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She stayed relatively calm, figuring everyone in her clan settlement would assume she was with her mother, so there\'d be no search party out for her. Plus, her mother was either still busy talking with her father or already at Liu Jing\'s birth celebration, which would last three days.

It\'s not that her mother wouldn\'t come looking for her, but with all the dignitaries at the event, her mind would probably be elsewhere unless she wanted to show off by using Mu Lingxi.

"Hmm, and I\'m quite hungry too."

The little girl\'s stomach grumbled loudly.

She\'d never ventured outside the sect before, and the forests of the Dragon\'s Peak Mountain Range weren\'t exactly safe with all the monsters lurking around. But even if she encountered any, her mother had equipped her with numerous life-saving treasures that could ward off even Nascent Soul-level beasts.

Mu Lingxi herself was oblivious to this, but her mother had taken every precaution to ensure her safety──she\'d be livid if her daughter, who was the linchpin of her entire plan, came to harm.

"I\'ll just keep walking; I\'ll probably find my way around."

She decided to push onward.

It only took Mu Lingxi a day to pass through the expansive forests that blanketed most of the Dragon\'s Peak Mountain Range.

That was quite impressive for just a day\'s journey.

It would take most longer even though they were on land crawlers or spirit horses, and yet she breezed through the entire forest in a far better time.

The path was as straight as an arrow, not a single monster in sight.

So, she could focus solely on moving forward.

One reason for her speed was her insane physical strength. It seemed her body didn\'t know what it meant to get tired. She could run for 10 hours straight each day, without any difficulty.

And the next day. . . she would feel completely fine.

It always got her thinking if she had some secret power.

In short, she cruised through the forest without any hiccups, except for one little incident. . .

She got food poisoning from munching on some wild berries she found. In reality, they were Purple Dragon Berries which weren\'t exactly stomach-friendly. They could drive one mad for three hours, leaving their immune system in shambles and making them hurl their guts out.

Surprisingly enough, instead of whining, Mu Lingxi\'s body was able to build an immunity to these berries──so, she stopped vomiting just a few minutes after hallucinating in the forest.

Most of it was thanks to the body refinement pills Mu Lingxi\'s mother always made her take. After swallowing those, she\'d do all sorts of body refinement techniques and meditation to speed up the pill\'s effects. It wasn\'t exactly the ideal routine for a kid her age, but Mu Suyin had her own agenda.

Eventually, Mu Lingxi reached the border post of Linwu Kingdom, which led into the capital city──Tiancheng.

The guards eyed her with confusion.

"What\'s a kid doing alone at the border?" one guard wondered aloud.

"I dunno, and she looks a little grubby too. You reckon she\'s from that sect up north?"

The other guard shrugged. "Could be. We better let her in, just in case. I don\'t want any trouble with that sect. Plus, look at her clothes; she seems like she\'s from some fancy clan up there..."

"Hmm..."

After sizing up the little girl, who stood before them with an innocent smile, they both nodded and made way for her. Her silence made them a bit uneasy──maybe she was some super powerful cultivator in the form of a child who\'d kill them if they didn\'t let her through. Little did they know, Mu Lingxi was just following her father\'s advice: stay quiet in front of elders and only speak when spoken to.

When she strolled into Tiancheng City, a grin spread across her face. "Wow, Father\'s really a genius, huh?!" she giggled to herself.

Quietly, Mu Lingxi made her way through the bustling capital city, marveling at its size and the throngs of people filling the streets.

Tiancheng City was massive, housing a huge population within the Linwu Kingdom. It was probably the most crowded city in the Northern Ravages.

Where Mu Lingxi found herself was essentially the commercial hub of the city──a district teeming with merchants and shops of all kinds. It was where businesses gathered to network and expand their trade connections, the continent\'s own business center. There were beast markets, pill houses, blacksmiths, auction houses, and a variety of other establishments.

"Where do I go from here?"

Mu Lingxi wondered aloud, and her stomach grumbled in hunger.

Oblivious to the stares she was receiving from the people around her, she pondered her next move.

"Look at the little girl... I think she\'s a cultivator..."

