Chu Huaixu looked at the spoon that fell into the bowl, soaked in the soup, lying among the four uneaten small wontons.
Han Shuangjiang sat upright, her expression serious, her eyes filled with scrutiny.
The brothel she came from was called "Hongxiu Restaurant", a renowned high-end establishment in the Imperial Capital of Mirror Country.
From a young age, she was taught by the "Mama", influenced by the "Sisters".
In these years of her growth, she was accustomed to seeing sisters deceive men and being deceived by men.
Since ancient times, many storybooks have written about the romances that occur in such places.
In the Imperial Capital, there indeed were sisters who were redeemed and left this cage.
It's just that some lived well, while others merely moved from one cage to another.
Overall, living a life with a beloved man was considered a luxury for people like them.
"Mama" often taught everyone: Once a man says he wants to live a life with you, be on guard.
Especially when some sisters save up enough silver to redeem themselves and then fall into the arms of a beloved.
At such times, "Mama" would always step in to stop them.
If she couldn't stop them, she would sneer, "Do you think he truly loves you? He just doesn't want to pay to sleep with you!"
——"Freeload".
In fact, some indeed fit "Mama's" predictions.
Once the novelty wore off, and after they grew tired of sleeping with you, men would regain their senses, contemptuous of your past.
Perhaps this was also a means for them to manipulate the sisters.
But there was no denying that there were truly sincere people in this world.
Some people are indeed willing to privatize public goods and enjoy it thoroughly.
As long as there are individual instances, many sisters intoxicated by love would follow suit.
Han Shuangjiang never thought one day a man would look at her and say he wanted to live a life with her.
More importantly, they had only met for the first time last night.
She believed that love at first sight truly exists in this world.
But overall, she was not a sentimental person.
You have the "Hongxiu Restaurant" and the "Joy Sect"; everything happening there constantly reminded her that one must control their destiny and cannot rely on finding a man to entrust their life to.
On the "Borrowed Sword" forum, players joked that the four world protagonists of this game truly cater to most people.
Han Shuangjiang is the female protagonist, dedicated to her career, shunning love affairs!
The two protagonists from Western Continent Moon Country, one male and one female, have an emotional storyline, loving fiercely, sweet enough to make CP fans swoon.
As for Xu Ziqing, well... he didn't seem to do much, yet his appearance and aura were enough to cause fan girls to scream.
Whether you're a zero or not, I see you as a zero! If you stand by a man, I don't believe it's brotherly love!
——Prejudice in people's hearts is a Chengdu.
After successfully joining the Daoist Sect, Han Shuangjiang felt she was starting to take control of her life step by step and that life was becoming more hopeful.
But then, Chu Huaixu pulled this stunt.
——Man, listen to what you're saying!
It's only been one meal, you're too presumptuous, too reckless.
But looking at his face in the morning light, she silently removed the word "too" in her mind.
The fox-faced person sitting opposite her heard Han Shuangjiang say "not eating," and seeing her obviously misunderstood expression, spoke up:
"Huh, typical naive woman, really off-putting."
The cold-faced young woman was hearing these words for the first time and didn't understand what they meant.
But the expression and tone on his face made her feel so uncomfortable.
Chu Huaixu tapped his fingertip lightly on the table, then leaned his body forward, getting as close to her as possible, lowering his voice to speak.
"Understand, we were personally brought up the mountain by the Sixth Elder."
Han Shuangjiang frowned, "So what?"
So, does that tie a string of fate across a thousand miles?
"Look at these registered disciples and outer sect disciples around us; do you think anyone else gets such treatment?" Chu Huaixu spoke softly, looking around.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Han Shuangjiang began to take it in...
"So, don't you think what's most important for us is cultivation? To raise our realm as soon as possible." He stared intently at her.
The cold-faced young woman's frown deepened.
Strangely, when she put on a serious face, it became more attractive.
The more she wore this expression, the more Chu Huaixu wanted to pierce her, bluntly revealing, "But you don't have much silver, do you?"
Han Shuangjiang bit her silver teeth but couldn't retort.
It was then she realized that perhaps he had seen through her predicament at the cafeteria door.
Chu Huaixu stopped looking at her and shouted, "Senior Brother! The bill, please!"
He took out the one hundred taels of silver from his chest and placed it on the table, showcasing his financial prowess.
