pretending to be quiet and composed to appear more serious and capable than he really was? And as soon as the opportunity arose, he ran ahead to show how cool he was?

  May looked at him with pity. She thought that maybe it had something to do with the points in the sect. In the Eastern Court, there was no such thing, but in the Inner Court, you could get points that worked like currency for completing missions, but also for your activities.

  If he saved someone from oppression, would he get points for it?

  “Stay close to me!” he shouted unexpectedly into her ear, causing her to jump slightly to the side in fear.

  “Can you please not yell in my ear so out of the blue?!” she exclaimed in exasperation to the bald man.

  It was bad enough that he had gotten her into some trouble, but on top of that, he wasn’t even being the slightest bit polite. The man, however, didn’t bother to respond.

  May didn't have time to complain any longer, though, because they finally saw the source of the screaming, and now weeping.

  It was an elderly woman with a wrinkled face, clearly a hard-working woman. There were many signs that life had probably not been too kind to her so far. Her hair was wrapped in a green scarf, which she used to wipe the tears from her eyes.

  She was also surrounded by a crowd of people. Old and young, women and men, but also children. They noticed them approaching and looked at May and Zihan with concern, but also with distrust. May rolled her eyes, not wanting to interfere.

  Zihan, however, had a different opinion and without hesitation approached the crowd, standing right next to the crying woman.

  Baldy was about to speak, but suddenly a man from the crowd stepped forward and shielded the crying woman. He spread his hands as if to shield her. Many different emotions appeared on the man's face, from anger to fear.

  “Haven't you taken enough?! At least leave her alone, hasn't she suffered enough?” the man shouted at Zihan.

  May swallowed hard. Mortals speaking to cultivators in such a manner was not only tactless, but also an insult. Although theoretically it was not punishable by death, it was still a crime. She was afraid of how he would react. She did not want to see the man humiliated or sentenced to flogging.

  “I came because I heard a scream. Would you mind explaining what’s going on here?” he asked calmly, and May breathed a sigh of relief.

  Fortunately, he was more rational than she had thought.

  The man lowered his hand and looked around at the crowd. They just shrugged and nodded.

  “Her child...” he said, looking at the woman. “Was kidnapped. By a cultivator.”

  May was surprised to hear these words. Zihan remained calm, but May had a hunch that this was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

  “The cultivator... What did he look like?” Zihan asked, getting straight to the point, not wanting to waste any time.

  “He was short... Dark hair, he was an adult, but he looked like a child,” the man said uncertainly.

  “A vile... vile smile! A devil! His nails were black, like a devil's, and the fingernails were long!” the woman suddenly interjected, trying to digest the whole situation. “He had a tattoo on his neck with some kind of symbol... I don't recognize the particular sign, but it was something like a wave...”

  It certainly is an unusual appearance…

  Suddenly, another person from the crowd interjected. This time it was a little girl with two ponytails, eating the same shashlik that May had eaten earlier.

  “I saw him too!” she shouted. “He was wearing short green shorts and such an ugly shirt! I remember because it had a turtle drawn on it! He looked ridiculously funny!”

  “Wait, so his clothes were different from ours?” asked Zihan, pointing to his attire. The girl nodded in confirmation.

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  The older woman added, “Your clothes are nothing like his. It was just as the small one said.”

  “So he's not from our sect,” he said quietly.

  May only now understood. Every member of the sect wore the same kind of garments. It was a symbol of status, but also of affiliation. Could this mean that someone from outside the sect had abducted the child? An evil cultivator?

  “But then, how do you know he was a cultivator?” May suddenly butted in. Cultivators had methods to identify other cultivators. But ordinary people mainly relied on their clothes.

  “He touched the boy and he fell asleep! And lightning flashed from his legs! If he wasn't a cultivator, then what was he?!”

  “This is no time for nonsense! You're with us, right? He ran that way, along the river!” the man shouted.

  Zihan agreed and turned directly to May. “He's right, we don't have time to waste, don't stray too far from me.”

  With that, he was gone, running. May, caught up in the moment, ran after him. She couldn't keep up with him, but he was clearly holding back.

  Even if he wanted to play the hero, he hadn't forgotten his duty to protect May.

  But he's putting my life at risk. Even if he's doing it for a good cause, I have a feeling that there will be some nasty consequences for him.

  May was not in the habit of complaining about people who wanted to help others. In this case, however, she doubted Zihan's charitability and suspected that he was doing it for selfish reasons. Endangering her life was also a questionable move.

  And they said he was ‘trustworthy’. Ugh, you really can't trust anyone here.

