Chapter 6
What Will This World Be Like? Let Me See With My Own Eyes
"...Mm"
The little girl's body stirred in an unfamiliar place. She startled awake and sat up quickly, finding herself on a bed with a thick, soft mattress. Incredibly warm. Strange dreams had filled her unconsciousness, but the details escaped her now.
She looked around. The wide hall was filled with equipment and strange items, but her instincts kept her from touching anything.
"You're awake?"
The charming, authoritative voice from her dream rang out again. She turned sharply. Before her stood the most beautiful young woman she'd ever seen in her life. Even actresses or models in advertisements couldn't compare to even a fraction of this woman.
She radiated a strange authority that made the girl want to kneel.
"...Wh...who are you, miss?"
The little girl asked, stammering. Her small hands clutched at her shoulder. She remembered the wound on her back and flinched, but when she reached back to touch it, the wounds were gone. Only faint traces remained, still tender when touched.
"I treated you."
Realizing the young woman's words were true, the little girl quickly scrambled down from the bed. Before getting down, she glanced at the white bedding, worried she'd make it dirty. To her surprise, it wasn't dirty at all.
"Th...thank you so much!"
She bowed her head until it nearly touched the floor. Her endearing manner made even the cold-looking Bai Fanxian show a faint smile.
This little girl's personality reminded her of her own close companion from long ago.
She'd picked up Hui'er from the streets back then too. That Hui'er had also lived alone without parents, yet maintained the most honest life—so honest it had touched even Bai Fanxian's heart.
This time would probably be the same.
"Benefactor miss...what's your name?" The little girl looked up nervously. Her hair hung down, unwashed and uncut for so long that it covered her face.
"Why?" Bai Fanxian asked with interest.
When she heard the question, the little girl looked left and right awkwardly. She checked her own body—all she had was the half-eaten piece of bread in her pants pocket.
"I...right now I don't have anything, but when I grow up I'll repay your kindness!"
When she spoke this sentence, her eyes showed fierce determination. It was precisely this sentence that surprised Bai Fanxian.
Even the words were similar?
"...Bai Fanxian."
"Benefactor Lady Bai!" The little girl quickly committed the name to memory, storing it in the deepest part of her heart. She stared at Bai Fanxian's face, determined not to forget when she grew up.
She promised herself she would work hard, earn lots of money, and repay this life-saving kindness.
Seeing her eyes, Bai Fanxian raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"How will you repay my kindness?"
"Uh...um, I'll find work and earn lots of money..." The little girl answered stammering. After all, she was just a 7-year-old child. Her thoughts were still full of innocence.
Bai Fanxian looked fondly at the little girl trying to think of ways to repay her. Seeing her start to flounder for an answer, she stopped the teasing.
"Then, would you like to stay here and serve me?"
Bai Fanxian asked warmly. She bent down and gently stroked the little girl's head with her beautiful hand, brushing aside the hair that fell across her face to see her clearly.
The little girl stood stunned by the question.
She didn't even notice the hand gently touching her head or the sweet fragrance that came with it.
She'd tried to find work before. her age had made it impossible—no one would hire her. She'd been alone for so long, she'd nearly given up hope.
Now someone was telling her she could stay with them.
It was the benefactor who had saved her life.
Tears flowed down the little girl's face until it was covered. She sobbed with joy, words of thanks spilling from her mouth repeatedly.
"Thank you, Benefactor Lady Bai...thank you, Benefactor Lady Bai..."
Bai Fanxian looked at the tear-stained face with mixed feelings. She stood and asked:
"What's your name?"
"Hui'er...Mom called me Hui'er." Through her tears, the little girl answered quickly. Bai Fanxian trembled when she heard it.
Even the name was the same?
Must be fate, right?
The young woman closed her eyes, thinking of that innocent but determined little girl from long ago. She could only sigh.
"...Go take a bath first."
.
.
.
While Hui'er bathed in the large tub set up in the corner, Bai Fanxian walked around surveying the room. She dug out everything she could remember—records, various pills, all of it.
"...Right."
The young woman walked straight to the work desk. Besides many documents and books, there sat a flip-open clock that worked with ancient mechanisms.
She picked it up, an unexpected possibility forming in her mind. Her last elixir refinement had brought her to an unknown world.
Or perhaps another explanation.
Bai Fanxian gently opened the clock's cover. Her companion had made this clock specifically for her use in this room, to prevent her from working or cultivating until she lost track of time. She'd reset it every time she entered to check how much time had passed.
When her eyes landed on the clock face, they widened.
10,000 years 03 hours 24 minutes 19 seconds
An impossible number appeared on the clock face.
At first, her companion had only made the numbers go up to six digits as a personal joke. A timing clock like this could never run for a hundred thousand years.
Ten thousand years had happened.
It had happened to her!
Bai Fanxian gathered her composure. With her level of power, her mind couldn't be weak. thinking of all the possibilities that would occur if ten thousand years had truly passed, her body trembled.
Her residence.
Her friends and acquaintances.
Even her own close little girl, Hui'er.
Everything was gone.
No matter how strong cultivators' power was, to live ten thousand years was impossible. Even in historical records, the person with the highest power only had a lifespan of 300 years.
"...You've all gone, haven't you?"
The young woman murmured softly thinking of the past.
No matter how strong her mind was, even if she'd been called the "Alchemy Empress," the only one of her era—
Knowing that everything she was attached to had all died with time made her deeply sad.
"...Benefactor Lady Bai?"
Little Hui'er, fresh from her bath, saw her benefactor holding a clock with a sad expression. She quickly ran over to look.
The little girl had even forgotten about clothes. those old torn clothes were the only set she had left.
Bai Fanxian, lost in thought, was called back to her senses by Hui'er's small voice. She turned to look at the little girl frowning with worry for her, and a faint smile touched her lips.
Right.
Even a little girl of only seven years had this much determination to live.
So how could she—twenty-five years old...no, ten thousand and twenty-five years old—show weakness?
Very well then. After ten thousand years, let's see how this world has changed.
Let me see it with my own eyes!