While the player is in Battle Through the Heavens, the system is in The Great Ruler.

Chapter 17 Stone Desert City, First Encounter with Azure Scales
One month later,
Eastern Tagor Desert.

The scorching sun baked the boundless golden sea of ​​sand, the heat distorting the distant scenery. Gale-force winds, carrying grains of sand, howled and swirled between heaven and earth, emitting a chilling wail.

On the edge of this desolate desert, a rugged stone city stands majestically. On its mottled walls, fully armed guards patrol back and forth, their silver-gray armor reflecting a dazzling light under the blazing sun.

"My lord, Stone Desert City is just ahead."

A guide in a light blue shirt wiped the sweat from his brow and bowed obsequiously. His lips were chapped, clearly indicating he had been trekking through the desert for a long time.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Lu Yu nodded slightly and casually tossed out a money pouch.

The guide hurriedly took it; its heavy weight smoothed out the wrinkles on his face. "Sir, I know a few good inns in town..."

"No need."

Lu Yu interrupted him, waving his hand, "You can go now."

Having said that, he strode towards the city gate.

Little Fairy Doctor followed silently behind. She raised her hand and waved it lightly, and a wisp of poisonous mist silently dispersed the sand scorpions that tried to approach.

At the city gate, two dark-skinned guards held their spears horizontally, the tips gleaming coldly in the blazing sun: "Entry fee, two silver coins per person!"

Lu Yu casually flicked a gold coin, which traced a dazzling arc in the air. The guard hurriedly caught it, his face immediately plastered with a smile: "Please come in, sir!"

Stepping into the city, a wave of sweltering heat hits you. The shouts of vendors on both sides of the street rise and fall, and bare-chested mercenaries gather in twos and threes, their bronze muscles covered with scars.

Occasionally, a woman walking by would wear tight-fitting leather armor, her slender waist gleaming healthily in the sunlight, her long legs appearing and disappearing with each step.

"Brother Lu, where should we go first?" Little Fairy Doctor frowned slightly, avoiding the staggering figure of a drunkard.

"The Desert Iron Mercenary Group." Lu Yu took out a jade box from his storage ring. "Brother Yan asked me to deliver some pills to his two elder brothers."

After making several inquiries and turning a few street corners, a magnificent courtyard came into view.

The black iron gate was branded with a ferocious wolf head pattern, and the banner of the "Desert Iron Mercenary Group" fluttered in the hot wind above the gate. The guards at the gate had sharp eyes like knives and exuded the smell of blood; they were clearly veterans who had been through countless battles.

"Please inform him that Lu Yu, a guest of the Xiao family, has come to visit."

Lu Yu showed the Xiao family's guest token, and no one dared to cause trouble.

After receiving the guest elder's token, the guard immediately jogged inside respectfully.

Before long, hurried footsteps came from inside the courtyard, and two figures led more than a dozen mercenaries out to greet them.

The man at the head of the group wore a moon-white robe, his bright eyes gleaming with wisdom, and a gentle smile playing on his lips, yet he commanded respect.

The young man slightly behind was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, standing tall and straight like a pine tree. Beneath his lazy eyes lay a wolf-like ruthlessness, and the curved sword at his waist swayed gently with each step.

"Brother Lu!"

Xiao Ding, dressed in white, strode forward and warmly grasped Lu Yu's hand. "Xiao Yanzi wrote to say you were coming. We've been looking forward to it for so long!"

Lu Yu nodded slightly and replied with a smile, "Brother Xiao Ding, you're too kind. These are pills that Brother Yan asked me to bring for you."

As he spoke, he pointed to the jade bottle in his hand, "And this bottle is a small gift that I prepared privately. I hope you two won't find it offensive."

Xiao Ding quickly waved his hand and laughed heartily: "Brother Lu, what are you saying? It's good that you came. Why did you bring any gifts?"

After saying that, he waved his hand, and his subordinates stepped forward to carefully put away the jade box and jade bottle.

Then, Xiao Ding gestured to Lu Yu and said warmly, "Come, Brother Lu, you must be tired after your long journey. We brothers must have a good welcome to you and catch up with you today."

……

Soon after,

Inside the banquet hall, a whole roasted lamb sizzled over the campfire, golden fat dripping onto the embers and releasing a fragrant aroma. Mercenaries clinked glasses, their boisterous laughter echoing throughout the hall.

"Brother Lu, it is truly an honor for our Mo Tie Mercenary Group to have you come from so far away. Come, let me toast you first."

Xiao Ding smiled broadly, raised his wine glass, and looked at Xiao Ding with sincerity in his eyes.

Lu Yu raised his wine glass and said modestly, "Brother Xiao Ding, you are too kind. I came here on the behalf of Brother Yan and also to visit you two brothers."

