An Invention Ahead of Its Time

An Invention Ahead of Its Time

Day after day, the sun rose and set. Chu Mu slept for nearly two days and one night, and it was not until the early hours of the third day that he finally woke.

Of course, he had not woken naturally. He had been forced awake by the intense hunger churning in his stomach.

His stomach felt completely empty, while the soreness throughout his body seemed even worse. The only thing worth celebrating was that some of his strength had returned, so he was no longer in danger of finding even walking extremely difficult.

The house left behind by the Original Owner's father was not very large. It had no winding corridors or ornate pavilions, just an ordinary rural home with a small brick-and-stone-walled courtyard in front.

He stumbled out of the bedroom and made his way to the kitchen. The few cold steamed buns left from before had now become Chu Mu's lifeline.

In both his past and present lives, this was the first time Chu Mu had ever experienced such hunger. He wolfed down the food, barely noticing its taste and caring only about the small sense of fullness that came after it entered his stomach.

After several steamed buns entered his stomach, the hunger finally faded considerably. Leaning against the stove, Chu Mu could not help but let out a long sigh of relief.

The feeling of hunger had truly left a deep impression on him. Judging by it, Chu Mu estimated that he must have slept far longer than usual. Otherwise, he would never have been hungry to this extent.

"Next time I use Spirit Radiance Blessing, I have to be careful."

Chu Mu silently warned himself again. Spirit Radiance Blessing was certainly wonderful, but he had to keep it within proper limits. If he became too engrossed and forgot what his body could endure, lacking any Self-Awareness, then even something good could turn into something bad.

His thoughts continued to churn, but Chu Mu's hands did not stop moving. Though his body was still sore, he busied himself in the kitchen in an orderly fashion.

He had never studied cooking in his previous life, but while wandering far from home, he had often cooked for himself. His skills could not be called good, but they were more than enough to satisfy himself.

Using the ingredients left in the kitchen, he worked for a while, and several decent-looking dishes soon appeared on the table.

Another bout of wolfing down food followed, and the dishes were swept clean. Only then did the hunger in his stomach completely disappear.

By then, the morning sun had risen. Sunlight carrying a hint of warmth tore through the morning mist and spilled across the earth. In the courtyard, Chu Mu paced with some difficulty, walking off his meal while also loosening his sore body.

The Light Screen Panel had long since appeared in Chu Mu's field of vision.

Name: Chu Mu.

Skills: Basic Blade Technique (Barely Initiated) 30/100

Spirit Radiance Value: 5.3%

"Fifteen points of proficiency..."

Chu Mu silently pondered. He was not disappointed by the amount. Under the Spirit Radiance Blessing that night, the greatest help it had provided to his blade technique had not been those dozen or so points of proficiency. Rather, it had completely fused the Original Owner's fragmented memories into Chu Mu himself, causing the dense sense of estrangement to vanish as well.

That was the greatest benefit of that Spirit Radiance Blessing.

As his thoughts flowed, Chu Mu slowly paced onward, finally stopping at the Courtyard Gate. The house had clearly been standing for quite some time. The painted gate was already mottled, and several spots near its corners were even damaged.

Through the Courtyard Gate, he could already clearly hear the clamorous noise outside. Accompanied by a harsh creaking sound, the seemingly unstable gate slowly swung open, and another world entered Chu Mu's view.

Although the house left behind by the Original Owner's father was not particularly large, its location was quite good. It stood beside the main street of the town, so opening the door revealed a bustling marketplace.

The morning mist had not yet completely dispersed. Beneath the rising sun, the street was already teeming with people. There were Stall Vendors carrying loads on their shoulders and backs while calling out their wares, shop assistants standing along the street and shouting for customers, and dung workers driving ox carts from house to house to collect waste...

The bustling street life of the ancient era's common people was laid out in crystal clarity before Chu Mu's eyes beyond this door.

Although this was not the first time he had witnessed such a scene, every time, Chu Mu still found himself falling into a daze almost against his will.

His previous life... truly was only his previous life now. Everything existed solely in his memories, and he could never go back!

Chu Mu felt that he ought to be grateful—grateful that he had no longer had anything tying him down in his previous life. Otherwise, he truly could not imagine what that scene would have been like.

After a long while, Chu Mu seemed to finally return to his senses. He pressed his lips together, slowly turned around, and headed back toward the bedroom.

The Original Owner's family was not one of great wealth or status. Moreover, the Original Owner's father had served as a Patrol Inspector and was usually out before dawn and home after dark. Sometimes, when official business was especially busy, he would not even be seen for more than half a month.

Under such circumstances, the bedroom's furnishings were naturally simple. There was a wooden bed and a cabinet, with nothing else.

Following the Original Owner's memories, Chu Mu rummaged through the cabinet and found a small locked wooden chest. When he opened it, the first thing that entered his eyes was a stack of paper "banknotes."

Strangely enough, according to what Chu Mu had known in his previous life, ancient societies had generally used precious metals such as copper and silver as their primary currencies. Even when paper money existed, it was mostly used for large transactions. Even officially issued and widely circulated paper currencies such as the Jiaozi and Treasure Notes of the Ming and Song dynasties had never completely replaced metal currency.

Compared with paper backed by nothing more than trust and capable of being printed recklessly, common people clearly had more faith in genuine metal currency.

Yet according to the Original Owner's memories, metal currency had not existed for as long as he could remember. Banknotes were the entirety of the currency.

And yet the denominations were divided into one copper, five copper, ten copper, fifty copper, one hundred copper, one silver, five silver, ten silver...

Such a division of denominations clearly showed that metal currency must once have been the mainstream form of money. It was simply unknown which exceptionally talented and ambitious emperor had led the world across the age of metal currency and into this era of paper money backed by trust.

This alone made it clear that Great Chu was definitely not any ancient dynasty Chu Mu had known from his previous life.

"These banknotes are quite exquisitely made!"

Chu Mu casually picked up a banknote. The texture against his fingers came through clearly. It did not have the rough, grainy feel of ordinary paper; instead, it felt smooth to the touch.

If they had been merely sheets of paper, Chu Mu would not have been so surprised. What amazed him were the exquisite ink paintings printed on the banknotes.

Each denomination had a different ink painting. There were mountains, rivers, cities, palaces...

Every banknote could be called a painting worthy of being mounted and framed.

If this had been his previous life, Chu Mu would not have found it surprising. But in this ancient society, with its ancient level of productivity, producing banknotes of such quality was truly difficult to believe.

After thinking for a long time without reaching any conclusion, Chu Mu did not dwell on it. He had only just arrived. Once he became familiar with the place, he would naturally learn what he needed to know.

He casually took several banknotes and stuffed them into his robe. Just as he was about to lock the wooden chest again, Chu Mu hesitated for a while before finally taking all the banknotes. He carefully tucked them into his robe, then checked several times to make sure they were secure.

This money was the Original Owner's entire fortune. Even his father's death pension was included.

There were three hundred and twenty-two silver and sixty-eight copper in total. One had to know that, despite taking over his father's position, the Original Owner earned only eight silver in Monthly Salary each month.

Keeping such a huge sum in a wooden cabinet, Chu Mu truly could not feel at ease.

If it were stolen, he would probably have to drink the northwest wind. The Patrol Guard Department's clerks had to pay for their meals, after all!