CHAPTER 1: Thirty Wen, Will You Sell It?

The Qingming season brought frequent rains, and Tonghua County had remained overcast for half a month. Clothes hung out to dry never seemed to fully dry, and even the fur of cats and dogs felt damp.

Yu Youyou held a rag in her hand, roughly wiping her tail.

Yes, a tail.

Even after half a month since her rebirth, Yu Youyou still wasn’t quite used to its existence.

Sitting or lying down pressed on it uncomfortably, using the toilet was a hassle, and worst of all, it shed fur at any time.

But getting another chance at life—what was one more tail in comparison?

Half a month ago, the snow in Tonghua County had yet to melt. The youngest medical professor of the apocalypse, Yu Youyou, had shivered awake from the cold—only to find herself transformed into a thirteen-year-old half-demon child.

Sorting through the memories of her new body, she realized she had reincarnated as a minor character with the same name in a Long Aotian (overpowered protagonist) novel.

The Long Aotian was her father.

But unfortunately, her mother wasn’t the female lead—she was a demon clan villainess.

The male protagonist, named Yu Bumie, was a genius sword cultivator. Trapped in the Demon Realm, he earned the trust and affection of the demon princess due to his “seemingly ordinary yet inexplicably captivating” aura. Eventually, they became Dao companions.

Years later, after reaching the peak of his cultivation, he took advantage of the princess’s difficult childbirth and killed her. Then, he slaughtered her entire clan and finally escaped by using their newborn daughter as a hostage.

For a Long Aotian protagonist, Yu Bumie’s actions weren’t considered cruel—they were seen as courageous, strategic, and decisive.

But that poor child who was taken back to the human realm…

Humans are called people.
Demons are called demons.
So a child born of both should be called…

Not renyao (a derogatory term for crossdressers).

She was a half-demon.

Having the blood of both races didn’t mean she inherited the talents of both. Instead, it cursed her with a recurring bloodline backlash—a torment that struck every month. Survive it, and she’d live another day. Fail, and she’d die in agony.

With proper care, the child could have been raised well. If given some spiritual medicine, she might have even regained her health.

But none of that happened.

To Yu Bumie, this half-demon brat was a disgrace.

Every time he looked at her, he was reminded of his time imprisoned in the Demon Realm—of how he had once been forced to bow his head and grovel to that demon woman.

Yu Bumie had only taken his daughter along as an afterthought. He loathed the demon princess, saw her as nothing more than a tool, and now felt nothing but disgust for their half-demon child. So he simply tossed her into Tonghua County, leaving a servant woman to raise her.

At first, the caretaker, Old Madam Zhang, was cautious. But as years passed, the Long Aotian never visited, never even asked about the child.

With time, Old Madam Zhang became increasingly negligent. She began resenting the burden the child placed on her, and eventually, she started beating and scolding her, treating her no better than a stray cat or dog.

Half a month ago, the original host of this body finally succumbed to the bloodline backlash, dying in agony. Old Madam Zhang, terrified, packed her belongings and fled overnight.

The news of the child’s death took a long time to reach the male protagonist. By then, Yu Bumie had already fathered a pair of dragon-phoenix twins with his new Dao companion, achieving his perfect ending.

His delicate wife had smiled and congratulated him—

“It’s good that that wretched spawn is dead. Now, there’s no more stain on your name.”

And so, the life of the half-demon child ended.

A mere hundred words in the novel.

….

After reincarnating, the medical professor Yu Youyou inherited nothing but an empty courtyard—not even a single grain of rice. The only things left were heavy furniture too difficult to move.

Without a house deed, she couldn’t sell the property.

For the past few days, Yu Youyou had been running around town, selling off tables, chairs, and benches, and finally, today, she had managed to scrape together two taels of silver.

She needed to prepare for the next bloodline backlash. This silver was meant for medicine.

Yu Youyou couldn’t resolve the bloodline backlash for now, but fortunately, she recognized many of this world’s medicinal herbs. She could at least brew some tonics to strengthen her body.

However, medicinal tonics were expensive, and she had no money. Right now, she could only barely afford some materials for pain relief medicine.

At the courtyard gate, Yu Youyou picked up a paulownia leaf and placed it on her head as a makeshift umbrella. Carrying all her belongings, she stepped out.

The entire city was shrouded in lush misty rain. The paulownia trees were in full bloom, their flowers dazzlingly vibrant. Moist mountain blossoms were scattered across the moss-covered bluestone paths, while the entire city was washed white by the whispering spring breeze.

