Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

Xu Xian stood up, clutching his chest with one hand, and walked over, bending down to pull the black cloth off the man in black's face.

The face of an unfamiliar middle-aged man. Xu Xian reached out and pressed his carotid artery. There was no pulse. He opened the eyelids and saw that the pupils were dilated.

He then unbuttoned the man in black's shirt to examine his chest, and found a tiny red dot, about the size of a grain of rice, three inches above his navel. It was so small that it was almost invisible unless you looked closely.

But when you press down with your hand, the muscles, fascia, and internal organs underneath have already crumbled into a mess, and the skin looks like it's filled with a bag of broken tofu.

Xu Xian's finger stopped on the red dot, a chill ran down his spine, and he looked up at the table.

Hua Xi was teasing the turtle with one finger. The turtle stretched its neck and chased after her fingertip, swaying left and right.

The little girl was humming a tune she'd learned from somewhere.

Xu Xian walked over and sat down in front of the little girl. Hua Xi held the turtle and looked at him with bright eyes.

"Can you tell me who you are?"

Hua Xi shook her head. "Hua Xi is Hua Xi."

Knowing he wouldn't get an answer, Xu leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.

First, this little girl's realm is unfathomable, probably above the Qi Condensation Realm, or even a higher realm that he has never encountered before.

Secondly, she approached him proactively—"Prince Xiang said that once I entered this city, the first person to give me money could help me."

This statement suggests that someone is giving her advice behind her back, and the person or thing giving her advice is very likely the turtle in her arms.

Third, and most importantly: she needed his help to find something, and in return, she protected him.

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Xu Xian changed his approach. Instead of treating her as a mysterious creature to be wary of, he decided to treat her as a trump card to save his life.

He then asked Hua Xi, "What does the thing you're looking for look like?"

Hua Xi's eyes lit up. She placed the turtle on the table, dipped her finger in the water in the teacup, drew a circle on the table, and then dotted the center of the circle.

"A seal with patterns on it that glows."

She drew very carefully, and although it was crooked, Xu Xian understood that it was the shape of a seal, with the dot in the middle being the seal knob.

How many are there in total?

Hua Xi counted on her fingers, then spread out both hands and waved her ten fingers in front of him, "Nine."

Xu stared at the ten fair and delicate fingers for two seconds.

Where are the nine seals located? He didn't know.

What does it look like? There's only this crooked water stain drawing by Hua Xi.

How do I find it?

Hua Xi said she had one that could roughly sense the location of other seals, but only roughly. The senses weakened after entering the Iron Gate Pass, so she needed him to help her find it.

Xu Xian pieced together all this information in his mind. This case was probably more complicated than all the cases he had ever handled in his life, but he didn't hesitate for long.

He looked at Hua Xi and said seriously, "First, you saved my life, so our deal begins. Second, I will definitely keep my promise to you and help you find those seals."

Hua Xi looked up at him, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

"third..."

Xu paused for a moment, then said, "It's not safe for a young girl like you to run around outside like this. From now on, just tell everyone you're my distant cousin, understand?"

Hua Xi tilted her head and thought for a few moments, then suddenly smiled sweetly, "Brother."

Xu Xian's heart softened at the call, and he couldn't help but rub Hua Xi's head.

Her hair was softer than she had imagined, and it was messy, but it should be much better after washing. Hua Xi squinted and rubbed her palm against his.

Xu Xian got up and went to the kitchen to boil a basin of water. He brought it over, soaked a towel, wrung it out, and handed it to Hua Xi. "Wash your face."

Hua Xi took the towel, buried her face in it and rubbed it. Xu Xian then changed the water and told her to wash properly.

This time, the little girl buried her whole face in the water, blew a few bubbles, and when she raised her head, water splashed everywhere, covering Xu Xian.

Xu Xian sighed helplessly, wiped the water off his face with his sleeve, and was about to say something when he suddenly froze.

After the mud on her face was washed away, the little girl's skin was as white as porcelain, her eyelashes were long and curled, and she had delicate features that seemed out of place in this run-down alley.

It's more like the daughter of a noble family who accidentally got lost.

Xu Xian's gaze shifted half an inch downwards. Hua Xi's wide robe was soaked with water when she washed her face, clinging to her body and outlining her silhouette, which made Xu Xian's body tremble.

What a huge weapon!

Xu Xian suddenly turned around, pulled out one of his clean outer robes from the wardrobe, and draped it over her head. "Change into this. Throw away that dirty robe."

Hua Xi pulled the robe off her head, hugged it to her arms, and tilted her head to look at Xu Xian's stiff back. "Brother, why are you blushing?"

"Looking refreshed!"

Xu Xian strode out of the room, closed the door behind him, and took a deep breath outside.

The night wind brushed against his face as he stared at the old locust tree in the yard, half of which was withered, and silently repeated it three times in his heart—

Can't afford it!

Can't afford it!

Can't afford it!

The door creaked open, and Hua Xi stood in the doorway, wearing his oversized, floor-length robe. The sleeves were rolled up several times, yet still too long, and the collar was so large it was slipping to one side...

She stood barefoot on the threshold, the hem of her robe trailing on the ground, holding a tortoise in her arms, its head peeking out from the robe's pocket.

He helped Hua Xi roll up her sleeves again, rolling them five times before revealing her delicate white hands. Then he found a strip of cloth to use as a belt and tied the robe tightly around her waist in a knot.

The robe is still too big, but at least it won't slip down.

"sleep."

Hua Xi followed behind him, carrying the turtle. Xu Xian gave his bed to Hua Xi and wrapped himself in a thin blanket, lying down on the rattan chair in the main room.

...

The next morning, Mr. Xu was awakened by a fragrant aroma.

He opened his eyes and saw Hua Xi squatting at the kitchen door, with a small iron pot in front of her, and something was bubbling inside.

The turtle lay on the stove, craning its neck to look into the pot.

Xu Xian walked over and glanced at the pot—a pot of rice porridge that was half burnt, with a few whole green vegetables and two fist-sized pieces of cured meat floating in it.

Hua Xi looked up at him, her face covered in soot from the bottom of the pot, and she was holding a spatula that was longer than her arm.

"Brother, I cooked breakfast!"

Xu Xian stared at the pot of something that was somewhere between porridge, rice, and dishwater, and remained silent for two seconds.

Then I took the spatula, scraped off the burnt parts, added half a ladle of water, adjusted the heat again, took out the vegetables and meat, chopped them up, and put them back in.

Five minutes later, a pot of barely edible vegetable and meat porridge was ready.

Hua Xi took a big gulp from the bowl, "Brother, your cooking is better than mine!"

"That's because what you cooked can't even be called porridge."

"What's it called?"

"Kitchen waste".

Hua Xi didn't understand what "kitchen waste" meant, but she felt that her brother was very serious when he said the word, so she wrote it down.

After breakfast, Xu Xian carried the sack containing the men in black and took Hua Xi to the Inspection Department. This world was very hostile to him, so he needed to have bodyguards with him at all times!

Zhao Bao was squatting at the entrance of the Inspection Department, eating a sesame seed cake. He saw Xu Xian walking over and was about to greet him when he suddenly saw an incredibly beautiful young girl following behind Xu Xian. The sesame seed cake fell from his hand.

"Brother Xu—who is this?"