The crowd gradually dispersed.
The yamen runners were cleaning up the bloody mess in the streets and collecting the corpses of the dead, which included not only people from the yamen and Green Sword Sect, but also some unfortunate civilians who couldn't withstand the penetrating arrows of the government troops.
Indeed, there was no reason in this world. One never knew when death would come, with no chance to resist or lament before being declared dead. But Zhang San was completely numb to the sight, having long grown accustomed to it.
He had wanted to leave immediately with Wang Xiaoer, but out of caution, Zhang San decided to stay in the alley a bit longer and wait until most of the people outside had left before heading out.
However, the scene that met his eyes upon exiting the alley made Zhang San pause briefly in surprise.
Below the spacious execution grounds, most of the people had already left, with only a few scattered government runners still washing away the bloodstains.
The sky was gloomy.
A woman in white stood below the execution grounds.
The woman looked to be in her thirties, her white robes filled with patches. She stood silently watching for a long time.
Then she turned around.
It was the expression on the woman's face that made Zhang San freeze up for a moment.
It was an expression of utter despair.
What was she despairing over? The execution grounds were clearly empty.
Zhang San wondered about this curiously.
The woman then slowly walked away, her direction coincidentally leading towards where Zhang San was.
As the woman drew nearer, Zhang San realized she was very beautiful, with time seeming to have left little trace on her face. Despite her shabby clothes and lack of makeup, she was still striking.
The woman's peripheral vision caught sight of Zhang San, but she continued on her way slowly without paying him much attention.
...
...
"Master...what are you looking at?" Wang Xiaoer asked.
Zhang San pointed in the direction the woman in white had left and said, "There's something odd about that woman."
Wang Xiaoer squinted into the distance from the cart and vaguely made out the figure of a woman in white robes. He murmured, "Master is indeed at that age now and should consider..."
Thud!
No more needed to be said before Wang Xiaoer was thumped again.
Zhang San said, "I just feel like the direction she was looking before seems to be...where the magistrate left. Or am I imagining things?"
Wang Xiaoer rubbed his head and said, "Don't think about it, Master. It's got nothing to do with us. We've still got our own business to handle."
Zhang San nodded. "You're right. No wonder you're my disciple. By the way...what was our business again?"
Wang Xiaoer looked towards South Avenue, where a peddler was selling candied hawthorns at the end of the street. He had noticed them after the avenue reopened earlier. Wang Xiaoer naturally said, "Master, of course it's to go buy candied hawthorns. I read in medical books that sugar can stimulate the brain. As soon as we eat some, we'll be able to..."
Thud!
Another punch.
Wang Xiaoer cried out in pain but still refused to give up. "Master, how about we get two skewers to share then?"
Zhang San snorted. "Don't joke around. How could your master sit here eating candied fruit on a stick with a brat like you?"
...
...
Not long after, a master and disciple sat in a small alley in the southern part of Tian Ruo City, each eating a candied hawthorn skewer with great enjoyment.
As he bit into a haw, Wang Xiaoer asked while eating, "Master, are we really staying here tonight?"
Zhang San spoke unclearly with his mouth full, "What's wrong with it? A panoramic skylight, carefree and leisurely. We can even watch the stars at night. As righteous disciples, we've got to sleep poetically."
Wang Xiaoer nearly choked on a hawthorn. He looked around at the dilapidated alley full of puddles and said, "Master, can we be honest? Sleeping on the streets is sleeping on the streets. What poetry?"
Zhang San said wistfully, "But this is how your martial uncle spoke to me in the past."
Wang Xiaoer sighed, realizing that the sect's poverty had persisted over three generations now.
"But Master, I'm a bit worried," said Wang Xiaoer, well-read in martial arts novels.
Zhang San asked, "What are you worried about?"
Wang Xiaoer replied, "Master, didn't you say earlier that the jianghu in the central counties has been very chaotic? I read in books that places like these alleys are where murders most often happen. What if we're sleeping and suddenly a fight breaks out, and then a corpse just drops down from the sky and lands on us?"
Zhang San's brows furrowed as he thought to himself that these were some strange ideas indeed.
As expected, one really shouldn't read too many of Mr. Jin's martial arts novels, or else everyone would become obsessed like Wang Xiaoer.
A corpse falling from the sky?
Ridiculous. If that happened, I, Zhang San, would immediately pluck my head off and give it to you as a...
Just as he was thinking this, there was suddenly a loud 'thud' in the small alley!
A corpse dropped down inexplicably from somewhere, landing deep in the alley.
It was a man dressed in black robes, embroidered with the image of a dragon on the collar.
Judging from the clothes, he appeared to be a high-ranking member of the Black Dragon Hall.
However, the master and disciple remained calm.
Wang Xiaoer nodded, then licked his candied fruit skewer with an expression that said 'Just as expected, right on cue.'
Zhang San stared dumbfoundedly at the scene, subconsciously taking a bite of his skewer with an expression that said 'Well I'll be damned.'
They then exchanged glances to confirm their strategy for dealing with this.
Master, what should we do? This guy looks really formidable.
I'm used to being the one killing people in front of others. Now suddenly it's the other way around. How would I know what to do? Let's pretend to be scared first.
Master, what if pretending doesn't work?
Then we'll take him out. I'll attack from the front and you throw poison darts from behind.
Master is as shameless as ever, yet also brilliant!
After this wordless exchange, the master and disciple each began putting on an act, with the theme being 'fear' and the specific performance being terror and panic.
The Killer Hall guard from JinWan Pavilion carefully examined the scholar and boy, deciding it wasn't worth wasting time on two ordinary people. With a leap using qinggong, he departed.
Seeing the emblem of money on the back of the departing man in golden robes, Zhang San murmured doubtfully, "JinWan Pavilion? JinWan's people are chasing and killing members of the local underground gang, Black Dragon Hall?"
Moreover, the man from Black Dragon Hall had a dragon emblem embroidered on his collar, clearly marking him as a high-ranking member. For ordinary conflicts between gangs like turf wars, there was no reason to kill someone of this status.
Yet this man had undoubtedly been chased down and killed in this alley by someone from JinWan Pavilion.
Could JinWan Pavilion and Black Dragon Hall be at war?
Zhang San pulled Wang Xiaoer up and said, "Let's go!"
Having heard the three words "JinWan Pavilion" whispered by his master, Wang Xiaoer also realized the gravity of the situation and hurriedly jumped onto the cart.
However, as soon as the cart moved, Wang Xiaoer became worried again. "Master, I'm a bit anxious again."
Zhang San asked listlessly and helplessly, "Now what is it?!"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
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?"
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!"
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?
