"Cough, cough! We're merchants, not rebels!" the shopkeeper spluttered, his face paling to a sickly shade as he took an involuntary step back. The very suggestion was a death sentence.
"This token isn't something a rebel should have. I once saw it in my father's study," Su Min said, her voice calm and level, giving nothing away. She watched him, her gaze steady and unnerving.
The shopkeeper froze at her words, his body going rigid. Suspicion flickered in his eyes as he studied her, truly seeing her for the first time. In his mind, a figure of her supposed stature, someone who commanded such respect and possessed such knowledge, had to be at least in her forties or fifties. Even Zhao Yiping, the man hailed as the number one hero in the martial world, had addressed her with deep respect. As she spoke, Su Min subtly dipped her finger into her cup of tea and traced a single character on the wooden table between them: 永, the character for 'eternal'.
The merchant sucked in a sharp, hissed breath, the sound loud in the quiet room. Very few people knew about that symbol. How could this young girl possibly know? On the surface, their organization was affiliated with Prince Fu, the emperor's indolent half-brother who had been banished to the southern frontier as a harmless figurehead. But their deeper, hidden ties were to the legacy of Prince Yong, whose rebellion had been crushed less than a decade ago. That secret was known to only a handful of people, and he was one of them. He wasn't here as a punishment, he was here on a critical mission, and a capable alchemist like Su Min was a vital asset he could not afford to scare away.
"Let me think…" the shopkeeper murmured, falling into deep thought as his mind raced, trying to fit the pieces of this puzzle together.
Su Min didn't rush him. She simply flicked her sleeve lightly over the table, and the water stain evaporated instantly, leaving the wood dry and unmarked as if it had never been there.
"You… you are Minister Su's daughter?" he asked, his voice low and cautious as he finally pieced it together, the realization dawning on his face with a mixture of awe and fear.
It all traced back to the scandal eight years ago. The emperor had mobilized a huge army, even setting mountains on fire, all to capture one man and his family, and he had still failed. The resulting chaos, some said, had angered the mountain gods, bringing famine to the region. It wasn't that Su Min had brought calamity upon the nation, but that Great Wei was already a pot about to boil over. The incident was just the spark. Now, the world had mostly forgotten Su Min, but he had not. Who could have imagined she would appear before him now, looking so young? It was absurd. Yet it explained everything, why hardened martial heroes called her 'senior'. This was the mind that had once played a nation's army like a game of chess.
"What assistance do you require, miss?" he said, his tone shifting to one of clear deference. "The lord deeply regrets the events of the past. Minister Su was a loyal man, and he ultimately fell victim to treachery…"
"Enough. That's all in the past," Su Min interrupted, her voice cold and final, cutting off his flattery. She had no stomach for his empty words.
She was acutely aware of what had happened back then. These weren't facts learned from a scroll, they were her memories, ingrained and lived-in. She could still recall the scent of the prison cell, the iron bars, the wet straw, and the blood. The damp cold had clung to her skin like a second layer. The girl she had been, the original Su Min, had huddled on cracked stone, her hair matted and her nails torn. She remembered the sound of her cousin choking in the next cell. The way her aunt had whispered lullabies until she fell silent. And her father… the last image was of him turning to her, his hands bound, blood at the corner of his mouth as he smiled a grief-stricken apology.
"Endure," he had mouthed.
And then he was gone.
She had been spared the worst, protected by some unseen command, but the helplessness was its own torture. Days blurred together in the dim light. She hadn't cried, not after the first week. The tears had run dry. Those memories were bone-deep now. A girl had suffered in that body, and she, the current Su Min, had inherited all of it, the pain, the fury, the cold numbness that followed.
Sometimes she dreamed of things she had never seen with her own eyes, her mother's garden, her father reciting poetry, the golden threads of a childhood robe. They were echoes, carried through time. And with them, the deepest truth, this world had never shown her mercy.
The Emperor hadn't just killed the Su Clan. He had erased them, offering their bodies and their memory to the ambitions of the woman behind the throne, the one who fed on talented girls to sustain her power. Su Min had been spared to be a future vessel, a living feast. That was the Emperor's mercy.
She opened her eyes, staring calmly at the shopkeeper. His reverent expression meant nothing to her. She didn't want his pity or his respect. She remembered the names of all those who had stood by or looked away. She had no interest in correcting history's lies. Let them believe what they wanted. She would write her truth in actions. The past had burned, and she carried the ashes like embers in her chest, waiting for the right wind to reignite.
"I have here ten Body Tempering Pills," she said, her voice pulling him back to the present, all business once more. She placed a small jade vial on the table. "They can help talented individuals swiftly reach the Body Refining Stage. I need you to find me ten such people and prepare a batch of special materials for me."
"No problem. Give me a month, I will find the candidates," the shopkeeper responded eagerly, his eyes gleaming with understanding. In this chaotic world, cultivators were the true power. By selecting these ten, they would build a core of resistance and bind these future experts to their cause. The pills were more precious than gold, and the opportunity was priceless.
"Thirty days from now, I will return," Su Min stated, her tone leaving no room for negotiation. "In addition to the ten candidates, I require these materials. No matter what, you must procure them for me." She handed him a list. The items were all body parts from monsters and beasts. The tiger demon was not the only one she had encountered over the years, just the most ferocious. Once her ring was finished, she would need to start forging her own magical weapons, and these components were essential.
"Understood. I will arrange everything immediately," the shopkeeper promised without hesitation. He knew he couldn't stop her even if he wanted to. She came and went as she pleased, a force of nature he could only hope to direct. Besides, he needed to report this to his superiors immediately. There was an old bond between their families. That was why they had been implicated before. Now, with her identity and her strength, Su Min was someone they had to win over at all costs.
"May this help me step onto the Path of Merit and awaken new powers," Su Min murmured to herself as she left the residence, narrowing her eyes against the sudden sunlight that felt harsh after the dim interior.
Cultivation could not be rushed. In the early stages of the game, a single breakthrough could take years of in game time, a mere moment for a player but an eternity in this turbulent era. Since she could not afford to shut herself away in seclusion for years on end, she would have to find other ways to grow her strength. This was the first step, a deliberate move on a much larger board.