Moonlight flowed like water, silver radiance cascading down as night fell quiet and profound over Stone Desert City on the Dou Qi Continent. On the desolate wilderness outside the city, a dilapidated prison cart moved slowly forward, its wheels rolling over sand and earth, producing dull, muffled sounds.
Inside the prison cart, Qing Lin appeared utterly helpless. She pressed her lips tightly together, her gaze vacant as she stared ahead, her heart filled with fear and despair about the future. She knew that having been captured by these human traffickers, she could already imagine what kind of fate awaited her.
Earlier that day, Qing Lin had been searching for work in the city, but with no success. Although she had not found anything, she heard that the Desert Steel Mercenary Group in the western part of the city was recruiting in large numbers, so she planned to try her luck there the next day. On her way home, she discovered that part of her usual route had been sealed off, so she detoured along a more remote path.
However, it was precisely this detour that led her to encounter a human trafficker. Upon seeing her, the trafficker chased after her and knocked her unconscious. After being knocked out, Qing Lin was locked inside a cage and secretly transported out of the city. When she awoke again, night had already fallen.
As a mixed-blood, Qing Lin was undoubtedly a target of discrimination in Stone Desert City. However, in cities farther away from the desert, she was instead considered extremely valuable merchandise.
"This little girl may be a filthy snake-person hybrid, but her looks are quite decent—this waist, this face. Hopefully she'll fetch a good price," one of the traffickers laughed loudly.
"Heh heh. Although we find snake bloodlines disgusting around here, some big shots in Fallen Leaf City really like this sort of thing. And she's a rare hybrid too—probably has all kinds of special uses. This trip's definitely going to make us a fortune," another trafficker said, laughing as he analyzed the situation.
Listening to their conversation, Qing Lin's heart sank further and further.
Just as despair was about to overwhelm her, a streak of cold sword light suddenly tore through the night sky. Immediately afterward came a dull thud as the prison cart abruptly came to a halt. Qing Lin raised her head and saw a young man descending from the sky, dressed in green robes, holding a long sword with drops of fresh blood still dripping from its tip.
It was Lin Yuan, who had been waiting for a long time.
Sweeping his gaze over the surrounding traffickers, Lin Yuan's handsome face carried a trace of coldness, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes. He walked step by step toward the prison cart, each footstep seemingly treading upon Qing Lin's heart, filling her with both nervousness and anticipation.
"No matter which world it is, human traffickers deserve to die."
The thought flashed through his mind. Lin Yuan did not waste words. He charged straight at the traffickers, sword in hand, casually forming a sword flourish. A powerful surge of Dou Qi erupted from his body. His figure flickered as sword light flashed again and again—each strike precise and decisive. In just a few exchanges, all the traffickers were slain.
Qing Lin stared at the scene before her, her eyes filled with shock. Although her cultivation was very low, her special constitution gave her an acute sensitivity to the strength of others. The young man before her looked young, yet his strength was unimaginably powerful—far beyond anyone she had ever seen.
After dealing with all the traffickers, Lin Yuan turned his gaze toward Qing Lin. His clear, cold eyes met her weak and timid ones, softening as if ice were melting. He asked the girl inside the cage,
"Are you alright, little girl?"
"I-I'm fine. Thank you for saving me, sir!" Qing Lin hurriedly shook her head as she replied, gratitude filling her eyes as she looked at Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan smiled, sheathed his sword, and walked over to the prison cart. He opened the cage, preparing to let Qing Lin out. However, the moment she stood up, intense pain surged from her ankle, causing her to let out an involuntary, pained whimper—it turned out she had injured her foot while fleeing earlier in the day.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan lifted Qing Lin in his arms and carried her toward the distance. As the two left the shadow of the prison cart, moonlight spilled over them, as if draping them in a layer of silver glow. Qing Lin subconsciously raised her head and secretly glanced at Lin Yuan's handsome profile, only to be caught in the act. Their eyes met—Lin Yuan did not avert his gaze, while Qing Lin's small face instantly flushed red, and she hurriedly lowered her head.
"Haha, what a shy little girl. Interesting," Lin Yuan chuckled softly, and Qing Lin's ears turned red as well.
