As the story goes, even though Aya had decided to find Hoshimi, she had no idea where to start looking for her.

"Why not ask someone?" With this idea in mind, Aya withdrew her gaze from the river under the bridge and turned to the hustle and bustle on the bridge. But there was a serious problem with this plan... She couldn't speak the Eastern language.

The language barrier was a big issue.

Come to think of it, why didn't she encounter this problem when she was in Morninglight? Could it be that the illusionary world created by the immortals had a built-in translation ability?

"Coach, I want to use magic..." At times like these, magic should have solved everything, just like when she encountered strange languages while traveling in the Western Continent, the common language spell made everything easy.

Walking down from the stone bridge to the city across the river, Aya began to feel increasingly uncomfortable as she sensed many eyes focusing on her.

"...Hmm, is white hair really too conspicuous?" Pinching a strand of hair that hung down by her ear, Aya suddenly turned around and indeed found many passersby with different attire looking at her with puzzled eyes.

Although East Land and West Land had established trade relations, and many merchants came for trade, the people of the Western Empire Chu all had black hair and eyes. In such a large population, the appearance of Westerners would stand out, especially someone like Aya with the rare combination of pure white hair and wine-red pupils.

"Tch, discriminating against albinos, huh?" Aya was not pleased with being scrutinized with such strange looks by people. Finding an alley at an intersection, she walked in, eventually entering a rather secluded area.

It seemed asking people might not work, so maybe she should try going directly to the palace or something? If she recalled correctly, Lucius mentioned that Hoshimi held a high position in the East and traveled in royal-level carriages. Therefore, going to the imperial city should lead her to someone who knew her, right?

Lost in her thoughts as she walked along the wall, Aya failed to notice that she was heading toward darker and more commoner-populated areas, with the buildings becoming progressively low-rise and lacking the grandeur of the main streets.

"Maybe not a good idea after all." Imagining herself running to the palace, Aya shook her head.

"Hey, big brother, I'm looking for Hoshimi, I know her, can you take me to meet her?"

"What weird bird language is this Western savage speaking? Get lost!" Or worse, she might get a direct sword swipe... Even if she was unlikely to be killed by an ordinary guard, the language barrier was indeed a major issue.

And even if by some stroke of luck she encountered a guard who understood the common Western language, it was probably not a good idea for them to easily let her, a suddenly appearing person without any proof, meet someone as important as Hoshimi.

Huh? How did I end up here?

Aya, feeling trapped, let out a deep sigh, and snapped out of her contemplative state to find herself standing bewildered under an old tree. Ahead of her was a narrow crossroads lined with single-story low houses, some of which had makeshift wooden structures on the roof to add an extra layer.

This irregular and somewhat gloomy color scheme was familiar to Aya; it resembled the slums, not unlike the gray areas of the royal city of Milania. However, the buildings seemed slightly more sturdy here, at least appearing solid without any imminent danger of collapsing.

It was getting dark, and the lack of streetlights in this area made Aya, who already didn't like the dark, a bit anxious.

She couldn't remember the way she came, and at this moment, even if she found her way back to the main street, she didn't know what to do next.

Should she try to ask a household for shelter?

With a tentative heart, Aya arrived at the gate of a courtyard that still looked somewhat decent, knocked on the door, and accidentally knocked the somewhat decayed wooden door almost off its hinges due to misjudged strength.

"May I ask who's outside the door?"

Behind the door came the sound of it opening and a questioning voice, sounding like a young man.

But no matter who it was, as long as there was someone!

At that moment, whether due to Aya exerting too much force or the door being on the brink of collapse, the door axis snapped with a crisp sound. The wobbly door panel slammed to the ground and fell into the courtyard, raising a low cloud of dust.

"..."

Aya and the scholarly man inside the courtyard exchanged awkward glances, unsure of what to say. Should she apologize sincerely and walk away or shamelessly ask for lodging?

Before Aya could decide how to react, the scholar in the courtyard had already made his move.

"Ghost, ghost!"

The scholar shouted in alarm, as if he had just been frightened like a little girl with a cockroach on her face, and fell back on the ground, frantically retreating while grabbing small tree branches and rocks to throw at Aya, his face pale with fear, genuinely scared rather than angry about the door.

"Am I really that scary?"

Aya felt a bit displeased. Clearly, she was just a beautiful girl... no, a beautiful young man. Even if it was dark and hard to see clearly, mistaking her for a ghost was a bit much!

