We walked along the road, hand in hand.
My heart kept pounding.
Our height difference was so large that from the outside, we must have looked like a father and daughter.
But they didn’t know.
What mattered was that his hand was big.
Though it had some rough calluses, it was very warm—bigger and warmer than both of my hands put together.
What happened to your face?” he suddenly asked as we walked.
Hearing that, I quickly touched my cheek.
There must still have been a red mark.
I asked nervously, “Is… is it really ugly…?”
“I asked how you got it.”
“I… I accidentally fell…”
“……”
He glanced at me, then fell silent.
……
At the restaurant, he ordered many dishes.
I just sat quietly watching him eat.
“Why are you staring at me? Eat,” he said with his mouth full.
“Huh? M-me?”
“Otherwise? Why would I ask for two sets of chopsticks?” he asked matter-of-factly.
“Oh… oh…”
I tentatively picked up the chopsticks, grabbed a piece of vegetable, and placed it on the clean rice in my bowl.
Just as I was about to take a bite, his chopsticks reached over.
He dropped a large piece of meat into my bowl.
“Eat up. I have things to do after this,” he said, mumbling indistinctly.
“D-do I have to come too?” I asked, pointing to myself.
“Yes.”
Hearing that, whether it gave me a burst of energy or something else, I started eating more ravenously than ever before.
But as I ate, tears silently slipped into my rice bowl.
This was definitely… definitely the best meal I had ever eaten in my entire life.
“Huh? Too spicy?” he asked, surprised.
“N-no.”
I quickly wiped my tears and pretended nothing was wrong.
Probably because I was much younger, my appetite was much smaller than his.
I finished early, then propped my arms on the table, cupped my cheeks, and watched him eat.
“Chu Fan, do you think… can people really encounter good things in life?”
“Why do you ask?” he said, shoveling rice into his mouth.
“Because I feel like… I encountered something good today.”
“Oh, you’re overthinking it. I’m not going to support a beggar. I just need you to show me the way later when I go buy some herbs.”
Hearing that, I couldn’t help but get angry.
Who said anything about him supporting me?
I was just happy to meet him.
And am I really that undesirable?
He rejected me so bluntly!
“Oh! Fine!”
I crossed my arms, turned my head away, and ignored him.
Go ahead, eat until you choke. I hope you choke.
After a while, after eating who knows how many bowls of rice, he put down his chopsticks, let out a burp, and said: “But good things? Of course they exist. As long as you’re alive, you’ll eventually encounter good things. So the most important thing is just to stay alive.”
“Then… do you think you encountered anything good today…?”
My cheeks burned.
I gripped the hem of my clothes, squeezed my thighs together, and asked timidly.
“Mm… I suppose so. This restaurant is really delicious. Didn’t you see how many bowls I ate?” he said with a silly smile.
“Oh.”
I thought, My expression right now must be exactly the same as when one of my ‘colleagues’ is being ‘disciplined.’
Arghhhh!
How infuriating!
Even though I was furious, I had to act like nothing had happened.
So, I led him to the medicine shop.
On the way to the medicine shop, we had to pass through a small market alley.
There were lots of snacks and accessories—the most vendors in the city.
He was very generous.
He bought me lots of food and trinkets.
We were both very happy along the way.
And I was definitely happier than him.
Then we walked out of the medicine shop.
The sky had grown dark.
He turned his back to me and walked into the distance.
“Well then, see you around if fate allows.”
He waved his hand, his figure growing smaller and smaller.
For some reason, I felt that if he left now, I would never see him again.
I don’t want that… no… that kind of life… I don’t want to live it!
“Wait!”
I called out to him.
“Hm?”
He turned his head to look at me.
I quickly ran in front of him, clenched my fists, looked up at him, and shouted loudly: “Take me with you!”
He raised an eyebrow:
“I told you, I’m not going to support a beggar.”
“I, I can do more than beg. I, I, I…”
Damn it!
Why am I stuttering now of all times!
Damn it!
“I can also… I can also cook! And wash… wash… wash clothes! I can also rub your legs! Give massages! I can also… also…”
“Alright, if you can do so much, you could make a living anywhere. Why do you need me?”
He turned away again.
“Go home now. There are bad people at night. Remember to hide your ears.”
“You… you’re a cultivator, right! I can be your disciple!”
He suddenly froze.
I felt a glimmer of hope.
Then he slowly turned around.
His face was extremely cold, as if devoid of all emotion.
He looked at me with such icy detachment that I felt my heart freeze over.
He looked at me—or rather, at the ice-blue clothes I was wearing—and said coldly:
“I don’t take disciples. Understand?”
I was speechless.
He turned away again.
