The young man had handsome features, though his skin was tanned and he looked rather frail and thin.
Clad in a green robe, he dressed like a scholar, carrying a distinctly scholarly air.
"No, no more. If I keep going, my throat won't hold out," Lin Zheyu said, waving his hands.
His voice was a bit hoarse. Having spoken for over two hours, his throat was pushed to its limit.
"What am I supposed to do now? I won't be able to sleep tonight!"
"The young storyteller is truly wicked, stopping right here!"
...
Amidst the patrons' reluctant groans, the youth clasped his hands in parting and stepped down from the stage.
"You have great talent, young sir, to come up with such a racy tale. Even at my age, I can't help feeling stirred listening to it," the teahouse manager said with a chuckle.
His name was Wu Yinghe, a stout, middle-aged man who wore the gentle grin of a smiling Buddha all day long.
"You flatter me. I'm merely trying to scrape together a living."
Lin Zheyu waved dismissively and took the silver and coins the manager handed him.
"These hundred and thirty-eight copper coins are tips from the patrons, and this hundred is today's wage."
"Seeing how hard you worked today, I raised your pay a bit," Manager Wu Yinghe added with a smile.
Just over ten days ago, Lin Zheyu had presented himself at the teahouse to offer his storytelling, even stating that if the patrons weren't satisfied, he wouldn't take a single coin.
Back then, Wu Yinghe had been somewhat hesitant.
Lin Zheyu was simply too young and lacked life experience; he hardly looked like someone capable of telling a good story.
However, Wu Yinghe was kindhearted at core. Seeing Lin Zheyu's miserable plight, paired with his refined speech and cultivated manners—clearly the mark of an educated scholar—he decided to give the boy a chance.
After all, if the performance was bad, it wouldn't cost anything.
He had never expected that while the youth's storytelling technique was only mediocre, the stories themselves were extraordinarily thrilling.
Ever since Lin Zheyu began performing here, more and more tea drinkers had flocked to the establishment just to hear him, drawn by the captivating narrative.
The teahouse's business had grown livelier with each passing day.
"Thank you, Manager," Lin Zheyu expressed his gratitude.
Leaving the teahouse, he walked onto Baiwei Street.
Lining both sides of the street were all manner of tantalizing delicacies. The mouthwatering aromas drifting through the air made Lin Zheyu's appetite flare.
It had been a little over a month since he arrived in this world, and he had finally adapted to life here.
Thinking back to the wretched days when he first arrived, Lin Zheyu still felt a lingering chill in his heart. The city his predecessor lived in had fallen to rebel forces. His family had been wealthy merchants in Jiunan City, and having caught wind of the danger early, they packed up and relocated.
Yet they still failed to escape disaster.
On the road to the Central Plains, bandits attacked them, separating his predecessor from his parents and relatives.
After wandering for many days among displaced refugees, he finally reached Songyi City.
Not long after arriving, the previous owner of the body couldn't hold on any longer, and Lin Zheyu took over the shell.
When he first woke up, his stomach was packed with dirt, tree bark, and weeds, leaving him so painfully bloated that he couldn't pass a bowel movement for days.
It wasn't until one day when he drank tainted water and contracted severe diarrhea that his belly finally cleared.
Even so, that bout of illness had nearly claimed his life.
"I really have to thank Miss Ren Qingying of the Ren Manor. If not for the thin congee she handed out, I probably would have kicked the bucket right after transmigrating," Lin Zheyu mused with a sigh.
The Ren family was a prominent clan in Songyi City. Ren Qingying was both beautiful and kindhearted, revered as a living bodhisattva by countless refugees.
Had the Ren family not set up soup kitchens outside the city again and again to offer relief, Lin Zheyu definitely wouldn't have survived.
"Smells so good!"
Walking along the street, Lin Zheyu gave a slight sniff, his stomach letting out an audible rumble.
He felt the coins in his pocket and fought down the urge to spend.
He had only just managed to save a little money; he couldn't afford to squander it carelessly.
In this world, aside from storytelling, Lin Zheyu hadn't found any other decent way to make a living.
At first, he had harbored grand ambitions, thinking he could use the mindset and knowledge of his previous life to make a name for himself here.
Cruel reality, however, quickly woke him from his daydream.
After several attempts, Lin Zheyu realized that he possessed virtually no practical skills.
Fortunately, he had loved listening to crosstalk and traditional storytelling in his past life. Through long exposure, he had picked up a few basic storytelling knacks.
In the end, relying on tales from his past world, he managed to land a job as a storyteller.
His delivery technique was only ordinary, but his facial expressions and emotional delivery were excellent, and the stories themselves were superb.
All in all, he performed fairly well and secured enough food to keep himself fed.
"Now I've saved a little over one tael of silver. I wonder if that's enough to learn martial arts."
"This world is too chaotic. Without a clan or kin at my back, it's far too easy for a lone person to be bullied."
Lin Zheyu tightened his grip on the money in his pocket.
He had already been mugged several times.
Because he was alone with no clan to rely on, he had suffered quite a bit since coming to this world.
Even if he reported it to the authorities, the magistrate's yamen had far too many matters to attend to; who would bother with petty troubles like his?
Fortunately, despite the chaotic times, he wasn't completely without reliance.
Lin Zheyu turned his thoughts inward to inspect the interface in his mind—something that had been present ever since he arrived in this world.
[Heaven Rewards Diligence]
Name: Lin Zheyu
Origin Power: 1
Skills: None
This had appeared in his mind the moment he crossed over.
As long as Lin Zheyu worked hard enough, exercising his body and pushing past his physical limits, he could obtain one unit of Origin Power.
Using Origin Power, he could upgrade his skills.
He had tried it once a few days ago. Pushing past his physical limits had left his entire body aching for a full week before he finally recovered.
"Ordinary exercise movements don't count as skills. I wonder if the martial arts of this world do," Lin Zheyu pondered silently.
The martial strength in this world was formidable.
Before Jiunan City fell to the rebels, his predecessor's family had retained quite a few martial artists, the strongest among them capable of taking on ten opponents at once with ease.
Unfortunately, his predecessor had been a frail scholar whose mind was set solely on passing the imperial examinations, never learning a scrap of martial arts.
Passing through Baiwei Street, Lin Zheyu walked another few li. He crossed a plaza and turned through various streets and alleys until he arrived at the much more rundown Baishan District.
This place lay far from the core of Songyi City. It belonged to the outer city, home to the destitute.
Being a penniless newcomer, Lin Zheyu hadn't possessed enough silver and could only rent a small shack here as temporary shelter.
Luckily, his storytelling was gradually picking up and he had saved a fair amount of silver. It was about time he moved into the city proper.
"What an awful stench."
Lin Zheyu pinched his nose, finding the odor of Baishan District hard to endure.
The stench of sweat, urine, feces, fermenting garbage, and other filth blended together, brewing a sickening, revolting reek.