(POV — XIE YAN → QINGYU)
The Xie Corporation tower stood in the center of the city, more imposing than any of the surrounding buildings.
It served as the command center for every business under the Xie Corporation name.
At that moment, Xie Yan’s office was silent, yet tension lingered heavily in the air.
Several photos of poisoned victims were displayed across the laptop screen: arms, necks, backs.
Purple bruises spread across their skin in patterns that were far from random, as if something had deliberately attacked specific pathways inside the body.
Assistant Qiang stood a few steps behind him, waiting patiently.
“Qingxu Balance Tea, Qingxu Vital Powder, and Qingxu Calm Capsules,” Xie Yan murmured, his brows furrowing.
All of them were marketed as vitality-enhancing products.
Yet they were slowly destroying the body from within.
“Have we traced the source products yet?” Xie Yan asked.
“Yes, Sir.
The small distributor shut down this morning.
They claimed it was due to a ‘sudden inspection.'”
Xie Yan showed no reaction.
“Who supplied the raw materials?”
Assistant Qiang swallowed nervously.
“The source traces back to the southern district.
There were several intermediaries involved, but the company names keep changing.”
“Intermediaries always leave traces,” Xie Yan said flatly.
“If you can’t find them, it means someone who understands how to erase trails is covering them.”
He stood and adjusted the cuff of his suit.
A thin black ring on his index finger glimmered faintly beneath the office lights.
“Follow the money.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Xie Yan picked up a thin file from the desk.
A short note from Doctor Ming was attached to the top:
Marker X inconsistent.
Possible chronic toxin exposure.
Chronic.
Which meant the poison was designed to kill slowly.
His brows tightened slightly before he closed the file.
His fingers tapped the desk once.
They entered through my channels.
Because they knew only a network this large could hide that level of distribution.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
They made one mistake.
They assumed I wouldn’t destroy my own system if necessary.
Xie Yan shut the report screen.
He did not need poison like this to kill slowly.
He already understood this was not an attack against the public.
It was a warning.
Unfortunately for them, they had chosen the wrong territory for their chessboard.
“Something is moving,” he murmured.
“And this time… it’s too close.”
Meanwhile, at the Lin residence, change arrived in simpler ways.
Mornings no longer left Qingyu dizzy.
Her movements were steadier now, and faint traces of life had begun returning to her complexion, though only slightly.
Two days after the fever, Qingyu stood before the small mirror in her room.
Her neatly trimmed hair now fell softly beside her face.
Her skin was still pale, but no longer with the pallor of someone dying.
It looked more like the complexion of a person who rarely stepped outside.
On the table, her phone suddenly vibrated.
Another notification appeared.
Something about a “system update.”
Qingyu stared at it briefly before turning the screen off.
“I don’t need a new system,” she muttered.
“I need a healthy body.”
A knock soon sounded at the door.
“Miss Qingyu?” Auntie Yue’s voice came from outside.
“Come in, Auntie.”
Auntie Yue entered carrying a stack of freshly ironed clothes.
The clothes were clean and neatly folded, but the fabric had clearly been washed too many times.
It had already begun thinning at the edges.
Qingyu glanced at them briefly.
They were the same clothes she had been wearing over and over again.
Auntie Yue lowered her head slightly.
“Master Lin asked me to tell you… you’ll be going out today.
He said you need some fresh air.”
Qingyu raised a brow.
“Going out?”
“Yes,” Auntie Yue replied.
There was a trace of restrained relief in her voice.
“Master said… Miss needs proper clothes.
And… perhaps some outside food once in a while.”
The words sounded ordinary, but Qingyu caught something beneath them.
A realization that had arrived far too late.
For Qingyu, this was a good sign.
If the original Lin Qingyu had seen this side of her father before…
Qingyu let out a faint breath.
The door opened again.
Xiao Lan entered with small hurried steps.
She was not wearing her maid uniform this time, and her eyes sparkled as if she had just been assigned the most important mission in the world.
“Miss!
We’re going out!” she blurted excitedly before immediately covering her mouth and bowing properly.
“I-I mean… Master Lin allowed it.”
Qingyu looked at her expressionlessly.
“You sound like we’re going to war.”
Xiao Lan blinked.
“Shopping is… stressful, Miss.”
Qingyu considered that statement seriously, as if weighing its logic.
“In that case… we’ll need weapons.”
Xiao Lan panicked.
“Eh?”
Qingyu calmly raised her phone and bank card.
“These.”
Xiao Lan froze before laughing softly.
“I wasn’t joking,” Qingyu replied without expression.
