The next day, Lu Shuang came down the mountain around the same time. She found that her bad luck and good luck were alternating.
She had hunted a good roe deer before, though it didn't fetch a good price.
Yet today, she managed to hunt two roe deer.
It was as if heaven was taking pity on her.
So, she hoisted the two roe deer onto her shoulders and headed to Guanxiang Town to sell them. With these two roe deer, plus the money from the one she sold yesterday, she would have enough to cover her living expenses.
She could buy some daily necessities and save the rest for travel expenses.
It would be enough for her to hide away until the war ended.
With hope for the future, her steps quickened. Soon after she arrived in town, a servant suddenly rushed up to her, his eyes shining absurdly bright.
"Wow, is this a roe deer? Excellent, excellent, this roe deer is simply magnificent! Miss, will you sell it to me? I am willing to offer one hundred taels!"
Before this servant could even finish speaking, several other servants who had caught wind of the news quickly rushed over and started shouting over one another.
"This roe deer is outstanding! Look at this fur, look at its mouth, look at its legs! It must fetch a high price. I offer two hundred taels of silver!"
"I, Wen Lao'er, offer five hundred taels! Miss, you absolutely must sell the roe deer to me. If you don't sell it to me today, I will kneel here and never get up!"
"I, Uncle Zhang, offer one thousand taels!"
"Wang Tao, five thousand taels!"
"Liu Ji, ten thousand taels!"
...
Lu Shuang was completely dumbfounded.
At this moment, she suspected that she hadn't hunted a roe deer, but a true dragon!
A roe deer only cost two hundred copper coins yesterday, and now it was actually selling for ten thousand taels?!
That was ten thousand taels!
She never dared to imagine seeing that much money in her entire life!
"Are these people crazy?"
Just then, Young Master Xiao leisurely appeared once again. Today, he looked even more like an oil peddler than yesterday, carrying a shoulder pole with two buckets brimming with sesame oil.
"What a coincidence, Miss Lu. We meet again."
Young Master Xiao's voice rang out. However, Lu Shuang immediately noticed something was wrong. The weight of the two buckets of sesame oil wouldn't be considered heavy for someone who carried loads year-round, yet Young Master Xiao's body was hunched over like a shrimp.
Not to mention his face was covered in sweat, and right as he greeted her, he dropped the two buckets of oil onto the ground with a heavy thud.
What oil peddler would bear to treat their own sesame oil like that?
This made Lu Shuang uncontrollably panic.
She felt that there was something sick about this place.
These servants in front of her were sick.
This Young Master Xiao was sick!
This Yunjing City was sick!
Even her family was sick!
This further strengthened Lu Shuang's resolve to escape. Otherwise, if she stayed in such a place for too long, ground down by time and forced by the environment, she would eventually fall sick too!
Sick in the head!
"Quite a coincidence," Lu Shuang replied calmly, not showing her inner thoughts.
Young Master Xiao immediately spoke up like he was presenting a treasure, "Oh, after you left yesterday, I specifically went to argue with that boss. Finally, thanks to my glib tongue, he agreed to buy the roe deer you hunt at a high price."
"When the others heard how generous the boss was, they were all moved. So, they all came one after another to buy roe deer from you. This is all just a token of their goodwill."
Lu Shuang was even more certain in her heart.
It was this Young Master Xiao playing tricks, it was definitely him!
Thus, remaining even more composed, she said, "That's wonderful. However, these prices are too high, and I cannot accept them. How about this: just pay me according to the market price. What do you think?"
"With the one from yesterday, plus the two from today."
"A total of three taels of silver will do."
Those servants could hardly wait as they scrambled to pay. After Lu Shuang took the money and dropped the two roe deer, she turned around and ran. She hurried to exchange the money for grain, and then returned to the mountain without stopping to rest.
She swore that she would absolutely not come down the mountain again until the war ended.
No one would be able to find her, and none of these absurd matters would ever disturb her again.
However, Xiao Che was entirely unaware of her thoughts. He remained thoroughly satisfied with the thrill of seeking true love under the guise of a commoner, until his guard Yu Chenglong brought him a piece of news.
"What?"
"Miss Lu Shuang actually had such a bitter life? When this Prince marries her in the future, I will definitely dote on her exclusively."
"Yu Chenglong, immediately gather our men and follow this Prince to Wusheng Pass."
"This Prince will let the defending general of Wusheng Pass know exactly what happens to those who dare touch my woman!"
With a grand wave of his hand, Xiao Che immediately led a mighty contingent toward Wusheng Pass.
They arrived shortly after.
His timing was quite coincidental.
Chen Xiong, the defending general of Wusheng Pass, was currently setting up the checkpoint defenses.
This Chen Xiong was indeed worthy of Yunjing's deep trust. Setting his private morals aside, his abilities were absolutely formidable. Under his arrangements, Wusheng Pass, already a formidable stronghold, was now as impregnable as an iron fortress.
"We must finish constructing the observation posts and artillery positions today! Ren Tianye's army is coming, and only with these can we block his forces!"
"Also..."
"The watchtowers and the rolling logs and falling rocks on the ridges on both sides must be in place today."
"According to the scouts' reports, Ren Tianye's army is less than a three-day march from here. We are out of time."
...
Chen Xiong's eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, clearly indicating he had not slept well for many days. However, once these arrangements were completed today, this grand pass would absolutely make it impossible for Ren Tianye to advance a single step. Therefore, his face mostly showed excitement.
Suddenly, he heard a commotion. Just as he was about to inquire, a soldier came to report, "General, there is a group of men at the bottom of the pass demanding to see you by name."
"See me? Who are they?" Chen Xiong asked as he looked down from above. He saw a group of men, all wearing standard uniforms and carrying waist sabers, looking like they came from an extraordinary background.
His curiosity was piqued, so he immediately led his men down to take a look.
Xiao Che's voice instantly rang out.
"Are you Chen Xiong?"
"I am. Who are you?"
"Heh, so it's you who actually harbors the delusion of marrying eighteen women?"
Chen Xiong immediately frowned and said, "This is the national policy of my Yunjing. How is it a delusion for this general to act accordingly?"
"Besides, this general has fought battles my entire life. Can't I enjoy myself a little?"
"But..." Xiao Che's voice grew colder. "One of those women is the woman I have set my sights on."
Chen Xiong immediately understood the newcomers' purpose, but he was completely unconcerned. He had deep roots in the capital, and what he was doing was in line with Yunjing's national policy. What could this person in front of him possibly do to him?
Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard the man in front of him shout.
"Yu Chenglong!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
Yu Chenglong jumped out and immediately waved his hand.
His subordinates understood that it was time to display the python robe. They immediately brought out the python robe; two soldiers held it up, and another supported the seven-tasseled crown, blocking Xiao Che from behind, making it look as if Xiao Che had donned this set of armor.
At this moment, Xiao Che's expression had turned stern and cold. His aura was fully unleashed, exuding incomparable majesty.
"Chen Xiong, you dare to harbor wicked intentions toward this Prince's woman! Men..."
"Cut him down!"
"Exterminate his nine generations!"
...

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

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!

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."

ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!