On the Outer Peak of Qingling Mountain stood a dilapidated little courtyard.
At night, the cramped and shabby room was lit only by a thin candle.
A young woman with a lame leg sat at the table, her face propped in her hands as she stared blankly at the three measly spirit stones left on the table.
The candlelight flickered dimly.
Suddenly, the door creaked open from the outside, letting in a gust of wind that made the flame tremble violently.
Wen Shuangbai turned her head to look.
A petite twelve-year-old girl wobbled in, struggling to carry a stack of ledgers in her arms.
Wen Shuangbai’s eyes widened. "Holy crap," she muttered, stunned at the sight of the thick books. No way!
There were this many?!
The little girl tiptoed and placed the ledgers on the unsteady table, blinking her big eyes. "Second Senior Sister, I brought all the account books you asked for!"
Wen Shuangbai’s voice was strained. "Are you sure these are all of them?"
Wen Xin nodded solemnly.
Children from poor households matured early. The girl sighed pitifully. "Yes. Master has owed a lot over the years."
Wen Shuangbai: "..."
After a dazed moment, Wen Shuangbai flipped open the ledger and skimmed through it quickly.
Half an incense stick later, she dropped the book with a face as pale as wilted greens. She instructed Wen Xin, "Junior Sister, we’re done with these ledgers. When Wen Feng gets back, just throw them at him. From now on, we’re striking out on our own—we’ll only keep track of our accounts."
The little junior sister blinked in confusion. "But Senior Sister, can we really just ignore Master? Wouldn’t that be ungrateful?"
Wen Shuangbai scoffed three times. "What gratitude? Has Wen Feng ever cared whether we lived or died?"
Wen Xin thought seriously, then shook her head. "No."
Ever since she joined the sect, her master had only done three things—drink, gamble, and pick fights.
Her master had three disciples, and the second senior sister was his biological daughter.
Yet he had never lifted a finger for any of them. She and the second senior sister had survived solely because of the eldest senior brother.
In the past, the second senior sister had only cared about playing with the other disciples, ignoring her and the eldest senior brother.
But ever since she woke up from her injury half a month ago, her personality had changed.
Wen Xin liked this new version of her second senior sister.
Wen Shuangbai patted the little girl’s head and explained patiently, "So, we don’t owe him anything either. Besides, Wen Feng isn’t dead yet. And even if he dies—well, that’s none of our business."
Wen Xin’s eyes widened in shock at her senior sister’s words. She pondered for a moment but couldn’t make sense of it, so she simply gave up and said, "Second Senior Sister, I have things to do, so I’ll take my leave now."
"Go ahead."
Wen Shuangbai watched her junior sister leave, then sighed mournfully as she took in the rundown house and the three spirit stones. A wave of sorrow washed over her.
Life was hard.
Not only was she broke, but she was also in debt—and had a scumbag father to boot.
The story began half a month ago.
Half a month ago, Wen Shuangbai had been killed by a falling object. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself transmigrated.
At the time, the original owner of this body had accidentally fallen off a cliff and suffered severe injuries.
The original owner hadn’t survived, and the soul inside had been replaced by hers.
Upon waking, Wen Shuangbai had also inherited the original owner’s memories. After comparing them, she realized she had transmigrated into the novel The Little Lucky Koi’s Harem, becoming the villainess who shared her name.
In the book, this villainess was a tool-refining cultivator, a love-struck fool with a vicious personality and a penchant for cutting corners.
Her mother had been a healing cultivator, but she had died during childbirth.
Her father, a elder of the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion, had drowned his sorrows in alcohol ever since, neglecting his duties.
While the original owner was still in her mother’s womb, her mother had arranged a childhood engagement for her.
According to the novel, this fiancé had a strikingly beautiful face, with a teardrop mole at the corner of his eye that could ensnare hearts.
Naturally, the villainess had fallen for him.
Unfortunately, the young man—who was the novel’s devoted second male lead—didn’t love the original owner. Instead, he was infatuated with the female lead.
The original owner, consumed by jealousy, had spiraled into madness, leading to a long, torturous, and utterly exhausting one-sided love story.
Anyway, that was the gist of it.
After accepting her transmigration, Wen Shuangbai’s first order of business was to assess the original owner’s financial situation.
And today, she had finally figured it all out.
She refused to take responsibility for Wen Feng’s massive debts.
But even excluding those, the original owner had borrowed a considerable sum herself.
The original owner had loved mingling with the young masters and misses of prominent cultivation families.
That circle was all about extravagance, and the original owner had often played the big spender, treating others to meals and splurging endlessly.
Add in the costs of storage pouches and cultivation resources…
Long story short, all of that money had been borrowed—totaling around 100,000 spirit stones, to be repaid within half a year.
"..."
Wen Shuangbai’s heart turned to ice. She carefully tucked the three spirit stones into her pocket, blew out the candle, and limped back to bed.
Laughable. The only thing she had in abundance these days was sleep.
At the break of dawn, her junior sister brought breakfast from the sect’s dining hall.
The steamed buns were piping hot, with thin skins and generous fillings.
The two sisters sat side by side on the bed, each nibbling on a bun.
Between bites, Wen Shuangbai sighed.
Wen Feng’s luck was too good.
Aside from his own daughter, even the two disciples he had casually taken in were this obedient and sensible.
The eldest senior brother had shouldered the burden of supporting the family since childhood. In the half-month since Wen Shuangbai had transmigrated, she hadn’t even met him yet.
According to Wen Xin, the eldest senior brother was constantly busy—taking on missions to earn spirit stones.
After all, he had to pay for Wen Shuangbai’s medical bills and cover the living expenses of both junior sisters.