Lin Yuan carried Qing Lin to a nearby rock and gently set her down. Sitting on the rock, Qing Lin steeled herself mentally, then gathered her courage and looked up at Lin Yuan. With some shyness, she said, "Thank you for saving me, sir. Qing Lin has no way to repay you."
"It's alright. If you can't repay me, your parents can," Lin Yuan said knowingly. "Where is your home?"
At these words, Qing Lin's eyes dimmed, and her tone grew sorrowful. "I'm sorry… my mother has already passed away. I have no family."
"Is that so? My apologies," Lin Yuan said sincerely, inwardly criticizing himself for deliberately reopening her wounds despite knowing the truth.
Qing Lin hurriedly waved her hands. "N-no, sir, you did nothing wrong. There's no need to apologize to Qing Lin."
As she moved her arms, her sleeves slipped back slightly, revealing two fair wrists.
"Hmm? Snake-person hybrid?" Lin Yuan asked, as if he had noticed something. There was a subtle, inscrutable tone in his voice as his gaze fell upon her wrists, where several green scales dotted her skin.
"Ah—yes… I-I'm sorry… I-I didn't mean to scare you…" His calm words made Qing Lin's face turn deathly pale in an instant. Realizing that Lin Yuan was looking at her exposed wrists, her demeanor shifted from shyness to terror. Her body began to tremble, her voice carrying a hint of sobbing as she instinctively tugged at her sleeves, trying to hide her wrists. She looked like a frightened little rabbit.
A snake-person hybrid, an existence with both human and snake-person blood flowing through its veins was seen as bearing original sin near the battlefield where humans and snake-people clashed, suffering the shared hatred and discrimination of both sides. From a very young age, Qing Lin had grown up in such an environment, surrounded by contemptuous gazes.
Seeing Qing Lin's timid and pitiful appearance, Lin Yuan, though already prepared for it, had not expected her psychological scars to run so deep. A trace of tenderness welled up in his heart. He walked over to her, bent down, and gently rubbed her small head, saying softly,
"Why hide it? It's so beautiful. How could something this beautiful possibly frighten me?"
Feeling the warmth of the palm resting on her head and listening to Lin Yuan's comforting words, Qing Lin gradually calmed down after a while. Being naturally sensitive, she could feel Lin Yuan's goodwill toward her, and a strange emotion quietly arose in her heart. Gathering her courage, she asked him softly,
"Y-you don't hate the Snake-Person blood in me?"
Lin Yuan chuckled lightly and replied earnestly, "My view of others has nothing to do with bloodlines. I already have a younger sister who is just as adorable as you, a magical beast that took human form. How could I develop prejudice against someone because of their bloodline? What's more…"
He leaned down, gently wiping away the tears at the corner of Qing Lin's eyes. Looking into her green crystal-like pupils, three tiny green dots silently surfaced within them. His words carried a deeper meaning.
"You also have such a beautiful pair of eyes."
Hearing Lin Yuan's words, Qing Lin fell momentarily dazed. With her keen sensitivity, she could clearly feel his sincerity and kindness. It gave rise to an unreal sensation within her—someone like herself, who had always been loathed and discriminated against, was actually being treated this way by a youth who seemed almost otherworldly.
Watching the dazed Qing Lin, Lin Yuan took out a jade bottle containing medicinal ointment from his storage ring and pressed it lightly against her cheek, chuckling.
"Take this ointment. Apply it to your injured areas."
The cool sensation of the medicine brought Qing Lin back to her senses. She accepted the bottle, which looked extremely valuable, and asked tremblingly, "This medicine must be very expensive… It's not worth wasting on someone like me."
Lin Yuan reached out with both hands and gently lifted Qing Lin's small face, making her look directly into his eyes. His tone was solemn and earnest.
"You may have suffered a great deal of discrimination since childhood, but do not belittle your own worth because of how others treat you. If you do not dare to affirm your own value, then let me affirm it for you."
With that, Lin Yuan withdrew his hands, stepped back, and extended his hand toward Qing Lin, solemnly issuing his invitation.
"Just now, when I saw your eyes, I became certain—you possess unique talent and potential. You should not be trapped in shallow waters. Come with me. I will teach you how to use your strength, how to become truly strong, and how to take control of your own destiny. When you become strong, you will find that all those things from the past are nothing more than insignificant dust in the course of life."
"If you have the will to follow me, then take my hand."
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