The Price of Freedom and a Glimmer of Hope

Even though it was a compound, the Qiu family’s residence was much larger than that of an ordinary family. In the servants’ quarters, a single room was spacious enough to be divided into five, and each was furnished to accommodate twenty people. But now, their house was deserted, and only Lin Mo and a woman named Yang Po Po were left living there.

It was just past noon, and there was nothing to do until dusk. It wasn’t that Qiu Yue was kind, but it was time for her to enter into meditation and practice.

All other duties within the Qiu family were handled by others, leaving him exclusively as Qiu Yue’s punching bag and personal plaything.

Every member of the Qiu family was well aware of their young mistress’s volatile nature, so not a single soul envied Lin Mo.

This tranquility, hard-won through risking his very life, was something he undoubtedly deserved.

Having just emptied the basin, poured the foot-washing water over his carefully tended flowers, and scattered some feed for the sparrows in their cage, he suddenly heard the gate to the servants’ courtyard creak open.

It was Yang Po Po.

Yang Po Po was a diminutive figure, her body perpetually hunched, her long, grayish-white hair framing a face that suggested she might once have been a cultivator.

Yet, her cultivation seemed insufficient, for no discernible spiritual root attributes manifested upon her person.

Clad in a purple qipao fashioned from silken fabric, worn over white trousers, her disheveled hair gave her the appearance of a somewhat mad, elderly woman.

With a pot of wine in one hand, a box in the other, and a pipe dangling from her lips, she wobbled into the servants’ courtyard.

Though undeniably an old woman, her mannerisms and conduct were strikingly masculine.

“Oh, Little Lin, you’re not dead yet!” Yang Po Po exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Lin Mo.

“Yang Po Po! And you haven’t drunk yourself to death yet!”

After exchanging such playful jabs, they both burst into hearty laughter, a harmonious atmosphere finally permeating the otherwise desolate courtyard.

Over ten years of shared service, their original company of ten had dwindled to merely two.

Yang Po Po carried no airs; she was casual, humorous, and remarkably fond of mischief.

Over the past decade, they had forged a deep bond, becoming fast friends despite their significant age difference (忘年交 – TL Note: A friendship between people of different generations, often implying a deep understanding and mutual respect).

Lin Mo had initially feared encountering a cruel, stereotypical old woman, yet he had found instead a spirited, forthright, and utterly delightful companion.

Her entire demeanor, however, was so profoundly masculine that Lin Mo occasionally forgot she was, in fact, a woman.

“Little Lin, come, roasted chicken from Drunken Heart Pavilion~ top-notch roast, oh!” Yang Po Po said with a chuckle, swaying as she approached Lin Mo, making him constantly fear she would tumble at any moment.

Yet, remarkably, in the very last second before she completely toppled, she would always regain her balance, then lean to one side, much like a roly-poly toy.

“You’d better be talking about roasted chicken,” Lin Mo quipped, rolling his eyes.

He picked up the squarely wrapped item, and as he lifted it, the rich aroma of roasted chicken wafted out, its grease already seeping through the packaging paper.

Lin Mo’s face lit up with delight, and he exclaimed in surprise, “Wow! You finally won some money gambling?”

“Hmph! Bad luck!” At this, Yang Po Po gritted her teeth, her smile shattering as she cursed furiously, “Those sons of bitches definitely set me up! They cheated! I lost half my burial money! So I just took out the other half, ate my fill, found a roasted chicken, and brought one back for you to try. And I tell you, this roasted chicken truly has a unique flavor!”

Without a moment’s hesitation about the chicken’s origins, Lin Mo promptly retrieved a low table, stools, and eating utensils from his room, set them up in the courtyard, and eagerly began to tear open the roasted chicken’s greasy packaging.

“Oh, that’s right!” It was only then that Yang Po Po suddenly recalled something important.

“Little Lin, weren’t you planning to run away? Why are you still here?” she asked, taking a sip of wine and settling onto a low stool.

This topic held no taboo between them; the servants’ courtyard was a secluded, sparsely populated area where no one typically ventured.

