“Catch her!” A shrill voice screened.

 

Xing Qi, lowered her head and ran as fast as she could. In her hand was a box. Her face was covered in dirt, her clothes were rags, and she lacked any shoes. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the

 

Her face was covered in dirt and her clothing looked like rags. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the pain coming from her barefoot as she jumped over the pile of rubble and ducked under the barricade of wooden beams. The people chasing after her stumbled in the mess. While a shadow flew over like a swallow.

 

He wore a wooden hat with a black cloth that covered his appearance. Even without turning around, Xing Qi could feel a chill travel along her spine. If she was caught, she was so dead!

 

However, she had already rode on top of a tiger and couldn’t get off. Her heart was like a  hammer pounding inside her chest. Doing a quick turn, she ducked into a pile of trash. The man had landed behind her and cleared it away to reveal a hole. 

He frowned, obviously a bit unwilling to drill in there. 

 

“Hahaha,” 

 

While he was hesitating, a laughter sounded. “Are you going to drill into that hole?” A man walked over. He had golden hair and eyes, as well as refined facial features. 

 

“The mantis stalks to prey, only for there to be an oriole behind it.”

 

“You lost it as well.” The bamboo hat man sneered before taking a few steps back.

 

“Want to run?” The golden haired man raised his sword and charged forward. “If I don’t bring your head back, how will I be able to face the princess?”

 

Clang clang.

 

The bamboo hat man parried all of the strikes and sent out a few of his own before throwing a ball down onto the ground. A cloud of smoke covered the alley. 

 

“Coward.” 

 

“...”

 

When everything cleared, the man was already gone.

 

***

 

Xing Qi went through a series of tunnels, her heart still pounding from the thrill. She was only a passerby watching the drama that had unfolded on the streets. A daylight robbery, with both of the parties being martial experts. Who would have thought the box would end up flying straight in front of her?

 

Before she thought about it, her body had already moved; grabbing the expensive box and making a run for it! 

 

In the end, she went into a small room. Inside the darkness was the only way she could feel safe.

 

“Aye, why am I doing this?” She scrunched her brows together while looking at the box in her hand. Her stomach also let out a growl in a timely fashion. Reaching into her shirt, she pulled out a dirty piece of hard bread and started to nibble away at it. 

 

She continued to look absentmindedly at the box. From her memories, she recognized it. There were a lot of them lined up in a row. When the beauties wearing silk robes opened them, a large amount of essence would spill outwards. If that happened, she would easily get caught. 

 

If it was her when she first came into the slums, perhaps she would make such a mistake, but after years of survival, she knew that opening the box was courting death. 

 

She tilted her head. She also couldn’t sell it. She couldn’t go out anytime soon, and there wasn’t anyone that would buy things from her. To her, without power or backing, all that would happen was that she would get robbed. 

 

Her mind turned, thinking of a solution. She needed a safer place than the slums if she wanted to open the box. First she would find out what was inside.

 

Placing the remainder of the bread into her shirt, she hugged the box and made her way down another series of tunnels. She peeked her head out from the entrance to spot the wall across from her. There was a dog hole that led outside the city she was inside, and behind it was the face of the mountain that the city was built upon. 

 

After looking left and right, she deftly made her way across. Xing Qi slipped through the hole in the wall, and then made another left. Due to the mountain’s sloping the other way, there was enough space for her to travel through. After walking a bit, she found a crevice and went inside it. The place was a dark and damp tunnel. While holding her breath, she continued walking. The ground slowly dried up, and became a large cavern. Inlaid on the walls were pale glowing stones that illuminated the place.

 

She walked over to the side and sat down before taking out her box. “Please be something I can use….” 

 

When she opened it, a pale mist spilled outwards. When she breathed it, she felt a feeling of comfort spread throughout her body. 

 

“An orb?” It was translucent, and a pale mist similar to what it was emitting was spilling outwards. Feeling that it was a little bad, the first thing she did was to place it into her mouth.

 

“...” Xing Qi blinked. What now?

 

Her body felt comfortable and warm, but she didn’t know what to do next? The thought of swallowing it came into her mind, but she didn’t know if she should. All she knew was that if she continued to let it out in the opening, the aura would continue to leak. She was also unwilling to place it back into the box…. 

 

It was something she had done completely subconsciously and her mind seemed to have gone into a trance. Before she knew it, the orb had rolled down her throat. When it did, as if it was inside a different dimension, the orb went through her stomach, and straight into her dantian.

 

“Ahh!” 

 

Xing Qi held onto her face with her hands.

 

Not only did it feel like her body was being crawled over by countless ants, her face felt like it was on fire. Her pores began to bleed and release dark smudge and impurities. From the places between her fingers, parts of her face started to peel and fall off. 

 

Xing Qi wanted nothing but to pass out, however, the pain would constantly keep her awake. She cried while feeling full of regret. Why did she eat it?!

 

The process lasted an entire hour, yet for her, it felt like years. When the pain alleviated, and she was in a pool of blood and dirt, she was already too tired to move. Closing her eyes, she disregarded the location she was in and fell into a deep slumber.

 

***

 

Unbeknownst to her, a commotion occurred inside the city. From high in the air, the image of a golden dragon appeared!

 

Those who were guarding the treasure naturally recognized it. Especially the golden haired man and the bamboo hat man. 

 

The golden haired man cursed. “Keep searching! We must find the girl! Extend the search to the mountains!” If they couldn’t, then he could only wash his neck and wait for it to be chopped off.

 

Not only Fenghua City, but the Royal Capital as well. The golden dragon was simply too large, that even the emperor was able to see it!

 

The court officials praised the Emperor, saying that the golden dragon had descended on his rule. For the next hundred years, there would be prosperity.

 

Inside the palace, an excited maid ran inside. There was a mother and daughter duo spending their time together. They were naturally the Empress and the 4th Princess. 

 

“Your Majesties, a dragon has descended outside! Quickly come see!”

 

“Really?” The lady wearing red royal robes with golden embroidery hurriedly went outside. The girl also followed, however, she didn’t seem as excited as the Empress. Instead, her face was a bit pale.