A Virtuous Household Has No Remaining Joy

In the second year of Taiwu, in the northern territory of Great Xia, Yuyang County.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting myriad rays that intertwined with the evening mist, farmers returned home along the country road under the twilight, their cattle and sheep following them into their pens.

In a mud-brick house north of the town, a dark-skinned farmer, a young girl with her hair tied in a high bun, and a young master in plain white silk robes were gathered around a worn wooden table, eagerly awaiting dinner.

The flame in the oil lamp on the table flickered, making the dim room seem to sway along with it.

A moment later, a farmer's wife, clad in a coarse cloth skirt, emerged from the darkness outside the main hall. She placed a ceramic dish and a woven basket on the table before returning to the kitchen with a stern expression.

"Young Master, you eat first."

The farmer pushed the dish and basket towards the young master, having already mastered the art of using the word "eat."

The dish contained shredded radish pickled in salt, and the basket held four wild vegetable steamed buns, each the size of an egg. The land in Yuyang County was barren, and this was the staple meal for the common folk, unchanging throughout the year.

The young master picked out a steamed bun from the basket, observed it for a while, and then asked, "Old Qiu, have you ever eaten meat?"

Hearing this, the young girl with the high bun suddenly became interested and looked at Old Qiu, "Dad, what is meat?"

"Something that tastes worse than these buns. A small bite will give you stomach pain all night."

"Hiss."

The girl bared her teeth, as if already suffering from stomach pain, her little face contorted.

The young master then broke off half of the bun in his hand and fed it to the girl, while also tearing off a piece for himself and chewing it absentmindedly.

His name was Ji You, a philosophy undergraduate from Linchuan University. His hobbies included singing, dancing, rap, basketball, hiking, photography, rock climbing, and he was exceptionally skilled at the game "Honor of Kings," not to mention being witty and humorous.

However, that was more than two years ago.

During the summer vacation of his freshman year, he had joined an expedition team to traverse the uninhabited region of Yunling Mountains. He accidentally got lost in the mountains and eventually ended up in this world.

He then fainted on a ridge and was rescued by a farmer in Yuyang County.

After he woke up, everyone began calling him Young Master Ji.

Later, Ji You discovered that there was a wealthy landlord family in Yuyang County named Ji, and he looked exactly like the eldest young master of that Ji family, even sharing the same name.

It took him many days to accept the fact that he had transmigrated, but he had no intention of simply accepting his fate. After leaving the medical clinic, he wandered in the mountains for half a month, trying to find his way back.

Then, the hope he had been clinging to finally died.

Later, someone told him that the Ji family was a renowned landlord household in Yuyang County. He thought that he would at least be free from want, a sure-fire advantageous start.

But he soon learned that it was a false alarm.

The day before he arrived in this world, the Ji family of Yuyang had offended a cultivation sect and was punished. His family members were either dead or had fled.

This was also why the people of Yuyang County treated him as the Ji family's young master who had accidentally wandered into the deep mountains while fleeing.

Fortunately, Old Master Ji was not a wicked landlord who had committed all sorts of evil deeds. He had treated his servants quite well in the past. Therefore, for the past two years, he, the imposter, had been freeloading at the home of Old Qiu, the former steward of the Ji family.

Old Qiu was a loyal servant of the Ji family. It was said that Old Master Ji had found him by the roadside when he was on the verge of starvation.

So, even though his family's fortune was gone, he still addressed Ji You as "Young Master" every day.

However, Old Qiu's wife disliked him intensely. After all, when Old Qiu stopped being a steward, he began farming. The family's harvest was barely enough to support the three of them, and no one wanted an extra mouth to feed.

"In two days, the county will send people to collect taxes. Our family eats more than others, and we are still short."

"I'll go borrow some tomorrow, and we'll have enough."

Old Qiu chewed on a steamed bun and said to his wife, who was standing in the kitchen.

Every year during the autumn equinox, the people of Great Xia were required to hand over sixty percent of their land to support the court and the immortals. Even though the people were now living in destitution, this tax had never been reduced, resulting in widespread starvation every winter.

This was not an uncommon sight in Great Xia, but it would be a true marvel if any commoner managed to survive the winter without starving.

What's more, some elderly people who couldn't farm but still needed to eat were sent to the retirement pavilion while still alive, which was essentially a tomb for the living.

Li Shuping came in with a bowl of wild vegetable soup. "Borrow? From where? In this day and age, which family has any surplus grain?"

"I still have a distant relative. I'm sure they won't ignore us."

"Didn't you say you were an orphan, adopted by the Ji family at eight? What relatives could you possibly have?"

"I also have an old father-in-law," Old Qiu mumbled, lowering his head.

Li Shuping was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage. "Ever since I married you, I haven't had a few good days. And now you want to borrow from my family again?"

"When I was a steward at the Ji family, I made sure you lived a good life..."

Li Shuping saw Old Qiu reach for the basket and slapped his hand away. "Stop eating, give it to the Young Master. He's still growing."

The seemingly sharp-tongued Madam Qiu was, in fact, a kind-hearted person with a harsh exterior.

