“What bounty?” I blurted out instinctively, immediately regretting it. If Li Qingxiao picked up on something from my words, that wouldn’t be good.
“It seems Brother Guihu has only recently entered the world of cultivation!” Li Qingxiao said with a smile.
I was stunned for a moment but quickly replied, “I’m just a rogue cultivator who recently stepped onto this path, so I naturally have many doubts.” Since I had already spoken, I decided to go with the flow.
“I originally thought Brother Guihu, like me, accepted a task from the Demon-Slaying Web. I didn’t expect you were voluntarily eliminating demons!” Li Qingxiao chuckled but didn’t seem to suspect anything else.
He seemed to recall something and added, “By the way, I bet you don’t know what the Demon-Slaying Web is, do you?”
I nodded silently. The more I said, the more I risked exposing myself. It was safer to let him do the talking.
“The Demon-Slaying Web is a bounty task website established by cultivators. Whenever there’s a demon sighting, the site immediately posts a task. Of course, cultivators can also post tasks if they encounter difficulties,” Li Qingxiao explained patiently, not looking down on me even though I was a novice. Truly worthy of a disciple from a prestigious sect.
But seriously, they have their own website? I thought cultivators were still using carrier pigeons to deliver messages. It turns out they’ve kept up with modern times too!
Li Qingxiao gave me the web address of the Demon-Slaying Web and shared some essential knowledge every cultivator should know.
Finally, he stored the white rat demon in a small bag and flew away on his sword, looking graceful and elegant. Damn, life is unfair! I could tolerate him being handsome, but why does he get to be a cultivator too? What a rip-off!
After venting my frustration, I quickly put the demon core into my Storage Ring and hurried home. It was still early, and there weren’t many people on the streets, so I made it back without any trouble.
If only I could fly, I wouldn’t have to worry so much! But I need the power of three tails to fly, so I’d better focus on cultivating.
Once home, I changed my clothes and stuffed them into the corner of the wardrobe before heading to the bedroom.
Mei’er was still sound asleep, looking peaceful. I chuckled helplessly, grabbed a blanket, and went to sleep on the sofa in the living room. After a whole night of work, I was exhausted. But it wasn’t for nothing—I made it through the night.
Lost in random thoughts, I fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.
“Hey! Get up already!”
The sound of my phone alarm jolted me awake. Half-asleep, I answered the call weakly. “Hello, this is Xia Tian…”
“You idiot! How can you still be sleeping? It’s 8 o’clock already! Get up, today’s the college entrance exam!” Zhang Yu’s annoyed voice blared through the phone. My drowsiness vanished instantly—oh crap! It’s the college entrance exam today!
I rushed to the bathroom for a quick wash, grabbed the bag with my pens, and dashed out the door. But after a few steps, I turned back—Mei’er was still asleep!
“Xia Tian, why are you so late? The exam’s about to start!” Sister Qian frowned as she handed me my admission ticket and ID card.
We submitted our ID cards to the school last week to avoid students losing them, so the school collected them in advance.
The exam was supposed to be at the First High School, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the venue was moved to the Third High School. We all knew our exam locations beforehand, so the entry process was quick.
By the time I arrived, everyone was already inside, and I was the only one left. After fingerprint verification and a quick ID check, the two invigilators let me in.
There was only one empty seat, obviously mine, so I quickly sat down without wasting time.
Because I stayed up too late the night before, a wave of drowsiness hit me as soon as I sat down. I struggled to stay awake, my head almost hitting the desk.
“I didn’t expect us to end up in the same exam room! And seated one behind the other, too!” A familiar voice whispered near my ear.
I raised my head groggily and saw Xu Xin.
Scratching my head awkwardly, I smiled. “Yeah, what a coincidence!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you later!” Xu Xin said, patting her chest confidently.
The sight of her chest bouncing as she patted it made my sleepiness vanish instantly. Realizing what she had just done, Xu Xin blushed and quickly turned around to sit properly.
Damn! Even the heavens are helping me!
Xu Xin’s grades were pretty good, so with her help, I might actually do well in this exam.
Although the exam process is strict, teachers aren’t complete tyrants, knowing that these exams can determine a student’s future.
The first exam was Chinese. I wasn’t too worried. I started with the ancient poem recitations, filling in all the blanks, and then proceeded with the questions in order.
The Chinese exam didn’t feel too hard. For the reading comprehension section, I picked the easier of the two passages.
As for the essay, I took one look at the prompt and started writing right away.
My handwriting wasn’t bad, thanks to my grandfather’s supervision. But Fatty always teased me about it, not understanding the artistry of good penmanship.
Xu Xin was indeed very helpful. After finishing her paper, she discreetly tilted her answer sheet so I could copy some of her answers. Not wanting to waste her kindness, I copied a few multiple-choice questions.
The first exam ended, with the second scheduled for the afternoon. Since the exam venue was at our school, we had lunch in the cafeteria and returned to the dormitory afterward.
None of us asked how the others did. Asking could hurt feelings, so we just chatted in the dorm.
“Damn, the girl from First High sitting in front of me was so stingy! She covered her paper like it was a treasure. Copying wouldn’t have killed her!” Fatty grumbled, sipping a Coke.
Zhang Yu grinned mischievously. “Well, maybe it’s because you look the way you do.”
“Hey! What’s wrong with the way I look? Aren’t I cute with all this chub?” Fatty said, pinching his cheeks.
“Gross! Stop trying to act cute!” Zhang Yu scolded him with a laugh.
I chuckled. “Of course you’re cute. Too bad no one loves you.”
“Sc*ew you!” Fatty cursed.
“Alright, we still have exams in the afternoon. Let’s get some sleep!” I said, feeling drained from the night before.
“Sleep? Come on, let’s chat a bit more!” Zhang Yu protested.
Fatty chimed in, “Yeah, who sleeps now? I’ve got some videos—wanna watch?”
“You guys watch. I didn’t sleep well last night,” I said, ignoring their antics and drifting off to sleep.
Amid the faint, indecent sounds from Fatty’s phone—“Mm… ah… ahh…”—I drifted into a dream.
In my dream, I stood atop a hundred-foot dragon, flying through the clouds with beautiful w0men in my arms. But frustratingly, their faces remained a blur.
Things are Not Looking Good:
Yes, things are not looking good. As you know, translation requires a lot of time and energy. I translate, edit and proofread the chapters on my own. I will be honest here, I started translating as a hobby, then it evolved to a hope of earning a living by doing something I enjoy.
However, I suffered a chain of misfortunes during and after the pandemic, and earnings from FSM and RTV helped me a lot. It became a significant part of my life. As long as my monthly income bordered around $200, I could make the time to translate in the middle of other works. Then RTV ended, and the earning decreased. Now, it has decreased to around $90-$100. And with PETTV nearing completion, that would decrease even more. A*dsence gets me about $ 0.50 per day, and you can’t get the payment until it reaches $100, so I can’t depend on that either.
It wouldn’t be an issue in normal circumstances, but it matters a lot to me since I am still dealing with a lot of financial troubles. I am currently looking for a job, and will have to invest my time and energy in it once I get it.
Long story short, if you enjoy reading this novel, support the translation if you can, either by becoming a Patron in Patreon, or sponsoring chapters at BuymeaCoffee. You can also take some time to watch a*ds to increase the revenue on A*dsence. Grains of sand together can form a desert.
FSM supporters has been supporting me from the start no matter what, so I would continue to translate FSM as long as I am alive. But for the other projects, I now desperately need your support so that I can spend the time and energy to serve them to you all. That’s all. Thank you.