Chapter 2: Unlocking the First Villainous Boss

As soon as the door opened, Ying Zhao saw a familiar face.

Ying Changsheng stood behind the door with a cold expression. It was unclear whether he intended to go out or if he had specifically stayed there to wait for her return.

Seeing his pale, handsome face, a vision of his tragic death suddenly flashed through Ying Zhao's mind, causing her heart to tighten instantly.

"A..."

She was about to call him "Little Brother" when Ying Changsheng suddenly let out a cold snort. "Where did you go? Did you go to see that Su Qi again? Haven't I told you? Those siblings are nothing but trouble. Why won't you listen!"

He glared at Ying Zhao fiercely, but because his features were so exquisitely handsome, he didn't look intimidating; instead, he looked somewhat adorable.

Ying Zhao gazed at him almost greedily. In her dream, she could only watch helplessly as Ying Changsheng died a gruesome death, unable to do anything. Now, seeing him standing there alive and well, she felt a sudden surge of gratitude for having woken up and for obtaining the Tianbao Mall.

With the Mall, there were so many things she could do.

Unexpectedly, at that moment—

【Detected residual toxins. Unlocking "Basic Toxicology."】

【Detected a person of destiny. Unlocking "Song of the Nine-Nine."】

Ying Zhao: 【...】 Her heart suddenly stopped aching.

Looking back at the sulking Ying Changsheng, Ying Zhao couldn't help but smile.

Her brother was a year younger than her. He used to be very obedient, but now he actually dared to lecture her.

However, she didn't blame him. If anyone was to blame, it was that fake and the mastermind hiding in the shadows using dark arts to harm her!

She and Ying Changsheng were not biological siblings; they were both abandoned infants picked up by their father. Because Changsheng had been poisoned as a child, he was physically frail, yet he was as lovely as fine jade. Now that he had grown up, he looked like a celestial being.

Fortunately, he didn't like going out; otherwise, if he went outside, someone would surely try to snatch him away!

"Your temper has certainly grown."

Ying Zhao walked up to him with a beaming smile. Seeing his face instantly flush red in a stunned expression, she took the opportunity to slip past him and stride toward the main house.

She had to return the jade pendant to her mother first. It was her mother's personal possession and had to be kept safely. It must never fall into the hands of outsiders and bring death upon them!

In the main house, Lady Yu was kneeling on a straw mat. Seeing Ying Zhao enter, her gaze turned cold instantly. "You're back?"

Ying Zhao could tell at a glance that Lady Yu had discovered the theft of the jade pendant and was currently filled with rage.

In her dream, the fake had handed the jade pendant to Su Qi. Fearing punishment from Lady Yu, she had intentionally jumped into the river, returning home soaked and claiming the pendant had fallen in.

Because of this, Ying Zhao had fallen seriously ill. After hearing the news, her father had searched the river for a long time, only to find nothing, leaving him despondent for a long period.

Ying Zhao pursed her lips and strode up to Lady Yu. Just as she knelt and was about to produce the jade pendant, she heard the voice of Tianbao again—

【Detected a descendant of the Rain Master with a damaged foundation. Unlocking "Scripture of the Water Heart," "Dance of the Dark Nether," "Basic Medicine," and "Basic Alchemy."】

Ying Zhao looked at Lady Yu in shock: 【!!!】

Lady Yu raised an eyebrow and said unpleasantly, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Ying Zhao: "..."

The Rain Master was a shaman specializing in praying for rain. It was said that if a Rain Master performed the Rain Prayer Dance, they could summon rain.

Lady Yu was actually a descendant of the Rain Master!

How could she not be shocked?

Fearing Lady Yu would see through her, Ying Zhao quickly took out the jade pendant and offered it with both hands. "Mother, whether you believe it or not, that person earlier was not me. This is your jade pendant; I have brought it back."

"You..." Lady Yu's expression changed drastically. "What do you mean by that?"

She looked at Ying Zhao with a complex gaze, filled with scrutiny and suspicion, as if trying to judge her identity. "A year ago, your temperament changed drastically. Your father and I felt something was wrong back then and specifically sought a shaman to pray for your blessings and ward off evil, but it was of little use. Go back to your room and rest. Wait until your father returns before you come out."

Ying Zhao understood immediately; Lady Yu didn't trust her and wanted to put her under house arrest.

But she had urgent matters to attend to. She had only returned to return the jade pendant and could not simply stay in her room.

However, Ying Zhao did not argue. "Then I will head back first."

