Chapter 36: Zhi Hua
\nWhen the world ripened, one could simply pluck its fruits, just like the laws of the first epoch and the fortunes of the second. These were all fruits born from the world\u2019s growth. After Zuo Meng collected them, they radiated into the real world. Back when the world was newly formed, Zuo Meng, as its creator, had claimed the two most fundamental fruits. But as the world matured, more fruits appeared, and more beings\u2014like the golden entities and hidden ancients such as Xuan Gui\u2014coveted them.
\nHarvesting now required patience. Waiting until the world reached a pivotal moment would yield riper, more perfect fruits.
\nSo Zuo Meng wasn\u2019t rushing. He returned to his little shop to wait.
\nTo wait for that crucial moment.
\nAs the creator, he was this world\u2019s supreme being, the ultimate mastermind behind everything.
\nOf course, those were long-term plans. Right now, Zuo Meng faced a more immediate problem:
\nHe was broke!
\nHe\u2019d never expected to fret over money in his own creation. His shop had relied on a handful of regulars buying paintings to scrape by. But after leaving it closed for months, his last coins had gone to provisions. During his time in the Black Forest, he\u2019d mostly survived on those supplies while hunting occasionally. Now the food was nearly gone, forcing him to confront his next meal.
\nWould he really have to revert to his old\u2026 methods?
\nZuo Meng sighed. Struggling in the real world was one thing, but here? He was the creator, not some petty bandit!
\n\u201cFirst, solve today\u2019s hunger.\u201d
\nA day without food already threatened to derail his grand plans.
\n\u201cSir! Mr. Xue\u2014you\u2019re back!\u201d
\nA plump man hurried into the shop, face flushed with relief.
\n*Who\u2019s this\u2026?* Zuo Meng frowned, failing to place the familiar face.
\n\u201cI thought you\u2019d left Suzhou! Thank heavens you\u2019re here.\u201d The man mopped his brow dramatically.
\n*Doesn\u2019t matter. Perfect timing for a payout.*
\n\u201cAh, it\u2019s\u2026 you,\u201d Zuo Meng nodded, feigning recognition.
\n\u201cJia Youqian! Call me Xiao Jia. I\u2019m the one who gifted you this shop!\u201d The man beamed.
\n\u201cRight\u2014Boss Jia. What brings you?\u201d Zuo Meng vaguely recalled manipulating this man for the property years ago.
\n\u201cThe well behind my ancestral home\u2026 strange noises every midnight\u2026\u201d
\nHalf an hour later, Zuo Meng escorted Boss Jia out\u2014along with a hastily sold painting.
\nJingling fresh silver in his palm, Young Hero Zuo grinned. Crisis averted.
\n\u201cUncle Xue! You\u2019re back!\u201d
\nZhi Hua darted through the closing door, narrowly avoiding being shut out by the lazy fish himself.
\n\u201cHmm?\u201d
\nZuo Meng halted and studied Zhi Hua carefully.
\nIn just half a month, subtle changes had occurred in her. Though undetectable to others, Zuo Meng immediately noticed something amiss. The upheaval of the world\u2019s laws had spawned bizarre phenomena\u2014demons, the entity in Boss Jia\u2019s backyard well, and now this.
\nSuch transformations remained scarce, particularly among ordinary people.
\nSo far, only celebrated martial figures had broken through their limits. While Foundation Establishment cultivators weren\u2019t unheard of, they were still exceedingly rare across the Entire World. When two such cultivators had clashed in Suzhou recently, locals hailed them as celestial beings. To ordinary people, these figures existed only in myths and tavern tales.
\nZuo Meng had known the world was changing, but this was his first encounter with traces left by that golden silhouette\u2019s law-altering touch.
\nUnexpectedly, it involved someone familiar.
\n\u201cTotemic aura… A Second Epoch being? Dragon Clan?\u201d
\nA single glance told him much.
\nThe totem path had been his Second Epoch experiment. Every ascending level stemmed from his casual designs\u2014he was the true ancestor of this power.
\n\u201cWater-aligned bird totem.\u201d
\nThese realizations flashed through his mind instantly.
\n\u201cStill unmarried, Zhi Hua?\u201d
\nZuo Meng teased. During his years in Suzhou, aside from his infrequent visits from a cousin, the girl had become his most regular visitor. She\u2019d even worked in his little shop once, pestering him to teach her painting.
\n\u201cBack from the capital, Uncle Xue?\u201d
\nShe shot back irritably, grinding her teeth at the marriage talk.
\n\u201cBandits robbed me. No travel funds.\u201d He invented the excuse effortlessly. His earlier claim about taking imperial exams had been empty talk\u2014he\u2019d never participate.
\nThe crumbling imperial system would soon render scholars\u2019 status uncertain.
\n\u201cStill want painting lessons?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d Her usual spark dimmed. \u201cMaster Zhu proposed. I… might stop coming.\u201d
\nIn this feudal age, marriages weren\u2019t self-decided. Zhi Hua herself didn\u2019t understand why she kept visiting\u2014always claiming to seek painting masters she never met. Over time, she\u2019d guessed Uncle Xue was the true artist but kept silent, knowing he disliked complications.
\nDuring his shop\u2019s closure, she\u2019d visited daily out of habit.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t marry if you dislike him.\u201d
\nHe ruffled her hair. After years of companionship, he\u2019d grown fond of this junior. If she resisted, he\u2019d intervene.
\n\u201cRight! No marriage if I hate it!\u201d
\nShe mustered a shaky smile.
\n\u201cI should go, Uncle Xue.\u201d
\n\u201cRemember\u2014no one forces you while I\u2019m here.\u201d He walked her out.
\n\u201cThanks, Uncle Xue.\u201d
\nTurning, she flashed dimples at him before disappearing into the street.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chapter 36: Zhi Hua When the world ripened, one could simply pluck its fruits, just like the laws of the first epoch and the fortunes of the second. These were all fruits born from the world\u2019s growth. After Zuo Meng collected them, they radiated into the real world. Back when the world was newly formed, Zuo Meng, as its creator, had claimed the two\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[3],"tags":[],"fcn_genre":[],"fcn_fandom":[],"fcn_character":[],"fcn_content_warning":[],"class_list":["post-1415","fcn_chapter","type-fcn_chapter","status-publish","hentry","category-dreaming-to-become-a-creator"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fcn_chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1415\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1415"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_genre?post=1415"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_fandom?post=1415"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_character","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_character?post=1415"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_content_warning","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_content_warning?post=1415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}