Fang Yuan remembered the girl.
She was the same girl who once tried to bar his way at the edge of the Dark Forest.
Back then, she had tried to stop him with words and perhaps even seduction.
Perhaps it was genuine fear for his life… or perhaps it had merely been part of her profession.
A courtesan trying to coax a coin by inviting him to stay for a night.
But now that his perception had been sharpened by the Hollow Spirit Realm, he saw what he had missed entirely before.
As she handed a piece of plain steamed bun to a grubby-faced child, her movements were fluid and perfectly balanced, containing a power that no mortal could possess.
The air around her subtly bent, a miniature domain of control so refined it was nearly invisible. She was not a simple courtesan.
She was a solid Nascent Soul realm cultivator.
Fang Yuan lingered quietly, watching her movements. The woman knelt among the children, her hands graceful as she broke the coarse bread into smaller pieces.
