Inside a bustling tavern, Yue Rin sat cloaked at a secluded table, quietly listening to the conversations around her while eating a bowl of porridge.
"I heard the Verdant Pine Sect will open their secret realm in a few days."
"Thinking of going in? Trust me, that place has already been stripped clean. I don't even know why they still maintain it."
"If you knew how much they make from fools who think they're the chosen ones who'll uncover a treasure everyone else missed, you'd think differently."
"Hahaha, what treasures? The sect must have taken everything valuable long before opening it to outsiders."
"Shh, don't say that out loud. What if a sect member hears you?"
"Pah, so what if they do?" the other man said, lowering his voice despite his bravado.
By the time their conversation died down, Yue Rin had finished her porridge. She placed five copper coins on the table and quietly left the tavern.
The Verdant Pine Sect opening their secret realm? Just like they said, only fools would go in.
It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but Yue Rin had been one of those fools back then.
It had happened about a year and a half after she'd transmigrated into this world. At the time, she had reached the fifth layer of the Qi Foundation realm, and she'd thought it was impressive for a rogue cultivator.
Transmigrating into another world had only inflated her ego further. She'd imagined becoming one of those dragon-blooded protagonists from the novels she used to read, turning misfortune into fortune, spotting opportunities wherever they appeared, defying the heavens, and reaching the pinnacle of the cultivation world.
So when the Verdant Pine Sect announced they would open their secret realm to outsiders, she'd taken it as a sign. A golden chance. The perfect opportunity to go in and find treasures no one else had.
She'd spent almost all her spirit stones just to secure a spot: one hundred and fifty spirit stones. Normally, the price was only one hundred, but resellers existed in this world as well. Most of the slots had been bought up and resold at ridiculous prices.
She'd even suspected some of them had ties to the sect.
And as everyone said, the secret realm had been truly bare. There was hardly anything valuable, and even the few spirit herbs worth something were guarded by spirit beasts at the Qi Condensation realm, or close to it.
The worst part was the sect's rule.
They only allowed Qi Foundation cultivators in.
And they called themselves an orthodox sect? The memory still made Yue Rin's blood boil. Sending low-realm cultivators into a place where Qi Condensation beasts roamed, then charging them for the privilege. If that was righteous, then the word had lost its meaning.
Even after searching every corner she could, she'd only found six low-tier spirit herbs before the time limit ended and she was kicked out. She sold them for barely five spirit stones each, making only thirty in total.
She could call it 'making' money, but it was more accurate to say she'd lost one hundred and twenty spirit stones.
And on top of that, she'd paid with her mental state, constantly running from other cultivators who wanted to kill her and take what little she'd managed to gather.
Even so, at least there had been a safeguard.
Just like in the novels, the sect gave each cultivator a token. Crush it, and it would teleport you out if you were in danger. The downside was brutal: you couldn't bring anything you'd found in the realm with you. And they even charged fifty spirit stones for using it.
Yue Rin had already been down one hundred and fifty spirit stones and had barely anything left. So for the first time in two lifetimes, she'd run like her life and her wallet depended on it.
Anyway, as cultivators said: water flows, mud settles. Let the past drift away.
Lost in thought, Yue Rin realized she'd already arrived at the inn where she was staying.
When she pushed the door open and stepped inside, the clamor of voices filled her ears. The inn was part lodging, part restaurant, and since the sun was setting, workers were done with their day and filling their stomachs here.
Some might wonder why she'd eaten at a tavern if the place she stayed had a restaurant.
The reason was simple. A tavern was better for listening. People drank and talked freely there. Here, most people focused on eating.
Yue Rin made her way toward the stairs leading to the upper floor when someone called out to her. She turned and saw A-Ling, who seemed to be working as the receptionist today.
"Welcome back, Yue Rin! Feeling hungry today?" A-Ling's bright, soft smile made the place feel warmer than it was.
"I already ate, so not today. Thanks."
"Alright then. Enjoy your evening!"
A-Ling was one of the workers at the inn. They'd gotten acquainted when she came to clean Yue Rin's room while she was cultivating. With that thought lingering, Yue Rin continued upstairs and headed to her room.
When she opened the door, a simple room greeted her: a narrow bed, a table with a mirror, a small cabinet for clothes, and a window overlooking an alley.
Once the door closed behind her, Yue Rin let out a quiet sigh and set her sword, still in its scabbard, carefully beside the door.
She crossed to the cabinet and untied her cloak. As the hood slipped back, her face was revealed in the dim light. Not strikingly beautiful, but subtly pretty, the kind that earned a second glance. Her blue eyes caught the warm orange glow of the setting sun through the window, standing out against soft purple hair.
She hung the cloak neatly on a hook. Her tunic was plain and slightly worn, patched in a few places. When she tugged at it, the chest binding beneath loosened, and she exhaled as the pressure finally eased. Her trousers were equally simple and patched, nothing fancy.
In a world where the strong preyed on the weak, a lone woman could attract the wrong kind of attention. When Yue Rin had transmigrated, she'd woken in the body of a homeless sixteen-year-old girl who had survived the streets by any means she could. Even now, the memory left something tight and unpleasant clinging to her skin.
Back then, when her hand had touched her face, she'd realized the girl had smeared mud over her features. It had dried into an irritating mask. She'd also discovered the tightness around her chest, bound flat to hide what she was.
The mud had long since been replaced with a hood, but the binding had stayed.
After using a quick cleaning art, Yue Rin went to the window and drew the curtains shut. She crawled under the blanket, the day's noise fading behind the fabric.
The new year was only a few weeks away, and she was still stuck at the ninth layer of the Qi Foundation realm.
Yue Rin had once planned to reach Core Formation and enter a sect as an inner disciple when she turned twenty, when recruitment began.
Now, that plan felt naive.
Because of malnutrition and the stress of wandering the streets, this body's foundation had been damaged. Every time she tried to meditate and draw in Qi to breakthrough, her meridians burned like they were about to rupture, forcing her to stop. She simply couldn't absorb enough Qi.
After searching for answers, she'd found one possible solution: a low-tier foundation-strengthening pill.
But 'low-tier' was a cruel joke. The price started at seven hundred and fifty spirit stones, and since so many people fought over it, the pill only grew rarer, and more expensive.
It couldn't even be bought normally. She had to hunt for it at auctions, where the final price depended on whether she was unlucky enough to meet a rich competitor.
So for the past few months, Yue Rin had been doing missions at the Rogue Cultivators Alliance Pavilion to save money while keeping an eye out for any mention of the pill. It should strengthen her foundation enough to break through, though a nagging suspicion lingered that one pill wouldn't be enough.
She tried to ignore that thought. Hoping was easier than counting the gaps.
A yawn slipped out of her.
Thinking too much always did this to her.
Yue Rin sank deeper into the blanket, eyes half-lidded, and let the day finally loosen its grip.
For now, sleep would do.
Good night.