Gu Heng carried the freshly boiled water up to the sed floor, where he had prepared a bath barrel filled with cold water but not yet with hot water. As he ehe young boy y iub with his ba, eyes closed, breathing evenly.

  He walked over slowly and noticed bruises on the boy's face, with bloodstains at the er of his mouth. Despite the disheveled appearahe boy's handsome features and rebellious aura were undeniable.

  "This water is so cold; it's not good for your body," Gu Heng sighed. But his voice startled the boy iub.

  "Ah!"

  A hoarse scream echoed as the boy suddenly panicked, shrinking against the side of the tub. Gu Heng suddenly realized something.

  This... this wasn't a boy.

  It was a girl!

  Gu Heng hadn't noticed that the "boy" was actually a girl. She was too thin, haden properly for a long time, her clothes were tattered, and she was covered in dirt. Without a closer look, her gender was hard to dis.

  But now, upon closer iion, she was indeed quite beautiful.

  He didn't know much about other things, but he could tell that pared to the beautiful women he had seen, she was a buddiy. With prrooming and nice clothes, she would be stunning.

  The girl was soaking in the cold bath. Seeing Gu Heer, she submerged herself ier, leaving only her head above, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, eyes wide as she stared at Gu Heng, her eyes red as if about to cry.

  She was already delicate and pretty, and her current teary appearance made her even more endearing, stirring a protective instin others.

  "Uh... I'll add some hot water for you," Gu Heng said, trying not to feel too awkward, though her wary gaze made him quite unfortable.

  He really hadn't inteo be a peeping tom.

  "Ah... go ahead," the girl tio stare at him as Gu Heng slowly poured the steaming hot water along the edge of the tub, theed the temperature with his hand, finding it just right.

  "Ahem, alright, you finish your bath, I'll go make some food and prepare some... suitable clothes for you," Gu Heng coughed lightly, picked up the pot, and turo leave.

  "Bang!"

  The door closed behind him.

  After he left, the person ier finally rexed, exhaling softly, looking up at the ceiling with eyes filled with fusion and struggle.

  "Heh, seeing him like that, it seems I've really not looked like a girl all these years..."

  Qin Yiyao had been reborn in this world for sixteen years.

  She had once quered half of the Mysterious Heaven Realm uhe name "Saint Yao Emperor," establishing the Great Qin Empire. But at the peak of her power, she was betrayed and poisoned with the deadly Immortal Syer poison, which was so potent that even at her peak, she couldn't resist it.

  Fortunately, Qin Yiyao stumbled upon the "Medie Immortal Fragmented Records" by ce!

  The "Medie Immortal Fragmented Records" tained an immortal-level formation that could save her.

  To save herself, she structed a tomb. Sihe immortal-level formation couldn't be set up, she id down 999 a formations from the Great Void Era to pensate for the power of the immortal-level formation in the Medie Immortal Fragmented Records. She also had thousands of loyal ministers awelve most elite Qin generals apany her in guarding the tomb, with the "Infinite Sword Domain" she prehended after asding the throne as an additional defense.

  After pleting all this, she ehe coffin and died.

  Then, she was reborn.

  She didn't know how much time had passed.

  But when she emerged from the coffin, she found her body had bee so frail and young.

  The tomb had bee a ruin, and even a mountain had risen from its foundation, being Solitary Mountain.

  All the preparations Qin Yiyao made before her death, including the spiritual pills, magical artifacts, and spirit stones she left for herself, and even the ministers who apanied her in guarding the tomb, had their power drained by the formations. Her cultivation was ralized by the Immortal Syer poison, and she was reborn as a mortal.

  A mortal with nothing.

  She didn't know how long it had been since her era, but the Great Qin Empire she once built had long turo dust in the river of time. The world was in chaos, and the strict ws she left behind had bee a pile of waste paper. For sixteen years, she lived a humiliating and lowly life as a "mortal" or rather, an ant, with ives and suffering stant bullying!

  Yet, there was a glimmer of hope, though the ce was slim.

  She possessed the bloodline of the Asded Immortal Legacy, allowio leap aajor realms in battle even during the Qi Refining stage, making it the most defiant bloodline in the world!

  She practiced "The Emperor's Heart Teique," a Great Void treasure that could refihe Emperor's Purple Qi and asd to sainthood with the power of the people!

  But Qin Yiyao's early memories were lost, and she had no idea how to awaken the Asded Immortal Legacy bloodlihin her.

  Uo cultivate, possessing a heaven-defying teique was useless.

