The Beginning of Fate, Xu Jiujiu: *Smell it, how is my foot smelly at all?!*

Before dawn had even broken, Huo Yuhao was already up.

It was his last night here.

He pushed open the door of the woodshed, and the chill of the early morning rushed at him like a tide. The eastern horizon was just beginning to turn pale, and the faint morning light outlined the towering silhouette of the White Tiger Duke Mansion. Its upturned eaves resembled a dormant giant, pressing heavily down upon his heart.

For eleven years, the only "favor" this estate had left him with was that drafty woodshed, an endless pile of dirty clothes to wash, and his mother's emaciated hands before she drew her last breath.

Huo Yuhao clearly remembered the night his mother passed away. It was also such a rare, freezing night.

She lay in that woodshed without even a decent quilt, and until the day she died, she never managed to step foot into the carved-beam and painted-pillar main hall, nor did she ever get that man to cast a single glance her way. As for him, he did not even dare to cry out loud—because the steward had said it would disturb the rest of the nobles.

He hated this estate.

He hated the young masters and misses who lived in luxury yet treated him like an ant, he hated the sycophantic servants and stewards, and most of all, he hated that man—the one who gave him life yet left him and his mother to fend for themselves and perish.

Every single brick and stone of this estate was piled high with the flesh and blood of others. His mother's youth, dignity, and even her life had been chewed up and swallowed by this man-eating place, leaving not even a scrap of bone behind.

With a creak, Huo Yuhao pushed open the side gate and looked back. The morning light struck the plaque of the Duke Mansion, gleaming so brightly that it hurt the eyes to look directly at it.

He did not take a second glance.

Turning around, Huo Yuhao gazed at the brightening eastern sky. A sliver of dawn was piercing through the clouds, shining down upon his skinny, withered hands.

Huo Yuhao clenched his fists, his voice low yet resolute:

Mother, watch from heaven. No matter how much effort it takes, one day I will return and trample everything here beneath my feet. From now on, I take your surname and change mine to Huo. Huo Yuhao.

The wind rose, whipping up the fallen leaves on the ground. The boy's thin figure vanished into the morning mist as he walked toward the distance.

The majestic estate gradually blurred behind him, but the path beneath his feet grew clear inch by inch.

However, Huo Yuhao, whose mind and eyes were entirely consumed by vengeance at this moment, did not realize that some stories were destined from the very beginning to be tragedies...

In the imperial city, within the Princess Mansion.

The morning light was faint, and the chill of early dawn quickly dissipated under the rays of the sun.

Golden curtains swayed in the breeze, and a faint fragrance of wood and plants lingered in the air, refreshing the senses.

Space distorted, and Qiangu Yunche stepped out from it, still carrying the coolness of the early morning.

After a year of familiarity, he had become quite adept at using the powerful skills linked to the Emerald Wings and spatial power, with teleportation being the most practical among them.

Pushing open the doors of the inner hall, the brilliant Star Curtain had yet to disperse, and specks of starlight glowed like diamonds, filling almost the entire inner hall.

Meanwhile, Xu Jiujiu was sitting cross-legged at the very center of the Star Curtain. A steady stream of pure Star Power poured continuously from the Star Curtain into her magnificent Star Crown. The countless stars on the crown, which had originally been pale gold, had now turned a clear, brilliant gold, shining with dazzling radiance.

Qiangu Yunche sat on a nearby low couch and waited for about half an hour before the immense Star Power contained within the brilliant Star Curtain was completely absorbed by Xu Jiujiu.

After another moment, Xu Jiujiu slowly opened her eyes. Qiangu Yunche watched from behind as her body trembled slightly with extreme excitement and surprise. Then, she suddenly lifted her head and looked around, as if searching for something. Upon failing to find the target she wanted to see, a clear look of disappointment washed over her.

Yet this disappointment did not last long.

Next, to Qiangu Yunche's astonishment, she threw her head back and collapsed straight onto the huge velvet bed, which could easily accommodate six or seven people lying down side by side. Curling her body up like a shrimp, she rolled back and forth to her heart's content just like a little girl who had gotten her favorite toy.

The silk nightgown she wore was already soft and loose, and under her rolling movements, it quickly became thoroughly disheveled. The first glimpse of spring revealed after the winter snow melts was always exceptionally picturesque and alluring, but anyone fortunate enough to admire this spring scenery needed astonishing willpower and patience.

Qiangu Yunche did not make a sound. He simply watched quietly as the young girl released her nature and rolled around freely in an environment she believed to be completely private and safe, until her slightly upturned gaze locked onto a pair of smiling eyes. Only then did all of this come to an abrupt halt.

"Ah—!"

The young girl's startled, angry, bashful, and highly piercing scream did not carry far past the heavily soundproofed bedchamber, but Nebula Douluo, who had been standing guard outside the entire time, still sharply caught this faint sound.

