Within the countless brothels in the southwest market of Wenyang City, the one with the most extravagant expenses is universally recognized as Huage Tower. As the night deepens, this is the busiest time at the Huage Tower. On the rows of houses in the backyard, thick snow has already accumulated to a thickness of three fingers. However, upon careful inspection, there is a human figure on the rooftop, lying motionless in the heavy snow, letting the snow press upon him.

Those who hadn't gone home to sleep at this hour were, aside from the patrons of the casinos and brothels, the constables who, like night owls, remained active throughout the capital day and night. On the rooftop was one such constable, Chu Yan.

"To hell with Old Zhang," he muttered. "You lot have finished your drinks at the yamen and returned home to cuddle with your pretty wives, leaving me here to freeze."

"Just one outlaw robber, why the surveillance? Why not send a dozen skilled men to capture him directly?"

Though he lay motionless as a corpse in the snow, constable Chu Yan was feeling quite aggrieved. Orphaned without parents, he grew up with Uncle Shao who ran a pub. Uncle Shao was too busy with the pub to discipline him, so in a few years, he got familiar with every nook and cranny of southwest Wenyang City. Moreover, with the highest kung fu skills in the southwest yamen, the Chief Constable Old Zhang entrusted him with this sentinel duty in the heavy snow.

"Ah, my superior kung fu skills aren't my fault. Back then, I almost became that mountain deity..."

Just then, with a creak, the door of the room right beneath Chu Yan was pushed open. The laughter of a woman wafted from below, and Chu Yan immediately slowed his breathing, focusing intently on the movements within the room. However, hearing the faint voices from inside the room, Chu Yan's expression turned rather weird.

The voices from the room seemed to have a magical power to penetrate the howling wind and snow, clearly reaching Chu Yan's ears and stirring his heart.

Chu Yan's breathing got heavier, and he unconsciously scooped up a handful of rooftop snow.

"Mother of god," he muttered, "Can't you two keep it down?"

This wasn’t really Chu Yan's fault. By this time next year, he would be twenty, and some of his peers even had children his age, while he was still on his own.

"Dear heavens and spirits," Chu mutters, "Could you grant me a maiden? Even if we can't kiss, just seeing and touching would be good…"

Just then, a white streak appeared in the heavens, falling straight towards Chu Yan. As someone who practiced martial arts since childhood, Chu Yan's senses were sharp. Noticing something was wrong behind him, he swiftly turned to look up, but before he could clearly see what the white streak was, he blacked out, feeling as if he was heavily struck by something.

After who knows how long, Chu Yan slowly opened his eyes. The shock from the hit left him dazed, unsure of where he had landed. He checked himself for injuries, finding nothing more than primary external wounds.

He looked around, noticing that he had been thrown several meters back, and the roof of the house where he was lying on had a large hole smashed into it. He could faintly hear the screams of a woman and a man's swearing. Thankfully, Uncle Shao had taught him some simple body tempering techniques, he was far more flexible than the average adult, and the thick snow provided a soft landing, so he was not seriously injured. Chu Yan decided that his mission for the night was probably over, and it would be best to return to the yamen to report to Old Zhang.

"That white thing just took a shot at me out of nowhere. If it weren't for my quick reaction, I might've bit the dust here today..."

Chu Yan was muttering and preparing to sit up. But as his right hand pressed against the ground, his face turned peculiar.

This feeling, something's amiss!

Recalling the sight of several maidens standing in thin robes outside the Huaye Tower in the midst of winter, Chu Yan had a sneaking suspicion he understood what he had come into contact with.

Could it be that the heavens heard his plea and bestowed upon him a maiden?

"Lady, no offense meant. I am Chu Yan, a bailiff of the southwestern yamen, this was unintentional..." Chu Yan hastily stood up to apologize, but his voice caught in his throat as soon as he saw the young woman next to him.

Beautiful, she was breathtaking.

Her eyes were firmly shut, face turned ghostly pale, her white robe stained with blood, resembling a winter plum in the snow, evidently seriously injured. Despite this, her features remained impeccable. Chu Yan had seen the innocent beauty of his neighbor A'cui, the seductive allure of the top courtesan at Huaye Tower, and had even seen the regal elegance of the Empress of Zhou. However, all of them paled in comparison to the woman beside him.

Chu Yan had heard tales of old bachelors having nosebleeds at the sight of a widow, which he previously dismissed as hearsay. However, in this brief moment, he experienced a burning sensation in his nostrils, as if liquid was trickling down. Damn, old sayings do hold truth!

