Chapter 4. Why Did I Become a Waiter Again?

In the silent dawn,

I woke up to the sound of rain.

The ceiling was covered with yellowed wallpaper, and the room smelled musty with mold, but the headache that had plagued me all my life was gone, which made me feel a bit strange.

What was even stranger was that the smell was somehow familiar, and the scene before my eyes was also familiar.

The atmosphere of a desperately poor household was generally like this, but this place was unmistakably our old home.

Upon closer inspection, this was the small room of Zixia Guesthouse, which my grandfather had left me.

My name, Li Zixia, was also named after this guesthouse.

"Why am I here?"

Since Zixia Guesthouse had burned down completely, I had never had a proper home, so there was no way I could be confused.

Suddenly, the words of the mysterious man came to mind.

'This is the last time. Don't swallow Tianyu again.'

How could I swallow Tianyu twice?

Unless I had gone back in time.

"Huh? Wait, back in time?"

Then I noticed that my body felt much better.

It was miraculous that my headache was gone, but the injuries I had sustained while breaking through the Heavenly Net had also completely disappeared. Only my face felt a bit numb, as if I had been punched.

To understand the situation, I opened the door, and the shabby interior of Zixia Guesthouse came into view.

Considering the man's words and the current situation, it seemed he meant that even if I went back in time, I should not swallow Tianyu again in the same situation.

If so, 'now' must be my 'past.'

I was so flustered that I didn't immediately realize that this situation was a blessing.

"What the hell is going on?"

I had always thought Zixia Guesthouse was a dirty and annoying place, but the view of the guesthouse after a long time was truly peaceful and serene.

Beyond the entrance of the guesthouse, the sun was rising over the mountain slopes where the rain had just stopped.

"Hmm..."

I stared at this scene for a long time.

Until the faint sunlight spread and filled the quiet guesthouse...

It was a long time since I had experienced such peace.

I was slightly disappointed.

Why did it have to be this period?

There was no sign of my elderly grandfather in the guesthouse.

I thought it would have been better to go back to an even earlier time, when I could have seen my parents.

But according to my grandfather, my parents had passed away due to poor health, which would have only made me more heartbroken.

A deep, overwhelming emotion welled up within me.

While gazing at the scenery outside the guesthouse, my right eye began to throb painfully.

It seemed I had a bruise.

Without a mirror, I had no choice but to step outside the guesthouse.

Old memories were scattered like fragments or lost in the realm of forgetfulness, so I thought I might recover them by exploring the area around the guesthouse. But that was a load of nonsense!

I rushed to the stream to check my face.

"..."

I was surprised to see my own face.

My face, free of all scars, gave a surprisingly gentle impression. However, the area around my right eye was bruised, and my lip was split.

'When did I get hit like this?'

In any case, it was the face of a man in his early twenties.

I had suffered so many misfortunes during this period that it was hard to pinpoint the exact time. I stared at my reflection in the rippling water, lost in old memories.

* * *

This was definitely my hometown at the southern edge of Yiyang County.

Wherever people live, a certain kind of world forms. This place didn't have any famous sects or powerful families, but it was a world where the lines between the righteous and the wicked were blurred.

To put it bluntly, it was a region full of scoundrels.

Yiyang County, in particular, had an especially high number of pathetic individuals.

It was a place where brothels were rampant.

Even when I was young, the local hooligans roamed around, doing things worse than third-rate sects, and their dream was to join the black sects outside Yiyang County.

While gazing at the quiet Yiyang County, I suddenly shouted,

"You bastards! I'm back!"

A man who had just fallen asleep nearby responded,

"Be quiet! Crazy bastard! If you're drunk, go home properly. Damn it."

"Alright, you scoundrel."

A man who had just fallen asleep nearby shouted from inside his house. His curses confirmed that I had indeed gone back in time.

Was this good fortune due to my fight against the Demon Sect, or because of the mysterious man?

It could be said that my determination not to let the Demon Sect off and this good fortune had coincided.

* * *

During this period, I deliberately pretended to be a waiter.

I thought that if I were known as the owner of Zixia Guesthouse, I might face some disadvantages, so I often lied that a relative had entrusted the guesthouse to me to avoid trouble.

Of course, the townspeople who were close to my grandfather knew that I was the owner of Zixia Guesthouse, but they kept it a secret. People called me Li Zixia because I was the waiter of the 'Zixia' guesthouse, but that was actually my real name.

Memories of the time when I couldn't even claim my own property flashed through my mind.

Then I smiled.

"It's good to be back."

