A Mortal Life, Merely Two Ounces of Bone

Great Liang Dynasty, Northern Territory, Black Stone County.

The biting cold wind scraped Ji Ye's face like a rusty, blunt knife, over and over. He huddled in the lee of the earthen wall, his tattered cotton jacket already stiffened into a hard lump, revealing the blackened reed down beneath.

This was his third month after transmigration.

No system, no elder, no broken engagement, not even a healthy body.

Ji Ye extended his frost-bitten, purplish hand and pulled out half a hardened, stone-like black steamed bun from his bosom. He had risked his life for it—yesterday, for this half bun, he had been viciously kicked in the ribs by that one-eyed refugee, and even now, his breathing carried a metallic tang.

"Cough... cough cough..."

The violent coughing jolted his wound, and Ji Ye curled up in pain like a cooked shrimp. Before transmigrating, he was a bright and shining wage slave in the CBD, complaining about 996 and anxious about his mortgage; after transmigrating, he finally understood what a luxurious, divine life it was to be able to sit at an office chair and drink a hot cup of coffee in peace.

This world was too rotten.

This place was called Da Liang, a world on the verge of dynastic collapse. Warlords fought each other, droughts continued year after year, and cannibalism was no longer just an idiom in history books but a scene seen everywhere by the roadside. The original owner of Ji Ye's body was a down-and-out scholar, unable to lift a shoulder pole or carry anything, useless in this chaotic world except for knowing a few characters.

Ji Ye had tried.

In the first month, he tried to find a copying job at the county office. As a result, he was beaten out with a stick for not bribing the gatekeeper.

In the second month, he wanted to invent something using his modern knowledge. Glass? Firing it required a high-temperature furnace and a formula; he couldn't even get a hot meal. Gunpowder? The control over saltpeter and sulfur was even stricter than that of salt and iron. He was arrested as a spy and thrown into prison after just one inquiry, and after being beaten with planks, he was thrown out.

The third month, which was now, he had learned to fight with wild dogs for food.

"Is this the treatment for transmigrators?" Ji Ye sneered, a self-deprecating twitch of his lips, his chapped lips breaking and oozing blood.

He took a hard bite of the black steamed bun, his teeth protesting with a dull ache, but he didn't dare stop. Because those pairs of green eyes in the distance were staring at him—they were desperate refugees, and once they saw him falter, they would pounce like hyenas.

If he didn't eat it, this bun wouldn't belong to him anymore.

Time blurred in hunger and cold.

Ji Ye did not die that winter, but a part of him did.

The Ji Ye of civilized society died, and what survived was a beggar leader named "Dog-Scraps."

Ji Ye became a small leader in the Beggar Gang of Black Stone County. He learned to read people's expressions, to speak differently to different people, and even learned to use his clumsy boxing skills to bully newly arrived refugees.

He no longer thought about glass or gunpowder, nor about kings and generals. His current dream was to save a few taels of silver and buy a night of warmth from the widow in the south of the city, or to get a cotton-padded jacket without patches.

But he never saved enough.

Because the war came.

The barbarian cavalry broke through the walls of Black Stone County. That day, flames soared into the sky, and cries of anguish shattered the night. Ji Ye's only "property" in this world—the leaky dilapidated temple hideout—was burned to ashes.

He fled south with the crowd.

On the road, he saw real hell. The corpses lying by the roadside were too numerous to be buried, and the wild dogs were so full-bellied that their eyes were no longer fierce but held a strange compassion.

The tenth year.

Ji Ye was thirty years old, but he looked like fifty. His back was hunched, his leg had been broken during the escape, and it had healed poorly, causing him to limp when he walked.

He settled in a small town in the south, making a living by emptying the chamber pots for wealthy families. It was a job no one else wanted, so there wasn't much competition, and he could barely get by.

Late at night, he would occasionally stare at the moon in the sky, lost in thought.

"What exactly did I come here to do?"

He had asked himself this question for ten years.

