Chapter 6: A Legendary Woman

Little did she know, just as she finished sighing—

【Culinary Successor detected. Unlocking "The Canon of Food."】

Ying Zhao: 【...】

She took a deep breath and hurriedly said, 【Tianbao, can you please not speak so suddenly next time?】

Tianbao seemed somewhat distressed: 【But I must remind Master in a timely manner!】

【Fine, I'll let you remind me next time.】

Lest she mistake the wrong person.

Ying Zhao gave A-Shui a deep look, her emotions complicated.

A-Shui had an older brother named A-Jin; they were siblings who relied on each other for survival, bought from the slave market by Ying Zhan.

The two were twins, naturally blessed with good looks. They should have been sold to wealthy families as concubines or playthings, but they were too ruthless—they deliberately disfigured themselves and fell gravely ill, becoming the lowest class of slaves, which allowed Ying Zhan to pick them up at a bargain.

Ying Zhao remembered that when they first arrived, they were skin and bones, yet they were like little beasts—their eyes were fierce and their vitality was incredibly tenacious. Despite being deathly ill, they had stubbornly survived.

Over the years, they had remained loyal and hardworking.

In Ying Zhao's dream, it was these two who had risked their lives to save that "fake" girl. In the end, the siblings both died, while the fake girl, by some stroke of luck, survived.

However, that fake girl didn't end up with a good fate either; not only was her body usurped, but that person also...

Thinking of the legendary woman from her dream, Ying Zhao's mood instantly soured.

Regardless, she would never give up her own body! Since that person wasn't dead yet, then don't die. Wouldn't it be much better to use her own body?

Regaining her composure, Ying Zhao said, "Clean all of these up and stew them together into a soup."

A-Shui immediately stopped what she was doing and walked up to Ying Zhao. Seeing the green onions, ginger, and garlic, she looked surprised. "These are to be stewed in the soup as well?"

At this time, green onions, ginger, and garlic had not yet been used as seasonings; in the eyes of many, they were still wild weeds, and their pungent, irritating flavors were considered unfit for consumption.

A-Shui grew worried: *Could the Lady be acting recklessly again?*

Ying Zhao did not explain, only saying, "Stew them together. I've tasted them; they won't kill anyone."

A-Shui immediately frowned. "How can the Lady eat things so haphazardly?"

Ying Zhao didn't want to listen to her further. She was in a hurry to return to her room to process the merit points she had just earned and increase her strength.

"Finish this quickly. I'll be back in a bit."

Leaving those words behind, Ying Zhao decisively returned to her room. She locked the door, opened the Mall, and extracted ten thousand merit points to enhance her strength.

She currently had a total of ten thousand two hundred and three merit points. After extracting ten thousand, two hundred and three remained.

Upon extraction, Ying Zhao saw specks of golden light drifting out from the Mall, enveloping her like stars before merging into her body and vanishing.

Immediately after, she felt her body growing increasingly hot, and sweat poured off her like rain.

After an unknown amount of time, the heat finally subsided.

【Congratulations, Master, on successfully unsealing the "Light as a Swallow" talent.】

Ying Zhao was startled and hurriedly asked, 【Unsealing the "Light as a Swallow" talent?】

【That's right! Master is currently in a mortal body, so your strength is sealed. However, as long as you have merit points, Master can strengthen your physical body, break the seal, and increase your strength. Now that Master has successfully unsealed the "Light as a Swallow" talent, you can jump three zhang high.】

Ying Zhao was utterly stunned. There was such a good thing? Wait! What did Tianbao mean by her strength being sealed? Was she incredibly powerful before? Was she not a mere mortal?

【Tianbao, do you know my former identity?】

【I am sorry, Master, but Tianbao cannot say.】

Ying Zhao: 【Forget it then.】

If it wouldn't be said, so be it. It was useless for her to know now; she might as well earn more merit points to raise her strength.

Coming back to her senses, Ying Zhao realized her Hu-style clothing was completely soaked with sweat, clinging stickily to her body. Not only that, but her entire person had turned dark and emitted a strong stench, as if she had just rolled in mud!

Ying Zhao: "!!!"