The old woman, well over eighty years of age, had no idea what was happening inside the bedchamber, but she clearly remembered the hesitant and shy expression Xu Jiujiu had worn last night when instructing her not to let anyone approach her bedchamber no matter what occurred.

Damn that Qiangu Yunche!

My poor Jiujiu, why did she offer herself to feed the tiger so early, wuwuwu...

As a guardian and teacher who had watched Xu Jiujiu grow up since childhood, Nebula Douluo might have had a somewhat harsh personality, but her care and affection for Xu Jiujiu were genuine.

In her eyes, Xu Jiujiu was practically her own biological granddaughter.

Yet now, the tender white cabbage that was her own granddaughter had been gobbled up by an outside pig, while she could only stand guard outside. Who could possibly understand this pain?

Realizing that she was beginning to feel the precursor to a heart attack, Nebula Douluo could only comfort herself in the bottom of her heart:

Qiangu Yunche is the big white cabbage, and our Jiujiu is the one who chomped on the cabbage and took advantage of him...

Right!

Qiangu Yunche is the cabbage, and our Jiujiu is the pig that ate the cabbage...

Huh? Why does something still feel a little wrong...

Nebula Douluo patted her own head, racking her brains but never managing to figure it out, and ultimately could only attribute it to her old age and fondness for wild daydreams...

Inside the hall, after a bout of frolicking, a faint red mark remained on Qiangu Yunche's face.

Do not misunderstand; that was not slapped by Xu Jiujiu's hand, but rather kicked by Xu Jiujiu's foot.

Well, Qiangu Yunche only learned today that this princess, who had always presented herself as elegant and radiant, also possessed such a fiery and unreasonable side.

Looking at Xu Jiujiu, who was sitting on the bed in a loli-kneeling posture, Qiangu Yunche rubbed his face and teased:

"Jiujiu, did you not wash your feet last night? Why do they smell so stinky..."

"You're the one who didn't wash your feet!" Xu Jiujiu had yet to recover from the mortification and fury of having her uninhibited, disastrous side witnessed by Qiangu Yunche just moments ago. Struck by his provocation right after, she felt a rush of blood surge straight to her brain. Acting faster than her thoughts, she immediately thrust out a long leg, shoving a fair, petite foot right in front of Qiangu Yunche's face.

"How is it stinky? Every day the princess bathes with Thousand-Year Snow Lotus milk, and even the perfume I use is distilled from the fragrance of Thousand-Year Snow Lotus!"

"Smell it, smell it! How is my foot smelly at all?!"

First and foremost, Qiangu Yunche was not a foot fetishist!

Yet looking at the petite foot thrust right before his eyes, he still had to admit that this foot was indeed exquisitely beautiful.

Xu Jiujiu's feet were not large, but they were exceptionally delicate. The tender, white skin radiated a warm, jade-like luster; her toes were as smooth and glossy as pearls, and her slender ankles possessed soft, graceful lines. Like a fresh lotus emerging from the water without a speck of dust, it could truly be called a flawless piece of art.

Qiangu Yunche inexplicably felt an impulse to reach out and touch it, and in fact, he actually did so.

After all, as the saying went, the bold enjoy the world first.

The skin felt slightly cool to the touch, noticeably bony yet smooth and soft like fine silk.

The ultimate tactile sensation made Qiangu Yunche instantly deny his earlier notion that he was not a foot fetishist.

Actually, he could be a foot fetishist too.

On the other side, Xu Jiujiu's mind was completely blank, and she had no idea what had just happened.

The warm touch coming from her foot went straight to the depths of her soul, and an inexplicable flutter welled up in her heart. A rush of blood surged to her brain, even crazier than when she had broken down just moments before, and she could distinctly feel the skin all over her body rapidly heating up.

In truth, from Qiangu Yunche's perspective at that moment, she looked precisely like a fully cooked red prawn.

The metaphor was a bit terrible, but it fit reality quite well.

To Qiangu Yunche's surprise, however, Xu Jiujiu did not suffer a red-hot mental breakdown and kick him again. Instead, she just stayed frozen in place, maintaining that exact posture like a statue.

This silence lasted for a very long time, until she felt her leg growing somewhat numb and engorged from being raised for so long, prompting Xu Jiujiu to ask in a voice no louder than a mosquito's buzz:

"Have... have you touched enough yet?"

Qiangu Yunche let go. Xu Jiujiu stretched her numb leg, then sat on the bed with her head lowered. The dim lighting and the golden strands of hair hanging down her face obscured her expression, but Qiangu Yunche always felt as though Xu Jiujiu was desperately trying to suppress something.

Realizing that he might have gone a bit too far today, Qiangu Yunche softly spoke up to placate Xu Jiujiu with a few words. Xu Jiujiu listened quietly, occasionally nodding slightly or murmuring an acknowledgment in response, though no abnormality could be detected in her voice.

Qiangu Yunche found it a bit inexplicable, yet he had no idea what to do for the moment, so the two of them sat there in mutual silence for a long, long time...