Sir Song, do you want to pledge yourself to me?

In the front hall, Ji Chuan was diligently pouring wine for a white-haired old man.

The old man ate the fried soybeans on the table, took a sip of wine, smacked his lips with satisfaction, then looked up at Ji Chuan and said, "Judging from your appearance, you must be a foreigner, right? The kids here all know that the Man-Eating Valley is a place you must never go to."

Ji Chuan showed curiosity on his face and asked, "Oh? Why can't I go? Please tell me in detail."

The old man glanced at Ji Chuan sideways, then slowly spoke, "Legend has it that there's a land god that governs that land. If anyone dares to disturb that god, they'll be swallowed up by the earth. Also, it's said there are divine messengers guarding it, and those divine messengers are also cannibals."

Ji Chuan frowned upon hearing this, but he couldn't help but ask, "That sounds quite scary. Could someone have deliberately made it up to scare people? Is there really such a bizarre thing in the world?"

"Who would be so bored as to make up something like this to scare people?" The old man shook his head, a serious look flashing in his eyes. "I didn't make this up. My uncle from the same village died just like that. Back then, his family was so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat. He and a few companions went up the mountain to find food. While chasing a rabbit, they accidentally ran into the Man-Eating Valley. As a result, in just a few moments, my uncle was devoured inch by inch by the land god. Of the four people who went with him, only one half-grown child returned. The child developed a high fever and was sick for several days before he recovered."

At this point, the old man sighed and continued, "Since then, the Man-Eating Valley has become a taboo place in our village. No one dares to approach it. Even if it's for survival, you have to take a detour. You guys, if it's not urgent, don't provoke that land god."

Ji Chuan nodded and poured him another glass of wine.

Ji Nuan was sitting at a tea stall at the end of the street, chatting happily with the old man who owned the stall, trying to find out more about the Man-Eating Valley from him.

"Hey, when did such a beautiful girl come to our Taoli Town?" A slightly frivolous voice came from not far away.

Ji Nuan turned around and saw three young men standing not far away. They were dressed casually and had a bit of a ruffian look on their faces. It was obvious that they were not good people.

The old stall owner lowered his voice when he saw the three men and quietly warned Ji Nuan, "Miss, you'd better be careful. These three are all street urchins from Taoli Town. They're idle all day and always causing trouble. The one in the middle is the young master of Mr. Wang's family. He relies on his family's power and is used to bullying people in this town."

"Heh, you're not saying anything. Are you looking down on our Prince Wang?" the horse-faced man on the right said unhappily.

The old stall owner looked at Prince Wang standing in the middle and tried to ease the atmosphere. "This girl is still young, so please be patient and don't make things difficult for her. Her brother just went to buy her some food and will be back soon."

The lackey on the left narrowed his eyes and sneered with disdain, "I don't care where he went! Anyone who dares to disrespect the prince must kneel down and apologize!"

Ji Nuan gently put down the teacup, a faint smile on her lips, and slowly stood up and said, "Oh, it's Prince Wang! Look at the look in my eyes, I almost thought it was a person in front of me!"

When Prince Wang heard the first half of the sentence, he was still fanning himself in a casual manner, appearing to be at ease. But as soon as the second half came out, he immediately realized that something was wrong and his face changed slightly.

The horse-faced man immediately pointed at Ji Nuan and fanned the flames at Young Master Wang, saying, "Young Master Wang, listen to this! This little bitch actually dared to call you a non-human! How audacious!"

Prince Wang's face instantly darkened, a look of shrewdness mixed with a hint of stupidity. He glared at Ji Nuan and said through gritted teeth, "What? You dare to scold me! You, you, you are so audacious! Wang Cai, quickly tell her what the consequences will be if she offends me!"

The horse-faced man smiled sinisterly and said, "Hmph, considering that you are quite pretty, Young Master Wang wanted to take you into his palace to be a concubine and enjoy wealth and glory. It's you who don't know how to appreciate it. So don't blame us for being ruthless. We will send you to Yichunyuan and give you a good training." After saying that, he winked at the man with narrowed eyes, and the two of them were about to step forward to take action.

"Little girl, run! I'll find a way to stop them." The old stall owner couldn't bear to see Ji Nuan being bullied, so he stepped forward anxiously and spoke to her in a low voice.

"Don't worry, old man. Just take care of yourself. I can handle it." Ji Nuan gave a grateful glance to the old stall owner.

Just as the atmosphere was tense, Song Jinbai hurried back with cakes. He quickly stood in front of Ji Nuan, scanning the crowd with a sharp gaze, and asked in a deep voice, "What do you want to do?"

He was like a solid barrier, blocking all threats and provocations.

Ji Nuan looked at Song Jinbai's straight back and gently pulled his sleeve.

Song Jinbai turned his head, smiled softly at her, and whispered, "Don't worry, I know what to do."

Prince Wang's arrogant voice came: "Great, here comes another ignorant person! Capture them both and send them to Yichunyuan!"

The horse-faced man and the narrow-eyed man were initially intimidated by Song Jinbai's stature and coldness, and were somewhat hesitant. Upon hearing Prince Wang's instructions, they gathered their courage and timidly stepped forward.

Their movements seemed so powerless in front of Song Jinbai. Song Jinbai flashed, and with a pull and a kick, the two men were thrown to the ground like kites with broken strings.

Mi Yan was kicked hard by Song Jinbai, and he grimaced in pain, screaming "Ouch, ouch" continuously, obviously having lost the ability to resist.

Young Master Wang's face changed drastically. He didn't expect Song Jinbai to be so powerful. He was so scared that he ignored his two lackeys and said harshly: "You dare to resist! Just wait for me!" Then he stomped his feet and hurriedly fled the scene.

"Are you okay?" After Song Jinbai dealt with the two men, he immediately turned around and asked about Ji Nuan's condition with concern.

Ji Nuan smiled softly, "You came before I could even do anything."

Ji Nuan took the cake from his hand with a smile, turned around and handed it to the stall owner, saying gently: "Uncle, thank you for what you did just now. This cake is a little gift from me."

"I can't help the girl in any way, so I can't accept her things." The old man waved his hands repeatedly.

Ji Nuan: "Uncle, you risked offending Mr. Wang's family and stood up to speak for me. That was a great help."

"Then I'll shamelessly accept it." Seeing Ji Nuan's sincerity, the old stall owner stopped refusing. Instead, he frowned slightly and advised with some worry, "Girls, you're outsiders, so you might not know. Prince Wang is a vindictive man, not one to be trifled with. You'd better leave here as soon as possible to avoid getting into trouble."

Ji Nuan: "Thank you for the reminder, old man! We have something else to do, so we'll leave first."

After leaving the tea stall, Song Jinbai said softly, "These people suffered a setback today, and I'm afraid they won't give up easily. There will be trouble later."

Ji Nuan put on a sly smile and responded confidently, "Don't worry, they'll be busy looking for a doctor and won't have time to bother us. Besides, we're not to be trifled with."

Her playfulness made Song Jinbai laugh along with her.