  She was no lohe emperor who could ge the world with a wave of her hand or make billions of subjects submit with a gnow she was just a mortal who barely survived reag Cloud Spirit City, uo even leave because of the many dangers outside the city.

  Even withiy, she was bullied by those she wouldn't have even g in the past!

  The once mighty emperor had fallen to this.

  But Qin Yiyao could accept it, as she had once risen step by step from nothing.

  Tonight, she repared to endure another beating. Those people wouldn't dare to kill her, as the true rulers of Cloud Spirit City, the Nianli, wouldn't tolerate the death of a mortal dirtying the city's ground.

  They called it "The lives of mortals ot be taken lightly."

  Qin Yiyao sneered every time she heard suonsense.

  However, being saved was something she hadn't expected.

  "But that guy doesn't seem like an ordinary mortal," Qin Yiyao thought, sneaking a gnce behind her.

  He hadn't e back up.

  In the past, anyone who peeked at her bathing would be senteo death.

  But she was no longer an emperor, and he was the one who saved her.

  Qin Yiyao had no cultivation now, her bloodline unawakened, uo cultivate, but her emperor's intuition remained. She could tell the differeween mortals and cultivators, and no matter how she looked, the young man seemed like a mortal.

  Yet, even a mortal who trained martial arts to the extreme wouldn't handle someone like Hong Ba, a half-baked Foundatioablishment cultivator, so easily.

  He eculiar.

  Perhaps he was a true mortal, or maybe he was a cultivator even she couldn't see through.

  "...Why think so much? Better to figure out how to get by now..." Qin Yiyao thought, idly spshing the water, droplets sliding off her fiips, creating small ripples.

  ...

  Gu Heng found a tailor shop and bought a few ready-made dresses, then picked up some det-looking pork, eggs, aables from a vendor who hadn't closed yet, auro the new Medie Hall.

  Going upstairs, he saw she was still soaking iub. Gu Heng pced the clothes he bought beside her. "I don't know if these clothes will fit, but you wear them after your bath."

  Qin Yiyao nodded.

  "Then you finish your bath, I'll... make some food for you, though I'm not very good at cooking..." Gu Heng scratched his head, smiling awkwardly. Just as he was about to leave, he heard her say, "Qin Yiyao."

  He turned back.

  "My name."

  "Oh, oh, that's a niame," Gu Heng smiled a downstairs.

  That's good. She wasn't willing to speak earlier, but now she was willing to tell him her name, which meant she was letting down her guard a bit.

  He returo the ba, started a fire, and cooked. After some time, he prepared a couple of dishes ahe table. At that moment, he heard footsteps from the stairs, and a delicate figure desded.

  Qin Yiyao wore a light green long dress, her bck, silky hair draped over her shoulders. With the dirt washed away, her skin was as smooth as jade, her features exquisite, her lips thin ah white, her face seemed like the fi artwork, every detail just right.

  If there was any fw...

  It was that she was too thin.

  She looked like she had little flesh, and the dress was one of the smallest sizes iailor shop, yet Qin Yiyao's body didn't even fill it out.

  Gu Heng raised an eyebrow, thinking he had found a treasure tonight.

  Qin Yiyao saw him standing by the door watg her, her face blushing slightly, biting her lower lip, looking down without speaking, her fair, tender hands twisting together, seemingly a bit nervous.

  Gu Heng realized and knocked on the door frame. "Dinner's ready."

  "Oh."

  She responded, quickly following him in, slowly moving to sit down.

  Oable were stir-fried vegetables, braised beef, and scrambled eggs. The presentation wasn't great, and she had oen delicacies and spiritual fruits and birds raised in spiritually rids, but that was long ago.

  Since her rebirth, Qin Yiyao couldn't remember the st time she had a proper meal.

  So she didn't hesitate, dev the food oable like a whirlwind.

  Gu Heng watched her eat ravenously, his mouth twitg slightly.

  Hmm, it seems he picked up a little glutton.

  A moment ter...

  "I'm done," Qin Yiyao said, burping, looking at Gu Heng with a bright smile.

  Her smile was iious. At that moment, she seemed thten up, and it affected Gu Heng, who smiled back, his gentle, handsome face lighting up with a smile.

  "Now that you're full and warmed up, let's talk business."

  Qin Yiyao was taken aback. "Business?"

  "Why is the Bck Forest Gang after a young girl like you?"

  Gu Heng liked secrets, though he never sought them out, but a secret delivered to his doorstep piqued his curiosity.

  "...Why do you want to know?"

  "I see you're alone and have no oo rely on. I want to help you a bit."

  "But if you don't tell the truth, I won't know how to help."

  He spoke with such hoy and siy.

  kant2025