["A daily dose of comedy, with elements of romance and character development. If it's not your cup of tea, please proceed with caution..."]
"Yun'er, wait here. Your master will go buy some tangerines for you all."
Looking up, he saw a Daoist priest with an immortal demeanor, dressed in a long robe of yellow and white, adorned with an eight trigrams formation.
Behind him was a long sword wrapped in coarse cloth, named Qingming.
The old man had white hair and a long beard, a tall figure, though slightly stooped. After all, even the once invincible sect leader of Yun Kui Mountain had to face old age.
Yun Ming looked at his master's retreating figure and suddenly recalled an essay by Zhu Ziqing from his previous life: buy some tangerines?
Good heavens, he was taking advantage of him, wasn't he?
But his master had picked him up and raised him since he was small. He had been an orphan in his previous life, so he cherished this fate bestowed by heaven.
He remembered when the old Stinky Old Man (stinky old man) said he had an astonishing physique and was definitely good material for martial arts. He had tricked him back to Yun Kui Mountain with two char siu bao.
"Does it include food and lodging?" Little Yun Ming only cared about this one thing at the time.
"It does, it does," Xuan Mingzi enthusiastically agreed.
But the food... meat was a rare sight, perhaps once every ten days or half a month. It was mostly vegetable leaves mixed with rice porridge. The only thing worth mentioning was that breakfast always came with a bottle of milk and an egg.
To supplement the children's nutrition.
Yun Kui Mountain was a big family; his master had taken in many children like him.
The income relied on the efforts of the several masters. It was understandable that they were so poor they couldn't make ends meet, and Yun Ming held no grudges.
However, perhaps it was the benefit of being a transmigrator.
Yun Ming possessed extraordinary talent, becoming the second Senior Brother of Yun Kui Mountain in just three to five years, and also the successor to the next sect leader.
His future seemed bright.
But as a transmigrator, he knew that in a few years, Yun Kui Mountain would face a calamity that would lead to its destruction, and this disaster was unresolvable.
It was when the disciples of Yun Kui Mountain, along with their masters, descended the mountain to save the world, and few survived.
Yun Ming sighed deeply, looking towards the vast sky. Snowflakes, like goose feathers, drifted down softly, landing on the corner of his eye, turning into a cool sensation, slowly falling.
"Sister, I want to eat char siu bao!"
A rather childish voice came from beside him. Yun Ming subconsciously turned his head. It was two ragged, dirty beggar children.
Looking closely, they were two girls, both with white hair that suited the snowy weather. They looked about eight or nine years old, but one had golden eyes and the other had crimson eyes.
The girl with crimson eyes had a tear mole at the corner of her eye. If her face were cleaned, she would probably look quite cute, but she was a bit too thin.
She was exactly like himself when his master had found him.
He couldn't help but have an idea. Although Yun Kui Mountain was already so poor that they couldn't make ends meet, when there are many lice, one doesn't fear being bitten. Raising two more little ones wouldn't matter.
But these beggar children were the most wary. How should he trick them... to bring them back to the mountain sect?
Char siu bao... He turned to look at the steaming bun shop not far away. The owner and the assistant were busy.
Although it was snowing, Chenghui Flat was still lively, after all, the New Year was approaching. However, people here liked to call the New Year 'Tuojin Day'.
Only in places with sect heritage like Yun Kui Mountain did they retain the ancient custom of celebrating the New Year.
"Okay, Sister will go buy them."
The crimson-eyed girl, carrying her younger sister on her back, turned back with a bright smile, quickly ran out of the alley, and headed towards the bun shop, peeking around.
Yun Ming quietly followed, but his heart was secretly amazed. This girl's strength was considerable. Could it be that he was really going to encounter another martial arts prodigy?
But... these two girls didn't look like they had money.
The crimson-eyed girl pondered for a moment, then told her sister to wait by the bun shop. Afterward, Yun Ming witnessed this cunning girl's talent.
Transactions were always cash on delivery, but this girl wanted to dine and dash, grabbing the food and running. The shop assistant naturally wouldn't allow it and immediately chased after her.