Snapping back to reality, Chu Yan quickly wiped away the blood trickling down his nose, speaking to himself, "Could it be that I've encountered a celestial maiden?"

The young woman was undeniably beautiful, but witnessing her collapsed in the snow and heavily injured, Chu Yan was at a loss about what to do next.

It wasn't that he lacked a compassionate heart, but he was a bailiff at the southwestern yamen, bound by protocol to report to the yamen first despite any incident.

While Chu Yan was in the midst of contemplating, the maiden in white coughed up blood again. The striking contrast between the crimson blood and her fair complexion was grotesque. It was clear that her condition didn't afford Chu Yan much time to ponder.

"To hell with it, saving a life is more righteous than erecting a seven-storey pagoda. Worst case, I'll beg for Old Zhang's forgiveness tomorrow," Chu Yan thought.

Resolute, Chu Yan apologized once more, took off his jacket to drape over the young woman, and gently picked her up. He was about to dash back home, but suddenly he felt a chill behind him. Thanks to his years of martial training, Chu Yan managed to dodge it instinctively. He saw a streak of purple-golden light zoom past, less than a foot from him, and crash into the distance, leaving behind a massive crater after a thunderous crash. Chu Yan had no doubt that he would've been completely obliterated if it had hit him head on. Clearly, this beam of purple-golden light wasn't something that an ordinary person could emit. Chu Yan immediately determined — the one who attacked just now must be a cultivator.

Then, Chu Yan heard a distant voice, "Chun Bai Xue, surrender immediately. I, Liang Xi, promise not to harm your life."

Chu Yan immediately realized that the girl in his arms was Chun Bai Xue. Would he abandon her or escape with her? After looking at the girl's face, Chu Yan made a decision in an instant and began to run. He knew he couldn't go back home. Since childhood, he and his Uncle Shao have relied on each other. If Uncle Shao was hurt because of him, Chu Yan might never forgive himself. Fortunately, as a constable, he knew many abandoned houses in the city. There was one not far from here.

Before he had run two steps, a streak of purplish golden light struck the place he had just been standing. A nearby house was hit and collapsed at once, and the cries of women and children emerged from the wreckage. Seeing such disregard for life, Chu Yan was filled with fury and his mind churned with thoughts.

Citizens of Wenyang City, the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, were strictly forbidden to fight. If someone broke this rule they would be punished by the Sky Monitoring Department, anything from being exiled from Wenyang City to having their cultivation crippled. The previous man had clearly been an outsider. As long as Chu Yan could delay until the Sky Monitoring Department showed up, he would be safe.

With that in mind, Chu Yan sprinted, disregarding the danger behind him. His heart was filled with enormous anxiety.

"You guys of the Sky Monitoring Department, aren’t you usually so domineering? Why aren’t any of you making a sound now?" he muttered.

Just then, Chu Yan heard a voice from the direction of the palace bidding, "Taoist friend, please halt."

Chu Yan was overjoyed. He was more than familiar with this voice. Every year on the day of the National Offering Ceremony, the owner of this voice would greet guests from all over the empire. It was the National Teacher of the Zhou Dynasty, and a pinnacle cultivator of the dynasty - Cai Bai Ju!

Sure enough, as soon as this voice was heard, the light behind him came to an abrupt stop. Chu Yan exhaled a sigh of relief, having finally escaped the crisis. He then quickly headed towards an unoccupied old house in the west of the city.

After a while, Chu Yan, battered by the wind and snow, arrived at the old house. He quickly checked the injuries of the girl in his arms. Her entire body was covered with wounds. While the bleeding had stopped, if not treated promptly, they would leave scars. However, there was nothing in this old house, and he had no medicine or tools to treat the wounds.

"I have no choice, I have to go back to my house," he decided. He then covered the girl with his jacket, locked the windows and doors, and left.

...

Inside a small tavern in the western city, a burly middle-aged man was sound asleep on the second floor. This man was Shao Xun, who had raised Chu Yan since he was a child. Suddenly, Shao Xun's eyes snapped open. Like a ghost, he disappeared from the bed and appeared outside, watching a sneaky figure from the shadows.

It was none other than Chu Yan. His only thought was to stealthily retrieve some medicine and tools before leaving. However, in his panicked state, he didn't realize that he had awoken his Uncle Shao.

Shao Xun was full of questions. He wondered, "Didn’t this boy say he wouldn’t be back tonight because he was busy at the office? Why has he sneaked back home? He obviously doesn’t want me to find out."

After a while, Shao Xun saw Chu Yan quietly pushing the door open and leaving. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to follow and find out what was happening.