Xiao Lan laughed even harder.
Auntie Yue cleared her throat to hide her own smile.
The family driver was already waiting outside.
The car soon headed toward a nearby shopping center.
Throughout the ride, Qingyu observed the city with different eyes.
Earth lacked dense qi, but it operated on another kind of power entirely.
Rules no one wrote down, yet everyone obeyed.
Everyone moved quickly, staring down at their phones as if worshiping small glowing objects that guided their lives.
In Azura, people chased pills and cultivation techniques, she thought.
Here, they chase… money and discounts.
Not long after, they arrived.
The shopping center was bright enough to hurt the eyes, filled with polished floors, cold air-conditioning, and crowds moving in every direction.
The scents of bread, perfume, coffee, and sugary desserts mixed together in the air.
Xiao Lan immediately pointed toward the escalator.
“Miss, let’s start with the clothing stores first!”
Qingyu stared at the moving staircase in silence.
“We… ride that?” she asked.
Xiao Lan nodded quickly.
“Yes!
It’s an escalator.”
Qingyu stared at it again.
“The stairs are alive.”
Xiao Lan nearly choked.
“Miss rarely goes outside, especially to places like this,” Auntie Yue explained calmly.
Qingyu lowered her gaze and stepped forward cautiously.
The moment the escalator moved beneath her feet, her body stiffened for a split second.
Her expression remained calm, but her fingers tightened slightly.
From behind, Auntie Yue whispered softly, “Hold the handrail, Miss.”
Qingyu obeyed without comment.
This body still needs training.
At moments like this, she truly missed being able to fly short distances or leap across rooftops effortlessly.
The first clothing store specialized in luxury brands.
That much was obvious from the uniforms and the way the employees greeted them with perfectly polite smiles hiding faint contempt.
“What are you looking for, Miss?” one employee asked.
She remained perfectly polite, but her gaze lingered just a little too long on Qingyu’s simple clothes.
Xiao Lan tried to sound confident.
“Clothes… for my older sister.”
Qingyu glanced sideways at Xiao Lan, her gaze clearly asking:
Since when did I become your sister?
Cold sweat appeared on Xiao Lan’s forehead.
“I-I mean—”
Before she could finish, Qingyu suddenly interrupted.
“My little sister is right.”
Xiao Lan’s eyes widened in complete disbelief.
Auntie Yue calmly stepped in.
“Please recommend something simple and comfortable.”
The employee nodded and brought over several outfits.
Qingyu touched the fabric.
Too soft.
“This cloth is fragile,” she said.
The employee’s smile twitched slightly.
“It’s premium material, Miss.”
Qingyu nodded.
“Then I was correct.
Fragile.”
Xiao Lan and Auntie Yue: “…”
“We’ll go somewhere else,” Qingyu said simply.
The employee could only stare blankly as they walked away, momentarily forgetting the professionalism she had carefully maintained.
The second store was far more reasonable.
The fabrics were not as luxurious, but they felt durable.
Qingyu chose without hesitation: two warm jackets, four plain tops, and three comfortable pairs of pants.
Every color she picked was understated and muted.
Xiao Lan suddenly held up a soft pastel dress.
“Miss, this one is pretty!”
Qingyu studied it for several seconds before gently shaking her head.
“Pretty… but not for me.”
Xiao Lan blinked in confusion.
“Why?”
Qingyu’s gaze drifted elsewhere.
“This dress looks like something people wear when they want to be seen.”
Xiao Lan hesitated.
“That’s not what I meant…”
Qingyu gave a small shrug.
“I don’t want attention.”
She paused briefly before adding more quietly,
“I just want to live.”
Auntie Yue nodded softly, as though she understood far more than Qingyu had actually said.
Xiao Lan quietly returned the dress to the rack while mentally updating her understanding of her young miss.
After shopping, Xiao Lan eagerly dragged them upstairs.
“Miss!
Let’s go to the food court!”
Qingyu looked around at the open seating area filled with dozens of tables, overlapping food aromas, noisy conversations, and people carrying trays everywhere.
“This is like… an indoor marketplace,” Qingyu concluded.
“Y-Yeah… something like that,” Xiao Lan replied, already beginning to accept Qingyu’s reactions as normal.
Xiao Lan bought simple food: rice, sweet garlic chicken, and warm corn soup.
Auntie Yue chose unsweetened tea.
Qingyu sat quietly and observed.
When she took the first bite, she noticed something different.
Her body was finally beginning to accept food without nausea or discomfort.
