Chapter 1: Going Down the Mountain
Su Jinli carried his bicycle and walked towards the city, panting heavily.
The chain hanging on the bicycle was swinging back and forth, hitting against the bicycle frame and making a crisp sound that had a sense of rhythm.
Sweat dripped from his forehead and flowed down his cheeks, trickling into his collar.
Due to the dampness caused by the sweat, his skin had undergone some changes, with a few golden scales appearing faintly.
Because of fatigue, he didn't notice it.
In fact, before going down the mountain, Grandpa Su had cast a divination for Su Jinli.
Grandpa Su was eating instant noodles at the time, with a fantasy novel in front of him. He took a moment to point the divination compass and glanced at Su Jinli before saying, "You're leaving the mountain here, with more bad luck than good."
"What? I'm a golden koi spirit. Why would that be the case?" He subconsciously felt that Grandpa was still worried about him going down the mountain, deliberately scaring him.
"Because you're an anomaly among the golden koi."
Su Jinli immediately shut his mouth.
He was different from other spirits, and could even be described as... weak. He had always known this.
He had a pure yin constitution.
All things in the world are divided into yin and yang.
Yin and yang harmony can create a unique aura, with males mostly belonging to yang and females to yin.
However, Su Jinli is the opposite.
Generally speaking, this doesn't have much of an impact, except that he can't use spells to their fullest potential and has a slightly lower aptitude than other spirits. [TN: Not really sure how to translate this accurately. Demon? Spirit? Immortal?]
As a result, even after being a spirit for so many years, he only knows the basics of spells.
Seeing Su Jinli feeling very frustrated, Grandpa Su hesitated for a moment before adding, "But don't worry, you are still a golden koi spirit after all. You are destined to meet noble people and be able to turn bad luck into good."
Su Jinli finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"But..." Grandpa Su suddenly spoke up again.
Su Jinli held his breath, waiting for Grandpa Su to continue.
"The noble person you will meet, you will need to explain to them yourself in order for them to become a noble person," Grandpa Su added.
Su Jinli didn't quite understand and furrowed his brow in thought for a moment. He wanted to ask again, but was interrupted by Grandpa Su. "That's all I have to say. Go now."
"Oh... then I'll go?" Su Jinli pushed open the door and prepared to leave. Before leaving, he turned back to look at Grandpa Su.
Over the years, the spirits who had transformed into human form had left one by one. After he left, only Grandpa Su and his young brother remained in the deep mountains. Su Jinli was still a little worried.
"I still have to remind you that you have a yin constitution. The more yang energy someone has, the more they will like to approach you, even attack you. You must be careful," Grandpa Su said, feeling reluctant to see his most beloved grandson go out and explore the world.
On a regular day, Su Jinli's poor constitution was always given special care by Grandpa Su, so naturally, their bond was the strongest. His earlier coldness was just a result of being stubborn.
"Grandpa, don't worry, I'm a boy!" Su Jinli patted his chest confidently and replied.
Generally, those with a strong yang energy are boys.
What can boys do to other boys? At most, just fight.
Su Jinli believed that although he wasn't good at fighting, he could resist a little. Most importantly, his constitution was stronger than that of a human, and he could run faster than an ordinary person.
If he couldn't win, he would just run away.
A hint of complexity flashed through Grandpa Su's eyes, and he hesitated for a while. In the end, he didn't say anything, hoping that he was overthinking things and that the mortal world wasn't that chaotic.
So he said to Su Jinli, "Then go."
Su Jinli was still excited about going out and exploring, and he didn't notice Grandpa Su's expression. He went to the yard and rode the only bike they had before heading down the mountain.
The bike chain broke on the way down the mountain.
In the years that Su Jinli had grown up, there weren't many decent things in the house. Grandpa Su would occasionally go down the mountain to bring back things from the city, and this bike was considered one of the more modern things in the house.
He couldn't bear to throw it away, so he carried the bike and continued walking, planning to get it fixed in the city.
Finally, he reached a place with paved roads. Su Jinli excitedly stepped on the road and placed the bike on the side of the road before jumping up and down a few times.
Just doing this made him extremely excited.
Suddenly, a car came speeding by, honking loudly, scaring him to quickly run to the side of the road and watch the car drive away.
On the road, Su Jinli sat on the bike again, placing the chain on the handlebar and using his feet to push the bike forward, which was easier than carrying it.
