Stopping in front of the brokerage, Lin Yue merely looked up at the sign before a broker immediately stepped out from inside.
"My humble surname is Zhao, customer! What would you like to buy or sell?"
"Brother Zhao." Lin Yue unobtrusively scanned her surroundings, pulled him slightly to the side, and pulled out a handful of copper coins to slip into his hand, watching him flash a classic smile.
"It's like this: I was traveling far from home, and my household registration was unfortunately stolen by thieves. Now it's inconvenient even to find a place to rest, and I don't know where to get a replacement. I'd appreciate it if Brother Zhao could point me in the right direction."
Broker Zhao frowned, stuffed the money back to her, and said, "Customer, if your household registration is lost, naturally you must go to the government office to replace it."
Lin Yue offered a faint smile. "Brother Zhao speaks truly."
Seeing him head back inside, Lin Yue was puzzled. Did brokerages not engage in black-market business? How could they make money this way?
Lin Yue lingered near the entrance of the brokerage. Just as she turned to leave, another broker came out and called to her.
"My humble surname is Li, customer! May I ask if you're buying or selling?"
Lin Yue gave him the same story and stuffed a handful of coins into his hands. Broker Li did not refuse them, merely frowning.
Lin Yue stuffed another handful of coins into his hands. Broker Li tucked the money away and smiled. "Customer, while it's proper to handle household registration at the government office, those high officials are quite busy and it wouldn't do to disturb them directly. How about this? I know a friend who can take you to handle it. It'll be much easier."
Broker Li named a location, and Lin Yue gave her thanks before setting off immediately.
Weaving through the crowd, someone brushed past her head-on. Sensing his hand reaching toward her coin pouch, Lin Yue instantly grabbed his wrist, twisted it, and pressed down.
"Hss—let go! What are you doing?"
The man cried out in pain, causing the surrounding crowd to gather. Lin Yue kicked his knee to force him to his knees, let go of his wrist, stepped back, and spoke coldly.
"You lunatic! I was just walking along peacefully! What do you think you're doing? Everyone, come judge for yourselves! This lunatic is beating—"
"Whoosh—"
A burst of wind from her staff whipped across his face, and he immediately shut his mouth.
"Young fella, what's going on? Why hit him..."
"What's happening here..."
"Stealing money..."
"Stealing money?"
Lin Yue tossed out those two words, retrieved her staff, and walked away.
Arriving at the entrance of the secluded alley mentioned by the broker, she waited for a long time until a skinny man wearing a white-face mask walked out from around the corner, his squinted eyes filled with scrutiny.
"Young man, who sent you here, and what're you after?"
Lin Yue stated the secret code.
The skinny man nodded. "Follow me."
Lin Yue followed him, turning several corners until they reached a dark alleyway.
"Hey! What do you need?" The skinny man stopped near the mouth of the alley ahead and jerked his chin toward Lin Yue.
Lin Yue explained her intent to buy a household registration.
He held up two fingers.
Lin Yue frowned. "Big brother, that price is way too expensive. Ten taels."
"Young man, ten taels is absolutely out of the question! Go see if any other place will do it for ten taels..."
The two bargained back and forth, ultimately settling on seventeen taels, plus an extra tael for rushed service.
Lin Yue obtained the household registration the next day. These organizations worked in partnership with the brokers; if they wanted to stay in business long-term, they generally would not harm their customers.
After inquiring and learning that the carriage agency heading to the prefecture capital would set out in two days, she registered for a spot, bought two sets of men's clothing at a cloth shop, and found an inn to stay at.
On the second floor, she opened the window and looked down at West City Street below. People crisscrossed and gathered, a dizzying spectacle where one hardly knew where to look.
Her gaze swept over a middle-aged man wearing coarse brown cloth in the crowd and came to a stop. Lin Yue's expression shifted slightly.
The man moved forward with the crowd with a troubled brow, looking left and right as his eyes scanned face after face, seemingly searching for someone. Spotting an eatery ahead, he turned inside.
Lin Yue lowered her eyes and closed the window.
Lin Xiaya was dead. She was not Lin Xiaya.
Lin Yue lay on the bed. It was early morning. Reaching out, she tapped the air to complete her check-in: age nineteen, lifespan two thousand two hundred fifteen years.
System Name: Sign In and Receive Life System
Host: Lin Yue
Lifespan: 19/2215
Horse hooves clattered clack-clack-clack as the carriage traveled toward the prefecture capital.
Lin Yue lifted a corner of the window curtain. Outside, lush green grass was dotted with maple red. As an autumn wind swept past, it blew back the youth's bangs and shook down gold from the treetops. Five-pointed maple leaves swung in the air like swings, twirling down into the water, filling the riverbed and decking the whole river in gold.
While enjoying the sight, her robe was gently tugged twice. The youth turned her head, her bright eyes still reflecting the mountainside of yellow and green, embracing all things.
"Brother!"
Lin Yue looked down at the red jujube held in the small hand before looking up at the five-or-six-year-old girl with butterfly braids, whose lively eyes were curved like crescent moons.
Seeing the youth look back, the little girl lifted the plump, fresh red jujube higher.
"Young brother, it was just picked from the tree, very fresh! Please don't be a stranger to it!"
