I appeared in a dirty alley. After taking a quick glance at my surroundings, I headed in the direction that sounded the noisiest.

The alley opened onto a street that felt oddly familiar. Old women were selling vegetables that were laid out on blankets while busy men and women bustled down the road hauling boxes and guiding wagons. It looked a lot like where I had always appeared in Dragon Gate City.

The architecture of this city didn’t feel too dissimilar from the Wastes. The common blue brick and yellow tiled construction was evident everywhere. The real difference was that the buildings here were much taller. Most were at least four stories, with some over six.

The clothes here were of a slightly different cut than I was used to. The collars, hem, and trims were all a bit off in a subtle yet noticeable way. However, while my clothing might have marked me as a foreigner, their tattered state put me in the same economic class as the people around me, so no one gave me a second glance.

As I looked around, I wandered aimlessly through the streets. I had teleported here without any real idea of what I was going to do. I had come up with the crazy idea of becoming a guard for the Brilliant Sun Empire’s ruling family, but was that even possible? And if it was, how was I supposed to make it happen?

These questions weighed on me, but as I walked through the streets of Brilliant Sun City, I allowed them to fade to the back of my mind. I would need to figure out answers to these questions eventually, but they could wait. For the moment, I just wanted to relax for a bit and take in the city around me.

I was taking things slow and ambling along at a reasonable pace, but even still, it wasn’t long before my legs began to fail me. Whenever I was reborn, I was always sent back into the same, wretched body that had been ravaged by years of malnourishment. Now, however, I could do something about that.

I reached into my storage space, pulled out a Nutrition Pill, and looked at it.

If a mortal swallowed this pill, it would treat all the lingering symptoms of malnutrition and return their body to peak fitness. They would still need to work out to strengthen their muscles, but they would be no different from a normal, healthy individual who was just a bit lazy.

If a cultivator swallowed this pill, however, its effects would be negligible. Their qi would counteract and expel the weak medicinal energy before it could have any effect. If a cultivator wanted to cure their malnutrition, they would need a higher-Rank pill that contained more potent energy.

After one final glance, I tossed the pill into my mouth and swallowed it.

In qi vision, I could see the medicinal energy coursing through my body and repairing my damaged bones and muscles, but the pill had a slight numbing effect that kept me from feeling this. The only changes I was able to notice were that my tired muscles regained their strength and that the faint rumbling of my stomach ceased.

So, I continued my walk, and as I walked, I pondered the question of mortality.

What was a mortal? As far as Rank 0 pills were concerned, mortals were people without qi. Under this definition, I barely qualified. I had gone through the Su Clan’s Awakening Ceremony, and the qi of one of their Grandmasters was still in my body. However, as this qi wasn’t ‘mine,’ I could still use Rank 0 pills.

When people talked about ‘mortals,’ however, this wasn’t the definition they used. For most people, ‘mortal’ seemed to mean anyone weaker than oneself. For low-level Disciples, a Martial Disciple 1 was a mortal. For high-level Disciples, anyone up to Martial Disciple 3 or 4 might be a mortal. For Masters and Grandmasters, all Disciples were seen as mortals. For Rulers, Warriors were mortals.

As I walked, I examined the people around me more closely. Most had never even had their qi awakened. What were they? Was it correct to call them Martial Disciples, or were they something… less? Even when I had died without cultivating, the System had still called me a Martial Disciple 1, but what would it have said if my qi hadn’t awakened, and I hadn’t been blessed? Would it just say… ‘mortal?’

The nature of mortality filled my thoughts, and I didn’t pay attention to where I was going. I just kept walking.

As the day faded to night, the lingering effects of the Nutrition Pill faded, and my stomach let out a powerful growl. I needed to find a place to sleep. I needed to find a meal. Where could I go?

After a bit more wandering, I found a street full of vendors hawking various foods to the passersby. There were people selling steamed buns, people selling skewers of unidentified meat, and a lot of people selling stir-fried vegetables.

