Qing Lin

In the northeastern part of the Jia Ma Empire lay a desert that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Deep within the desert stood a powerful Snake-Person Empire.

To repel the Snake-People and keep them trapped in the desert, the Jia Ma Empire had built city after city in the sands. Shi Mo City was one of them.

After the Jia Nan Academy's recruitment ended, Xiao Lei hurriedly carried Xiao Yi Xian toward this wasteland, flying at full speed.

Xiao Lei hadn't chosen a large flying magical beast. Such beasts were too weak and had limited speed, nowhere near as fast as Xiao Lei with his Purple Cloud Wings.

After cultivating for so long, thanks to his Woe Poison Body, Xiao Lei had reached the level of an eight-star Dou Ling, even though he'd been busy with other matters. He was already very close to becoming a Dou Wang.

With his cultivation supporting him, Xiao Lei crossed a vast distance and made it to Shi Mo City in a hurry...

At that very moment, in a courtyard residence in Shi Mo City, a young girl who looked no older than fourteen or fifteen wiped the sweat from her forehead.

The girl was lovely, with a delicate face so fine it seemed it would bruise at a touch. Her fair skin was a rare sight in the desert. Even more unusual was the loose, plain robe she wore, which covered nearly her entire body.

In the scorching desert, it was a truly strange sight.

The girl's gesture lasted only a moment. Soon, she turned her attention back to the clothes in her hands.

Water was precious in the desert, so Qing Lin could only wash clothes in a wooden tub, making every drop count.

"I'd better hurry. I've got other things to do later, and if I'm too slow, I'll get scolded again!"

From anyone else, those words might have been a complaint. For Qing Lin, they were a reminder to push herself.

She was grateful that this family had taken her in to work. Though her Snake-People blood meant they'd cut her wages by a great deal, Qing Lin felt lucky just to have a meal.

She was a hybrid of Snake-People and humans. People like her usually didn't live past childhood. Qing Lin was a miracle.

But it was hard to say whether that miracle was a gift from fate or a torment.

Because of her Snake-People blood, Qing Lin had faced discrimination and bullying from all sides ever since she was born.

She often lost jobs because of the green scales on her arms. Every time, she'd offered to give up all her wages, asking only for enough to eat.

But they'd still dismissed her, without paying her a single coin.

Qing Lin didn't know that they were merely using this as an excuse to avoid paying her. Her Snake-People blood made for an especially convenient excuse.

She could only blame herself. She wore loose clothes, and even when the heat left her drenched in sweat, she wouldn't untie the ropes binding her sleeves, afraid her scales would show again.

But it was all in vain. Qing Lin was turned out onto the streets time and again...

After years of moving from place to place, Qing Lin had come here. This was the last place willing to hire her. If they dismissed her too, she had no idea where she could go.

The family wasn't wealthy. They were a fallen clan, reduced to a single branch by this generation, and their finances were naturally in a terrible state.

Of course, they still had to keep up appearances. Even in decline, these people refused to do menial work themselves.

As for why they'd hired Qing Lin, it was because she was the cheapest.

Qing Lin, naturally, didn't know any of this.

She didn't understand why there weren't many servants here like there were in other places, nor why she had so much work to do!

All she knew was that she was about to complete three months of work here—a stretch of employment she hadn't managed in ages.

And her employer had promised to pay her wages once she'd worked three full months.

Life had never seemed so "bright" before. At least, that was how it looked to Qing Lin.

Qing Lin threw herself into her work!

Just as Qing Lin was so busy with all sorts of chores that her head was spinning, a boy and a girl burst in.

The boy had a toy in his hand that Qing Lin couldn't name, while the girl shouted and tried to snatch it from him.

Seeing them, Qing Lin hurriedly gripped her sleeves. Only after feeling the two thick ropes tied around them did she relax a little.

At least they wouldn't see her Snake-People scales!

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a cry rang out in Qing Lin's ears.

The boy had tripped and fallen down a flight of three steps while running.

His wails instantly filled the air and pierced Qing Lin's mind, leaving her flustered and helpless.

Nearby, from a corner, a middle-aged woman who'd seen it all gave a sinister smile, then hurried over.

"Oh, my darling! Are you all right? Did you hurt yourself?"

The middle-aged woman put on quite a performance. As for Qing Lin, she stood there helpless as a child—or rather, she was still a child herself.

"Madam..."

None of this had anything to do with Qing Lin, but she was so used to believing that every wrong lay with her that she instinctively assumed she was at fault.

"What good are you? The young master fell, and you just stood there watching! You... Right now, immediately, get your things and get out!"

After unleashing a torrent of abuse, the middle-aged woman finally revealed what she really wanted.

Qing Lin clearly didn't realize any of that. All she knew was that she seemed about to lose her job again.

She didn't even think about her wages. She hadn't handled money in all these years.

She'd never bought anything, either. She was used to a life where all she had was food to eat. The clothes she wore were made from discarded fabric that a "kind" employer had tossed to her who knew how many years ago.

To her, wages were less about money and more a sign that her employer accepted her.

Just when Qing Lin had thought she'd finally found somewhere she could stay for the long term, everything fell apart again.

Qing Lin stared blankly, unsure what to do next or where to go.

The middle-aged woman beside her shoved Qing Lin, who was already in a daze. Qing Lin fell to the ground.

"Madam, Qing Lin can't lose this job! You... Madam, you can deduct my wages, as much as you want. You don't have to pay me at all. I only need enough to eat!"

As she'd done before, Qing Lin gave up her wages.

She didn't even try to defend herself. She only begged for forgiveness...

But the middle-aged woman showed no sign of softening.

She and her husband had discussed it at length over the past few days, and they'd both decided to leave Shi Mo City. The city lay in the desert, where most things were extremely expensive. They could no longer afford to live there!

So they'd decided to leave Shi Mo City. As for Qing Lin...

They'd never intended to pay her in the first place. It wasn't just them—every employer Qing Lin had ever had had done the same.

"Get out, hurry up and get out, you wretched thing! My child fell because of that filthy Snake-People blood in you! Get out!"

The middle-aged woman yelled, eager to drive Qing Lin away as quickly as possible.

Just then, a voice sounded out of nowhere.

"So she's here. Looks like Xiao Ding hasn't taken her in yet!"

As the voice fell, a figure appeared in midair.

He wore an alchemist's robe, with an Alchemist Badge bearing two stripes pinned to his chest. A dark-colored long saber hung at his waist, and his bearing was imposing.

What shocked the middle-aged woman most was the pair of purple wings on Xiao Lei's back.

"Dou... Dou Wang, sir! An al... alchemist!"