Reclaiming Dignity

Like hell she would stay at that place!

Lei Mingxing thought as she ran through the woods.

Branches and shrubs ripped her clothes, causing irreparable damage to the only possession she had taken along, other than the clothes on her back she didn't even have a single yuan with her.

But she didn't care.

She didn't care when her skirt ripped and a large part of her leg was exposed, she didn't care that her hair became a tangled mess, she didn't care that thorns from raspberry bushes stuck to her ankles, causing bloody scratches, and she didn't care that she was constantly on the cusp of tripping over herself.

This was the most alive she had felt for what felt like centuries.

And she didn't want it taken from her again, so she continued running.

Every step gave her the illusion of avoiding the fate of her last life by just a tiny bit more, and it was exhilarating.

She knew that she should probably think about her next steps, like how she would obtain a spirit core to kick off her cultivation, or a way for her to stay undercover, to support herself and grow until she could grasp the chance for her ultimate revenge.

But Lei Mingxing was determined, regardless of how long this revenge journey would take or what she would encounter in the meantime, their downfall was only a matter of time.

She didn't doubt this at all, but there was still one thing that soured her good mood and caused a stinging sensation to appear in the depths of her heart.

Her only regret in this life was the matter of him.

She didn't know his name, his appearance had been thoroughly ruined by the time she met him, even his voice was obviously injured by some evil-hearted person. The only thing that remained of him was his deeply gentle nature and his optimism which he had kept to the bitter end. With his last remaining strength, he had rekindled her desire to survive and live, and she promised that she would keep this firey glistening blossom forever in her heart.

He was the only one she loved, and she would move heaven and earth to find him again.

But now, she would just enjoy the feeling of freedom for a little more, hoping that he felt the same thing at this point in his life.

Soon, she couldn't run anymore. She was a princess after all, an unfavored one, who lived without servants to take care of her, but a princess nonetheless. Walking slowly like this, after her initial excitement dissipated, seeds of doubt and regret began to sprout.

Lei Mingxing knew that this forest was actually very dangerous, no matter if it was demonic or spirit beasts, even human traffickers and bandits frequented these woods.

It belonged to the Chaotic Expanse, a region none of the kingdoms dared claim. Trying to clean up these woods was nothing more than a pipe dream even with the biggest armies, so it continued to be no mans land that was haunted by countless horrors, for example, various fearsomely powerful demonic beasts and evil cultivators, who practiced techniques of unmatched wickedness.

But Lei Mingxing only sneered coldly thinking about the last part, after seeing what these 'righteous' cultivators were capable of, matters like 'evil' or 'righteous' became laughable in her eyes.

Regardless of her thoughts, these Dark Spirit Woods, as they were called, were mostly the acting ground of criminals and very powerful cultivators. And even they couldn't guarantee their survival, there was always a certain risk of death for them.

As for an ordinary person like her without an ounce of cultivation?

Hehe.

It was like a lamb directly walking into the tiger's cave.

Her enthusiasm died down almost completely.

...she should probably look for a road and hurry to the nearest city.

Lei Mingxing walked confidently, there was pretty much nothing else she could do in this situation.

But her luck was good, after a while she saw a path that could be judged to be a road with a bit of imagination. The plants on the path weren't nearly as high as the ones around her and there was some faint trail of bald spots most likely caused by carriage wheels.

A sigh of relief escaped Lei Mingxing and just as she was about to step out of the bushes and onto the road, the crunching sound of a carriage appeared to her right.

She quickly ducked behind the bushes.

No matter who it was that traversed this forest, it would be bad news if they discovered her.

Remaining as quiet as possible, she didn't dare move even one inch, silently observing the road before her.

Slowly a horse-drawn carriage appeared, one person was sitting on the coachman's seat, while another was swiftly walking next to the carriage.

Lei Mingxing held her breath as she waited for them to pass by, her nerves were strung taut entirely focusing on the danger in front of her.

The carriage had almost left her sight entirely, causing her to gradually relax her tensed muscles, when at this moment a sudden rustling sound appeared next to her.

Her gaze shifted with a bad premonition in her heart, she suddenly found herself face-to-face with a snake that was covered in a mess of rainbow scales and a small horn on its head.

She almost jumped up in fright, but ultimately remained hidden, nervously praying that the carriage would leave quickly so that she could escape this new threat.

For now, the snake hadn't done anything, only staring at her.

Unfortunately, the carriage halted on its way.

"Brrr."

She heard the horses snorting as they came to a halt.

A male voice sounded, amplifying Lei Mingxing's nervousness.

"Shazi did you hear that? Go check it out."

A chill ran down her spine, the slow crunching steps resounding with the thumping in her ears. Her mind was rushing to come up with a solution for this conundrum before her, while her eyes continued staring at the snake.

But the reptile in front of her seemed to have met the end of its patience.

Suddenly, the snake rushed forward baring its long poisonous fangs, Lei Mingxing hurriedly moved her arms to block her face, but the stinging sensation never came. Instead, she heard a teenager's voice sounding almost directly above her head.

"Just a snake."

Lei Mingxing lowered her arms, in disbelief.

"Tch, delaying us for no reason. Get back here, we have to hurry to Dark Spirit Town, the customers this time are people we can't offend!"

The carriage continued moving.

Lei Mingxing looked up after hearing these words, meeting the eyes of her savior.

They looked at each other for a brief second, but the teenager soon flung aside the dead snake in his hands and jogged away.

All this happened in less than a minute, leaving Lei Mingxing stunned.

Small theater:

Rainbow Snake: That strange creature is probably in awe because of my beautiful scales! Hmph, I will allow you to look at them a bit longer!

Lei Mingxing:...