Ji You, feeling a bit touched, reached for the basket, only to hear Li Shuping's next sentence echo through the room: "Eat until you're strong, then you'll help with the plowing and harrowing in the spring."

"How can the Young Master be made to do farm work?"

Li Shuping crushed the steamed bun before speaking, "The Ji family is gone. What will we eat if we don't work the fields? Only you still treat him like a young master. Otherwise, why would the daughter of the Old Master have broken off her engagement with him?"

Young Master Ji originally had a childhood engagement with Miss Fang Ruoyao, the daughter of the county magistrate.

However, three days after Ji You was sent to the medical clinic, a carriage arrived from the county yamen.

At that time, the county magistrate Fang Zhongzheng, along with his daughter Fang Ruoyao, alighted from the carriage and forced him to voluntarily sign a letter of annulment, intending to break off the engagement.

Ji You was still lying in the medical hall, not yet recovered, when his handprint was pressed down.

But he didn't feel any heartache, after all, it was someone else's wife.

And just a few days ago, news came from the county town that Miss Fang had been chosen by the Great Xia Sacred Sect's Celestial Academy and would go to Shengjing to cultivate immortality.

The world of Qingyun has always revered cultivators, with even the royal family showing them respect, but this immortality is not something one can pursue at will.

Great Xia law states that commoners are only allowed to engage in production and are forbidden from cultivating immortality privately, as it is a crime punishable by beheading, with the perpetrator's entire clan facing severe repercussions.

Therefore, Fang Ruoyao having the opportunity to become an orthodox cultivator was truly a step into heaven.

As a result, after this matter spread, Young Master Ji was laughed at for a long time.

But this was not Ji You's fault; it was because the reputation of the original Young Master Ji was poor.

Li Shuping now uses Miss Fang's family as an example, not to intentionally mock, but to make Ji You and Old Qiu understand that the so-called Ji family has long since changed, and she wants to persuade him to face reality.

Ji You broke off a piece of cornbread and fed it to Old Qiu's daughter, saying, "Next autumn, I should prosper, and then I'll let Qiu Ru eat well and live luxuriously."

"I want to eat well and live luxuriously!"

Qiu Ru's eyes lit up, and she bit down hard on the cornbread with her small hand.

The little girl was five years old this year. The Ji family was gone before she could even remember anything, and she hadn't lived a good life. Now, she didn't even remember the taste of meat.

Li Shuping felt a bit helpless, thinking that they could barely afford food now, yet he was still thinking about eating well and living luxuriously. This young master was probably beyond saving.

However, there were always good things amidst hardship, like her foolish daughter.

When Qiu Ru was just born, she was frail and often coughed. In the last two years, she had suddenly gotten much better. Even though the family was short on food and couldn't afford much meat, her daughter was growing stronger.

Doctor Chen from the county was considered a miracle worker in the surrounding ten miles. Even he marveled at it and stated with certainty that there was something unusual about it.

But Old Qiu often told her that this was called good deeds being rewarded and asked her to treat the young master of the Ji family better. But when would this period of poverty end?

"I'm done eating."

Ji You suddenly spoke and stood up.

Old Qiu was taken aback. "Young Master, why are you only eating this little? Have some more."

"Forget it, we don't have any extra food at home. Let's save some for later."

At Hai Shi, the night was deep, the moon was at the tip of the willow branches, the lamps had been extinguished by the moonlight, and all was silent.

Ji You left Old Qiu's house and walked along the dark path towards the town. At this moment, a crimson streak stretched across the night sky, like a bleeding wound, dyeing the surrounding night in pink.

This was not a rare celestial phenomenon; it was said to have existed since ancient times and remained to this day.

"Heaven's Demise... what does it mean?"

"Does it mean heaven is dead?"

Ji You recalled the string of syllables he heard from the walkie-talkie on the day he transmigrated, and he couldn't figure it out.

Just then, he arrived in front of a two-courtyard residence and pushed the door open.

He didn't live at Old Qiu's house but in the Ji family's only remaining ancestral home.

The courtyard was large, but the valuable items had been sold by the Ji family during their escape, leaving only some broken bricks and tiles.

As Ji You stepped into the second courtyard, he saw a scholar in plain clothes sitting on a willow tree in the adjacent courtyard. He had a jade-like face and sharp eyebrows that reached his temples. He hung an oil lamp on a tree branch, held an old book, and read silently, framed by the silver hook in the sky.

However, when he saw someone approaching, the scholar in the adjacent courtyard took down the oil lamp and jumped off the willow tree.

Ji You seemed accustomed to such scenes and ignored it, turning back to his room, lighting a candle, and closing the doors and windows tightly, carefully covering them with black curtains.

"Give me a smoke."

He opened the drawer and, by the dim candlelight, pulled out an incense stick called Hua Xian Yin.

This incense had a calming effect, allowing one to enter a state of meditation instantly.

Ji You inserted the incense stick into the censer, took off his boots, and sat on the bed. After a few breaths, a faint spiritual light emanated from his body.