At the westernmost edge of the Qi Kingdom, an endless desert connected to the Eight-Hundred-Li Desolate Mountain. The rolling slopes stretched like a fierce beast coiling on the ground, ready to swallow any passing traveler at any moment. The Barren Mountain wasn’t completely lifeless. But compared to the misty rain of Jiangnan or the lush green woods of the Central Plains, only drought-resistant poplars and sea buckthorns grew here. Even the grass was hugging the earth, carrying the typical grassy-yellow hue of the Barren Mountain.
Within the Barren Mountain, a poplar tree, hollowed out until only its bark remained, shuddered as if overwhelmed by the burden. Inside the trunk huddled a beggar with disheveled hair and tattered clothes. Seemingly feeling the cold, the person had curled into a ball. The exposed skin had already become chapped and cracked from the freezing weather. Their hair was tangled in dirty, stiff clumps. Dust and yellowish-brown dirt covered most of their face, obscuring their features.
The beggar’s chest rose and fell ever more faintly, until finally, it stilled completely.
No one knew how long it had been when the person, who had stopped breathing, suddenly snapped their eyes open. Cold wind rushed into their nostrils, making them cough uncontrollably. The sound from their throat was like a broken bellows. Every cough sent a painful tremor through their entire body.
An electronic voice announced in their ear: “Host has arrived at Universe 71, the 9th Plane. Position coordinates: Small World 541. This small world is a Retirement World for Taskers. Please, Host, enjoy your retirement life.”
“Adjust… the… body.” These simple words took all of Tang Qi’s strength.
“1000 points consumed. Remaining points: 7,996,464,230. Body has been adjusted to optimal condition. However, this physical body was severely damaged. Please, Host, recover as soon as possible.”
The intense pain all over vanished, replaced by boundless cold and hunger. Tang Qi braced herself against the tree trunk and stood up, silently observing her new body.
Her entire body was so thin, consisting of only the sparest bones. It felt like it might snap with just a light touch. Her skin all over was rough, just like the tree trunk beside her. It also emitted a foul stench from having gone uncleaned for so long.
The original host was an orphan who made a living as a hunter. The Eight-Hundred-Li Desolate Mountain was crawling with countless Fierce Beasts. A few days ago, the original host had been bitten in the abdomen by a wild wolf. The wound itself wasn’t fatal, but, unable to leave the Barren Mountain, she had starved to death right here.
Tang Qi sat on the ground. Hunger and cold didn’t provoke any emotional reaction from her. She didn’t even frown a bit. “Exchange for food.”
This was the first time she had exchanged points for food in a small world. Food was very cheap in the World Shop; 10 points could buy a lot.
In front of her appeared warm congee, along with several light and nourishing medicinal meals. Tang Qi grabbed them and poured them into her mouth, chewing mechanically as if they had no taste. When she was done, she wiped her mouth and leaned against the tree trunk, staring blankly into space.
The System cautiously glanced at Tang Qi. After returning to the Main God World, she had been like this—quiet, saying nothing. The Main God World had no day or night, no concept of time. It didn’t know how long had passed before Tang Qi decided on her second transmigration.
The System thought, maybe the Main God World was simply too cold and lonely!
“Host, should we move to a different spot?” The System carefully considered its words, offering a gentle suggestion.
Tang Qi didn’t answer it. She stayed lying in place, letting the cold wind blow over her.
“Host, at least find somewhere sheltered from the wind. You’ll get sick from this blowing,” the System spoke again. It would rather have Tang Qi be like before, locking it in the Dark Room at the first sign of annoyance, than seeing her react so little no matter what it said.
At night, Tang Qi squeezed back into the hollow of the tree trunk, shivering from the cold, and looked up at the stars in the sky. The System suggested she exchange points for a tent, but she ignored it.
During the day, whenever she was hungry, she exchanged for food. After eating, she just stared blankly. The System deliberately tried to lighten the mood: “Host, isn’t this just like that novel we read in the first world? Sun Wukong trapped under the Five Finger Mountain.”
The moment it said this, it wished it could cut off its own energy source. Why did it have to bring up the past worlds?!
It silently locked itself inside the Dark Room, shedding tears: It missed Luoluo very much too, and that trashy Host.
Sunrise, sunset. Sleeping and eating in the open wilderness. Forty-five days passed exactly like this. On the morning of the forty-sixth day, Tang Qi stood up, as if having finally made a decision. She left the place without looking back.
Following the memories left by the original host, she found the original host’s home at the foot of the Barren Mountain. The so-called home was a rundown shack made of mud mixed with straw, drafty on all sides. Even the crossbeam had snapped.
Not far from her home sat a few scattered households. This was the very edge of the Great Qi kingdom, the ultimate destination for exiles. Under Great Qi law, exiled criminals could receive plots of wasteland and houses according to their headcount. Her neighbors were naturally convicted criminals serving their sentences, or their descendants.
“Other people’s houses look decent enough. Why is yours so terrible?” the System muttered.
Tang Qi chopped a tall, straight poplar tree for a new roof beam. While multitasking, she answered the System: “Wherever you go, numbers bring advantage. The original host was alone, so naturally, they couldn’t get a good house.”
Even this broken mess was given to the original host out of pity by the local official.
After fixing the beam, Tang Qi found straw and mud to patch the walls. But some materials had to be collected from the mountains, others needed to be bought in town.
She took up the original host’s profession again—went into the mountains and hunted some game, then took them to the nearest town to sell. She exchanged the money for some salt and daily necessities.
In the days that followed, every five days she went to the town to trade. She also managed to supply her own food and drink through hunting, without having to rely on the System.