There was no answer. Heaven had thrown him into this world like garbage, seemingly just to watch him struggle in the mud, to watch him rot bit by bit.

He was unwilling.

Truly unwilling.

Even if he had to die, he wanted to die spectacularly, not like now, stinking and as humble as an ant.

So, he began to secretly practice martial arts.

It wasn't any peerless divine skill, just a few basic moves he'd secretly learned from the martial arts guards while emptying chamber pots. Even the lowest-level Savage Bull Strength, he practiced with obsessive devotion.

He couldn't afford medicinal baths, so he scrubbed his body with cold water; he couldn't afford meat, so he caught toads in the river to eat.

The fifteenth year.

Ji Ye finally cultivated a trace of Qi sense. Although it was as weak as a candle flame in the wind, it was the power of the extraordinary.

He was so excited that he didn't sleep all night, feeling like he had finally grasped the tail of destiny.

However, destiny not only did not open the door for him, but it also slammed the window shut.

The very next day after he cultivated his Qi sense, the town bully took a liking to a mute girl he had picked up—she was the "daughter" he depended on, though they were not related by blood.

The bully led his men into the dilapidated house, intending to forcibly abduct the girl.

Ji Ye exploded.

Fifteen years of suppression, fifteen years of humiliation, all transformed into that faint Qi sense at this moment.

He roared and charged forward, using the "Savage Bull Headbutt" he had secretly learned, and slammed it fiercely into the bully's chest.

"Crack."

The sound of bone breaking echoed.

He didn't knock the bully flying; instead, he himself was sent flying.

His body was too weak. Years of malnutrition and hidden injuries meant it couldn't support such an outburst. That collision didn't even hurt the other person; it had instead fractured his own ribs.

"Old man, you're asking for death!"

The bully grinned sinisterly and stomped on his face. The sand and mud from the sole of his shoe ground into Ji Ye's mouth.

Ji Ye struggled desperately, his hands leaving bloody streaks on the muddy ground. He watched the mute girl being dragged away, watched her desperate eyes, watched her silently open her mouth to shout "Daddy."

"Ah--!!!"

Ji Ye let out a beast-like roar, spitting blood from his throat.

But he couldn't get up.

That foot was like a mountain, crushing his head and shattering all his dignity and hope.

That night, Ji Ye's limbs were broken, and he was thrown into the mass grave outside of town.

The rain was heavy.

The cold raindrops washed away the bloodstains on his body, and also carried away his last bit of warmth.

He lay among the piles of corpses, surrounded by the stench of decay and the sounds of wild dogs chewing.

He wasn't completely dead yet.

His eyes were still open, staring fixedly at the pitch-black night sky.

Rainwater fell into his eyes, but he didn't even have the strength to blink.

This life was like an absurd joke.

Transmigrator? Protagonist?

Go to hell.

He was a joke. A waste who couldn't even protect the person he wanted to protect.

"If there's a next life..."

Ji Ye's consciousness began to dissipate, darkness engulfing him like a tide.

"If there's a next life..."

He repeated it over and over in his heart, his soul trembling.

"I want to win... I want to crush everyone who steps on me..."

"I want... power..."

The old crow, which he had seen countless times on the roof of the dilapidated temple, perched on a withered tree not far away at this moment. It let out a hoarse cry, as if bidding farewell to this humble soul.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

Ji Ye's fingers twitched slightly, wanting to grasp something, but in the end, he only grasped a handful of mud beneath him.

His heart stopped beating.

The transmigrator Ji Ye died in the 423rd year of the Liang Calendar, at the age of thirty-five.

Cause of death: Beaten to death.

Life evaluation: Ant.

[Detected host life signs disappearing.]

[Soul fluctuations confirmed.]

[Reincarnation System activating...]

In the darkness, a cold mechanical voice suddenly rang out, exploding like thunder deep within Ji Ye's now silent consciousness.

Immediately after, that dark world collapsed.

Ji Ye felt like a drowning person suddenly pulled out of the water, taking a deep breath—though he no longer had lungs.

