Classic Among Classics: Reborn as a Hunter's Son

(Dear readers who clicked in, lifespan +100, looks +100, charm +100, luck +100, intelligence +100, length +10. For every chapter you read, length +1, lifespan +1. If I keep writing, you'll all live forever.

The early part is a bit of a slow burn, so starting today, there will be three updates a day.

The protagonist is not the Dragon King, and there will be no repetitive nesting dolls. Those who enjoy mindless showing off and face-slapping, please do not enter.

Brothers, if you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment. I'll read them and make changes.

If you aren't enjoying it, please bear with me. You can curse me here, but if you do, you can't leave a bad review.)

Great Zhou, fifteenth year of Kaiyuan, Willow Village.

The cold wind battered the window lattice, letting out mournful howls.

Inside the crude room, Li Xiao was wrapped in a thin quilt, yet he still could not stop shivering.

On a low stool beside him sat a bowl of murky herbal medicine, steaming as its bitter scent filled the cramped space.

"The money we had left to buy grain was all spent on your medicine. You'd better recover properly."

His father, Li Youde, spoke from outside in a low, hoarse voice, his exhaustion impossible to hide.

"Once my leg gets a little better, I'll head into the mountains and try my luck again. It's only a woman, you..."

Before he could finish, a somewhat hoarse female voice cut him off.

"Dad, stop it. Don't you know what he's like?

Getting your own injury better is what matters most. I'll think of something for the grain money."

Then came a heavy sigh, like a stone crashing down on Li Xiao's heart.

Lying in bed, Li Xiao felt nothing but despair.

He had crossed into this world a day ago, and at last he had sorted through the original owner's memories.

Though his previous life had been ordinary, he had at least never lacked food or clothing. He had been a programmer, but the endless overtime had caused him to die suddenly.

Having come to this ancient-like world, returning home was already a hopeless dream.

Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. Holding on to that thought, he digested the original owner's memories while pretending to lie in bed with unhealed grave injuries, terrified that his family might spot the flaw.

The original owner was also named Li Xiao, and he was only seventeen this year.

His mother had died early. His father, Li Youde, had played both father and mother, raising him and his elder sister.

Perhaps out of guilt, his father had spoiled the original owner far too much, turning him into an idle good-for-nothing who could neither master literature nor martial arts. He was a notorious ruffian in the village.

Living off the family wealth his father had earned with his superb hunting skills, the original owner had grown tall and sturdy, yet spent his days lording it over the village. He had even joined a small gang in County Town.

His father had tried to persuade him countless times, but it had all gone in one ear and out the other.

During one of his escapades in County Town, the original owner had taken a fancy to a woman and been utterly distracted ever since. To win her favor, he had repeatedly stolen money from home.

His father had no choice but to swallow his pride and visit their home to propose marriage.

The original owner's reputation was terrible. For this marriage, his father had nearly emptied several years' worth of savings for the betrothal gifts, only managing to secure the Lin Family's reluctant agreement.

When word spread through the village, many people had envied him, saying that a ruffian like Li Xiao had actually managed to marry a beauty from the city.

But retribution came swiftly. The original owner's fiancée was fancied by the County Lieutenant's younger son. In order to curry favor with the powerful, the Lin Family decisively colluded with the County Lieutenant's son and cast the original owner aside.

Unable to accept it, the original owner had stormed into the Lin Family home to demand an explanation, only to be beaten half to death.

His father had been heartbroken for his son and gone to demand the return of the betrothal gifts, only to have one of his legs broken as well.

Not long after returning home, the original owner had breathed his last. Only then had Li Xiao, from another world, taken over this body.

After lying there for some time longer, Li Xiao struggled to sit up.

"Hiss—"

The moment he moved, agonizing pain surged through his entire body, making him bare his teeth.

But he still had to drink the medicine if he wanted to recover.

Enduring the pain, he picked up the bowl of murky herbal medicine, pinched his nose, and drank it all in one gulp. The bitter taste spread from his tongue all the way down to his stomach, making him furrow his brow tightly.

After lying back down, Li Xiao stared at the drafty roof, his heart full of worries.

"In a year of great calamity, how am I supposed to survive like this?"

He let out a long sigh.

In his previous life, he had only been an ordinary man without any special skills. In this unfamiliar ancient world, how difficult would it be to survive?

"Xiao'er, have you finished your medicine? Get ready to eat."

Just as his thoughts ran wild, his father's voice came from outside, breaking his train of thought.

"Alright, I'm coming," Li Xiao answered.

After a day of quiet rest, his body had recovered a little. Basic movement was no longer much of a problem.

After such a disaster, he had become quiet and withdrawn. As long as he kept up this appearance, his father and sister likely would not notice anything unusual.

Li Xiao got up, left his room, and entered the main hall.

