The next morning, the sound of pots and pans clattered intermittently from the living room.
Lux woke up groggily from her bed, wrapped in a ball of blankets, with only a pair of fluffy ears peeking out.
She stared at the ceiling for a long while, her eyes unfocused, her mind a blank slate.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I supposed to do?
Her tail twitched unconsciously inside the quilt, hit the edge of the bed, and then retracted.
After about half a minute, her pupils slowly focused.
Right, I transmigrated, became Lux, rented a place, and am now living with two roommates.
Last night…
last night Sushang got drunk, hugged her, and called her “Little Cake”…
Lux’s face turned bright red, and she pulled the quilt over her head.
“Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it…”
She rolled around in the quilt twice, her hair becoming a mess, her ears poking out from the gaps in the quilt, twitching.
After fidgeting for a while longer, she finally crawled out of bed.
She got dressed—which was actually just that maid outfit, as she had no other clothes to change into—straightened her hair in the window glass, pressed down her perky fox ears, and then pushed the door open to walk out.
In the living room, Guinaifen and Sushang were packing up.
Guinaifen had changed into casual clothes today, her hair tied in a high ponytail, carrying a crossbody bag, looking energetic.
Sushang had put her Cloud Knights uniform back on, with her sword at her waist, looking heroic and spirited.
“Lux, you’re awake!” Guinaifen waved happily when she saw her.
Lux nodded, her gaze falling on Sushang.
The uniform was crisp, her posture straight; she looked like a completely different species from the person who was hugging her arm and calling her “Little Cake” last night.
Lux’s face flushed slightly again.
Sushang clearly remembered last night’s events as well; her expression was somewhat embarrassed, and her fingers unconsciously gripped her belt.
“Um…
Lux, I’m sorry,” she said in a small voice, “I was drunk last night…
It’s all Guinaifen’s fault for insisting on bringing that bottle of wine.”
“Hey, hey, hey, my fault, my fault,” Guinaifen raised her hands in surrender, “I won’t bring it next time, okay?”
“Hmph.” Sushang glared at her.
Watching them bicker, the corners of Lux’s mouth curled up unconsciously.
“It’s fine.”
“That’s good…” Sushang breathed a sigh of relief and gave a silly smile.
“Are you two going out?” Lux asked.
“Yeah,” Guinaifen said, “Sushang’s leave is over, and she has to go back to duty today.
I have a side gig to attend to as well; streaming alone isn’t enough to support me.”
“Mm, go ahead then.”
Guinaifen opened the door and looked back at her with a smile.
“Bye-bye!”
“Bye-bye.” Sushang followed suit and waved as well.
“Bye-bye.” Lux stood in the living room and waved back at them.
The door closed.
The room went quiet, with only the ticking of the clock remaining.
Lux stood there for a moment, then walked to the kitchen, thinking of finding something to eat for breakfast.
She opened the fridge—it was empty, not even a green onion in sight.
“…”
She closed the fridge, leaned against the counter, and began to ponder.
She couldn’t just slack off.
The money she earned from demolition was running low.
After paying the deposit and rent, there were only a little over a hundred stellar jades left in her pocket.
This wouldn’t last her long; she needed to find a proper job.
Besides, she needed a lot of things.
Diamonds, gold, various minerals…
these things weren’t cheap on the Xianzhou.
And that emotional value.
She needed ten thousand to pull once, and how much did she have now?
Lux silently recited “System” in her mind, and the interface popped up—
[Strongest Lux Cultivation System]
Emotional Value: 2.87
Lucky Draw: 10,000 / time
“…”
It had been almost a week, and she hadn’t even saved up three points.
What could she even get from the draw?
The system wouldn’t say, and she didn’t know…
But regardless, she had to find a way to get emotional value.
How to do it?
Lux began to pace back and forth in the living room, her tail swinging unconsciously behind her.
Sing and dance?
Or be a streamer?
Like Guinaifen?
But she was a bit socially anxious.
Talking to a bunch of people…
just thinking about it made her toes curl.
What else could she do then?
After much thought, Lux decided to go out for a walk to see if she could find some inspiration.
She tidied up—which just meant putting the workbench and furnace into her inventory and locking the door—and then walked out of the house.
The morning in Exalting Sanctum was very quiet; there weren’t many people on the street, only a few breakfast stalls were open.
The air was filled with the aroma of steamed buns and porridge, and Lux’s stomach gave a “grumble.”
She passed by a cake shop, and her steps slowed unconsciously.
The display window was filled with all kinds of cakes—strawberry, chocolate, matcha, cream and fruit…
each one was as exquisite as a work of art, and you could smell the sweetness even through the glass.
Lux swallowed her saliva.
She glanced at the balance in her pocket, then at the cakes in the window, struggling internally for three seconds.
“Buy one piece…
just one…
I didn’t have breakfast anyway…
I’ll just be a bit more frugal later…”
She pushed open the shop door and bought a strawberry cake.
The cake was in an exquisite little paper box, with a small fork stuck in it.
Lux carried the box out of the shop, opened the lid, and skewered a small piece to put in her mouth.
Soft cake sponge, dense cream, sweet and sour strawberries—
“Ooh…”
Tears almost fell from Lux’s eyes.
It was too delicious.
She ate it in small bites as she walked, her eyes squinted into slits, and her tail wagging gently behind her.
Passersby turned to look, seeing this little fox in a maid outfit eating cake as she walked, with an expression of pure happiness on her face.
