Liu Yuan's eyes remained wide open, unblinking in death.
Footsteps echoed from the distant corridor.
In an instant, Qin Ming thrust his right foot forward, using the snow to snuff out the lantern that had fallen onto the ground.
Pressing down on Liu Yuan's corpse, he curled up tightly in the thick snow.
Ten breaths later.
The footsteps receded into the distance.
Scanning his surroundings, Qin Ming spotted a well behind the rockery.
He dragged Liu Yuan's corpse along with the lantern and threw them both into the well.
He then discarded the blood-stained snow into the well as well, before heaving a large boulder over to press the body and lantern deep down.
"I just want to live, but you all refuse to let me. Then go to hell!"
Retracing his steps backward, Qin Ming erased his footprints with his hands.
At this point, there was no other choice.
He had to steel himself and head to Taiyin Palace.
Any other direction would lead to a quicker death.
Returning to the fork in the path at "Qujing Garden," he followed the road straight ahead.
A quarter of an hour later, a grand palace loomed before him, with three golden characters inscribed on its entrance.
They were in the ancient script of the Dayan Kingdom.
Qin Ming only recognized the character "Tai."
It had to be Taiyin Palace.
"Stop! What business do you have here?"
Suddenly!
A squad of soldiers emerged from a nearby path, clad in white armor, gripping long blades, exuding an aura of murderous intent.
Qin Ming turned his head and responded,
"General, I am Xiao Qinzi, a newly assigned eunuch to Taiyin Palace."
"Remove the cloth from your face."
Qin Ming peeled away the cloth concealing his scarred face.
"Hand over your waist token."
He retrieved the token from his waist and presented it.
The tall general examined it carefully, confirming its authenticity.
Stepping up to the palace doors, he gave a few light knocks on the tiger-head door knocker.
Thirty breaths later, the door creaked open.
A young girl in yellow robes peeked out, holding a phoenix-tail lantern.
The flickering candlelight reflected on her round, white face, making her look even more beautiful!
She raised her right hand and exhaled warm breath into it in front of her rosy, cherry-like lips.
"General Iron Tiger, it's so late. What brings you here?"
"Miss Lingyin, the Office of Eunuchs sent a new batch tonight. This one has been assigned to Taiyin Palace—Xiao Qinzi."
"Oh, right. I heard about that. Thank you for your trouble, General Tie."
"It's my duty. Now that he's entered Taiyin Palace, your people will handle the assessment. I won't intrude further. Farewell."
Qin Ming was completely bewildered.
Assessment? What kind of assessment?
"Come in!"
The young girl in yellow gestured for Qin Ming to follow, lifting the lantern to light the way.
"It's late, the snow is heavy, and your clothes are thin. I won't test you tonight.
Tomorrow, when the Eldest Princess meets you, she'll definitely conduct the test."
"Miss Lingyin," Qin Ming followed carefully, lowering his voice, "I just arrived at the palace. What kind of test is it?"
"Obviously, to check if you're a transmigrator!"
My god! They even test for that?
Just how much does this world hate transmigrators?
"Xiao Qinzi, what's your name? How old are you?"
"Qin Ming. Twenty years old."
He had no choice but to answer truthfully.
He had no idea what the masked man he was impersonating was actually named.
For now, he could only take it step by step.
"You're younger than me. Where are you from?"
"Hanye City… Western County."
That was what Qin Ming had learned from Liu Yuan.
"Huh?" The yellow-robed girl, Lingyin, turned around with the lantern.
Her breathtaking beauty made his heart tremble.
"I'm from the Eastern County of Hanye City. I haven't been back in eight years. How is our homeland now?"
Qin Ming was caught off guard but delighted.
Since they were from the same place, he could use that to build a connection—maybe even secure an escape route.
"Sister Lingyin, our homeland has suffered disasters—snow and ice have sealed everything!"
Lingyin's face immediately filled with sorrow. She let out a sigh.
"And the scars on your face?"