"... That\'s just tragic. To think children are being forced to cultivate so early these days... she\'ll undoubtedly end up like a power-hungry rascal."

"Tsk, I feel disgusted just looking at her..."

While the capital city was a popular destination for cultivators looking to purchase spirit beasts, restock on sect resources, or upgrade their weapons, the locals weren\'t exactly thrilled by their visits. Auctions, in particular, often descended into chaos, with fights breaking out among cultivators, resulting in casualties and widespread destruction.

Mu Lingxi began to notice the hostile glares directed her way.

Hm? Why\'re they looking at me like that... did I do something wrong?

It wasn\'t just because she was a young cultivator; it was because of her attire, it easily told the locals what abominable clan she\'d spawned from.

"Look at her clothes, that\'s definitely the attire of the Mu clan."

"I think so."

"I heard there\'s a heartless woman in that clan who steals the cultivation potential of children and uses it to improve hers."

"Hmm, I feel sick just looking at this little monster. I can\'t start thinking about another one.

"Sigh~ how will we survive in this cultivator-plagued world."

Mu Lingxi found it hard to strike up a conversation with anyone around.

No one seemed keen to chat with a kid who could probably crush their skull with just a punch.

Whenever she tried to approach an adult, they\'d just walk away, clutching their kids and muttering things like. . .

"That child\'s getting on my nerves..."

"I don\'t know anything, so don\'t even bother asking me!"

"Listen, son, if I catch you even thinking about befriending a cultivator\'s child, you\'re in big trouble."

"Did you hear what that man told his son? Stay away from any kids who aren\'t normal... you never know what they or their parents might be up to."

Mu Lingxi felt utterly alone, unable to understand why she was being ostracized in a sea of people.

She trudged on in silence, her stomach growling loudly, but no one paid her any heed.

A profound sadness crept over her, and though she couldn\'t shed tears, her heart felt heavy.

For three hours, not a single soul bothered to ask why she looked so disheveled or where her parents were──they just stared.

Finally, a gentle voice broke the silence.

"What are you doing here, little girl?"

Mu Lingxi\'s heart leapt at the sound of concern in his voice.

That was all she wanted. . .

She looked up, a smile breaking across her face as she met the gaze of the man who had spoken.

"I... My name is... I\'m just... I-, I..."

Mu Lingxi faltered.

Now that she was supposed to say something, she couldn\'t.

At a loss for words, her stomach cried loudly and hungrily.

The man, named Shu Fu, owner of the Dragon\'s Ramen House, noticed her embarrassment and gently patted her head. [N/B: He\'s the man ramen shop owner from chapters 107 and 142.]

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"Come on, let\'s go inside and get you something to eat."

"O-, okay, sir."

...

After preparing a steaming bowl of ramen for little Mu Lingxi, Shu Fu set it on the counter for her to dig in. Without hesitation, Mu Lingxi dove in, slurping up the noodles with chopsticks in a frenzy, showing just how famished she was. Shu Fu watched her with a smile, pleased to see her enjoying the meal.

"So, where are your parents?"

Mu Lingxi paused, her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel hoarding nuts for winter. "Um, they\'re back at the sect..." she mumbled through a mouthful of ramen.

Shu Fu\'s eyes widened in surprise. "And why are you here then?!"

Mu Lingxi gulped down her food before replying, "I just got lost, but I think it\'s okay. I can find my way home."

Shu Fu visibly relaxed, relieved that she wasn\'t in any immediate danger. He noticed her bowl was almost empty and fetched another one, placing it in front of her. "Have some more," he urged.

Mu Lingxi nodded eagerly, her face lighting up with a smile as she continued to eat.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Just promise me something, little girl,"

"Yes, sir?" Mu Lingxi replied, looking up at him.

"If you grow up to be a fine young lady, don\'t forget to bring your husband here for a date. I\'d love to see how far you\'ve come in life by then."

Mu Lingxi\'s eyes sparkled with excitement. "YES, SIR!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

All the young man did was chuckle.

For him, he believed he wouldn\'t see this little girl again──for cultivators, time was very insignificant.

Nevertheless, when he made that request, he wasn\'t talking to a cultivator. . . just a young lady he knew had a kind heart.