The street outside the noodle stall trembled with sudden violence.
Angry voices sliced through the air.
"Li Yulan! Come out and pay what you owe!"
"Three years of interest—you think you can hide forever, woman?"
Lin Yun stepped to the doorway, face calm and unreadable.
"Don't go outside," he said quietly to Madam Li. "I'll handle it."
She gripped the counter edge, knuckles white, but gave a single nod.
Three men stood in the dusty street. The leader was tall and broad, a heavy saber at his hip. His two companions looked smaller, rougher—typical loan shark muscle.
Lin Yun walked forward slowly, hands loose at his sides.
"Dear guests," he said politely, "may I ask what the problem is?"
The tall man sneered.
"This doesn't concern you, pretty boy. F*ck off before I make you."
"I'm the new worker here," Lin Yun replied evenly. "I believe I can help. Please explain the issue."
The man laughed harshly.
"So the b*tch can't pay her debt, but she can afford to hire a toy like you? Brothers, let's go in. I'll teach her some manners."
He took one step forward.
Lin Yun's eyes turned cold—quiet, absolute.
"Don't take another step if you value your life. Just tell me the amount. I'll pay it."
The tall man's pride flared. Face reddening, he roared and swung his saber in a wide arc.
"Die, kid!"
The blade whistled.
Lin Yun shifted—barely. The saber passed through empty air.
The man blinked. "Oh? You've got some skills—"
Lin Yun glanced once at Madam Li inside the shop. She watched with wide, worried eyes. He gave the slightest nod—everything is fine.
Then he moved.
Two light taps—almost casual—against the stomachs of the two subordinates.
They folded like broken dolls, collapsing to the dirt, gasping, unable to rise.
The tall man staggered back, saber trembling.
"I'll ask one last time," Lin Yun said, voice low and cold. "How much is the debt?"
The man swallowed. "F-five… five gold coins."
Lin Yun nodded once.
With a casual wave, faint green vitality flowed from his palm. The two fallen thugs inhaled sharply—their pain vanished, bodies no longer paralyzed.
The tall man's face drained of color. He dropped to his knees, saber clattering.
"I-immortal! A cultivator has descended! Please forgive this lowly one, senior—I didn't recognize your greatness!"
"Stand up," Lin Yun said flatly.
The man scrambled to his feet, head bowed.
"How much did she actually borrow?"
The thug hesitated, voice shaking. "O-only… one gold coin…"
"And the other four?"
"I-interest… from the loan. That's how it works here, senior. The rates—"
Lin Yun released the faintest trace of his aura.
The air thickened. Gravity pressed down. The three men gasped, knees buckling again.
"You will pay her original debt from your own pocket," Lin Yun said softly. "Understand?"
The tall man nodded frantically, sweat pouring.
"Y-yes, senior! Right away!"
They fled—half-running, half-stumbling—without looking back.
The street fell silent.
Lin Yun exhaled once, aura retracting.
"That should be enough," he said quietly. "They won't trouble you again."
Madam Li stepped out slowly, eyes wide with shock.
"Lin… you're a cultivator?"
He turned to her, expression as calm as before.
"Yes."
She swallowed. "Then I should call you—"
"No," he interrupted gently. "No i am not bind with this so called customs. Just Lin Yun."
She stared at him for a long moment, then let out a small, shaky laugh—relief and disbelief tangled together.
"So… what do you plan to do now?"
He considered for a few seconds.
"Honestly? This world and cultivation are still new to me. I think I'll stay by your side for a while. I want to see more of Tianyuan".
Her eyes widened in surprise.
Then—slowly—a small, genuine smile curved her lips.
"Alright," she said softly. "Let's go."
the sun had dipped low, painting the sky in shades of orange and deep purple.
They had spent the afternoon quietly preparing—packing what little they owned, settling the stall's final accounts with a few neighbors, and saying muted goodbyes to the handful of people who still dared speak to Madam Li.
Now, in the quiet of the small courtyard, Madam Li sat on a stone bench, staring at her hands.
Lin Yun stood a short distance away, watching her without speaking.
She finally looked up, voice low.
"When those men came… I thought I would have to fight again. With nothing left in my dantian, nothing but this body that once commanded armies."
She gave a small, bitter smile.
"I was a general, Lin Yun. Qi Refining 1st Layer. No sect, no family—just me, my soldiers, and the battlefield. They followed me because I never asked them to do what I wouldn't. And then… the royal family took it all. Shattered my cultivation. Left me with this scar and a lifetime of hiding."
She touched her cheek where the scar had once been—now smooth, flawless.
"You gave that back to me today. Not just the face… the dignity. I don't know how to repay that."
Lin Yun's expression remained unchanged—calm, distant, almost detached.
"You don't have to repay anything," he said simply. "No one should live with their past carved into their skin."
She looked at him for a long time, eyes searching his face for any crack in that stoic mask.
There was none.
Finally she nodded, voice soft but steady.
"Then let's leave this place behind. Together."
The next morning, they were ready.
Madam Li emerged from the back room with three large bags, a basket, and a small wooden chest.
Lin Yun stared.
"Are you traveling… or moving your entire house?"
She flushed, cheeks pink. "I—I didn't know what to leave behind…"
He shook his head once, almost amused, and raised his hand.
The bags, basket, and chest vanished into thin air—stored in the spatial space within the Blessed Land.
Madam Li's mouth fell open.
"A storage treasure?" she breathed. "You must be from a sect disciple."
Lin Yun's voice was quiet.
"I'm an orphan."
She blinked. "Then how…?"
He didn't answer the question.
Instead: "What are these cultivation sects?"
She looked at him in genuine astonishment.
"Only powerful families and sect disciples possess such treasures. The sects are the true rulers of this continent—even the imperial family bows to them."
"You seem to know a lot for a noodle shop owner," he said, tone neutral.
She fell silent, gaze dropping.
Lin Yun didn't press.
"I won't ask about your past," he said gently. "Just tell me about the sects."
She took a slow breath.
"There are five major branch sects on this continent. Two ruled by spiritual beasts: Black Fang Valley and Crimson Claw Peak. Three by humans: Iron Cloud Sect, Jade River Pavilion, and Azure Stone Gate. They're not the main sects from the Immortal Continent—just their distant branches. But even these branches are enough to make the imperial family kneel. Their true locations are secret—ordinary people aren't supposed to know where they are."
Lin Yun nodded once.
"Then we'll leave it for now. Where should we go first?"
They began walking—on foot, for now.
After some hours , Madam Li slowed, breathing harder.
Lin Yun glanced at her.
"Rest if you need to."
She sat on a roadside stone, wiping her brow.
He looked at her, then spoke lightly:
"How can you be so poor after selling noodles for years?"
The words were teasing, but soft.
Her smile was sad.
"Whenever I saved money… I donated it to the orphanage."
Lin Yun's expression didn't change, but something flickered deep in his eyes—quiet shame.
"…Then I shouldn't have said that," he murmured. "I should have done the same."
Silence settled between them—comfortable, not heavy.
Then—
A sharp, terrified scream echoed from the nearby woods.
Lin Yun's calm vanished instantly.
His golden eyes sharpened.
"Something's wrong."
He moved—fast, silent—toward the source of the cry.
Madam Li hurried after him.
What he saw next made even his stoic face tighten.
End of Chapter