"Young Master, Young Master..." Mo Wuji, embracing Yan'er, could only hear her constantly murmuring those words.

Yan'er's eyes were vacant, her clothes tattered, emanating a foul odor. She kept calling out "Young Master," clearly not recognizing Mo Wuji but simply repeating the phrase over and over.

"Jing, Fei, Lan!" Mo Wuji practically spat out each syllable of those three words. He only knew that the woman who had taken Yan'er away was called Jing Feilan. Now Yan'er was living on the streets, even driven mad. If he didn't kill this woman, he wouldn't deserve to live in this world.

Yan'er was covered in filth, her hair withered and yellow. Mo Wuji held her in his arms; she couldn't have weighed more than a few dozen pounds. One could only imagine the suffering Yan'er had endured.

Fueled by inner rage, Mo Wuji clenched his fists, his fingernails digging into his palms, drawing blood. He was completely oblivious to the pain.

"Was it you who kicked Yan'er just now?" Mo Wuji, cradling Yan'er, rose to his feet and approached the man who had kicked her.

He had once vowed that Yan'er would never suffer again. But in the blink of an eye, she had endured such hardship. Not only had she become a homeless person without any awareness, but she was also being bullied at will. He would rather suffer himself than see Yan'er suffer. She had already suffered enough being with him.

The man glanced at Mo Wuji, coldly saying, "That's right, I kicked her. What can you do about it?"

"Crack! Ah (slap)..." Mo Wuji kicked the man's knee, and the sound of shattering bone echoed. Simultaneously, Mo Wuji slapped the man across the mouth. He could tolerate things happening to himself; he could wait for the right opportunity. But he couldn't tolerate Yan'er being bullied in front of him. Some things, when you can't and shouldn't endure, why endure at all?

The man's scream was cut short by Mo Wuji's slap. The man collapsed to the ground, clutching his leg, spitting out several teeth mixed with blood.

Because there were too many people and Mo Wuji was only on the periphery, shattering the man's knee only attracted the attention of those nearby, not spreading further.

Those around sensed Mo Wuji's ferocity and quickly cleared a space. Mo Wuji ignored the man, picked up Yan'er, and turned to leave.

"Is she your friend?" Shen Lian hurried over, asking in Mo Wuji's ear.

Mo Wuji was about to answer when he heard a gloomy voice say, "You think you can just leave after assaulting someone at the Yue Immortal Gate Assembly plaza?"

The speaker was a young man with a long face and narrow eyes, carrying a long sword on his back, his long hair tied in a Taoist knot, and wearing cloud boots. Mo Wuji had encountered many cultivators recently, and he could tell at a glance that this man was one.

"Wu Jingwu, what do you mean by this?" Shen Lian, standing beside Mo Wuji, rebuked angrily.

Mo Wuji now realized that this long-faced, narrow-eyed youth knew Shen Lian. It seemed that this guy was here to make trouble for him, likely because of Shen Lian.

Wu Jingwu looked at Shen Lian and said, "Junior Sister, you shouldn't associate with these lowly mortals; it will lower your status. Master has been looking for you, knowing you'd sneak to the Yue Immortal Gate Assembly. You don't need to test your spiritual roots at the Yue Immortal Gate Assembly. Even if you are accepted by another sect, do you think they'll still want you after I reveal your identity?"

After saying that, Wu Jingwu turned as if to call someone over.

Shen Lian said coldly, "Wu Jingwu, if you dare implicate Mo Wuji today, I will never let you off in this lifetime. I, Shen Lian, swear it here, and I mean it."

Wu Jingwu's face darkened. He looked at Mo Wuji and asked softly, "Who is this person?"

Mo Wuji said to Shen Lian, "Senior Sister Shen, I'll be leaving now. Perhaps we'll meet again."

After speaking, Mo Wuji quickly left, carrying Yan'er, without even acknowledging Wu Jingwu.

"Wuji, what's going on?" Ding Bu'er caught up.

