When Fang Zhiyi was about to reluctantly brush her off again, he saw where Xu Xiaoya was pointing. There was a girl kneeling on the ground, a straw tag stuck in the back of her neck.
"Gousheng, what does that mean?"
"It means selling herself. Usually, it's to bury her father or mother, or because she can't survive anymore," Fang Zhiyi answered.
Xu Xiaoya stared blankly at the girl, who was about her age, and a wave of sympathy stirred in her heart.
Especially when she saw someone touching the girl roughly, like inspecting livestock, she couldn't hold back anymore: "Gousheng, can we... can we help her?"
Fang Zhiyi glanced over a few times, spotted the man sitting with his knees hugged, dozing behind the girl, and narrowed his eyes.
"Whatever makes you happy."
Xu Xiaoya perked up a little: "Great!"
She had originally intended to give some money to help the girl, but Fang Zhiyi insisted she follow the rules.
"Give money without buying? You want to be a sucker?" Fang Zhiyi said. "Even a fool knows there's a limit. If you give money to help everyone, do you plan to help all the beggars on this street?"
Xu Xiaoya was at a loss for words, but when she saw the greedy smile spreading across the man's face behind the girl, she made up her mind.
"Fine, let's take her home!"
She herself had been sold by her parents, so she knew that feeling well.
Fang Zhiyi tossed down some money without asking too many questions and let Xu Xiaoya help the girl to her feet.
"Thanks for the reward, little Taoist master!" The man picked up the silver ingot, beaming with joy.
As he looked around for a tavern, Xu Xiaoya fussed over the girl with concern. Fang Zhiyi paid it no mind. Now that the Gao family issue was resolved, he could part ways with Xu Xiaoya at most—he had his own business to attend to.
Just as he was thinking this, Xu Xiaoya suddenly tugged at him.
"What?"
"Gousheng, she's so tragic..."
"Huh?"
"Her mother is seriously ill; her father, that guy just now, only goes to gamble; and she has a younger brother who isn't quite right in the head..."
Fang Zhiyi was taken aback and couldn't help but look at the girl. She met his eyes briefly before quickly looking down.
Gambling-addicted dad, sick mom, and a good-for-nothing brother bringing her down?
If they knew about the life the guy with the same name as him led in that other world, they'd probably have to shell out even more.
Even so, Fang Zhiyi kept his thoughts to himself: "So what?"
"So I've decided to take her as my little sister! It's perfect—my name is Xu Xiaoya, and she's Xu Xiaocao." With that, Xu Xiaoya affectionately linked arms with Xu Xiaocao.
Fang Zhiyi shrugged: "Suit yourself."
"Um, what I meant was... could you spare some money? I want to take her to buy some clothes."
Fang Zhiyi nodded, directly opened his bundle, pulled out a few small pieces of silver, and tossed them to Xu Xiaoya. She happily grabbed Xu Xiaocao and left.
"I've done my part for the original body," Fang Zhiyi muttered to himself, then slung his bundle back over his shoulder and walked into a tavern.
Since ancient times, taverns have been gathering places for all kinds of gossip and rumors. Sure enough, after sitting for a while and downing two pots of rice wine, Fang Zhiyi picked up several pieces of information he needed.
"I heard there's a Yin Po haunting the Western Mountains. You haven't heard of a Yin Po? That thing is downright eerie—comes out at night and kowtows in front of desolate graves. Really, I'm not lying! My cousin ran into it while carrying goods to sell!"
"The Huang family at the eastern end of town is possessed. I heard a monk came begging alms, and they turned him away. That same day, both husband and wife fell ill. Now their son is planning a pilgrimage to Ten Thousand Mile Temple to pray for blessings."
"Did you hear? An official from the Imperial Observatory has come to our town. I bet there's some treasure about to surface."
"Better not take that road through Green Dragon Mountain lately. Inside info says a band of mountain bandits is lurking around there."
Fang Zhiyi took down all these scattered details with a blank expression, and just as he was leaving the tavern, a ragged beggar bumped into him. The tavern's waiter saw the beggar come in and impatiently drove him away: "Get out of here! Shoo, shoo, shoo!"
The beggar slunk out dejectedly, turned a corner once he was a ways off, and his expression turned vicious.
"That little Taoist is pretty sharp. I almost got my hands on his bundle."
A voice came from the shadows: "Are you sure he has silver?"
"Boss, I saw it with my own eyes. He just casually dropped a few taels of loose silver. When I bumped into him just now, that bundle was definitely full of silver—and a lot of it!"
"Good. Find an opportunity to skim some off."
When Fang Zhiyi returned to the inn, Xu Xiaoya and the other girl were already back. As he entered, Xu Xiaoya eagerly pulled out the newly dressed Xu Xiaocao: "Look! Isn't Xiaocao pretty?"
Fang Zhiyi took a look, and sure enough, clothes make the man. After a simple wash and a change of clothes, Xu Xiaocao had transformed quite a bit. But he quickly turned to Xu Xiaoya: "Why didn't you buy a set for yourself?" She was still wearing the old Daoist robe that Xuan Jizi had given her.
"I'm used to it," Xu Xiaoya said, smiling. But she mysteriously pulled a robe from behind her back: "But I bought one for you!"
Fang Zhiyi paused, staring at this big philanthropist in front of him, momentarily unsure how to judge her.
"Thank you."
"Go on, try it on. I guessed at the size. The auntie selling clothes said if it doesn't fit, I can exchange it." She put her hands on her hips. "I said it was for my little brother!"
"Oh, and here's something else." Xu Xiaoya suddenly pulled out a folded yellow talisman and handed it to Fang Zhiyi. "A safety charm. A Taoist was drawing them by the roadside, and there was a huge crowd. I waited in line for ages to get my turn. Right?" She turned to ask Xu Xiaocao.
Xu Xiaocao nodded.
"I just hope Gousheng stays safe and sound," she said, her voice dropping a little.
Fang Zhiyi took the talisman. One squeeze told him that this kind soul had been duped.
"When you bought it, didn't a bunch of people say it was especially effective?"
"Yeah, yeah!"
Fang Zhiyi rolled his eyes: "Don't tell me you spent all your money on this."
"Sister is really worried about Brother Fang," Xu Xiaocao suddenly spoke up. "That alchemist wanted two taels of silver, and Sister didn't have enough on her. She had to beg him for a good while before he agreed."
Fang Zhiyi gave her a glance but didn't say anything. He fished more money out of his pocket and shoved it at her: "Go buy yourself some clothes too. Buy two sets if you want. We're not short on money."
Xu Xiaoya tried to refuse, but Fang Zhiyi simply placed the silver on the table, turned around, and went back to his room.
Once he sat down, he remembered the fake talisman still clutched in his hand.
Fang Zhiyi suddenly felt a spark of interest: "Xiaoxiaohei."
"Host, I'm here."
"I bet you the inside says something lucky like 'Five Blessings at the Door,' and it's even written with the name 'Gousheng.'"
Xiaoxiaohei stared wide-eyed but didn't answer—this question was far too hard for it.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