The main hall was fairly spacious, with a wooden table missing one corner.

He vaguely remembered that before his father had arranged his marriage, the family's life had been fairly comfortable.

His father was a renowned hunter in the village. It was his hunting skill that had allowed him to raise the original owner into such a large and sturdy youth.

Li Xiao sat beside the table as his sister, Li Yu, came out of the kitchen.

Li Yu was more than a head shorter than him. Her features were delicate, but her complexion was somewhat sallow, and her brows carried a trace of sorrow.

In the original owner's memories, his sister had always treated him very well. Whenever there was something good to eat, she always saved it for him first.

Seeing Li Xiao's frail appearance, Li Yu swallowed the reprimand that had risen to her lips.

She walked to the table and set out a bowl and chopsticks before Li Xiao. In the bowl was thick rice paste, giving off faint wisps of steam.

Then she turned and went back into the kitchen.

"Creak—"

The door to the main hall was pushed open, and a gust of cold wind poured in with a bone-piercing chill.

Li Xiao instinctively hunched his neck.

Leaning on a crutch and wearing an old padded coat, his father Li Youde walked in. He shut the door behind him, then slowly made his way to the table and sat down.

He took off his old padded coat and set it aside, then fumbled around inside his clothes.

After a while, he pulled out an egg and carefully placed it before Li Xiao.

"Eat it. It was just boiled—it's still warm!

Get your body better soon."

Li Xiao was just about to say something...

At that moment, Li Yu came out of the kitchen carrying two bowls and placed them on the table.

The bowls contained rice soup so thin one could see their reflection in it.

She pushed the bowl with slightly more millet toward her father, then sat down at the table.

Looking at the egg that still retained some warmth before him, Li Xiao's Adam's Apple bobbed involuntarily.

In a year of great calamity, grain was already precious, and eggs were even rarer. Even during festivals, ordinary families might not be willing to take one out to eat.

He could imagine that this egg had perhaps been secretly kept by his father, dragging his injured leg, from among the few eggs hidden beneath the bed and meant to be traded for medicine money.

"Dad, you should eat it. Your leg hasn't healed yet—you need the nourishment even more."

Li Xiao pushed the egg toward his father, his voice somewhat hoarse.

Though he had barely moved from his bed since crossing over a day ago, he had heard more than enough of the conversations outside.

This family had long been left stretched thin by the original owner's antics. And because they had no money to hire a good doctor, his father's injured leg remained swollen even now.

Hearing this, Li Youde froze for a moment. He raised his eyes and looked deeply at Li Xiao, then lowered his head.

In the dim yellow light, Li Xiao seemed to see tears glimmering at the corners of his father's eyes.

Beside them, Li Yu also looked over in surprise.

The original owner had been spoiled rotten by Old Dad and his sister. He had been lawless by nature and had never shown them such consideration before!

Only after a long while did Li Youde raise his head, forcing a smile onto his pale face.

"When I tell you to eat, you eat. Why so much nonsense?

You've never suffered much. I'm different—these old bones of mine can take a beating."

As he spoke, he deliberately straightened his waist, but accidentally pulled at the injury in his leg. The pain made him quickly turn away and suck in a breath of cold air. Then he turned back and smiled at Li Xiao.

"Eat up. It won't taste good once it gets cold."

Looking at the white hair at his father's temples and the deep wrinkles on his face, Li Xiao felt a sharp ache in his heart.

The original owner had been a bastard and dragged his family into suffering. The debts owed by this body would ultimately have to be repaid by him.

Just one word of concern had moved his elderly father so deeply.

He no longer refused. Picking up the egg, he lightly tapped it against the edge of the table and carefully peeled away the shell, revealing the gleaming white within.

"Sis, you eat half too."

He broke the egg in half, handed one half to Li Yu, who had just sat down, and placed the other half into Li Youde's bowl.

Li Yu was also startled by Li Xiao's change. She secretly thought that perhaps this disaster had truly turned her younger brother from evil back to righteousness.

She hurriedly waved her hands, forcing a faint, gratified smile onto her face. "I don't like this. It smells too fishy. You eat it yourself."

Though she said so, a barely noticeable longing flashed through her eyes.

"Take it."

In a firm tone, Li Xiao stuffed half the egg into her hand. "You handle the family's affairs every day. You should nourish yourself too."

Li Yu looked at the warm egg in her hand, then at the seriousness in her brother's eyes that she had never seen before. Her nose stung, and she lowered her head, taking small bites as tears fell uncontrollably onto the front of her coarse cloth clothes.

Watching the brother and sister, warmth rose in Li Youde's clouded eyes. He sighed softly.

"Xiao'er, that woman was never a good match for you. It's good that you can let it go.

Once my leg gets a little better, I'll go into the mountains and hunt some game. We'll endure this winter, and life will always get better!"