Shu Yue walked into the clean and tidy cell with her hands behind her back.
It was a suite with three rooms and a living room, elegantly decorated.
She could even call for service if she needed anything.
It was likely a comfortable place to stay, though she didn’t particularly care.
She wore no shackles or chains and kept her head held high throughout the entire process.
The guards escorting her followed behind as if they were her bodyguards, terrified that some blind fool might rush out and startle her.
Was this really a prison?
Yes, it was.
The reason for this treatment was simply because Shu Yue acted so untouchable—so brazen that it genuinely terrified them.
Who was she?
Why did she dare to act like this?
What kind of background did she have?
They had investigated, but they found nothing.
All they knew was that she came from a small city in the Outlands.
As soon as she arrived, a marriage contract with the Baron’s beloved daughter was arranged, with the wedding set for three days later.
It was rumored that Baron Leicester and Viscount Herman had simultaneously ceded parts of their industries, gifting them to this newly appointed noble for free.
As for the exact reason, neither the Baron nor the Viscount said a word.
When the officer of the City Guard learned of this, he couldn’t even sit straight. His entire body shook as he broke into a cold sweat.
They wanted to send Shu Yue back, but it was easier to invite a god in than to see one out.
Shu Yue refused to leave and insisted on staying in the prison.
Finally, after a standoff, they decided to house her here.
Shu Yue had agreed.
At the time, she had considered whether or not she should go back.
However, since she had already committed to the act, she figured she might as well take it a step further.
Wouldn’t going back now make her look weak?
Looking weak meant telling others she was an easy target, and being an easy target meant a lot of trouble.
What Shu Yue hated most was trouble!
Of course, Shu Yue had also figured out the true standing of the identity “Liya White.”
When she first arrived in Grey Pine City, she met three people: Baron Leicester, Viscount Herman, and an elderly man who did not reveal his identity.
She had felt a sense of coldness then, likely coming from that old man.
He clearly disliked Liya White, but he was suppressing his feelings.
A person who could make a Baron and a Viscount stand by his side with fawning smiles clearly held a high status.
If such a person disliked Liya White but still felt forced to put on a peaceful facade, it was enough to prove Liya White’s significance!
Shu Yue was banking on exactly that.
That was why she dared to be so excessive.
After all, only by acting this way could she provide reverse proof of how powerful the identity of Liya White truly was.
At least within Grey Pine City, he was very powerful…
It was like being wealthy; to make people believe you were rich, you needed the luxury cars, the mansions, and the mistresses.
“Phew…”
Shu Yue sat down, her expression remains icy.
Her mind was still on what had happened earlier.
That noble youth had been incredibly arrogant at the end.
However, she wasn’t concerned with his venomous words, but rather a key piece of information.
He had mentioned that he was going to the Early Spring Pavilion tonight.
‘Viper, must be killed!’
Killing intent surged in her eyes.
That noble youth named Simon Jim was now on her hit list.
‘I need to find a way to absorb the Dragon Blood…’
Shu Yue did not plan to absorb it here.
Although it was quiet and no one would disturb her, this was unfamiliar territory.
The City Guard was everywhere, and there were bound to be experts nearby—perhaps even Rank 3 powerhouses.
If her aura leaked, it would be trouble.
She scanned her surroundings and finally sighed.
‘I’ll just have to take it one step at a time.’
***
At nightfall, there was a knock on Shu Yue’s door.
She went to open it and found a maid who had come to deliver a message.
“Master White, the Viscount has requested your return to prepare for the marriage contract.”
“Oh.”
Shu Yue nodded, followed her out of the City Guard’s prison, and boarded a carriage.
The carriage was supposed to take her directly back to the Manor, but Shu Yue ordered the driver to stop halfway.
The maid had not followed her; she had left on her own as soon as they exited the gates and did not monitor her return.
The driver, having been told to stop, spoke up with some hesitation.
“Young Master…”
“Enough, this is close enough. I will make my own way back.”
Shu Yue pushed the door open, having no intention of entertaining him.
She jumped down from the carriage and turned to walk away.
The driver had no way to force her to stay.
He could only drive away alone, not daring to question the decision of a noble.
Shu Yue walked around for a bit before finding an inn and booking a room.
It was a single room with a private bath and basic furniture.
The bedding was soft and comfortable.
Though the room wasn’t as nice as her prison cell, it would do.
When Shu Yue was in the Outlands, she had frequently slept on tree branches.
Compared to those days, this environment was infinitely better.
Shu Yue first used her earth and stone manipulation to remove the materials she had used to alter her appearance.
She turned the excess into a large brick and placed it on the table.
In an instant, her somewhat gender-neutral body became slender and thin.
The delicate, beautiful black-haired youth transformed into a pretty black-haired girl.
She took off her clothes and sat on the bed, looking down at her small chest wrapped in bandages.
“Sigh…”
She wasn’t used to being a girl, but she had already transformed into a Dragon Maiden before and experienced a female body, so it didn’t feel too jarring.
Shu Yue touched the areas that felt slightly swollen, her willow-leaf brows furrowing.
‘Have they grown a bit… forget it, I won’t worry about that now. Absorbing the Dragon Blood Essence is more important!’
She didn’t know what kind of effect absorbing one and a half drops of Dragon Blood Essence at once would produce.
It would likely just keep her in the bloodline activation state for longer, requiring more time to deactivate it.
Shu Yue took a deep breath.
She pulled the bottle of Dragon Blood from her small bag and used the Silver Fire from the Star Tempering Art to burn away the glass and the outer liquid, then sent the Dragon Blood into her mouth.
***
Outlands, Pioneer Camp.
Eustia had been living here for a few days.
She had confirmed that the enemy had disappeared and that it was time to leave, but at that moment, her heart fluttered with an unexplainable sense of unease.
‘Huh, what’s going on?’
She rarely had this feeling.
As a regressor, her experience told her that she could never ignore it.
Three breaths later, Eustia’s figure vanished from the spot.
She darted out of the rented room and, with her current strength, reached her destination in no time.
When she saw the shattered carriage, the dried blood on the ground, and the two horse carcasses, Eustia’s beautiful face froze.
She was seeing something highly unusual.
“The bodies are gone… It’s impossible for someone to have buried them. Who? Who found this place?”
Her eyes turned cold.
Her originally aquatic blue eyes became a deep, abyssal blue, glowing with a faint light.
A mysterious power made her image seem thin and ethereal.
This lasted for only one breath.
An instant later, Eustia clenched her fists.
“I can’t even detect anything.”
‘If I hadn’t intervened, Liya White should have been in Grey Pine City by now. He would have insisted on the original marriage contract and met her as she was passing through the city…’
‘There are still three days. She will arrive in three days, and then she will take Liya White away.’
‘If he truly is still alive, I only have these three days to kill him!’
Eustia made no attempt to hide her intense killing intent.
She would never allow that future to repeat itself.