They walked over toward the street magic show, watching the performer make objects vanish and reappear.

An Yue was clearly drawn to it, even though she had already seen what was essentially magic, just framed differently in cultivation terms.

But because the atmosphere here was so different, she found herself far more curious about the mortal world.

As it turned out, the mortal world was much more varied and entertaining than either of them had expected.

Lin Tian glanced over and saw An Yue’s eyes go wide, delighted by the magic show, wanting to see more.

The children loved it too, many of them asking the magician to show them something else. He obviously didn’t refuse.

An Yue took out the pouch of coins and pulled out a few pieces, handing them over as payment for the show.

Even so, the liveliness and crowds of the city always worked in favor of people with bad intentions. A man noticed An Yue pulling out the coin pouch and saw how much money was inside.

The moment An Yue let her guard down, he snatched the pouch and ran off into the crowd. An Yue looked stunned.

"My money..."

"What’s wrong?" Lin Tian asked.

"Someone stole it. The pouch of coins you gave me," An Yue replied, her face full of panic even though it was only coins.

Even so, An Yue felt that keeping that pouch safe had been a responsibility Lin Tian had trusted her with. Losing it felt like it would make her look careless.

Lin Tian narrowed his eyes and activated his qi aura vision. Luckily for him, he had left a trace of spiritual qi on that pouch.

No matter how far the thief ran, he would be able to find him.

In another direction, he spotted the thief running quickly through the city streets, some distance from the magic show. Lin Tian had him in sight.

Stealing from Yue’er? You’re asking to die, mortal.

"What do we do, Master Lin?" An Yue asked, worried.

Lin Tian raised his hand and gave An Yue’s shoulder a gentle pat, "Don’t worry, I’ll get it back."

"Really? But please don’t kill him. He looks like just an ordinary mortal," An Yue said.

"You’re very kind, Yue’er," Lin Tian said warmly, "I won’t kill him."

In a flash of white light, he left the magic show and went after the thief. The man turned at a crossroads to try and shake anyone off his trail.

Once he reached a quieter street, the man let out a relieved smile, his heart light. He tossed the coin pouch up and down in his hand.

"Now... I can spend as much as I want at that pleasure house," the thief said to himself.

"Stealing money just to sleep with women? Isn’t that pathetic?" Lin Tian asked.

The thief panicked as a voice rang out behind him. He stopped and looked around frantically, his face going pale.

"W-Who’s there...?"

"I’m a friend of the woman you stole from," Lin Tian said, still keeping himself out of sight.

"I’m warning you. I have a mortal-grade weapon. I can kill you even if you’re a cultivator!" the man said firmly.

"Mortal-grade? That’s laughable."

In an instant, Lin Tian appeared on the street, still wearing his black robe. The thief saw him and immediately drew the mortal-grade sword he had been bragging about.

"Back off or I’ll kill you!"

Lin Tian ignored him and walked toward the man, making him panic. The moment Lin Tian stood in front of him, the man swung the sword.

"Die!" he shouted.

Lin Tian raised his hand without much of a reaction. The thief’s sword struck his hand. Lin Tian’s hand wasn’t hurt at all, but the sword shattered into pieces instantly.

"WHAT?!" the man gasped in shock.

Lin Tian gripped the thief by the throat and demanded he hand over the coin pouch. Scared half to death, the man gave it back without a fight.

"Coins are useless to a cultivator. Why are you still chasing me down?" the thief asked.

"Because this matters to her. You wouldn’t understand that. You’re a thief."

Remembering his promise to An Yue, Lin Tian let the thief go. The man ran off as fast as he could, while Lin Tian vanished in a flash of white light to head back to An Yue.

When he arrived back at the magic show, he was caught off guard to find An Yue wasn’t there.

Where did she go?

Worried about her, he activated his qi aura vision right away and tried to locate her. He scanned the surrounding area and noticed a qi aura that resembled An Yue’s, walking through a narrow alley with three other cultivators.

Lin Tian shot forward instantly, chasing after them into the alley and arriving in front of An Yue before any of them noticed.

His sudden appearance startled them, especially since he came with a powerful burst of qi.

"Who are you people?!" Lin Tian said sharply, and without hesitation he slammed all three cultivators with a heavy wave of cultivation pressure.

He glanced over at An Yue. Her eyes were wide open, glowing with a pink qi light, her face deeply flushed, her eyes unblinking.

Lin Tian realized that An Yue had been caught by a charm technique. That was what made her so easy for them to control.

"A Charm Technique? You’re disgusting!" Lin Tian snapped.

"W-Wait, Senior. We didn’t know she was your woman. Please forgive us," one of the cultivators said, wearing a purple sect robe.

He raised his hand and clenched it tightly, intensifying the cultivation pressure, making them suffer in agony.

"Save your apologies for your next cycle of reincarnation."

"NOOO—"

BLAST!

Within seconds, all three of their bodies shattered into scattering qi particles. The three cultivators died, freeing An Yue from the grip of the charm technique.

The pink light in her eyes faded and her body collapsed. Lin Tian caught her in time. The expression on An Yue’s face was one of confusion.

"What happened?" An Yue asked.

"Where are we?"

"We’re in a narrow alley. It looks like you wandered off somehow. Lucky for you I found you," Lin Tian replied.

"Really?"

While they were talking, Lin Tian faintly heard a strange sound coming from An Yue’s stomach, like a low rumble. An Yue noticed it too, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"Sorry."

"It’s fine. Let’s go find a restaurant with some good food," Lin Tian said, "Here’s the coin pouch."

An Yue smiled and nodded, taking the pouch and walking alongside Lin Tian, her hand held in his.

The two of them walked away from the alley to find the nearest restaurant. But when they arrived at one, someone on the second floor seemed to be watching Lin Tian closely.

A woman, dressed in a beautiful gown with a sash, looked down at Lin Tian with obvious curiosity.

"It seems we have a special guest today," the woman said, turning to the attendant behind he,. "That man in the black robe... let him and his friend come up."

"I’d like to speak with him."