Wu Ming wore a cool, detached expression as he watched Steward Wu question the burly guards. Meanwhile, he continued sorting through the memories of his predecessor.
Though the young wastrel had been good for nothing, he still knew the basics. Wu Ming had learned that the country he now lived in was called Great Zhou!
This Great Zhou clearly had little to do with the Eastern and Western Zhou dynasties from his past life. Here, mysterious forces existed!
There were terrifying martial artists whose bodies were as strong as vajra, like ancient ferocious beasts!
There were also Confucian Qi Refiners who cultivated their vital energy through scholarship, brought peace to the world, and could forge a mighty, righteous body!
And there were Daoist Immortals who could scatter beans to summon soldiers and call the wind and rain!
There were even Shaman Witches who specialized in sorcery and could borrow the power of nature's creatures, as well as vicious, mysterious Gu Masters who bred poisonous insects and could curse someone to death from a thousand miles away...
Wu Ming naturally wanted to know more. Unfortunately, his predecessor had been an illiterate country bumpkin of a wastrel. The only reason he knew even this much was that his elder sister had entered a Dao Academy.
"Ghost Hand Lao Liu really was useless!"
Steward Wu flung out his arm, his joints cracking one after another, like a firecracker going off in midair.
Power coursed through sinew and bone!
Steward Wu's martial skills seemed to be no less formidable.
"Young Master! Shall I go capture Lin Qi and leave him at your mercy?"
But the moment he turned around, the fierce aura around Steward Wu vanished completely, replaced by a fawning expression. The contrast was so stark that he seemed like an entirely different person.
"Wait a moment!"
The old Wu Ming would have been shouting to have Lin Qi hacked to pieces by now.
But this Wu Ming wasn't that Wu Ming. He hadn't stolen the woman, and he hadn't sent anyone to kill Lin Qi, either. Naturally, he didn't want to take the blame for it.
Besides, Wu Ming had only just transmigrated. The thoughts and values from his past life were deeply rooted, and he couldn't quite bring himself to order someone's death—especially when the person had nothing to do with him.
Most importantly, the situation was far too strange!
"Who exactly is this Lin Qi?"
Wu Ming decided to get a clearer picture before doing anything else.
"Lin Qi?"
Steward Wu was an old hand at being a lackey. With a quick roll of his eyes, he answered at once. "To report to Young Master Ming, the man lives in White Water Village, next door to Young Lady Yun. His parents both died when he was young, and he gets by on a few acres of thin farmland... He was once sent to the Village Martial Hall, but after they tested him, they found he had no aptitude or natural endowment whatsoever. They kicked him out after three days..."
Wu Ming's expression grew even stranger.
The Village Martial Hall of this age was like a village elementary school in later generations, only more widespread. Nearly every farming family sent its children there to train for a few months and learn martial arts for self-defense.
The standards for entry were naturally very low. If even the Village Martial Hall couldn't be bothered to teach someone, he could certainly be called a peerless waste!
"Aptitude?!"
Wu Ming tapped his head with a finger. Humans were the foremost of all living things! In theory, anyone could practice martial arts or Daoist cultivation, cultivate vital energy, refine Gu, and even live forever!
But if everyone had some aptitude, then the quality of that aptitude mattered.
Some people practiced martial arts for ten years, or even a hundred, yet achieved less than others did in a year—or even ten days and a half month! That was where the difference lay.
When everyone had at least some aptitude, but it was terrible, it was practically the same as having none.
This body seemed to have reached a few levels in the martial Body Refinement Realm, but only thanks to regular supplements, excellent techniques, and his elder sister's constant prodding. Even then, he'd barely managed it.
According to the martial arts instructor at the fortified manor, Wu Ming had average aptitude, just barely passing. Yet the resources poured into him would have been enough to train ten, perhaps even fifteen, martial artists of equal ability.
That showed just how poor his predecessor's discipline had been!
"By the sound of it... that Lin Qi is an even bigger good-for-nothing than my predecessor... I'd better be careful!"
Wu Ming's heart leapt.
When something was out of the ordinary, there was bound to be a reason! If a useless young man suddenly made astonishing progress in martial arts and became ruthless in killing, he had to have stumbled upon some fortuitous encounter!
Whether he had met an old master, awakened the wisdom of a past life, or had been transmigrated himself—Wu Ming wasn't sure. But he realized he was in an extremely awkward position.
Had this body already become the man's sworn enemy?
"Let's hope he's just a clever young man who knows how to lie low!"
Wu Ming knew how terrifying a "true protagonist" could be!
Not only would he grow at a monstrous pace, he'd also have a heaven-defying, cockroach-tough life! You could never kill him, and he'd remember every slight. No matter what losses he'd suffered, he'd retaliate in a flash—and might even drag his family and teachers into it.
"If this were a novel from my past life, this would be when I sent wave after wave of trash mobs to help the protagonist level up, practice his skills, and earn experience, only to get dragged down with them... Then my elder sister would step in, and the other side would suffer a small setback before leveling up even faster and slapping us in the face again... And so it would go, back and forth, until even the Daoist sect my sister belonged to got dragged in and became nourishment for the protagonist's growth..."
