Chapter 2

Five copper coins weren’t much, but when Jiang Anping took them out, it seemed like a lot.

Jiang Anping was fourteen, and his parents had passed away, leaving him unable to farm or work. Yet, at this moment, he could take out five copper coins.

This greatly surprised Li Min.

“I found the money my parents had hidden in the soil,” Jiang Anping had already prepared his explanation.

“Keep this money for the taxes,” Li Min said.

He knew that the other party hadn’t paid the land tax yet. If he couldn’t pay next time, those ruffians would really kill him.

“No, there’s still some at home.”

Jiang Anping placed the five copper coins on the table, then walked to the stove and took four steamed buns from the pot.

“Four copper coins can buy eight steamed buns, and I’ll give you a rabbit leg too.”

Li Min wasn’t sure if the other party had any extra money. If not, these might be Jiang Anping’s last few days of life.

So Li Min handed him a dried rabbit leg.

“Thank you, Uncle Li.” Jiang Anping didn’t refuse; he hadn’t eaten rabbit meat in a long time, usually eating roasted grasshoppers.

Jiang Anping happily took the food and went home.

After closing the wooden door, he sat on the kang bed, eating the steamed buns while observing the treasure basin, occasionally tossing a few copper coins in to test it.

But there was no result.

A day passed, and yesterday when he had replicated the copper coins, Jiang Anping put the remaining six copper coins into the basin, and a beam of light flashed.

“Here it comes!”

Jiang Anping sprang up, excitedly looking into the bronze basin.

A large pile of copper coins appeared!

Jiang Anping counted them—sixteen.

He had put in six, but only ten were replicated.

Jiang Anping guessed that the treasure basin could only replicate one type of item at a time, and it could replicate ten times the amount.

The condition was that it could only replicate once a day.

However, even so, Jiang Anping was very satisfied.

He hugged the bronze basin and cried. If he had discovered the secret of the bronze basin earlier, his mother wouldn’t have died from overwork, and his father wouldn’t have been eaten by a tiger while hunting.

After crying for a long time, Jiang Anping wiped his tears, put away the bronze basin, and headed to the town.

With this bronze basin, he would never lack money again. Now that his home had nothing, he needed to buy some rice, flour, and seasonings.

Life was starting to improve.

“Brother Anping, where are you going?”

Li Yueyue, who was playing with mud, saw Jiang Anping walking out of the village and asked in a childish voice.

“To the town, I’ll buy you a sugar-coated haw when I come back.” Jiang Anping rubbed the little girl’s head, feeling happy.

“Sugar-coated haw!” Li Yueyue’s big eyes suddenly lit up.

She had tasted one before, and it was sour and sweet, very delicious.

But then she shook her head, “Brother Anping, don’t spend money recklessly.”

Children in the countryside grow up fast. Although she was only eight, she understood many things.

“Don’t worry, I’m not short of money now.” Jiang Anping smiled. Since his parents passed away, Hu Niu was his closest relative.

“Then… then if you buy it, Hu Niu will be your wife.” Li Yueyue said innocently, blinking her eyes.

Jiang Anping was both amused and exasperated. What did this little girl know about wives?

He set off for the town, buying a little rice, flour, and seasonings, and of course, he didn’t forget to buy a sugar-coated haw.

“Young man, are you alone? Don’t wander around aimlessly. There are bandits now, often robbing people on the road. Not long ago, Xiaoxi Village was wiped out by bandits.”

“The world is chaotic, bandits are rampant, and the government is as fierce as a tiger. People are suffering, it’s hard.”

The old man selling sugar-coated haws saw that Jiang Anping was young and couldn’t help but say a few words.

“Thank you, sir, for the warning.”

Jiang Anping didn’t take it seriously, humming a mountain song and walking back to the village in his straw shoes.

The straw shoes were a bit uncomfortable, and it took him more than an hour to see the outline of the village.

“Once I have money, I’ll buy those cool boots, maybe even live in town.”

He started to imagine his future life, feeling extremely happy.

But as he approached the village, a pungent smell hit him.

“Who’s slaughtering a pig?”

Jiang Anping walked into the village, and his whole body froze. The rice and flour in his hands fell to the ground, and he stood there, dazed.

Bodies, everywhere were bodies! Blood stained the village, and flames were burning. Women were disheveled.

“How… how could this happen!”

He thought of something and ran frantically to Li Min’s house.

Inside the room, Li Min lay on the ground, a large wound on his stomach, blood flowing out.

“Uncle Li! What happened!”

Jiang Anping was shocked, quickly dropping his things and helping to press the wound.

“B… bandits… help… help me take care of… Hu Niu… in the… well.”

After saying this, Li Min’s head fell, and he was gone.

Jiang Anping’s heart trembled. Li Min, whom he had seen that morning, was now gone forever.

He quickly ran to the well, where a wooden board was covering it. He lifted the board and looked down.

Li Yueyue was sitting in a bucket, trembling. The sudden opening of the well cover scared her.

When she saw Jiang Anping, she cried out, “Brother Anping! There are bandits!”

Jiang Anping pulled Hu Niu up. When Hu Niu saw her father dead, she cried even harder.

“Why, why do they bully us! Soldiers, bandits, why do they all bully us!”

Li Yueyue’s piercing voice was like a thousand needles piercing Jiang Anping’s heart, making him suffocate and feel deep pain.

Jiang Anping clenched his fists, his face full of frustration and anger.

Yes, why do they bully us? Why has the world become like this!

Why do the good deeds and bad deeds that his parents talked about not exist!

Jiang Anping couldn’t understand. He didn’t know how to comfort Li Yueyue, so he picked up the sugar-coated haw from the ground and handed it to her.

Li Yueyue looked at the sugar-coated haw in her hand and hugged him tightly.

“This village seems to have had an incident… there are still people alive.”

A voice suddenly rang out in the sky, and Jiang Anping looked up sharply.

Seeing the scene above, his eyes widened.

Several women in华丽的道袍 (elaborate Taoist robes) were floating in the air.

Gods… gods!!

Is this what gods look like? They can really fly!

Jiang Anping was so shocked he couldn’t speak, and Li Yueyue stopped crying in fear.

A woman stepped forward and pressed Jiang Anping’s head.

“Ordinary talent, and you’re too old. Your path to cultivation is limited.”

She then pressed Li Yueyue’s head, and after a moment, her eyes widened.

“Born with a water affinity! What a strong talent!”

The woman was extremely delighted. “Little girl, would you like to cultivate with me?”

“Are… are you gods? Can you bring my father back to life?” Li Yueyue asked timidly, half her face buried in Jiang Anping’s chest, her voice choked.

The woman shook her head. “We can’t bring the dead back to life, but if you cultivate, you won’t have to worry about food and clothing, and you can avenge your father’s killer.”

Hearing that she could avenge her father, Li Yueyue clutched the sugar-coated haw. “I want to avenge my father!”

The woman picked up Li Yueyue and smiled. “With your talent, once you start cultivating, you will definitely be able to avenge your father.”

As she spoke, she took off into the air, preparing to leave.

Li Yueyue suddenly shouted, “You haven’t taken Brother Anping!”

“He has ordinary talent, you two are not in the same world.” The woman said.

“No! I want to stay with Brother Anping, I won’t cultivate! Put me down!”

Li Yueyue struggled fiercely. Jiang Anping was now her closest person, and she didn’t want to leave him.