frightfiction Chapter 1 begins with a visit to the pawnshop.
Chapter 1 begins with a visit to the pawnshop.
Day 1 of the journey.
They are starving.
Zhu Wuyao, with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, lay sprawled under the banyan tree, gazing at the verdant expanse above, and sighed softly.
The bag next to him contained only a few clothes, but his writing implements were complete; there wasn't a single tael of silver.
This dream start was partly due to the original owner's wolfish relatives, but also largely thanks to the original owner himself.
The young lady, born into a prestigious family, lost her parents in an accident. Her uncle somehow obtained an IOU, leaving her speechless. Not only could she not protect her family's property, but even the ascension token that her parents had worked so hard to obtain was used to pay off the debt.
This Ascension Token is the certificate for joining a cultivation sect. With this token, one can directly join a sect within the Immortal Alliance and become an inner disciple.
Not only do you get a monthly allowance, but this is also a great opportunity to cultivate immortality.
If one could become a disciple of an immortal and receive the way to immortality, how carefree and at ease one would be, both in heaven and on earth.
Zhu Wuyao's parents were the direct descendants of the family, and it was only with great difficulty that they obtained this Ascension Token. Now that her parents have passed away, she has been tricked into leaving the family.
That's why she's called a young lady of high birth; she's truly ambitious.
She left with the words "Don't underestimate a young man's poverty," packed some luggage, and left, ignoring the money her uncle offered her with feigned concern.
And so, he died.
If you were to switch to another world with the same unlucky character named Zhu Wuyao, he would continue to suffer.
I reckon he was poisoned. Even if he was in poor health and had never suffered, he shouldn't have died after sleeping in the open all night.
When Zhu Wuyao first transmigrated, her chest ached slightly, and she tasted blood in her mouth.
Hey.
"I don't want to think about these things anymore. Nothing is more important than being hungry."
Zhu Wuyao spat out the foxtail grass she was holding. The green stems above it were no longer tender. As she sat up, the patch of grass around her that had been pulled bare became even more conspicuous.
……
She pinched the bridge of her nose, then turned her head away and refused to look again.
Having barely replenished her strength, she slowly walked towards the town, relying on her memory.
The original author was concerned about her reputation and afraid of being ridiculed by acquaintances, but Zhu Wuyao was shameless.
If she still wants to emphasize dignity after such a dream start, she might as well just kill herself and gamble on whether she can go back in time.
In this state, what's the point of talking about dignity?
As soon as Zhu Wuyao stood up, he realized how weak his body was. Every step he took felt like he was carrying several pounds of iron. In his memory, this body was not like this.
Perhaps there are still residual toxins in the body.
After finally making their way to town, the aroma of wontons wafted from the street vendors, making Zhu Wuyao even hungrier.
She passed by steamed buns, tofu pudding, and steaming hot shredded pork noodles, and finally arrived at the pawnshop.
This shop was simple and undecorated. In the past, the pampered Miss Zhu would never have set foot here, let alone pawn her belongings.
However, things are different now than before. That hateful jackal uncle wants to devour the money.
On the left side of the pawnshop entrance is written "I do not know your suffering," and on the right side is written "Do not advise me to be magnanimous."
Zhu Wuyao glanced at it and only then did he realize how dejected it looked.
I pushed open the door, put my luggage on the table, and went in.
"Boss, let's see how much money we can get."
The pawnshop owner, surnamed Wang, smiled broadly as he looked at the luggage laid out in front of him when he heard that a customer had arrived.
Upon opening the luggage, he immediately noticed the fine white jade paperweight, Huishan stone inkstone, purple bamboo carved wolf hair brush, and several pieces of clothing.
“Young guest, all these items of yours are of good quality. Just these few items can be exchanged for sixty taels of silver.”
He pointed to the object he had his eye on.
But the girl shook her head and said, "I don't sell these. I only sell these few pieces of clothing."
Zhu Wuyao knew these items were valuable, as they were birthday gifts from her original parents. In addition, the storybook was not yet finished, and she managed to keep them with her when she left home.
Now that she has taken over the original owner's identity, she naturally cannot continue to squander the things that the original owner cared about.
Although Mr. Wang regretted not being able to pawn these items, his attitude remained warm.
In business, the worst thing is to have poor eyesight. If you have poor eyesight, you will not only be unable to distinguish goods, but you will also easily offend customers.
Although the young girl in front of me was so destitute that she had to pawn her clothes, her eyes were clear and her expression was calm. She was not ashamed at all for having to sell her personal belongings, and perhaps she had a bright future ahead of her.