Xiao Li, standing to the side, chuckled and echoed, "Brother Lu, you're too kind. Please take a seat. We'll definitely have a good drink together today." After several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly lively. At this moment, a young girl in a light green dress timidly approached, carrying a wine pot. She was petite yet already showing signs of slenderness, her delicate oval face still bearing a touch of baby fat, and her emerald green eyes like those of a startled fawn.

"S-Sir, please add more wine..."

Before the girl in the green dress could finish speaking, her wrist suddenly trembled, and the entire jug of strong liquor spilled onto Lu Yu's clothes.

"Useless bastard!" a burly mercenary roared angrily. "Can't even hold a glass of wine properly, this snake-man bastard..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Yu raised his hand to stop her. The Earth Core Flame swirled slightly in his sleeve, instantly evaporating the wine. He took out a plain white handkerchief and handed it to the girl: "It's alright. What's your name?"

"Green... Green Scales..."

The girl lowered her head, her slender fingers tightly gripping the hem of her clothes. Her emerald eyes glistened with tears under the lamplight, and her porcelain doll-like face was filled with unease.

"Green scales?"

Lu Yu was taken aback, his gaze falling on the faint blue scales on the girl's arm, his brows furrowing slightly. "You should go and rest first, there's no need to serve you here."

"Thank you, sir."

A look of gratitude flashed in the girl's eyes, as if she had been granted a pardon. She hurriedly bowed and retreated.

……

After a while,

Lu Yu returned to his room and casually handed the robe, which reeked of alcohol, to Little Fairy Doctor. Little Fairy Doctor took the robe and placed it in a wooden basin filled with water.

Just then, soft footsteps sounded outside the door. Qinglin's timid voice came through the door: "My lord, your change of clothes..."

Pushing open the door, one sees Qinglin standing awkwardly outside, clutching a neatly stacked pile of coarse cloth clothes. In the moonlight, her slender fingers are covered with tiny cracks at the knuckles, and bits of soap pods remain between her fingers.

"M-Sir..." she said, her head bowed, her voice barely audible, "Please change into this clean set, and the one stained with alcohol... I..."

Lu Yu frowned, then suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist, causing the girl to tremble. Her palm was covered in thick calluses, and several unhealed wounds were still oozing blood.

"You're in this state, and you're still thinking about washing clothes?"

He said this with a hint of displeasure in his voice.

Qinglin hurriedly hid her hands behind her back, her voice trembling with tears: "I...I'm used to doing this..."

Little Fairy Doctor stepped forward slowly, her purple eyes sweeping over Qinglin's hands: "These wounds... some of them were caused by someone hitting them with sand and stones."

Lu Yu remained silent for a moment, then took out a small jade bottle from his storage ring: "Take one pill a day, dissolved in warm water." Seeing the girl shrink back, he hesitated to take it, so he simply shoved the bottle into her hand. "From today onwards, you will follow me."

Her emerald green pupils trembled slightly, and her slender fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on the hem of her clothes: "But...but...I am Mo Tie..."

“No buts.” Lu Yu’s voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable force. He flicked his finger, and a token of the Xiao family’s guest elder drew a graceful arc in the air. “Tomorrow I will go to Xiao Ding to demand the person back.”

Little Fairy Doctor stepped forward at the right moment, a hint of pity flashing in her purple eyes: "This girl is quite pitiful, it's good for her to come with us."

She gently grasped Qinglin's cold wrist, carefully tracing the jagged cracks, and said softly, "You've suffered a lot, haven't you?"

Qinglin subconsciously withdrew her hand and whispered, "It's not bitter... The two captains have treated me very well, it's just... She bit her lip, her voice growing softer and softer, "It's just that I'm clumsy..."

Little Fairy Doctor and Lu Yu exchanged a glance. Those wounds, clearly inflicted through deliberate torture, couldn't be explained away by mere "clumsiness."
“From now on,” Little Fairy Doctor took out a white pill and gently rubbed it on the deepest wound in Qinglin’s palm, “you will no longer have to suffer like this.”

The medicine felt cool to the touch, and Qinglin watched in astonishment as the wounds on her hands scabbed over at a visible speed. She looked up, and for the first time, a glimmer of hope appeared in her emerald eyes.

"Thank you, sir, thank you, sister..."

Qinglin's voice trembled slightly, and tears welled up in her emerald eyes. She carefully touched her healed skin with her fingertips, as if to confirm that this was not an illusion.

Lu Yu crouched down, his gaze level with hers: "No need to call me 'sir'." He reached out and ruffled the girl's hair. "Just call me 'young master'."

"Master... Young Master?"

Qinglin repeated the title timidly, tilting her head slightly. For the first time, her usually fearful little face showed a hint of childishness that belonged to her age.

Years later, when Qing Lin, known as the Queen of Ten Thousand Snakes, became a Dou Di and stood at the pinnacle of the continent, she would always remember that seemingly ordinary night.

Only then did she realize that the greatest mercy fate had bestowed upon her was that, in her darkest moment, she met the young man who was willing to extend a helping hand to her.

(End of this chapter)