The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

Yao Yao ate a pear while talking, and Qi Ji listened quietly.

Unbeknownst to him, through the little girl's narration, he gradually pieced together his understanding of this unfamiliar world, like pieces of a puzzle.

In addition to confirming the existence of some supernatural and ferocious beasts in the world, and the fact that this ancient human society seemed to possess martial arts power, Qi Ji also obtained information about some human nations.

For example, the five most powerful and influential countries in the human world.

The two kingdoms, Cangliang and Xuanyin, are located on the western coast.

The Kingdom of Luoyang boasts the largest territory and the largest population in the central region.

The eastern part is the Kingdom of Qianmin, composed of countless mountains and towering peaks.

The Yunyan Kingdom is a land of rainforests in the south, with various strange natural climates.

These are the five most renowned superpowers in human society, each existing for more than three hundred years.

Besides these five countries, there are many other medium-sized and small countries, totaling nearly a hundred.

Qi Ji felt that this situation was somewhat similar to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods in his previous life's national history.

In short, it was chaotic.

Yao Yao's hometown, which is also the land where Qi Ji is currently standing, belongs to a medium-sized country called "Bilin Kingdom," which is famous for its vast mountainous and forested landscape.

Yao Yao became more and more excited as she talked, her little hands tugging at the soft white hair on Qi Ji's neck.

"Little White, Little White, do you know what I really want to do? I want to visit Tianqi City in Luoyang Kingdom."

She brought her small face close to Qi Ji's eyes, her eyes filled with undisguised longing and yearning: "My father told me that Tianqi City is the largest city on the entire continent, with more than three million people living there, while our royal city of Bilin Kingdom only has four hundred thousand people."

"And did you know that..."

The little girl became more and more excited as she talked, gesturing vigorously with her little hands in the air.

"In Tianqi City, there is a large bird called the Golden Roc. It is said that it has been there since the founding of Luoyang Kingdom. Everyone who has seen it is amazed. They say it is so big that it can eat a whole horse in one bite. The largest bird I have ever seen was an old black eagle that my father raised. It was as tall as a man, but it was no match for the Golden Roc of Tianqi City. Hmm, I really want to see it with my own eyes. I wonder how big it really is."

Qi Ji blinked his deer-like eyes.

He then heard information about a strange beast from Yao Yao. No, if the information the girl said was true, then this [Golden Roc] could no longer be called a strange beast; Qi Ji felt it should be called a spirit beast.

"Jinpeng, could it be the Golden-Winged Roc I know? That's a mythical bird. Does it really exist in this world? Luoyang Kingdom, Tianqi City?"

Qi Ji remembered this information.

As the little girl spoke, the light in her eyes dimmed slightly, her lips pursed, and she instantly slumped down, her head hanging low.

"It's all my fault... If I hadn't been so playful and run around in the group, this trip would have been much more fun, and I wouldn't have gotten caught by those bad guys like before."

She unconsciously picked at the grass stems on the ground with her fingertips, her voice muffled and tinged with frustration.

But this low mood only lasted a few seconds before she raised her head, stretched out her two little arms, and hugged Qi Ji's neck tightly, a muffled laugh coming from within.

"Hehe, it's okay, luckily I met Xiaobai, Xiaobai saved me."

Qi Ji shook his head as she hugged him, letting out a low whimper in response, while his mind was also racing with thoughts.

This little girl is the little princess of the Kingdom of Bilin.

Logically speaking, if a princess goes missing within the country, regardless of the reason—whether it was a genuine accidental kidnapping or some kind of conspiracy—the royal family will definitely mobilize a large number of people to search for her.

But no one can say for sure when these people will find their way into this mountain forest.

It's not a long-term solution to leave a six-year-old girl, who is too weak to even kill a chicken, to live among a herd of deer that roam freely.

Mountain springs are readily available, so drinking water is not a problem, but food is the most pressing issue at present.

The cloth bag that Yao Yao brought out from the robbers' cabin contained a lot of smoked meat and wheat cakes, but the quantity was ultimately limited and would eventually run out.

Even if one could find wild fruits like wild pears in the mountains to fill their stomachs, it would be impossible for a child to survive on fruit alone for a long time. Qi Ji had lived for over thirty years in his previous life and had never heard of anyone who could survive on fruit for their entire life.

However, compared to the issue of food, the more fatal hidden danger is safety.

Deer are naturally alert, and their running and jumping abilities are among the best in the mountains and forests. When they encounter carnivores, they can react quickly and scatter to escape, using their speed to outrun their predators.

But this little girl is different.

She was just a six-year-old human girl with short legs and slow steps. Walking was fine for her, but it was impossible for her to run away quickly when she encountered danger.

If this situation were to occur, unless Qi Ji were willing to protect her at all costs, this little girl would have absolutely no chance of survival.

But to be honest, Qi Ji couldn't possibly disregard everything.

It is instinctive to seek advantage and avoid harm. If he encounters a tough character that he cannot handle, Qi Ji's only choice is to run away with the deer herd.

As for sending Yao Yao back to the human city?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when Qi Ji nipped it in the bud.

Before he fully matures and has enough ability to protect himself, human cities are nothing short of dangerous dens for this little white deer.

What if Yao Yao isn't safely returned, and he gets caught first, or both he and Lu are captured?

After much thought, I couldn't come up with a perfect solution that would satisfy both sides.

"never mind"

Qi Ji flicked his tail, temporarily putting aside his thoughts, and decided to take it one step at a time. At least until the girl's family came looking for her, he would live with the deer herd.

Qi Ji was unaware that while he was contemplating the little girl's safety, two threats were indeed approaching step by step in the dense forest, just a few kilometers from the deer's habitat.

It was those two burly robbers.

... ... ...

They were in a sorry state, their clothes covered in dust and mud, and the bald, burly man had scratches from wolf claws on one leg and one arm.

Last night, they were attacked by three gray wolves, and the two fought back while retreating.

Even with weapons in hand, the darkness still hampered their movements, making it difficult for them to use their strength. A strong man skilled in archery had to shoot five or six arrows in a row to hit a wolf.

Finally, the two spent a lot of time and effort to kill the three-headed wolf. Exhausted, they returned to the riverbank and followed the trail bit by bit.

"Huff...huff...damn, I'm exhausted. Once I find that little brat, I'm going to give that bastard a good slap."

"Stop talking nonsense and save your energy. This is the right direction. Look, there's still a small piece of clothing left behind by that little girl."

The burly man bent down and picked up a small piece of fabric from the grass. It was made of the same material as the pieces he had found the night before, proving that they were looking in the right direction.

"It's just ahead, it shouldn't be too far."

"That's good. But judging from the footprints, there seem to be deer hooves near that little girl. Could it be that there's a deer with her?"

"Who cares? What's one deer? Even if it were a herd, I could take them down with a single arrow in broad daylight. They're not carnivores."

"That's right. No matter who's with that little girl, we must capture her and bring her back. Anyone who dares to block our way should be killed."

The two men's eyes gleamed with ferocity as they immediately gathered their strength and followed the footprints forward...