Wu Ming muttered to himself, feeling a chill creeping over him. Then he shook his head. "Forget it... Maybe I'm just scaring myself."
"Young Master Ming?" Seeing Wu Ming lost in thought, Steward Wu stepped forward and asked.
"Nothing... Come with me..."
Wu Ming pushed the thoughts aside and led Steward Wu to the study he remembered.
The rosewood shelves were filled with brand-new books. Two sprays of Ink Plum Blossom stood in a vase to one side, their fragrance filling the room. The desk, however, was a chaotic mess, and several lurid books—possibly some sort of erotic manual—peeked out among the clutter.
"..."
Wu Ming's forehead creased with dismay. He swept the assorted junk to one side with his right hand, then noticed the room had grown a little dim. Frowning, he reached into his robes and took out a Fiery Red Thumb Ring, marked with a purple cloud-script pattern. He brushed it lightly.
Click! The Rune lit up, and a little flame appeared, setting the oil lamp alight.
The room brightened at once, while a trace of envy appeared on Steward Wu's face.
Wu Ming put the ring away without changing expression, though his feelings were complicated.
In this world, supernatural powers were so tightly woven into daily life.
Of course, even though it was just a household trinket, not even an entry-level item, it was clearly quite valuable. If he hadn't had an elder sister to help him, even a wealthy country family like his would have found it difficult to acquire.
And this only further confirmed for Wu Ming how real and mysterious this world was.
"Go look for Lin Qi... He may have already left White Water Village, but he can't have gone far..."
"Don't worry, Young Master Ming. I'll make that brat suffer before I..." Steward Wu snarled, certain he had understood the order.
"Who told you to beat him half to death?"
Wu Ming rolled his eyes. "If you find him, explain that it was all a misunderstanding. I can even return Young Lady Yun to him. We'll call it quits between us."
Steward Wu's eyes widened as if he were seeing Wu Ming for the first time.
"One more thing!" Wu Ming's expression turned solemn. "Send someone to the County Daoist Academy to find my elder sister. Tell her I've gotten myself into trouble and need a real expert to help me!"
Wu Ming put particular emphasis on the words "real expert."
"Young Master Ming... You want to alarm the Eldest Miss?" Steward Wu sucked in a sharp breath. "It's just one young man. Is that really necessary?"
This wastrel young master caused trouble all the time, but whenever he asked his sister to clean up after him, it was because he'd already turned the whole sky upside down. This time...
Steward Wu couldn't make sense of it.
"Just do as I say!"
Wu Ming sent the thoroughly confused steward away. Only after closing the study door did he let out a long breath.
He wasn't taking the blame for his predecessor's mess!
First, he'd send someone to test the waters. If Lin Qi was willing to make peace, that would be the best outcome.
If he wasn't, then the other measures would come into play.
He wasn't some foolish demon king from a fairy tale, sending his subordinates out one by one to give the hero experience until the hero reached his peak, leaving him alone in the end to face his own death.
It was a little awkward to meet his family so soon, but Wu Ming had absorbed all of his predecessor's memories. He was confident he could bluff his way through.
Besides, he'd only asked his elder sister to send an expert. She didn't necessarily have to come herself.
Thinking about what his predecessor had done, Wu Ming felt a little ashamed.
But with the threat of a suspected true protagonist hanging over him, he didn't hesitate to unleash his ultimate move—call in the family!
With Wu Ming's current strength, even protecting himself would be difficult. Until he could improve and grow stronger, relying on someone else's protection wasn't shameful in the least.
Now, after making sure no one was nearby and shutting the study door, Wu Ming immediately set about doing something that could mean the difference between life and death.
"System!"
...Silence.
"Golden Finger!"
...Still silence.
"Old master?"
The empty study offered no reply. Unwilling to give up, Wu Ming searched himself from head to toe. Then he dropped back into his chair, his face creased with misery, and lamented, "Golden Finger? Where's my Golden Finger? Where on earth is my Golden Finger?"
In Wu Ming's past life, there had always been a myth going around:
Were you dissatisfied with your job? Were you tired of the same old routine? Had life defeated you, leaving you longing for a fresh start?
Then transmigrate! As long as you transmigrated, even a loser could turn things around in an instant, become a CEO, marry a rich beauty, and reach the pinnacle of life!
Once you transmigrated, no problem was a problem!
The ugly could become handsome, and the handsome could become even more handsome. The timid could become heroes, and even idiots could instantly become peerless geniuses!
And the most important part of all—the Golden Finger!
After checking one more time, Wu Ming covered his face and wailed. "Heavens... How am I supposed to survive in this world, full of experts who can destroy cities and topple nations on a whim, without a Golden Finger? Time-space administrator, I want to file a complaint! I want to go home!"
He had to admit, compared with this world of rampant supernatural powers, where powerful people sprang up everywhere and ignored all worldly rules, his past life had been peaceful and dull, but at least it was safe.
For ordinary people, life in his past world was clearly much better than the life of the lower classes here.
After a long while, the study remained silent. Wu Ming could only shake his head and sigh. "I don't even have a Golden Finger. Am I really destined to be a villain?"
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