Xiao Lan stared at her expectantly.
“Is it good?”
“Not bad,” Qingyu answered.
Xiao Lan immediately looked proud, as if she had personally cooked the meal herself.
Then her eyes landed on a nearby drink stall.
“Miss… you have to try boba!”
Qingyu turned toward her.
“What is that?”
“A sweet drink… with chewy balls inside.”
Qingyu stared at her, slightly confused.
“A chewy… drink?”
“Yes!” Xiao Lan grinned brightly.
Qingyu sighed softly.
“Fine.
I’ll try it.”
Xiao Lan immediately rushed toward the line.
Qingyu watched the long queue.
“People willingly stand that long just for a drink.”
Auntie Yue replied gently, “Sometimes people are willing to wait for things that make them feel happy… even if only for a little while.”
Qingyu did not answer, but she remembered those words.
Several minutes later, Xiao Lan returned carrying two large cups.
“This one’s for Miss!
Brown sugar boba!
Everyone’s favorite!”
Qingyu accepted the cup carefully with both hands, almost like she was receiving an artifact.
She stared at the oversized straw as Xiao Lan stabbed it through the plastic seal.
“This straw… looks like a weapon,” Qingyu commented.
Xiao Lan laughed.
“It’s for catching the boba!”
Qingyu took a sip.
Sweet liquid entered her mouth.
Then—plop.
A chewy ball bounced against her tongue.
Qingyu froze.
Xiao Lan watched her reaction nervously, as if awaiting a judge’s final verdict.
Qingyu slowly chewed the boba.
Her face remained completely serious.
“…Why am I chewing a drink?” she asked while turning toward Xiao Lan.
Xiao Lan burst into laughter so hard she nearly choked.
Auntie Yue smiled softly.
“This is normal, Miss.”
Qingyu looked at them one by one before nodding solemnly, as though accepting a new truth about the world.
“I see.
So this is normal.”
Xiao Lan nodded rapidly.
“Very normal!”
Qingyu chewed another boba pearl.
This time she was less startled.
She had not expected drinks on Earth to evolve into something like this.
“It’s sweet,” she said while looking at the cup.
Xiao Lan brightened immediately.
“That means Miss likes it!”
Qingyu remained silent for a few seconds before replying,
“I never said I liked it.”
Xiao Lan collapsed dramatically against the chair.
“Miss…”
Qingyu added in the same flat tone,
“But… I would buy it again later.”
Xiao Lan instantly revived.
“SEE?
Miss likes it!”
Qingyu looked at the drink again and murmured quietly,
“Round like pills.
Boba pills.”
Auntie Yue nearly choked before quickly covering her mouth.
“Miss should try more outside food.
Dimsum, Peking duck, dynamite shrimp—”
Xiao Lan enthusiastically listed dishes that sounded suspiciously more like her own favorites.
Qingyu held back a faint smile.
Earth’s food truly was full of surprises.
And this drink… was not bad.
Without realizing it, she finished the entire cup.
The taste of brown sugar was unexpectedly pleasant.
Xiao Lan exchanged glances with Auntie Yue, both smiling quietly.
Evening gradually arrived.
They returned to the car.
As the vehicle drove home, Qingyu watched the city lights through the window.
Today, she had not cultivated at all.
She had only bought simple clothes, eaten warm food, and tried a drink that needed chewing.
Yet somehow… it all felt important.
By the time they returned home, night had fully fallen.
Xiao Lan went to sleep first after exhausting herself from talking all day.
Auntie Yue checked the locks before retiring to her room.
Qingyu stood alone inside her bedroom.
She opened a drawer and took out a small pouch.
Inside was the Purple Dragon Stone.
She brought it close to the wooden bracelet around her wrist.
Silently, she observed the two objects together.
A faint warmth emerged between them.
As if the two recognized each other… yet were still forbidden from touching.
Qingyu closed the pouch again.
“Not yet,” she whispered.
“My qi isn’t sufficient.”
She turned off the light and lay down.
Elsewhere, Xie Yan stood atop a building in the southern district, staring into the night.
He wore a specialized black mask.
His clothes were entirely black, along with a long dark outer coat.
Below him, the traffic had begun thinning out.
Behind him stood three men dressed similarly: black masks, black clothing, and specially designed shoes.
Unlike Xie Yan, they wore fitted black jackets bearing a small golden dragon emblem over the left chest.
Black Mask Devil.
“Proceed tonight as planned,” Xie Yan ordered calmly.
“Understood!”
The three men moved instantly without another sound, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as though gravity barely applied to them at all.