A closer look would reveal that the whiteness was not just from the flowers but also from scattered funeral paper money.

Yet, no one found it ominous. Those who had lived in Tonghua County for long were already accustomed to it.

Some sharp-witted individuals even rushed forward, feigning tears as they mourned for a moment before eagerly inquiring if the family needed a high-quality coffin or burial plot.

Tonghua County’s funeral industry was famous throughout the Eastern Territory.

With its warm and humid climate, the county was a well-known sanctuary for convalescence. Moreover, the Pill Cauldron Sect had established itself here, attracting countless aspiring healers hoping to enter the immortal sect. As a result, whether mortal or cultivator, the sick and the infirm frequently flocked to this place.

Where there were many patients, there were naturally many deaths.

On East Street, coffins and incense were being sold; on West Street, medicinal herbs and elixirs were being traded. The two coexisted in perfect harmony.

By the time Yu Youyou walked from East Street to West Street, her legs were trembling.

There was nothing she could do—this body was simply too weak. Walking just a little farther left her breathless.

Luckily, she was fortunate enough to spot the medicinal herb she needed as soon as she reached the entrance of West Street.

Drunken Heart Flower—an essential ingredient for making potent painkillers in the post-apocalyptic world.

Yu Youyou squeezed her coin pouch and squatted down. She casually sifted through a few insignificant herbs before picking up a slightly wilted Drunken Heart Flower as if by chance.

“How much is this?”

The vendor frowned the moment he saw her face. Instinctively, he glanced behind her, and sure enough, beneath the hem of her skirt, a small tuft of tail fur was visible. His expression immediately turned disgusted as he waved her off.

“Not selling. Get lost.”

Without another word, he snatched the Drunken Heart Flower from her hands and stuffed it back into his herb basket.

“……”

Yu Youyou had no choice but to move to another stall nearby. However, before she could even ask, the vendor glared at her.

“I don’t do business with demons! Scram!”

She wasn’t discouraged and simply turned toward a row of herb stalls across the street. The vendors there either had fur-covered faces or beast ears—they were all from the demon race.

However, they didn’t treat her any better.

Before she could even speak, one of them sneered, “Want to buy herbs? Sure. Either pay one hundred spirit jades or ten thousand taels of gold.”

“……” Why don’t you just rob me instead?

The nearby vendors openly discussed her presence, their voices carrying clearly to Yu Youyou’s ears.

On the human side—

“Isn’t that the demon from Granny Zhang’s family? Why didn’t she leave with the rest of them?”

“I saw her outside the Zhang residence last month. She barely looked alive back then. How is she still breathing now?”

On the demon side—

“That disgrace to our bloodline again!”

“Which shameless demon mated with a human to birth this filthy mutt? Ugh!”

Yu Youyou remained unbothered. After all, due to her half-demon heritage, she was somewhat infamous in the surrounding streets.

Humans and demons had been at odds ever since the war five hundred years ago. They rarely interacted. However, since Tonghua County bordered the Demon Realm, it wasn’t uncommon for demons to sneak over to trade for medicinal herbs.

Even so, most ordinary people still discriminated against demons. They didn’t bother distinguishing between full demons and half-demons—anyone with demon blood was lumped together as “demon scum.”

Meanwhile, the demon race disdained those with impure blood. Yu Youyou, whose scent carried traces of humanity, was firmly rejected by them as well.

The original owner of this body had actually been terrified of going out. First, because her health was too poor to walk far. Second, because she was bullied every time she did.

Humans called her a demon spawn and threw buckets of filth at her. Demons called her a mongrel and hurled rocks at her tail.

There was no greater rejection than being despised by both races.

Fortunately, not everyone was prejudiced. A few kind-hearted vendors were still willing to sell her herbs, so she managed to gather most of what she needed.

But after walking almost to the end of West Street, she still hadn’t found a second Drunken Heart Flower.

It was still early in the day. Perhaps more herb gatherers would come to sell their wares in the afternoon.

Yu Youyou decided to wait. However, she was both hungry and exhausted, so she crouched under the eaves of a building to rest.

On the street, vendors were shouting about meat buns and meat pies. Yu Youyou glanced over before quickly looking away.

She had asked earlier—each bun or meat pie cost two copper coins. Too expensive.

On East Street, she could get two steamed buns for a single copper coin. She’d wait and buy two later. That would be enough to last her the day.

