How to Avoid Being Gifted to the First Emperor by Helpful Netizens After Reincarnating as Tang Sanzang

System: You've become Tang Sanzang, and you're facing a dangerous situation.

Jiang Zijin: Am I about to be captured by a monster?

System: No. The netizens' wishes are sending you to the great First Emperor. They say that for the sake of our ancestor's eternal empire, Tang Monk's flesh must be delivered at all costs!

Jiang Zijin: ??? Isn't this the world of Journey to the West?

System: No, this is a fantastic crossover between two dynasties!

Jiang Zijin starts pressing his philtrum: Disciples, where is my eldest disciple Wukong!

System: He was driven away by you for attacking the White Bone Demon three times, just a few minutes ago.

Jiang Zijin's vision goes black. He drops dead.

In 219 BC, the First Emperor sends Xu Fu east across the sea to Penglai in search of the elixir of immortality.

Before long, he finds no elixir, but does bring back a fair-skinned monk with a face like jade.

The monk sees the First Emperor and says, "Charming ancestor, give me a chance to go back."

Ying Zheng doubts his identity and has him imprisoned.

That night, a divine monkey wearing a tightening headband appears in his dream.

The monkey can ride the clouds and churn the seas, shouting, "Give me back my master!"

The next day, Ying Zheng wakes, and the Director of the Palace Attendants reports that the monk in the prison has mysteriously disappeared.

Back in the world of Journey to the West, Jiang Zijin lovingly pats his eldest disciple on the head. "Wukong, Wukong, your master can't live without you!"

Great Sage Sun says, "Don't worry, Master. This old Sun will beat to death every monster that takes you away."

Jiang Zijin: "They're not monsters. They're enthusiastic citizens whose hearts have turned to iron against him!"

Great Sage Sun doesn't understand, but he says he'll protect his master no matter what.

But who could have expected that, not long afterward, Great Sage Sun would return from scouting ahead to find his master missing again?

Zhu Bajie: "Senior Brother, this is bad! Master has been captured by enthusiastic citizens!"

The second time he meets the First Emperor, Jiang Zijin is much calmer than the first.

He looks at the imposing, heroic First Emperor, eight chi and six cun tall, and says, "Amitabha. How about we sit and chat for a while?"

The netizens' emotional journey:

At the start: Hurry up and send this unlucky thing to the First Emperor to make soup!

Later: Whoever lays a hand on my master will have to answer to me!

Reading guide:

1. The story is set in a reimagined Journey to the West and an alternate Qin Dynasty. It features a system and netizen comments.

2. In the protagonist's eyes, he's playing a survival game. In the netizens' eyes, they're playing a game about falling in love with the reimagined Tang Monk.

3. The protagonist is intelligent, has no romantic pairing, is charismatic, and has a dry sense of humor.

Theme: Faith endures forever.