He looked at the embroidered skirts and robes and kindly advised, "Young guest, these clothes must have cost a lot of money when you bought them. But clothes don't hold their value. If you pawn them, you'll lose money."
Zhu Wuyao certainly understands.
She smiled and nodded, saying, "Boss, please give me a price."
After a moment's thought, Mr. Wang offered a price that was neither too high nor too low: "I can offer seven taels for the whole set, and two taels for the other two robes. What do you think?"
These clothes must have cost over a hundred taels, but clothing is always subject to significant depreciation.
Although he was optimistic about the girl's future, he believed that doing business was ultimately about making money, not about doing good deeds.
Zhu Wuyao understood this principle, nodded, picked out all the clothes from his bag, repacked the remaining items, and slung them over his shoulder.
Mr. Wang handed over the loose change and said in a friendly manner, "I wish you a smooth journey ahead, young guest."
This shows that Zhu Wuyao is about to travel far away.
She smiled as she accepted the money and reciprocated with a blessing: "I also wish the boss a prosperous business."
After leaving the pawnshop, she first found an inn to rest.
The heaviness in my body has eased a lot, and I'm no longer as unsteady as I was just now. It seems that the residual poison is gradually fading away. Is this the automatic healing brought about by the transmigration?
Returning to town is a bit risky.
It's unclear who poisoned the original owner of this body. If someone discovers that she is still alive, it might lead to another deadly disaster.
After much hesitation, Zhu Wuyao decided to exchange some money, buy some comfortable clothes, and have a good meal before setting off.
Otherwise, she would starve to death before being killed by others.
Moreover, since the murderer used poison to commit the crime, it meant that the killer dared not do it openly. Thinking this way, Zhu Wuyao felt a little more at ease and changed from eating with fear and trepidation to eating with forced composure.
After finishing her meal and taking a hot shower, Zhu Wuyao stretched and felt much lighter. She then picked up the unfinished manuscript from her bag.
These four or five thousand words tell the story of a young master who falls in love at first sight with a noble lady during a stroll in a garden. Although the original owner of this body was not particularly studious, she had been forced to study by her family.
He also always boasted that he was quite talented.
The first two thousand words are used to describe how magnificent the garden is, with its beautiful scenery of bamboo groves and lakes.
Zhu Wuyao was dazzled by the sights, her mind filled with images of "falling petals, willows and flowers in the courtyard, carved railings and jade steps..."
This set of terms is so complex that you really need some cultural knowledge to understand it.
No wonder the original owner couldn't sell many copies of the manuscript even after printing it out and selling it in bookstores.
She also said that others had poor judgment, and that it was clearly this storybook that was making people's eyes water.
If you want to read these pedantic and literary works, why bother buying storybooks? There are already so many books in the school for writing essays that people can't keep up with them.
However, making money by writing stories is a pretty good idea...
Zhu Wuyao pondered this, disassembled the ink stick, melted the brush, and wrote the new title of the book with a flourish—"After My Spiritual Root Was Destroyed, I Became the First Disciple of the Immortal Venerable".
It's alright, the handwriting is still legible.
This pen is really useful; it makes writing feel like a divine intervention.
She asked the waiter to add two more candles, intending to work through the night by lamplight.
-
The night was past midnight.
Mr. Wang was fast asleep.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. He put on his clothes, cursing under his breath whoever was disturbing his sleep in the middle of the night, and went to the door to ask, "Who is it?"
"A disciple of the Qingyun Sect has something to ask you."
"Oh dear!" Mr. Wang quickly bent down and opened the door.
"Gentlemen immortals, what are your orders?" He bowed repeatedly, his face beaming with smiles.
Then, the immortal in the green robe took out a set of clothes, which was the very set that the little girl had pawned earlier that day and which he had put in the shop's display case.
Have you ever seen the owner of this dress before?
"Yes, yes, yes, this is what a young lady came to pawn today. After receiving the money, she disappeared. She was carrying luggage, so she probably wanted to exchange it for some travel expenses."
"Could it be this person?" The man in the green robe took out a portrait.
"Correct!"
The girl in the portrait is Zhu Wuyao, only with a more spoiled and innocent expression.
After finally seeing off the immortals, Boss Wang was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.
The group of people outside the door—
"Senior brother, my spirit-finding rat can't find her scent."
Yun Qing frowned slightly, put away the portrait, and walked in the direction Boss Wang pointed, saying:
"Let's keep looking. She might have some kind of talisman on her to conceal her presence."