The first snow of the tenth year of Tianyuan arrived.
Later than usual.
Snow poured down from the sky while the cold wind cut like knives.
Very few pedestrians could be seen on the road.
Only the lingering sound of an erhu drifted endlessly through the air.
A straw hat.
A worn vest.
And a small wooden stool.
Together, they formed this humble street performance troupe.
[Erquan Yingyue: LV1 (500/10000)]
[Play five times daily: Regulates qi and blood, clears the meridians, dispels dampness, warms the body]
[Today's lifespan increase: 8 hours]
...
Only when the system's voice sounded beside his ear did the erhu slowly fall silent.
He put away the erhu and tugged lightly at the rope behind him.
The old ox skillfully lifted the stool with its horns.
Man and ox stepped through the snow, slowly heading into the distance.
His name was Li Ping'an.
Twenty years old.
Ten years ago, he had transmigrated to this world and became a blind man.
Other protagonists usually had it better.
Either they were ordinary yet somehow more handsome than Louis Koo.
Or they were young masters in their prime, the most handsome men under heaven.
Even the worst cases became an illegitimate son in a wealthy household, still guaranteed food and clothing.
But in his case?
His eyes could only vaguely make out shapes within half a meter.
For all practical purposes, he was blind.
His only possession was the ox he had raised since childhood.
Back then it was tiny.
Now it had grown into this large creature.
Not cute at all.
Strangely enough, the ox had been stolen several times.
Yet every single time it somehow returned to Li Ping'an completely unharmed.
Perhaps this was the one gift heaven had given him.
Other than that, he had nothing.
Start with a bowl. Everything else had to be taken by force.
Though half a year ago, he had finally unlocked a system.
The Erhu System.
As long as he played the erhu, he would grow stronger.
As for what it could truly do, Li Ping'an still did not fully understand.
He only knew this.
As long as he followed the system's instructions and played the erhu on the street, he would receive rewards.
[Name: Li Ping'an]
[Age: 21]
[Lifespan: 55]
[Bone Talent: Mortal Bones]
[Cultivation Method: None]
[Skill: Erquan Yingyue]
[Level: LV1 (500/10000)]
[Current Effects: Increases lifespan, regulates qi and blood, clears meridians, dispels dampness, warms the body]
...
Li Ping'an hoped the system would allow him to live a normal life.
He had no expectations of defeating some great demon king or marrying a princess.
Entering the imperial court?
Guarding the frontier?
Saving the world?
Those things were far too distant.
As long as he could live safely and stay healthy, that was enough.
Li Ping'an held a walking stick in his hand while the old ox followed slowly behind him.
"Hey, blind man!"
A voice suddenly rang out.
Within Li Ping'an's hazy field of vision, three blurry figures appeared.
Led by Da Hu, the three stood directly in front of him.
Da Hu and his friends had not yet come of age and still wore their hair loose.
They spent their days loitering around the streets.
Whenever they were bored, they stirred up trouble for fun.
A blind erhu player with no family naturally became their favorite target.
Li Ping'an ignored them and turned to leave.
But Da Hu stepped forward first and stuck out his leg.
Li Ping'an stumbled and fell into the snow.
"Hahaha!"
The three burst into loud, unrestrained laughter.
The street vendors nearby pretended not to notice.
They were used to it.
These three little tyrants were not people most dared to provoke.
Li Ping'an calmly stood up and brushed the snow from his clothes.
Da Hu grabbed his walking stick and waved it mockingly.
"Come chase me, blind man!"
Li Ping'an still ignored him and simply continued walking forward.
"Hey! You coward."
Da Hu's large body blocked the path like a small hill.
Li Ping'an sighed inwardly.
"You three better leave now. The street patrol will be here soon!"
The voice came from Miss Wang, the tofu seller.
She was well known on this street.
Young, beautiful, and well built.
It was said that when she was younger, men fought over her almost every day.
But she married early.
Even so, the lingering gazes never disappeared.
If anything, it made her tofu business even better.
After all, who would not want soft, white, generous tofu?
Da Hu gave a lewd grin.
"Boss lady, don't scare me. I'm just teasing him."
Miss Wang waved her hand.
"If you're bored, go somewhere else. Stop bothering him."
Da Hu and the other two teased her for a while before finally strolling away.
Li Ping'an brushed the snow from his clothes and prepared to leave.
"Take some tofu."
Miss Wang handed him a bag of freshly made hot tofu along with five copper coins.
"Thank you."
Li Ping'an nodded gratefully.
Miss Wang smiled and rubbed the old ox's head.
"The road's slippery. Walk slowly."
Li Ping'an narrowed his eyes slightly.
Within his blurry vision, Miss Wang appeared only as a soft outline.
Smooth contours.
The gentle rise and fall of facial features.
Though he could not see her clearly, appearance often reflected the heart.
Holding the rope, Li Ping'an led the ox step by step across the snowy ground.
...
Today's earnings.
Ten copper coins from street performances.
Five coins from Miss Wang.
And a free piece of hot tofu.
He spent nine coins on a bowl of hot noodle soup at a roadside stall.
Along with free pickled vegetables and tofu.
After eating his fill, Li Ping'an did not rush to leave.
Going back early only meant freezing.
Here the owner would not chase him away.
Whenever the shop became crowded, Li Ping'an would quietly leave on his own.
He never caused trouble for the owner.
Sometimes he would even play a short tune to liven up the place.
"Boss, one bowl of noodles."
The person who entered was Miss Wang's husband.
Niu Er.
A few years ago he had been an honest and reliable man.
But in recent years he had somehow become addicted to gambling.
Gambling was gambling.
There was no such thing as small stakes.
Once the excitement took hold, nothing else mattered.
Once seated at the gambling table, it did not matter whether one was skilled or broke.
They would not stop until everything was gone.
His addiction had dragged Miss Wang's entire household into misery.
"My luck is damn awful today!" Niu Er complained.
The noodle shop owner tried to persuade him.
"Niu Er, what exactly are you chasing? You've got a family business and such a beautiful wife."
Niu Er snorted.
"I'm chasing the thrill."
The owner sighed and shook his head.
"Moo!"
"Moo!"
The old ox let out two low calls.
It was reminding Li Ping'an that it was getting late.
Time to go back.
"I say, blind man," Niu Er said casually.
"Why do you drag that ox around every day? You don't even have land."
"Why not sell it and get some money to spend?"
Li Ping'an replied calmly.
"The ox isn't for sale. It's a family heirloom."
He opened the door and stepped out into the wind and snow.
A blind man with an ox.
Everyone in town knew about it.
The blind man treated the ox like a treasure.
It was said that once someone with bad intentions tried to steal it.
They were about to succeed.
But the blind man suddenly went mad, jumped onto the ox with a kitchen cleaver in hand, and chased the thief for two li.
After that incident, no one in town dared to target the blind man's ox again.
Even Da Hu, who bullied him every day, never touched the animal.
Back at the ruined temple, Li Ping'an wrapped himself in a tattered blanket.
He closed his eyes and circulated the qi and blood within his body, slowly clearing the distracting thoughts in his mind.
Before long, warmth began to gather in his lower abdomen.
His meridians tightened and loosened.
The frozen numbness in his limbs gradually faded.
The small town had no proper martial cultivation methods.
So Li Ping'an could only explore step by step on his own.
Eventually he gave the method a very sincere name.
The Divine Body Warming Technique.
Thanks to it, he managed to survive the cold nights.