After saying this, she returned to her room and checked the Tianbao Mall. Indeed, it showed that "Basic Toxicology," "Song of the Nine-Nine," "Scripture of the Water Heart," "Dance of the Dark Nether," "Basic Medicine," and "Basic Alchemy" had been unlocked and were available for purchase.

However, seeing the prices, Ying Zhao was instantly depressed—she only had two merit points right now, not even enough to buy one.

So, the priority was to earn more merit points. Fortunately, an opportunity was presenting itself right now!

Ying Zhao closed the Mall and quickly opened her wardrobe to look for clothes.

The fake liked wearing *shenyi* (long robes). It wouldn't be convenient for her to wear such robes while out on business; she needed to change into *hufu* (Hu-style clothing).

After searching for a long time, she finally found her old *hufu* at the bottom of the chest. She tried it on, but it was a bit small and felt tight.

Having been possessed and having her consciousness trapped in a dream for a year before waking, her body had grown taller. Naturally, her old clothes no longer fit.

Since she was in a hurry to leave and didn't have time to borrow clothes, she could only make do with what she had.

There were suitable clothes in the Mall, but the prices were high, and she didn't want to waste her merit points on them.

Ying Zhao tugged at the slightly tight clothing, scanned the room, and seeing no bow and arrow, she went to find Ying Changsheng.

"Little Brother, where is my bow and arrow?"

As soon as she spoke, she saw the bow and arrow hanging on the wall, so she grabbed them and turned to leave.

Ying Changsheng panicked. "Hey! What are you taking the bow and arrow for? Where are you going now!"

He hadn't even settled the score with her yet, and she was already going out again, and with a bow and arrow!

"I'm going to catch a rabbit for you to eat. Wait for me to come back."

Ying Zhao tossed out the sentence and, seeing Ying Changsheng's face flush red again, decisively slipped away.

Only after she left did Ying Changsheng snap out of it and run after her. However, he was panting heavily by the time he reached the door, while Ying Zhao was already dozens of meters away. There was no way he could catch her.

Ying Changsheng gripped the doorframe in frustration, glaring at her retreating figure, his eyes turning red with anger.

Suddenly, he heard Lady Yu say, "Enough. Since she has left, do not bother her. Your health is not good; go inside and rest so you don't suffer from the heat."

Ying Changsheng turned around and frowned at Lady Yu. "She wouldn't take the bow and arrow to sell it, would she?"

Lady Yu said with certainty, "No."

Since she had returned the jade pendant and changed into her old *hufu*, why would she sell the bow and arrow?

Lady Yu thought for a moment, suppressed the excitement in her heart, and continued, "We will see when she returns."

Perhaps, she really is Zhao-zhao.

...

On the other side, Ying Zhao ran all the way out of the village, recalling the plot from her dream while searching carefully.

In the dream, on this very day, Su Qi and Su Xi had rescued an injured and disfigured youth. His identity was extraordinary: he was Ji Ye, the eldest son of the King of Yan.

The two of them had followed him to the Yan capital with the Black Feather Guards, leading to a meteoric rise in status. Ultimately, however, due to his insatiable greed, he was executed by the tyrant Ji Ye via lingchi (death by a thousand cuts).

What Ying Zhao needed to do now was to find Ji Ye and save him—ideally, to prevent his disfigurement and subsequent descent into darkness.

Tianbao had said that Ji Ye was a destined emperor whose fate was linked to hundreds of millions of lives. Once he completely turned dark, the entire Kingdom of Yan would be plunged into chaos and war.

Conversely, if she could prevent his total corruption, Ying Zhao would receive a massive amount of merit points!

Naturally, Ying Zhao did not want to miss this.

Setting aside the fact that Su Qi and Su Xi were her enemies—she would never allow those siblings the chance to seek revenge—she intended to intercept them simply because of the insane things they did after gaining power in her dream!

Ying Zhao searched along the way. She didn't know exactly where Ji Ye had been injured, but by the time he encountered Su Qi and Su Xi, he was already severely wounded.

Therefore, Ying Zhao guessed that the place where he was injured shouldn't be too far.

Sure enough, after walking for over ten li, she heard the sound of fighting coming from a nearby forest.

Ying Zhao immediately sprinted toward the sound, while carefully avoiding detection. Her current strength was mediocre; she didn't dare to engage in a direct confrontation and could only look for opportunities to fire arrows from a distance.

There were many wild trees in the forest. As Ying Zhao approached, she soon saw a handsome youth being surrounded and attacked.

Ying Zhao: *I'm coming!*