Two Books

Lu Ming chewed the grass roots he'd stuffed into his mouth, their sweet juice filling his mouth and reassuring him that the taste was close to what he remembered.

He hadn't made the wrong choice.

So, he swallowed the juice greedily and with relief, leaving only some coarse fiber in his mouth, like sugarcane pulp.

Due to the time crunch and the need to fill his stomach quickly, Lu Ming didn't bother spitting out the pulp, swallowing it along with the rest.

He then grabbed several more handfuls and ate them rapidly.

With a few handfuls of grass roots down, Lu Ming finally regained some strength. He didn't leave immediately, intending to gather some to take with him while he continued to chew and eat.

After all, this was another world, and he didn't know how long it would be before he encountered familiar edible plants again.

Once his chest was stuffed full and his strength had mostly returned, Lu Ming struggled to his feet.

He still felt a bit dizzy, but he could stand steadily now.

After steadying himself and roughly orienting himself, he began to walk away with heavy steps.

Based on the original owner's memories, this place shouldn't be far from "Shuofeng City," where he made his living.

As for why the original owner had left the city and ended up in this wilderness, there was a reason.

Where there were people, there was Jianghu, and Shuofeng City was no exception, with many different kinds of people.

Various families, gangs, businesses, and escorts created a complex web of powers. Even beggars had a mutual support group called the Beggar's Gang.

The original owner, though a beggar himself, was not part of the Beggar's Gang. Instead, he was controlled by a member of the gang, who demanded most of his daily earnings.

If he failed to bring back anything, he would be beaten.

He wouldn't usually be beaten to death, of course. After all, keeping him alive, even if he was useless, meant he could still bring in some income.

But he would definitely suffer a lot.

The original owner, whether due to bad luck or not, hadn't begged anything for several consecutive days. Fearing the beatings, he had simply fled the city yesterday.

He knew his escape would be fatal. In this weather, the temperature in the wilderness at night was something his frail body couldn't endure.

However, he could no longer bear the daily oppression and had already resolved to die, hoping to end his painful life sooner.

He did die, and Lu Ming inexplicably transmigrated into his body.

"Don't worry, I'll continue walking down the path ahead for you."

Lu Ming chewed on grass roots for energy as he walked. He felt great sympathy for the original owner's plight and could relate to his suffering.

However, he didn't feel anger, but rather a sense of calm.

In his opinion, revenge wasn't a difficult matter at all.

Or rather, seeking revenge on a mere underling wasn't even worthy of being his goal.

He had always been a tenacious person. Once he set his sights on a goal, he would relentlessly pursue it.

In his previous life, he had relied on this very personality to build an enormous fortune from nothing.

Fate, however, played a cruel trick, and he woke up here.

But fortunately, this world was more interesting. Even though he faced hardships now, it didn't fill him with despair. Instead, it made him more excited and filled him with fighting spirit.

He loved this feeling of striving.

Returning to the present, he had already formed a grand ambition: to join the mainstream of this world and practice martial arts.

He wanted to keep going, to see if the legendary immortality was truly real.

Therefore, seeking revenge on a minor figure seemed insignificant.

"I should be getting close."

Without further thought, Lu Ming found a tree and stopped to rest. He had been counting his steps and constantly watching for any unusual movements around him for over an hour.

He was heading towards the official road leading to Shuofeng City, and then he would follow that road.

This would reduce the risk of encountering fierce beasts and be much safer.

Fortunately, it seemed he was close to Shuofeng City, and the journey had been uneventful.

After chewing on some grass roots and resting for a while, Lu Ming glanced at the sky, estimating that it was now afternoon.

He decided to pick up the pace.

After walking for a while longer, a winding road finally appeared in his sight. Following the road, the silhouette of a massive city became clearly visible.

"Finally, we're here."

Seeing the city's outline, Lu Ming breathed a sigh of relief. He mused that the original owner had run quite far in search of some leftover meat from a fierce beast before dying, just to taste meat.

However, it was worth mentioning that although the original owner never got his wish, he seemed to have found something else.

And that something was now in his chest.

"I hope it doesn't disappoint me."

Temporarily out of danger, Lu Ming felt the hard objects in his chest. Besides his remaining grass roots, there were also two books.

These were left by the original owner. He had discovered them long ago but had suppressed his curiosity and hadn't taken them out to look due to the threat of unknown fierce beasts.

As for the origin of these two books, according to his memories, he learned that the original owner had obtained them yesterday from a tomb, possibly washed out by a mountain flood, while searching for the residual meat left by fierce beasts.

Since it happened yesterday, his memory was very clear.

He remembered that when he encountered the tomb, the original owner was indeed startled, but quickly became overjoyed.

This was because there were rumors in Shuofeng City of people "accidentally finding treasures and soaring to the heavens."

The original owner naturally hoped to find some treasures in the tomb, turn his life around, and even have the chance to study martial arts at a martial arts school, and then seek revenge on the beggars who had oppressed him.

So, he began searching with an excited heart and found a stone coffin, with the heavy lid already half-opened.

He then, taking advantage of the increasingly dim sky, mustered his courage to look inside the coffin. Inside was a skeleton. Although its flesh and blood had turned to dust, strangely, the clothes were as good as new.

He didn't think much of it and instead looked towards the skeleton's abdomen. There were two books there, held in two skeletal hands.

Upon seeing them, he guessed they were the martial arts manuals he often heard about.

So, he excitedly took them out and stuffed them into his embrace.

He then continued searching, as his greatest desire was still to find some treasure.

However, as he continued to examine the surroundings, a beast's roar suddenly echoed, and the sound was getting closer and closer, clearly heading towards him.

Therefore, he couldn't bother searching for treasure anymore and fled for his life.

He ran blindly, not knowing how long he ran before stopping. It was only when he stopped that he felt utterly exhausted and could barely stand, eventually falling unconscious.

He ultimately froze to death, leading to the current situation.

Having received the memories, Lu Ming naturally knew about the tomb early on and also knew that there were still treasures left there.

However, he had no intention of searching for them because the risk was too great.

On one hand, the fierce beast that chased the original owner might still be lurking in the vicinity;

On the other hand, if he was unlucky, he might encounter those "Monster Hunters" from Shuofeng City.

These people were Martial Artists who roamed the wilderness year-round, making a living by hunting Demonic Beasts.

If he encountered them by chance, not only would he lose what he had already obtained, but he would also lose his life.

When one lacks strength, knowing when to quit is the best choice.

Therefore, Lu Ming resolutely decided to head to Shuofeng City first.

Now, he had arrived near the official road. Instead of rushing onto the road to enter the city, he didn't hurry because his clothes were thin, and it was obvious he had something valuable on him.

And after entering the city, he would most likely encounter the beggar who controlled the original owner.

So, to prevent his belongings from being stolen, he decided not to bring them into the city and instead planned to find a place to hide them.

He would retrieve them only after establishing a certain foundation.

However, before hiding them, he decided to take a look first.

After finding a slightly hidden spot, he took out the two books from his embrace with an excited heart.