I am the young master?

"Subordinate Yue Jiaonu pays respects to Young Master."

Under the dark night sky, in a dilapidated farmhouse courtyard, only the bean-sized oil lamp in Duan Yi's hand emitted a faint light. With this light, Duan Yi could roughly see the full appearance of the woman before him.

She looked about twenty years old, with a melon-seed face, willow-leaf eyebrows, a cherry-like mouth, and fair skin. A pearl hairpin adorned her thick, dark hair. She was truly a beautiful woman.

Looking her over, a black, form-fitting outfit accentuated her graceful and alluring figure perfectly. A faint, alluring fragrance wafted from her, making one's mouth water.

Of course, this was all true, provided one ignored the dark red, gleaming longsword in the beauty's right hand.

Duan Yi's gaze, seemingly casual, swept over the longsword, which was clearly a real weapon. He pursed his thin lips, not immediately responding to the woman who called herself Yue Jiaonu. Instead, he replayed the memories he had just managed to process.

He was born in the seventh year of Yuan Feng in Great Xia. His registered domicile was in Yuxi Village, Datong Town, outside Lin'an County, Hebei Province, Great Xia. He was currently fourteen years old and unmarried.

His biological father was a scholar, a refined and handsome middle-aged man. Duan Yi learned to read and write from him. However, his father had died young, five years ago.

His mother was gentle and virtuous, yet strong-willed. While not exceptionally beautiful, she was also very great. After his father's death, she raised Duan Yi despite her own illness, and she had passed away just last month.

According to Duan Yi's memories, he had lived with his father and mother since he could remember and had never met any other relatives. Now, a martial artist with a blood-stained sword suddenly appeared, respectfully calling him Young Master. Could this be a honey trap?

However, he then remembered that his pockets were empty, and he had subsisted on three consecutive bowls of clear soup with foraged wild vegetables. What could she possibly want from him? Thus, he dismissed the rather unreliable suspicion.

"Big sister, do you have any food? If not, money would also do."

Duan Yi decided that regardless of her reasons, purpose, or even any ill intentions, as long as she gave him something to eat, he would do anything short of selling himself.

It wasn't that he was poor and lacked ambition, or that he was at his wit's end, or that he was threatened with starvation. Duan Yi would never speak so undignifiedly to a woman he had just met. After all, he had the pride of a transmigrator.

"This... your subordinate fought her way out desperately, shaking off pursuers after several attempts. I have no money on me."

The beauty, Yue Jiaonu, first fumbled about her person, then blushed, unable to meet Duan Yi's gaze, and replied softly. Her meek demeanor was incredibly endearing.

However, Duan Yi remained completely unfazed. Besides disappointment, there was mostly impatience and coldness. In the face of survival, all beauty was like fleeting clouds. No matter how beautiful, she couldn't fill his stomach; she was useless.

Of course, he didn't dare to show it too obviously, given the longsword in the beauty's hand. He could only hold the lamp with one hand, point to his own shrunken stomach with the other, and say weakly, "I really don't have the strength to talk right now. If you really have something to tell me, then get me something to eat."

Seeing Duan Yi's pale face, his head feeling heavy and his feet light, as if he might faint at any moment, Yue Jiaonu seemed to realize something. She cupped her hands in a salute towards Duan Yi and leaped far away with a "whoosh," truly startling in the dead of night.

Of course, it startled Duan Yi too. Damn, is this beauty a rabbit? Jumping around so energetically?

The beauty had vanished without a trace, and the surroundings were silent. Duan Yi slowly closed the wooden door, which offered little protection, walked to the center of the courtyard, adjusted his position, and sat on a small wooden stool facing the entrance, resting his chin on his hand as he pondered his current predicament.

He was a transmigrator, a former online writer specializing in martial arts fiction. He had no practical life skills. As for advanced techniques like manufacturing guns and cannons, or developing glass and soap, he was completely clueless, which disheartened Duan Yi somewhat.

And the memories of the young Duan Yi were even more pathetic. He was just a child, raised by a widowed mother. Besides reading, he helped with chores around the house using his strength, but he had absolutely no survival skills.

No, that wasn't entirely accurate. Knowledge was power. Duan Yi was, after all, a literate scholar. Although his literary talent wasn't great, he could still write letters for people or help them with accounting.

Thinking of this, Duan Yi felt much more at ease. At least if this suddenly appearing beauty turned out to have the wrong person, he wouldn't starve to death. This was already great news.

And if he was lucky and the beauty hadn't mistaken him, wouldn't he be set for life?

Young Master... this is clearly no ordinary person. Perhaps she's here to invite me to inherit a vast fortune. Indeed, heaven favors transmigrators.

However, Duan Yi had overlooked the fact that the beauty's longsword was bloodstained and that she had fought her way out of an encirclement.

