The third year of prosperous rule under the new Great Xia Dynasty.
Immortal Era 864.
Jin Province City
Three years had already passed since the former Great Yan Dynasty fell, and time seemed to have buried everything.
The first ray of midday sunlight shone into the city, bringing a lively bustle to the entire place.
The teahouses, inns, and taverns along the streets were packed to the brim. The diners' laughter and chatter made the whole area exceptionally noisy.
On the main road, merchants hawked their wares as they came and went. Vendors selling candied ice gourds stood at street corners, pedestrians streamed endlessly along the road, and children ran past in play.
What a flourishing scene it was.
On the eastern side of the market stood a finely renovated pawnshop building, its signboard engraved with the words "Huai Pawnshop."
"Shopkeeper Zhao, take a look. How much do you think this stone is worth?"
A burly man with a sweatcloth tied around his forehead tossed an ordinary pebble before a young man.
Yet the young man was strikingly handsome.
He wore a dark robe, his clothes immaculate and neat, with a string of Golden Coins hanging from his waist.
His features were fair and sharply defined, his nose high, his appearance as elegant as jade, with a faint smile on his lips.
He looked approachable and easygoing.
Zhao Huai picked up the stone and studied the translucent pebble before him for a moment.
Then, a Golden Coin suddenly appeared in his hand, and he casually tossed it into the air.
This seemingly careless gesture did not draw the burly man's attention.
"Two hundred copper coins. What do you think?"
After looking at it for so long and tossing the coin for so long, Zhao Huai finally spoke.
"Two hundred copper coins?"
"Not a coin more."
"Two hundred it is, then. Hah, guess I'm unlucky."
The burly man complained, but the smile at the corners of his eyes could not be concealed.
"Wait while I get your money."
Zhao Huai muttered softly, then began rummaging through the cabinet beneath the counter.
Now that the burly man had gotten a price, he was in no rush.
He braced both hands against the counter, his little eyes beginning to dart around in every direction.
But after looking for quite a while, he could not help feeling disappointed.
He discovered that this shop was truly poor beyond belief. It did not even have a single valuable painting or piece of calligraphy.
Thus, he said casually, "Say, Shopkeeper, you run a pawnshop. How come there isn't even one treasure in here worth showing off? If you keep this up, people probably won't even dare pawn their things with you."
Zhao Huai pulled out a string of square-holed copper coins from the cabinet.
He counted them one by one, precisely two hundred in all.
"Can't be helped. Business has been poor."
Zhao Huai raised his head and answered helplessly.
"True enough. Your reputation as the pawnshop young master isn't for nothing. The fact that your shop has stayed open for three years is already a miracle."
The burly man chuckled, sounding less like he was teasing and more like he was mocking him.
Yet Zhao Huai showed no anger whatsoever. Indifferently, he said:
"A pawnshop is just a way to make a living. It's best if it makes money, but if it doesn't, there's no need to force it."
The burly man laughed. "Shopkeeper, you really do have a broad mind."
"I've been through things. I've learned to let them go."
"Here, make sure you hold on to this money."
Zhao Huai smiled and handed over the coins.
The burly man snatched the money, feeling its satisfying weight in his hands. His heart settled, and his mood immediately brightened. He could not help adding another remark.
"Shopkeeper, you came to Jin Province three years ago, didn't you?"
The moment Zhao Huai heard that, he became alert. The smile remained on his face as he asked, "What makes you say that?"
The burly man glanced around and lowered his voice. "If you did, you'd better be careful. For some reason, the authorities have been checking the new household registrations of everyone who arrived in the various provinces over the past three years. See that Wang Erha next door who sells pancakes? He came to Jin Province three years ago and didn't even have legal papers. The authorities dragged him away for questioning yesterday. No one knows whether he's dead or alive now.
"If not, then just pretend I farted."
The burly man grinned.
Zhao Huai shook his head and chuckled. "Don't worry. I've been in Jin Province for seven or eight years already, so you needn't concern yourself with me."
"Fine, then. I'll send some business your way another day. I'll be off first."
The burly man clenched the money in his hand and did not linger, immediately bidding farewell.
As he walked out, he was still snickering under his breath.
"Ha ha!"
"A rock picked up in the mountains sold for two hundred copper coins. That shopkeeper must be an idiot. Hehe, that's two days' worth of food money."