Mo Wuji said to Ding Bu'er, "Bu'er, try your best to compete. If you are chosen by an immortal sect, that's a good thing."

"Okay, I'll come back as soon as I've been tested." Ding Bu'er didn't know who Yan'er was, but he had a general idea.

...

Mo Wuji returned to his lodging and immediately cleaned Yan'er. He didn't understand why Yan'er had become like this, but seeing her skin-and-bones appearance, he knew that if he hadn't happened to find her at the Yue Immortal Gate Assembly today, he might never have seen her again.

From the fact that Yan'er, even without her own awareness, kept calling out "Young Master," Mo Wuji knew that Yan'er had been looking for him. It was an obsession, an obsession that guided her to places with many people. In her subconscious, the chances of finding someone were certainly higher in crowded places.

He personally cooked some rice porridge and fed Yan'er. After Yan'er fell asleep, Mo Wuji went out and bought a pile of medicine and several sets of clothes for Yan'er.

He didn't know if he could cure Yan'er's condition.

In the evening, Ding Bu'er hadn't returned, but Shen Lian returned to the inn.

"I'm sorry, I implicated you today," Shen Lian apologized to Mo Wuji as soon as she returned.

Mo Wuji waved his hand. "It's nothing; after all, I wasn't implicated. Is that guy your Senior Brother?"

Mo Wuji said it lightly, but he also knew that he had been in danger at that time. Once he was noticed by any law enforcement immortal master, he would be dead. In front of those immortal masters, his life was not even worth that of an ant.

Shen Lian shook her head, not wanting to talk about Wu Jingwu. Instead, she looked at the medicine Mo Wuji was brewing and then at Mo Wuji's room, saying, "Can I go in and take a look at your friend?"

"Do you understand medicine?" Mo Wuji asked in confusion.

Shen Lian hesitated for a moment and then said, "My father is a Earth Pill Master..."

"What is an Earth Pill Master?" Mo Wuji was still confused.

Shen Lian stared at Mo Wuji, asking after a long while, "Aren't you an alchemist? You even spent 370,000 gold coins to buy a set of alchemy equipment. Don't you know what an Earth Pill Master is?"

Mo Wuji chuckled. "My status as an alchemist hasn't been certified. I just bought some medicinal herbs to practice."

Shen Lian speechless, rubbed her forehead and explained, "Pills are divided into nine grades of spiritual pills. First to third grade spiritual pills are Human Grade Spiritual Pills. Fourth to sixth grade are Earth Grade Spiritual Pills, seventh to ninth grade are Heaven Grade Spiritual Pills, and above ninth grade are Immortal Grade Spiritual Pills. Someone who can refine a first-grade spiritual pill is called a First-Grade Spiritual Pill Master, and so on. Someone who can refine a ninth-grade Heavenly Pill is a Ninth-Grade Heavenly Pill Master."

"Then an Earth Pill Master can at least refine fourth-grade Earth Spiritual Pills? What grade Earth Pill Master is your father? Is an Earth Pill Master very impressive?" Mo Wuji fired off several questions in succession.

Shen Lian was even more speechless, remaining silent for more than ten seconds before saying, "There isn't a single Heavenly Pill Master in the entire Stellar River Empire. Do you think an Earth Pill Master is very impressive?"

Mo Wuji quickly stood up and said to Shen Lian, "Please, Senior Sister Shen, help me go in and take a look at Yan'er."

"Her name is Yan'er? That's a beautiful name." Shen Lian said as she walked towards Mo Wuji's room. She wanted to know what kind of girl this Yan'er was that Mo Wuji was so concerned about.

She had lived with Mo Wuji for nearly a month. Although they hadn't interacted much, she understood Mo Wuji somewhat. Her appearance was definitely top-notch, and her figure made 99% of women jealous. But Mo Wuji's enthusiasm for her wasn't at all because of her appearance or figure. She knew very well that Mo Wuji's enthusiasm for her, even inviting her into the room, was because she knew more about cultivation than he did, not because she was a beautiful woman.
(Request for recommendation votes!)
...