The thin man seemed to receive a heavy blow, his entire arm trembling as he leaped back abruptly.

The newcomer was a young man in his twenties, tall in stature and unremarkable in appearance, but with bright, alert eyes – clearly no ordinary man. Moreover, his face was currently stern and dark, with every line of his eyes and brows radiating killing intent.

The thin man tensed. The monk gave a short whistle and laughed heartily: “Old monster, what’s wrong with you? Scared? Don’t you usually dare boast that your martial arts are invincible?”

The thin man snorted coldly, a shadow passing through his eyes. The monk had already rushed to the young man’s front, fingers formed into claws, reaching for his chest – people watching were terrified, as this stance looked like he intended to dig open his chest cavity…

Others cried out in alarm, but that young man was truly formidable. He stood in place with one hand behind his back, unmoving, while the other hand met the attack, receiving this palm strike with pure force.

When the two made contact, the monk’s eyes showed shock. Under that palm strike, the young man swayed slightly but remained completely steady, while the monk retreated several steps before stabilizing. The thin man said quietly: “Retreat first. We’ll find Master before making plans.”

The two looked coldly at the young man, then moved – in an instant they were at the door, then disappeared into the white expanse of rain outside.

The young man didn’t pursue them, just curved his lips slightly and remained standing in place.

The shop returned to calm in an instant, though people hadn’t recovered from that shock, staring directly at the purple-robed young man until the innkeeper called for waiters to clean up the broken tables and chairs.

Wuyan also stood frozen in place for a moment, while Xiang’er and several helpful customers in the shop helped the three guards to their feet.

“Miss…”

Finally, Xiang’er, who usually had considerable courage, called out timidly. She began trembling slightly all over, not from the earlier fear, but because of this man who had stepped in to rescue them – he was soaked through, raindrops still dripping from his temples, fiercely fixed on the direction of the door.

Finally, she cooled her voice slightly: “Huo Chang’an, what are you doing here?”

There might be many Huo Chang’ans in the world, but in all under heaven, there was only one Huo Chang’an that Wuyan knew.

The newcomer was indeed Marquis Xiao Yao.

Huo Chang’an’s clothes were completely soaked. He had departed later than Wuyan. Between these two places there were many branching roads, so the Huo Manor guards had split into multiple routes to search for Wuyan’s tracks, using carrier pigeons or fast horses to relay information. Only upon reaching here had they discovered where Wuyan was staying.

Seeing the heavy wind and rain, the group had been sheltering from rain at a nearby temple, but wanting to meet as soon as possible, he had personally carried his long tassel spear with Ji’er Zhang and braved the rain to rush over first.

It was fortuitous timing – while still outside the door, he encountered these two martial artists molesting her. The moment her three guards fell, he immediately took action.

These two men had excellent martial arts and probably had significant backgrounds… Just who were they, and why would someone who appeared to be a monk dare do such things? If he had been a step later, she…

Thinking of this, he clenched his hands, veins slightly bulging.

Seeing her angry questioning look, he glanced down at his own bedraggled state and sneered coldly in return: “Oh, if you can come to this place, why can’t I?”

Wuyan was both puzzled and somewhat angry at being spied upon. The more she thought about it, the more alarmed she became. Her trip had been very secret – how would Huo Chang’an know she was here?

Huo Chang’an seemed to see through her thoughts, curving his lips in an even colder, more callous smile: “You really think highly of yourself. You think I followed you here? Let alone that I already have Lian Yue, such a flower-like beauty – if I wanted women, would I lack for them? Why would I want damaged goods?”

Lian Yue was ultimately Wuyan’s greatest taboo. She smiled self-deprecatingly: “Yes, the young ladies in this shop are all stealing glances at Marquis Huo. Marquis Huo could have any woman he wants. I won’t disturb your elegant mood. Xiang’er, let’s go.”

This wasn’t said out of pique – after this fight, several women in the inn were indeed blushing as they secretly watched this suddenly appearing valiant man.

Xiang’er was shocked: “Miss, it’s still raining heavily outside. If you get caught in this rain, you’ll definitely fall ill…”

She was just someone whose heart was higher than the sky but whose fate was thinner than paper – whether she got sick or not didn’t matter to her, Wuyan thought. But then she heard a groan, and her gaze fell on the three seriously injured guards. Finally, she slowly stopped and said: “Xiang’er, ask the innkeeper for some wound medicine to apply to them first.”

Xiang’er glanced warily at Huo Chang’an but ultimately breathed a sigh of relief, nodding as she went.

Wuyan felt around her body, wanting to take out some silver, but couldn’t find it for a moment – probably her money pouch had fallen when that villain knocked her to the ground earlier.

Having been in such confusion, frightened and scared, she hadn’t thought to look for it, and someone had likely picked it up in the chaos.

Since someone had taken it, who would hand it over?

The innkeeper, seeing her manner, detected the situation and sneered coldly twice: “Miss, I won’t hold you responsible for involving my small business in trouble, but where would I have any wound medicine for you?”

By now he had also figured out the two women’s identities.

Someone in the shop advised: “Innkeeper, just do them a favor. Why bother arguing with the young ladies?”

Hearing this, the innkeeper said gravely: “Since you’re so generous, please handle it yourself.”

The person who spoke immediately fell silent.

Wuyan smiled bitterly inwardly. Was heaven determined to torment her like this? She bit her teeth and looked at Huo Chang’an: “Lend me some silver. I’ll pay you back later.”

Huo Chang’an looked at her leisurely for a long moment before saying indifferently: “Fine. I’ve traveled some distance and I’m hungry. You can dine with me.”

Wuyan felt tight in her chest: “Don’t go too far in bullying people.”

“Bullying? I’m inviting you to eat, lending you money to treat people’s injuries, and this is called bullying?”

He laughed coldly, not caring whether his clothes were wet or not. Without bothering to book a room or change clothes, he found a table and sat down. Ji’er Zhang and the others called the innkeeper to order food. Seeing this purple-clothed man’s skills, the innkeeper didn’t dare show the slightest negligence and immediately went over personally to take the order.

Xiang’er saw Wuyan had bitten her lower lip until it bled slightly, and couldn’t help calling out worriedly, “Miss.” But Wuyan ultimately walked silently to Huo Chang’an’s table.

Ji’er Zhang and Long Ying Qiang both tensed – they knew her identity. They immediately stood up respectfully and stepped aside, leaving the seat for her.

Wuyan slowly sat down, pressing her lips as she looked at Huo Chang’an. But Huo Chang’an seemed not to see the anger in her eyes, saying softly: “Wei Wuyan, pour wine for me.”