Qingling Mountain, one of the seven major sects on the Xuantian Continent, provided monthly allowances to its elders—except Wen Feng.
Over the years, Wen Feng had caused endless trouble, and the sect had cleaned up after him more times than anyone could count.
If they tallied it up, Wen Feng actually owed the sect a fortune. Why would they give him an allowance?
The sect had long grown sick of him. Five years ago, they had banished him to the Outer Peak—out of sight, out of mind.
The only ones who suffered were the eldest senior brother and Wen Xin.
Yet, in the novel, Wen Feng’s ending had been happy.
Meanwhile, Wen Shuangbai and her two martial siblings had met tragic fates.
What a joke!
Wen Xin noticed her senior sister’s dark expression and asked worriedly, "Second Senior Sister, what’s wrong? Does your wound hurt again?"
"No, it’s fine." Wen Shuangbai snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at her leg.
Half a month ago, the original owner had fallen off a cliff and injured her leg.
For a cultivator, superficial wounds weren’t a big deal. The real problem had been the Bone-Erosion Grass growing at the bottom of the cliff—its toxins had seeped into the wound, killing the original owner.
Now, most of the poison had been purged. One more round of medicine, and her leg would heal completely.
After breakfast, Wen Shuangbai grabbed her cane and hobbled toward the medical hall for a dressing change, careful not to disturb her junior sister, who was cultivating inside.
But halfway there, a young man in pink robes suddenly fell into step beside her.
Wen Shuangbai turned to look at him. Their eyes met.
The pink-clad man flashed her a bright grin, casually offering his arm for support as he launched into chatter. "Junior Sister Wen, big news!"
Wen Shuangbai: "?"
Who are you?
"Half a month ago, didn’t Senior Brother Xie go on a training trip with Junior Sister Yu?"
Ah, right.
The original owner had chased after them—
and that was how she had ended up falling off the cliff.
"They’ve been away on their training mission without any news, and it wasn’t until a few days ago that I finally heard—Senior Brother Xie was severely injured protecting Junior Sister Yu. He took a bad hit to the head and fell unconscious."
"Apparently, Junior Sister Yu has been by his side day and night, caring for him tenderly. Senior Brother Xie woke up three days ago and returned to the sect yesterday afternoon to recuperate."
Wen Shuangbai was momentarily stunned by this barrage of information.
After a brief pause, she quietly searched her memories for the identity of the man in pink robes.
Lu Jiayao—a sound cultivator, the informant hired by the original owner of this body.
Every time he came to report on her fiancé’s activities, the original owner had to pay him a thousand spirit stones!
Wen Shuangbai: "!!!"
Holy crap, this is daylight robbery!
Her body stiffened, her face instantly paling.
Without another word, she shoved Lu Jiayao’s supporting hand away, determined to hobble along on her own despite her injured leg.
"Junior Sister Wen?" Lu Jiayao, caught off guard by the push, was baffled. Wasn’t it Xie Ziyin who was entangled with another woman despite being engaged? Why take it out on him?
But money talks.
Wen Shuangbai was his biggest client—she’d already paid him ten times.
Persistent, Lu Jiayao reached out again to steady her, coaxing gently, "Don’t be upset yet, Junior Sister. I haven’t finished. After Senior Brother Xie woke up, the two of them talked about something, but somehow ended up in a huge—"
"Senior Brother Lu!" Wen Shuangbai cut him off loudly, desperate to stop his words.
After all, every syllable he uttered might cost her money.
Lu Jiayao blinked, startled. "Huh?"
"Senior Brother Lu," Wen Shuangbai pointed at her injured leg. "Do you know how I got this?"
Lu Jiayao naturally knew and replied smugly, "You fell off a cliff chasing Senior Brother Xie."
"Exactly. I almost died." Her voice was eerily calm. "During my recovery, I’ve had time to think. Nothing is more important than life and money. I’ve let go of the person I needed to let go of, and from now on, I don’t want to hear another word about Xie Ziyin."
Lu Jiayao: "You’re absolutely right, but—well, I—"
Wen Shuangbai interrupted again. "Senior Brother Lu, you know my situation. My home is practically bare, and I can barely afford meals. To be honest, I’m drowning in debt. So… can you take back what you just told me? I’ll pretend I never heard it."
What a joke.
Her cheap fiancé was the novel’s obsessive second male lead, willing to walk through fire for the female protagonist—and in the end, he’d kill Wen Shuangbai to prove his love.
Why would she spend another cent on him?
She wouldn’t even waste ghost money on him—it’d be bad luck.
Lu Jiayao: "…………"
Seriously? Can spoken words just be taken back?
The two stood by the roadside, staring at each other in a long, silent standoff.
Finally, Lu Jiayao reluctantly released her arm. "Consider this update a freebie."
Buy ten, get one free—it wasn’t a total loss.
Wen Shuangbai smiled in relief, balancing on one leg to clasp her hands in gratitude. "Many thanks, Brother Lu."
"Don’t mention it, Junior Sister." Lu Jiayao waved dismissively, then suddenly remembered something and helpfully steadied her again. "Come on, I’ll take you to the medical hall."
Wen Shuangbai: "?"
"Where was I?" Lu Jiayao pondered, then brightened. "Ah, right! After Senior Brother Xie woke up, for some reason, he and Junior Sister Yu had a huge falling-out."
Wen Shuangbai: "…"
She warned him sternly, "I’m not paying."
"I know. Let me finish." He’d be restless otherwise. "Also, Senior Brother Xie is on duty at the medical hall today. If you go for a dressing change, he’ll definitely be the one treating you."
Wen Shuangbai: "?"
