When he opened his eyes once more, a low, dilapidated room came into view.
Xuan Qing felt his entire body aching, sore, and weak, the rough wooden bed planks pressing uncomfortably against him.
He attempted to shift his limbs, struggling to prop up half his body, and dragged himself slowly until he could lean back against the head of the bed.
Only after completing this did he turn his gaze to survey the interior.
Dim and damp, the room held a set of old, weathered tables and chairs in the center. The wall plaster had long since peeled away, leaving the surface uneven and cracked.
The ruined environment laid bare the current plight of the room’s master.
It had taken Xuan Qing a brief moment over the past few days to fully fuse with the original owner’s soul while simultaneously inheriting his memories.
This was the Aowu Continent, a realm divided among five major powers: the Azure Dragon Empire to the east, the White Tiger Empire to the west, the Qilin Academy in the center, the Vermilion Bird Empire to the north, and the Black Tortoise Empire in the southern territory.
The location where Xuan Qing found himself was the Kingdom of Xiao, a minor vassal state belonging to the Black Tortoise Empire the lowest-ranked among the five great powers in terms of overall strength.
The original owner was the legitimate young master of the Wuyang Marquis Estate. Within prominent clans, children undergo a talent assessment at the age of four; talent determines the ultimate apex of one’s cultivation, graded from lowest to highest as Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, and Purple.
The original owner’s talent had tested at Upper Blue, astonishing everyone present at the time.
Everyone proclaimed that the Wuyang Marquis Estate had produced a genius legitimate young master. Yet this favored son of heaven, who should have enjoyed boundless glory, wealth, and public reverence, had his path to cultivation severed by an unexpected accident, locking his cultivation level permanently at the fourth layer of the Mortal Realm.
Despite trying every possible remedy to no avail, Marquis Wuyang gradually accepted the reality that his legitimate son had been reduced to a good-for-nothing, subsequently shifting his focus toward his concubine-born sons and daughters.
Marquis Wuyang, Huo Dehai, had four sons and two daughters. The eldest young master, Huo Xuanqing, was born to the legitimate wife, Lady Bai; the second young master, Huo Xuanxing, and eldest miss, Huo Xuanyue, were born to Concubine Liu; the third young master, Huo Xuanmin, and second miss, Huo Xuanya, were born to Concubine Yang; while the fourth young master, Huo Xuanying, was born to Concubine Li.
After the original owner became a cripple, Huo Dehai poured his energy primarily into cultivating his other children.
In particular, Huo Xuanxing and Huo Xuanyue possessed Cyan and Green talents, placing them among the crème de la crème of their generation.
Overnight, the status of Concubine Liu surged, eventually surpassing even that of the legitimate wife.
Lady Bai had engaged in furious screaming matches with Huo Dehai over this, weeping bitterly in her quarters day in and day out. Less than two years later, consumed by deep grief and anxiety, she passed away.
As a result, the original owner grew increasingly gloomy, erratic, and volatile.
Huo Dehai felt no grief over the loss of his wife; instead, he even contemplated elevating Concubine Liu to the status of a legal co-wife. The original owner threw a massive fit over this proposal.
The outcome could be easily predicted: family punishment involving dozens of wooden staves. After losing consciousness, he was dumped by the servants into this remote hovel. When he opened his eyes again, the master of this body had been replaced by the nine-tailed celestial fox, Xuan Qing.
“Rest assured, since you helped me be reborn, I will certainly fulfill your dying wish!”
The moment Xuan Qing finished speaking, he felt as though an invisible shackle had snapped away from his entire body, the heavy, oppressive weight vanishing completely.
Lifting a hand to glance at his callus-roughened palm, Xuan Qing focused his mind, and a cluster of ice-blue flames suddenly flickered to life.
His contracted anomalous fire the Netherworld Cold Flame.
As long as the soul remains undestroyed, the anomalous fire endures. Though it remained unclear why he had been reborn, it was ultimately a fortunate outcome.
The Netherworld Cold Flame was an ice-attribute anomalous fire capable of purging most malicious poisons in existence.
The original owner was suffering from a bizarre, chronic poison; had Xuan Qing not transmigrated, the toxin would have invaded his heart meridian within a year or two, permanently sealing his fate as a useless cripple.
The most urgent priority was nursing his injuries back to health before pondering how to lift the poison.
Just as he was deep in thought, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed outside, followed by a loud bang! as the weathered wooden door was shoved open.
Xuan Qing hurriedly closed his palm, extinguishing the anomalous fire instantly.
Glancing sideways, he saw a teenage boy stride in, dressed in a slightly worn, coarse fabric tunic, staring fixedly at him with a pair of round, tiger-like eyes.
The boy then lunged forward with swift momentum, looking precisely like a small animal abandoned by its master.
“Young Master! Young Master, you’re finally awake!”