[Curiosity from a passerby, emotional value + 0.01]
[Motherly smile from a passerby, emotional value + 0.01]
Lux didn’t notice the system’s prompt, her mind entirely on the cake.
It’s so delicious, wuwuwu…
Passing by a teahouse, she heard a lively sound coming from inside.
“Good!”
“Another one!”
Lux looked inside curiously—the teahouse was quite full, with a small platform in the center.
A middle-aged man in a long gown sat behind a table, holding a folding fan in his hand, telling a story.
She had just gotten tired of walking, so she carried her cake box inside, found an empty seat in the corner, and sat down to listen while eating.
The storyteller cleared his throat and snapped his folding fan shut with a “clack.”
“As we said last time, Sun Daiyu held an iron rod, stood before the gate of the Zhatian Gang, and shouted coldly—”
He pinched his throat, imitating a woman’s voice.
” ‘Xiao Baoyu, the three-year deadline has arrived.
I have come as promised to duel you.’ ”
The storyteller opened his folding fan and continued.
“The elders inside the Zhatian Gang leader’s mansion were shocked upon hearing this—”
“‘Sun Daiyu is here?’ ‘Really?”She actually came?!’ ”
“Xiao Baoyu, sitting in the center, slammed the table, ‘What are you panicking about!
She’s just a yellow-haired girl; I want to see what progress she’s made in these three years!’ ”
“After saying that, his figure flashed, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared above the gang gate.
The gang members below cheered immediately upon seeing their leader.”
Lux skewered the last piece of cake and put it in her mouth, starting to listen intently.
“Sun Daiyu sneered at the appearing Xiao Baoyu, ‘Hmph, the grudge of breaking the engagement shall be avenged today!’ ”
“Xiao Baoyu also sneered, shaking the long halberd in his hand—”
” ‘Heh, you’ve come just in time.
I was just wanting to test if my new halberd is any good.’ ”
“Sun Daiyu pointed her iron rod at Xiao Baoyu in the sky, ‘My big rod is not dull either.’ ”
Lux stopped chewing the cake for a second.
What is this?
“The words had barely left their mouths when both attacked simultaneously!
Sun Daiyu’s iron rod swept horizontally, bringing up a gust of wind; Xiao Baoyu’s halberd thrust straight, cold light glinting like falling stars!”
The storyteller’s fan flew up and down in his hands; although it was just a pantomime, the movements were smooth and powerful, looking quite convincing.
“‘Sun Daiyu, is this all the progress you’ve made in three years?’ Xiao Baoyu taunted while fighting.”
” ‘Hmph, what’s the rush?
“Xiao Baoyu blocked with his halberd—”
The storyteller’s fan snapped shut with a crisp “clack.”
“The two exchanged blows for three hundred rounds, fighting from the gate to the foot of the mountain, from the foot of the mountain to the riverbank, from the riverbank to the sky—”
“It was truly earth-shattering, obscuring the sun and moon!”
The audience below was mesmerized, and someone couldn’t help but shout.
“And then?
Who won?”
The storyteller picked up his teacup and took a slow sip, then snapped his fan shut with a “clack.”
“To know what happens next—”
He paused and scanned the audience below.
“Listen to the next installment!”
“Aww—”
A sigh of disappointment rose from the audience.
Lux sighed as well.
She wasn’t disappointed; she was just stunned by how cringey it was.
What on earth was this?
Sun Daiyu?
Xiao Baoyu?
Zhatian Gang?
Three-year deadline?
Breaking the engagement?
Wasn’t this just sewing several novels together?
Lux shook her head to clear out the messy thoughts.
She stood up, ready to leave, when she suddenly froze.
Wait.
Writing books?
Right!
She could write books!
She could earn money, earn emotional value, and she had so much material—she had read plenty of novels in her past life.
Fantasy, cultivation, sci-fi, suspense…
her mind was filled with them.
Lux’s eyes brightened, and her tail began to wag unconsciously.
“Yes, yes, yes, write books!
Why didn’t I think of this sooner!”
She threw the empty cake box into the trash can and ran home excitedly.
Her wooden clogs clicked on the ground, her bell-adorned belt jingled, and passersby turned to look as this little fox dashed past them like a gust of wind.
Back home, Lux closed the door, sat on the sofa, and took out her jade abacus to search.
“The biggest novel website on the Xianzhou…
the biggest novel website on the Xianzhou…”
She searched for a while and finally found it—Fan Dian Novel Network.
The interface was very clean, with various rankings and recommendation slots on the homepage.
Lux browsed through it roughly and found that the level of novels on the Xianzhou…
how should she put it, not bad, but compared to the ones she had read in her past life, something felt missing.
“Register…
Register…”
Lux clicked into the registration page and started filling in her information.
Username.
She thought for a moment and typed a line in the input box—
WasteDog GoldRepair.
This was her online name from her past life, which she had used for many years.
Although it was a bit weird, she couldn’t bear to change it.
“Alright, registration complete…
then…
create a new book…”
Lux clicked on the author dashboard, found the “Create New Work” button, and took a deep breath.
Book title.
She stared at the input box for a long time, countless titles flashing through her mind.
Finally, she combined the setting of this world and slightly modified the title of a legendary book from her past life.
“Hehe, it’s decided—it’s you—”
Lux typed “the strange path of destiny” on the keyboard.
She leaned back on the sofa, her tail swinging triumphantly.
“Just you wait, White-haired General.
Once I earn enough money from this book and craft a netherite set, I’ll beat you black and blue.”