Translator: Silavin
Having a Space Ring made things convenient. With all his belongings stored in the ring, Qin Yichen travelled lightly and could move much faster.
He was used to this solitary lifestyle from his previous life, but now, he felt a strange emptiness, as if something was missing.
At night, Qin Yichen sat beside a campfire. A golden piece of meat on a roasting rack above the fire gave off a rich aroma.
Just as he was about to enjoy his meal, there was a whooshing sound through the air, and a black shadow crashed directly into his arms.
“Save me…” It was a woman’s voice, and it sounded weak.
Qin Yichen was about to push her away when he touched her arm and felt warmth. It was blood.
He did not want to get involved, as they were already outside the Grand Empire.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!…* In that moment of hesitation, after several sounds of movement through the air, four or five black-robed men appeared around Qin Yichen.
His brows immediately furrowed. He could sense that each of these black-robed men was at least in the Martial King Realm!
Being pursued by four or five Martial Kings meant this woman’s identity was certainly not simple.
“Damn it,” Qin Yichen could only smile bitterly. This was absolutely an unnecessary disaster for him.
Looking at the nearly burnt meat on the campfire, he sighed and stood up. It seemed he would not be able to eat after all.
“Everyone, don’t misunderstand…”
“Kill!” Before he could explain anything, following a black-robed man’s low shout, all five attacked at once, clearly not holding back.
*Zing!* With a light hum, the Spirit Sword flew out, drawing a spray of blood. Then Qin Yichen, half-supporting the strange woman, fled in the direction where one figure had fallen.
He could only choose to escape, because the leader’s cultivation was clearly not merely in the Early Stage Martial King Realm. It might even be a Major Realm above that!
[What a mess!? What luck!?] Qin Yichen complained as he fled.
He had been too soft-hearted. If not for carrying this burden, he would naturally have had an easier time alone.
*Haaaa…* Qin Yichen could only sigh. He had changed now and could no longer become as cold-blooded and ruthless as in his previous life.
…
In a courtyard…
Four black-robed men stood before a middle-aged man.
“You lost them?” The middle-aged man narrowed his slanted eyes as he looked over the four of them, making them all tremble. “Very good, five people went to hunt down a young girl who’s only at the Spirit Realm, and you still failed. Very good, very good…”
“We acknowledge our crime!” The four knelt down, drenched in cold sweat, clearly extremely afraid of this middle-aged man.
“Originally, we had dealt with all the people escorting that girl, but halfway through, she was rescued by someone who even killed Old Fourth…” The leader reported, trembling.
“Someone was actually able to rescue her from you five and killed one of you?” The middle-aged man’s eyes flickered, clearly contemplating something as he muttered, “Could the Zhao Family have found help?”
He had been planning to absorb the Zhao Family for a long time. Openly, he had been pressuring the Zhao Family, while secretly planning to kidnap the Patriarch’s Daughter… Zhao Yaorou.
Zhao Yaorou held a very special position in the Zhao Family. Without her, the Zhao Family would certainly decline dramatically.
However, he had not anticipated that the most crucial part of his plan would go wrong.
“Keep searching, we absolutely cannot let Zhao Yaorou return to the Zhao Family!” The middle-aged man gave his order.
…
After shaking off those four men, Qin Yichen continued traveling several hundred kilometres before finally finding a well-hidden cave.
The woman had lost consciousness and her temperature was high, clearly running a fever. There were wounds on her body, and blood had stained her clothes. Her oval face was very pale.
“Oh?” In the dim firelight, when Qin Yichen saw her young and beautiful face, he was slightly startled.
This pretty face gave him a familiar feeling, but he could not remember where he had seen it before.
*Haaa…* Qin Yichen sighed again, took out a Healing Pill from his Space Ring, and gave it to the woman.
The Pill dissolved instantly upon entering her mouth. In less than a moment, the woman’s pale complexion improved significantly, and she slowly regained consciousness.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide, and seeing the strange man before her, she instinctively backed away until she hit the cave wall.
“Who are you?” The woman watched Qin Yichen warily, very guarded, only relaxing after discovering nothing unusual about herself.
“I should be asking you that!” Qin Yichen rolled his eyes. [As the saying goes, ‘No good deed goes unpunished!’ I had risked such great danger to save you, yet you treat me like a criminal!]
“Me?” The woman was stunned, slowly recalling some things, and asked in surprise, “You saved me?”
She remembered falling into someone’s arms before losing consciousness, and that blurry face in her memory seemed to match the one before her.
*Hmph!* Qin Yichen snorted, displeased, and turned his head away.
If not for this inexplicable sense of familiarity with the woman before him, he would have long since left.
“This humble one is Zhao Yaorou, thank you for your kindness in saving me.” The woman’s voice came from behind him, but when Qin Yichen heard that name, he immediately turned back to look at her with an astonished expression.
[Zhao Yaorou!? Master?]
She was his Master from his previous life.
Back then, after Qin Yichen left the Great Prosperity Grand Empire, with no one to rely on, he entered the Ten Corner Alchemy Manor where he was bullied and ostracized. It was she, Zhao Yaorou, who took him as her Disciple and taught him to understand the Dao of Alchemy and practice Alchemy Techniques.
Back then, without Zhao Yaorou taking him in, Qin Yichen would likely have stopped progressing there.
He had always remembered the kindness of his beautiful Master.
But in his previous life, by the time he achieved success and entered the ranks of Alchemy Saint, Zhao Yaorou had already passed away.
Now, Heaven had sent Zhao Yaorou to him – was this so he could repay the kindness from his previous life!?
[No wonder I had felt so familiar when I first saw her.]
When Qin Yichen left the Great Prosperity Grand Empire in his previous life, he was already quite old, and Zhao Yaorou was naturally no longer young. If not for Qin Yichen’s deep impression of his beautiful Master, he truly would not have recognized her.
If he had really abandoned her just now, and found out about her identity later, he would have regretted it for life.
“Benefactor, what’s wrong?” Seeing him staring at her silently for so long, Zhao Yaorou called out several times.
She could sense Qin Yichen’s held no ill intent. Most importantly, she could feel that her wounds had actually healed, which meant this person before her had given her a High Grade Pill.