◎In the Cultivation World, Let’s Not Be Speciesist◎
The Qingming season brought relentless rain, and Tonghua County had been shrouded in gloom for half a month. Clothes hung out to dry stayed damp for days, and even the fur of cats and dogs felt moist to the touch.
Yu Youyou clutched a ragged cloth, roughly wiping her tail.
Yes, her tail.
Even after half a month of rebirth, Yu Youyou still wasn’t used to this thing’s existence.
It got sore when she sat or lay on it, was easily dirtied when she used the bathroom, and worst of all—it shed fur constantly.
But being granted a second life, an extra tail wasn’t much of a bother.
Half a month ago, when the snow in Tonghua County had yet to melt, Yu Youyou—the youngest professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the post-apocalyptic world—shivered awake from the cold, only to find herself reborn as a thirteen-year-old half-demon child.
After sorting through the original body’s memories, she realized she had transmigrated into a minor character with the same name in a typical "dragon conqueror" novel.
The dragon conqueror was her father. Unfortunately, her mother wasn’t the female lead but a demonic princess turned villainess.
The male lead, Yu Bubie, was a genius swordsman. Trapped in the demon realm, he won the trust and affection of the demon princess due to his "unremarkable yet inexplicably charming" demeanor, eventually becoming her cultivation partner.
Years later, after achieving great power, he seized the opportunity to slay the princess during her difficult childbirth. He then massacred her entire clan and used their newborn daughter as a hostage to escape.
For a dragon conqueror protagonist like Yu Bubie, such actions weren’t considered cruel. They called it "strategic brilliance" and "decisive ruthlessness."
The only one who suffered was the child brought back to the human realm.
Humans give birth to humans, demons to demons—so what do you call the offspring of a human and a demon?
Not a "human-demon," but a "half-demon."
Bearing the blood of both races didn’t mean inheriting their talents. Instead, it brought a monthly backlash of conflicting bloodlines. Survive the agony, and you live another month. Fail, and you die in torment.
With proper care, the child could have grown up. With the right spiritual medicines, she might even have regained her health.
But there was none.
Because to Yu Bubie, this half-demon bastard was a stain on his honor.
Every time he looked at her, he was reminded of his humiliating past—trapped in the demon realm, forced to grovel before that demoness.
Yu Bubie had taken his daughter on a whim, but his loathing for the demon princess ran deep. Seeing his half-demon child only disgusted him further, so he dumped her in Tonghua County, leaving her in the care of a servant, Nanny Zhang.
At first, Nanny Zhang was cautious. But as years passed without so much as a visit or inquiry from the dragon conqueror, her vigilance waned.
Resentful of the burden, she began to abuse the child, treating her like a stray animal—beating and scolding her at will.
Half a month ago, the original body finally succumbed to the bloodline backlash, dying in agony. Terrified, Nanny Zhang packed her belongings and fled overnight.
News of the half-demon’s death reached Yu Bubie much later. By then, he had already sired a pair of twins with his new cultivation partner, achieving his perfect ending. His beloved wife smiled and congratulated him—
"That wretched thing’s death is for the best. Now, there are no more blemishes on you."
The half-demon child’s entire life was summed up in less than a hundred words in the novel—her story ended there.
When pharmaceutical professor Yu Youyou transmigrated into this world, she was left with an empty courtyard—not a grain of rice remained, only heavy furniture too cumbersome to move.
Without the deed, she couldn’t sell the house. Over the past days, Yu Youyou had been busy selling tables, chairs, and stools, scraping together two taels of silver.
She needed to prepare for the next bloodline backlash—this money was for medicine.
Yu Youyou couldn’t yet cure the bloodline conflict, but she recognized many of this world’s herbs. At the very least, she could concoct some basic remedies to strengthen her frail body.
But tonic herbs were expensive, and she was broke. For now, she could only afford materials for painkillers.
Plucking a paulownia leaf to shield herself from the drizzle, Yu Youyou tucked her meager savings into her sleeve and stepped out.
