"AAAAH! A ghost! I saw a ghost! I really saw a ghost!"
Ren Yi's bloodcurdling screams were so shrill that they instantly drew the attention of passersby, who began pointing and jeering at him.
"Look at that beggar—he must have gone mad, hopping around like a lunatic all by himself!"
"Hahaha! This is hilarious! He looks like a shaman doing some weird ritual. Bet he got beaten silly one too many times!"
"Tsk tsk tsk… That guy's got one hell of a tough life. Saw Butcher Ma and his gang beating the crap out of him yesterday, and now he's up and bouncing around like nothing happened!"
Ren Yi was long used to such cold, mocking remarks and paid them no mind. What really bugged him was—couldn't they see that ghostly thing standing right in front of him?!
His shoulders trembled like a sieve, and his calves shook violently as he stumbled backward. He wasn't afraid of dying, but that didn't mean he feared nothing under the sun.
"S-Stay back! I… I know some martial arts!"
Ren Yi awkwardly struck a starting pose—the kind street performers loved to use as their signature stance. He stared warily at the transparent figure, treating her like a mortal enemy.
The transparent girl, ignored by everyone else, was especially hurt by Ren Yi's reaction. She zipped right up to him in a flash, looking utterly wronged.
"What do you think you're doing? A-Are you gonna hit me?"
"Sniffle… You're so mean! First you tried to sell me, now you wanna beat me up! Waaaa!"
The transparent girl fixed her big, round eyes on Ren Yi, tears streaming down her cheeks in big globs—she looked absolutely pitiful.
A twinge of guilt tugged at Ren Yi's heart. He quickly dropped his fighting stance and tried to comfort her clumsily. "Uh… I wasn't gonna hit you, and I wasn't gonna sell you either… So why are you crying anyway?!"
"You weren't gonna hit me? Heehee… Then I'm gonna hit you!"
Like flipping a switch, the transparent girl instantly stopped crying. She raised her tiny fist and shouted at Ren Yi, "Prajna Fist—!"
A cold gust of wind swept through the air, freezing everything in its path. But nothing happened. The transparent girl just stood there, holding her hand up like a fool.
She stared at Ren Yi in bewilderment. "Immortal King? Monster? Cultivator?"
Ren Yi shook his head dumbly, his eyes blank—he had no idea what she was talking about.
The transparent girl stared at her little fist, muttering to herself, "That can't be right! Why didn't anything happen? Could this big dummy actually be stronger than me?"
Refusing to believe it, she waved her arm again and yelled, "Rock Blast!"
This was her signature move, one she'd figured out all by herself. It could turn anyone she touched to stone in an instant. One little push, and her target would shatter into a million pieces—worked like a charm every single time.
Yet again, she was met with utter failure. The big dummy in front of her didn't react at all; instead, he even rubbed his stomach, looking bored out of his mind.
"Little girl, I don't know what kind of trick you're playing, but I don't have time for this—I'm starving. Bye!"
The last two words came out so polite and courteous that Ren Yi even impressed himself. When had he ever been this well-mannered in his life?
Well, it was only because she was a little girl, that's all.
The onlookers, seeing this scene, were now fully convinced that Ren Yi was a raving lunatic. As he walked toward them, they scattered like rats fleeing a cat, keeping a safe distance of three zhang away, avoiding him like the plague.
The transparent girl was still testing her powers on the snow and the walls, waving her arms around, completely baffled as to why her abilities weren't working.
Suddenly, an unexpected pull yanked her off her feet, sending her flying straight toward Ren Yi.
"AAAAH! What are you doing? Let go of me!"
The transparent girl's face twisted in terror, thinking she'd been captured by some secret technique.
Her voice was so filled with panic, as if she were enduring unspeakable torment. That heart-wrenching cry pierced Ren Yi's mind, and even though he had a heart of stone, he couldn't help but turn around to look.
"What's wrong? What's… going on?"
He watched, wide-eyed, as the transparent girl crashed into him. He couldn't dodge in time. In that split second, there was a loud THUD—Ren Yi went flying like a ragdoll.
