By the time Scarlett reached the city, it was almost sunset,
From a distance, it rose from the plains like a slab of the heavens that had fallen and lodged itself into the earth. The wall surrounding it was not merely tall, it was oppressive. Layer upon layer of stone, reinforced with glowing runes and veins of metal that pulsed faintly with mana, stretched upward until her neck began to ache from looking.
It made the Great Wall of China from her previous life seem almost… modest.
This was not a wall meant to keep bandits out.
Carved gates stood open at intervals, each large enough to swallow caravans whole. Guards dressed like soldiers ready to battle, their auras restrained but unmistakably sharp. Lines of people waited calmly, merchants, hunters, cultivators, common folk, all presenting small jade plates to be scanned before being allowed through.
Identity cards.
Scarlett's steps slowed.
Then stopped.
"…Right."
She stood at the edge of the line, watching as the process repeated itself with ruthless efficiency. A jade plate was handed over. A brief pulse of light. A nod. Entry granted.
No plate?
Turned away.
No discussion.
No exceptions.
Scarlett's fingers brushed unconsciously against her storage pouch.
Empty.
Her identity card, issued when she had first been registered for examination under the Verdant Abbey was gone. Lost somewhere between the cave, the forest, rebirth, and chaos.
She exhaled slowly.
Using the identity of the woman who had once adopted her would be easy. Too easy. The abbey's records would accept it without question.
But Scarlett dismissed the thought immediately.
That identity was a dead end.
Borrowed lives always came with borrowed consequences.
And there was no way she was going back.
Not physically.
Not symbolically.
She stepped aside, pretending to observe the wall while her mind worked rapidly. Sneaking into the city…..impossible, the city was heavily guarded and looking at those muscled women, she shivered, that's a no.
Forging an identity required connections she didn't yet have.
She was considering whether she could camp outside the city for the night when something tugged at her attention.
A sound.
Slow footsteps.
Uneven.
She turned.
An elderly woman was approaching the gates from the opposite direction, bent almost double beneath an enormous stack of goods strapped to her back. Burlap sacks, wooden crates, bundles wrapped in cloth, so many that Scarlett couldn't tell where the woman ended and the luggage began.
Each step looked like it might be her last.
Her spine bowed under the weight. Her shoulders trembled. Yet her steps were steady, measured, as though stopping would be more dangerous than continuing.
Scarlett frowned.
That weight wasn't normal.
Even for this world.
People parted instinctively as the woman passed, some with mild curiosity, others with indifference. No one moved to help. No one slowed.
Scarlett watched the woman's thin arms shake.
And before she could properly think it through, Before logic or caution caught up, She was already moving.
"Wait," Scarlett said, stepping into the woman's path. "Please let me help you."
The woman stopped.
Up close, she looked even older. Deep wrinkles lined her face, her skin weathered like old bark. Her eyes were sharp, though, far sharper than her frail body suggested.
She looked Scarlett up and down.
Slowly.
Weirdly.
"…What?" the woman asked.
Scarlett blinked, suddenly aware of how abrupt she must have seemed.
"I mean, your luggage," she said quickly, gesturing. "It looks too heavy. I can help you carry it."
The woman stared at her.
Around them, people began to slow. A few cultivators paused in line, glancing over with faint amusement. Guards watched without intervening.
"You want to help me?" the woman asked again, her tone flat.
"Yes," Scarlett replied without hesitation. "It's too much for one person."
She stepped closer and reached for one of the sacks.
It didn't move.
Scarlett frowned.
"Huh?"
She adjusted her grip and tried again, channeling a bit of mana into her arms.
Nothing.
The sack might as well have been fused to the ground.
A snicker broke out somewhere behind her.
"Heh. Always the little ones trying to show off."
Another voice chimed in. "Kids these days are clever. Pretending to be virtuous so they can catch a master's eye."
"How devious."
Scarlett stiffened.
She hadn't even registered the stares until now. A faint heat crept up her neck, not embarrassment exactly, but irritation.
She tried once more.
Still nothing.
That was when it hit her.
This weight wasn't physical alone.
It was reinforced.
Condensed.
Cultivator-grade.
Scarlett slowly straightened and looked at the woman again, this time more carefully.
The woman was watching her closely now, one eyebrow raised.
"…Interesting," the woman murmured.
Scarlett withdrew her hands and bowed slightly, more out of reflex than submission. "I'm sorry. I underestimated it."
The woman laughed.
A short, raspy sound, but not unkind.
"Underestimated?" she said. "Child, most Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn't lift that sack even if they broke their backs trying."
Scarlett's eyes widened, just a little.
The murmurs around them quieted.
"Then why…." Scarlett began, then stopped herself.
Why was this woman carrying it alone?
The elder seemed to read the question in her eyes. "Because I can," she said simply. "And because I choose to."
She shifted slightly under the weight—and for the first time, Scarlett noticed something odd.
Despite the apparent strain, the woman's breathing was steady.
Her steps had never faltered.
Her body bent, but it did not break.
Scarlett felt a chill crawl up her spine.
This woman was not weak.
Scarlett hesitated, then spoke honestly. "I wasn't trying to show off. I just… couldn't ignore it."
The elder studied her for a long moment.
Then she chuckled again.
"Hmph. Either you're very stupid," she said, "or very sincere."
Scarlett smiled faintly. "Usually both."
That earned her a sharp look—and then, unexpectedly, a laugh.
A real one this time.
"All right," the woman said. "If you truly want to help, walk with me."
Scarlett blinked. "Just… walk?"
"Yes. The gates are close." The woman turned toward the city once more. "And I don't like walking alone."
Scarlett fell into step beside her without hesitation.
As they approached the gates, one of the guards stepped forward. "Identity card."
The woman didn't slow. She merely tilted her head slightly.
The guard froze.
"…Elder," she said hurriedly, stepping aside. "Please proceed."
No jade plate.
No scan.
Just instant access.
Scarlett's heart skipped.
As they passed through the gates, the woman glanced sideways at her. "You look like you need to get inside the city," she said casually. "And you look like you don't have a card."
Scarlett didn't deny it.
The woman smirked. "Then it's your lucky day."
Scarlett swallowed.
She had come looking for opportunity.
It seemed opportunity had found her first.