The entire city was veiled in misty rain. At this time of year, Tonghua County’s paulownia trees were in full bloom, their blossoms painting the streets in vibrant hues. The moss-covered stone paths were strewn with rain-damp petals, and the spring wind carried a flurry of white through the city.
A closer look revealed that not all the white was from flowers—some were scattered funeral paper offerings.
No one found it ominous. The people of Tonghua County were long accustomed to it.
In fact, many shrewd merchants approached, first feigning grief with dry eyes before eagerly offering premium coffins and burial plots.
Tonghua County’s funeral industry was renowned across the Eastern Realm.
The mild climate made it a famed retreat for convalescence, and the presence of the Alchemy Sect’s headquarters here drew countless aspiring apothecaries. Mortals and cultivators alike—especially the sick and injured—flocked to this place.
Where there were many patients, there were also many deaths.
The east street peddled coffins and incense, while the west street sold herbs and elixirs. The two businesses coexisted in harmony.
By the time Yu Youyou reached the west street, her legs were trembling.
This body was simply too weak—even a short walk left her breathless.
Luckily, she spotted the herb she needed right at the street’s entrance.
Datura metel—a key ingredient for potent painkillers in the post-apocalyptic world.
Yu Youyou weighed her coin pouch and crouched, casually sifting through some unrelated herbs before picking up the wilted datura.
"How much for this?"
The vendor frowned upon seeing her face, then glanced behind her. Spotting the tuft of tail fur peeking from her skirt, his expression twisted in disgust as he waved her off.
"Not selling. Get lost."
With that, he snatched the datura back and stuffed it into his basket.
"……"
Yu Youyou moved to the next stall, but before she could speak, the vendor scowled.
"I don’t deal with demons. Scram!"
Undeterred, she turned toward a row of stalls run by demon vendors—some with furry faces, others with beast ears.
Yet they offered no warmth either, preemptively cutting her off.
"Want to buy herbs? Sure. Either a hundred spirit jades or ten thousand taels of gold."
"……" Why not just rob me?
Unfiltered gossip buzzed around her.
From the human side—
"Isn’t that the demon brat from Nanny Zhang’s place? Why’s she still here when the whole family moved?"
"I saw her at their doorstep last month—looked half-dead then. Surprised she’s still kicking."
From the demon side—
"Another disgrace to our bloodline!"
"Which shameless demon even bred with a human to spawn this half-breed? Disgusting!"
Yu Youyou remained unfazed. Thanks to her half-demon status, the original body had been somewhat infamous in these streets.
Humans and demons had been at odds since a great war five centuries ago, with little interaction between them. However, Tonghua County bordered the demon realm, and many demons sneaked in to trade herbs. So, seeing demons here wasn’t unusual.
However, most ordinary people still discriminate against the demon clan. They don't know about half - demons and simply classify all of them as demons.
The demon clan also looks down on Yu Youyou, whose blood is impure and smells of humans at a sniff. They firmly don't recognize her as a member of the demon clan.
In fact, the original Yu Youyou was very afraid of going out. Firstly, her health was too poor to walk far. Secondly, she would be bullied every time she went out.
Some humans would call her a monster and splash her with buckets of feces. Some demons would call her a little bastard and throw stones at her tail.
Being hated by both humans and demons couldn't be worse.
Fortunately, not everyone practiced species discrimination. There were still many kind - hearted street vendors willing to sell medicine to Yu Youyou, and she managed to gather most of the herbs.
It was a pity that she had almost reached the end of West Street but still hadn't seen the second intoxicating flower.
It was still early. Maybe there would be other herb collectors coming to sell herbs in the afternoon.
Yu Youyou decided to wait a bit. But at this moment, she was both hungry and tired, so she could only squat under the eaves of a corner to rest.
There were people on the street shouting to sell steamed buns and meat patties. Yu Youyou only took a glance and then averted her eyes. She had asked before, and both the buns and the meat patties cost two copper coins each. They were too expensive.
The steamed buns in East Street cost one copper coin for two. She would go back later and buy two. That could last her a whole day.
Saving more money could be used to buy medicine to save her life.
However, the fried meat patties over there smelled so delicious that the aroma wafted over in gusts, making Yu Youyou, who hadn't eaten meat for half a month, couldn't help but swallow her saliva.