With his long legs, he could sit on the bike and easily touch the ground, and riding the bike didn't feel too difficult.
He went down the mountain in the morning, but now it was late at night, and there were few vehicles on the road. Even in areas with people living, he didn't see many people.
However, the thought of going down the mountain was still making him extremely excited, and he continued to look around with excitement.
The previous times he went down the mountain were during the day, and this was his first time seeing the place at night. He thought the city was amazing, with colorful lights in front of shops, flashing on and off.
Finally, he saw someone ahead and stopped the bike, walking quickly towards the person.
But after a few steps, he felt that something was wrong.
A woman in a red dress was sitting on the bridge, fixing her skirt while crying.
She has already crossed the railing, and judging from her posture, she probably wants to go into the water. Su Jinli stopped and watched for a while, couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Are all the girls in the city dressed so nicely for swimming?
"Um...have you warmed up? The water is still a bit cold, and if you go in like this, your legs might cramp," Su Jinli reminded her in a low voice.
After he said this, he successfully caught the woman's attention. She turned her head and looked at him with a somewhat fierce expression.
"I've never heard of warming up before committing suicide. Do I have to perform fancy death moves after entering the water?" she said.
He was stunned for a moment after hearing her response. He noticed that the woman's attitude was not good and realized that he might have disturbed her.
So he obediently nodded and said, "You go ahead then."
After he replied, the woman turned her head to look at him and stared at him for a long time.
He took a step back and raised his hand, gesturing for her to continue and indicating that he wouldn't disturb her.
Yura felt that she was so unlucky that she could choke on water. After driving for two hours to the wilderness to commit suicide, she still managed to encounter someone who was just there to watch the show.
She just couldn't figure it out. What was going on with this calm-looking young man in front of her? Did he think she wouldn't dare to commit suicide, or was he one of her haters? The media had been following her all the way, trying to ridicule her?
But at this point, she didn't care anymore.
She treated it as a farewell performance, with the people around her being the last audience member.
She raised her hand and straightened her skirt, took a deep breath, and looked up at the sky.
Even if she looked up, tears would still flow.
Now, perhaps this was her last time looking at the sky?
A quiet night, with no moon, no stars, and no wind.
She remembered again that she had once shone brightly. She had flowers, applause, and praise. In the end, she had fallen to such an end...
She put on the dress she had worn when she won the beauty pageant, and put on makeup before leaving, wanting to die beautifully.
How could the beauty pageant champion not be beautiful?
She remembered that a famous actress had committed suicide wearing the dress she had won an award in not long ago.
After her suicide, the actress's reputation suddenly improved, and the haters disappeared. Many people felt sorry for the actress and denounced her ex-boyfriend.
Can she do the same?
She looked down at the fast flowing river below the bridge, and her heart went cold again.
In a few days, how will her body be retrieved?
She finally made up her mind and was ready to take a leap.
"I'm sorry, can I ask you for directions before you kill yourself?"
The first thing Su Jinli did was to leave, but he remembered that he didn't know his way around, so he immediately took out a note with the address in my pocket and handed it to Yura, asking her to give him directions.
Yura's swayed and almost failed to control her posture and fell down.
When she saw the note from Su Jinli, Yura felt that she had been tricked.
She slapped Su Jinli's hand away, Su Jinli subconsciously withdrew his hand, but the note in his hand was blown away by the wind.
Su Jinli was stunned.
He was so tired when he was going down the mountain, but there wasn't even a gust of wind. But in this instant, a gust of wind blew away the paper strip.
The paper floated around and fell into the water.
The first time he told people he was a koi, no one would believe him, his luck was really bad.
Su Jinli stared at the water in hesitation, unsure whether to go down and retrieve the paper. Meanwhile, Yura had already climbed back up, pulling at her own skirt as she approached him with great gusto. "You did it on purpose, didn't you? Huh? You just want to film these videos of me, don't you? Well, come on then! With your mediocre looks, why aren't you doing anything useful?!"
As she spoke, she poked Su Jinli's shoulder with her hand, causing him to stumble and retreat in pain.
"I really just wanted to ask for directions..." Su Jinli felt extremely wronged, trying to explain as he anxiously searched for the piece of paper.
Yura then forcefully reached out and grabbed Su Jinli's chin, demanding, "You can't possibly not know who I am, are you pretending to be calm or something?"
"I don't...I have to go find the address..." Su Jinli said, turning around and attempting to bypass the bridge to search for the missing paper on the shore.
