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Before the simulation began, Chen Yi adjusted his equipment traits.
He currently had no Martial Dao realm and could equip at most three traits. The Simulator had to be equipped, or he would be unable to simulate.
Since it was a simulation, there was no need for Super Beast Pain Perception.
He could just endure getting beaten and injured in the simulation. His real self would not feel any pain anyway.
[When the Qiantang River tide rises, only today do I know myself.] [Your hometown was massacred, and all your family perished. Under the immense shock, you awakened your innate memories and realized that you were a transmigrator.] [On Dachun's sudden inspiration, he dragged you into the river to escape.] [While unconscious, you drifted into Qinghe County City and were picked up by members of the Black Stone Gang, forced to work as laborers at the docks under their control.] [Under the Black Stone Gang's whips, you and the other laborers were like walking corpses, not knowing where tomorrow lay.] [Year One, eighteen years old.] [Beginning trait draw...] [Draw successful!] ["White Strip in the Waves" (White): Your affinity with water grows stronger, and your swimming ability rises to the level of a national athlete.] [Adjust traits? (The simulated you will not adjust traits on your own. This option will only appear during the annual trait draw, and you decide which traits to equip.)] [Yes/No]
The simulation paused, waiting for Chen Yi to make his choice.
"Does the first year count as a year too?"
The time in the simulation was supposed to continue from reality. He had already drawn once this year in reality, yet he could draw again in the simulation.
Perhaps it was one of the Simulator's benefits.
Chen Yi felt this trait was worth equipping.
He was right beside the river. Being good in the water could only help.
[You replaced "Hunger Resistance" with "White Strip in the Waves".] [You realized that you had begun the simulation.] [You badly wanted to run wild, but your strength was currently meager and your situation dire. Reckless behavior would easily get you killed.] [You suppressed the restlessness in your heart. You knew you had to survive longer in the simulation so that you could draw more traits.] ["Move it! There are still three boatloads of cargo today. If you don't finish, no food for three days!"] [The overseer's whip made all the laborers tremble.] [Outwardly, you pretended to be afraid, but inwardly you were already plotting several ways to kill these bastards once you became strong enough.] [Night fell.] [You had just prepared to rest when you heard foreman Wang Qiang's voice.] ["Three men, come here. I've got a sweet job!"] [A good job? You didn't believe it for a second and pretended to sleep.] ["Chen Yi! Stop pretending! You were pissing by the river just now—I saw you!"] [With no choice, you could only get up and walk over. Otherwise, Wang Qiang would definitely beat you up first, then make you do the "sweet job."] [Wang Qiang spoke to the three laborers.] ["Before dawn tomorrow, someone will take you to Ten Mile Pavilion downstream on the Qing River to deliver food to the River God! Once it's done, you can spend three glorious days at the Yihong Brothel!"]
Were they delivering food to the River God, or delivering these three men to become the River God's food?
If they were dead, what Yihong Brothel would there be?
Chen Yi had heard some older laborers say that there was a River Demon in the Qing River that liked eating people.
Whenever its cravings struck, it would stir up wind and waves to overturn boats.
Later, the Black Stone Gang arrived, and the River Demon's rampages became far less frequent.
The old men all believed that the Black Stone Gang had reached an agreement with the River Demon: every month, they would proactively send a few people down for it to eat, in exchange for it not disrupting river transport.
Judging by the simulation, that was probably exactly what had happened.
So I need to hide tonight...
Luckily, he had the simulation and learned the news in advance. Chen Yi silently committed it to memory.
But he did not know whether his simulated self could survive this ordeal.
["Damn it!"] [You cursed inwardly, knowing you could not escape this calamity.] [Since that was the case, you would flee tonight!] [In the latter half of the night, when everyone had fallen deeply asleep, you leaped into the water.] [You were going to swim to the opposite bank!] [The Qing River ran swift and turbulent. Before this, you would never have tried escaping this way, because you would either be caught or drown from exhaustion.] [But now, you had the "White Strip in the Waves" trait. You could take a gamble!] [Anyway, if you stayed here, you would not live to see tomorrow night!] [You thrashed through the water with all your might. Your swimming ability had indeed improved tremendously; reaching the other shore like this would be no problem at all!] [Haha! I'm free!] [Hearing the splash, a group of laborers at the dock sprang to their feet and began shouting.] ["Chen Yi's escaped! Somebody come quick!"] [Fuck! You were all pretending to sleep?!] [The laborers were so alert because you were bound by collective punishment.] [If one person escaped, everyone on the same team would be implicated. At best, they would receive a brutal beating; at worst, they would be sliced apart and hung from sails.] [The Black Stone Gang members were alerted.] [Wang Qiang snorted coldly.] ["Let's see whether you swim faster, or our boats sail faster!"] [Wang Qiang led people aboard a boat and was about to raise anchor when flames suddenly soared into the sky along the shore.] ["Hahaha! Fire!!"] [Dachun splashed the dock's lighting brazier onto a pile of cargo that had yet to be shipped away.] [The fire erupted in an instant, and the entire dock descended into chaos.] ["Put it out! If this shipment burns, the gang leader will skin us alive!"] [Wang Qiang could no longer spare any thought for chasing you. He hurriedly led people to fetch water and fight the fire.] [In the firelight, you vaguely saw a group of Black Stone Gang members cursing as they rushed at Dachun with cleavers in hand.] [Blood splashed five paces.]
Seeing this, Chen Yi's expression shifted.
Dachun had already saved him once back in Luoding Village.
He had never expected that in the simulation, upon discovering that Chen Yi was going to escape, Dachun would still help him without hesitation.
He had even thrown away his life.
Chen Yi looked at Dachun beside him.
Unable to eat his fill, Dachun was currently squatting on the ground, drooling as he stared at the thin porridge in someone else's bowl.
His intelligence might not be high, but he was loyal and righteous.
Chen Yi thought that if he ever had the ability to escape the Black Stone Gang, he would definitely take Dachun with him.
["Splash..."] [The river churned.] [There was no time to grieve for Dachun's death. You could not let his sacrifice be meaningless.] [You had to survive!] [Survive until the day you found a chance to cultivate!] [Then inherit the cultivation from the simulation, allowing the real you and Dachun to escape the Black Stone Gang's oppression!] [With every ounce of strength in your body, you swam through the icy, rushing river and reached the opposite shore.] [Heaven had blessed you. Whether it was the River God or the River Demon in the river, neither appeared.] [Perhaps it had already received word from the Black Stone Gang and was waiting at that mysterious food drop-off point downstream, so it had not noticed what was happening upstream.] [After coming ashore, you faced the choice of where to go next.] [1. Go seek refuge with your Third Sister in White Cloud County Town;] [2. Wander the wilderness and hide in the deep mountains and ancient forests;] [3. Swim back.] [Please make a choice:]
The simulation paused again, waiting for Chen Yi to decide the subsequent course of events.
Chen Yi considered it.
Option three was clearly there for a laugh, so it was immediately eliminated.
Should he seek refuge with his Third Sister, or lie low in the wilderness?
Chen Yi actually had three siblings.
His eldest brother and Second Sister had gone missing while gathering in the mountains when he was eight. There had been no news of them ever since.
His Third Sister had married into White Cloud County Town when he was fifteen.
I remember Third Brother-in-law is a Martial Artist. If I go to Third Sister, I should be able to come into contact with the Martial Dao. Maybe I can ask how to obtain Root Bone, or whether it is possible to cultivate without Root Bone?
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