TVMR Chapter 3

“Was Fairy Nangong so unreasonable when she was young?”

“Yes, back then the Demon Emperor was just a beggar who endured hunger and kept an almost moldy bun, but he didn’t hesitate to give it to Fairy Nangong without any hesitation. Fairy Nangong didn’t say thank you, but instead blamed the bun for being too bad.”

“It’s not hard to understand. Some people say, ‘why not eat meat’¹This is a famous line from the Chinese literary classic “Dream of the Red Chamber”. It is often translated as “Why not eat meat?” or “Why not indulge in meat?” The full line is “有人言何不食肉糜，乃因畏牵连耳” which roughly means “Some people suggest indulging in meat, but I refrain due to fear of consequences.”, Fairy Nangong grew up wearing fine clothes and eating delicacies, how could she understand the suffering of the Demon Emperor when he was a beggar?”

“Keep your voices down, keep your voices down…”

Many powerful individuals showed their emotions, while some remained silent, after all, Nangong Rou was nearby. How could they speak ill of her when she was young.

Nangong Rou didn’t rebuke them, because in her opinion, she really didn’t understand things when she was young.

…….

Throughout the Heavenly Realm, countless people watched the scene in the sky with shock on their faces.

“To be able to do so much for someone they just met, it proves that the Demon Emperor wasn’t bad in his early years…”

“Yes, what kind of experience could have created the Demon Emperor, who everyone now wants to destroy?”

“I’m curious now, how could a mere beggar become the ruler of the Heavenly Realm?”

With these words, everyone suddenly realized.

Indeed, how could a small beggar become the ruler of the Heavenly Realm?

…….

Half a month passed in a flash, and Nangong Rou’s parents did not appear. She also followed Jiang Zhige to endure half a month of hunger.

Jiang Zhige comforted Nangong Rou every time, but over time, Nangong Rou couldn’t bear living without proper food.

“Rou’er, I…”

“Get out of my way! Get out of my way! You’re not my brother! I want to find my parents!”

Jiang Zhige tried to persuade Nangong Rou, but she pushed him away rudely, crying loudly.

As Nangong Rou was about to run out into the heavy snow, Jiang Zhige quickly grabbed her small hand and said anxiously, “Rou’er, give me a little more time. I will definitely find food for you today, okay?”

Jiang Zhige knew very well that if Nangong Rou’s parents were still in Yu City, they would have sent someone to look for her nearby. But in the past half month, he had never seen anyone looking for Nangong Rou, which proved that her parents were not in Yu City.

Nangong Rou was still young and didn’t even know how to walk properly. Running out into the snow would most likely result in her freezing to death outside.

“Don’t, don’t lie to me…”

Nangong Rou’s small face was full of tears as she choked on her sobs.

At this point, her face was dirty, and her clothes were no longer clean, making her look no different from a beggar like Jiang Zhige.

“Rou’er, don’t worry. Today, not only will I find food for you, but I might even find your parents.”

Jiang Zhige smiled to comfort her, but his heart was heavy.

He had already done everything he could to take care of Nangong Rou, but he was still just a beggar. How could he give her a satisfying life?

…….

“It’s hard to imagine that this humble beggar in front of us would become the fearsome Demon Emperor later on…”

“Why bother? To save a life is already a good deed. How could anyone bear with the spoiled and arrogant behavior of a rich young lady?”

The onlookers in the palace frowned. For the past half month, they had seen how much Jiang Zhige had done for Nangong Rou.

Jiang Zhige himself couldn’t even afford to eat and dress warmly, and he had almost died of starvation in the snow while taking care of Nangong Rou.

All of this effort, however, had only resulted in Nangong Rou’s dislike towards him.

Upon hearing the discussions of the crowd, Nangong Rou clenched her fists secretly.

She didn’t feel angry at their comments, but rather… guilty.

……

After leaving the broken temple, Jiang Zhige headed straight for the bustling district of Yu City.

As the holiday season passed, the Yu City market had become lively again, with vendors shouting along the streets.

Jiang Zhige stood in the center of the crowd and quickly spotted a bun shop that was selling their goods.

He hesitated for a long time, his expression changing, but eventually made up his mind, thinking of Nangong Rou waiting for him at the ruined temple.

He took a deep breath and quietly approached the bun shop as if nothing was wrong.

The owner of the bun shop was a middle-aged man with a big build and round waist, who quickly noticed something was off with Jiang Zhige.

Just as he was about to say something, Jiang Zhige suddenly rushed over and grabbed two buns before running away.

“You little brat, stop right there!” the steamed bun shop owner shouted.

With his eyes widened, he rolled up his sleeves and chased after him.

Jiang Zhige was weak and couldn’t run fast to begin with, and because of his anxiety, he didn’t pay much attention to where he was going. He bumped into someone and almost fell to the ground.

The steamed bun shop owner caught up quickly and grabbed him by the back of his neck with one hand, lifting him up.

“You little brat, I don’t want to use force, just hand over the buns!” The steamed bun shop owner looked fierce, scaring Jiang Zhige’s face pale.

Even so, he held onto the buns tightly and refused to let go.

The steamed bun shop owner’s face darkened, and he said in a cold voice, “You’ve been begging around here for some time, and I’ve never seen you steal or rob. I used to pity you, but I didn’t expect you to be such a lowlife. Two buns are nothing to me, but I won’t give them to you. Do you know why? Because scumbags like you, once they start stealing, they’ll never stop. Today I won’t hit you, consider it a lesson.”

The boss of the bun shop snorted and pulled the buns from Jiang Zhige’s arms.

Jiang Zhige was much weaker than the boss of the bun shop, and even with all his strength, he couldn’t protect the buns.

The boss of the bun shop looked at the crushed buns in Jiang Zhige’s hands and didn’t take them back. Instead, he took a bite and threw them on the ground, stomping on them mercilessly until they were nothing but crumbs.

To prevent Jiang Zhige from picking up the crumbs, the boss of the bun shop even used his feet to mix the crushed buns into the soil and snow.

Jiang Zhige’s face was ashen, and he watched helplessly as the hot buns were crushed by the boss.

Seeing the despair in Jiang Zhige’s eyes, the boss of the bun shop sneered and walked away.

Just as he took a few steps, Jiang Zhige suddenly knelt down behind him.

The boss of the bun shop was stunned and turned to look at Jiang Zhige, who was kneeling on both knees.

“What are you doing?”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Jiang Zhige knocked his head three times, and a trickle of blood ran down his forehead.

“Why did you do that? I never said I would give you buns if you kowtowed to me.”

The boss of the bun shop frowned, surprised that Jiang Zhige would go this far.

Jiang Zhige knelt on the ground, trembling, and said, “Big Brother, I’ve been begging since I was a child, starving and freezing to death is nothing new to me. But I have a sister, and I can’t let her suffer the same fate as me.”

“Absurd! You can’t even support yourself, and yet you dare to take care of others who have nothing to do with you?”

The boss of the bun shop shook his head. He had seen Jiang Zhige begging in the city for years and had never seen any evidence of a younger sister.

The sudden appearance of a sister meant that Jiang Zhige had taken in another beggar who was even younger.

“She calls me big brother, and so she is the only relative I have in this world…”

Jiang Zhige’s eyes were red, and he bowed deeply to the boss of the bun shop.

Today’s a special day, so here’s an extra chapter <3

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  This is a famous line from the Chinese literary classic “Dream of the Red Chamber”. It is often translated as “Why not eat meat?” or “Why not indulge in meat?” The full line is “有人言何不食肉糜，乃因畏牵连耳” which roughly means “Some people suggest indulging in meat, but I refrain due to fear of consequences.”