Zhao Huai sat in his chair and watched the burly man leave. The smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by grave solemnity.
He stood up, shut the front doors, and flipped the sign to "Closed."
Zhao Huai went to the pitch-black warehouse behind the shop and lit an oil lamp.
The entire warehouse was filled with precious antiques and curios, along with many priceless treasures such as jewels and spirit stones.
On the highest shelf in the warehouse sat an exquisite wooden box, within which was embedded a White Jade Dragon Seal.
Zhao Huai held the stone he had just acquired.
Crash!
In the blink of an eye, the stone in his palm crumbled into powder.
As the dust dispersed, a jade-like Mysterious Ring appeared in his hand.
"Who's the fool now?"
At that moment, a profound smile appeared at the corner of Zhao Huai's lips.
His gaze was sharp as a blade.
He was not actually from this world. He was a transmigrator.
The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself in a resplendent Imperial Palace, surrounded by a crowd of eunuchs.
Only then did he realize that he had transmigrated—and had even become a prince fleeing for his life.
The last crown prince of the Great Yan Dynasty.
The Great Yan Dynasty had once been a unified empire, but his predecessor had been an idle hedonist all day long. He could not govern when asked to govern, nor cultivate when asked to cultivate. He had thoroughly set the tone of being mediocre in aptitude.
If a father could raise his son into such a state, he was no good bird himself.
No flourishing dynasty could escape the fate of decline. The Great Yan Dynasty was overthrown by rebel forces, while the emperor hanged himself from a tree behind the palace.
That day, his predecessor fled the Imperial Palace. Unable to bear the humiliation of being hunted down, he tried to drown himself in a lake.
The man died, but Zhao Huai arrived in his place.
The new dynasty that replaced it was the present Great Xia.
Zhao Huai continued fleeing south, passing through countless provinces and prefectures before finally settling in Jin Province, a coastal Salt City in the south.
Zhao Huai stared blankly at the Golden Coin in his hand.
As he fled south, evading searches and enduring warfare, plague, and famine, the people around him had all died miserably along the way, one after another. Yet why had he alone survived?
It was all because of this Golden Coin.
As long as he tossed the coin, he could learn whether something was auspicious or inauspicious, divining in advance the fortune and misfortune of future events.
Relying on this tiny coin, Zhao Huai had survived. He had also sold the gold, silver, and ornaments he brought from the palace, opened a small pawnshop, and hidden himself among the common folk.
And he had lived this way for three years.
Over those three years, Zhao Huai had never felt the urge to take revenge. To be honest, he felt nothing about his predecessor's revenge for his father's death.
He only wanted to live. That was all.
This was a world where cultivating immortality reigned supreme, where humans coexisted with demons and monsters.
The Mortal World was ruled by the great dynasties, while cultivators were governed by five ancient and powerful immortal cultivation sects with long-standing inheritances.
These powerful sects were also known as immortal sects.
Immortal sects generally did not interfere in the affairs of the Mortal World.
Thus, Zhao Huai's intention was clear: cultivating immortality was what he ought to do, and becoming an immortal was his goal.
Only by becoming an immortal could he keep himself safe and whole.
As for the mere matter of avenging his father's death—fine, he would settle it in the next life.
Zhao Huai tightly gripped the Mysterious Ring, silently pondering with anticipation written across his face. Then he immediately tossed the Golden Coin in his hand.
He did not know what was inside the ring.
Was it a demonic fiend seeking to possess his body?
Or a benevolent old grandpa? Who knew? When in doubt, toss a coin first.
In an instant, lines of text appeared before Zhao Huai's eyes.
Fortune and misfortune depended upon each other; for now, observe. Neither came without being sought by oneself. Divination Signs were myriad, all born from the heart. Divination Sign One: Opportunity. The blessed shall possess it. The mysterious ring's origins are unknown. Take the ring, and the guidance you receive is "fortune."
Seeing the word "fortune" between the lines, Zhao Huai immediately revealed a brilliant smile.
Since it was fortune, that meant there was nothing within that would harm him.
Without another word, Zhao Huai bit his fingertip and dripped blood onto the Mysterious Ring, claiming it as his master.
A strange sensation surged into his heart. He could already see what was inside the Mysterious Ring.
Before Zhao Huai could even take a glance, an orange light flew out and entered his mind.
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