Chapter 5

Even if He Qinglan had originally walked the mortal world in a human body, finding food would have been an easy matter—

His river held all kinds of delicious freshwater fare. He could casually catch some fish and shrimp to fill his stomach. Or there were flowing grains of gold in the river mud, along with uncut gemstones and jade—taking those into the human world could buy plenty of food as well.

But now...

He Qinglan looked at the river of garbage before him, then took a deep breath and clutched his chest.

He suddenly wanted to flood humanity again.

Then the penniless, fishless River God remembered the dozens of plastic bottles he could have sold for money, which he had given away for free to the old scavenger woman. The River God clutched his chest again.

"...To think I have fallen this low!"

But he was human now. People were made of iron, meals were made of steel—skip one meal and hunger struck hard.

The River God needed to eat too.

So the wise River God thought seriously for a moment, then touched his own face.

That girl had said he possessed beauty capable of toppling kingdoms. Perhaps he could go out and find a "face-lover," then have that human offer him some food as tribute.

Mm, this did not count as selling his face. Since ancient times, River Gods had protected the living beings dwelling beside their rivers. He was merely collecting some offerings in advance. Perhaps he could even recruit a few believers pleasing to the eye and have them pick up garbage with him.

Thus, the River God carried his fruit-canning jar, listened to Black Carp's lecture on money and food, and headed toward a place with food.

Bicheng College of Arts was located in Bicheng's southwestern district and was the city's most renowned first-rate arts school. Its grounds were vast, its architecture attractive and modern, and even its landscaping was remarkably distinctive.

If Bicheng College of Arts had any flaw, it was probably that it bordered the Qinglan River. When the arts college had first been built, its designers had hoped the clear flowing river would add another scenic touch to the campus. But who could have expected that in less than thirty years after its founding, the Qinglan River would decline into this state?

Now, let alone adding to Bicheng College of Arts' scenery, it was already good enough if it did not affect the college itself.

Because an arts college stood there, many street-side and riverside shops and stalls had appeared around it. Added to that were the talent scouts lingering before the college gates year-round, along with those hoping to be discovered by them. Though the Qinglan River had not added another scenic view to the college, there were still plenty of people outside Bicheng College of Arts.

But early this morning, the atmosphere on the breakfast snack street outside the college gates was somewhat different.

Though everyone was still buying their breakfasts, and though many people were hurrying to work or class, almost everyone's gaze had been drawn to the young man carrying a glass fish tank?

Although the young man wore nothing but a rather plain and cheap gray short-sleeved shirt and long pants, material poverty could not conceal his innate presence and beauty in the slightest!

Pretty much everyone who saw him unconsciously sucked in a breath—where had this Immortal Pretty Boy sprung from?!

At this moment, this Immortal Pretty Boy ignored the overt and covert appraising looks around him. His gaze swept across the breakfast stalls, then his footsteps turned, bringing him to the stall of a tall young man selling jianbing guozi.

Then he spoke his first words as an Immortal Pretty Boy:

"Offer me a pancake, and I will ensure your safety today."

He had stood here for quite a while, yet no face-lover had come forward on their own. Then he would find himself a believer first.

Everyone secretly watching: "...???"

Was something wrong with this Immortal Pretty Boy's brain?

Author's note:

I revised the young man selling pancakes a little.

He Qinglan: This stall is the cleanest and most pleasing to the eye. So are the pancakes. Also, why hasn't the face-lover come to pay yet?

Shui Wuyuan: Soon, soon, soon!

Black Carp: ...Koi are no good things!!!

Chapter 5

After the elegant Immortal Pretty Boy solemnly spoke of offerings, the students and passersby watching nearby fell silent for a moment.

But they were only silent for that instant. Once they came back to themselves, they looked all around, searching for anyone secretly filming with a phone or camera. This was probably another person trying to make a name for himself with "bizarre outfits and exaggerated words." The people of Bicheng College of Arts had long ceased to be surprised by such things—

After all, people in strange costumes wandered around the gates almost every day. Some even wore two ears on their heads and tied a tail behind themselves, claiming to be fox spirits. And fox spirits and snake spirits were small potatoes. Bicheng College of Arts' most famous passerby hot-search incident involved a young man wearing only a grass skirt, practically running naked, who claimed to be the Mountain God of Wushan. He said his mountain pillar had been stolen, forcing him to come out and seek help.

Though the young man really had looked rugged, and the muscles on his body had indeed been quite pleasing, in the end the police uncle sternly swept him away in one go and detained him for five days.

But this young man who called himself a Mountain God had truly become famous. He was now an internet-famous... fitness and outdoor hiking blogger. As a result, even more "strange people" hoping to become wildly popular had come to Bicheng College of Arts afterward.

Therefore, everyone only doubted He Qinglan for a moment before wondering inwardly what sort of persona this Immortal Pretty Boy with beauty capable of toppling kingdoms had created for himself.

He carried a lively Black Carp in his hand and spoke of offerings. He was probably connected to some kind of god?

The young stall owner of the neat, handsome jianbing stall that He Qinglan had chosen paused for several seconds before catching on and giving a cold, fake smile. "My lord, this is a small business. Compared to safety, I need money more, so I can't offer tribute. One pancake is five yuan, six with an egg. Want one?"

The River God slowly furrowed his slender brows.

"But the baleful aura around you is heavy, and the signs of death are already upon you. If you do not offer tribute, you may not survive today. Do you truly not wish to live?"

Qi Xiaoyuan's hand, which had been adding sauce, abruptly stopped. His previously lowered brows and eyes lifted, shooting toward He Qinglan like blades.

Qi Xiaoyuan stood one meter eighty-six tall, with thick brows, narrow eyes, a high nose, and thin lips. Even an apron could not add the slightest bit of approachability to his fierce yet handsome face. Normally, it would have been one thing for him to show no expression, but when those narrow eyes of his fixed upon someone, they always made that person feel a chill of fear.