I approached an old man who was standing behind a circular, waist-high tandoor oven and watched as he took out a piece of dough, made a pocket in it with his thumbs, placed some meat inside the pocket, sealed it up, wet his hands, and stretched the dough ball into a flatbread. Once it was about the length of his forearm, he picked it up and slapped it against the inside wall of the oven.

After attaching several more, he then returned to the first one, which had already turned into a crispy golden flatbread. He scraped off the side of the oven with a set of elongated tongs, then placed it in a basket in front of him.

I walked up to him. “What are you selling?”

He gave me a wide, gap-toothed smile. “New to the city? The name’s on the sign. It’s guokui!”

“How much?”

He used a thumb to point at the price sheet on the wall behind him. “What kind d’ya want? Pork is five copper, lamb is eight, beef is ten.”

I was amazed at the low prices. For the past several centuries, everything I’d bought had been valued in gold. Looking into my storage space, I realized it didn’t contain even a single copper coin. I had never needed them before.

NovelBin is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

My face flushed with a tinge of embarrassment as I pulled out a silver coin and placed it on his counter. “Beef.”

The old man looked at the coin, then at me. He hesitated before sliding the coin back to me. “It’s a bit early in the night for me to be breaking a silver. Why dontcha have this one on the house?”

Was it early, or was he just trying to be kind? “Please… take it.”

He breathed out a heavy sigh but slid the coin into his money box and pulled out nine large coins worth 10 copper each.

“Do you want hot oil on it?” He gestured to a small pot of red liquid sitting on his counter.

Unsure, I shook my head.

“Alright, then.” He used his tongs to pick up one of the crispy breads, folded it in half, and passed it to me. “Here you go. Enjoy.”

I was about to leave, but I didn’t know where to go. I looked back at the old man. “Do you know where I can find a place to stay? I’m… new here. I’m not sure where to go.”

“Hmm, looking for a place long-term, or just for the night?” he asked, as he started working on another batch of bread.

“Long-term.” If his recommendation didn’t work out, I would just leave.

“How much cha looking ta spend?”

“I… don’t know.” I didn’t have much money in my storage space. I needed to find a job. How much did jobs pay? I had no idea. “How… How much do people get paid around here?”

I couldn’t help but wince. I was a former Martial Lord and had served 9 years as the Lord of North Lake City, but I had no idea how to get a job or how much to expect to get paid.

Realization crossed the bread seller’s face, and he gave me a compassionate look.

“It’s the time of year for awakening ceremonies, isn’t it? You were awakened and decided to come to the city to make something of yourself?” He shook his head sadly. “Kid, life is tough here. It’s going to be a hard life. You might want to go back home.”

“I… can’t…” I didn’t know how to explain things.

The old man breathed out heavily. “Alright, look. I need ta work here another few hours. Help me out, and you can stay at my place for the night. In the morning, we can talk about your future. Deal?”

I looked at the man. I wasn’t sure if I should trust him, but he seemed to have a sad look in his eyes, not a malicious one, so I decided to accept. “Alright.”

The man gave me a long look that was full of remorse. “What’s your name?”

“Su Fang.”

“Fang, you can call me Old Pei. Head on over ta the well down the street and wash up a bit. I need ya ta help me knead some dough. It might not look it, but this place is about to get crowded, and we need ta be prepared.”

After another half hour, the sun finally set below the horizon. That’s when the people arrived. They descended upon the street vendors and ate everything in sight. Old Pei and I were constantly busy kneading, filling, stretching, and cooking guokui. We sold hundreds that night, but when I looked at what we had earned, I couldn’t help but feel depressed. All that work had amounted to only a few silver. Was this all a mortal could expect from such hard labor?

After the crowds dispersed, Old Pei guided me through the process of storing his oven and workbench. Then, he led me to his home.

The area where we had been selling food was simple. All the buildings were made from crude bricks, and no one had put up any decorations to try and beautify the place. At the same time, it was well maintained. All the buildings had been in good repair, showing that people who lived there had a modicum of wealth. They weren’t rich, but neither were they poor.

