She Picked Up an Emperor on the Road of Refuge

Chapter 1

In an abandoned courtyard in Qinghe County, Gu Jiu opened her eyes and witnessed two men tormenting a young woman.

The young woman's clothes were in tatters, with pieces scattered everywhere.

Suddenly, the young woman locked eyes with Gu Jiu, paused her crying, and pointed at Gu Jiu in a shrill voice, "She's awake! The little girl is awake! She's much prettier than me. Go find her! Really, I saw her smearing mud on her face. Don't believe me? Wipe it off, her skin is so fair. Go find her!"

Gu Jiu: ...

Damn! Is there a better way to express frustration?

One of the scruffy-faced bearded men glanced at Gu Jiu, his hands not stopping as he smirked, "A bean sprout-like doll, all dried up. I'm not interested in her, but I'm only interested in you."

The other sleazy skinny man looked Gu Jiu up and down, "Can't tell the front from the back, not an ounce of flesh on her body. Even a sow is stronger than her."

Gu Jiu: ...

Not very harmful but extremely insulting. How infuriating!

"Her skin is so beautiful. She might be a young lady from a wealthy family. We're full of mud-covered peasants, but young ladies from wealthy families are a rare sight... Sob, sob, her skin is delicate and fair like a celestial being..."

The young woman cried while continuously disparaging Gu Jiu.

Gu Jiu wanted to smash her head open and see what was inside.

She could understand that a young woman facing such a situation would be scared and helpless, but she couldn't let herself be a scapegoat. Her body was not even twelve years old yet, and after enduring hunger and hardship all the way here, she appeared as a frail and weak little girl.

This woman repeatedly tried to make a child take the blame for her, she was worse than an animal.

The scruffy-faced bearded man was getting excited, his hands not stopping as he said to the sleazy skinny man, "Hey, the young lady from the wealthy family, let me have a taste first. We can each have one."

The sleazy skinny man agreed and started heading towards Gu Jiu.

Gu Jiu's head was still a bit dizzy, and she didn't have much strength left in her body. She could only tightly grip the hairpin in her hand. It was the hairpin the original owner had, and Gu Jiu had concealed it in her palm when she woke up.

When the sleazy man approached and bent down, Gu Jiu pounced on him and viciously plunged the hairpin into him.

The sleazy man let out a miserable scream, covering his eyes and falling to the ground.

The scruffy-faced bearded man froze momentarily, released the young woman, pulled up his pants, and started cursing, "You little bitch! How dare you hurt my brother? I'll kill you!"

He took a few steps towards Gu Jiu, extending his large hand like a fan, and fiercely slapped at her face.

Gu Jiu leaned back, and at the same time, she kicked the scruffy-faced man in the groin.

He groaned in pain, clutching his lower body and crouching on the ground.

Taking advantage of the situation, Gu Jiu delivered a strike to his Qu Chi point. Before she came here, she had been learning acupuncture techniques from a system. She had just learned a technique called the Tremor Needle Method.

This technique used trembling needles to instantly stagnate a person's blood and qi, rendering them immobile.

This peculiar needle technique originated from an evil sect of traditional Chinese medicine. After the sect was destroyed, the technique was recorded by a commercial system. Out of curiosity, Gu Jiu learned a bit of it, never expecting it to come in handy.

The scruffy-faced bearded man stood there, his hands still covering his lower body, in a contorted posture and expression. Unfortunately, he was unable to move.

Gu Jiu felt a great pity. Her body was too weak, lacking strength, and the hairpin was too thick and lacked elasticity. Otherwise, the effect would have been better, at least immobilizing him for an hour.

The sleazy man was terrified. This was sorcery; this young girl knew sorcery! Seeing Gu Jiu coldly staring at him, her one eye revealing a fearful expression, he sprinted away.

Gu Jiu looked towards the young woman. The young woman knew she had seriously offended Gu Jiu earlier, so she used both her hands and feet, swiftly climbing towards the corner of the wall like a big spider.

Gu Jiu couldn't be bothered to watch her. She turned around, examined the door, smirked, and locked it from the outside.

Neither of them were good people. One was a beast, and the other was even worse than a beast. One had little strength, and the other had great strength but couldn't move. Whether it was the man recovering and overpowering the young woman, or the young woman seizing the opportunity to knock out the man and escape, it would depend on their luck.

Gu Jiu didn't consider herself a saint. If a wicked woman wanted to harm her, she would have to endure her retaliation.

After completing everything, Gu Jiu gazed at the bright sun outside and let out a long sigh. Ah, this was the real world, not a dream.

