She Gave Too Much

Xu Xi's voice was calm as he recounted the facts, but his words were difficult for the injured girl on the bed to accept.

"I..."

"How could this..."

Wu Yingxue's eyes were filled with confusion.

From a high and mighty princess to a fugitive.

The sudden change in status and the abrupt turn of fate left her at a loss, even making her forget about her own injuries.

"This can't be right. I was the one who was attacked, yet I'm the one being hunted..."

"This doesn't make sense. It really doesn't."

Her robe still carried a faint scent of blood. Wu Yingxue murmured to herself, her right hand clutching her head, her brows tightly furrowed, unable to accept the reality before her.

A warrior's eyes should be bright and resolute.

But now, the girl's gaze was hollow, filled with confusion and a faint tremor of fear.

"The officials are searching for you, which means your attackers were from the Great Qian court," Xu Xi continued. "Perhaps they were targeting you alone, but more likely, they were targeting the person behind you."

Wu Yingxue had a powerful background.

Her father.

The Dingyuan King of Great Qian.

Xu Xi had heard of the man's reputation—a third-level innate realm powerhouse, with his acupoints clear and his spirit settled, just half a step away from the realm of human immortals.

If something had happened to the Dingyuan King, then the girl's attack would make sense.

After all, as his direct descendant, she could hardly escape the fallout.

"I..."

Her eyes dimmed, her lips slightly parted, but Wu Yingxue couldn't form a complete sentence for a long time, until she fell completely silent.

The news of becoming a fugitive was too bizarre.

It hinted at many terrible possibilities.

The most terrifying of which was that the Great Qian Emperor could no longer tolerate the Dingyuan King and had begun to purge everyone in the royal mansion.

Just thinking about it was enough to overwhelm the girl. She sat on the bed, head lowered, staring blankly at her hands.

At her pale nails.

At the lines on her palms.

Lost in a daze.

"She's just a young tree that hasn't weathered any storms," Xu Xi sighed inwardly.

The girl seemed composed and decisive, acting with caution and vigilance. When she first woke up, she had even been wary of Xu Xi, appearing mature and steady in every way.

But in reality, how mature could a sixteen-year-old girl truly be?

Some people are born precocious.

From a very young age, they are more confident and better at communication than others.

But this is an illusion. A life of limited experiences and shallow past events had not given the girl the capacity to handle sudden, shocking incidents.

And so.

The girl shut down.

Was she fragile? Xu Xi didn't think so.

What had happened to her was indeed too shocking and bizarre, enough to even startle Xu Xi.

...

"The books in Qingniu Town, though some are inaccurate, are mostly reliable."

"According to the records, the royal bloodline of the Great Qian court practices a unified cultivation technique. Upon reaching the innate realm, they gain the royal family's exclusive Azure Dragon Aura."

"This is why the nobility reveres the dragon motif."

"It's almost certain."

"This child is indeed from a noble family."

Leaving the inner room, Xu Xi gave Wu Yingxue some space.

He grasped the long spear leaning against the door and, with a slight exertion, lifted the heavy weapon. It gleamed in the sunlight.

A ray of light, like a gentle whisper, pierced through the silent spear, casting a faint dragon motif on the floor tiles.

This exquisite craftsmanship and the royal dragon motif were enough to confirm the girl's identity.

Xu Xi shook his head. He couldn't imagine what could have happened to cause the Dingyuan King to fall, leading to the girl being ambushed.

"Is she really going to be okay?"

Xu Xi pondered.

Just then, the sound of a wooden door opening came from behind. Wu Yingxue, her armor stained with blood, stepped out of the room.

The sixteen-year-old girl had a resilient spirit. After a brief period of confusion, she had regained her determination.

She decided that once her injuries healed, she would return to the capital to uncover the truth.

But before that—

"Can I stay here?"

Wu Yingxue's eyes were filled with determination as she earnestly requested Xu Xi: "I need time to recover. Please rest assured, I will pay for my stay."

Xu Xi was about to refuse.

But two bottles of pills were forcefully pressed into his hand.

They were Earth Blood Pills, something only innate realm warriors had the privilege to access.

...

[Simulation Year 7, Age 22]

[Seven years had passed, and your strength had advanced by leaps and bounds. In Qingniu Town, where warriors were few, you were the envy of many, a young genius.]

[Merchants flattered you, thugs respected you, and you were hailed as the Qingniu Blade Hero.]

[Qingniu Town was your home, and the blade was your weapon of choice.]

[Every year, during the spring and winter seasons, you fearlessly charged into the frontlines of the demon tide, honing yourself through battle. But in the eyes of others, this was seen as your selfless act of protecting the people.]

[The entire town was deeply grateful.]

[That same year, you unexpectedly found a young girl. She claimed to be the Dingyuan King's legitimate daughter, a sixteen-year-old blood-transformation realm warrior with exceptional talent and comprehension.]

[You had no intention of getting involved, but the girl offered too much.]

[You went out.]

[You confirmed the intensity of the officials' search.]

[You realized that the Great Qian court didn't pay much attention to Qingniu Town. The so-called search was merely a perfunctory inquiry. You accepted Wu Yingxue's pills and allowed her to stay at your home to recover.]

[Most of the time, the girl would sit alone in her room, silently contemplating her future.]

[Occasionally, she would struggle to her feet, despite the pain, and make her way to the main hall to watch you train day after day.]

[Your unwavering, relentless routine.]

[Deeply impressed the young girl.]

[She had never seen anyone like you, someone who could persist in such ordinary punches every single day. She even began to wonder if you were a little crazy for doing so.]

Fingers clenched into a fist.

He drew back and punched forward.

At the moment of impact, a crisp whistling sound echoed.

It was the wind stirred by the force of his punch, striking a falling leaf dead-on. The energy followed, and his fist collided with a massive piece of bluestone.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The stone first shook violently, then quickly began to tremble.

Fast, then slow.

Tense, then relaxed.

"Haa—" Xu Xi stood still, slowly retracting his punching stance. Hot air escaped with his breath, and his eyes shone with a sharp, focused energy.

"Finally, with the help of the Earth Blood Pills, I've successfully completed the marrow cleansing and blood transformation."

Xu Xi's expression was relaxed.

But then, the girl emerged from the side room.

Her brows were furrowed, clearly displeased with Xu Xi's training method: "Xu Xi, your way of training is useless. I have a family technique..."

She spoke up, intending to teach him a secret martial art from her family as a way to repay his kindness.

However.

Just as Wu Yingxue's hand instinctively touched the rough surface of the bluestone.

"..."

The massive stone crumbled into dust, blown away by a light breeze.

"?"