He was too excited when he descended the mountain, and with the added darkness, he hadn't even glanced at the contents of the paper before losing it. This...this...
Yura was already very upset. Su Jinli interrupted her suicide attempt, so she naturally wouldn't let him go.
She held up her skirt and followed him, scolding him from behind, "Hey, you kid, don't run! Tell me clearly, which media are you from? I also have to consider your influence. Don't tell me that even my suicide can't make headlines."
They had only walked a few steps, one after the other, when a car came speeding towards them and collided with the railing of the bridge.
Coincidentally, it was the same place where they were just standing.
Both of them stopped at the same time and looked in shock at the scene.
The stone railing that Yura had just holding onto had been smashed into by the car and had fallen into the river.
If Yura was still there, "looking up at a 45-degree angle, bright and melancholic," there's no way to tell if she would have been killed by the collision or drowned in the river.
Yura pointed to the car in fright and turned to Su Jinli, asking, "Such a big gesture? A Bentley... Is my headline really worth that much?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Su Jinli replied, feeling extremely wronged. He suddenly realized that the mortal world was truly fascinating, and he was getting a little overwhelmed.
Yura stared at Su Jinli, as if confirming something. Then she sniffed and felt that something was wrong. "Why is there such a strong smell of gasoline?"
After speaking, Yura immediately exclaimed, "Oh, right, let's save people! Hurry!"
Although Su Jinli didn't understand what was happening, he understood Yura's meaning and immediately followed to investigate the situation.
As they approached the car, Yura went to check the driver's seat first. With Su Jinli's help, she smashed the car window with gravel. This was still accomplished with a little bit of magical assistance from Su Jinli.
Yura took a glance inside the car window and was immediately frightened. "Unmanned driving?"
Glancing behind her, she cursed, "What the hell is going on?!"
Late at night, an unmanned Bentley was driving aimlessly towards the bridge and crashed into another car.
In the back seat of the car was a thin and frail old man who seemed to have passed out. Yura even suspected that he was already a corpse.
"What should we do?" Su Jinli also noticed the old man.
"Is he dead?" Yula trembled in fear.
"He's not dead, he still has vitality in him."
Yula was so scared that she didn't notice the hidden meaning in his words. She just breathed a sigh of relief, unlocked the car's safety lock, and opened the door.
Su Jinli quickly pulled the old man out and carried him on his back.
"What do we do next?" Su Jinli asked as he carried the old man.
Yura was taken aback by the question and was at a loss for what to do. After a moment, she remembered, "My car is in the small grove behind us. Let's drive to the hospital and report this incident to the police."
Su Jinli nodded and followed Yura to the grove, where they got into Yura's car.
Yula rummaged through the car for a while, trying to find her phone, but she panicked and couldn't find it.
Just then, they heard a loud explosion, causing Yula to nearly hit her head in fright.
Looking out the car window, they saw that the small bridge had exploded, and Yula's face turned pale.
Su Jinli, sitting in the back seat, also leaned forward to look and exclaimed, "It exploded?"
"Yeah," Yula replied, her voice trembling.
"Looks pretty impressive," Su Jinli said.
"Are you stupid?!" Yula was so frustrated by Su Jinli's sighs that she shouted, "I'm poor and can't afford a Bentley. I don't know how this unmanned driving thing works and how it's implemented, but I know at least that this car shouldn't crash into things. With this old man lying unconscious in the back seat, it's clearly a murder case!"
"Uh..." Su Jinli found it strange that he understood every word she said, but when they were put together, he didn't understand it at all.
First of all...what's a Bentley?
"Someone who drives a Bentley! They must have money, and if we get involved in this matter, we might get caught up in some conspiracy," Yura said, almost wanting to throw the old man out.
Encountering such a situation is really eerie for a normal person.
"You're not even afraid of death, why should you be afraid of these things?" Su Jinli asked unconsciously, looking at Yula with sincere eyes.
"Yeah, I'm not afraid to die..." Yulah said, finally deciding, "Just do a good thing before dying, go, go to the hospital."
Yula drove the car to the hospital and began to hesitate again.
She is a star, and recently there has been a lot of negative news on the Internet, she is still dressed to the nines today. As soon as she enters the hospital, she will certainly attract a crowd.
She didn't want to look too funny.
You can kill yourself like this, but you can't make a fool of yourself like this.
"Take him in," Yura said to Jingli.
