Fifteen minutes later.
Not far away, Jiang Chulong hugged a broken bowl, licking the bottom like a kitten, her grimy face finally relaxing slightly.
The delicious wild vegetable and meat porridge had warmed her numb body a little, and the pain in her chest had lessened.
She secretly raised her head, stealing a glance at the young man beside her with the corner of her eye.
The young man rested his chin on his hand, gazing toward the direction of Qingyuan Mountain with a worried expression, as if afraid that a certain "ice block" might poison herself while cooking.
Seeming to sense her gaze, he turned his head.
She immediately lowered hers again, as if startled by an electric shock, burying her face silently in the bowl.
"I... I'm... done eating."
"If it's not enough, I can make more."
Looking at Jiang Chulong, her eyes covered by a cloth strip, timid and withdrawn, Li Mo felt even more peculiar.
She may be down on her luck now, but just a year ago, she was still a princess of the Yu Dynasty.
Even if a mere county princess were to visit Purple Sun Prefecture, the entire manor would be decorated with lanterns and banners, and the leaders of the three major sects would personally come to greet her.
A princess, born of noble blood, was someone who stood above the clouds, her status beyond compare.
"N-no... no need..."
"The... the rice..."
Jiang Chulong shook her head vigorously like a rattle-drum.
"Save the rice for later?"
"Mm."
But seeing how Jiang Chulong treated a mere bag of rice as a priceless treasure, Li Mo felt a sense of absurdity, yet it didn’t seem out of place at all.
"Murong Manor has a charity kitchen. You can go there to get porridge and rice during this time."
Hearing this, Jiang Chulong lifted her head, and even through the cloth strip, one could see her eyes brighten.
"Then... save it for winter..."
"You’re really planning to save it for the New Year?"
Li Mo let out a helpless chuckle.
After a moment’s thought, he took out two small-denomination silver notes.
"If you run out of food, use this to buy more in the market."
"What... is this?"
Jiang Chulong’s dirty face was full of confusion.
She didn’t recognize the silver notes.
Young Li Mo fell into silence.
Meng Can, having eaten his fill, covered his little belly with a blissful expression and said:
"St-stuttering sister, that’s money! You can use it to buy food, roasted chicken, candied haws—it’s super useful!"
He took the silver notes and took a closer look, his eyes widening in shock:
"O-one... one hundred taels!"
"One hundred taels... how much is that?"
"One tael of silver can buy 140 pounds of rice!"
Jiang Chulong: "!"
She started counting on her grubby little fingers, but soon her fingers trembled, and she froze in place.
The princess was utterly stunned.
"T-too... too much..."
"We... just..."
Jiang Chulong bit her lip, not daring to look at the gleaming silver notes.
"You want to say that since we’re strangers, you can’t accept such a large sum, right?"
Li Mo once again finished her sentence for her.
Meng Can gave him a strange look—how did Brother Li know what the stuttering sister wanted to say?
"Mm."
Jiang Chulong nodded timidly, her face tense.
The other party had set up a charity kitchen to help the poor.
But even if he was kind-hearted, there was no reason for him to give her such a fortune.
Her mother had once told her that there might be senseless evil in this world, but there was no such thing as senseless kindness.
Pies didn’t fall from the sky—unless someone had ulterior motives...
Just as her guard began to rise, Li Mo spoke again:
"First, a hundred taels means nothing to me. It’s no different from a bag of rice—or even a single grain."
"Wow..."
The little kids all looked at him with admiration, especially Meng Can, whose eyes shone with longing.
Jiang Chulong was stunned, seemingly overwhelmed by Li Mo’s "extravagance."
Li Mo continued:
"Second, I was entrusted by someone to take care of you."
"Entrusted... by someone?"
Jiang Chulong murmured softly, her small hands suddenly gripping the hem of her clothes with unexpected strength:
"Is... is she still alive?"
The only person left in the world who still cared about her was Aunt Mei.
Aunt Mei had once been her mother’s sword attendant.
After her mother’s death, she had raised Jiang Chulong as her own.
To save her, Aunt Mei had lured away a large group of Sky Patrol Guards—her fate remained unknown.
Could it be... that Li Mo had been asked by Aunt Mei to look after her?
