Don't Look Down Upon the Middle-Aged for Their Temporary Poverty

[You choose Option 1.]

[In the dark and damp cave, you grope your way forward.]

[At first, it is extremely narrow, barely allowing a person to pass. After walking a few thousand steps, the view suddenly opens up.]

[Bright light shines ahead. You have walked out of this natural tunnel between the two mountains.]

[After getting your bearings, you continue toward Baiyun County Town.]

[The next day, you arrive at Baiyun County Town.]

[You see a convoy of officials on the street. The prison cart holds the bandit leaders, Xu Hu and Xu Linglong.]

[They are heavily injured and on the verge of death.]

[The bandit minions are already corpses left in the wilderness; they didn't even qualify to be brought back for interrogation.]

[You do not look for long and quietly retreat into the crowd.]

[You escorted your third sister during her wedding procession, so you still remember the location of her home in the county town.]

["Why is it sealed?"]

[Your third sister's small courtyard has been sealed with white paper strips reading: Sealed by the Baiyun County Yamen, Baling Commandery, Qingzhou, Great Qian.]

[You peer over the wall and see that the inside has long been emptied, leaving only fallen leaves on the ground.]

[You find a nearby neighbor and ask around.]

["You mean Shen Qingshan? Oh my, that homicidal maniac killed ten households in a single night. He was beheaded at the vegetable market last month. The Magistrate sentenced his nine generations to exile. How are you related to him?"]

["I... I don't think I count as part of his nine generations..."]

Chen Yi: "?"

What is going on??

How did Shen Qingshan become a murderer?

Chen Yi remembers this brother-in-law as a man of dignified appearance, righteousness, and extraordinary bearing.

Moreover, he was an official, a demon slayer of the county's Demon Slaying Division.

There must be some injustice, right?

"So, Third Sister has been exiled?"

According to the simulation timeline, Shen Qingshan is beheaded a year later.

I don't know if the crime has happened yet in reality.

"She's the only relative I have left; I can't just ignore this..."

Unfortunately, right now, he can only worry in vain.

Chen Yi can hardly protect himself and doesn't know when he can escape the Black Stone Gang's control.

[You do not know how the Great Qian calculates the nine generations.]

[To be safe, you give yourself a new name: Chen Dong.]

[To make a living, you become a waiter at the Yuelai Inn in the county town.]

[The Proprietress is a widow. She is kind-hearted and takes good care of workers like you. Food is plentiful, and she doesn't criticize or make things difficult during daily work.]

[However, some guests will beat or scold low-level mortals like you at the slightest disagreement.]

[Especially certain martial artists who feel superior and do not regard ordinary people as human.]

[Year 3, Age 20.]

[Beginning Trait Extraction...]

[Extraction Successful!]

["Husband Material" (White): You inadvertently exude the aura of a married man. Appeal to women is slightly increased.]

[Do you wish to adjust traits?]

[Yes/No]

[You replaced "Ji Ni Tai Mei" with "Husband Material".]

[A martial artist causes a scene at Yuelai Inn because the tofu pudding is salty.]

[He breaks your arm. While you are shirtless, the warm-hearted Proprietress helps you bandage your wounds.]

["Ah Dong, don't hold a grudge. Ordinary people like us have to keep our heads down in front of martial artists. Just being alive is a blessing from our ancestors."]

[You say indignantly.]

["Hmph! Don't bully the young for being poor. I, Chen Dong, will sooner or later reach the peak of martial arts and grind the Great Dao to dust!"]

[The Proprietress playfully slaps you.]

["You can't even find a wife, yet you talk about that..."]

[The two of you look at each other. Somehow, perhaps "Husband Material" is taking effect, you catch each other's eye and feel the heat and urgency in each other's gaze.]

[That night, disregarding your injury, you and the Proprietress ignite like dry wood and raging fire, burning passionately.]

[Later, you marry the Proprietress and transform into the owner of Yuelai Inn.]

[Your life suddenly changes from the bottom of society to the gentry class.]

[Sure enough, eating soft rice is the only way to avoid detours!]

"Who says White traits are useless? I'm the first to disagree! I wonder what the Proprietress looks like..."

Chen Yi thinks happily.

The simulation continues, deducing year by year.

Suddenly, Chen Yi's eyes light up.

In the simulation text of white characters on a black background, a splash of green suddenly appears!

It's not that he turned green—meaning he was cuckolded.

It is his trait that turned green!

[Year 10, Age 27.]

(Liuzi won't write out the useless traits, it's not that he didn't draw them~)

[Married for many years, you and the Proprietress remain affectionate. You treat each other with respect during the day and are passionate at night.]

[Relying on a bit of management and scientific knowledge from a modern person, you and the Proprietress run the inn prosperously.]

[Unfortunately, as low-level mortals, there are some things you can only passively endure.]

[Such as theft, looting, martial artists dining and dashing, and the government's exorbitant taxes, etc.]

[However, compared to most mortals, your life is already much better.]

[The only regret is that you have difficulty having children.]

[The Proprietress often mutters that it would be good to have a child.]

[Whenever she has free time, she sits there doing needlework, hugging the tiger-head shoes she stitched one by one, lost in a daze.]

[You comfort her, saying that these things depend on fate, and having children requires destiny.]

[Year 11, Age 28.]

[Beginning Trait Extraction...]

[Extraction Successful!]

["Luckier with Age" (Green): Starting from age sixty, you are guaranteed to obtain a Rare trait every ten years when drawing traits. Additionally, during that draw, the probability of obtaining traits above Rare quality is slightly increased.]

[Do you wish to adjust traits?]

[Yes/No]

After seeing white for so many years, it's finally green!

However, calculating the probability, this draw is extremely lucky, considering the chance for a Rare trait is currently only 0.9%.

"I can wait until I'm sixty to equip this trait. A guaranteed Rare isn't bad."

In the following simulation.

Chen Yi sees how difficult his life as a mortal is in a world where martial artists run rampant, demons cause disasters, and wars rage for years.

His later life is comparable to Fugui in "To Live," full of hardships and bitter tears.

[Year 13, Age 30.]

[In this year, you and the Proprietress finally conceive a child.]

[The Proprietress weeps with joy, and you are happy for her too.]

[Year 14, Age 31.]

[It is a boy.]

[Yuelai Inn hosts a running banquet for three days, inviting all the townspeople.]

["Father of my child, you are being too extravagant. Although we have earned some money over the years, there are always many risks."]

["Hahaha! Rather than letting thieves steal it or the Magistrate take it away under various pretexts, I'd rather spend it on happiness! Besides, Chen Dong's son is born; how can I not announce it to the whole city?"]

["Ah Dong, you're getting carried away again. We are just mortals."]

["Don't bully the middle-aged for being poor. I, Chen Dong, am definitely not a mere creature of the pond!"]

[Year 16, Age 33.]

[Your second child, a daughter, is born.]

[You once again host a running banquet for three days.]

[Year 20, Age 37.]

[You have both a son and a daughter, own property, and live a substantial life.]

[Gradually, you nearly forgot that you were inside a simulation, feeling only that everything was so real, so blissful.]