Fang Yuan rembered the girl.
She was the sa girl who once tried to bar his way at the edge of the Dark Forest.
Back then, she had tried to stop him with words and perhaps even seduction.
Perhaps it was genuine fear for his life... or perhaps it had rely been part of her profession.
A courtesan trying to coax a coin by inviting him to stay for a night.
But now that his perception had been sharpened by the Hollow Spirit Realm, he saw what he had missed entirely before.
As she handed a piece of plain stead bun to a grubby-faced child, her movents were fluid and perfectly balanced, containing a power that no mortal could possess.
The air around her subtly bent, a miniature domain of control so refined it was nearly invisible. She was not a simple courtesan.
She was a solid Nascent Soul realm cultivator.
Fang Yuan lingered quietly, watching her movents. The woman knelt among the children, her hands graceful as she broke the coarse bread into smaller pieces.
When she noticed him at the edge of the square, she lifted her gaze and smiled, warm, practiced, a courtesan’s smile.
"Would you like so as well, sir?" she asked lightly, holding out a piece as though she had been expecting him.
Fang Yuan shook his head. "No, I’m full. But thank you for the offer."
She inclined her head, neither offended nor insistent, and turned back to her task.
A few monts later, when her hand dipped into the basket again, one piece of bread had vanished, along with two of the children who had been hovering nearby.
Fang Yuan raised a brow, expecting her to scold or chase after them.
But she didn’t. She simply smiled faintly, letting it pass.
Not just the children, even a few adults slunk by to snatch scraps, and she gave no sign of stopping them.
By the ti her basket was empty, the sun had dipped into the horizon.
Fang Yuan realized, with a faint trace of amusent, that he had been standing there the whole ti, simply watching her feed the hungry.
The woman dusted her hands, then turned back to him, lips curling into another smile.
"Sir, you’ve been standing there since morning. Surely you would like a piece of bread, if only to fill your stomach?" Her voice was soft, coaxing, her every gesture touched with unconscious seduction.
Fang Yuan shook his head again. "Instead of bread," he said calmly, "I’d like to discuss sothing with you."
Her lashes lowered. She brought one hand to cover her chest, the other to rest delicately over her skirts, as if shielding herself.
Her voice turned coy, feigned innocence dripping from every syllable. "I’m a pure maiden, sir... I can’t."
Fang Yuan almost rolled his eyes. "Enough. You already know , so let’s skip the act."
For the first ti, her expression faltered.
Her brows knit faintly, and she tilted her head, eyes widening with genuine confusion. "No... I don’t know you."
Fang Yuan stared at her, silence stretching.
Inside, he swore. Shit. Did I just go too far with my own narcissism? He rubbed his temple inwardly. I thought she stopped months ago because she found handso—ah, wait. Of course. Back then I was in disguise.
"Let’s say you once helped in the past," Fang Yuan said evenly. "So I ca today to search for you, to repay you."
Her eyes softened.
For a heartbeat, silence hung between them, then she smiled gently. "I’m happy to have been of help. But I don’t seek anything in return for what I do."
She stepped forward without hesitation, her hand rising to lightly rub his hair, as though he were so younger brother she wished to comfort.
"You’re a good man," she said softly. "Thank you."
Fang Yuan was left speechless.
With his aura completely concealed, he looked no different from a wandering mortal.
And the woman before him, her eyes held nothing but sincerity.
She truly believed his words, proud of her small kindness, proud enough that he suddenly felt he couldn’t bear to extinguish that joy.
So he stood still, letting her brush his hair as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Only when she seed to realize what she was doing did she startle, cheeks coloring faintly.
She coughed into her hand and took a hurried step back. "It’s late, sir. How about we... et again tomorrow? Here."
Fang Yuan inclined his head. "That would be greatly appreciated, Miss..."
He let the word trail, clearly expecting her to fill the silence with her na.
But she didn’t. By the ti he blinked, she had already vanished into the twilight.
Fang Yuan could still sense her trail, faint but unhidden. She didn’t even tried to mask her trace. Not the careful type, is she? Maybe clumsy, even...
With that thought, he turned the opposite way, seeking out a modest inn for the night.
Minutes later, the sky darkened, heavy clouds rolling in before splitting open.
Rain poured in unrelenting sheets, each drop striking like tiny arrows, drumming against rooftops in a steady war march.
Fang Yuan could have easily kept himself dry, but for once he chose otherwise.
Better to look like any other weary traveler.
And so he let the downpour soak him through, walking calmly as the water traced down his robes.
At last, he spotted a small inn, its lanterns glowing faintly against the storm.
Fang Yuan slipped inside, shaking the droplets from his sleeves.
The place slled faintly of damp wood and old wine, but it was warm, and that was enough.
He approached the counter, voice shivering. "How many rooms do you have available?"
The innkeeper, a weary man with a towel slung across one shoulder, glanced up. "Seven left."
Fang Yuan gave a slight nod. "I’ll take—"
The creak of the door cut him off.
Another figure stepped in from the rain, cloaked and dripping. She lifted her head and her eyes locked with his.
For a long mont, both froze.
Fang Yuan’s composure cracked first; his lips twitched, then curved upward until he nearly burst into laughter.
"Ah," he said lightly, struggling to rein in his amusent. "We et again, miss."
The girl’s face went crimson in an instant.
She opened her mouth, shut it, then looked away as if she could will the rain to swallow her whole.
And in that instant, Fang Yuan understood.
The deliberate trail she had left earlier, it wasn’t just her being clumsy.
It had been her attempt to lure him into chasing after her in that direction, it was all part of her little sche.
She had probably even thought he would chase after her, and perhaps returning back, going back in the opposite direction would shake him off her trail.
The only flaw in her planning was that Fang Yuan had never really planned to chase her at all.
His expression made that clear enough, and her flush only deepened, climbing all the way to the tips of her ears.
Outside, the storm raged on. This inn was the only shelter for miles. Neither of them would be leaving any ti soon.
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