"Injured by a transmigrator. It's nothing serious."
"Let me introduce you to Taiyin Palace. It's huge. The highest hall at the top is where the Eldest Princess resides.
On the west side, the side rooms are occupied by Eunuch Li Shan, the palace maid Jingxiang, and me. The room in the corner is yours."
"Thank you, sister."
"Don't mention it. Get some rest. Tomorrow, I'll take you to see the Eldest Princess."
…
The room was sparsely furnished.
A simple, square wooden table and a small earthen bed, designed to hold a fire stove.
Of course, there was no stove inside right now.
Shivering from the cold, Qin Ming hurriedly shut the door.
In the right corner, there was an octagonal window, covered with two strange talismans.
Just then—
Thud!
A clump of snow slid off the roof, crashing onto the ground outside.
Qin Ming's heart tightened as he glanced outside.
On the snow-covered rooftop, a pure white weasel with a long, trailing tail had followed him once again.
Its round, eerie green eyes locked onto Qin Ming.
Could this be a demon?
Where in the world do you find white weasels?!
No wonder there were talismans on the window.
This cursed world was terrifying!
He had only transmigrated for a single night and had already killed two people.
Would the murder of Eunuch Liu Yuan be discovered?
What kind of insane test would the Eldest Princess conduct?
Would his identity as a transmigrator be exposed?
Would they find out he was a fake eunuch?
Qin Ming didn't mind cutting his face to impersonate the masked man.
But if they expected him to actually castrate himself and become a real eunuch—absolutely not!
If he lost that, what would be the point of transmigrating?!
Qin Ming's mind was in chaos, his heart pounding wildly.
No, no, stop, stop!
A last shred of rationality warned him from within.
He had to stay calm. Panic would only lead to a quicker death!
Qin Ming jumped onto the bed and wrapped himself tightly in the thin blanket.
Suddenly—
Thud!
Something golden fell out of his pocket.
A golden gourd?
Qin Ming remembered—it was something he had bought at a temple for blessings.
It was fake gold. Real gold had skyrocketed in price, and he couldn't afford it.
But wait—he had already changed into the masked man's clothes.
How was the golden gourd still in his pocket?
Could it be… mystical?
He recalled "drip blood to recognize a treasure" scenes from novels.
Pressing the cold golden gourd against the wound on his face, he didn't expect—
The moment it touched his wound, something incredible happened!
The golden gourd transformed into a streak of golden light and shot into his forehead.
In an instant—
The golden gourd floated within his mind, radiating an awe-inspiring golden glow.
[Sky-Locking Gourd Activated]
[Transmigrator Talent Unlocked: Copy (Level 1)! Talent Sequence No. 9. By coming into contact with the fresh blood of other transmigrators, you can copy their talent. Current Copy Capacity: 1]
A surge of knowledge about cultivation flooded Qin Ming's mind.
The cultivation levels in this world were categorized as: Body Tempering, Spirit Connection, Grandmaster, Yin-Yang, and Martial God—each divided into nine tiers.
However, every transmigrator carried an additional unique talent!
For example, someone with the Flame Enhancement talent would experience significant boosts when cultivating fire-based techniques!
Qin Ming's Copy Talent sounded quite powerful!
[Sky-Locking Gourd's "Luck" Attribute Activated: +24 Luck Points Per Day. Luck Points Can Be Used to Draw Cultivation Techniques, Martial Skills, Pills… In Dangerous Situations, Luck Points Will Accumulate Faster!]
[Survive! The longer you live, the stronger you become!]
The vision of the floating gourd abruptly disappeared.
"Adoptive Father! Don't leave yet! What's going on in this world? Why are transmigrators being hunted?"
[Unknown. Please discover the truth yourself.]
[Survive! Sky-Locking Gourd deactivating.]
Damn it! So cold and indifferent?
I finally get a miraculous gourd to warm me up in this cold and deadly winter, and it snuffs itself out this quickly?!
Just then—
Footsteps sounded outside the room once again!