She decisively ordered A-Shui to bring fresh water and gritted her teeth, scrubbing her entire body several times and washing her hair thoroughly before she finally felt refreshed and much better.

After changing into clean clothes, Ying Zhao casually wiped her hair and strode out of the room.

She couldn't wait to test the effects of "Light as a Swallow," but it was clearly inappropriate to do so at home, so she decided to head to the back mountain.

As she walked, Ying Zhao could clearly feel her body becoming much lighter, as if she could fly if she so desired. She rushed out of the house, sprinted to the back mountain, and with a light leap, jumped onto a treetop about three zhang high.

Ying Zhao was ecstatic. With such an ability, saving people would be much easier! A simple leap could clear a wall, and she ran so fast—who could catch her?

Just then, she suddenly heard movement in the grass below. Seeing that it didn't look like a person, Ying Zhao fired an arrow. Once she was sure there was no movement below, she jumped down from the treetop, landing gracefully.

Walking over to look, it turned out to be a gray rabbit, and quite a fat one at that.

Ying Zhao excitedly picked up the rabbit and hurried home. She planned to head to the county town later to gather information and pick up some things for the house.

To her surprise, as soon as she entered the house, she saw Ying Changsheng again. The boy had a stern face, clearly quite angry: "Where did you go again? Did you go looking for Su Qi again?"

Ying Zhao smiled and held up the rabbit in her hand. "I went to catch a rabbit for you. Look, I caught it specifically for you. I'll roast it for you later."

Ying Changsheng looked at the rabbit in her hand in surprise, and a sudden blush crept across his handsome face. "You... you went out just to catch a rabbit?"

Ying Zhao shamelessly admitted it, "Yes, why else would I?"

She had gone out to test the effects of "Light as a Swallow," of course, but there was no need to tell her younger brother about that.

This boy had been sickly since childhood, possessed a sensitive and shy temperament, and would blush at the slightest teasing. Ying Zhao had loved teasing him since they were young.

"Hmph!" Ying Changsheng snorted to express his dissatisfaction, but then couldn't help but ask, "Did you push Su Qi and Su Xi into the river?"

"Did Lady Liu come to the house?" Ying Zhao frowned unpleasantly. "Don't bother with her. They took so many benefits from me; I'll make sure they spit them all back out with interest!"

Ying Changsheng looked at Ying Zhao in shock, his eyes suddenly turning red. "Are you really my sister?"

Ying Zhao walked over and pinched his cheek. "Don't be afraid. Your sister will protect you from now on."

Ying Changsheng's eyes instantly widened, and his face turned bright red. "You, you, you... you're bullying me again!"

"Who's bullying you?" Ying Zhao quickly hid her mischievous hands behind her back, pretending she hadn't done anything, and shamelessly said, "How could your sister bear to bully you?"

Ying Changsheng: "!!!"

He glared intensely at Ying Zhao, his face turning a deep, blood-red. Then, he suddenly let out a cold snort, threw out a "I don't believe you," and quickly turned to run back to his room, slamming the door behind him in a hurry.

Clearly, he was embarrassed.

*Tsk tsk, boys shouldn't be this shy.*

The culprit shook her head regretfully, then brought the rabbit to the kitchen and handed it to A-Shui. "Once it's cleaned, keep it in the well for a bit. I'm going to the county town; I'll roast it when I get back."

A-Shui was very surprised. "The Lady is going to the county town? Why not wait for Brother to return and have him accompany you? The journey to the county town is quite long; it might be unsafe for the Lady to travel alone."

Ying Zhao immediately refused. "No need, I'm leaving right away. There's no time to wait for A-Jin."

What she had to do next was not something suitable for A-Jin to know.

This legendary woman belonged to that type of badass female protagonist who was born into high status, killed by scumbags, then reborn into the body of an idiot to stage a comeback, seek revenge, and ascend to the peak.

A certain woman who had yet to appear: *Yes, I am a legend!*

Ying Zhao: *Since you aren't dead yet, then don't die. Use your own body.*

Honestly, she couldn't understand certain people who were stupid as hell while alive, enduring abuse without ever retaliating, only to suddenly be reborn after being killed, acting like a completely different person with their IQ instantly skyrocketing to start their revenge.

(End of Chapter)