The thought of being able to live again made my body tingle with excitement. I had only started practicing martial arts seriously much later in this period, so I couldn't even imagine how much stronger I could become this time.

I was about seven or eight years ahead of my previous life.

In terms of enduring humiliation, abuse, and mistreatment, being a waiter was the pinnacle in the martial world.

But I wouldn't have to endure such mistreatment again.

The waiter of old eventually survived and caused a conflict with the Martial Alliance and grew into a man who confronted the Demon Sect.

* * *

I walked around Yiyang County to jog my memory.

Memories surfaced wherever my gaze fell.

The dirty alleys, the fishy smell from the fish shop, the large pot lid in front of the dumpling shop, the windbreak covering the market stalls, and the peculiar noodle shop I often visited.

The ordinary scenes and the smell of the street kept bringing back memories.

Each time I recovered a memory, forgotten emotions also resurfaced.

Ironically, although there were all kinds of shops, the only place I frequented was Chunyang Restaurant, which I visited occasionally.

As I walked through the alleys and streets, my lips often twisted.

The feeling of having to save every penny because I had no money.

The miserable feeling of having my tribute money stolen.

As I passed through each alley, the memories that came to mind were not particularly pleasant.

Even though I had owned a guesthouse at a young age, I had lived a life as poor as a beggar from the Beggar Sect because I was too busy making ends meet. Since I never spent money frivolously, customers often called me a miser and teased me.

The bruise on my face was also due to a similar incident.

A customer once asked me where I was saving all the money I had hoarded.

Honestly, I was quite surprised by this question.

Since I was an orphan, I was saving money desperately, and I didn't have the money to spend like the guard at the brothel.

At that time, in a playful attempt to make them laugh...

I said that my wish was to save money to hear a song from Cai Xiang at Meihualou.

I swear, it was a joke.

People did laugh, but the joke spread without the part about it being a joke.

I learned then that rumors can change their meaning as they pass through people's mouths.

The wish to hear a song had somehow turned into a desire to sleep with Cai Xiang.

Isn't that surprising?

This rumor spread like wildfire throughout Yiyang County, but nowhere did it mention that it was a joke.

"The waiter from Zixia Guesthouse is saving money desperately to sleep with Cai Xiang, they say."

"What a crazy guy. I wondered why he was saving money so desperately."

"What a pathetic guy."

"Even if he does, do you think Cai Xiang would sleep with him? She's not a prostitute, and she has a strong sense of pride. Besides, there are many guys after her."

Thinking about the past still made me feel bitter.

"No, it was a joke, you bastards. Ah..."

Every time the rumor reached my ears, I had to pull my hair out.

After all, how could such a ridiculous and funny story be?

A joke I made to make people laugh had somehow become the reason I was saving money, spreading throughout Yiyang County and even becoming a legend. It even spread to the point where a ridiculous joke suggested it might reach the Martial Alliance.

* * *

I stopped my walk in front of Meihualou, where a blue lantern was lit.

A blue lantern meant there were courtesans.

A red lantern meant not to come looking for courtesans.

Of course, the meanings varied by region and could change over time, but that was how it was here.

Old memories flashed through my mind.

The guards from Meihualou who had heard the rumor that I wanted to sleep with Cai Xiang came to the guesthouse to tease me. My face had been stiff, and it started with a few slaps and ended with me being kicked by the guys.

There were many reasons.

They might have been angry at me for treating Cai Xiang like a prostitute, or it might have been a despicable act to impress her.

Judging by the state of my face, it seemed to have happened a few days ago.

Although it was an old incident that I hadn't dwelled on much, now that I was back in the past, I couldn't help but keep thinking about it.

At the time, my face had stiffened because the guys had deliberately brought Cai Xiang to tease me.

How could I express the frustration and humiliation I felt then?

In fact, whether it was a joke or not didn't matter to them.

They must have found it unpleasant that a mere waiter dared to look at Cai Xiang, the most beautiful woman at Meihualou.

That was the first time I saw Cai Xiang.

She was beautiful, but there's nothing more humiliating than seeing a woman's face filled with anger and contempt.

As these emotions resurfaced clearly, a smile crept onto my face.

Since they had humiliated me in front of people, I planned to visit Meihualou in the evening when the most people would be around to witness it.

I needed to turn the 'rumor' back into a 'joke.'

After staring at Meihualou for a while and turning around, a guy from the fabric shop across the street approached and spoke to me.

"Thinking of setting it on fire out of anger? What are you staring at so intensely? Pathetic guy."

It was the most contemptuous voice in the world. Of course, I was a pathetic guy during this period.

But the more important fact was that I was still a pathetic guy.