"It's a little gesture from the child, please accept it!"
Lin Yue glanced at the girl's parents, accepted the red jujube, and smiled at the little girl. "Thank you."
"Brother! Eat it, it's really sweet!" The little girl pointed to the red jujube in the youth's hand.
Lin Yue took a bite. With a crisp crunch, the sweetness spread through her mouth, making her mouth water.
"Very sweet. Did you pick it?"
"Nope!" The butterfly braids swayed left and right. "Daddy knocked them down, and I picked them up underneath. So, so many! I couldn't pick them all!"
Her small finger pointed to a small basket covered with a cloth nearby. "This many! Mommy and I picked them together."
"Little sister is so amazing."
"Young brother, where are you from?"
"Dashantou Town."
The middle-aged man paused for a moment, then nodded. "Ah, the town farthest from the county seat!"
"I heard that two years ago someone was bitten to death by mountain beasts up there. A few people came to the county seat covered in blood, and one person's hand was hanging by just a scrap of skin. It looked terribly frightening! Young brother, you've got quite the courage!"
Lin Yue pressed her lips together, feeling fortunate in her heart. "Just good luck."
"Mommy, I want a jujube!"
"Mommy will get it for you."
"Not many people leave your area, right?" the man asked again.
"Mm, not many people come out. Only three or four times a year at most, mostly to transport grain or deliver goods."
"Brother, jujube!" The little girl held up another jujube.
"Brother hasn't finished eating yet, you eat it."
Lin Yue told him a bit about the conditions in the mountains, and after listening, the man let out a sigh of emotion.
"It really is peaceful over there! Not like here—sect grudges, martial world feuds, neighborly disputes, affairs, people using power to oppress others, all sorts of random nonsense!"
The man talked about how wealthy families in his area used their power to oppress others, then added:
"It really takes all kinds to make a world. Young brother, where are you heading?"
"The prefecture capital. My father went to take the academy examination and hasn't returned yet."
"It's been several months and he's still not back?" The man frowned, not saying it outright. "Sigh, either something happened to him, or he just doesn't want to come back..."
The carriage continued forward. Two days later, the family of three got off. Before leaving, they gave Lin Yue a handful of fresh jujubes. Having nothing to give in return, Lin Yue took the mother's pulse and gave her a prescription to treat womb coldness.
"Young brother, you're actually a doctor! I smelled the medicinal scent on you and thought you were a medicine apprentice!" The man was as excited as if he had struck gold, looking up and down at the well-mannered youth before him. Truly a talented youth!
"Even if taken without illness, this medicine won't cause any harm. Big Brother, Sister-in-law, please rest assured."
"Thank you so much, thank you!" The couple expressed their gratitude.
"Li'er, quickly thank the brother!" The mother pulled the little girl over.
"Thank you, brother!" the little girl said in a crisp voice.
Seeing that the youth was fond of his daughter, the man's mind took a turn as he asked, "Young man, are you engaged yet?"
Lin Yue hearing this quickly made an excuse to leave. "Naturally, I am. I'll get back on the carriage now. Farewell to the three of you."
Watching the youth board the carriage, the man couldn't help but feel regretful. The father was a scholar, and the youth was a doctor—with such qualifications, it would have been wonderful to become in-laws.
Three more people boarded the carriage, and the six of them sat chatting away.
Sun and moon cycled, and in the blink of an eye, three months passed.
The prefecture capital.
In front of a certain medical clinic.
An energetic young fellow with a smirk raised a fractured foot, hopping forward while supported by two friends. Suddenly, a sharp, pig-slaughtering shriek echoed from ahead. The three stopped in their tracks and listened quietly as the pig-slaughtering shriek dropped in pitch, turning into low wails before subsiding, only to rise again.
The friends supporting the young fellow turned their heads, caught the excitement in each other's eyes, smiled at one another, and together hoisted their equally thrilled brother forward. The brother couldn't speak; likely only his foot braking forward could clearly express his meaning.
The three entered the clinic, leaving behind a long scrape mark and a tattered cloth shoe.
"Ah~ ā-a-à-á-á-ǎ..."
"Hold him down! Hold him down tight!"
Hearing this, the medicine apprentice nearby pressed down hard on the patient's shoulders to stop him from bouncing up, while another medicine apprentice held down the patient's other hand.
A young doctor with a peach-wood hairpin stuck in her hair rubbed a lubricating liquid onto her hands, dedicatedly manipulating the patient's forearm with both hands—which was twisted inward at a right angle—saying as she kneaded:
"Don't move, it doesn't hurt at all!"
"Trust the doctor."
The young man, held down like a dead maggot, rolled his eyes up to the sky. "ā-a-à-á-á-ǎ..."
Under those slender, deft hands kneading back and forth, the twisted forearm gradually returned to normal.
The doctor bound wooden splints to the young man's arm to immobilize it.
"Done."
"Next."
The young man whose bones had just been set hadn't even regained his senses yet. Sitting down on a nearby chair, shaking like a sieve, his eyes stared straight at the next person sitting on the chair with a panicked face—as if doing so could bring him a tiny bit of comfort.
The pig-slaughtering shriek sounded once again...
Extra delightful to the ear.
Rate on N.U.