Su Jingli carried the old man, nodded, and was ready to get out of the car. He asked Yura when he got out: "If they want me to leave my name, do you think I should stay?"
"Not letting you pay for medical expenses is already good enough," Yura said.
"I have money, my grandfather gave me five hundred when I left home."
"Okay, then you go ahead, little rich kid." Yula waved goodbye to Su Jinli and he got out of the car.
Yura sat in the car and finally found her phone. She called the emergency services and explained in detail what had happened and where the accident occurred before hanging up.
She found a cigarette case, took out a cigarette, lit it and took a puff, when someone knocked on the car window.
She saw Su Jinli's nervous little face and the medical staff following behind him. Suddenly, she felt the situation was interesting, so she opened the car window and asked, "What's going on?"
"They asked me to pay a thousand for medical expenses, but I don't have enough money."
"If you pay for medical expenses, what about your own living expenses?"
Su Jinli shook his head and replied, "I don't know."
"What are you going to do later?"
"I'm looking for my brother, but I lost the address and I don't know where to go..."
She looked at him and suddenly laughed.
She hasn't laughed much lately, but now she's being amused by a young man.
She doesn't even know what makes her laugh, she just feels like laughing and her eyes were getting a bit teary, as if she's about to cry.
"I don't have cash, but I have a card. Take this, the password is 975310." Yula took out a card from her wallet and handed it to Su Jinli.
Su Jinli immediately nodded and said to Yura, "You're a good person, you'll have good luck."
Hearing his words, Yula smiled self-deprecatingly.
What good luck does she have. She's a model of this pathetic world, otherwise, she wouldn't have tried to kill herself.
However, she still smiled through tears and said, "Thank you for your kind words."
Su Jinli took the card and then reached out to pat Yura's head.
Yura was taken aback by his touch and before she could react, Su Jinli walked into the hospital with the card.
--
Su Jinli recounted what happened three times in the hospital.
The first time was with the medical staff, the second time was with the hospital director, and the third time was with the police.
They seemed to want Su Jinli to stay and keep them updated, especially since he said he didn't even have a phone. If he left, it would be difficult to contact him again.
Su Jinli didn't know why they wanted him to stay, so he ended up sitting alone in the hospital corridor, pitifully staring at the passing medical staff, patients, and family members, until dawn.
His hearing is better than that of a normal person, so he could hear the whispers of those around him. He was trying to eavesdrop on when he would leave, so he heard the voices of a few young nurses.
"That boy is really handsome, is he a celebrity?"
"He looks a bit like a celebrity, who was it again? The name is on the tip of my tongue, but I can't remember."
"Is he a hero?"
"Nowadays, there aren't many good people left, he's probably one of the culprits."
Su Jinli looked at the nurses and they immediately lowered their heads and pretended to be busy.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the hospital and Su Jinli looked over to see Yura walking in with a large shawl, heading straight towards the police officers.
She told the police that she was one of the witnesses and the one who reported the incident, and that they could contact her if they had any questions.
The police naturally believed Yura, as she was a public figure.
The police were stunned for a moment, but let Yura register and allowed her to take Su Jinli and leave.
So Jinli immediately followed Yura cheerfully, and asked, "You haven't gone back yet?"
"Go back, where? Go back and commit suicide? "asked Yura.
"Will you go back? Take me there, I'll have to go back to look for the note. "
"Your note has been soaked a long time ago, okay?" Yura rolled her eyes. This guy really intends to let her go back to kill herself?
"Then... Then, I don't know where to go." Su Jinli immediately became discouraged.
"Where does your brother live? I'll take you there."
"I just glanced at it, I don't remember the exact address."
"Why don't you call your grandfather?"
"We don't have signal in the mountains, and there's no phone at home."
Yura also felt overwhelmed, but after thinking about it, she decided to take in Su Jinli for the night.
On the drive back, Yura felt like she was going crazy, because her heart softened just from being patted on the head, and had done something so ridiculous.
She could even imagine tomorrow's news, all about her appearing at the hospital in the middle of the night in a full costume, and bringing a young boy home.
She could even come up with headlines like "Abandoned woman raises fresh meat."
However, things didn't turn out the way she expected.
Her actions tonight didn't make the news, and all of her previous negative news disappeared overnight...
--
Notes: Hi, this is the second novel I'm translating. I'll do updates three times a week. For now, please enjoy the first two chapters of this novel. :)
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