Chapter 4: Don't Bully the Middle-Aged for Being Poor!
[You choose 1.]
[In the dark and damp cave, you grope your way forward in the blackness.]
[At first, it is extremely narrow, barely allowing a person to pass. After walking several thousand steps, it suddenly opens up.]
[Bright light shines ahead. You have walked out of this natural tunnel between the two mountains.]
[After getting your bearings, you continue toward Baiyun County Town.]
[The next day, you arrive at Baiyun County Town.]
[On the street, you see a convoy of government officers. Locked in the prison carts are the bandit leaders, Xu Hu and Xu Linglong.]
[They are heavily injured and on the verge of death.]
[The bandit lackeys have long since been left to rot in the wilderness, not even qualifying to be brought back for interrogation.]
[You don't look for long, quietly retreating into the crowd.]
[When your Third Sister got married, you were part of the escort procession, so you still remember the location of her home in the county town.]
["Why is it sealed?"]
[Third Sister's small courtyard has been sealed with white strips of paper, reading: Sealed by Baiyun County Yamen, Baling Commandery, Qingzhou Province, Great Qian Dynasty.]
[You peer over the wall and see that the inside has long been emptied, leaving only a ground full of fallen leaves.]
[You find a nearby neighbor and ask around.]
["You mean Shen Qingshan? Oh my, that homicidal maniac killed ten households in a single night! He was beheaded at the vegetable market last month. The County Magistrate sentenced his nine generations of kin to exile. How are you related to him?"]
["I... I probably shouldn't be considered part of his nine generations..."]
Chen Yi: "?"
'What's going on??'
'How did Shen Qingshan become a murderer?'
Chen Yi remembered this brother-in-law clearly as a man of dignified appearance, embodying righteousness and extraordinary bearing.
Moreover, he was also a government officer—a Demon Slayer of the county town's Demon Slaying Department.
'There must be some injustice, right?'
"So, that means Third Sister has been exiled?"
According to the simulation's timeline, Shen Qingshan would be beheaded a year later.
He didn't know if the crime had already occurred in the present.
"She's the only relative I have left. I can't just ignore this..."
Unfortunately, right now he could only worry helplessly.
Chen Yi couldn't even protect himself; who knew when he could escape the Black Stone Gang's control.
[You don't know how the Great Qian calculates "nine generations."]
[To be safe, you rename yourself Chen Dong.]
[To make a living, you become a waiter at the Yuelai Inn in the county town.]
[The proprietress is a widow, kind-hearted and benevolent. She takes good care of workers like you, ensuring you are fed and not making your daily work difficult or harsh.]
[However, some guests will beat and scold bottom-rung mortals like you at the slightest disagreement.]
[Especially certain Martial Artists, who feel superior and don't regard ordinary people as human.]
[Year 3, Age 20.]
[Beginning Trait Extraction...]
[Extraction Successful!]
["Husband Material" (White): You always inadvertently exude the aura of a good husband; your popularity with women increases slightly.]
[Do you wish to adjust your traits?]
[Yes/No]
[You replaced "Chicken You Are Too Beautiful" with "Husband Material".]
[A Martial Artist causes a scene at Yuelai Inn because the tofu pudding is salty.]
[He breaks your arm. While you are shirtless, the warm-hearted proprietress helps you bandage it.]
["Ah Dong, don't hold a grudge. Ordinary people like us have to keep our heads down in front of Martial Artists. Being alive is already a blessing from our ancestors."]
[You say indignantly.]
["Hmph! Don't bully the young for being poor! I, Chen Dong, will sooner or later reach the peak of Martial Arts and grind even the Great Dao to dust!"]
[The proprietress slaps you playfully.]
["You can't even find a wife, yet you talk about this..."]
[The two of you look at each other. Somehow, perhaps "Husband Material" is working its magic, you both catch feelings, sensing the heat and urgency in each other's eyes.]
[That night, disregarding your injury, you and the proprietress ignite like dry wood and raging fire, burning thoroughly from front to back.]
[Later, you marry the proprietress and transform into the boss of Yuelai Inn.]
[Your life suddenly jumps from the bottom of society to the gentry class.]
[Sure enough, eating soft rice (living off a woman) is the shortcut!]
"Who said White traits are useless? I'm the first to disagree! I wonder what the proprietress looks like..."
Chen Yi thought happily.
The simulation continued, deducing year by year.
Suddenly, Chen Yi's eyes lit up.
Among the white text on the black background, a streak of green appeared!
He hadn't been cuckolded (green hat).
His trait was green!
[Year 10, Age 27.]
(Liuzi won't write out the useless traits; it's not that he didn't draw them~)
[Married for many years, you and the proprietress are as loving as ever—treating each other with respect during the day and like dry wood and fire at night.]
[Relying on a bit of modern management and scientific knowledge, you and the proprietress run the inn prosperously.]
[Unfortunately, as bottom-rung mortals, there are some things you can only passively endure.]
[Such as theft, robbery, Martial Artists dining and dashing, the government's exorbitant taxes, and so on.]
[However, compared to most mortals, your life is already much better.]
[The only regret is that it is difficult for you two to have children.]
[The proprietress often murmurs that it would be good to have a child.]
[Whenever she has free time, she sits there doing needlework, dazing off while holding the tiger-head shoes she stitched thread by thread.]
[You comfort her, saying these things rely on fate; the bond with a child also depends on destiny.]
[Year 11, Age 28.]
[Beginning Trait Extraction...]
[Extraction Successful!]
["The Older the Luckier" (Green): Starting from age sixty, every time you extract a trait at a round-number age (e.g., 60, 70), you are guaranteed to obtain a Rare trait. Additionally, during that extraction, the probability of obtaining traits of Rare quality or higher is slightly increased.]
[Do you wish to adjust your traits?]
[Yes/No]
After so many years of White, finally a Green!
However, if one really calculated the probability, this draw was extremely lucky, considering the chance for a Rare trait was currently only 0.9%.
"I can wait until I'm sixty to equip this trait. A guaranteed Rare isn't bad."
In the subsequent simulation:
Chen Yi saw how difficult life was for him as a mortal in a world where Martial Artists ran rampant, demons caused disasters, and wars were constant.
The latter half of his life was comparable to Fugui in To Live—full of suffering and bitter tears.
[Year 13, Age 30.]
[This year, you and the proprietress finally conceive a child.]
[The proprietress weeps with joy, and you are happy for her too.]
[Year 14, Age 31.]
[It's a boy.]
[Yuelai Inn hosts a flowing banquet for three days, inviting all the elders and folks in the city.]
["Father of my child, you're being too extravagant. Although we've made some money over the years, there are always many risks."]
["Hahaha! Rather than letting thieves steal it or the County Magistrate take it under various pretexts, I'd rather exchange it for happiness! Besides, my, Chen Dong's, son is born—how can I not announce it to the whole city?"]
["Ah Dong, you're getting carried away again. We are just mortals."]
["Don't bully the middle-aged for being poor! I, Chen Dong, am definitely not a creature of the pond!"]
[Year 16, Age 33.]
[Your second daughter is born.]
[You host a flowing banquet for three days again.]
[Year 20, Age 37.]
[A son and a daughter, property in hand, a substantial life.]
[Gradually, you almost forget you are in a simulation, feeling that all of this is too real, too happy.]