The Capital City

Li Ming came down the mountain and headed straight towards the town.

She was wearing a veil so that no one could recognize her. When she finally reached the village she took a long deep breath and decided to find someone to ask for help.

According to the previous owner of the body, there was a family of merchants who lived in the village. There were high chances for her to find some help from them.

After asking someone for the address, she made her way to the merchant's house. She needed to wait for a while before an old man in his late fifties, finally came out of the house.

"Young Miss, can I help you?" The old man asked her as he noticed a young girl standing outside his house.

From the way she was dressed, it was not hard to guess that she was not a local. No one from their village was rich enough to spend so much money on just clothes and jewelry.

"I want to go back to the capital city but I don't have any money with me for the time being. Kind Sir, can you please help me?" Li Ming asked in a sad but kind of desperate voice.

She did her best to sound like a poor child who ended up getting separated from her family on her way to the capital and was now left alone with no money or aid.

As soon as the old man heard her sad story, he started feeling pity for the young maiden. His wife had also walked out to see what was happening and she too felt bad for the girl.

"Miss, please come inside. Even though we live in a small house but it's still better than standing outside." The old lady welcomed Li Ming inside their small courtyard and served freshly brewed tea.

Li Ming thanked the woman as she tried to sip the tea while wearing a veil. For some reason, it was way harder than it should be.

"Miss, don't worry too much. My husband was about to leave for the capital. But our carriage isn't as good as those used by the people of the capital. Nor our old horse is as energetic as it used to be. I hope you will understand and won't mind if we won't be able to reach the capital before dawn." The old woman said in a small tone as her eyes moved towards the horse who was sleeping at the other side of the yard.

"Madam, you are doing me such a huge favor. I don't deserve to complain in the current situation. I just want to tell you that I'm really grateful to both of you." Li Ming replied as she folded her hands in front of her and bowed to the couple.

Both the man and his wife smiled warmly as they looked at the young girl who appeared so humble even though she definitely belonged to a noble family.

"Sir, Madam...., though I don't have any money with me to repay your kindness, I still want to help you. If you will allow me." Li Ming asked for their permission so that she could repay their help.

"There's no need for you to repay us. Don't be bothered about such things." The old man immediately responded with a quick head shake.

"I can heal your right hand." Li Ming immediately spoke and watched as both the old man and his wife stared at her in shock.

"H.....H-how...how do you.....know that..." The old lady could barely form any coherent words as she kept looking at the girl and then at her husband's damaged wrist.

"I have some basic knowledge of medicine. I can tell that his right wrist is damaged. If you don't mind, I'm willing to give it a try. I'm a hundred percent sure that I can heal him." Li Ming answered the question that the woman was unable to voice out.

The old couple stayed quiet for the next few moments as they contemplated what to do. Finally, the woman nodded her head slightly while looking at her husband who just sighed but also nodded his head.

Li Ming did not bother to talk anymore as she placed her hand above his right palm and channeled her healing energy into his hand.

Though the man was taken by surprise because of her sudden actions, he stayed quiet.

Soon enough, he felt his whole right hand getting engulfed in a warm cocoon. The feeling was too good to be able to describe in words.

When Li Ming finally removed her hand after a few minutes, the man was shocked to find that his wrist was completely healed and that too within a few minutes.

"Th...this...this is.... "

He was too shocked to say anything. His expression matched his wife's who was almost on the verge of crying as she was feeling too happy.

Li Ming looked directly into their eyes as she spoke in an enchanting tone, "Now take me to the Capital city. You will forget about what had happened here. You will forget about me."

Both the man and his wide nodded their heads while looking at her in a trance.

"Good." She had a beautiful smile on her lips which were hidden behind the veil as she walked out of the house. 

"I still can't understand. Why didn't you compel him in the beginning? You could have easily made him help you. Then why did you wasted all your energy in healing his hand?" Snowy asked her through their bond.

"When did I teach you to be so ungrateful?" She reprimanded him as she waited for the old man outside his house.

Snowy made a pouting face and shut his mouth. There was no point in talking with his weird Master.

***

When they finally reached the Capital city, it was already late in the afternoon of the next day.

Li Ming thanked the old merchant and started walking through the busy streets of the market. The streets were full of people. Everyone was busy with their businesses.

She roamed through the streets and visited various inns. She also went to a book shop and talked with a few people. She could not only read thoughts but she could also gain information while touching things if she could find the right link, though the latter one needed too much energy and focus.

By the time she returned to her mansion, she had gained enough knowledge about the Han Empire.

But what left her speechless was that this world was not just a normal ancient one. Rather the people of this new world cultivated some sort of spiritual energy to reach immortality.

There were various levels of cultivation.

1. Basic Cultivator ( 9 levels )

2. Middle Cultivator ( 9 levels)

3. High Cultivator ( 9 levels)

4. Elder Cultivator (6 levels)

5. Great Elder Cultivator ( 6 levels)

6. Master Cultivator ( 6 levels)

7. Grand Master Cultivator ( 6 levels)

8. Lord Cultivator ( 5 levels)

9. High lord Cultivator ( 5 levels)

10. Overlord Cultivator ( 5 levels)

11. Prime Cultivator ( 3 levels)

12. Divine Cultivator ( 3 levels)

13. Immortal Cultivator ( 3 levels)

14. High Immortal / Celestial Immortal

[A|N: I know that I ended up overdoing the levels, but damn the deed is already done, and at this stage, it's not possible to change it *sigh*]

The strongest person in the Han empire was at Grand Master First cultivation level. He was none other than the great General Wei.

The second most powerful person in the Han empire was Prime Minister Zhu, who was at Master Cultivator's sixth level. This means that both of these people hate each other like birth enemies. And these both were a great headache for the emperor.

The Imperial family also had some powerful people. But as one could see, the people in the Han empire were not too powerful when compared to the other Empires.

Li Ming decided to visit the black market the next day. She needed to find a source of income so that she could make a presence for herself in the new world. Being the head of the mage clan, she had taken care of their businesses for years.

Her clan was the richest among all the supernatural clans. She had full faith in herself that with her modern business knowledge and years of experience, she would be able to start something here too.

Just wait for her to become the Empress of the Business World!

As far as she had learned about this world, it's no different from her world. Even here, the strong were respected and feared. The one who was not powerful enough was always treated as dirt. And she had never considered herself as weak.

Her goal was to become the most powerful so that no one could look down at her. She was used to be on top and that's what she wanted to achieve here too.