The location of the old man’s home was different. Instead of brick, all the buildings in this area were made from rough-hewn timber, and most of the buildings had missing or broken or rotten boards. It wasn’t that the people here didn’t want to maintain their homes, they just couldn’t afford it. They had neither the time nor the materials that it would have required.

It was getting late, and both of us were tired from several hours of hard work, so the old man led me straight to his house. It was a one-room affair made of solid wood. The only thing inside was a ragged sleeping mat.

He took the blankets from his mat and laid them on the floor. “You can sleep here for the night. Tomorrow… we’ll figure things out.”

I looked him in the eyes. This simple gesture nearly made me cry. “Thank you.”

“Get some sleep. Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day.”

Not wanting to keep him from his rest, I laid down on the pile of blankets, but sleep didn’t come easily. Memories of a past life played through my head and prevented me from drifting off, but the exhaustion of my body finally won out, and I faded into unconsciousness.

I woke up to Old Pei entering the house carrying two cups of a mysterious white liquid and a couple of sticks of fried dough.

He sat down and handed me one of each. “Doujiang and youtiao. Perfect for waking up after a long day.”

I looked at the warm cup of white liquid he gave me and took a sip. It was simple but had a nice tangy, savory taste.

As we ate, Old Pei discussed my future. “Last night, you saw what it takes to survive in this city. We worked hard for several hours, and we only earned 33 silver. Now, before I can go back to work today, I have ta go buy flour, meat, and wood ta keep the stand supplied tonight. After costs, we made a total of 1 silver 30 copper yesterday.”

He took out one small silver coin and three large copper coins. “The two of us working together for several hours only made a little over one silver, and that was on one of the busiest nights of the week. We gotta use that for food, housing, and everything else we need. Living in the city is a hard life. Are you sure you won’t go back home?”

“I… can’t.”

The old man nodded, and his face turned solemn. “In that case, ya need ta decide what you wanna do. Don’t spend your life like me. You still got a chance to be something more than a poor street vendor. What do you want to do? What are you good at?”

I had several answers that I could give. I was good enough with formations that I could become a noble in an outlying kingdom, and if I showed off my skills as an alchemist, even members of the royal family would take notice. However, neither of those was the path that I had chosen to walk. Those paths were still too painful.

“I… Do you know if it would be possible for me to get a job in the palace? Even if it's just as a regular guard?”

Old Pei squeezed his eyes shut, and I could feel that he had been expecting this response. “You wanna try and join the royals. To become a cultivator. Dontcha?”

“Yes…”

Old Pei dropped his head in defeat. “All young men dream of cultivatin’ and becomin’ warriors of legend. Listena me. It’s not going to happen. Even if you enter the palace, they’ll just grind you up and spit you out. Becoming a cultivator means resigning yourself to a life of torture that will be far shorter than you can possibly imagine. Please, don’t.”

I leaned back against the wall of the house and stared at its broken roof.

“I have to. There’s something… someone I want to meet. I have to cultivate to live long enough to meet him. I don’t want to be a soldier. I don’t want to be a legend. I just want to live.” I looked at the Old Pei. “If you know a way to make that happen, to cultivate and live, please, tell me. I don’t want to die.”

The life had left the old man’s eyes. “The only ways to survive are to have power beyond anyone else or to be beneath everyone’s notice. After the awakenin’ ceremonies are all complete, the palace’ll begin its yearly recruitment. If you want to cultivate and live, become a servant. Do your best ta stay below everyone’s notice. That’s the only way.”

After finishing his piece, the old man stood up and walked out the door. As he did, I checked him in qi vision. He was a basic mortal without even a drop of qi. I could only wonder what had happened to him in the past. Had a brother, son, or lover become a cultivator? What had happened to them? I didn’t know, and I couldn’t ask.

In any case, I saw little real difference between becoming a servant and becoming a guard, so I would accept Old Pei’s advice.