Chapter 423 - 308: Garbage Mountain, Little Girl_2

Chapter 423: Chapter 308: Garbage Mountain, Little Girl_2

Let me analyze this Chinese web novel text:

## Contextual Analysis

**Literary genre**: Xianxia/Cultivation novel with elements of urban/modern setting. It appears to be set in a poor, run-down urban area with references to cultivation elements ("气血" is mentioned as "Qi and Blood").

**Language style**: Informal narrative style with descriptive elements and dialogue. The language is relatively simple but contains both everyday conversations and cultivation-related terminology.

**Tone**: Grim yet compassionate. It depicts a harsh world where people struggle to survive, showing poverty and exploitation, but also moments of kindness.

**Plot keywords**: poverty, survival, exploitation, kindness, urban squalor, mysterious cultivator, abandoned child

**Characters**:

- 武良辰 (Wu Liangchen) - Male protagonist, seemingly a cultivator who has suffered some injury/setback and needs to recover his strength

- Unnamed small girl - A poor child living in squalor, scavenging for food

- 朱彪 (Zhu Biao) - Male antagonist, a local gangster/thug who preys on vulnerable children

- Various unnamed characters including scavengers and servants

Now, let me proceed with the translation while following all the rules:

## Translation

The text depicts Wu Liangchen, who seems to be a cultivator in hiding or recovering, encountering a small girl in a garbage dump area. The girl is trying to survive by scavenging food. There’s a local thug named Zhu Biao who is planning to exploit her. Wu Liangchen meets the girl and she eventually helps him find a place to eat, showing the stark contrast between poverty and relative comfort in this world.

I’ll now translate the text line by line, adhering to the glossary terms and making sure it reads naturally in English.

Zhu Biao’s heart burned with excitement upon hearing this. "Alright, once we’re done collecting this trash, I’ll go with you. If what you say is true, there’ll be something good in it for you."

The lackey was overjoyed and beat his chest in assurance. "Don’t worry, Master Biao. I used to be neighbors with the girl’s father. I know everything about her family. I guarantee there won’t be any mistakes."

Zhu Biao patted the lackey’s shoulder with an encouraging grin.

Then he turned to the crowd of garbage collectors and barked, "What are you looking at? Get back to work!"

After his shout, nobody dared to slack off. They all hurriedly lowered their heads and resumed their tasks.

But some among them, those who still possessed a conscience, couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

They knew that once Zhu Biao set his sights on someone, an unspeakably tragic fate awaited the little girl.

Yet they dared not voice their anger. Especially in this place, where they could barely protect themselves, let alone others.

They could only sigh in their hearts, feel sorry for the little girl, and then return to their own business.

Meanwhile, in an overgrown corner behind the garbage heap, the little girl sat exhausted on the ground, taking out a steamed bun from her bosom.

She didn’t dare go home yet, because if her father saw she hadn’t found anything valuable, he would surely beat and scold her mercilessly.

She probably wouldn’t even be able to keep the steamed bun then.

So it was better to eat it outside and return home only after nightfall, when her father was blind drunk.

This had already become her daily routine.

Having been discarded for too long, the steamed bun had lost its original softness and become quite hard.

But the girl didn’t mind. She ate it carefully, taking small bites.

She chewed each mouthful thoroughly, occasionally glancing around vigilantly.

The wild grass around her gave her a great sense of security.

This was her secret little nest.

Sometimes when the beatings got too severe, she would run away from home and hide here for the night.

While eating the bun, she suddenly recalled the scene from earlier.

The canned meat in Zhu Biao’s hand had been fatally tempting, but the girl had miraculously resisted the temptation.

Because before this, she had witnessed a slightly older girl being led away by Zhu Biao using the same method, never to be heard from again.

Though she appeared slow-witted, she wasn’t stupid. She knew Zhu Biao wasn’t a good person.

If he was offering her canned meat, he definitely had ulterior motives.

Thinking of this, the girl touched her long hair at the back of her head, planning to cut it off when she got home.

Just then, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching from not far away. Frightened, she immediately covered her mouth, not daring to breathe.

The footsteps drew closer, soon reaching the grass thicket, then stopped.

The girl didn’t even dare to look up, afraid she might see Zhu Biao’s fleshy, bloated face again.

"Hmm? So it’s a little girl!" a cool voice said. The girl’s body trembled, and she looked up.

Standing before the grass thicket was a man with a pale, thin face, but eyes as clear as water.

The girl froze.

Having grown up in a garbage dump, she had only ever encountered either vicious thugs like Zhu Biao or dull, numb old scavengers. She had never seen such a clean-looking man.