But considering it a bit further, it seemed plausible. Living in an area with poor security or perhaps no security at all, suddenly having someone knock on the door at dusk and then breaking it down, with a figure outside, in the dim light, whose distinctive feature was a head of white hair...

"I mean..." Aya attempted to approach to reassure, but the scholar rolled into the room and slammed the door shut.

Hey, was being so timid necessary!

"Maybe I should just sleep on the street..." Feeling a bit dejected, Aya walked out of the courtyard, propping the door back up in its place before leaving.

There's an old saying from the East, something about fortune not coming single-handedly, and Aya felt it perfectly described her current predicament.

Hmm, she should find a bridge to sleep under, just in case it rained at night and she didn't get wet...

"I should have been in an inn bed asleep by now..."

Aya covered her face, feeling somewhat tragic, and suddenly felt like going back to beat the part of herself that didn't return with Minglin.

No, no, no, Aya, you can't think like that! What's the difference from a successfully trained slave if you do that! Absolutely cannot yield! Not being able to find a place to sleep is nothing, weren't you living in the wilderness every day before?

The last rays of the setting sun disappeared from the sky, and the surroundings fell into a subtle quietness as the light dimmed.

"Halt right there! Don't run!"

The quietness lasted less than three seconds.

Aya looked up ahead, where at the end of the street, three figures were running in her direction, one leading and the other two following, with the first being chased by the latter two, one of whom was brandishing a large machete.

Um, my own situation is already troublesome enough, so it's better not to get into more trouble.

With this thought in mind, Aya quietly leaned against the wall next to her, lowering her head while silently repeating to herself, "You can't see me, you can't see me."

But in that split-second moment with her head down, the person being chased coincidentally locked eyes with Aya. A look of joy immediately appeared on his face, along with a mischievous smirk that Aya had seen countless times on the face of the Princess.

Hey! Your surprised expression is scaring me! Stay away!

As it turns out, if prayers were effective, the gods would probably have been overwhelmed with work to the point of exhaustion, so Aya's prayer did not work.

The person being chased ran past Aya without hesitation, patting his shoulder firmly. "Good buddy, I leave the pursuers behind to you. Don't be merciful, deal with them harshly!"

You cheeky bastard!

Before Aya could explain to the two bald guys chasing the girl behind him that they were not together, the two brandished their knives and slashed at him, tearing the cuff of Aya's clothes.

Damn it! I knew this little girl had some tricks up her sleeve!

"Gave me a scare! Thought I saw a ghost with that white hair!"

Hey, don't look down on white hair! Some countries even have a per capita preference for it!

Aya was a little irritated, but being naturally cowardly, he held back and prepared to explain that he had nothing to do with the girl who had run ten meters away.

"But wait, looking closely, she's quite distinctive... This looks like those Western barbarians, right? This beauty must be the type many noble gentlemen fancy, right?" Bald Guy A flexed his muscles.

"Exactly, let's capture her and we can get a good price." Bald Guy B agreed, “Be careful, be gentle, don't harm her!”

Aya felt as though he heard the snap of the string of reason in his mind breaking.

"Great, you don't need to go back now."

...

"Haha, sorry sis, this is a necessary sacrifice for justice. I'll make sure the old wolf and his lackeys face the consequences on your behalf."

The girl who had run about a hundred meters choked back her laughter as she ran forward.

However, the next moment, her collar was harshly pulled by something, causing her to gasp for air.

"Cough, what the hell!"

"Oh, Shaojiu, has anyone taught you that deceiving others is not a good behavior?"

Aya held the girl's shoulder with a forced smile and an unpleasant tone.

"Huh? How did you... Oh? Aren't they...?"

"If you're looking for those two dead bald guys, there, lying on the ground."

Aya glanced at the two corpses lying a hundred meters away, each with a large bump on their shiny bald heads, broken knives scattered around.

"Huh... Did you... take care of them?"

Aya could clearly feel the girl's gaze on her had changed significantly.

"Obviously."

Shaking her hand, Aya replied.

To be honest, the two bald men did have some skills. Their movements and strength showed they had received some martial arts training, maybe at the level of third or fourth grade.

Of course, compared to the Golden Dragon, they were no match. With just their physical abilities alone, they couldn't keep up with Aya's speed, and a single heavy blow from each was the end for them.

"Wow, sis, you're so amazing!" The girl's eyes sparkled.

"Who's your sis anyway!"