The man, also wearing a registered disciple token, came over, "Ho! Junior Brother, don't you have broken silver?"
"Unfortunately not, sorry to trouble you, Senior Brother."
"Alright then."
After settling the bill, Chu Huaixu looked at her again and said,
"To be honest, I only have one hundred taels on me, oh, now it's already less than a hundred."
"My idea is that during this period, we shouldn't worry about anything, just focus on cultivation and learning to see if we can break through the Acupoint Opening Stage before the hundred silver taels are used up."
"Once we reach the First Realm, there'll be more things we can do."
Han Shuangjiang was puzzled and asked, "But why do you want to drag me along?"
Of course, Chu Huaixu wouldn't tell her it's because he wants to "freeload" off her.
Living and cultivating together has a higher chance of obtaining the Daoist Ancestor Inheritance together.
In fact, a courtesan candidate from a brothel has a wealth of theoretical knowledge on "how to deceive men."
But, the guy opposite has rich practical experience in "how to deceive women."
"I mentioned earlier that we might be different from all the outer sect disciples."
"We are two anomalies."
"In the entire Outer Sect, maybe only we two are anomalies."
He looked around, as if out of place with everything around him.
Han Shuangjiang slightly lowered her eyes, feeling the same way.
Chu Huaixu looked at her, thinking, "No kidding, because we just got here!"
We are transfer students, you know~
"The Sixth Elder brought us both up the mountain, and Steward Niu arranged our living quarters together. Need I say more?" The fox-faced man added.
Han Shuangjiang remained silent.
She recalled "Mom" lecturing her sisters again.
"You think men would spend silver on you for no reason?"
"They just want a key, and then... to insert it hard into your bronze lock."
"Mom" always said such rude yet straightforward things.
Some sisters had skills and wouldn't give them the key the first time.
But some sisters would get carried away, and after the lock opened a few times, it would open their hearts instead.
Some sisters were not clear-headed. After the golden key opened a few times, they got a bit of gold dust on them, really thinking they had become a golden lock.
They looked down on ordinary people.
Han Shuangjiang had just been mocked by Chu Huaixu and was no longer thinking in terms of romance, but she also understood there's no such thing as a gratuitous gift, nor any kindness without reason.
She wasn't stupid, so she took the initiative to speak, attempting to define things: "You want me to owe you a favor?"
Chu Huaixu shrugged, looking carefree and nonchalant: "If you want to put it that way, sure."
"Anyway, I'm not asking you to pay back the silver in the future. We both know what this means." He spoke honestly.
After speaking, he started reasoning with himself: "I know the money isn't much, so time is tight. We need to break through soon."
Han Shuangjiang heard this, and under Chu Huaixu's observant gaze, finally nodded.
Then, he watched as she took the spoon that had fallen into the bowl and ate the remaining four small wontons with a clear conscience.
"Too expensive, can't waste it," she said when still not full.
...
...
Morning light spilled onto the road home as Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang walked side by side.
Throughout the journey, the two hardly spoke.
He was thinking about where the Daoist Ancestor Inheritance might be hidden.
Meanwhile, she was more practical, considering whether it would be better to cook for herself since the prices here were indeed high, even higher than in the Capital City.
Han Shuangjiang was already calculating an account in her mind, regretting not having eaten another soup dumpling earlier.
"So expensive, really expensive," she repeatedly voiced in her heart as the sound of a pauper.
When they reached an open area, Chu Huaixu looked up and saw the cloud-shrouded Wenda Peak.
He didn't know where the Daoist Ancestor Inheritance was, but he vaguely remembered a few locations of inheritances discovered by Daoist Sect players; he'd seen it on the forum.
But he only remembered a few places and didn't recall everything.
"Damn it, my memory is still not good enough. Why didn't I get a cheat when transmigrating, making every past detail engraved comprehensively in my mind!" Chu Huaixu complained inwardly.
Looking at Wenda Peak, his mind began to wander again.
Both were protagonists of the world, so why did Han Shuangjiang alone seize two Daoist Ancestor Inheritances, while Xu Ziqing, who had my script, got none?
The reason is simple.
"Don't forget, the Dao Ancestor also left behind a sword."
After the Dao Ancestor passed away, the strongest in the entire Profound Yellow Realm was never a single person.
All these years, it's always been that sword.
...
(ps: Second update, please vote for the monthly ticket!)