Before Duan Yi could get lost in his fantasies, someone climbed over the two-meter-high earthen wall. Startled, Duan Yi fell off his small wooden stool with a plop, and the oil lamp beside him went out. However, he didn't shout but instead crouched down, gathering his courage, and asked the shadow in a low voice, "Who is it? Is that Sister Yue?"

Lin'an County, where Duan Yi was located, was a small county in Wei Prefecture, surrounded by mountains and sparsely populated. Furthermore, he was in Yuxi Village outside the county, where the population was even smaller.

In his impression, the only person who could climb over a wall directly was Yue Jiaonu, whom he had just met and who seemed to know martial arts.

"Young Master, do not worry. It is I. Jiaonu caught a wild rabbit outside the village, which can satisfy your hunger."

Yue Jiaonu was indeed capable. She had only been gone for a short while and had already caught a rabbit.

Duan Yi was overjoyed. He relit the oil lamp and brought Yue Jiaonu to the dilapidated kitchen of his humble home to start cooking.

Yue Jiaonu worked with practiced skill, rolling up her sleeves. Her slender hands placed the lifeless rabbit into a pot of boiling water to simmer. After a while, she took it out, plucked it, skinned it, and roasted it...

Watching this process made Duan Yi's mouth water. When the food was finally ready to eat, he devoured it ravenously. Yue Jiaonu watched him with a look of satisfaction, as if she were very happy that her cooking could please the Young Master.

Before long, the entire rabbit, except for the bones, had entered Duan Yi's stomach. His previously shrunken belly had become rounded, a striking transformation.

After eating, Duan Yi led Yue Jiaonu into the dilapidated room. He sat on the wooden couch covered with bedding to digest his meal, while Yue Jiaonu stood in the room, her legs pressed together without any gap, her waist slightly bent, as if showing respect to Duan Yi.

Duan Yi had told her to sit, but this woman was stubborn and refused. He figured he couldn't force her if she didn't want to sit.

"You say I am your Young Master. Tell me, what exactly is going on? You haven't mistaken me for someone else, have you?"

Duan Yi was cunning. Before Yue Jiaonu could speak, he spoke first, bringing up the possibility of mistaken identity. This was to prevent her from getting angry and killing him with her sword skills when she discovered the truth later.

"There is no mistake. The half of the Longevity Lock on Young Master's neck is identical to the half in Jiaonu's hand. When combined, they form a whole. This is the token. It is likely that the Young Palace Mistress transferred her Longevity Lock to Young Master."

Yue Jiaonu explained as she took out half a silver lock from her embrace. Under the oil lamp on the table, she brought it closer to Duan Yi for him to examine.

Duan Yi looked closely, his hands moving quickly. He simultaneously took the Longevity Lock he had worn around his neck since childhood and removed it. After a brief comparison, he could see that it was indeed the same Longevity Lock, split in two.

"My father's name is Duan Yue, and my mother's name is Yan Fangfei. May I ask, who is the Young Palace Mistress you mentioned? Is it my father or my mother?"

After confirming, Duan Yi felt a lot more relaxed. At least Yue Jiaonu hadn't found the wrong person, so he didn't have to worry about her getting angry and going on a killing spree.

"The Young Palace Mistress's name is Yan Fangfei. Jiaonu indeed found the right person! Young Master, where is the Young Palace Mistress now?"

When Duan Yi mentioned his mother's name, Yue Jiaonu became even more certain that she hadn't made a mistake. She was extremely excited. It seemed she had only guessed based on the token before and hadn't been entirely sure.

Duàn Yì didn't waste any time, explaining his current predicament to Yuè Jiāo Nú in one go. His meaning was clear: hurry up and get me out of this godforsaken place so I can go back and inherit my family fortune.

However, upon suddenly hearing the news of Duàn Yì's mother's passing, Yuè Jiāo Nú was struck like a bolt from the blue. The shock was immense, her body trembling, lips quivering. After several attempts to compose herself, she couldn't. Tears began to stream from her beautiful large eyes like a gushing spring, a sight that tugged at the heartstrings.

Although Duàn Yì was a transmigrator, the soul had integrated, and he felt it as if it were his own experience, sharing the same emotions.

But he was a man, after all, and possessed more reason. Seemingly sensing a deep connection between the woman before him and his own mother, he grew more curious. Just as he was about to ask, he saw Yuè Jiāo Nú already kneeling before him on one knee.

"Young Master, since the Young Palace Mistress is absent, you are the Old Palace Master's direct blood relative. I implore you to eliminate the rebels and restore the legitimate lineage of our Moon Worship Palace. I, Jiāo Nú, am willing to go through fire and water, and will not refuse any task."

Duàn Yì was dazed by the successive events, completely bewildered and unsure what this beautiful woman was up to.

Wasn't he supposed to go back and inherit his family fortune?

Rebels? Revenge? Restoring legitimacy? Going through fire and water? Could this not be a blessing, but a curse?