In the middle of the road, a young nobleman dressed in fancy silk robes was spreading his arms to block a flower-selling girl. His lecherous gaze hadn't even finished lingering on her when Ren Yi crashed into him, sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt—he almost bit off his own tongue.
To make matters worse, the nobleman landed right in a puddle of mud. Mud splattered all over his face and clothes, making him shake with rage.
"How dare you ruin my fun! You must be tired of living!"
The nobleman lifted his robe and charged at Ren Yi, who was still lying on the ground.
For some inexplicable reason, he couldn't even walk properly on flat ground. His left foot tripped over his right, and he fell flat on his face again. When he looked up, everyone around him burst into fits of laughter.
"Pfft! Hahaha! Look at his pig snout!"
The flower girl was giggling so hard that she could barely stand, her laughter adding a splash of brightness to the cold, bleak world.
"Hahaha! I'm dying of laughter! He looks like a big fat pig rolling in the mud!"
Infected by the mood, the transparent girl joined in the laughter, cackling uncontrollably.
Ren Yi climbed to his feet awkwardly, rubbing his sore buttocks and silently cursing the god of bad luck's entire family.
What on earth had he done to deserve this?!
"Cough… My sincere apologies, sir! I couldn't help myself—I didn't mean to offend you. Please, I beg your pardon…"
He truly felt sorry, so he imitated the way stuffy scholars talked and made a clumsy bow.
But the nobleman was already seeing red and wasn't having any of it. He cut Ren Yi off rudely. "Pardon my ass! You ruined my fine robe! Now tell me—how are you going to pay for it?!"
"Uh… Sir, are you sure you want me to pay?"
Ren Yi held out his empty hands. Did he look like he had any money to spare?
"Cut the crap! If you can't pay, I'll sell you off as a slave!"
The nobleman stared at Ren Yi greedily, as if he could already see piles of silver ingots rolling into his pockets. Even though this guy was just a stinky beggar, he was a strapping young man—perfect for working in his coal mine, which was short on laborers!
Ren Yi swallowed nervously. Since this guy was obviously up to no good, he didn't need to be polite anymore.
"You're being ridiculous! Farewell!"
With that, he turned to leave. But the nobleman stepped forward and grabbed him. "Leaving so soon? Not a chance! Either you pay up, or you work off your debt as a slave—your choice!"
"Go to hell! I've got no money, and I'm not gonna be anyone's slave!" Ren Yi roughly shoved the nobleman aside and made a run for it.
Perhaps he really was a jinx reincarnated, because a figure suddenly came running toward him at full speed and crashed into him head-on.
His mortal body couldn't handle the impact. He was sent stumbling backward uncontrollably.
He must have stepped on something, because behind him came the nobleman's bloodcurdling scream, loud enough to split eardrums. The scream scared Ren Yi so much that he plopped down onto the ground.
The world fell silent in an instant.
The feeling beneath him was soft yet hard and bumpy. Ren Yi scrambled to his feet in a hurry. When he looked down, he saw that the nobleman was already foaming at the mouth and had passed out cold.
The transparent girl, who loved nothing more than watching a good fight, clapped her hands and cheered loudly. "Yay! He squashed him! Way to go! Woohoo!"
She hopped around excitedly, but no one paid her any attention. After shouting a few more times, she crossed her arms in a huff, looking like a child throwing a tantrum—I'm super mad, and you'll regret it!
But Ren Yi had no time to care whether the transparent girl was happy or not. He was in deep trouble now, and his head was spinning with worry.
The person who'd crashed into him was none other than the top dog of the Divine Spirit Sect—Chu Hanyang.
He was called the "top dog" not because he was handsome or unmatched in his cultivation skills, but because he held the highest authority in the sect after the Sect Master himself. Rumor had it that he was the Sect Master's illegitimate son; at a glance, their facial features did bear a faint resemblance.
Whether the rumors were true or not, no one except the parties involved knew for sure. Either way, this was a man far beyond the reach of a lowly beggar like Ren Yi.