Chapter 3: The Monstrous Youth

Qing Mei walked to the mirror and looked at her own face. Although she had mentally prepared herself, she was still startled. In the past, the people of Moon City would discuss how, if the Fifth Miss of the Qing family wasn't a waste, she would truly be a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms. It was a pity that such a stunning face belonged to a waste.

Precisely because of this, the young ladies of the Qing family were all jealous of her and bullied her every day. The strange thing was that every time they wounded her or scratched her face, it would be fully restored by the next morning without a single trace left behind, which infuriated the Qing family's young ladies to no end.

Qing Mei looked at herself in the mirror and curled her lips coldly.

"Whatever you have done to me, I will surely return it tenfold."

The voice was devoid of warmth, cold and ruthless. If anyone were to hear it, they would surely shiver, as the surrounding air seemed to drop by several degrees.

"Miss, come and eat."

Ning'er brought in a few bowls and placed them on the table. Qing Mei took one look; there were only a few steamed white buns that looked like they had been hard for a long time, along with some leftovers. Qing Mei frowned.

"Ning'er, take them away."

"Miss, are you not going to eat?"

"Take them away."

Ning'er dared not disobey and had no choice but to carry them back out.

Qing Mei sat by the table, thinking about her future path, when she felt something poking her. She reached into her collar and pulled out an exceptionally exquisite ring. Qing Mei was instantly astonished, because this ring had been given to her by her ancient martial arts sister, Qing Wuxin, right before she died in the modern world. Her sister had told her to keep it safe, saying it was very important, so Qing Mei had always kept it on her person. How did it come through with her?

Qing Mei held the ring, playing with it to see what use it might have. Suddenly, she remembered that in the fantasy dramas she had watched, some treasures required a drop of blood to be used. A sharp glint appeared in Qing Mei's eyes. One had to know that her greatest hobby in her past life was collecting treasures; she had swindled quite a few from her sister Qing Wuxin. If this ring were truly a treasure, that would be great. Qing Mei bit her finger and dripped blood onto the ring. As soon as the blood touched the ring, it emitted a dazzling light, and a voice appeared in Qing Mei's mind

"Contract, complete."

After a burst of white light, Qing Mei was still dazed when an extremely bewitching man appeared before her eyes...

He wore a red robe, but the collar was open, revealing fair skin all the way down to his waist. A white sash was tied loosely around him, and he stood about 185 centimeters tall. Beneath his matching red hair, his face was exquisite to the extreme. With thin eyebrows, alluring peach-blossom eyes, a high-bridged nose, and thin, vibrant red lips, his skin was better than a woman's—he was a total enchantress.

Qing Mei looked at him with a smile.

"Beauty, go back to wherever you came from. Don't be so flirtatious here." Don't let her smiling face fool you; Qing Mei was currently gathering all her focus to deal with this mysterious stranger of unknown origin. Her codename as an agent in the past was: Smiling Tiger.

The youth in red glanced at Qing Mei.

"I am the artifact spirit of the Purple Flame Ring. Since you have recognized the Purple Flame Ring, then of course I must follow you."

Qing Mei's mouth twitched. A grown man referring to himself as "I" (using the feminine/cutesy 'renjia') gave her goosebumps.

"Purple Flame Ring? This one?"

Qing Mei picked up the ring and shook it. The youth in red nodded.

"What is an artifact spirit?" Qing Mei frowned.

"Every spirit artifact of sub-divine grade or higher has an artifact spirit. Simply put, it is a spirit beast that guards the artifact to prevent dark forces from obtaining it to do evil."

The youth in red sat down of his own accord and poured himself a cup of water.

"Yo, what kind of spirit beast are you, to look so... tsk tsk."

"Hmph, I am a Blazing Fire Fox."

The youth in red said haughtily.

"No wonder you're a fox, to look so bewitching."

The youth in red ignored Qing Mei.

"Are you sure you want to follow me?" Qing Mei's tone suddenly turned cold. She could tell that the youth had no malicious intent.

"Of course."

"Then listen well: I, Qing Mei, do not want people who are disloyal to me. If you are not sincere toward me, then you need not stay by my side. Likewise, if you are sincere toward me, I will surely be sincere toward you."

The youth in red looked at Qing Mei with interest.

"You're only 15, right? How do you know so much?"

Qing Mei glanced at him. "That's none of your concern." "Fine, I understand these principles. I will be loyal."

"Then what is your name?" Qing Mei's tone softened significantly.