The next day peacefully arrived, and Hong Wei, as if it had become a mission for him, the first thing he did upon opening his eyes was actually summoning his gacha system and using the free draw.
But today, his luck was even worse than the previous day, and Hong Wei ended up drawing a common character.
Without paying much mind to that result, he poured even more effort into his martial arts training instead, which Shan Mei would often help him with… and like that, time quietly passed.
…
Before long, one whole month had already gone by.
Hong Wei, at this moment, had just woken up and, like usual, used his free draw… and like usual, he pulled a common character.
During this month, he gradually came to understand just how lucky he had truly been on that very first day, when he had pulled an epic character, namely, Shan Mei, on his first try.
Because throughout the entire month, let alone managing to draw a character of legendary tier or higher, he hadn't even drawn another character of epic tier!
He had only drawn one rare character, a few uncommon ones, and the rest? All common characters, with professions like farmers, fishermen, and the like.
Was it truly that his luck was bad… or was it simply supposed to be this difficult?
He didn't know.
But still, he managed to achieve one of his goals… and that was gaining a cultivation technique.
The rare character he had drawn was a cultivator at the fifth stage of the Qi Refinement realm, and he was training in a somewhat basic cultivation technique. And Hong Wei had obtained it from him.
He still hadn't started training in it though, as Hong Wei had come to feel that martial arts, even if not compared directly to cultivation, wasn't actually bad in itself.
At the end of the day, it's still increased his strength, and made him healthy… if he continued practicing, it could even help him, expand his lifespan!
While he was lamenting his situation… one that, from one side, seemed to be gradually heading in a better direction, just as he had hoped, but from the other side, at the same time, wasn't unfolding in the way he had envisioned… he suddenly felt a hand nudging his cheek.
And right after, Shan Mei's voice was suddenly heard.
"Master, you need to get up. It's already late."
Instead of getting up and moving immediately, Hong Wei shifted his vacant gaze toward her face… and then to the finger gently nudging his cheek.
After one month together, they had naturally grown more familiar with each other. And Hong Wei felt that the barrier of formality between them was slowly breaking… if it hadn't already disappeared completely, with how playful she was becoming.
In the end, he didn't dwell on that, and was simply happy as he got up.
When he stood up on his feet, Hong Wei could clearly notice how, now after one full month, he could already look down on Shan Mei from above.
And no, she hadn't shrunk or become shorter. Instead, it was he who had grown taller.
Hong Wei now already had a robust body, compact muscles, and a figure that could put every model and bodybuilder on Earth to shame… and that was all after just one month of practicing martial arts.
But even more striking than his body was his face, which had become more chiseled and sharp ever since he started eating healthily and in sufficient amounts. And most of all was his gaze, now brimming with spirit!
Hong Wei greeted Shan Mei warmly with a smile and a simple, "Good morning," before finally moving to another room, where breakfast was already laid out and the rest were waiting.
"Morning, everyone," he said, as he stepped inside.
After he sat in his place, Hong Wei's gaze moved to his mother, and to her rosy face that seemed to be becoming younger with each passing day.
She wasn't actually practicing martial arts like him… but simply by consuming rare herbs, those found in the cultivation world, even if they were just mortal-grade ones, they still seemed to bring miraculous effects!
Now, if they walked in the streets, people would likely mistake her for his sister instead of his mother!
Chuckling lightly at his own thoughts, Hong Wei dipped his chopsticks into the food and finally started eating.
It was a special moment of the day, when all of them gathered at the table. His mother, Shan Mei, Seren, and himself.
And it was one of the times he truly cherished.
Then again, where were the other characters he had pulled through his gacha system?
Those were scattered around the town!
Hong Wei had decided to let them live their own lives after giving them some support at the start.
Even if most of them couldn't help him much, Hong Wei still felt a sense of responsibility for them.
And that's why, while he had chosen to let them settle and live independently in this town, he made sure to offer them a bit of assistance in the beginning… just enough to help them get on their feet.
Even then, he could feel that the situation couldn't continue like this forever.
For now, they had entered the town under the false identity of being refugees from villages raided by bandits and the like. But that kind of story had its limits.
Sooner or later, he would need to come up with a proper solution for this situation…
Or he could just leave them inside the gacha room, where they had first been summoned.
What he would do about the common and uncommon characters he might draw in the future was still undecided.
But setting them aside for now, there was still the rare character… Rogue Cultivator, Shen Feiyu!
Hong Wei had already sent him to Fenghua County, to explore the situation there.
Along with that, Shen Feiyu was tasked with dealing with the backing behind the Black Dog Gang if needed… and if possible, also find something that could help Hong Wei begin his own cultivation journey—be it pills or natural treasures.
His missions were many, and so, Hong Wei sincerely hoped that he would be able to pull another rare or higher-tier character soon… so that he could help share the burden and lighten the load on Shen Feiyu.