“Wuwuwu… I thought you didn’t want little Wu anymore!”
Seeing the boy crying with aggrieved sobs, snot and tears smearing his entire face, Xuan Qing felt a twitch between his brows, instantly sensing that his entire fox existence was starting to unravel.
“Wipe that dirty face of yours!”
The wailing cut off abruptly. Huo Xuanwu stared at him through tear-shrouded eyes, two trails of snot still hanging from his nose.
Noticing that his young master’s face was turning dark, Huo Xuanwu hurriedly wiped his face clean with his sleeve, casting a few stealthy, nervous glances upward.
The boy was a personal attendant bought by the original owner, assigned the household surname and raised by his side since childhood. Even after the original owner fell from grace, the boy remained fiercely loyal and refused to abandon him.
At least he’s loyal, Xuan Qing thought to himself.
“How long have I been asleep?” Xuan Qing inquired.
“Young Master, you’ve been lying here for five whole days! The Marquis is truly going too far!” Huo Xuanwu clenched both fists, his eyes burning with fury and indignation.
Gurgle—
The two stared at each other in silence.
With his stomach rumbling uncooperatively, Xuan Qing realized this body hadn’t consumed a single morsel of food in five days.
In his past life, he had frequently raided the mortal realm’s luxurious estates for fine delicacies to satisfy his gluttonous cravings.
Huo Xuanwu slapped his own forehead with an Aiya, crying out, “Look at my memory! Young Master hasn’t eaten in days. Just wait, I’ll go fetch some food from the kitchen right now!”
With that, he bolted out like a startled rabbit.
Before long, the boy returned carrying a tray, muttering curses under his breath as he stepped inside.
“Those damned bootlicking servants! They’re bullying us way too much!”
Xuan Qing’s ice-blue pupils drifted toward the food on the tray: one meat dish, one vegetarian dish, a plate of stir-fried greens, and a bowl of congealed, cold chicken soup. Just looking at it killed any lingering appetite.
No matter how low he had fallen, he remained a young master of the estate; even if Huo Dehai was bitterly disappointed in him, he wouldn’t intentionally mistreat his meals.
A massive Marquis Estate wouldn’t go bankrupt feeding a cripple. Without needing to use his brain, Xuan Qing knew precisely who was behind this petty cruelty.
Unfortunately, Xuan Qing was never a fox willing to swallow his grievances. Beckoning Huo Xuanwu closer, he whispered a few instructions into the boy’s ear.
The boy’s eyes lit up instantly, his small face lifting high as he patted his chest and vowed with absolute certainty, “Young Master, leave it to me! Mission guaranteed!”
With that, he turned and sprinted out excitedly.
Half an hour later, the boy returned hauling an exquisitely crafted food box.
The box featured intricate workmanship, triple-layered construction, and delicate floral carvings etched into the outer surface, bearing the prominent characters “Yunxi Pavilion.”
Moments later, an array of gorgeous dishes covered the entire table.
Golden roasted chicken, lychee pork, braised eel in sweet-and-sour sauce, shredded bird’s nest soup, osmanthus pastry. The food released an enticing aroma that drifted throughout the entire room.
Starving by this point, Xuan Qing tore off a chicken leg and began devouring it. Tasting real meat for the first time in this body brought genuine tears of joy to his eyes.
Standing nearby, Huo Xuanwu swallowed hard, his gaze darting repeatedly toward the table.
Such blatant antics naturally didn’t escape Xuan Qing’s notice. Lowering his chin slightly, he gestured for the boy to sit down.
He had always been easygoing and unbothered by rigid formalities; besides, the boy was now his number-one subordinate. Xuan Qing never mistreated his own people.
Seeing his young master grant permission, Huo Xuanwu pinched his fingers together, hesitating nervously as though weighing various considerations.
“What? My words don’t carry weight anymore?” Xuan Qing narrowed his eyes in warning.
Sensing genuine danger, Huo Xuanwu jerked upright and dropped heavily onto a chair.
His mouth parted slightly as though to say something, but before he could speak, a chicken leg was suddenly shoved straight into his mouth.
“Stop chattering and eat!”
“If you stay this skinny, how are you going to help me fight people in the future? Do you want me to replace you with a new subordinate?”
Upon hearing this, Huo Xuanwu snapped his mouth shut, obediently biting into the chicken leg.
He would obey his young master unconditionally his fighting skills weren’t weak at all, and he was absolutely determined to defend his status as head minion!
Om nom nom. But speaking of which, how could anything taste this insanely delicious?! He had never eaten anything so wonderful in his entire life!
Huo Xuanwu’s personal life creed instantly added a new core belief: Following the Young Master guarantees good meat!
The rich fragrance of food filled their mouths, directly stimulating their taste buds as master and servant heartily feasted to their heart’s content.