Xiao Mu’s cries pierced Jiu Baiyun’s heart like icy daggers.
Those words—”sold here” and “cut off her hands and feet”—made him instantly understand the depths of her despair.
It also made him understand why Xiao Mu had sought him out.
The “Uncle Wang” and “Aunt Zhang” she mentioned… were likely in league with her father.
If she had indeed been sold, then in Jiu Baiyun’s eyes, this was already a very serious matter.
But intervening in human trafficking?
Well… that was beyond his power, and time was short.
As for the “Immortal Fate” Xiao Mu spoke of, Jiu Baiyun couldn’t guarantee he could resolve that either.
After thinking it over, he couldn’t come up with a good solution.
He let out a heavy sigh.
To calm Xiao Mu, he first patted her head, then reached into his pocket.
After fumbling for a while, he finally found a candy and handed it to her.
“It’s okay, Xiao Mu. If you don’t want this Immortal Fate, we don’t have to take it.”
“By the way, Xiao Mu, have you ever thought about leaving this place?”
Taking the candy from Jiu Baiyun, Xiao Mu carefully peeled off the wrapper and popped it into her mouth.
Perhaps sensing his goodwill and the security he radiated, she instinctively nuzzled against his palm.
But when she heard him ask if she wanted to leave, Xiao Mu froze for a moment, then hesitated.
Unlike Jiu Baiyun, who was only staying here temporarily, Xiao Mu had lived here as long as she could remember.
To say she had no attachments would be a lie.
That was why she hesitated.
But then, thinking about what her father had said, she shrank back in fear.
She was still just a child, her mind not yet mature.
Leaving her familiar home for an unfamiliar place was an incredibly difficult decision for her.
And the situation at home made her afraid to return…
Seeing the conflict, fear, and confusion on Xiao Mu’s face, Jiu Baiyun shook his head but didn’t pressure her.
After all, this was Xiao Mu’s own matter.
Whether she took this step had to be her choice.
No matter how much he said, he couldn’t decide for her.
But before Xiao Mu could make up her mind, her father had already come looking for her.
Xiao Mu’s small body shrank even tighter behind Jiu Baiyun, like a startled fledgling.
The familiar, furious roar hit like a thunderclap, shattering the brief hesitation the candy and Jiu Baiyun’s comfort had brought her.
“Brat! Get the hell out here! You’ve got some nerve, running away?!”
Heavy, hurried footsteps approached.
A burly, rough-faced middle-aged man appeared not far from the courtyard entrance.
His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead, his face twisted with undisguised brutality and rage.
What made Jiu Baiyun’s pupils contract was the gleaming hatchet clenched in the man’s hand.
Clearly, he had come to “fetch” his daughter, and he was brimming with murderous intent.
Xiao Mu trembled all over, clutching tightly to the back of Jiu Baiyun’s robe.
Her small frame shook like a leaf in a storm, her sobs caught in her throat, replaced only by silent terror and despair.
“D-Dad…”
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito, choked with tears.
Xiao Mu’s father immediately spotted her hiding behind Jiu Baiyun, and glared at the “outsider.”
His rage found a new vent.
Pointing the hatchet, he spat curses: “It’s you again, you unlucky bastard! I knew it was you, jinxing my daughter! Hand her over now, or I’ll chop you up too!”
He swung the hatchet, the blade glinting coldly in the sunlight, the threat clear.
Jiu Baiyun’s eyes turned cold instantly.
Looking at the hatchet aimed at him, and feeling the almost fainting terror from Xiao Mu behind him, any hesitation he’d had because of time constraints vanished in an instant.
That so-called “Immortal Fate,” and the father’s fanatical behavior under its influence, meant that leaving Xiao Mu here was a death sentence.
Jiu Baiyun steadied himself, shielding Xiao Mu behind him.
He asked in a low voice, “Xiao Mu, with your father like this, if you stay, you’ll die… come with me.”
Things had reached this point.
Jiu Baiyun couldn’t stand by and watch Xiao Mu stay here to die.
But her father flew into a rage.
“Bullshit! Jiu, think I won’t cut you down?!”
“That brat was bought with my money! Her life is mine! It’s her good fortune that the Immortal Elder took a liking to her! What the hell do you know? Hand her over!”
The hatchet whistled down, aimed straight at Jiu Baiyun.
A cold glint flashed in Jiu Baiyun’s eyes.
He didn’t even move; he just casually raised his right index finger.
“Whoosh!”
An invisible blast of energy erupted, striking the descending hatchet blade with perfect precision.
Xiao Mu’s father felt an overwhelming force, his hand going numb.
The hatchet was torn from his grip and flew away with a clang, embedding itself deep into the courtyard wall.
The force sent him stumbling, nearly falling.
He looked up in shock, meeting Jiu Baiyun’s icy gaze.
There was no anger in those eyes, only an aloof condescension, as if looking at an ant.
“Y-you…”
The burly man pointed at Jiu Baiyun, lips trembling, unable to form a sentence.
That one move had shattered all his aggression, leaving only bone-deep fear.
He had never seen such terrifying power.
This was no human!
This was a skill only an Immortal could possess!
Jiu Baiyun paid him no further attention, as if he were just a nuisance on the road.
He turned quickly and crouched down to meet Xiao Mu’s eyes.
The little girl was stunned, tears clinging to her lashes, her face pale, body shaking violently.
“Xiao Mu, look at me!”
Jiu Baiyun’s voice was low but firm.
“Don’t be scared. He can’t hurt you. Now tell me: do you want to come with me? Leave this place, leave that family, leave that so-called ‘Immortal Fate’?”
Xiao Mu’s gaze flickered from Jiu Baiyun’s face to her father, still shaken and standing not far away.
When she saw the lingering cruelty and greed in her father’s eyes, her small body trembled.
The instinct to survive, and her trust in Jiu Baiyun, instantly overwhelmed all hesitation and any false attachment to “home.”
“Yes!”
She nodded firmly, her small hands gripping Jiu Baiyun’s clothes.
Her voice was tearful but resolute.
“Take me with you, Brother Baiyun! I don’t want to have my hands and feet cut off! I don’t want any Immortal Fate!”
Her feelings for this place had already been shattered by those words—”sold here.”