Chapter Twelve: The Twelfth Pig

The murmurs from the foot of the mountain reached Li Zhenzhen’s ears, but she paid them no mind.

The main system had not issued any tasks for the past two days, and neither the Crane Guard nor the Ghost-faced Death Servants had come looking for her.

Li Zhenzhen felt as if she had been working continuously for half a month and was finally granted a day off.

The system was quite displeased with Li Zhenzhen’s unilateral decision to sever ties with the Weng family.

It felt this ruined her character setup.

“The fisher girl is supposed to be a filial daughter. If anyone finds out you’re an outsider, both of us will be in big trouble.”

Seeing her indifferent expression, the system’s tone grew sterner: “There are internal rules. If you act on your own again, you’ll join me in jumping off the Nanhe City Yangtze River Bridge.”

At that moment, a knock came from outside the door.

This small wooden hut was not far from the village, but with her fierce reputation, who would come looking for her?

Could it be the cultivators searching for the male lead?

Li Zhenzhen’s heart quickened slightly, but she calmly picked up a butcher’s cleaver and asked, “Who’s there?”

Outside, a simple voice answered, “I’m Jiang Daqiao, selling kelp at the mountain foot.”

The system and Li Zhenzhen exchanged glances, speechless.

“This is how it is,” Jiang Daqiao said, shaking the snow off his clothes and rubbing his hands at the doorway.

“This house originally belonged to the third son of my late wife’s uncle. Now that he’s passed, and his brothers are all gone, the house belongs to my family. Yesterday, I heard some rumors about you, young lady, and realized someone was living here again, so I came to take a look.”

He smiled warmly. “Are you planning to stay long-term or just a short while?”

A bad feeling stirred in Li Zhenzhen’s chest. “What do you mean by long-term or short-term?”

Jiang Daqiao replied, “Long-term is one or two silver coins per year, short-term is two strings of cash for half a month.”

Li Zhenzhen and the system were stunned.

Wasn’t this supposed to be an ownerless house? She looked at the system.

The system, knowing this was its oversight, shut its eyes and played dead: “Don’t look, no money.”

Li Zhenzhen looked at the earnest and sincere Jiang Daqiao in front of her and felt a tightness in her throat. “Of course I won’t stay for free.”

Jiang Daqiao smiled.

“But before I pay, I need to see the property deed.”

Taking a deliberate tone, she continued smoothly, “Also the original owner’s household registration, the fingerprints of the person handing it over, when and why it was handed over, when and how the owner died, whether the house was confiscated, and if not, why not. There must be proof before we talk.”

Though Jiang Daqiao thought her demands were somewhat excessive, he understood and said he would go look for the documents before leaving.

Li Zhenzhen thought that asking for so many documents might buy her two or three days.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Daqiao returned within half an hour carrying a thick stack of papers.

“This pile is the house and land deeds, this pile contains the village elders’ documents. If there’s any problem, just let me know, I’ll handle it.”

What could Li Zhenzhen say?

“Blame me. If only I could conjure money.”

The system’s tone turned grave: “Ever since a system caused a financial collapse in a small world by mass-producing currency last year, all codes that can create money or precious metals have been disabled.”

Li Zhenzhen remained silent.

She still hadn’t used the two silver coins in her hand; she had planned to save them for emergencies, but now it seemed she couldn’t keep them.

Just as she was about to take out the silver coins, Jiang Daqiao said, “Doesn’t the young lady have a nine-year-old younger sister?”

Li Zhenzhen’s hand froze.

“How so?”

“Recently, the villagers say that you and your family aren’t on good terms. That younger sister doesn’t help with chores; she pushes all the work onto you.”

Jiang Daqiao looked at her with a kindly expression. “Actually, if you don’t want to marry, then it’s the same if your sister marries.”

Li Zhenzhen asked, “Is your son hoping to arrange a child marriage with my sister?”

“Not my son—me.”

Jiang Daqiao smiled shyly, his fifty-year-old face gentle: “Don’t laugh at me, miss. I did some small business a couple years ago, earned some money, and have no hobbies except liking younger women a bit.”

Li Zhenzhen was speechless.

“They’re not exactly respectable interests, but nowadays, who cares? You could chop off your own brother’s hand—I think you’re tough enough to understand me, so I’m being upfront.”

“It’s never good for a young lady to quarrel with her family, but Ge Liu is certainly not a suitable match. If you marry your sister to me, you can get some satisfaction and reconcile with your family. Why not?”

Li Zhenzhen asked, “What if she’s like me and refuses to marry?”

“That’s easy. Just bring your sister to my house. Once it’s done, it’s a done deal, and she won’t have a choice.”

Lowering his voice, Jiang Daqiao added, “If you truly hate your sister, I can help teach her a lesson so she won’t live past a year.”

Though the system also disliked the fisher girl’s sister, hearing such monstrous words infuriated it, cursing Jiang Daqiao as inhuman.

Unexpectedly, Li Zhenzhen stared at Jiang Daqiao and then smiled: “Alright.”

The system was baffled.

Li Zhenzhen said, “I can marry my sister to you, but one year’s rent must be paid with something else.”

Jiang Daqiao was delighted, quickly agreeing: “Anything is fine.”

Li Zhenzhen returned inside, then after a moment, brought out a sword and said to Jiang Daqiao, “How much silver do you think this can cover?”

The system exclaimed, “What!? No... wait!!”

The male lead’s infamous killing sword, “Dustbreaker,” lay silently in Li Zhenzhen’s hand.

This sword had slain countless evil ghosts and demons; the moment its scabbard was removed, an overwhelming killing intent surged forth, impossible to suppress.

Jiang Daqiao’s eyes immediately lit up.

Though he couldn’t recognize it as a divine weapon nor feel the bloodthirsty aura on the blade, he could tell it was valuable.

No wonder the girl who never left her home didn’t know this knife was priceless and casually used it to cover rent.

Jiang Daqiao sneered inwardly but showed no trace on his face.

This Weng Zhenzhen didn’t seem very clever. Once he got his hands on her sister, maybe he could also take an interest in the elder sister.

Since he had already offered his gathered vegetables to the “Cult Leader,” his luck had truly turned.

Two women sharing one husband—what a delight that would be.

The system screamed in Li Zhenzhen’s mind, desperately trying to stop her from recklessly selling the divine weapon.

Li Zhenzhen ignored it completely and handed the sword to Jiang Daqiao.

No sooner had she sent off the despicable pedophile and stepped inside,

she saw the usually unconscious Supreme Immortal Taiqing propped up on one hand on the wooden bed, his black hair cascading like silk, quietly watching her.

Li Zhenzhen was speechless.

...It’s fine, even if the male lead wants to draw his sword later, it won’t matter.

Li Zhenzhen thought optimistically, since his sword was gone.