Helping the Unfortunate Friend (1)
“Kyaaah!!”
“Ah! S-sorry…! Are you okay? You must’ve been startled…”
Lin, startled herself, reached out and helped the fallen girl to her feet, her face full of apology. It was understandable. After days without proper food, Lin’s mind was a little hazy and unfocused.
‘Ugh… Being in human form makes it so hard to eat properly… I should’ve just gone back to my true body and hunted some wild animals!’
The reason was simple. Now that she was truly inside Ju Nation, and encounters with people were becoming more frequent, she had decided it would be safer to travel in her transformed state from now on. Thanks to her master’s help and the fortuitous acquisition of a transformation art, her human disguise had become nearly flawless. Still, remaining in human form felt awkward. Her movements were slower, and eating was nearly impossible. It was like wearing clothes that didn’t fit.
Of course, this would naturally resolve itself as Lin’s cultivation advanced, but she hadn’t reached that level yet. The result was…
Grrooowl—!
“....”
“.....”
At the embarrassing sound that escaped her stomach, Yu Yeon stared at the bright-red Lin for a moment before her own tension melted away. She burst into laughter.
“Pfft… Puhahaha!”
“Ugh… Don’t laugh! It’s just because I haven’t eaten properly for days…”
“Pfft, sorry… You just looked so cute getting embarrassed.”
“Uuu… C-cute…? Saying things like that makes me weak…”
The awkward atmosphere dissolved instantly. The two girls quickly grew close, chatting and laughing like any pair their age, and before long they were even exchanging names.
“What’s your name?”
“Me? Just call me Lin!”
“Lin! That’s a pretty name!”
“Hehe, thanks! And you?”
“I’m… I’m Yeon. My family name is Yu. So, Yu Yeon.”
“Yu Yeon… I’ll remember that!”
Then Yu Yeon suddenly recalled that the mysterious girl before her looked extremely hungry. Without hesitation, she pulled out a few small rice cakes she had been carrying.
“Are you hungry? If you’d like… would you eat these?”
“Ooh! Rice cakes! They smell delicious!”
“There isn’t much, but if it’s okay, I can share. I brought them for lunch, but I’ve been too busy to eat them, hehe.”
“.....”
Watching the girl willingly offer her own food to a complete stranger, Lin felt a strange, indescribable emotion. ‘Ugh… She’s so pitiful! Actually, I already knew she hasn’t eaten anything since morning…’
In truth, this wasn’t their first meeting. Lin had been secretly following and observing Yu Yeon for the past few days. After the incident with the tree ghost, she had wanted to be more cautious. She had confirmed that the girl was indeed human, but in the process she had also witnessed Yu Yeon’s unfortunate life story.
That was why Lin knew Yu Yeon had gone without breakfast again today. Yet the girl still offered her food so readily. Touched by her warm heart, Lin felt something inside her melt.
‘Ugh… She’s too kind! I didn’t expect things to turn out like this…’
Still, she couldn’t just ignore what she had seen. Lin decided she wanted to help the girl somehow.
‘This won’t do. I should at least give her something to eat first…’
For Lin, satisfying her own hunger was easy—she could simply order food from Daoyeongbang. The only issue was that her true body needed to eat for her to feel full, but obtaining food itself was never a problem.
Having made up her mind, Lin acted immediately.
Welcome to the Daoyeongbang Exchange!
Search for trade items:
She immediately searched for food. The exchange was overflowing with all kinds of cultivation resources, so food was hardly rare. Lin quickly purchased a large quantity of items and presented them to the girl before her.
Yu Yeon’s eyes widened in shock as she looked up at Lin cautiously.
“Oh my! Where did all this food suddenly come from…!”
“Here, it’s a gift! Let’s eat together!”
“H-how did food just appear out of thin air… C-could you be a celestial maiden…?”
It was a reasonable assumption. From an ordinary person’s perspective, Lin’s appearance was already extraordinary, and she had just performed what looked like magic. But Lin was no celestial maiden, and she had no desire to be treated as one.
“Don’t worry about it and just eat! You haven’t had a proper meal since yesterday, right?”
“B-but, Celestial Maiden… I can’t just eat such precious food. I don’t know if I’m allowed to accept this…”
“Ehh! It’s not precious at all, so stop worrying and eat! If you don’t eat, I won’t either!”
“T-that’s…”
To Yu Yeon, the spread looked incredibly luxurious and rich, but from Lin’s viewpoint, even a whole bundle of such food could be bought with a single low-grade spirit stone. The Daoyeongbang traded far more valuable cultivation resources daily. Still, unaware of this, Yu Yeon could only assume Lin was going to great lengths to take care of her. This only strengthened her mistaken belief that Lin truly was a celestial maiden.
“Th-then… I’ll gratefully accept… Thank you so much, Celestial Maiden…”
Nom nom—!
Once she started eating, food disappeared into Yu Yeon’s mouth without pause. After all, she had been starving too. She had always acted so mature and grown accustomed to hardship, but she was still just a child who hadn’t even reached adulthood. At a glance, she looked about the same age as Lin. At an age when she should have been growing, she had been working without proper meals. Of course she was hungry.
Watching the girl eat with such gratitude, Lin felt a warm sense of satisfaction. Hehe, I did another good deed!
“Huu…”
After finishing her ravenous meal, Yu Yeon came back to her senses and blushed, covering her face with her hands in embarrassment.
“I-I’m sorry… I was just so hungry…”
“Hehe, it’s fine! It’s nice to see you eat well!”
That was true. Lin hadn’t touched the food herself. Eating it in human form wouldn’t satisfy her true body anyway, and she could always eat whenever she wanted. Just watching someone else eat their fill was enough to make her feel content. So this is what it feels like to be full just by watching others eat.
“By the way, you need to head back to the village now, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. Ah, it’s already late! I have to work tomorrow, so I should hurry back!”
“I see… In that case, could I come with you?”
“P-pardon? You, Celestial Maiden?”
This had been Lin’s goal all along—asking if Yu Yeon could serve as a guide for the surrounding villages and other matters. After the incident with Old Man Jeong, she had decided she couldn’t trust just anyone with the role. That was why she had hidden behind the bushes these past few days, observing to find a suitable person.
Yu Yeon had passed with flying colors. She didn’t seem like a disguised demonic cultivator like Old Man Jeong, and being close in age (at least in appearance) meant they would get along easily. Right now, there was no better candidate to be Lin’s guide.
Only one problem remained…
‘…Ugh, she’s just too pitiful!’
Her life seemed so unfortunate that Lin couldn’t help but want to help her. If she hadn’t given her those rice cakes, it might not have come to this. Food really was the root of the problem. Even so, Lin had already made up her mind to help the girl discreetly.
“Mm-hm! I’m completely new to this area… I need someone to give me a simple tour. I was wondering if you’d be okay with that! I’ll pay you generously, so don’t worry!”
“I-I would be honored to serve you, Celestial Maiden… But are you sure I’m good enough…?”
“There’s no one more suitable than you, so don’t worry! And I’m not a celestial maiden!”
“S-still… How could I…”
Yu Yeon continued to hesitate, lacking confidence, but when Lin handed her a generous advance payment, her eyes wavered. Living hand-to-mouth every day, she couldn’t help but be moved by that amount of money. To Lin, it was just pocket change earned by selling a few plants on Daoyeongbang, but to Yu Yeon, it was enough to live on for months without worrying about food.
Indeed, it was… too much money to refuse.
“....P-please take care of me, Celestial Maiden…”
“Hehe, I’ll be counting on you too!”
In the end, Yu Yeon knelt before the power of capitalism.