Hypocrisy and Lies

Binshui Prefecture, Qingyun County.

The rain had just ceased, leaving wisps of dark clouds lingering in the sky. The sun was veiled by the overcast, appearing like a jagged, discolored patch.

The Wealthy District was mostly a sprawl of yellow mud and dilapidated shacks. When the rain washed over it, the chicken and duck manure that families had hoarded for fertilizer was swept into the streets, mixing with the rotting mud to create a stench that filled the air.

Into this squalid area suddenly strode a tall, upright youth in clean, simple clothes, with the words "Azure Cloud Martial Hall" embroidered on his chest.

He stood in stark contrast to the ragged, gaunt commoners around him. As the neighbors watched him, their eyes were filled with envy and jealousy. A sharp-tongued auntie standing in a pigpen put her hands on her hips and called out, "Pingsheng, off to the Azure Cloud Martial Hall to practice your Health Preservation Stance and boxing again?"

Li Pingsheng stopped in his tracks, smiled faintly, and replied in a gentle voice:

"Yes."

"Oh my, your family is truly blessed. We're all just scratching a living from the dirt, who would have thought you'd have such superior talent? In five days, once your blood and qi stabilize, they'll surely admit you to the hall, and your family will be able to move into the inner city."

Li Pingsheng's expression remained calm. After exchanging a few more casual words, he quickened his pace and headed toward the row of shacks at the very end of the Wealthy District.

Behind him, the neighbors' unsuppressed envy echoed.

"The Li Family is lucky. The whole family tightened their belts to support Li Pingsheng's martial training; they're finally seeing a return on their investment."

"Indeed. I heard the old man of the Li Family even spent his coffin money on precious blood-strengthening herbs, just so Li Pingsheng could successfully enter the hall."

The waves of gossip drifted into his ears. Li Pingsheng lowered his eyelids and turned the corner, coming face-to-face with a large shack constructed from three smaller ones.

His mother and Second Aunt were busy weaving bamboo baskets. His grandfather and second uncle must have been out in the fields, as they were nowhere to be seen.

Li Pingsheng paused, composed himself, and walked inside. After greeting his mother and Second Aunt, he hurried into the most decent of the three shacks and closed the door behind him.

"Pingsheng, the Blood Strengthening Powder is brewed and keeping warm on the stove. Drink it quickly!"

Listening to his mother's nagging, Li Pingsheng leaned against the door, a bitter curve touching his lips as he cursed the mess the original owner of this body had made.

He was not from this world; an accident had caused his soul to transmigrate into this youth of the same name.

In this world, war was rampant and demons ran wild. To live in peace and prosperity, one had to embark on the path of martial arts.

Martial cultivation had its prerequisites: first, talent; second, blood and qi.

Those with inferior talent had no qualification to train. Those with middling talent had limited potential and struggled to enter the Azure Cloud Martial Hall. Only those with superior talent were accepted into the Azure Cloud Martial Hall, granting them the qualification for the martial examinations and the power to transcend their social class.

Half a month ago, the original owner went to the Azure Cloud Martial Hall for a bone-testing. For some unknown reason, his blood and qi surged, confusing the master's judgment. Unable to reach a conclusion, the master told him to return in twenty days once his blood and qi had stabilized.

Unexpectedly, the original owner took advantage of the situation, insisting he possessed superior talent. He not only swindled a disciple's uniform and a set of Health Preservation Stance techniques from the Azure Cloud Martial Hall but also spread the news far and wide, becoming a celebrity in the Wealthy District.

Li Pingsheng knew the truth better than anyone.

He only had inferior talent. He had taken medicine on the day of the test to force his blood and qi to surge. Now that time had passed, the effects had long since worn off. In five days, when he returned to the Azure Cloud Martial Hall for the test, everything would be over.

If that were all, it might be manageable, but the fatal part was that the original owner had not only deceived himself but also his entire family of six.

To help him stabilize and strengthen his blood and qi, the family had emptied their coffers.

His father had gone to the city to carry stone until he was coughing up blood.

His grandfather and second uncle had gone to harvest wheat for others and hadn't returned in ten days.

His mother and Second Aunt were weaving baskets and mending clothes day and night.

