Princess of the Upper Realm

An hour later.

The door opened.

A young girl wearing a pale yellow dress walked out.

Ye Xuan turned his head and was slightly stunned.

Washed clean of dirt and dressed in new clothes, the girl looked like a completely different person.

Although she appeared somewhat thin and frail due to long-term malnutrition, her features were as picturesque as a painting and her skin was as white as snow. Her eyes, in particular, were clear and lively, carrying the gentle charm of the southern water towns.

Young Master...

She shyly gripped the corner of her clothes, not quite daring to look at Ye Xuan.

Not bad. You are not as much of an eyesore as before.

Ye Xuan withdrew his gaze and commented indifferently.

Since you are going to follow me, you need a name.

Your name is Huang Ying?

The girl nodded.

From now on, I will call you Ying'er.

Thank you, Young Master.

In a small alley in the south of the city.

As Ye Xuan led the girl named Huang Ying around the corner and out of sight, the street suddenly fell into an eerie, dead silence.

Crack.

The hooligan known as Scarface, who just moments ago had been rolling on the ground crying bitterly over his dislocated wrist, sat up expressionlessly.

He grabbed his twisted wrist and casually snapped it back. With a crisp sound, the bone was instantly reset.

The cold sweat, snot, and tears on his face evaporated cleanly in an instant, revealing a face that, while not handsome, was sharply contoured with eyes as piercing as an eagle's.

You overacted.

Scarface stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, and spoke coldly to the empty air, Your bitter weeping just now was forced, making it look far too exaggerated.

The lackey beside him, who had been clutching his leg and wailing, also immediately stopped screaming and stood up nimbly.

He pulled a delicate bronze mirror from his robes, checked his reflection, and frowned, Really? I thought it was fine. Isn't this how mortals cry?

Meanwhile, in front of the inconspicuous noodle stand.

A plump, middle-aged woman dressed in coarse linen, carrying a basket of rotten cabbage leaves, marched fiercely out from the depths of the alley.

She walked straight up to the noodle stand.

Crash!

The plump woman reached out with her large, fleshy hand and unceremoniously flipped over the grease-stained table.

Bowls and chopsticks shattered all over the ground, sending broth splashing everywhere.

The honest-looking boss, who had been wiping a table, froze in his tracks.

Pointing right at the boss's nose, the plump woman's normally kind and benevolent face twisted with rage. Spitting as she spoke, she cursed out loud:

You old fart! Is this the script you wrote?

Making Her Highness, the pure and flawless princess, disguise herself as a prostitute with a venereal disease?

Only you could come up with something so absurd! Is your brain full of mush? If the Patriarch finds out, not only will you be skinned alive and have your tendons pulled out, but all of us who came out as her Dao Protectors will be sent to guard the forbidden grounds!

Facing the plump woman's thunderous fury, the noodle stand boss—who just moments ago had been meekly bowing and scraping before Ye Xuan—now slowly straightened his back.

He gently brushed a speck of broth off his sleeve. In that instant, the bearing he revealed was actually like that of a grandmaster.

Aunt Hong, what do you know?

The boss looked at the plump woman with a serious expression, his eyes even carrying a hint of frustration at her failure to understand.

This is the most popular and enduring character trope in the mortal realm.

As he spoke, he reached under the greasy counter and, like a magic trick, pulled out a massive pile of brightly covered storybooks.

He casually picked up a few and spread them out in front of the plump woman, as if displaying peerless secret manuals:

Look here. This one is Du Shiniang Angrily Sinks the Jewel Box, this one is The Oil Vendor Wins the Courtesan, and there is The Peach Blossom Fan, The Legend of Huo Xiaoyu...

The boss tapped his finger forcefully on the book covers, analyzing with spit flying from his mouth:

See this? In the storybooks of the mortal realm, noble ladies and wandering swordswomen are already out of style!

What kind of trope do men nowadays fall for the most, especially men like him who have suffered emotional trauma and have heavy guards around their hearts?

The boss lowered his voice, his eyes flashing with the light of wisdom:

They like the fallen maiden who has a tragic background but a kind heart!

A prostitute turning over a new leaf, bearing a body full of pain and disgrace, yet still yearning for love and dignity... This is the most perfect 'beautiful, strong, and tragic' character design in the mortal realm! Men all love this sense of bringing salvation!

At this point, the boss smugly stroked the few sparse hairs of his beard and chuckled:

Rest assured. I have been setting up my stall here selling noodles for three whole years. I have read countless people, and I call myself the Mortal Realm Expert. I absolutely will not get this wrong.

You saw it yourself just now. That kid was about to leave, but the moment he heard the princess say she was willing to sleep with him to repay his kindness, his eyes immediately changed! That was him feeling compassion!

The extras in the surroundings who had been pretending to be passersby and diners also gathered around at this moment.

Some still held half-eaten garlic in their hands, while others had carrying poles resting on their shoulders, but right now, every single one of them exuded an unfathomable aura.

Hearing the boss's loud boasting, these people looked at each other in dismay and started discussing amongst themselves.

Is that so? I don't come to the mortal realm often, but why does this feel a bit sketchy? An old man who looked like an elderly farmer carrying a hoe frowned and said, Our princess is a phoenix from above the Nine Heavens. Playing this kind of role... isn't the sacrifice too great?

Heh, Old Liu, you just do not understand. A vendor selling candied haws nearby chimed in. This is called contrast. The more lowly the role is, the greater the shock and surprise will be for that kid when her true identity is revealed in the future.

Exactly! Think about it. If one day this kid finds out that the supposedly unclean maidservant beside him is actually a pure and flawless princess from the Upper Realm, I reckon he will be so happy that snot bubbles will pop out of his nose.

That might be true...

The earlier Scarface walked over, looking somewhat worriedly in the direction Ye Xuan had left. But I still feel it is a bit unreliable. The murderous aura on that kid is too heavy. He does not seem like the type to be tied down by romantic feelings. What if he sees through the princess's act?

See through it?

The noodle stand boss sneered and confidently pointed at his own head:

Impossible!

In the mortal realm, no one can see through the princess's true form!

Listening to the boss's defense, the plump woman's expression softened slightly, but she remained full of doubt.

She looked at the dim street in the distance, her eyes filled with worry:

Regardless, our task is complete.

We will leave the rest to the little princess. With her by Ye Xuan's side, no one in this world can touch him.

The crowd nodded.

The boss watched the crowd disperse, picked up a broken bowl from the ground, and sighed:

Sigh, these days, acting as a Dao Protector for young people is even more exhausting than cultivating.

I just hope the princess can successfully win Ye Xuan over. Otherwise, our whole big family will have wasted all this effort tossing about in the mortal realm.