Start with everyday skills and grind your way to immortality.

The setting sun, like blood, cast long, slanted shadows across the windowpanes.

Chen Qian's fingertip lingered on the line "shaped like a black dog that eats people".

"Squeak"

The courtyard gate was pushed open

Chen Qian suddenly looked up.

Those eyes, which always seemed sickly, tensed instantly, like those of a startled wolf.

He instinctively tried to grab something, but grasped nothing.

There was no machete, no splinters, only this yellowed and brittle tattered book in my hand.

"Uncle! Uncle!"

The sound was crisp and bright.

Chen Qian froze, his breath caught in his throat.

He stared intently at the window, his mind buzzing with those images.

The little fish grinned and stuffed the rotten flesh into his mouth, while the thorny branches stung his skin with a burning pain.

My stomach churned.

Don't come any closer.

His teeth clenched so tightly that his body involuntarily shrank back.

But that little face still pressed against the window.

There were no dark, piercing eyes, nor that chilling laugh.

Her cheeks were rosy, her eyes were smiling and curved, and her little hand held a paper package high, her fingertips glistening with oil.

"Uncle! Here's a piece of the malt candy Mom bought!"

She stood on tiptoe, trying to stick her arm in.

That was her most treasured possession, yet she didn't hesitate to share it with her closest uncle.

Chen Qian stood there, staring at the paper package.

"Is it candy?"

"still……?"

His throat was dry, and he hesitated to take it.

"Uncle?" Xiaoyu tilted her head, a little confused. "You don't like sweets anymore?"

Chen Qian took a deep breath, the breath trembling as he suppressed the nausea in his chest.

He finally reached out and took it.

The oiled paper felt rough to the touch of my fingertips, and was also a little warm.

He slowly opened it.

Amber-colored sugar cubes, wrapped in thin rice paper.

It really is sugar.

"call"

Chen Qian slumped into the chair, looking as if his bones had been removed, and gasped for breath.

Only then did I belatedly realize that cold sweat had broken out, clinging to my inner clothes and feeling icy cold.

"Uncle, why are you sweating?" Xiaoyu asked him worriedly.

"No...it's nothing." Chen Qian forced a smile, which looked more like a grimace. "My uncle had a nightmare and was scared."

He raised his hand, wanting to touch her head, but stopped just before he touched it.

He fears.

I'm afraid that if I touch it, my fingertips will touch something else entirely.

"panel!"

He called out in his heart, but there was no response, only emptiness.

Yes, it shouldn't have existed in the first place.

He broke off a small piece of candy and put it in his mouth. The sweetness slowly melted in his mouth; it was truly sweet.

"It's candy...yes, it really is candy!"

"Come on, your uncle will take you out to play," Chen Qian suddenly said.

In this suffocating twilight, he desperately wanted to go outside and see for himself, to confirm the reality of this world.

"Come on, your uncle will take you out to play." He suddenly stood up, his voice still a little weak.

He wanted to go out, immediately, right away.

The room was so stuffy he could hardly breathe.

"Okay!" Little Fish jumped up immediately.

He took Xiaoyu's hand and walked out of the yard.

At the alley entrance, I ran into Aqing, who was walking by with her head down and a basket slung over her arm.

The streets were bustling with noise: vegetable vendors hawking their wares, blacksmiths clanging their weapons, and women arguing loudly over two coins.

The sounds mingled together, creating a cacophony, yet somehow they eased a little of the tension in his shoulders and back.

They are all living, breathing people; they are warm, lively, and normal.

"Uncle! Look at that!" Little Fish pointed to the monkey show on the roadside, her eyes sparkling.

Chen Qian helped her squeeze in.

The monkey did somersaults and put on a hat, making the little fish giggle and clap their hands until they were red.

After watching the monkey show, I passed by a steamed bun shop.

As soon as the steamer was lifted, billowing white steam filled the air, and the irresistible aroma of meat buns wafted into the nostrils.

