Chapter 3: He truly is the ancestral emperor of his youth!

Xiao Qidi approached, used his battle sword to pry open the ashes, and discovered it was a palm-sized jade disc.

He swung his sword to smash the charred corpse, picked up the jade disc, and wiped it clean.

After being burned by the fierce fire for so long, the jade disc suffered no damage at all and remained icy cold throughout.

Looking head-on, silvery-white light flowed like mist; from the side, it appeared lush and dewy, as if water rippled.

"This is..." Xiao Qidi's eyes trembled, "A peerless treasure under heaven—the Azure Ripple Jade Disc!"

The seven major vassal states of Zhong Yuan once fought over this treasure, bloodied and broken.

Xiao Qidi's great-grandfather once tried to exchange fifteen cities of Xuan Guo for the Azure Ripple Jade Disc, but failed.

Later, the whereabouts of the Azure Ripple Jade Disc became unknown, rumored to have been stolen by a great bandit of the martial world.

Never expected to find it now on this bandit.

Xiao Qidi slipped the Azure Ripple Jade Disc into his bosom, stepped over twisted charred corpses, and came to the innermost wall of the cave.

He had already decided to trade this Azure Ripple Jade Disc for more food and water to save the local populace.

No matter how precious the treasure, it cannot compare to the importance of the people's lives.

As a king of a nation, yet powerless, he could only watch the people suffer, truly feeling ashamed before them.

He extended his palm, and a passage appeared.

He strode quickly inside.

Bang!

His face suddenly struck a hard object.

Xiao Qidi winced in pain, covering his nose bridge, and only after a while did he recover.

"Why is something blocking the way?"

He furrowed his brows and slowly reached out with both hands to feel ahead.

The strange object blocking the passage ahead seemed like a layer of metal, its surface etched with ridges.

A light push made it wobble, suggesting it wasn't very thick.

"Although the bandits are gone, the village still lacks food and water desperately; the people's lives hang in the balance—how could I be stopped by this thing!"

Xiao Qidi drew the battle sword at his waist and chopped down with one hand!

Clang!

Sparks flew, the blocking object emitted a deafening roar, yet only a slash mark was left on it.

Xiao Qidi felt numbness in his tiger's mouth from the shock.

But he did not give up; gripping the sword with both hands, he struck again with greater force!

Clang clang clang!!

In the warehouse, Ning Jinli drooled as she slept spread-eagle, suddenly awakened by a series of loud noises from the rolling door.

Bleary-eyed, she saw the rolling door at the back door shaking violently!

"Huh? What's this..."

She yawned, sat up, sleepy-eyed, walked over, and heaved up the rolling door.

Whoosh—the rolling door rose.

Swish!

Suddenly, a damaged battle sword appeared before her, swinging down fiercely toward her Heavenly Spirit Cover!

Fortunately, Xiao Qidi reacted quickly and restrained his strength in time.

The battle sword stopped less than half a centimeter above Ning Jinli's head.

Her legs went weak, she collapsed onto the ground with a wail.

Xiao Qidi stared, put away his sword with an apologetic expression, and reached out to help her up, saying, "Miss, I did not mean to."

"You you you... don't come over!"

Ning Jinli scrambled backward, rolling and crawling.

With a bang, her back hit a shelf, and a large box on top fell down.

Xiao Qidi rushed forward, grabbed her and pulled her up; she uncontrollably lunged into his embrace.

Boom!

The cargo box crashed to the ground.

Ning Jinli was frightened again, screamed, sprang up, and clung to Xiao Qidi with hands and feet, burying her head in his chest.

Her height of just over 1.7 meters made her look like a little bird clinging to the burly Xiao Qidi.

The soft sensation made Xiao Qidi's whole body stiffen; lowering his head, his nasal passages felt scorching.

A moment of silence—

Xiao Qidi's cheeks twitched slightly, he averted his gaze, quietly wiped away nosebleed, and said, "Miss, could you please get off me?"

Ning Jinli came to her senses and hurriedly let go.

The sensation just now was very real; she also felt his breathing grow more rapid and his heart thumping.

"Little brother, are you not a ghost?" she stared at him in disbelief.

"A ghost?" Xiao Qidi was even more incredulous, "I said before, I am of Xuan Guo—"

"Wait!"

Ning Jinli suddenly noticed the back door of the warehouse glowing with an illusory light.

Under the warehouse lighting, she could faintly see the weeds outside the door, and also a fluorescent vortex.

"You came from in there, right?" she asked urgently.

Xiao Qidi glanced back and nodded.

Ning Jinli rubbed her forehead, "So... what I saw as a child wasn't an illusion."

When she was seven, her parents were still alive and had once brought her to play at this factory.

She accidentally ran into this warehouse; at that time the back door also showed the same situation, and a wild rabbit ran out.

Later she told her parents, but they didn't believe her.

Now it seems this Xiao Qidi might really be the ancestral emperor who unified the world over two thousand years ago.

Indeed, his stature matches the historical description—tall and majestic, 1.98 meters, really handsome!

Oh, no, he's only eighteen right now.

According to historical records, at this time he was already the king of Xuan Guo, but he had no power or influence; it would be many years before he controlled the court, completing unification around age forty and becoming the ancestral emperor.

Ning Jinli sized him up from head to toe, then suddenly raised a hand and poked a finger at his high nose bridge.

Tsk...

Such looks, such bearing.

He really has a face that could overturn the Six Nations.

A gloom rose between Xiao Qidi's brows, "Miss, I really am not a ghost."

"Little brother, I have high hopes for you." Ning Jinli raised her arm and patted his broad shoulders, serious-faced, "Keep it up! Tell me anything you need, sis!"

Such words and deeds made Xiao Qidi feel slightly uncomfortable.

But he needed her help, so he wasn't angry; he took out the Azure Wave Jade Disc from his bosom, saying, "Give me more food and water, and I'll give you this—how about it?"

Ning Jinli thought that the previous jade pendant could sell for a hundred thousand, and now this palm-sized circular jade looks even more beautiful than that pendant.

It surely could fetch more money; probably worth two hundred thousand?

Only with more money could she possibly escape her current predicament.

"All right, deal!"

Ning Jinli's eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled.

Xiao Qidi slipped the Azure Wave Jade Disc back into his bosom and said solemnly, "Then I'll give it to you after we succeed."

Ning Jinli nodded, "No problem—just food and water; I've got what you need, take it first."

Xiao Qidi looked at the pile of boxes holding biscuits.

This is the factory's smallest warehouse, only about a hundred square meters.

Inside are biscuits nearing expiration, roughly several dozen boxes.

Ning Jinli was about to explain that the biscuits were about to expire and she could give them away for free, but Xiao Qidi said, "These are too few, far from enough."

"Ah... then come with me!" Ning Jinli grabbed his big hand.

Xiao Qidi hesitated slightly, but still let her hold him.

Ning Jinli led him to the side door of this small warehouse, opened the side door, and pressed the light switch.

Zizz—pop—pop—

The light tubes flickered on one after another, revealing a vast food-storage warehouse of five thousand square meters before Xiao Qidi...