When a person is drowning in despair, their perception of time changes.
Some feel it stretches endlessly, as if every minute, every second, is a torment—like a mermaid stepping on land, painfully distant.
Others feel it rushes by.
As if just a blink of an eye passed, only to be reminded by someone—
“Oh, so much time has actually gone by.”
These past few days.
The former is Half-Immortal Su. He’s been busy performing rituals, praying for blessings, and arranging to send things to Su Chen for healing. When he heard the vicious rumor circulating on the streets, he was utterly numb.
If any of it worked, he wouldn’t hesitate for a second.
But it doesn’t.
The human world values life. Praying for the wounded is already a difficult task, leaving no room for the slightest shadow of darkness. Trying to take one life to save another is pure evil—a path of ruin that only diminishes one’s own fortune and may not even succeed.
Since childhood, Su Chen had little luck. When other kids climbed trees to collect bird nests, they might find two or three eggs.
He?
Empty-handed was the norm. Sometimes, bad luck even meant running into a snake stealing eggs.
He simply had no fortune.
Better not to recklessly stir things up…
The latter is Su Zhenzhu. She’s also very busy, completely absorbed in uncovering the “truth.” But the deeper she digs, the more hopeless it becomes—
It really does seem like an accident.
Su Zhenzhu hates it.
Maybe her nature is bad—bad to the bone, black to the core. Losing her family hurts too much. To vent that pain, she wants a “culprit” to blame, preferably a group of people conspiring together.
That way, she can wash away her pain one by one with blood, with the screams of others.
An accident?
Ridiculous.
And cruel. The heavens have been too cruel to her and her family.
Su Zhenzhu thought coldly.
So, the shopkeepers’ worries were justified. If Su Chen really died—even if it was an accident, even if those people were officially under Su Chen’s command—they might still not escape being implicated.
Su Ning: Being a villain is just talk.
Though she hasn’t actually done anything yet.
But Beiping City has already been thrown into chaos. Ordinary people remain cheerful, eating the free rice they received and discussing whether Su Chen will survive.
Some, however, have been tormented to the point of despair.
“They’re not family, they don’t belong to the same household. This Su Zhenzhu, so young, still a college student, how can she be so unreasonable? Just like her cousin…”
The last sentence was spoken softly, as if in this private, hidden place, afraid someone might overhear. Nobody mocked her; instead, the conversation opened up.
“Unreasonable? She’s downright crazy!”
One person said gloomily.
“She’s swept through several of my streets. I can’t do business. My men are hungry and I have no way to feed them. When Su Chen was alive, she never acted this arrogantly. At least then she was honest and fought with us.”
What’s most frustrating is that he can only endure it.
Su Zhenzhu isn’t the scary one.
The terrifying thing is the dragon behind her—especially at this critical moment.
Others advised.
“Just endure it for a while. I heard Su Chen’s condition is worse. This all started just a few days ago. Don’t do anything foolish.”
"Just the other day, some guy had the nerve to claim he had a family heirloom miracle cure that could heal Su Chen. Turns out, that so-called miracle cure was actually Fu Shou Gao!"
Fu Shou Gao is just opium.
At this moment, quite a few people were smoking it. There’s a legend that it can prolong life and strengthen the body—some here actually believe that.
Upon hearing this, someone immediately said:
"The claim about a family heirloom miracle cure is exaggerated, but maybe Fu Shou Gao really works. I once saw a sick person smoke it, and their pain disappeared; they recovered quickly. So why didn’t the doctors suggest Miss Su use it from the start?"
But there were opposing opinions as well.
"It’s useless, that stuff is poison. Anyone who uses it ends up with no good fate—neither fully human nor ghost."
"That’s because they quit."
The first person retorted immediately:
"It’s fine if you don’t quit the drug, and besides, those people were smoking low-grade opium with too many impurities. With Miss Su’s ability, she’d definitely be able to get the best quality stuff. Life and death come first; if it keeps you alive, who cares if you have to smoke it for the rest of your life? She’s not someone who can’t afford it."
He spoke with such conviction.
Among the group, some nodded in agreement, especially the one who first brought up the topic.
But then said:
"Don’t say that outside. The person who offered the Fu Shou Gao meant well, but Miss Su didn’t appreciate it. Not only did she reject it, but she also made that person’s life miserable—no help from heaven or earth. Even the opium dens got dragged into this, and the streets have been shutting them down every day."
"Really?"
"Can’t be. So many people rely on that opium to survive."
"It’s absolutely true," the tone was firm. "I have firsthand information. The whole town’s in an uproar right now, but like I said, no one dares to cause trouble in front of Su Ning at this critical moment. Everyone’s just waiting for Su Chen to die before they try to make their moves."
"Yeah, those who can’t get their life-saving opium these days are in for a tough time."
"Ah, I hope Su Chen dies soon."
"Miss Su herself is a mystery—on one hand, she gives out freebies to the poor to pray for Su Chen’s recovery; on the other, she does these ill-fated things that cut off people’s lifelines."
"Exactly…"
…………
Su Ning had no idea that people were secretly accusing her of damaging the town’s fortunes by shutting down the opium dens.
But even if she knew, she wouldn’t care.
After all, being misunderstood for doing good deeds was just part of her fate. Sometimes, achieving the desired effect required her to carefully orchestrate things herself.
Take this free giveaway, for example.
Nowadays, even manure has value—“don’t let the fertilizer flow to outsiders.” When you go to the bathroom, you have to squat in your own field.
Giving away food, drink, and supplies to strangers for free isn’t something a genuinely kind person would do.
That’s why Su Ning was worried.
Then, the system suddenly snapped her out of her daze.
"Host, dabbling in the occult is fine occasionally, but when it really counts, you need to be practical. Using your reputation to have others pray for blessings might backfire—it could be seen as insincere and ineffective."
"I think you should find a few key characters to be a little ruthless and accumulate some lottery chances. Remember, superstition can’t change fate, but spending real money can."
"For example, Wu Yi is a great candidate..."
"Wait," Su Ning interrupted, "say that again."
"I said we should squeeze the story characters for extra lottery chances, and Wu Yi is a perfect choice."
Su Ning: ...
Holding grudges all the way.
But then, she recalled the crucial line: *Having ulterior motives? Fine, she wants them to think she has ulterior motives!*
Now it was the system’s turn to be speechless.
It still had one more line: *Without sincerity, it won’t work.*
"No worries. Even if the world misunderstands me, my Heavenly Dao Daddy surely won’t," Su Ning said confidently.
And then came the result—
A small box containing twenty-four vials of penicillin.
Su Ning raised an eyebrow.
It seemed like a silent message to the system: See? I told you I was right.