Saving more money meant she could afford medicine to keep herself alive.

But the scent of the fried meat pies was simply too enticing. The rich aroma drifted through the air, wave after wave, making Yu Youyou—who hadn’t eaten meat in half a month—unconsciously swallow her saliva.

Just as she was debating whether to buy steamed buns now, a strange burnt stench suddenly filled the air, forcibly overpowering the delicious scent of the meat pies.

She looked up and scanned her surroundings but couldn’t find the source of the stench. Instead, she noticed a richly dressed young man who had appeared across the street at some point. He was fiddling with a pill furnace, and beneath it—there was a spirit stone array!

Yu Youyou’s spirit instantly lifted.

In this world, aside from mortals, there were also cultivators. Among them, alchemists—Pill Cultivators—were one of the many paths.

If there were immortal pills, perhaps they could save her from the brink of death.

And as a master of medical science, alchemy was irresistibly alluring—an enigmatic domain she had never been able to touch in her previous life!

It was said that the Pill Cauldron Sect occasionally sent disciples out to gain experience in the mortal world.

Judging by this young man’s attire and demeanor, could he be one of those legendary Pill Cultivators?

Apparently, others shared the same thought. A crowd had already gathered to watch.

After cleaning the pill furnace, the young man casually reached out—and a large handful of herbs appeared out of thin air before him.

The surrounding mortals were instantly dumbfounded. Someone in the crowd gasped in astonishment.

“That’s a legendary Mustard Seed Pouch! Such extravagance!”

The young man didn’t weigh or examine the ingredients—he simply tossed them all into the pill furnace in one go.

“So this is the legendary pill cultivator? Impressive!”

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the young man’s pill refinement was completed.

However, as soon as he opened the furnace to retrieve the pills, that familiar burnt stench filled the air again. Alongside it were more than ten discarded pills.

Half of them were charred like coal, while the other half had barely been refined—one could still see the original colors of the ingredients.

With this level of skill, there was no way he was a pill cultivator from the Pill Cauldron Sect.

The previously enthusiastic voices fell silent. The onlookers quietly returned to their stalls, uninterested in watching any further.

The young man’s face turned red with embarrassment. He scanned the crowd and cleared his throat. “Though my pills don’t look great, I used only the finest, freshest ingredients! I guarantee their effectiveness!”

The crowd erupted in laughter.

“Guaranteed effectiveness? More like guaranteed to send someone straight to the coffin shop on East Street!”

“Who would dare buy your poison pills?”

The young man’s face burned with shame. Just as he was about to grab one of the less-burnt pills and swallow it to prove it wasn’t poisonous, a small, thin figure suddenly darted forward.

A little girl seized the young man’s hand, her eyes gleaming as she fixated on the pill like it was a treasure. “How much for this one?”

Yu Youyou was beyond excited.

She could smell the scent of Drunken Heart Flower from this half-burnt pill. Since the pill hadn’t been fully refined, she might still be able to extract the Drunken Heart Flower and use it!

The young man was just as thrilled.

Finally, someone who recognized his worth!

“All the ingredients I used were over a hundred years old! Except for the appearance…”

As he spoke, his voice suddenly trailed off.

For the first time, he got a good look at Yu Youyou.

The little girl before him was frail and emaciated, her complexion deathly pale—like a stray plague-ridden cat on the verge of death. The only thing that still held some life was the glimmer in her pitch-black eyes.

A wave of guilt washed over him. This girl looked extremely unwell—what if she really died from eating the pill? And judging by her appearance, she probably couldn’t afford it anyway.

Yu Youyou noticed his hesitation and immediately reassured him, “Pills are meant to be taken, not admired. What good is it if it just looks nice? I’ll buy it!”

The West Street crowd was full of all sorts of people, and there was never a shortage of those eager to stir up trouble.

“Kid, you finally found someone who appreciates your pills, and now you don’t want to sell?”

“Ha! He must know his pill is poisonous and is afraid it’ll kill someone!”

Hearing this, the young man’s temper flared. He looked at Yu Youyou with grand generosity. “The ingredients alone cost me three thousand taels of silver, but since you have such keen eyesight, I’ll consider you a friend today. Name your price, and I’ll sell it to you!”

That was exactly what Yu Youyou was waiting for!

She pinched the nearly empty money pouch and shook out all the coins inside.

After a moment of thought, she even put one copper coin back.

“Thirty wen. Will you sell it?”

“…”

Good heavens, you really dared to make an offer like that!