Her pitiful sister, huddled in a ball, was still waiting fearfully, drawing little birds on the ground with her finger, perhaps regretting that she shouldn't have said more to her sister just now.
But she didn't have to wait long before her sister ran back, her speed no less than an adult's. The younger sister didn't react.
The assistant hurriedly grabbed the younger sister. The little girl was very light; he lifted her up with one hand, and she wriggled her body in panic.
Like a startled puppy that had been caught.
Yun Ming was about to step forward to pay for the two sisters and end this absurd situation, but the crimson-eyed girl jumped high in place, kicking the assistant, who stumbled.
She helped her fallen sister up and fled in a hurry.
But could they really get away?
In the depths of the alley, around a corner.
The older sister and the shop assistant were tugging at a small patched cloth bag, which probably contained all of the two little ones' belongings.
The younger sister clung tightly to her older sister's waist, fighting the enemy together.
"It's only right to pay for food!"
The assistant was also helpless; he couldn't actually hit these two little children. For a moment, it turned into a tug-of-war.
The shop assistant was furious, while the two sisters used all their might, gritting their teeth.
It was somehow comical.
Yun Ming walked over, his footsteps silent.
He lightly patted the assistant's shoulder, also placing the price of the buns there. The assistant saw the Daoist robe and instantly understood that this was a master from Yun Kui Mountain.
He looked up again and exclaimed, "Oh, isn't this Young Master Yun Ming? My daughter fell into the Void last time, and he was the one who saved her."
He said no more, gave the two children a helpless look, and then bowed slightly to Yun Ming before leaving.
"Tha-thank you..."
"You're welcome. Are you orphans?"
"Mm..."
The girl spoke little, still shielding her younger sister with her hand. Her nose was red from the cold, and there were still some tears on the corners of her eyes.
She was very wary.
This was understandable; otherwise, two young girls, in such a world, trying to survive would be difficult... The days before Yun Ming went up the mountain were just as hard for him as for them.
But he certainly got beaten a lot. Perhaps the assistant found it hard to lay hands on the two girls, but for a stinky boy like him, it was no big deal.
This was blatant gender discrimination!
A smile played on his lips, his dark eyes gentle. He slowly squatted down. The young man, dressed in a Daoist robe, exuded an upright aura that easily made people feel favorably towards him.
"Don't steal buns from that shop. The proprietress is super fierce, and the assistant can't just turn a blind eye... I even got caught and beaten once when I was little."
"I-I know... You used to also..."
The girl suddenly realized something, and her crimson eyes lit up. She wanted to live well with her sister.
This might be an opportunity.
"Brother, so how did you become... like this now? I can work too, as long as I get food!"
"Brother?... I still prefer people to call me Senior Brother."
The smile in Yun Ming's eyes deepened a bit. He liked smart children and hoped this little girl would understand his meaning.
The next moment, the girl had already put down her bundle and grabbed his robe corner with her somewhat dirty hands.
She looked pitiful and endearing.
"Senior... Senior Brother?"
"You are quite clever... Give me one of your buns; consider it an initiation fee."
The girl instantly felt like she had been tricked, but then she remembered that Senior Brother seemed to have paid for the buns earlier.
So, it was fine.
"Here, Senior Brother, eat~"
With her younger sister's reluctant and unwilling gaze, she pulled out a char siu bao and personally fed it to Yun Ming, which made Yun Ming feel a little embarrassed.
"Mm, from now on, you are my Junior Sister. What's your name?"
"Yi Jiang."
"And you?"
Yi Jiang looked encouragingly at her younger sister, but she seemed a little unhappy, clutching her older sister's hand and not speaking.
She was jealous.
Yi Jiang knew her younger sister's temperament and didn't say much, just turned her head, smiling brightly.
"Senior Brother, my younger sister is called Yi Xuan. She's a bit shy."
"Yi Jiang, Yi Xuan... Good names, good names!"
Wait, Yi Xuan!?
The Yi Xuan who was the thirteenth sect leader of Yun Kui Mountain!?