Only when the young mistress issued a summons would a maid’s voice carry from afar.

They had long known each other’s deepest secrets; Yang Po Po was aware of Lin Mo’s desire to flee, and Lin Mo knew Yang Po Po regularly pilfered valuable items from the Qiu family to sell for profit.

“And you ask me…” At this, Lin Mo let out a deep sigh.

“What’s wrong? Is there something amiss? Is the person I introduced you to not reliable?”

“Reliable, too reliable! The escape route, all the necessary preparations for fleeing—everything is arranged! The boat, the contact person, all settled.”

“Then why haven’t you left?” Yang Po Po’s eyes widened.

She, too, knew of Qiu Yue’s brutality; over the course of a decade, the young mistress had killed ten people, leaving only the two of them alive.

She herself had but a few years left and could withstand any hardship; her prime years were long past, and now old, with no family or attachments, death held no fear for her.

Lin Mo, however, was a young man with the vast majority of his life still before him.

After a decade of knowing him, she had come to understand his character intimately: he was hardworking, resilient, intelligent, eloquent, and kind-hearted.

She harbored no desire for him to remain trapped in this place forever.

He possessed immense talent, and she believed he deserved to venture out into the world and truly make his mark!

“No money…” Lin Mo’s sigh grew heavier.

“The young mistress didn’t pay your wages?”

“She did.”

“She took it away, saying she was afraid I’d spend it recklessly, and that I had to report to her if I wanted to buy anything… I’m escaping, sis! I need that money to escape! How am I supposed to report that to her?! This, how can I tell her?!” The distraught Lin Mo tore off a roasted chicken leg, lifted it repeatedly, but couldn’t bring himself to take a single bite; the crushing reality seemed to have instantly sated his hunger.

Yang Po Po’s brow furrowed slightly.

‘This is like a wife controlling her husband’s money,’ she mused, but then swiftly dismissed the absurd thought.

‘A joke! Would the esteemed young mistress of the Qiu family ever deign to notice a mere male servant?’

Beyond his good looks, obedience, and diligence, what other virtues did Lin Mo possess?

These were qualities shared by every male servant.

“Then what about the royalties from the books you wrote? Your writing is quite good! What you wrote truly set this old woman’s passions ablaze! The imagery was so vivid, oh! Have you really never been to a place like Drunken Heart Pavilion?” Yang Po Po asked, a mischievous grin playing on her lips as she looked at Lin Mo.

‘Though I haven’t seen the real thing, I’ve watched plenty of short videos,’ Lin Mo thought.

“It was sealed… they said it was suspected of spreading inappropriate content… the money wasn’t even paid out, and the bookstore was sealed… I worked my ass off for three years! Three years! I finally waited for the settlement, and then I’m… That’s not even the worst of it, I still had my inventory, I could just start over! But, but the result… my damn manuscript got lost sometime!”

As he spoke, Lin Mo dissolved into uncontrollable sobs.

He had always known himself to be unlucky, but he never could have imagined such an extreme degree of misfortune!

‘At this rate, when will my escape plan ever succeed?’

‘Heavens! Why won’t you help me!’

‘I transmigrated, fine! The system didn’t activate, fine! But I’m bullied every single day! Forced to be a servant, toiling like an ox or a horse—do you have any idea how much I’ve suffered!?’

‘Shouldn’t transmigrators rise to prominence and achieve great success (飞腾黄达 – TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning to achieve rapid success and high status, often associated with transmigrator tropes)? Why, why must I suffer such agony!’

‘I want benefits!’

‘I want benefits!’

Ten years of accumulated bitterness suddenly surged through him, and Lin Mo couldn’t help but break down into uncontrollable sobs.

He had striven so diligently, yet why did fate persist in tormenting him so cruelly?

Yang Po Po felt a pang of sympathy for Lin Mo.

In a decade, this was truly the first time she had seen him weep so profusely.

“Alas, if this is my fate, then I can only strive to live well here!” Lin Mo quickly rallied, wiping away his tears and transforming his sorrow back into hunger.