I just watched his back, growing smaller and smaller, until it disappeared into the night.
……
It was already past curfew, but I hadn’t returned.
I walked through the Blackwater Alley like a walking corpse.
Should I go back?
The answer was yes.
Away from that den, given who I was, I wouldn’t survive long.
And those so-called skills I mentioned earlier—any old woman could do them better than me.
What I was really best at was begging and stealing.
But should I go back now?
If I went back now, they would see my fancy clothes and precious trinkets.
They’d strip me naked, take everything, and then mock me.
Maybe, I might even be…
The thought sent a chill up my spine.
Somehow, I had wandered next to a drainage ditch.
I looked at the filthy water in the ditch and clenched the hem of my clothes.
I bit my lower lip until it bled, but I didn’t let go.
Slowly, I knelt down in front of the ditch.
I took out my broken bowl, scooped up a bowl of sewage, and then….
“Splash.”
I poured the entire bowl of sewage over my head.
Then, I threw all the trinkets he had bought me into the drainage ditch.
Then I continued scooping up dirty water.
Bowl after bowl after bowl.
Until my body, which had been clean and fragrant just this morning, was once again covered in filth and stank to high heaven.
Then I picked up a sharp stone from the roadside and began ripping holes in my clothes.
Until the clothes were just as tattered as the beggar’s outfit I had worn this morning.
Call it fate, but in less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, I had turned back into that despised little thief.
But what’s the use of thinking about that?
A person has to keep living.
It’s just that… living doesn’t only bring good things.
It also brings bad things.
Really bad, really, really bad things…
When I walked back to the den, the lecherous man was about to hit me, but then he saw the silver I presented to him.
“Ohhh~ The little one did so well today~”
“Mm…”
On the other side, that fox-like man also came over, holding a piece of bread.
He crouched in front of me and, once again, handed me the bread. I reached out and took it.
But for some reason, this piece of bread was also rotten, covered in maggots.
“Why…? Didn’t I complete my task…?” I asked quietly.
“Of course our Yuying completed her task~ But~”
He raised his hand, pointing at the dark sky.
His smile grew even more sinister.
“Too~ la~te~”
That face was clearly that of a demon who tortured just for the sake of torture.
I looked at the bread.
The maggots inside were even bigger than last time.
But before I could move my hand, the bread came closer and closer to me on its own.
I looked—he was pushing my hand toward my mouth.
“Eat it, Yuying~ It’s delicious~ It’s delicious~”
“No… no… I don’t want to eat this… I don’t want to…”
But how could my strength be greater than his?
The bread was just a hair’s breadth from my mouth.
Why?
Why is my whole life full of bad things?
Why is everyone around me bad?
Living… isn’t worth it…
I slowly closed my eyes, beginning to accept reality.
“If it’s so delicious, why don’t you eat it yourself?”
“AAAAHHHH!”
Hearing the voice, I instantly opened my eyes and looked up toward the sound.
“Chu… Chu Fan…”
When I opened my eyes, I saw that the man who had been forcing me to eat the rotten bread was now slammed against the wall, his mouth still stuffed with the same bread.
That scream must have been his.
“You! Who are you!?” the lecherous man stumbled back in fear.
“I knew it. A little girl who’s so good at stealing, how could she be so skinny and starving? So there are two vampires like you. You dare hire child labor? Haven’t you learned the damn labor laws!?”
“L-labor laws?”
Labor laws?
Not only did the lecherous man not understand, I didn’t either.
What are labor laws?
“Never mind. I can’t be bothered to reason with you. You don’t deserve to hear it.”
With that, Chu Fan casually flicked his hand.
A gust of wind sent the lecherous man flying.
His entire body smashed into the wall, his skin split open—clearly dead on the spot.
“Damn… bastard…”
Seeing the fox-like man stand back up, I instinctively hid behind Chu Fan.
“Oh? Pretty tough, huh?”
Chu Fan seemed intrigued.
He pressed his two fingers together and began silently chanting something.
“Looks like you’re the leader here? Go on, show me what you’ve got.”
“Hmph! Don’t regret this!”
With that, the man pulled a hand crossbow from his clothes and aimed it at Chu Fan.
“This is a Spirit-grade high-quality magical artifact! The Xuanling Crossbow! Its power is no less than a Xuan-grade artifact! If you kneel and beg for mercy now, I might spare your life!”
“Uh…”
Chu Fan was dumbfounded.
Oh no.
He’s pulled out something really powerful.
This is all my fault.
If I hadn’t met Chu Fan, I wouldn’t have gotten him killed!
“Say that again? What grade?”
“Spirit-grade high-quality!”
The man shouted again, full of confidence.