In her past life, Gu Jiu lived in an era of highly advanced technology, where people learned through various learning systems. Gu Jiu studied Western medicine. Starting at the age of ten, the system began generating virtual individuals with various symptoms for her to practice various techniques.

After countless repetitions of each technique, Gu Jiu accumulated a wealth of experience, and in five years, she grew into a renowned prodigious military doctor.

In a large-scale war, after performing several surgeries in succession, exhausted, she fell asleep. In her dreams, before she even reached her sixteenth birthday, she had lived out her entire life.

During the period of unconsciousness just now, the memories of the original host merged with her own.

The original host came from a noble family and was destined to live a life of wealth and luxury. However, while traveling back to their hometown with the whole family, they were all massacred by bandits, leaving only her and the wet nurse to escape.

Later, the wet nurse accidentally fell down a mountain and died, leaving the original host alone as a half-grown child, wandering through periods of hunger and satiation.

Last night, the original host spent the night in an abandoned mansion, where the young woman who was humiliated today also stayed.

This morning, the two weak women were targeted by someone involved in the human trafficking trade of this era and were quickly knocked unconscious.

When they woke up, Gu Jiu arrived.

Gu Jiu looked up to the sky and sighed, "What a shitty start!"

The small courtyard before her was in a state of severe disrepair, overgrown with lush weeds and covered in thick layers of dust.

She was starving, desperately hungry. She even felt like pouncing on the green grass and taking a few bites.

No, she had to quickly find something to eat.

Stepping out of the courtyard, she found herself in a quiet little alley where not even a dog passed by.

Leaning against the wall, she randomly chose a direction and walked forward. After a while, she felt dizzy due to low blood sugar and had to crouch down, resting against the wall.

"What's wrong with you?" Suddenly, a clear and crisp voice rang out.

Gu Jiu raised her eyes and saw a young man standing not far away. He wore a washed-out old robe that made him look ethereal and refined. His face, like a carved jade doll, glowed in the shadow of the opposite wall.

What an otherworldly young man!

In this era where most people looked ordinary, he was like a splash of color.

The young man coughed twice, and Gu Jiu snapped back to reality.

She pouted her lips, instantly transforming into a pitiful figure, and said in a pitiful tone, "I'm so hungry, I can't walk anymore."

The young man looked at Gu Jiu for a moment and nodded. "Come with me, I'll find you something to eat."

He then asked, "Can you still walk?"

Gu Jiu murmured an affirmation. Did this god-like young man mistake her for a beggar?

The clothes she wore were stolen by her wet nurse from a peasant household, patched together and unwashed for a long time, dirty and resembling that of a little beggar.

After walking a few steps with the young man, they arrived at the entrance of a house in an alley. The house had a wide door, unlike that of a poor family. A white lantern hung in front of the door, indicating mourning.

The young man said to Gu Jiu, "Wait here, I'll have someone bring you food."

Gu Jiu waited outside the door for a while, and sure enough, an old woman with white hair came out and handed her a steamed bun, saying, "Eat."

The old woman didn't rush back inside but looked at Gu Jiu for a while and asked, "How old are you, young girl? Did your family suffer from famine?"

Gu Jiu was busy nibbling on the steamed bun, just nodding her head. Her cheeks were puffed up, making it hard to speak clearly. She said vaguely, "Almost twelve."

The old woman's face showed a compassionate expression. "Poor child, eat slowly. Eating too quickly after being hungry for a long time is bad for your health. How about this? Come inside with me, and I'll serve you a bowl of hot porridge."

Gu Jiu blinked her eyes. In this unfamiliar era, she instinctively kept her guard up and thanked the old woman with narrowed eyes, "Thank you, but I'm fine with just the steamed bun."

The old woman shook her head. "Everyone experiences hardships from time to time, young girl, don't feel embarrassed. Let me bring you a bowl of water, and you mustn't leave."

After saying that, the old woman turned around and went back inside. Not long after, she came out with a bowl of hot water and handed it to Gu Jiu. "Poor child, drink it quickly!"

Gu Jiu thanked her again, took the bowl, sniffed it to make sure nothing suspicious was added, and then lowered her head to drink.

Just as she took a sip, her head suddenly darkened. A sack was thrown over her head, and the bowl in her hand fell to the ground with a "clatter."

The old woman urged, "Hurry, hurry, bring her inside. Don't let anyone see."

Gu Jiu:...

How could she think that someone who looked like a handsome fairy would be trustworthy? How could she follow him without any precautions? It turned out that what the books said was right: the more attractive someone is, the more likely they are to deceive others.

Well, she had just escaped from the tiger's den and ended up in the wolf's den. What kind of world was this? Were all people bad?