He vented his frustration fiercely on the chicken leg. “I’ve endured ten years already! What’s another ten? I’ll find an opportunity eventually! Since things have come to this, let’s just eat first.”

With that, he ravenously devoured the roasted chicken on the table.

Lin Mo remained optimistic, and Yang Po Po felt a little relieved.

She particularly admired this quality in Lin Mo; he always managed to bounce back, as if he could never truly be knocked down.

“Alright, alright, no more crying, no more crying,” Yang Po Po suddenly began. “As for this old woman, I recently met an old friend who might be able to help you. However… I’m not sure if your situation will be any better than it is now.”

“What?!” Lin Mo looked up, his eyes gleaming brightly. “Yang Po Po—ah, no! Elder Yang! Please, you must help me escape this hellhole!”

“…Lin Mo, are you willing to join a sect and cultivate immortality?”

Cultivate… immortality?!

How could he not be willing!

To transcend mortality, become a saint, and live as long as heaven and earth!

To gain immense power and reign supreme in the world!

With power, he would never fear being bullied again, never again have to live in dread of being captured and imprisoned for another ten years!

He could live his life fully, and perhaps… he wouldn’t even need a system anymore!

At this moment, Lin Mo’s eyes sparkled with vitality, his tears completely gone, replaced only by a fervent desire for cultivation.

He immediately knelt before Yang Po Po and declared, “Of course I’m willing! Extremely willing! Elder Yang, you actually know cultivators? Why didn’t you say so sooner! If you had, perhaps I’d be at Foundation Establishment (筑基 – TL Note: A stage in cultivation) by now!”

“It’s not that easy… cultivation… is very cruel.” A sense of decline and sadness flickered in Yang Po Po’s eyes, but she quickly narrowed them, her wrinkles deepening.

She poured wine into her bowl and raised the cup.

“However cruel, I accept it, as long as there’s a new path, I will try it! I’d rather die trying than remain stagnant here!” Lin Mo’s eyes shone with hope and confidence, radiating a vibrant, dazzling aura.

Yang Po Po seemed momentarily lost in thought, as if she vaguely saw a familiar figure, though indistinct.

In the end, she only saw her own withered, wrinkled old face reflected in the wine, with only two or three teeth remaining, her eyes hidden by wrinkles, her temples streaked with gray hair—’Who was this unfamiliar face… Was it me?’

Yang Po Po smiled, downing the wine in her cup.

The ripples in the wine, like time itself, distorted her face.

“Good boy, then I’ll contact my old friend for you right away.”

“Thank you, Elder Yang! Your great kindness, Lin Mo will never forget! When I achieve great success in the future, I will surely repay you, Elder Yang! I’ll take care of you in your old age and see you to your end!” Lin Mo was utterly thrilled, kneeling down and bowing his head repeatedly to Yang Po Po.

Putting everything else aside, for this alone, his decade of treating Elder Yang like his own grandmother had not been in vain!

Though they were friends despite their age difference, to Lin Mo, Elder Yang was more like another grandmother in this world.

“Go on, go on, I’m still robust; you might die before I do!” Yang Po Po rolled her eyes at Lin Mo, gently tapping his head with her pipe.

“Tomorrow, go to the city center; there will be people recruiting disciples there. You just need to get in line, and I’ll arrange for you to get in through the back door~” Yang Po Po burped, once again becoming rather tipsy.

“Long live Yang Po Po! Long live! Long, long live Yang Po Po!”

“Go on, go on, so sentimental, it’s sickening. I swindled your money back then, so consider this repaid! Also, take this cultivation manual. You’ll find it useful later. A man needs something to protect himself when venturing out, otherwise, how can he survive in this world?”

With that, Elder Yang pulled a book from her back.

‘Why did she phrase that as if I were a young girl venturing out alone?’ Lin Mo wondered.

However, upon seeing the book Yang Po Po produced from behind her back, Lin Mo immediately cast his doubts to the furthest reaches of his mind.

!

‘Sure enough, I have a transmigrator’s benefit! This Yang Po Po is my benefit!’