Oh no.
This is really bad.
Just as I was wondering if there was any chance of survival, Chu Fan slapped his thigh and burst out laughing:
“Pfft hahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!”
“What are you laughing at!”
Chu Fan laughed so hard tears came out.
He wiped his eyes, then crouched down and looked at me.
Is it happening?
Is Chu Fan’s dying wish going to be spoken to me first?
Is this… that legendary… lovers’ suicide…?
Alright. I die without regrets.
“Yuying, do you remember what I told you?”
He put his hands on my shoulders and said quietly.
“What?”
“I said, as long as you’re alive, you’ll meet good things. Remember?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“But I only told half of it. Sorry, I didn’t tell you the other half.”
“Then… tell me… I’m listening now…”
“Mm.”
Chu Fan smiled gently and nodded, then spoke.
“Of course you’ll meet good things in life. But without a doubt, you’ll also meet bad things. And often, there are more bad things, and they’re worse. You’ve already experienced that, haven’t you?”
“Mm…” I nodded.
“But even so, staying alive is still the most important thing. Do you know why?”
I shook my head.
“Because as long as you’re alive, you will eventually meet something good—something that changes your entire life.”
“Something good…”
“The pessimist is always correct. But the optimist always moves forward. Just like today. You met me. And I will take you away to find those so-called good things.”
My eyes welled up with a layer of mist, my vision growing blurry.
But my voice wasn’t blurry.
I clenched my hands and shouted loudly:
“Master! Even if I die, I’ll die before you!”
“Haha, good. Good.”
Chu Fan laughed, stood up, and said to the man still holding the crossbow:
“Thank you, NPC, for waiting on standby for me for so long. As a token of thanks, here’s a newbie gift pack.”
With that, Chu Fan casually flicked his finger, and a shit-yellow pill flew straight into the man’s mouth.
The man clutched his throat, but it was too late.
“You! What did you give me!”
“Who knows?”
The next moment, the man clutched his stomach.
His face turned livid.
He writhed on the ground, screaming and howling.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”
“Master… what… what did you give him?”
I couldn’t help but ask curiously.
“Mm… on the way here, I made a pill using water from that drainage ditch. I haven’t named it yet.”
“Got it. Let’s call it… the ‘Anyway-You’ll-Be-So-Miserable-You-Wish-You-Were-Dead Pill’… I guess?”
“Uh…”
Master’s naming talent… is terrible…
“Then… will he die?”
“You don’t want him to?”
“No, of course I do. He’s killed so many people. He deserves to die.”
“I see. Easy, then.”
With that, Chu Fan reached out.
Something flew into the man’s pants.
The man screamed again in pain.
“Master, what did you do?”
“Plugged him up,” he said casually.
“……………………..”
I knew it.
My expression right now must have been awful.
I had thought Master would use some kind of immortal killing technique—coolly turning the enemy into a cloud of blood mist or something.
That was all from my imagination.
But I never expected that Master’s way of killing…
Was to plug up people’s…
“Oh, right. On my way here, I also found this.”
Master turned back and handed me a golden hairpin.
“This is…”
“Really. Someone gives you something, and you don’t even take care of it.”
I picked up the hairpin.
Tears fell without me noticing.
This was the most special of all the trinkets Chu Fan had bought for me.
It wasn’t the most expensive, but it was the only one he had picked out for me himself.
He had said, You can’t use it now.
But when your hair grows longer, naturally you’ll… be able to…
I held the hairpin to my chest.
Tears dripped down one by one.
He slowly crouched down and began wiping my tears away.
“Really. Why are you so crybaby?”
“Master… thank you…”
“Thank me? For what?”
“Just like you said… I found… something good…”
“Is that so? Good.”
“Mm…”
I cried as I walked toward him.
But when I opened my arms, I realized I was covered in filth.
So I quickly stepped back half a step.
“Thud.”
But he stepped forward a full step and pulled me into his embrace.
This was the first time.
Someone had touched this filthy body—voluntarily, fervently.
His arms wrapped tightly around me.
His face and chin pressed firmly against this body covered in mud.
He gently patted my back and whispered: “You’ve suffered, Yuying. You’ve suffered.”
Finally, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
I began to wail, sobbing loudly.
I didn’t know if I was venting all the grievances of these years or crying tears of joy.
Maybe both.
But anyway.
I was still alive.
And I had held on until today.
I wanted to thank my past self.
Thank you for holding on until today.
You’ve found the thing that will change your life, Shen Yuying.
You’ve suffered.
……
It wasn’t until later that I realized—my cries, mixed with the muffled screams of the man who had been… plugged up down there… made for a truly bizarre sound.