What is the name of the current Great Qian Emperor?
What does the emperor look like?
Who are the civil and military officials?
The common folk of Qingniu Town know nothing about these matters, or rather, the vast majority of the Great Qian populace remains completely ignorant of such things.
Though they live in the Great Qian, though they are part of the human race.
Yet.
For the townsfolk of Qingniu Town, the highest-ranking individuals they usually interact with are the tax collectors and the constables who arrest people.
Life is gray, never vibrant.
The future is murky, never clear.
In their dazed and confused state.
Many don’t even know what crime they’ve committed before being branded as “criminals” and forced to migrate from the thirteen provinces of Great Qian to the borderlands.
But even after arriving at the border, in Qingniu Town, they still have to pay taxes.
The people of Qingniu Town don’t find this strange.
They have lived on the land of Great Qian for generations.
They’ve always believed that paying taxes is a given, and they are willing to do so, even taking pride in it, feeling that the prosperity of Great Qian owes something to their efforts.
But now.
They’ve reached their limit.
Year after year of demonic tides, year after year of increasing taxes.
Have crushed their spirits, making it hard for them to stand tall.
“Sir, please, we beg you…”
“We truly don’t have a single grain of food left…”
At the entrance of Qingniu Town.
The sparse crowd of townsfolk, faces filled with fear, cautiously plead with the tax collector on horseback, hoping he might spare them this year’s levy.
Their turbid eyes glimmer with hope.
Their withered hands tremble as they clasp together.
Yet, the tax collector, seated high on his green-scaled horse, his back to the sun, towering and imperious.
Only snorts coldly, whipping his horsewhip down hard against the ground.
“Crack!”
A sharp, loud sound.
Dust and gravel scatter, and fear strikes deep into the hearts of the people.
“You lowly scum, the court allowing you to live is already a great mercy!”
The tax collector yanks on the reins, hurling insults.
“Swine,” “thieves of the court,” “wretched slaves wasting food,” “even if you starve, you must pay taxes.”
He curses viciously, but the emaciated people dare not retort, only continuing to beg.
“But, but we truly have no food…”
“Next year, we’ll make up for it!”
Hunger.
They are so hungry.
Under the tax collector’s harshness, the people of Qingniu Town shrink back in fear, but overriding that fear is the deep-seated weakness and hunger within their bodies.
Everything edible in Qingniu Town.
Be it grain, livestock, or even the weeds by the roadside.
Has long since been consumed.
How can they produce, how can they conjure something from nothing, to pay the tax collector enough grain?
Under the sun, the pleading crowd gathers, their tattered clothes making them look pitiful.
Gradually.
An old woman tries to kneel and beg.
But before she can, a pair of hands gently supports her.
“Grandma, stand up.”
Xu Xi’s voice is as gentle as ever, like a warm spring breeze, soothing to the ear.
But beneath that gentleness, a long-buried flame finally reveals itself, blazing fiercely, burning without restraint.
“No, no, no.”
The old woman shakes her head desperately.
She wants to kneel, to beg the tax collector, to plead for Qingniu Town to be spared this year’s levy—the only way she knows to survive.
However.
When the old woman looks back at the tax collector.
She sees something astonishing: the man on the fierce horse, taller and more imposing than anyone else, the tax collector.
Has been knocked to the ground by a single casual punch from Xu Xi, tumbling over a dozen times.
The tax collector curses.
The tax collector roars.
But now.
The atmosphere grows eerily quiet.
“Xi, Xi’er, how could you…”
The old woman clutches Xu Xi’s hand, wanting to say something but not knowing where to start.
She looks blankly at the tax collector.
For the first time, she realizes that the fallen tax collector isn’t so tall after all—he’s the same height as the people of Qingniu Town, or even shorter due to his bloated frame.
For the first time, she realizes that the tax collector, now covered in dust, doesn’t seem frightening at all.
So.
So we.
Are we the same…
The scene leaves the people of Qingniu Town deeply confused. They don’t know what to do—should they help the tax collector up, or blame Xu Xi?
Is Xu Xi wrong?
Impossible. Xu Xi, who has always protected Qingniu Town, couldn’t possibly be wrong.
Then, is the tax collector wrong?
This bold thought shocks them into denial. The tax collector represents Great Qian—how could Great Qian… be wrong…
They hesitate.
Finally, someone steps forward from the crowd, intending to help the fallen tax collector.
But as soon as they approach, the tax collector lashes out.
“You lowly scum, lawless, utterly lawless!”
“Do you even respect the law?”
“Scum will always be scum, and their offspring will be nothing but scum. You wretched lot, just wait to be killed by demons!”
The tax collector’s insults are vile.
His shrill, piercing voice makes the green-scaled horse neigh in agitation.
At first, the people of Qingniu Town feel guilty, believing that their inability to pay taxes is their fault, an unforgivable sin.
But as the tax collector’s insults escalate.
Especially when he targets their families, some begin to look uneasy.
“No, you can’t!”
“Insult my mother!!!”
Someone snaps. It’s Niu, the one who had gone to help the tax collector, a man with sun-darkened skin who usually seems simple-minded.
His eyes are bloodshot, his body trembling.
He clenches his fist, ready to strike the tax collector.
But he hesitates.
“Scum, I dare you! Assaulting an official is a serious crime—do you think you can bear the consequences?” The tax collector, still on the ground, sneers.
Like a noisy duck, he squawks, mocking Niu relentlessly.
Niu freezes.
Silently, he lowers his fist.
But then, Xu Xi steps beside Niu, taking his wrist and guiding his hand forward again.
“Brother Xu?”
“It’s alright, Niu. Do what you want.”
“But, but I can’t…”
Niu stammers.
He tries to explain to Xu Xi the severe consequences of attacking a Great Qian official—how can a commoner fight against an official?
Yes.
A commoner can never win against an official, not even a minor one.
Xu Xi shakes his head, asking Niu and everyone present: “Niu, are you hungry?”
“Yes!”
Niu answers immediately.
“Do you want to eat? Sweet, steaming rice.”
“I want to eat!”
Niu answers just as quickly.
“Then, throw your punch,” Xu Xi says, his voice ethereal, as if descending from the heavens, bringing the echo of awakening. “Niu, he is no better than you. If he starves you, you have the right to strike him.”
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
ey change clothes. Li Chuan contributed all his possessions, only to find that things were not as they seemed. Almost a year after joining, he hadn’t managed to get a single Daoist consort. Thinking he had been deceived, he was approached by a stunning senior fellow disciple who asked if he would like to form a spiritual bond. For those who don’t practice cultivation, they might not know what “forming a spiritual bond” is. Let me put it this way: A long-term relationship is called a “Daoist consort,” while a short-term relationship is known as “forming a spiritual bond.” From then on, Li Chuan discovered the true way to interact with the Yin-Yang Sect’s Daoist consorts. As long as he had enough spirit stones, he could form a spiritual bond with anyone, Whether it’s Senior Sisters, aunts, Daoist consorts of aunts, female elders, Daoist consorts of elders, or even the Daoist consort of the sect leader, anyone can form a spiritual bond as long as there are enough spirit stones.” I've already joined the Yin-Yang Sect, and you're telling me to focus on cultivation? Do you even know what the Yin-Yang Sect is all about?
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
