The Salted Fish's Handbook for Raising an Overpowered Hero

After transmigrating, Bai Li became a seven-year-old cowherd in a remote mountain village in an unknown dynasty. As he chewed on a bowl of tasteless coarse rice, Bai Li was on the verge of despair when he suddenly realized he'd transmigrated into a book: a power-fantasy political intrigue novel about a destined hero. The protagonist, Mu Fengze, lived right next door. Ha! As the saying goes, there's always a way out. After thinking it over, "Lazy Bai" decided to latch onto the destined hero and secure the position of his number-one underling. With a big brother like the destined hero, living in a mansion in the capital and spending money like water would be just a matter of time. Then this little salted fish could lie flat in peace. Too bad dreams were sweet and reality was rough. Bai Li spat out the foxtail grass he'd been chewing and looked at the male lead, dressed in the same ragged, patched-up clothes as him. He let out a long sigh. "Aotian, when are you going to amount to something? I really want to lie flat." Putting down the branch in his hand, "Long Aotian" turned to him with a bewildered look. "Brother Ali, you got my name wrong again. I'm clearly called Erniu." Bai Li: ... Right. At this point, Long Aotian wasn't Long Aotian yet. He was just a five-year-old country boy with two little pigtails. Mu Fengze wasn't called Mu Fengze yet, either. He was Wang Erniu. Even if Bai Li wanted to be the number-one underling to Long Aotian, he'd have to wait a few years. Sprawled out on the ground, Bai Li shut his eyes in misery. He needed a guide to wealth and splendor. He didn't want to live a hard life with no computer or phone, doing farmwork every day. But the protagonist was the protagonist. His halo quietly descended before anyone noticed. When Mu Fengze was thirteen, members of the royal family found him and revealed that he was royal blood who had been raised among commoners. Bai Li was dragged into the palace as a lucky mascot. But being a prince was hard. For Wang Erniu to become Mu Fengze, he had to endure a lot. For instance, getting up before dawn to study, practicing martial arts every day, writing calligraphy, learning military strategy, and mastering the Four Books, Five Classics, and Six Arts. Nothing could be skipped... Bai Li grinned, crossed his legs, and lounged comfortably in the hall. Being a workaholic was the destined hero's job. As his little underling, of course he'd choose to lie flat! He watched Mu Fengze work himself ragged from prince to crown prince, then from crown prince to emperor. Bai Li was pleased for him, but gradually began to sense that something was off. Was "Aotian" being a little too good to him? After cautiously testing the waters, Bai Li realized that "Aotian" might have feelings for him. After a spell of silence, struggle, and hesitation, Bai Li decided to quietly run away with the gold and jewels Mu Fengze had given him. But before he could even reach the palace gates, the Imperial Guards stopped him. Before he could use the gold plaque granted by the new emperor to throw his weight around, the emperor himself came strolling out through the gates. He bent down and asked with a smile, "Ali, would you be willing to become my empress?" Bai Li: ? Wasn't he supposed to be his underling? How had he become empress? Bai Li gave an awkward laugh. "Not particularly." Mu Fengze smiled and nodded. "Then we'll talk about you leaving the palace when you're ready." Bai Li's vision went dark. Aotian, please let this ambition-free salted fish go! [Bonus Scene] On his first day locked in the palace, Bai Li said cautiously, "Aotian, I really don't want to be empress." Mu Fengze's smile didn't change. "That's fine. Do you want to go back to the village and farm?" Bai Li: ? Bai Li scolded him angrily. "Is that how you treat someone you love?" Mu Fengze: "Just kidding. You can't go back to the village anyway." Beautiful, goofy, lazy-fish bottom x Workaholic, scheming, destined-hero top 1v1, both are pure Take a look at my upcoming novels: My Roommate Is Reading Too Much Into This, After I Took Advantage of My Savior and Abandoned Him, and The Young Dandy of the Imperial Academy Cheng Ning woke up in a wooden cabin with no memories. His delicate body, pampered by gold, silver, and jade, was covered in alarming blue and purple bruises. Fortunately, the hunter who found him was kind and always willing to look after him. "I've forgotten my name. How about I take your surname?" With his long hair falling over his shoulder, the person propped up in bed was pale, but his stunning looks remained impossible to miss. He studied the tall, taciturn hunter beside the bed, then smiled with a hint of teasing reproach. "I'll be Cheng Ning. What do you think?" Cheng Yuan pressed his lips together, his dark eyes fixed on the man deliberately teasing him. After a moment, he finally said, "Suit yourself." Cheng Ning thought Cheng Yuan was amusing. The man clearly had feelings for him, yet whenever Cheng Ning moved closer, he acted as if he wanted to run away at once. Cheng Ning enjoyed teasing him, so from time to time he'd ask him to warm his hands and feet, then deliberately whisper in his ear that if he were a woman, he'd marry a man like him. Once Cheng Yuan's ears turned red, Cheng Ning would suddenly pull away. One day, people from the capital came looking for him. As Cheng Ning wondered what to do with Cheng Yuan, he overheard a matchmaker who had come to arrange a marriage earnestly persuading the taciturn hunter: "You're not getting any younger. It's time to start a family." Right, it was time for Cheng Yuan to get married, too. He was only a hunter from some impoverished backwater. There was no reason to feel reluctant to leave. Xiao Junyan, heir to the Ning'an estate, was due to return to the capital. * Two years later, rumors spread throughout the capital that the heir to the Ning'an estate was looking for male lovers. A man sat on a carved sandalwood throne. He wore a gold-inlaid jade crown set with purple gems and deer-hide boots. His jade pendants chimed softly. His brocade robes were luxurious, but still paled beside his breathtakingly beautiful and noble face. Xiao Junyan lazily lifted his eyelids and glanced over the men who had come to offer themselves as his lovers. He was about to pick a couple at random when a servant hurried in with a report: "My lord, the Prince of the Southwest has come to pay his respects." The Prince of the Southwest? Xiao Junyan thought for a moment, then remembered the man. He'd heard that the prince had arrived in the capital a few days ago and planned to discuss military affairs with the emperor. Before Xiao Junyan could decide whether to meet him, unhurried footsteps sounded outside. He frowned slightly, about to lose his temper, but stopped when he saw the man at the door. The man wore fine clothes, his features sharp. He looked nothing like the rustic villager he'd once been. He parted his lips and spoke calmly: "I heard that the heir to the Xiao estate is choosing male lovers. I came only to ask whether you still remember the husband you left behind in that mountain hut." Xiao Junyan: ? When had he gotten a husband? How come he didn't know? [Teasing, noble bottom x Obsessive, mad-dog top] 1v1, both are pure Theme: Move forward for your dreams