novelhk Chapter 81 If you have any opinions, just say them. If you don't, how will you know you've
Chapter 81 If you have any opinions, just say them. If you don't, how will you know you've
The Legend of the White Snake world!
"Young man, I saved you, that's exactly nine and a half ounces. You also drank a bowl of my water, that's one ounce for you. And you ate a cake from me, that's five mace for you. That's eleven ounces in total, is that alright?"
At the abandoned tea stall, a burly man with a round face and a big beard was using an abacus. After a series of rapid calculations, he came up with a number that made Shen Yi's mouth twitch.
"Uh, no problem at all. I'll never forget your life-saving grace, but—"
Shen Yi turned all his pockets inside out and looked at the other person with an innocent expression. "Brother, I don't have any money on me."
The burly man glared at him, looking him up and down incredulously: "Seriously, brother? You're traveling without a single penny to your name?"
He had seen many people who were broke, but this was the first time he had ever seen someone who didn't have a single copper coin.
"Brother, to be honest, I woke up to find myself lying in this desolate mountain, and I'm quite puzzled myself!"
Shen Yi was speechless. Who carries cash with them these days?
Besides, even if they brought it, they could only bring paper money, which wouldn't be able to be spent in this ancient land.
He's still in a daze. As a time traveler, he was neither hit by a truck, nor electrocuted, nor did he die from staying up all night—well, the last one isn't impossible.
In short, with his eyes closed and open, he was exposed to the scorching sun in the desolate wilderness. If it weren't for this strong man's sip of water, he would probably have died of thirst by now.
Even more outrageous, he figured this desolate place was no place for humans to stay and wanted to find a shady spot to rest. But he ran into a bandit after walking less than half a mile. Just when he thought his inexplicable journey through time was about to end, this burly man appeared out of nowhere and beat the bandits to a pulp with a few punches and kicks.
"Woke up?"
The burly man's expression turned strange. He took out a bell from his pocket, brought it close to Shen Yi, and shook it. The bell remained silent. The burly man's brows furrowed at first, then relaxed. "No, he's just an ordinary person, that's right."
Shen Yi's heart skipped a beat. An ordinary person?
What does this mean—this world is not ordinary?
And why does this guy look so familiar the more I look at him?
With his round face and big beard, his physique and bearing were exactly like Pigsy from "The Lotus Lantern." Had I somehow transmigrated into "The Lotus Lantern"?
wrong!
Shen Yi quickly dismissed the idea, declaring it absolutely impossible for Zhu Bajie, or even Marshal Tianpeng, since Zhu Bajie never grew such a large beard.
He racked his brains trying to remember what other roles this actor had played.
"Magic Phone"? That's just Pigsy from Journey to the West.
Han Zhongli in "The Story of the Eight Immortals: The Maiden of Su".
"Yeah, yeah, I don't know what to do anymore. Could you help me think of a solution, big brother?"
Shen Yi suppressed the chaotic thoughts running through his mind, put on a pitiful look, and no matter who this guy was, he was obviously a big shot, and he seemed to be a kind-hearted person. The most important thing was to stick to this big shot, and maybe he could even trick him into learning a few spells.
burly man: ...
No, I came here to ask you for money, how did it become me helping you?
He originally intended to save a life and make some extra money on the side, but instead, he ended up saving a penniless nobody.
"Where do you live? I'll take you home, and you can get the money when you get there."
The strong man settled for second best.
"Well, I live alone. I grew up relying on the kindness of many families, so I don't have much money."
Shen Yi blinked. This wasn't exactly a lie—he was indeed an orphan, but that Baijia family lived in another world.
The burly man's lips twitched violently: "No... you..."
He was completely speechless after this kid's antics. "You're putting me in a really difficult position."
"Ahem, big brother, how about this? I'll be your apprentice, and I'll do all the dirty and hard work. What do you say?"
Shen Yi quickly offered a way out. Paying off the debt with work was secondary; the important thing was to stick with this powerful figure. They had only gone a few miles when a gang of robbers suddenly appeared, which showed just how dangerous this world was.
What would I need you for?
The burly man rolled his eyes. This kid had delicate skin and looked like someone who couldn't lift a finger: "Hmm, I think you're quite good-looking, you should fetch a good price. How about this, I'll find you a rich family, you can marry into their family, you'll have no worries about food and clothing, and I can get back the money you owe me."
You are so smart!
Shen Yi was speechless, but then he thought that following him was the right thing to do, and he might be able to learn some magic and martial arts along the way.
As for marrying into the family—whether or not one is pretty is up to them to decide.
He might just say "not my type" and reject her, but if she's really pretty... then he'll have no choice but to reluctantly agree, since with his looks, she's definitely getting the better deal.
"I want someone who's pretty; I don't want someone who's not pretty."
"Hey, you've got some nerve, haven't you?"
The burly man was amused by him. He looked up at the sky and saw that the sun wasn't so scorching anymore. He stood up, patted his backside, and said, "Let's go."
"By the way, brother, I still don't know your name? My name is Shen Yi. Shen as in Shen Yao, and Yi as in Wanwan."
Shen Yi quickly chased after them, fearing they might run into another group of robbers.
"What kind of waist does Shen Yao have?"
The burly man looked bewildered and casually replied, "In the world of martial arts, you can call me anything. You owe me eleven taels of silver, so call me Eleven."
Without cultural knowledge, Shen Yao is an idiom for a thin waist, which comes from Li Houzhu's poem "Shen Yao Pan Bin Xiao Mo", describing a thin figure, often referring to an elderly person.
However, using the amount of debt as the name—
Shen Yi's heart skipped a beat. The burly figure, the round face and the big beard, and that bell that didn't ring—wasn't this Ba Liang from "The Legend of the White Snake"?
In the original story, he was called Eight Taels because Xu Xian owed him eight taels of silver. Now that he owes him eleven taels, he naturally became eleven.
"Slow down, slow down..."
Shen Yi was just an ordinary person with slightly sub-healthy health, how could he keep up with someone like Shi Yi who was used to running around the martial arts world? He started panting heavily after only a few steps.
"slow?"
Eleven turned around and sneered, "This is Luoshui Town. Not a drop of rain has fallen within a hundred miles for the past three years. If you don't get out of this town soon, you'll probably die of thirst here."
Luoshui Town hasn't seen rain for three years...
Shen Yi was startled; it really was the world of "The Legend of the White Snake"!
He immediately remembered the reason for the severe drought in Luoshui Town, and his expression became subtle.
When he first watched "The Legend of the White Snake", he naturally sided with the White Snake because Bai Suzhen was the protagonist. But after thinking about it carefully, he realized that the Dragon King's anger was not entirely unreasonable. "I worked hard to protect you and ensure good weather and abundant harvests in the town of Luoshui. But instead of worshipping me, you go to worship Guanyin. Who wouldn't go on strike?"
The situation with Guanyin Bodhisattva is also quite perplexing. At least when people worship the Dragon King, they get good weather and abundant harvests, but when they worship you, there's not a single result, leaving the people of Luoshui Town so hungry they're almost resorting to cannibalism. What happened to your promise to relieve suffering? Moreover, these people are suffering precisely because of you.
Of course, that Dragon King was also a lunatic—if you have a problem, just say it! If you don't, how will anyone know you've worshipped the wrong god?