1: Sishui Beggar

Tianyuan Southern Region.

Chen Kingdom, under the jurisdiction of the Corpse Fiend Sect, Sishui Town.

Dark clouds rolled, and goose-feather snow drifted down.

The Pei Manor was brightly lit, the sound of decadent music never-ending; the aroma of wine and meat attracted many beggars to gather outside.

"This damned world, it gives people no way to live!"

Fang Huai shivered from the cold; his parched hair was covered in frost, but his chest felt like it was burning, making it hard to breathe.

His chapped hands shook the snowflakes off his tattered clothes; he bit the tip of his tongue, forcing himself to stay conscious.

He couldn't pass out; if he did, he would never wake up again.

This world wouldn't let him live, but he was determined to survive!

"Screeech—"

The gates of the Pei Manor opened a crack, and a servant poured steaming swill onto the snow. Seeing this, the beggars lunged forward desperately to snatch the leftovers.

"Look at these things!"

The servant doubled over laughing. "What's the difference between them and the swine in the pen? They go crazy for a bit of swill!"

The smell of wine mixed with the gaminess of mutton and the fishy stench of unknown tonics was extremely pungent, but to the beggars, it was a delicacy.

Fang Huai had a limp in his left leg, yet his movements were actually faster than the able-bodied beggars. However, just as he neared the food, someone tripped him.

By the time he stood up again, everything edible had been snatched away. Even the stone bricks on the ground had been licked clean by the beggars until they shone.

This was a year of famine; the crops had failed completely. The poor had reached the point of exchanging children for food, let alone the beggars on the street.

Not even halfway through the twelfth lunar month, dozens had already starved to death.

But the Pei family was different. As the actual rulers of Sishui Town, the swill they threw out was much better than the meals of ordinary folk.

"Get lost, all of you! You stinking beggars, who gave you the nerve to touch the Pei family's things?"

Fang Huai looked up and saw a young man in fine silk walking out of the gate, surrounded by Pei family servants. It was the Pei family's Second Young Master, Pei Hu.

Hearing his voice, the beggars scattered in a panic, and Fang Huai also hurried to get out of the way.

Memories flooded back; this Pei Hu was naturally cruel and enjoyed tormenting people. Over a dozen concubines had died at his hands, not to mention the beggars he had tortured to death.

The original owner of this body had frozen to death on a cold night after Pei Hu broke his leg.

Now that his body was weak, he couldn't afford to provoke this god of plague.

But as luck would have it, what he feared most happened. Seeing the other beggars were agile, the Pei family servants targeted him, the cripple, and dragged him before Pei Hu.

Pei Hu looked down at him, his tone mocking. "Call me Master Pei and kowtow three times, and I'll reward you with a full meal. Otherwise, I'll break your other leg!"

In this freezing weather, if both his legs were broken, he would surely die.

Endure this humiliation for now, and make Pei Hu pay a hundredfold in the future!

Fang Huai suppressed his anger, but before he could speak, Pei Hu's wooden staff already struck toward his face.

"You stinking beggar, you actually believed me? Master Pei will make it clear: today, I'm going to beat a fool like you to death!"

Son of a bitch... Fang Huai's head rang, and his vision blurred. In a daze, a white light screen lit up before his eyes:

[Fang Huai]

[Mortal Physique]

[Hunger and Cold (Gray)] [Death is Imminent]

[Remaining Points: 1]

[Points can be used for tag exchange or refreshing; 1 point is added daily]

A hallucination?

Or... focusing his mind on the tags, there were actually corresponding notes:

[Hunger and Cold: Physiological Hunger and Cold]

[Death is Imminent: Today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow... you will surely die]

Looking up at Pei Hu, this ferocious man also had tags above his head:

[Warmly Dressed and Well-Fed (Gray)] [Frail Constitution (Gray)]

[Warmly Dressed and Well-Fed: Physiologically full and warm]

[Frail Constitution: A common ailment of sons from wealthy families]

In a flash of inspiration, Fang Huai focused his thoughts on his [Hunger and Cold] and Pei Hu's [Warmly Dressed and Well-Fed].

Could he really exchange tags with Pei Hu?

With a thought, the light screen blurred for a moment before becoming clear again. Fang Huai's tag changed from [Hunger and Cold] to [Warmly Dressed and Well-Fed].

And Pei Hu's tag changed from [Warmly Dressed and Well-Fed] to [Hunger and Cold].

[Tag Remaining Time: Twelve hours]

A long-lost sense of fullness came from his stomach, and his body was wrapped in warmth.