Just as Yu Youyou was considering whether to go buy steamed buns right away, a strange burnt smell suddenly emerged, overpowering the aroma of the meat patties.
She looked up and scanned around but couldn't find the source of the smell. Instead, she noticed that a young man in brocade clothes had appeared across the street at some point. He was tinkering with a pill furnace at the moment, and there was actually a spirit stone formation underneath!
Yu Youyou perked up.
In this world, apart from ordinary people, there were also cultivators, and pill refiners were one of them.
If there were magic pills, Yu Youyou, who was on the verge of death at any time, might have a chance of being saved. Moreover, for a master of medicine, this was a fatal attraction, as it was a mysterious field she couldn't reach in her previous life!
It was said that the Pill Cauldron Sect would occasionally send its disciples out for training. Judging from the young man's clothes and demeanor, could he be the legendary pill refiner?
Many people had the same thought as Yu Youyou, and there were quite a few onlookers at this time.
After the young man cleaned the pill furnace, he casually reached out and a large handful of herbs suddenly appeared in front of him out of thin air.
The ordinary people around were immediately stunned. Someone in the crowd started to exclaim first.
"Isn't that the legendary mustard pouch? How generous!"
The young man didn't weigh the herbs or look carefully. He just threw all the herbs into the pill furnace at once.
"Is this the legendary pill refiner? How amazing!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the young man finished refining his pills.
However, after he opened the furnace and took out the pills inside, that familiar burnt smell reappeared, and more than a dozen useless pills were also revealed.
Half of them were as black as charcoal, and the other half weren't fully refined. You could still see the original color of the herbs.
With this kind of skill, it was impossible for him to be a pill refiner from the Pill Cauldron Sect.
The previous exclamations suddenly stopped. Everyone silently went back to their stalls and didn't plan to watch anymore.
The young man felt a bit embarrassed. He looked around at the crowd, cleared his throat, and said, "Although these pills don't look good, I used the best and freshest herbs! I guarantee they have excellent efficacy!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Excellent efficacy? You're probably going to send someone to the coffin shop in East Street next door after taking them!"
"Ask around and see who dares to buy your poisonous pills?"
The young man's face flushed. Just as he was about to take out an un - burnt pill and swallow it to prove it was non - toxic, a small and thin figure suddenly rushed out.
A little girl suddenly grabbed the young man's hand and stared at the pill as if she had found a treasure. "How much is this pill?"
Yu Youyou was extremely excited.
She smelled the intoxicating flower in this un - burnt semi - finished pill. Moreover, since the herbs weren't fully refined, she might be able to pick out the intoxicating flower and use it!
The young man was also very excited.
Finally, someone with good taste had appeared!
"The herbs I used here are all of a hundred - year - old and of the best quality. It's just that they look..."
As the young man was speaking, his voice suddenly stopped.
Only then did he clearly see Yu Youyou's appearance.
The little girl in front of him was as thin as a stick and her face was as pale as a ghost. She was like a dying stray cat on the street. The only sign of life on her whole face was her bright black eyes.
The young man couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. This girl didn't look well. What if she really died after taking the pill? And judging from her appearance, she didn't seem like someone who could afford it.
Yu Youyou noticed the young man's hesitation and immediately encouraged him, "Medicine is for taking, not for looking at. What's the use of looking good? I'll buy this pill!"
There were all kinds of people in West Street, and there was no shortage of people who liked to stir things up. "Kid, finally, a bole has taken a fancy to your pills. Why are you still being stingy?"
"Humph, you must know your pills are poisonous and are afraid of killing someone!"
Hearing this, the young man immediately got angry. He looked at Yu Youyou boldly and said, "I spent three thousand taels of silver on the herbs just now. But since you have good taste, I'll make friends with you today. You can name your price, and I'll sell it to you!"
That's exactly what she wanted!
Yu Youyou pinched her almost empty money bag and shook out all the money inside.
But then she thought for a while and put one copper coin back.
"Thirty copper coins. Will you sell it?"
"..."
Goodness, you really dare to make an offer!
