Seeing Xiao Tian with his furrowed brows, Ji Dantong seemed to know what he was wondering about and explained, "Her stepfather is addicted to gambling. The family's income and expenses are all controlled by him. Sometimes, he even withholds food from the three women in the household just to take money to gamble."

"When he wins, he tries to score big, and when he loses, all he thinks about is winning back what he lost before, resulting in a vicious cycle!" Xiao Tian concluded, "With such a gambler's mentality, even a fortune wouldn't be enough to squander!"

Ji Dantong nodded in agreement: "This only strengthens my resolve to take her away. Such a promising talent cannot be allowed to be buried like this!"

"Have you thought about how to talk to her parents?" Xiao Tian asked curiously.

"What's there to think about?!" Ji Dantong replied with a curious look at Xiao Tian and then revealed a smug expression, "Just wait and see!"

However, just as the two of them stepped outside the house and before they could knock, they heard a man's voice coming from inside.

"It's all your fault!" The man said angrily, "Look at what this wild girl has become, coming home so late for dinner time. Tonight's dinner should be skipped!"

As soon as the words fell, a woman's voice immediately followed, filled with pleading, "Don't be angry. She just came back a little late. Xuanxuan, hurry and tell your dad you're sorry!"

A little girl's voice instantly came out, "Sorry, sorry! I promise I won't come back late again!"

"Call him dad!" the woman quickly reminded.

But this time, the little girl's voice did not ring out again, and the room fell into silence.

"Bam!"

A moment later, the sound of a porcelain bowl shattering was clearly heard by Xiao Tian and Ji Dantong outside the door. Then the man angrily yelled, "This wild girl is really ungrateful. I provide for your food and clothes, and it's so hard for you to just call me dad. I married your mother and even took in a brat like you. What kind of sin have I committed?!"

After a burst of noise, Ji Dantong's pink fist clenched instantly, and she was about to gather her True Qi to break in directly when Xiao Tian suddenly grabbed Ji Dantong's fist tightly, preventing her from moving.

This move immediately drew an angry glare from Ji Dantong, but Xiao Tian gently shook his head and transmitted his voice, "If you go in now, even if you beat that gambler up, it won't solve the fundamental problem. Besides, if you rush in, it might backfire."

After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Tian informed Ji Dantong of his brief conversation with the little girl, which finally made Ji Dantong's True Qi fluctuations subside.

Although Ji Dantong was already aware of the situation, Xiao Tian's reminder was well-intentioned, so she had to temporarily suppress her anger, then transmitted her voice, "Do you plan to hold my hand like this forever?!"

Hearing Ji Dantong's words, Xiao Tian hurriedly released his grip from her fist but didn't notice that Ji Dantong's expression, while transmitting her voice, was not what he expected to be one of embarrassment and anger.

All of this happened in a flash, from the man breaking the bowl to Xiao Tian stopping Ji Dantong, it all took less than half a minute.

Just then, a child's crying sounded, and Ji Dantong and Xiao Tian exchanged glances, both guessing that the owner of the crying was probably the little girl's sister!

The man's voice immediately became irritable, "Crying, crying, doing nothing useful all day except eating, sleeping, playing, and crying. One day, I'll be worn out by you all!"

Hearing this, Xiao Tian's eyes narrowed slightly. If not for the little girl, he would have probably rushed in to rid the world of this scum of a man.

However, Xiao Tian was not like Ji Dantong, who grew up sheltered in the sect. Having been through many storms, he quickly suppressed his emotions and watched to see just how vile this gambler could be!

The crying continued in his ears, and the man finally snapped, slamming the table in front of him, "Cry again, and I'll sell you to someone!"

Inside, the crying suddenly stopped, but the man, still simmering with anger, demanded, "How much did you earn today, hand it over to me!"

The little girl shyly reached for the small bag by her side, but the man could not wait any longer and grabbed the small floral cloth bag, pulling it forcefully. The little girl stumbled, and the strap of the bag slung across her shoulder was torn.

"Is that all?!" The man was clearly dissatisfied, holding a handful of small value coins, and questioning, "Tell me, did you slack off and not sell properly, or are you hiding the money from your father?!"

"Bastard!"

Ji Dantong could no longer hold back, and she kicked open the wooden door, striding boldly into the room. This time, Xiao Tian did not stop her and followed right in.

After a moment of shock, the man's expression instantly became ferocious, "Who are you?!"

"Da..."

The little girl, who snapped back to reality, did not feel happy upon seeing Xiao Tian and Ji Dantong. Instead, she appeared very anxious and flustered, and she immediately wanted to ask the two to leave.

However, before that, Ji Dantong, using her own intimidating presence, gently stopped the little girl from speaking, then with a quick turn of her eyes, she said, "Who are we?! Ha, you've borrowed so much money from me, and now you don't recognize people?!"

After saying this, Ji Dantong drew the Soft Sword from her waist and slashed down on a porcelain bowl on the table. Moments later, the bowl suddenly split into two halves without making a sound from start to finish.

"..."

For a while, everyone was silent.

After a while, the man, with dark circles under his eyes and greasy hair, suddenly knelt on the ground, about to crawl and embrace Ji Dantong's long legs.

Seeing this, Xiao Tian immediately stepped forward, placing a dagger horizontally on the man's neck as he lay on the ground, and coldly said, "Not only do you not repay the debt, but you also want to exploit our young lady. You really have a death wish!"

Ji Dantong was stunned, never expecting Xiao Tian to play along with her act, but since it was like this, she decided to play it through!

The man's face was instantly covered with snot and tears, his sunken eyes showing immense terror, "Please, I beg you, give me two more days, I'll pay you back when I gather the money!"

Ji Dantong, finding him distasteful, suddenly arched her eyebrows and said, "Do you remember what you said?! If you can't repay the debt, you'll use your wife and kids as collateral. You said that yourself, didn't you?!"

In fact, Ji Dantong only cobbled together this line from a few films she had seen in a moment of desperation, thinking that even if he called her bluff, she could just get to the main point and avoid wasting time.

However, the unexpected happened...

At the moment Ji Dantong finished her sentence, the coarse-skinned woman instantly turned pale, and she couldn't help but stagger two steps back, sitting heavily on the ground.

The little girl's younger sister, still so young, seemed very bewildered, and the fear in her eyes was directed solely at Xiao Tian and Ji Dantong.