Free Web NovelChapter 208: Chapter 201: Misfortune in Reality, Perhaps Just a Coincidence?
They hadn’t banned him completely, but they had placed heavy restrictions on him.
He had spent several times the normal cost to buy a game access slot through a special channel.
After entering the game, Zhou Wenqiang discovered that almost all of his pay-to-win functions were disabled, making it impossible for him to go down the path of establishing a sect.
Even his social system was severely restricted, and dying would deduct from his total accumulated game time.
Zhou Wenqiang didn’t understand. ’Why wouldn’t the Ashen Heaven Group take my money? Why are they targeting me like this?’
’But then why haven’t they blocked me completely?’
Moreover, people on the graylist had to meet certain special conditions to even qualify to purchase the potions.
The good thing was, once the conditions were met, he could purchase them internally before they were released to the public.
He even suspected that they were so certain he, at his advanced age, had no choice but to rely on their life-extending potions. That was why they dared to make such outrageous demands, using this as a roundabout way to squeeze his wealth.
But he truly couldn’t resist such a temptation.
What gave him an even bigger headache was that his real-world followers, who had always hung on his every word, seemed to have been put directly on the "blacklist," with no way to even acquire game access.
This also made it impossible for him to quickly establish his own power base within the game.
He couldn’t count on them.
But he believed that with his own methods, he could thrive just as well inside the game.
In fact, this game felt like the start of his second life.
A tireless body, endless energy—he enjoyed it immensely.
He had indeed accumulated enough game time and used the vast sums of money his followers had donated, along with the initial conditions he met in the game, to purchase the first-generation "Life Flame" repair potion ahead of schedule.
Even though he was on the graylist, money still had its uses.
The second generation was already in development, but the conditions set for him in the game had become even more demanding.
That was why, even after that traitorous disciple Dong Changsheng had repeatedly tormented him in the Daqian Dynasty under the guise of "repaying a kindness," making a complete mess of everything, he had never once considered deleting his account and starting over.
If he could start from scratch once, he could do it a second and a third time.
As long as this account existed, as long as his game time kept accumulating, he still had hope.
And so, he traveled south, crossed the border, and entered a brand-new kingdom.
He now seemed to have nothing.
But at least he still had a tongue that could talk and a script he had rehearsed a thousand times in his mind.
He stopped in a small border town.
Zhou Wenqiang set up a stall under the banyan tree at the town entrance. He wasn’t charging money, only telling fortunes.
He called out to an old man passing by with a carrying pole, his gaze sweeping over the man’s back, bent from the pole’s weight, and his large, calloused knuckles.
"Sir, that vertical line between your eyebrows is a sign of a life of hard labor.
I can see that every single copper coin you’ve earned in this life has been hammered out with your sweat. But the moment money comes into your hands, it vanishes. You can’t hold onto it."
"Ma’am, the Children Palace on your face is dim and lusterless. I’m afraid you have a child at home who causes you endless worry, don’t you?"
"You’ve emptied your family’s savings for him, but he may not be the one to ensure you a peaceful old age."
With every word, he dredged up the hidden pains buried deep in the hearts of these common folk.
When their numb expressions turned to shock, he would pull a sheet of yellow paper from his robes, on which he had drawn a twisted symbol in cinnabar.
"This is called a Luck Transfer Talisman. I won’t take your money. Let’s just form a good connection."
"Keep it close to your body, and always remember the fated encounter we had today. Your luck will come on its own."
The yellow paper was coarse, the cinnabar marks were uneven, and it possessed no Spiritual Qi whatsoever.
But when a person is sunk too deep in the mire of life, they will reach out and grab any vine that appears before them, even if they know it might not be strong.
What’s more, this particular vine required no payment—for now.
A few days later, the townspeople no longer called him an outsider. Instead, they started calling him "Mr. Zhou."
He began his second step.
He found a few idle local thugs in town and, in a corner of the tavern, slid a few copper coins across the table to each of them.
After they had their fill of food and wine, these men began to repeat the same story in every corner of the town...
"Have you heard?"
"Mr. Zhang the butcher wore one of Mr. Zhou’s talismans, and yesterday he went into the mountains. He missed a step, fell into a pit, and guess what? There was a huge gold nugget lying in the pit!"
"Mrs. Li’s good-for-nothing son was clamoring to go to the casino a few days ago, but he tripped on the doorstep on his way out and broke his leg.
And guess what? Yesterday, his mother went and asked for a talisman for him to wear. Today, he’s already up and able to work!"
A single lie is like smoke; it disperses with a gust of wind.
But a hundred lies gathered together become a thick fog that everyone can see.
The way the townspeople looked at Zhou Wenqiang changed.
When they passed his stall, they would bow deeply. If they made something nice to eat at home, they would bring a bowl over for him.
Zhou Wenqiang knew. ’The wheat is ripe. It’s time to swing the sickle.’
...
He began to gather all the townspeople for a "Gratitude Dharma Assembly" on the threshing ground in the center of town.
Torches crackled, illuminating face after face filled with devotion.
Zhou Wenqiang stood on a hastily erected platform. He no longer spoke of "fate." He straightened his back and spread his arms wide.
"Do you think you suffer from poverty and hunger because your fate is unkind?"
"Wrong! What’s tying your hands and feet is your own mind!"
"It’s that thought that tells you, ’This is all my life will ever be’!"
"You must be grateful! Be grateful for the poverty you now endure! Because it is this poverty that has given you the opportunity to stand here, to listen to me, and to grasp the rope that can change your destiny!"
"You must give! A copper coin clutched in your hand will forever be just a copper coin!"
"Only by scattering them can you get gold in return! If you’re not willing to part with your worthless pots and pans, how can wealth and glory ever enter your homes?!"
He slammed his hand on the table and roared:
"APPLAUD IF YOU UNDERSTAND!!!"
...
Heavy breathing rose and fell throughout the grounds, seeming to steam in the firelight.
Pairs of bloodshot eyes reflected nothing but the figure on the high platform.
Zhou Wenqiang bathed in their gazes, raised his hand, and gave a light wave.
Several burly men carrying a number of wooden chests pushed their way through the crowd from behind.
Then they heaved the chests onto the platform.
The lids were thrown open, revealing stacks of books inside.
The edges of the books’ pages were rough and deckled, clearly rushed out of a small workshop.
On the other side was a pile of wooden carvings. It was impossible to tell what kind of mythical beasts they were, but they glistened with a layer of oil in the firelight.
On the stage, Zhou Wenqiang stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
"This book is called the *True Understanding of Success*! It explains the secret art of changing one’s destiny!"
"This item is called a ’Wealth-Gathering Magical Artifact’! It can draw riches from all eight directions into your home!
I will only give these to those whose hearts are set, to those who dare to give!"
The moment his voice fell, the crowd below surged forward.
Their hands were raised high, reaching over the sea of jostling heads, as they threw their life savings onto the high platform with all their might.