Even worse, his grandfather had borrowed ten taels of silver from the Black Water Gang. With their "nine-in, sixteen-out" interest rate, if they couldn't pay it back in a month, the women would be sold into brothels and the men into the sea ponds, leaving no hope for survival.

One lie required more lies to cover it up. The original owner had eventually realized this, but it was too late; he had worried himself to death, leaving Li Pingsheng to take over the mess.

Should I confess?

Li Pingsheng rubbed his furrowed brow and shook his head to himself.

There was no turning back now. When the Black Water Gang lent the money to his family, the outcome was already sealed. Either the truth would come out and the family would be skinned and dismantled by the Black Water Gang to serve as firewood for the debt, or...

Suddenly, the shack door was tapped lightly.

Through a crack in the door, he saw a thin, frail little figure standing outside.

"Brother, the food is ready, and the medicinal soup is brewed. Mother told me to call you to eat."

With a creak, the door was pulled open from the inside.

Li Pingsheng looked down at Yunmei. Although she had passed her ninth birthday, she barely reached his waist. Her limbs were as thin as dry firewood and her skin was sallow, yet her watery eyes held a glimmer of a child's liveliness.

He patted Yunmei's head and said gently:

"Alright."

In the courtyard, a small table was set up on the only patch of ground not soiled by animal manure. On it sat three bowls of bran porridge—the meal for Second Aunt, his mother, and Yunmei.

Beside them was a chipped ceramic basin filled with oily meat soup—half a mountain chicken. The aroma of the meat drifted on the breeze, drilling straight into his nose.

"Gulp!"

Li Pingsheng caught a glimpse of Yunmei subconsciously swallowing, but she quickly looked away, sat obediently in her seat, picked up her bran porridge, and drank it quietly.

"Pingsheng, what are you standing there for? Come over quickly before the meat soup gets cold!" Madam Li called out, hands on her hips, as she bustled over with a bowl of pitch-black medicinal soup.

Li Pingsheng sat at the table and took a whiff. The medicinal soup didn't smell fishy or foul; instead, it carried a strange, fragrant scent that made his appetite stir and his whole body feel at ease.

"This is the Blood Strengthening Powder prepared by the master at the Herb Hall in the inner city. Try it and see how it works; it costs one tael of silver per dose!"

Li Pingsheng felt the weight of the medicine bowl in his hands. His family could barely save a single tael of silver after a whole year of scrimping and saving. Now, for the sake of the bright future he had woven with lies, the entire family had staked everything.

Madam Li and Second Aunt paid him no mind, swallowing their porridge quickly while eating a few dried wild vegetables.

After all, there were still plenty of bamboo strips to weave after the meal.

While eating, Second Aunt set down her bowl and sighed with emotion.

"Do you remember Stone Mason Chen?"

Madam Li naturally took up the conversation.

"How could I forget? We were neighbors for over a decade. If he hadn't broken his leg from a falling stone and been kicked out of Qingyun County for failing to pay the protection money to the Black Water Gang, we could have borrowed some money from them to buy medicine for Li Pingsheng."

"Who's to say otherwise?" Second Aunt sighed softly. "I was chatting with someone yesterday and found out that after Stone Mason Chen's family was driven out of the city, they stayed in Zuojin Village. They didn't lock their door properly at night, and a pack of a dozen wild wolves the size of calves tore the whole family to shreds!"

Li Pingsheng knew this world was far from peaceful. With wars erupting everywhere, the natural order inverted, and encountering ghosts in broad daylight no longer a novelty, the packs of wild wolves and dogs gathering on the village roads and official highways outside the city had become even more brazen after feeding on human corpses. If anyone dared to walk alone at dusk or in the dead of night, they were guaranteed to be eaten until not even their bones remained.

At this, Madam Li and Second Aunt looked at Li Pingsheng in unison, their faces full of relief and emotion.

"It's a good thing Li Pingsheng is promising. In a few days, once he is admitted into the Azure Cloud Martial Hall, our whole family can share in the glory and move into the inner city. When that time comes, we won't have to fear those beasts anymore."

Li Pingsheng's hand, holding his chopsticks, paused for a moment before he replied calmly.

"Mother, Second Aunt, rest assured, I will work hard."