The little fish stole a few glances, swallowed hard, but immediately turned its face away, pretending to look elsewhere, while deliberately saying how fun the monkey was.

Chen Qian felt a pang of sadness.

He walked over, took out the five polished copper coins, and placed them on the cutting board: "Boss, a meat bun, please."

The shopkeeper was a chubby middle-aged man. He glanced at the few copper coins and frowned.

Five coins? Not enough. Meat buns are six coins each now.

Chen Qian was taken aback: "Six coins? You didn't return them a few days ago..."

The shop owner waved his hand and explained, "That was a few days ago! Meat prices went up, and so did noodle prices. I was selling these at a loss."

The five copper coins lay on the greasy chopping board, looking thin and pitiful.

Just one article short.

Just this one penny.

This scene is all too familiar.

It was as if he had experienced such embarrassment countless times, and been slapped hard by life countless times because of this one penny.

People around cast glances their way, some with a hint of mockery.

Chen Qian felt his face burning; the embarrassment felt like an invisible hand slapping him hard across the face.

"Uncle, I'm not hungry."

Just then, a small hand gently tugged at his sleeve.

The little fish tilted its head back, a sensible smile on its face, but its eyes darted away, unable to look at the basket of buns any longer.

"Really, I'm not hungry at all. Mom's cooking is so delicious, let's go home and eat."

Chen Qian lowered his head and looked at her, who was clearly swallowing saliva but pretending to be sensible. His throat felt like it was blocked by something.

He silently took back the copper coin, clutching it in his palm, where it hurt painfully.

"Yes, let's go home."

He grabbed the little fish and practically fled the steamed bun shop.

On the way home, Xiaoyu was still very happy.

They chattered excitedly about how fun it was to see the monkey doing somersaults.

Chen Qian couldn't say a word.

By the time I got home, it was completely dark.

A dim oil lamp was lit in the main room.

On the table was a bowl of thin porridge so thick you could see your reflection, and a dish of dark, pickled vegetable dumplings.

Chen Ke sat at the table, his brows furrowed, rubbing a few copper coins in his hand—his wages that he had received in advance from the grain store that day.

"Ah Qian's medicine is almost finished, and the rice jar is almost empty too. Sigh."

Lin Xiu was busy at the stove, her back slightly hunched, her voice filled with suppressed exhaustion and anxiety:

"Honey, if all else fails, how about we sell the hen that lays eggs in the backyard? It's hard to part with it, but we can get a few dozen coins to buy some medicine for Ah Qian to tide him over."

Chen Ke sighed: "That chicken was saved for Xiaoyu to occasionally supplement her nutrition..."

"I'll go and beg the shopkeeper again tomorrow."

Lin Xiu's voice trembled with tears: "Beg? How many times have you begged?"

"And as for the county school, Instructor Li said that if we can't pay the tuition fees, A-Qian's spot will be gone... Our Chen family has finally produced a promising student."

Chen Qian sat in his room, listening to the whispers coming from next door.

The conversation, the scene—it was so familiar it broke his heart.

This is his home.

Poverty, hardship, struggling in the quagmire of survival.

And he was the heaviest and most useless burden in this family.

Without that mysterious panel, what is he?

If you lose your photographic memory, how will you pass the imperial examinations?

Without any way to improve my health, I'm so sick I can't even find a job carrying goods.

even……

They couldn't even afford to buy Xiaoyu a six-cent steamed bun.

"Honey, how about... we let Ah Qian become an apprentice at that silk shop that Aunt Zhang next door mentioned?"

A sigh came from next door, tinged with helplessness and uncertainty:

"Although it's a bit tough, at least they provide food and lodging, so we don't have to worry about it, and it saves us food for the family..."

Chen Ke remained silent for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a sentence in a hoarse voice:

"Let's...wait a little longer. Ah-Qian is weak and can't take that kind of hardship."

Chen Qian's fingers dug deep into his palm, causing him excruciating pain.

apprentice?

That's signing a death contract, binding someone for life with little chance of redemption.