Fang Huai was overjoyed; he had actually exchanged the tags. Moreover, he could clearly perceive that with another thought, he could return the exchanged tags.

Pei Hu suddenly shivered, his stomach growling loudly. He said irritably, "Unlucky. Why did it suddenly get so cold? And I'm Starving."

Losing interest in his fun, he no longer bothered with Fang Huai and called his servants to hurry back into the manor.

Fang Huai stood frozen. Although he was still in rags and hadn't eaten a single grain of rice, the feeling of fullness and warmth was real, and his physical condition had improved.

Limping back to the ruined temple where the beggars gathered, he was greeted by teasing as soon as he entered.

"Little Huai, why are you back so late? Did someone break your leg again?"

"Hey, don't tease him. To beg for food, you have to look miserable. Fang Huai's miserable look is a gift from the heavens!"

"Hahaha, if you want to look this miserable, I can help you!"

"..."

Fang Huai didn't bother with them. He lay down comfortably on the straw mat and covered himself with thick straw.

"Belch~"

A loud sound, and silence fell around him. His loud belch drew the attention of all the beggars.

"Kid, you didn't actually eat something good, did you?" The Old Beggar who had just mocked Fang Huai crawled over to him and pried his mouth open to sniff:

"You haven't even eaten a rat's hair or a chicken's feather, and you're still faking it? You'll starve to death!"

A wave of mockery followed. The beggars breathed a sigh of relief; if Fang Huai had really eaten his fill, they would definitely be too upset to sleep.

The Old Beggar's mouth was full of black teeth, and the sour stench made Fang Huai choke.

He hurriedly pushed the other away. "Old man, it'll take a while for me to starve to death, but if you don't get up, I'll be choked to death by your stinking teeth first!"

Before he could finish, the Old Beggar forced something into his mouth and whispered in his ear, "Don't make a sound. I still have a little stash. It's a bit spoiled, but it'll keep you alive."

After speaking, he laughed loudly on purpose. "My teeth stink because I eat a lot. Don't be jealous, hahahaha!"

Fang Huai chewed; it was half a piece of spoiled corn bun.

It was delicious... Checking the Old Beggar's information, the tag showed [Barely Subsisting (Gray)].

"Thank you!"

Fang Huai thanked him sincerely. He hadn't expected that in this cold world, there would be such a heartwarming side.

————

Pei Manor.

Pei Hu reclined on a soft couch, surrounded by four naked, pretty beauties.

They pressed against Pei Hu's body, trying their best to warm him, but not only did they fail to warm him, they themselves were shivering from the cold.

"Change them! These women are as cold as corpses!"

With the [Hunger and Cold] tag, Pei Hu was shivering all over. Even though his stomach was full of food, he still cramped from hunger.

He had lived in luxury since childhood; how could he have suffered like this?

"Get out! All of you, get out!"

Pei Hu's eyes were bloodshot; the newly arrived women were still as cold as ice!

Getting up from the bed, he lunged naked toward the table full of food. Since he couldn't solve the cold, he would solve the hunger first.

He stuffed delicacies from the table into his mouth, not caring if they suited his taste, gorging himself frantically.

"Young Master, you can't eat anymore..." The butler tried to stop Pei Hu, only to be met with a savage, demonic glare.

The butler was certain that if he spoke up again, he would be torn apart and swallowed by Pei Hu.

Pei Hu had long been unable to eat more, but the speed of his intake didn't slow down.

Hungry! So hungry!

After eating for a long time, the effect was like having only eaten half a corn bun; it couldn't alleviate the hunger at all!

Why couldn't this stomach be filled!

Suddenly, he clutched his belly, which had bloated into a ball, and fell to the floor wailing, "It hurts! Help... help me!"

Food mixed with blood surged from his throat. Pei Hu rolled on the floor in pain, and after a while, he went still.

The butler walked forward tremblingly, then collapsed to the ground. "Young Master?"

Pei Hu was bleeding from his seven orifices; he had actually stuffed himself to death.

Meanwhile, in the ruined temple, Fang Huai wasn't faring well either. He had been sleeping comfortably but was suddenly jolted awake by a feeling of extreme fullness and heat.

Even though he had done nothing, the [Warmly Dressed and Well-Fed] tag he had exchanged had turned into [Stuffed to Bursting].

"What is that guy Pei Hu doing? No matter how good the food is, you shouldn't eat yourself to death, right?"

Feeling uncomfortably full but unwilling to give the tag back, Fang Huai could only pace back and forth, trying to digest.

Suddenly, he shivered all over. Hunger and Cold returned, and looking at his tags:

[Starving]?"}],