‘She must be some reclusive master! With an incredibly powerful background, who then suffered some life-altering setback, losing much of her strength and falling into obscurity. Until she met me, the protagonist, only then did she open her heart and decide to impart all her skills!’

‘I really am the protagonist!’

Lin Mo’s heart pounded with excitement.

Ten years! A full decade, and he had finally found his chance to turn things around! Finally, a chance to escape that yandere little demon!

Ten years! Did she know how he had spent those ten years?!

Lin Mo’s hands trembled slightly.

He wiped the sweat from his palms onto his clothes, then swallowed hard, his hands shaking as he took the seemingly ordinary, yet truly astonishing, secret manual!

His breathing grew ragged.

With intense curiosity, Lin Mo slowly opened the first page!

It read: ‘Chamber Arts.’

…?

‘Oh… oh! It must be a secret inheritance! To prevent others from knowing, it’s written in this vulgar way!’

He turned to the second page: ‘Male is Yang, Female is Yin, Yin and Yang ****, that is the path to prosperity, ****—’

‘Damn it… it really is a Chamber Arts manual! What good is it to me?! I’m a single dog!’

Furious, Lin Mo carefully put the book away, then returned to his room to sleep.

He saw a light on in Yang Po Po’s room.

He assumed she was awake, perhaps planning to sit for a while to recover before going back to sleep or continuing to drink?

A wave of drowsiness washed over him, and Lin Mo, yawning repeatedly, called out to her room, “Yang Po Po, get some rest early, I’m going to sleep now. Don’t drink any more wine!”

“Go to sleep! Don’t delay your plans!”

The night deepened, and only the cicadas’ chirping disturbed the silence.

The dim candlelight illuminated Yang Po Po’s room.

At this moment, she sat before the bronze mirror, and what was astonishing was that Yang Po Po was no longer in her decrepit, hunched form.

Her skin had regained its luster and elasticity, her fair complexion as delicate and flawless as a drop of water.

There was no trace of age or wrinkles on her face; her vibrant features were enough to captivate any man who cast an eye upon them.

At this moment, Yang Po Po unfastened her clothes, slowly taking off her qipao, revealing her graceful, slender body.

Yet, at the center of her exquisite torso was a shocking wound.

It was a penetrating wound, and peering into the opening, one could even glimpse her internal organs, with a dense black aura persistently emanating from the wound’s edges.

She had been awakened by the pain again, and again she had tried to heal this wound… but it was still futile.

Soon, a wisp of steam suddenly rose from Yang Po Po’s body, causing her to rapidly revert to her aged, hunched appearance.

From a celestial maiden to an old woman, Yang Po Po had become quite composed; there was no anger, no hysteria, only the stillness of stagnant water.

She had accepted her appearance and the imminent end of her life.

She truly couldn’t be like Lin Mo, always able to rally.

However, she could learn from Lin Mo’s often-repeated phrase: ‘Just live in the present; think about tomorrow’s problems tomorrow.’

“If I had met you sooner… perhaps my life wouldn’t have been such a mess, Little Linzi.” Yang Po Po smiled faintly.

Yang Po Po dressed herself, took out a jade slip from her long-sealed storage ring, infused it with spiritual energy, and after writing a message, returned to her bed and fell into a deep sleep.

She remained completely unaware of the almost instantaneous reply.

It read: [Fairy Yang, did you make a mistake? We already left Luofeng City today and are on our way back to Xindao Sect. Tomorrow, only the Xuan Nv Sect (TL Note: Xuan Nv roughly translates to ‘Mysterious Woman’) will be recruiting disciples. If your friend is female, you can have her go there; the Xuan Nv Sect is not what it once was, and its disciple recruitment standards are gradually lowering. However, if he is male, please remember, he absolutely must not wander near the Xuan Nv Sect. The Xuan Nv Sect’s hatred for men is deeply ingrained; a few days ago, they killed an envoy from the Chusheng Sect simply because he stepped one pace out of his assigned room, and he was immediately executed.]