As she was thinking, a cultivator entered the marketplace entrance. He looked quite bewildered as he stared at the crisscrossing streets.
Suddenly, an eight- or nine-year-old boy rushed out from the opposite side, looking as if he was about to reach the cultivator.
A hand reached out from the side and yanked him straight back.
The hand moved, and a young girl stepped out from behind it to approach the cultivator.
“Senior, is this your first time at the Wushuang City marketplace? Do you need a guide? I can show you around for one low-grade spirit stone a day.”
Gu Ningyun's gaze fell on the owner of that hand—a girl about thirteen years old.
At that moment, the girl was scolding the boy who had just rushed out.
The job of receiving and attending to people at the marketplace entrance had existed for a long time, and it was always held by these children who couldn't find work in the shops.
This thirteen-year-old girl was likely their leader.
The number of newcomers to the marketplace each day was limited. To ensure their income, they would intentionally restrict new people from joining.
If someone didn't follow the rules and tried to snatch a customer, the boy with the bruised face was a perfect example.
Even before stepping onto the path of cultivation, Gu Ningyun had already faced repeated setbacks in earning spirit stones.
She sighed and made a list on paper of the personalities of all the children in this group.
She focused her brush on a little girl with a red hair tie, drawing a circle around her.
After waiting patiently for ten days, the right moment finally arrived.
The girl with the red hair tie had finished guiding a young cultivator, and they were about to part ways.
The young man was well-dressed, but unexpectedly, he turned out to be a deadbeat.
He dragged the girl with the red hair tie into a deserted corner, intending to take back that low-grade spirit stone.
Naturally, the girl refused, clutching it tightly and refusing to let go.
One could not use spirit energy for combat in the marketplace, but through brute force alone, the girl was no match for the young cultivator.
During the struggle, the girl fell to the ground.
The young man grew impatient and raised his hand to strike.
Gu Ningyun rushed over immediately, hugging the girl and taking the slap with her cheek. “No bullying!”
“Where did this little brat come from? Mind your own business!
Get out of the way! If you don't, I'll beat you too!”
“No!”
Spirit energy flickered in the young man's palm for an instant, and a faint sense of danger filled the air.
He stiffened, withdrew his spirit energy, and grabbed Gu Ningyun's left shoulder to tear her away.
This girl with the red hair tie was her foot in the door. Gu Ningyun risked her life to protect her, holding on so tightly that no matter how the young man yanked, he couldn't pull her off.
A bone-shattering pain radiated from her left shoulder, and cold sweat poured down her forehead.
Hearing a faint cracking sound, the girl with the red hair tie was terrified.
“Stop! Stop! I'll give you the spirit stone!”
Only then did the young man stop. “That’s more like it. Hand it over.”
The girl pulled the spirit stone from her robe and handed it over.
In the instant the young cultivator let his guard down to take the spirit stone...
Gu Ningyun snatched it back and ran toward the crowded area outside.
As she ran, she shouted, “Help! Murder for a spirit stone! Help! He's killing someone for a spirit stone!”
The young cultivator's face darkened, and he immediately gave chase.
The onlookers were still stunned, and Gu Ningyun's speed was no match for the young man.
With quick eyes and hands, she lunged and hugged the leg of a female cultivator who was browsing a children's stall.
“Mother! Help me, Mother! Someone is trying to kill me and steal my spirit stone!”
Suddenly having her leg hugged, the female cultivator instinctively tried to push the child away out of defensive reflex.
But hearing those words, for some reason, her heart felt strangely pained.
She looked coldly at the young man rushing toward them. “Do you intend to fight in the marketplace?”
“That little brat by your side stole my spirit stone. I'm just taking back what belongs to me.”
“You clearly spent one low-grade spirit stone when you entered the marketplace to hire this little girl with the red hair tie as your guide.
After she finished guiding you for the day, you suddenly went back on your word, dragged her to a deserted corner, and tried to rob her of that stone.
I'm just stepping in to help someone in need!”
The surrounding cultivators hissed in disapproval.
“If you can't even afford a single low-grade spirit stone, what are you doing in the marketplace?”
“He might be a thief. Fellow Daoists, you’d better watch your storage bags. Be careful he doesn't use a spell to isolate your divine sense and swipe them.”
“Some people are like this—they look like refined gentlemen, but in reality, they bully the weak and have despicable character!”
“Nonsense! That's not what happened!”
The young man's face and neck turned blood-red with rage, and he lunged forward to grab Gu Ningyun.
The female cultivator raised a hand and pushed him back. “Are you lashing out in shame and trying to start a fight?”
“This is none of your business! Move!”
“She called me Mother. You tell me if it's my business.”
“This is your daughter?”
The young man looked the female cultivator and Gu Ningyun up and down, then glanced at the crowd surrounding them. Gritting his teeth, he remained still for a moment.
“Sir, this is the person who broke the marketplace rules and hit someone.
He paid me a spirit stone to guide him, but then he tried to steal it back when we were done.
Every word I say is the truth. The workers in the dozen or so shops I took him to can all testify for me.
If this little girl hadn't rushed out to help me, I would have been beaten to death!”
This voice was loud, and everyone looked toward the source.
Seeing that the speaker was the girl with the red hair tie, and hearing her speak with such conviction and mention witnesses...
Combined with what they had just seen, they believed her almost entirely.
Then, seeing the marketplace enforcement team following behind the girl with the red hair tie, everyone stepped aside to let them through.
When the young man saw the enforcement team, he turned to flee.
The moment he ran, their near-certainty turned into absolute belief.
The enforcement team immediately bound him with an immortal-binding rope. After questioning him about the situation, they took him away.
Gu Ningyun let go of the female cultivator's hand and immediately gave her a deep kowtow.
“Thank you, Senior, for protecting me and saving my life.”
Before her head could hit the ground, the female cultivator pulled her up.
“Child, what are you doing?
I also have a daughter about your age. I cannot stand to see such bullying.”
She checked Gu Ningyun's wrist and frowned.
She gently placed her hand on Gu's left shoulder. “Don't be afraid.”
Before Gu Ningyun could understand what she meant, a soul-tearing pain radiated from her left shoulder.
She tried her best to hold back a cry of pain.
When the female cultivator let go, the pain slowly faded. She tentatively moved her arm; the stiffness was gone.
“Your shoulder and arm were slightly dislocated. I popped them back into place.”
The female cultivator pulled out a small jade bottle and placed it in Gu Ningyun's hand. “You are a mortal, so you cannot use pills.
Apply this ointment to your face and shoulder twice a day, morning and night.
The injury on your face will be healed by tomorrow. The shoulder injury affected the bone, so you must apply the medicine for a month.”
“Senior...” Gu Ningyun stared at her blankly, finding herself at a rare loss for words.
“It's just an ointment I made for practice. It's not worth many spirit stones. Don't worry about it.”
The female cultivator crouched down to pick her up. “Where do you live? I'll take you back.”
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