Xu Xiaoya couldn’t quite follow what was happening. She smiled and said, “Are you hungry? I’ll make you all something to eat.” She stepped forward to take Xiao Gouzi’s hand, but he only grew more anxious.
“That’s not what he means.”
A voice suddenly came from the corner, startling Xu Xiaoya. She turned and saw another little boy sitting there. Both his legs were missing, and he could only move by dragging himself along with his hands.
“What’s that?”
The boy glanced at Xu Xiaoya, then hung his head and fell silent.
Xu Xiaoya didn’t press him further. She knew these children, younger than herself, had all suffered a great deal.
“Anyone home?” came a voice from the still-open door. Xu Xiaoya turned and saw a haggard middle-aged man peering inside. One look at his clothes told her he was either wealthy or powerful.
“Can I help you?”
The man studied her for a moment, looking surprised, then glanced at the other two children. After a brief pause, he said, “I’m looking for a Master Xu...”
“Master Xu?” Xu Xiaoya was taken aback. She looked around. “You must have the wrong place. There’s no master here.”
The man stepped back, checking the door again. “No, this is it... the young master told me it was your home...”
“Young master?”
“Yes, a young man dressed like a Taoist priest. He told me if I had trouble, to come here and find someone named Xu...” The man’s expression darkened. “I was a fool not to listen to him!”
“Could you tell me... what did that young Taoist look like?” A figure flashed through Xu Xiaoya’s mind.
“My good daughter, I didn’t raise you for nothing!” Xu Da’s eyes lit up as he stared at the silver ingot Xu Xiaocao handed him. “Once I win some money, I’ll redeem you for sure!”
Xu Xiaocao’s face flickered with barely concealed disgust. “This is the last time. That fool doesn’t suspect me. If I took more, she might notice.”
Xu Da nodded eagerly. “Didn’t you say the kid who follows her left? What use does a little girl have with so much money?” He suddenly reached out to pat Xu Xiaocao’s head, and she flinched.
Xu Da frowned. “What are you flinching for? I’m not going to beat you. I raised you with all kinds of hardship, so is it wrong for you to help your old man a little now?”
Xu Xiaocao nodded silently, watching as Xu Da left in high spirits. Anger burned in her eyes.
She never thought her father would find her again—let alone have the nerve to come begging for money!
Xu Xiaocao wandered around for a while, cooked up an excuse, and headed home. Xu Xiaoya was so gullible, she told herself, she wouldn’t care if she came back empty-handed.
But when she got home, it wasn’t Xu Xiaoya she found. The disabled children immediately shrank away from her the moment they saw her.
“What are you staring at? A bunch of freaks! I don’t know why she keeps you losers around!” Xu Xiaocao yelled, frustration seething inside her. The memory of Xu Da’s greedy face only stoked her rage. She grabbed a bamboo rod by the corner and strode toward the boy cowering in the shadows.
The rod came down hard on him. The legless boy gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out. Xu Xiaocao had warned them—if they ever tattled, she’d beat them to death.
“She brought you back because she pitied you! Don’t think she’ll pick you over me!”
The front door slowly creaked open, the scraping sound harsh in the stillness.
Xu Xiaocao dropped the bamboo rod, her twisted, furious face shifting instantly. She turned to the door with a smile. “Big sister—” Then she froze. Xu Xiaoya was standing there with several people behind her, carrying items on their shoulders, each face full of reverence.
Xu Xiaoya smiled when she saw her. “Little sister, come lend a hand.”
“Sister... what’s all this?”
Xu Xiaoya seemed genuinely pleased. “Gousheng found me some work,” she said cheerfully. “These are thank-you gifts.”
A steward spoke up from beside her, “Master Xu, our master says that from now on, whatever troubles you may face, feel free to come to him. We will never forget your life-saving kindness!” He waved his hand, and the servants carried the gifts into the courtyard.
“You’re too kind... I only did a small favor...”
Watching the elegantly dressed steward bow respectfully to Xu Xiaoya, Xu Xiaocao’s heart twisted with envy once more.
Why should her life be so good? And again, that favor from Fang Zhiyi? What made her so special?
The Huang family had hired Xu Xiaoya to solve a problem at home. Ever since they discovered that the Wanli Temple was essentially a den of evil, the head of the family wanted to get rid of the Buddha statue they had brought back. But no matter how many times they threw it away, the statue always ended up back in their house.
Meanwhile, his critically ill parents were fading fast, and he himself was beginning to lose his mind.
To his surprise, Xu Xiaoya only came inside, took one look around, and solved everything.
From her perspective, it was simple. She summoned Gao Mingzhi’s restless soul and ordered it to patrol the area. Soon enough, it found several objects heavy with yin energy. Gao Mingzhi didn’t even wait for orders before swallowing them all.
This gave Xu Xiaoya a new idea. If Gousheng could be a Taoist priest, so could she!
If Fang Zhiyi had been there, he would have been speechless.
What kind of proper Taoist priest uses a ghost to exorcise evil? That’s basically a dark practitioner!
But to Xu Xiaoya, as long as she could help people, that was what mattered.
That night, Xu Xiaocao tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She couldn’t understand why Xu Xiaoya, about the same age and also no more than a “worthless girl,” could be so lucky.
Though Xu Xiaoya always called her “little sister,” the neighbors knew perfectly well she was nothing more than a bought maid!
Just as she was stewing over it, a noise came from the window.
Xu Xiaocao jolted up. Then the window scraped again.
She hesitated before opening it, only to hear a low voice from below. “Xiaocao! It’s your dad!”
Xu Xiaocao froze.
“Come down quick! Let your old man see you!”
Within just half a day, Xu Da had gambled away all the silver Xu Xiaocao had given him. Desperate to recoup his losses, he came straight here.
Xu Xiaocao crept downstairs quietly, but a child huddled in the corner caught the whole thing.
“Ah, my girl’s done well for herself, living in such a nice place!” Xu Da said, grinning.
“Dad...”
“I’m out of money. I need more,” he said bluntly.
“But you had some just today—”
Xu Da’s face suddenly darkened. “Getting cocky, are you? Let me tell you, no matter where you are, I’m still your father!” He raised his hand as if to strike.
Xu Xiaocao instinctively cowered, and Xu Da, seeing her reaction, lowered his hand. “How could I hit my own daughter? Go get me a bit more. She lives in a nice place like this—that little girl’s got plenty to spare.”
Xu Xiaocao gritted her teeth, reached into the lining of her clothes, and pulled out a small pouch. Xu Xiaoya had given it to her before bed, asking her to use it to buy extra food for a celebration tomorrow.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
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.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