"Yes, she’s out of danger now."
Li Mo nodded firmly.
Sure, the "ice block" was terrifying at night, cold as a thousand-year-old glacier.
But no matter how cold she was, she wasn’t in any danger anymore.
"That’s good... that’s good..."
Under the cloth covering her eyes, two clear trails of tears fell.
Where the tears passed, it was as if a layer of dust had been wiped from a piece of flawless jade, revealing its pure, crystalline beauty.
She hurriedly wiped her face, smearing the dirt back over it.
"Th-thank you."
"But this money... it’s still... too much."
"Then how about this?"
Li Mo thought for a moment. "Why don’t you come with me to Qingyuan Sect? Once there, you’ll be able to see her, and you won’t have to worry about living hardships anymore."
After all, the "ice block" had told him to handle Jiang Chulong’s basic needs.
So why not just take her straight to Autumn Water Pavilion?
Problem solved, right?
Plus, he could add Jiang Chulong to his daily investment list—a win-win!
"St-stuttering sister..."
"Are you... leaving?"
The little kids exchanged uneasy glances, their lips trembling. Two of the girls had tears welling up in their eyes, on the verge of crying.
The slightly older boy, Dazhu, quickly spoke up: "Sister’s family has come for her. We should be happy for her!"
His words didn’t seem to help—even he looked lost.
"I... I won’t... go."
Jiang Chulong shook her head slowly.
"I can arrange for someone to take care of them," Li Mo said softly.
"No... I don’t want... to put her in danger."
As she spoke haltingly, Li Mo remembered.
Jiang Chulong was still being hunted by the Sky Patrol Guards.
This wasn’t on the level of someone like Cui Peng.
The Sky Patrol Guards were the Yu Dynasty’s strongest military force, the empire’s sharpest blade in maintaining its dominance across the realms.
She didn’t want to drag her friends into trouble.
"Alright. It’s getting late—I should head back."
She bore a golden destiny, but with it came an unimaginable burden of karma.
Li Mo nodded, deciding to think things through carefully.
Jiang Chulong’s current situation made it unsuitable to keep her by his side long-term, and she wouldn’t agree to it anyway.
How, then, could he "invest" in her?
Lost in thought, Li Mo waved goodbye to the little beggars and stepped out of the dilapidated house.
The young man’s figure vanished into the night.
"Goodbye, Brother Li!"
The children ran out, watching until he disappeared.
......
In a courtyard of Murong Manor.
"Strange. She doesn’t seem to have any martial arts cultivation at all. Has she never trained?"
"Or did losing her Sword Bone reduce her to a mere mortal?"
"If I can guide her back onto the martial path, the system’s rewards would be unimaginable."
Li Mo stood in the courtyard, deep in thought.
If he wanted to help Jiang Chulong cultivate, but couldn’t keep her with him...
How could that work?
Just as he pondered, a maidservant approached:
"Young Master Li, your bath is ready."
"Thank you."
"Would you like this servant to assist you—"
"No need, thanks."
The maid left, visibly disappointed.
Li Mo sank into the large bathtub and began claiming his rewards.
【Earth Vein Spirit Milk】: "Formed over millennia from the condensation of earth vein essence, each drop is a sacred treasure for tempering one's vital energy. Yet its most potent effect lies in prolonging life!"
"Extending lifespan isn't something I need right now."
"Let's use it to refine my vital energy instead."
Li Mo uncorked a vial brimming with Earth Vein Stone Milk and poured two drops into the bathing tub.
Had Elder Xue Jing been present, he would have surely let out a shrill scream.
This was a priceless ingredient for crafting longevity elixirs—and this brat was using it for a bath?!
Anything associated with life extension becomes immeasurably precious.
After all, this world never runs short of those clinging to the edge of death.
Drip—
The two drops dissolved into the water, instantly making it shimmer with crystalline radiance.
Li Mo settled into the tub and began circulating the Fire Heart Blooms Lotus technique without delay.
Hum—
In an instant, he achieved harmony between heaven and man.
This time, amplified by the Earth Vein Spirit Milk, the resonance with the natural world surged severalfold in intensity.
The vibrations rippled palpably across the entire Murong Manor.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