Before him was no longer the bleak wind and bitter rain of the mass grave, but a pure white space.

There was no up or down, no sense of time passing.

Only a pale blue, semi-transparent panel floated in front of him.

Ji Ye's dazed consciousness gradually gathered. He looked at the panel, an emotion of extreme absurdity and ecstasy surging in his heart.

A golden finger?

You're only showing up after I'm dead?!

[Reincarnation settlement commencing]

[Current world: Late Great Liang (ID: 098 · Micro-world)]

[Time survived: 15 years]

[Achievements: None]

[Status: Beggar/Night Watchman]

[Cause of Death: Beaten to death by local bullies]

[Overall Evaluation: F (A life of no value. You were like a speck of dust, having no impact on this world.)]

The red "F" stung Ji Ye's "eyes."

[Based on your F-rank evaluation, you have received one "White Common" Talent draw opportunity.]

[Drawing Talent...]

The text on the panel flickered, finally settling on a gray-white icon.

[Talent Acquired: Savage Bull Strength (White)]

[Effect: Naturally 30% stronger than the average person.]

"Savage Bull Strength..."

Ji Ye looked at the talent, wanting to laugh but unable to. If he had possessed this talent back then, perhaps he could have pushed away that bully, and perhaps the mute child wouldn't have been taken away...

A late cheat is cheaper than grass.

[Please configure the next life's talents, Host.]

The panel changed, revealing three empty slots.

[Talent Slot 1: Empty]

[Talent Slot 2: Empty]

[Talent Slot 3: Empty]

[Current Talent Pool: Savage Bull Strength (White)]

The mechanical voice prompted emotionlessly:

[Note: Talent slots can be equipped with acquired talents. These talents will take effect in the next life. Once acquired, talents are permanently retained.]

Ji Ye looked at the three empty slots, then at the lone "Savage Bull Strength."

He only had one choice now.

With a thought, he dragged "Savage Bull Strength" into [Talent Slot 1].

Just as he was about to click "Begin Reincarnation," as if guided by a ghost or out of some vengeful impulse, he tried dragging the "Savage Bull Strength" icon again.

He had expected that the talent already equipped couldn't be selected again, or that it would replace the one in Slot 1.

But that wasn't the case.

The gray-white icon was actually dragged out again!

Ji Ye froze.

He tentatively dragged the second "Savage Bull Strength" into [Talent Slot 2].

[Ding!]

A crisp notification sound.

[Talent Slot 2 Equipped: Savage Bull Strength (White).]

No error?

Ji Ye's soul trembled violently. He dragged the third "Savage Bull Strength" into [Talent Slot 3].

[Ding!]

[Talent Slot 3 Equipped: Savage Bull Strength (White).]

At this moment, the panel displayed the following:

[Talent Slot 1: Savage Bull Strength (Strength +30%)]

[Talent Slot 2: Savage Bull Strength (Strength +30%)]

[Talent Slot 3: Savage Bull Strength (Strength +30%)]

[Current Stacked Effect: Strength +90% (Based on the Host's base physical stats in the reincarnated body).]

Ji Ye stared intently at the "+90%."

What if... what if three SSS-rank talents were stacked?

What if it were three Immortalities?

In that moment, the despair and humiliation he felt in the mass grave just now instantly transformed into boundless ambition.

This late-arriving system seemed to have a bug.

[Configuration Complete.]

[Resetting World...]

[Target World: Late Great Liang Dynasty (World ID: 098 · Micro-World)]

[Note: As no SSS-rank evaluation was obtained, the world ascension channel cannot be opened. You will continue to cycle within this world until you break the chains of fate.]

Back to that damned place again?

Ji Ye looked at the line of text, his soul devoid of fear, only burning rage.

Going back is fine.

It's the perfect time, there are some debts I haven't settled yet.

"This time," Ji Ye growled in his consciousness, "I'm going to live like a real person!"

[Reincarnation commencing.]

White light engulfed everything.

If you find this book to your liking, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.