Chapter 2: 2, The Creepy Old Man

Dawn's first light descended, the horizon already flushed with crimson clouds, breathtakingly beautiful. Faint footsteps seemed to approach from the distance. Jin Se frowned slightly, slipped the jade pendant from the man's waist, and left his side. Her thighs still ached dully, but it did not hinder a slow walk. She strolled along, admiring the exquisite pendant in her hand—the phoenix carved upon it vivid and lifelike. The more she looked, the more she liked it. He had forced himself on her; compensation was only right. She should accept it with a clear conscience.

Bathing in the morning sun, Jin Se straightened her disheveled and cumbersome robes. Faint bloodstains still marked them, blooming alone like cherry blossoms.

"Little girl, your bone structure is good. How about becoming my disciple?"

A somewhat aged voice rang out abruptly behind Jin Se, utterly soundless in its arrival.

Jin Yan's brows locked tight, her pitch-black eyes radiating a palpable killing intent. The person was already at her side, yet she had sensed nothing. This wasn't like her—that domineering special forces captain, that wild survivor of slaughter.

"If I say I'm not interested, what will you do?" Gazing at the weathered old man with his immortal bearing, a trace of provocation flashed across Jin Se's brow. This old geezer... why did he look so much like *him*?

That man was Jin Se's master, the supreme grandmaster of the modern ancient martial world. He had passed on all his knowledge to her, then never woke again. Before his grave, she had sworn an oath: in this life, she would have only that one master.

"Little girl, this old man likes to challenge limits. And your constitution? It is the limit among limits. Clearly possessing not a shred of profound energy cultivation, yet so utterly transcendent. This old man likes it."

Yun Lingzi's pair of cross-eyed, mung-bean eyes blazed with scorching light. The look gave Jin Se a wave of goosebumps. Could this old man be a pedophile?

Jin Se maintained a three-step distance from him, the corner of her exquisite mouth twitching slightly.

"I don't like old men."

Just now, violated by a stranger; now, a suspected pedophile appears. Most importantly, she was no match for either of them. Long lashes lowered, veiling the emotions in her eyes. This world was truly full of challenges.

Yun Lingzi nearly stumbled, choking on his breath. This girl's thinking was truly beyond ordinary people. It seemed his judgment was sound.

"Girl, looking at your attire, you seem like a refugee. Are you sure you can walk out of this jungle of bewildering mist? Be careful not to get attacked by a beast horde come nightfall."

Yun Lingzi's beady eyes stared fixedly at Jin Se, afraid to miss a single expression. *Beast horde attack*—he refused to believe her liver wouldn't tremble!

*Beast horde?* Jin Se lifted her gaze to the sky. She was like a migratory bird trapped in a cage, lost, directionless, without money, without power. And here, Xiao Jin Se was merely an unfavored concubine-born daughter. Even if she returned to the Prince's Manor, she would only be met with cold shoulders.

The old man before her, though looking a bit sleazy, seemed to harbor no ill intent? His clothes also seemed decent enough. Going with him wasn't a bad idea—gaining a seemingly powerful backer out of thin air. She could swindle him plenty in the future and live without worry. Only... the word "Master"? It still tugged at the deepest pain in her heart.

"I can go with you, but I won't take you as Master." Jin Se's deep black eyes were bottomless. She had her inviolable bottom line. She had to keep the vow to her one and only Master.

"Little girl? What do you mean? You want me to *keep* you? Giving me absolutely no sweetener?" A flicker of astonishment appeared in Yun Lingzi's eyes, clouded with a murky white. This girl's words were grating. Did he look like the type to deceive young girls?