Ye Cheng walked down the cracked roadside path, each step kicking up a small cloud of dust. He wrinkled his nose, noticing the rotten juice still clung to his collar. A half-dried cabbage leaf stubbornly clung to his hair but he was too disgusted to touch it with his hand.
"Having an irresponsible father is really a sin." He muttered, kicking the small stones on the group.
After walking for a while, he saw a path curved around a hill, revealing a clean river flowing lazily through the hill. The water was clear and cold, releasing some frost.
Ye Cheng's eyes lit up and he doubled his steps: "Finally."
Without a second thought, he stripped off his outer robes and boots, tossing them around without a care. He took three running steps and leapt forward, jumping into the river with a splash.
Unknowing to him, the boot he threw flew into something.
"Ah! Cold!" Ye Cheng yelped as soon as the water touched him.
But the chill was refreshing after a while, biting away the filth on his skin. He surfaced with a gasp, running his fingers through his soaked hair to rinse away the grime.
Suddenly, a soft curse echoed from the bank.
Ye Cheng blinked and looked over. His black boots were laying on the riverbank and beside it was a stunned black bird flapping its wings furiously. A half bite meat bun was rolling away from its claws.
"...Lan Huo?" Ye Cheng blinked: "Did I hit you?"
No, I hit you!
The black bird flared its wings indignantly, shaking off river mist. It turned to glare at him with bright crimson eyes.
A soundless voice echoed in Ye Cheng's mind. Its sharpness was like wind cutting through glass: "You threw your boot at my face, you reckless bastard! And you still dare to ask?!"
Ye Cheng blink and laughs, wading back toward the shore: "Well, that's what you get for leaving me alone at a dump."
"It's just a little bit of trash, what's the big deal?!" The bird squawked telepathically: "I left for ten minutes to get you food, fool! Do you have any idea what I went through for that bun?"
Lan Huo said angrily, leaving out the detail that he fought off a mortal child for the bun.
Ye Cheng stepped out of the river, water cascading from his skin. With a smirk, he crouched and picked up the squished meat bun now lying on the leaf.
"It's a bit... flattened," he said thoughtfully: "But still edible," Ye Cheng said as he took a bite: "Mm, Not bad pork. Thanks Huohuo."
He doesn't like the smell of filth, but he isn't the type of person to waste food.
"You now know how to appreciate good things." Lan Huo huffs
Ye Cheng ignored the bird's huffs, and walked over to hang his robes on a rock to dry. A pulse of spiritual energy flowed over his body, drying the water from his skin and hair with ease.
The black bird, Lan Huo, flapped over to perch on a tree branch above.
Ye Cheng looked up at him: "What did you find while I was unconscious?"
"I scouted the surroundings. There's a town not far from here, about a ten minute walk. There wasn't a single martial artist, only mortals, how strange."
Ye Cheng furrowed his brows, then relaxed: "It's not strange, there are many places in this world with more mortals than cultivators." He pauses and continues: "But… for an entire town to lack even a single martial cultivator... either they relocate, or this place has harsh conditions."
"That makes sense." Lan Huo nodded slowly, its tiny eyes narrowing.
"Take me to the town, I'm still hungry." Ye Cheng said, pulling on a plain inner robe from his storage bag and tying up his long, black hair. "Let's see where to go from here."
He didn't expect to be in this situation so all his previous plans were put on hold for now.
Lan Huo gave a chirp of acknowledgement and took off, flying low and slow for Ye Cheng to follow.
It took less than ten minutes to reach the outskirts of the town. The wooden town gates were open, and the humble sign read: [Taishou Town].
When the guards at the gate saw Ye Cheng, they were curious but didn't stop him or ask where he came from. Seeing his outfit, they assumed that he was a noble from afar and feared that they'd bring trouble to themselves if they angered him.
Smoke rose gently from clay chimneys, the scent of rice porridge and grilled scallions drifted through the air. Breakfast stalls were being set up along the stone paths. Children laughed as they chased a wooden hoop through the alley.
It was a peaceful town. Ye Cheng narrowed his eyes. After living in the demon world for over ten years, peace seems unusual to him: "It's been a while since I last saw people living so simply." He muttered.
Lan Huo circled overhead to scan the surroundings before landing on a rooftop nearby. He didn't forget to comment on Ye Cheng's thoughts: "Shouldn't mortals feel this safe without a reason. You're a weird one."
Ye Cheng tucked his hands into his sleeves.
"You, a pigeon thinking you're a phoenix, you and I who's wired?" Ye Cheng smirks.
"What did you say? Say that again!!!" Lan Huo flew into rage. Although he looks like a pigeon, he hates it when he's being called as such.
According to Lan Huo, he is a descendant of a phoenix but something went wrong during his birth, which makes him look like this. However, Ye Cheng didn't believe it and would call him a pigeon every now and then which made Lan Huo very angry.
The two of them argued until their stomach started to growl in protest from hunger.
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Ye Cheng's gaze swept the crowd. The stress was filled with mortals, men and women, young and old. He relaxed a little, although his unreliable father said he'd sealed his demonic energy, Ye Cheng wasn't sure whether he wouldn't be discovered.
After the war between the demon realm and the martial realm a hundred years ago, the rules against demons in the martial realm became even stricter.
While he was thinking, his stomach gave another growl.
He looked toward a noodle stall steaming at the corner, where long strands of hand-pulled noodles bobbed in pork bone broth. Another stall sold fried cakes drizzled in honey and sesame, and beside that sat a squat wooden shop with a faded red cloth banner hanging over the entrance: Granny Mei's Morning Broth.
Ye Cheng walked up, trying to recall the common currency here. There's only one currency in the demon realm and that's the only money he has on him. He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a small obsidian coin etched with demonic runes. A low-grade Shadow Coin, worth roughly the equivalent of ten energy stones in the Demon Realm.
He placed it on the stall counter: "Granny, I want a big bowl of pork noodles."
The white hair old woman behind the stall stopped what she was doing, she picked up the token, squinted at it, and then gave him a puzzled look as if he was dumb.
"What in the ancestor's name is this?" Granny Mei asked
Ye Cheng hesitated: "Er… this is… a currency."
The old woman turned it over, sniffed it, then knocked it once against the table: "It doesn't even ring like copper. Is this... soapstone?"
Ye Cheng sighed and reached for it: "Forget it. It's not from here."
"Clearly," Granny Mei muttered, placing the coin back in his hand.
Ye Cheng knew the demon currency might not be accepted here in this small town, but he still wanted to try his luck. Now… It was useless.
He took a breath and tried again: "Is there a place I could exchange for copper coins?"
Granny Mei thought for a while and shook her head: "This is a small town, as you can see. We don't usually receive visitors except people from the neighboring town. Unfortunately, without a copper coin, you cannot buy anything." She suggested gently. "Unless… you're willing to work."
Ye Cheng blinked: "Work?"
Granny Mei gestured to the water buckets stacked beside her door. "My old bones aren't what they used to be. If you fetch water from the well, chop the firewood behind the stall, and serve a few customers, I'll feed you and give you a fair pay. Does that sound acceptable?"
Ye Cheng stared at her for a moment. In his past life, he had died from something as stupid as chasing a wallet into traffic. In this life, he won't allow himself to die f
rom starvation even if it meant doing manual labor for breakfast.
He gave a slow sigh: "Fine, I'll do it."
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