  However, May was not going to argue. She had a soft spot for children, so if someone was really in trouble, she didn't mind helping.

  Running right behind Zihan, she decided to ask him something. “Do you think he's an evil cultivator?”

  So far, she had only met one evil cultivator, who belonged to the Three-Headed Snake Sect. She wondered if this kidnapper could also belong to them.

  “Unlikely,” he said after a moment. May had already gotten used to his modest vocabulary.

  “Why?” She decided to get more out of him.

  “This is the capital. It's not some village. Even evil cultivators aren't stupid enough to hang around here and openly kidnap someone.”

  “But he wasn't wearing our sect's clothes,” she replied.

  “Most people wear them, but not everyone. It's not a rule.”

  “So you think he belongs to our sect? This kidnapper?”

  Zihan looked at May angrily. “Of course not! Our sect is law-abiding!”

  May rolled her eyes.

  “Then who is he?”

  The man fell silent. May thought he wasn't going to answer. However, after a moment, he opened his mouth uncertainly.

  “Perhaps... he really is an evil cultivator.”

  “...”

  He really is stupid.

  May suddenly felt a vibration. It was a familiar feeling. Zihan had activated his [Qi Sense]. She had been able to recognize it for some time now. A type of cultivator's intuition had developed in her over time.

  “I think I've got them...” he said quietly, slightly quickening his pace. May had no choice but to speed up as well, despite already giving most of her strength.

  May also activated her [Qi Sense]. She hadn't kept it active all the time for a long time. It was too easy to be detected when using it. In the Eastern Court, it wasn't such a problem. Here, however, it was much more dangerous.

  May strained her abilities. She also noticed someone.

  “Hey, you there! Stop right now!” Zihan exclaimed in a slightly dramatic voice. “On behalf of the Island Mountain Sect, this is an official order.”

  They were getting closer. May heard a slight chuckle. For some reason, it sent a shiver down her spine. Finally, she saw a figure in the distance. It was a small person carrying a boy with spiky hair on his back.

  However, he himself was not much taller than the child, which made it look slightly comical. He seemed to be thin, but as mortals described it, there was something disturbing about him. Zihan did not seem to share her opinion. He seemed confident in the face of this mysterious individual.

  May stood behind them. A thought crossed her mind that she should keep her distance. So that she could escape if necessary.

  “You! Reveal your identity immediately!” Zihan shouted.

  The short man with a childish face just turned his head in surprise.

  May looked at the boy he had presumably abducted. His head was wrapped in a scarf, and he seemed to be sleeping soundly. Completely unconcerned about his fate.

  “I asked you a question!”

  “I heard you.”

  Neither of them seems talkative.

  “Did you kidnap this child?” May suddenly asked from a distance. Zihan looked at her angrily.

  This time he reacted, seeming to flinch slightly. “Kidnapped...? Well, you could say that.”

  “You...! I'm arresting you on behalf of the sect!” he said, moving closer to the individual. “Don't resist, or...”

  He fell to the ground. Zihan slammed his head loudly against the brick road, the impact strong enough to echo through the surrounding streets. May swallowed hard. Her flight instinct kicked in. However, he was staring at her.

  For some reason, she knew she couldn't turn her back on him. She would be defenseless then. Her mind told her to run, but her intuition screamed the same words: Don't run!

  “What a loudmouth. I hate people like that,” he said, approaching May, who was now standing still. “You, on the other hand... You're so young, but from the beginning you've shown more sense than that old geezer.”

  He was getting closer, and she could see him better. He looked so weak, but she had no doubts about him. He was strong, strong enough to knock Zihan unconscious without even touching him. Escape was pointless.

  “You asked if I abducted him...” He stood right in front of her. May swallowed again. “I took him against his will, but don't worry, I had a good reason...”

  A good reason to kidnap him...? What is he talking about?

  “You seem unconvinced. But that's understandable. My name is Fan Qi. I'm from the same sect as you.”

  May calmed down a little when she heard these words. Of course, she didn't fully believe him yet, but it was still a nice reassurance.

  “But... Why?”

  “I put him to sleep because he was annoying me. He wouldn't even listen to me and started throwing accusations around.” He snorted, looking at Zihan lying on the ground.

  “I didn't mean him...” May said, not particularly interested in him. “I meant why you kidnapped that child...”

  “Oh, yes. Well, it's not really your business...” he said. “But why not, actually. Haven't you noticed that winter has been somehow prolonged lately?”

  May looked at him in surprise, not knowing what the two things had to do with each other.