Xiao Fan snapped back to reality.
He noticed Huo Ling'er glaring at him, clearly upset.
Confused, he asked cautiously, "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Huo Ling'er's frustration turned into tears. She had thought bringing Xiao Fan back to the royal city would help them grow closer over time. But now, three years later, their relationship seemed even more distant.
Seeing Huo Ling'er cry left Xiao Fan completely bewildered. He wanted to comfort her but didn't know what to say, fearing he might make things worse. Helpless, he turned to Huo Yang for help, but the young boy was too engrossed in the bustling market to notice what had happened.
Xiao Fan was at a loss.
Just then, Huo Yang tugged at his sleeve, shouting, "Master Xiao Fan, look! That person looks so pitiful, locked up in a cage."
Following Huo Yang's gaze, Xiao Fan saw a small figure trapped in an iron cage, apparently up for auction. A crowd had gathered around, watching.
The sight reminded Xiao Fan of his own past when he had been abducted and sold to the Qingyun Sect. His fists clenched involuntarily.
Before he could react, Huo Ling'er had already charged forward.
"How dare you! Have you lost your mind, openly trafficking people in the royal city? Bring your boss here immediately!" she demanded, her voice full of righteous anger.
Xiao Fan felt a sense of pride watching Huo Ling'er's indignation. He then followed her with Huo Yang.
As they approached, they saw a young girl in the cage, about eleven or twelve years old, with a cloth tied around her head. Despite her age, her fair skin and delicate features marked her as a future beauty. She curled up, looking at the surrounding crowd with fear in her eyes.
Xiao Fan's expression darkened. The audacity of these traffickers, openly selling people in the royal city, was appalling.
A portly middle-aged man approached Huo Ling'er, smiling slyly. "Miss, you mustn't make false accusations. I'm not trafficking people."
"False accusations?" Huo Ling'er scoffed. "The evidence is right in front of me, and you still deny it?"
The middle-aged man remained unfazed. Glancing at the girl in the cage, he called out to his assistant, "Remove the cloth from her head."
Huo Ling'er frowned, puzzled by the man's confidence. What difference would removing the cloth make?
The next moment, she was stunned. Underneath the cloth, the girl had two antler-like horns.
The middle-aged man grinned triumphantly. "See, miss? I'm not selling a person."
The crowd gasped in awe. The girl was clearly not human but seemed to belong to the demon clan. Though her exact species was unclear, her features suggested she was part of a mystical lineage.
The revelation stirred a mix of curiosity and desire among the crowd. People who had hesitated to bid now felt emboldened.
Xiao Fan closely observed the girl. Over the past three years, in addition to cultivating the Heavenly Dao Sutra, he had studied many texts in the royal library. The girl's horns indicated she was likely not just a demon but from the dragon clan or one of its branches, such as the flood dragons.
Dragons were considered superior to demons and did not belong to the demon clan. They were proud and typically stayed away from worldly affairs, maintaining a neutral stance with humans. Dragons were known for their strength and protective nature. If this girl truly was a dragon, her capture and mistreatment could provoke devastating retaliation from the dragon clan against the Heavenly Fire Kingdom.
Seeing the greed in the onlookers' eyes, Xiao Fan knew he couldn't stand by and let the girl suffer.
Outside the Haotian Mirror.
Many viewers also realized the girl wasn't just any demon.
"She looks like a dragon."
"Yes, only dragons have horns like those."
"If she is a dragon and these people buy her, the dragon clan's revenge could be catastrophic for the Heavenly Fire Kingdom."
Above the crowd, Empress Huo Ling'er clenched her fists, her expression tense with repressed anger. The girl was indeed from the dragon clan. And it was not Xiao Fan who had saved her back then—it was Huo Ling'er.
In the years that followed, Huo Ling'er often regretted rescuing the dragon girl. If she hadn't, Xiao Fan wouldn't have escaped right under her nose.
When Xiao Fan attempted to seize the Heavenly Fire, causing a disaster that killed her father and half the capital's citizens, he had been gravely injured. He wouldn't have escaped on his own. But just when capture seemed inevitable, the dragon girl had transformed and saved him.
To this day, Huo Ling'er couldn't forget the scene. If she ever met the dragon girl again, she swore to make her pay dearly.
Suddenly, the void trembled.
A black-robed figure appeared in the sky, drawing everyone's attention.
"That's… the Black Robe Empress!"
Many recognized her. She was the most mysterious of the seven empresses, her origin and appearance unknown. She was always seen in a black robe, hence the title Black Robe Empress.
Why had she revealed herself now?
Empress Huo Ling'er, too, was puzzled. The Black Robe Empress rarely appeared in public.
The next moment, the Black Robe Empress reached for her hood, seemingly about to unveil her face.
Seeing this, the crowd grew excited. Were they about to witness the true face of the Black Robe Empress?