In truth, Wu Liangchen was also quite dirty right now, having crawled through sewers for so long. It was impossible for him not to be soiled.

But compared to the people here, he was much cleaner.

He had just disguised the sewer exit he’d emerged from and was planning to find a place to hide until his strength recovered.

By chance, as soon as he came out, he sensed someone hiding in the grass in this corner.

His heart sank, thinking it might be a scout from the Tiger Slayer Gang. He was about to throw stones at them.

Thankfully, he had restrained himself.

When he got closer, Wu Liangchen discovered a little girl hiding there.

After a moment of surprise, Wu Liangchen noticed the steamed bun in her hand.

The bun’s surface was already moldy, but the little girl still clutched it tightly, and it bore marks where she had bitten into it.

Wu Liangchen fell silent, then let out a small sigh.

"What misery!"

"Little one, do you know where I can buy food around here?"

The little girl stared at him blankly, not making a sound.

Wu Liangchen frowned, thinking to himself.

’Could she be mute?’

But there was no time to dwell on this now. Although he felt sorry for the little girl, Wu Liangchen was in no position to help her.

In fact, if he showed misplaced sympathy, he might even bring harm to the little girl.

So Wu Liangchen nodded slightly and turned to leave.

But after taking just a couple of steps, a timid voice came from behind him.

"What... what do you want to buy?"

"Anything will do, as long as it’s food," Wu Liangchen stopped and turned back to look at the little girl.

She gathered her courage and stood up. "F-follow me!"

Her voice trembled and she stuttered, as if she hadn’t spoken for a long time.

After saying this, the little girl darted into the nearby ruins, moving quickly.

Wu Liangchen followed behind her, passing through large uninhabited areas until they finally reached the shantytown.

After many twists and turns, the little girl finally stopped and pointed to a shack in the distance.

"There!"

Wu Liangchen looked up and saw people coming and going from the shack, making it quite lively. A peculiar smell permeated the air.

There was the aroma of food, but also a strong sour stench.

Yet the little girl gazed at the shack with eyes full of longing.

Because when she was very young, her father, before becoming completely lost to alcohol, had brought her there once.

The smell of the food had left an unforgettable impression on her.

But what she considered supreme delicacies appeared quite different to Wu Liangchen’s eyes.

He clearly saw a bare-chested man carrying a large bucket, so dirty its original color couldn’t be discerned, to a large iron pot.

The pot was emitting steam, seemingly cooking food.

The man carefully scooped the oil floating on top of the bucket into a basin beside him, and then dumped all the food inside into the pot.

Instantly, a sour stench assailed them.

Wu Liangchen finally saw clearly that the iron bucket contained not food, but kitchen waste.

He immediately felt nauseated.

He was no stranger to hardship, but even during his time in Dinghai City, he had never seen such a thing.

That pot of food, mixed with who-knows-how-much kitchen waste, was openly being sold, and judging by the coming and going crowds, there were many buyers.

"Um... is there any better place to buy food?"

Wu Liangchen urgently needed large amounts of Qi and Blood, but he couldn’t return to the Shadow Realm for now, so he could only search for food in this fringe shantytown.

But the roads here were complex and labyrinthine, and none of the shops had signs, making it extremely difficult for outsiders to buy things even if they had money.

Seeming not to understand Wu Liangchen’s words, the girl looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"I mean a place that sells proper, clean food. Is there anywhere like that?" Wu Liangchen finally came up with this explanation after thinking for a while.

The girl suddenly understood. She cast a reluctant glance at the distant shack, then headed toward a street in the distance.

After another series of twists and turns, the girl finally stopped and pointed to a house ahead.

Compared to the rickety shacks around it, this house was at least more sturdy. From inside came the faint sound of a fire roaring as someone cooked.

This immediately aroused Wu Liangchen’s appetite.

Although at his previous hideout, Wu Liangchen had eaten enough food for an ordinary person to last ten days, it was of no help at all.

The massive depletion of Qi and Blood couldn’t be replenished with just a meal or two.

Wu Liangchen strode toward the house, but after a few steps he noticed the little girl hadn’t followed. Instead, she was actively backing away.

"What’s wrong?"

The girl shook her head frantically, her eyes filled with panic.

She knew food was sold here, but she had never gone inside.

Because she had heard that only powerful people could eat here.

Even "big shots" like Zhu Biao would come here to drink.

How could she dare to enter?

Seeming to understand the girl’s concerns, Wu Liangchen smiled. "Don’t worry, it’s my treat. Consider it my thanks for guiding me here."