“Perfect, there are no surveillance cameras in this room. That makes things much easier for me.”
After confirming that the empty room held no prying eyes that might uncover her secret, Yan Qi silently mused to herself.
Without wasting a second, she swiftly dismissed her transformation as the Dao Yan Empress and mentally selected another transformation card—this time, turning into a fox-eared loli.
Once the transformation was complete, Yan Qi, now in the form of the fox loli, didn’t rush to leave the room. Instead, she materialized the Dao Yan Empress transformation card in her hand. As she released it, her doppelgänger—the Dao Yan Empress—appeared before her.
“This should do it.”
Observing herself from two different perspectives, Yan Qi felt satisfied with her preparations. She no longer lingered in the empty room, stepping out into the main hall with her doppelgänger in tow.
Ma Fangfang, who had been chatting with Ji Zige, paused mid-conversation when she heard footsteps approaching from the hallway. Turning toward the sound, she was met with an unexpected sight: a petite, fox-eared loli dressed in a light-red modified hanfu, carrying a large gourd on her back. With golden hair, emerald-green eyes, and a fluffy fox tail swaying behind her, the girl stood about the same height as Ma Fangfang herself.
“You must be Ma Fangfang, the one Zige always talks about. Nice to meet you—I’m Hu Yao’er.”
Seeing Ma Fangfang gaping in shock—understandable, given her current, distinctly non-human appearance—Yan Qi didn’t dwell on it. After introducing herself, she even extended a hand in greeting.
Snapping out of her daze at the sight of a real-life fox girl offering a handshake, Ma Fangfang quickly composed herself and took Yan Qi’s hand.
“Hello, Miss Hu Yao’er.”
Hearing herself addressed as “Miss” rather than “Big Sister,” Yan Qi—who much preferred the latter—couldn’t help but pout.
“Why do you call everyone else ‘sister,’ but I’m just ‘Miss’?”
“Because you look around the same age as me,” Ma Fangfang explained. “Calling you ‘sister’ would feel a little awkward.”
Realizing that her current fox loli form did, in fact, appear younger than Ma Fangfang, Yan Qi relented.
“Fair enough. I do look younger now, so ‘Miss’ fits better.”
Without giving Ma Fangfang time to respond, Yan Qi—remembering her actual purpose for transforming into the fox loli—shifted gears.
“Are all the injured people gathered here now?”
“Yes, except for one—a supernatural from the Special Affairs Bureau who was assigned to protect me and my dad. He’s still lying outside.”
“A Bureau supernatural? Got it.”
With that confirmation, Yan Qi activated her skill. Dozens of emerald-green, energy-infused medicinal droplets floated out from the gourd on her back. Under her control, they drifted into the mouths of everyone who had been injured in the earlier attack by the “Sky-Shattering Faction” supernaturals.
As the victims swallowed the medicinal liquid, a soft green glow enveloped their bodies. In moments, their wounds were completely healed, and all traces of pain vanished.
“Dad, how do you feel now?”
Watching her father bathed in the green light after drinking the healing concoction, Ma Fangfang asked with concern.
No longer in pain—and even feeling relief from some chronic ailments—Ma Hongxin wore an expression of awe.
“My injuries are completely healed. Thank you so much, Miss Hu Yao’er.”
Yan Qi, however, gestured toward her two doppelgängers.
“This was all Dao Yan and Zige’s request. If you want to thank anyone, thank them.”
Ma Hongxin immediately turned to the two figures Yan Qi controlled—Dao Yan and Ji Zige—and bowed slightly.
“Regardless, you’ve all done my family a great kindness. Thank you.”
“Well, since you insist, we’ll accept your gratitude,” Yan Qi replied through Dao Yan’s persona.
“If Dao Yan says so, then I won’t argue,” Ji Zige added.
“Ugh… You all act like I don’t even exist?”
Just as Yan Qi and her doppelgängers were exchanging pleasantries with the Ma family, a rough voice cut in.
Lei Gong—the man who had been punched into a wall by the Dao Yan Empress and knocked unconscious—had finally woken up. Still disoriented, his head throbbing from the earlier blow, he didn’t even bother looking up as he spat out those venomous words.
Ma Hongxin’s face paled. He immediately stood, shielding his daughter behind him. The injured guards and servants, still traumatized from the earlier attack, scrambled for safer spots in the villa, terrified of being caught in another supernatural confrontation.
Yan Qi, who had assumed Lei Gong would stay unconscious for a while longer, arched an eyebrow in surprise. She turned—along with her doppelgängers—to face him.
Struggling free from the wall, Lei Gong shook his head, trying to clear the lingering dizziness. His beady eyes scanned the room, searching for the woman who had ambushed him in the dark. He was ready to tear her apart in revenge.
But the moment his gaze landed on Dao Yan—standing beside the Ma family with her breathtaking beauty and regal, icy aura—his rage momentarily evaporated. His face twisted into a leering grin.
“Good heavens… How can a woman this stunning exist? But… why does she look so familiar?”