Within a month, the small, half-collapsed house looked brand new. From the outside, it just looked like the holes were patched, more straw added to the roof, and a new door installed. Only by looking inside could one see the biggest changes.
Originally, the house had been completely bare inside, with only a wooden plank serving as a bed. Now, the small space was divided into two sections by a ceiling-high wooden partition.
The inner room held a newly built clay kang bed, covered with animal furs. Under the kang was a small cabinet holding the few clothes Tang Qi owned.
The outer room now had a cooking stove, complete with pots, pans, bowls, and plates. Three steps from the stove stood brand-new tables and chairs.
She seemed to have returned to her original state, just like in her first life, earnestly living on in place of the original host. And continuing to follow her most basic principle—living life as she pleased.
Tang Qi had been working almost without sleep for an entire month. Now she picked up a hoe, about to head up the mountain again. The System quickly said, “Host, don’t you need to rest a little?”
“This is the Western Border. Nearly half the year here is a cold winter,” she explained, with rare patience. “Winter will come soon. I need to store food and firewood.”
If time hadn’t been so short, she would have wanted to build a courtyard.
Tang Qi went back and forth from the mountain, bringing back a good amount of firewood. She also traded game in town for sweet potatoes, flour, and other food. Watching her busily working, the System had wanted to say these things could all just be exchanged for points, but in the end, it didn’t speak.
When the small room was piled to the brim with various supplies, winter arrived here.
Seemingly overnight, all the trees on the Barren Mountain lost their leaves, exposing the bare, barren land. The previously harsh wind changed form, cutting like knives against people’s faces. When the cold wind blew, yellow sand filled the sky, isolating this place from the rest of the world.
After winter began, Tang Qi rarely went outside. Once again, she fell into a routine of eating and staring blankly. Occasionally, she would answer a word or two when the System spoke, but most of the time, she simply remained silent.
Out of boredom, the System did some investigating around. “Host, quite a few people are coming our way… There’s actually… cough, they’ve gone to the empty house closest to you.”
“Looks like there are some soldiers and guards… and a woman with a crippled leg.” The System chattered away. “Oh, this woman is so pitiful. I can’t see her face clearly, but her leg is crippled, and these soldiers are still shoving her.”
Seeing Tang Qi still silent, the System coughed a few more times and quietly said, “Host, that… the person I just saw should be someone who was exiled. Um… she seems to be the Supporting Female Lead of this world’s story line.”
Hearing the words “Supporting Female Lead,” Tang Qi’s attention finally seemed to pull back. Her fingers trembled slightly.
The System wasn’t sure if it should tell Tang Qi about this. “Someone with a story line. Should we just avoid her?”
After a long silence, just as the System thought Tang Qi wouldn’t answer, she suddenly spoke: “We’ll leave once spring comes.” She didn’t want any entanglements with people connected to a story line.
The System said “Oh” and swallowed the rest of its words. After hesitating, it went to look again. The soldiers were pushing the Supporting Female Lead around and cursing about their bad luck.
“I thought a daughter of an official family would have some valuables on her. Who knew it’d be a wasted trip?” The head soldier was frustrated and viciously kicked the Supporting Female Lead in the abdomen.
The woman was kicked to the ground. Both hands clutching her stomach, she curled up from the pain but didn’t dare make a sound. The other soldiers shouted a few more insults, satisfied their urges. Seeing how uninteresting she was, they left, still cursing.
Once the soldiers were gone, the person on the ground couldn’t hold back a muffled groan of pain, breathing heavily.
She lifted her face. Only then did the System see that both her cheeks and her forehead were covered in dark brown spots. It thought it was dirt at first, but a closer look revealed these were pustules, each the size of a pinky nail, densely packed and ghastly to behold.
Some of the pustules had burst, and the pus leaked out and dried on her face, making her look utterly disgusting. The only unblemished part of her entire face was the area around her eyes.
She possessed a pair of beautiful eyes. But these eyes had long since lost their sparkle, now dim and lightless, glistening with faint tears from the pain.
For some reason, despite knowing the other party couldn’t see it, the System couldn’t help asking: “Are you alright? Wait, I’ll get the Host to save you.”
It returned and described the Supporting Female Lead’s tragic state, fully expecting to find Tang Qi completely indifferent.
“Ah, not all Supporting Female Leads are bad people. Just like… I just think…” The System said a few sentences before its tone suddenly changed: “Host, several people are going over there. It looks like they’re going to assault the Supporting Female Lead! Host!”
The people exiled here were all hardened criminals guilty of heinous crimes. Hearing the soldiers curse about her being an official’s daughter as they left, some of them got ideas. After huddling together and whispering for a brief moment, they slipped over to the Supporting Female Lead’s thatched hut.
The Supporting Female Lead hadn’t even reacted before seeing several burly men burst in. The first one was startled by her face, then spat fiercely: “We won’t leave empty-handed. Just cover her face, it’s all the same.”
“You… Ah!” The Supporting Female Lead’s voice was already hoarse and unpleasant, long gone from its original beauty like a singing warbler. But even so, it couldn’t stop these men’s violent actions.
The sound of tearing clothes rang out. Covering her chest, her eyes showed a look of absolute despair. She released her hand from her chest and pressed hard on her wrist.
The men burst into laughter: “Look, she’s given up resisting.”
Before she could do anything further, the dull sounds of heavy blows rang out beside her ears. The noisy men suddenly fell silent with a thud. The Supporting Female Lead hurriedly shrank back, struggling to open her eyes wide to see. Backlit, she couldn’t make out the newcomer’s appearance clearly. She could only tell the person wasn’t very tall. Under the moonlight, all she could see was patched clothing and a pair of bright yet indifferent eyes landing on her.
