The thirty-first year of Yongsheng, winter.
Although the snow came later this year than in previous years, it fell thicker and heavier.
The north wind howled bleakly. For a thousand miles, the land lay frozen; for ten thousand, snow drifted down.
"Mother, it looks like Big Brother is dead. Can Nannan eat the tasty meat now?"
"It's good that he died. At least he won't have to suffer anymore. Be good, Nannan. The tasty meat Mother makes is delicious, but you should eat your mother's flesh instead. I'll go make you some meat soup right now!"
Half-conscious, Lu Yuan thought he heard someone talking about eating meat.
"What tasty meat? Bring me some too!"
After muttering instinctively, Lu Yuan suddenly sat bolt upright.
"Ah... Mother, Big Brother's alive! That's wonderful! Nannan won't eat the tasty meat after all. Nannan wants Big Brother to live!"
Lu Yuan shook his heavy head, then saw a little girl of about six or seven, dressed in a tattered red jacket and with a sallow face, blinking her big, round eyes at him.
Beside the little girl stood a middle-aged woman with a wooden hairpin in her hair. She wore a ragged hemp jacket, and her complexion was even more sallow. She also looked extremely thin.
"Xiao Yuan, why did you have to come back? No one can survive in this world!"
Though there was a trace of delight in the middle-aged woman's eyes, she still shook her head with a sigh.
At last, the bewildered look in Lu Yuan's eyes cleared.
The jumbled memories flooding his mind had finally settled into place.
He never would have imagined that he'd wake up one day and find himself transmigrated.
And he'd landed in an utterly chaotic world where martial arts reigned and the strong preyed on the weak.
The dynasty had crumbled, powerful clans held sway, and warlords battled across the land.
Sects carved up the territory, while gangs fought each other relentlessly. Chaos was everywhere.
And now famine had struck. Human life was cheaper than grass!
His predecessor had already been frail and weak. Starved and frozen, he'd simply breathed his last.
"Grrr..."
Before he'd even had time to get used to this body, Lu Yuan's stomach growled, and a fierce hunger took hold of him.
"Big Brother... have some porridge!"
The little girl held out a bowl of porridge with both hands.
He glanced inside. It was called porridge, but it was really just a gruel made by boiling wild greens, tree bark, and a little rice bran.
"Eat... this is the last bowl. Tomorrow, Mother will find some Guanyin Clay to fill your stomachs."
Lu Yuan looked at the middle-aged woman and little girl, then picked up the bowl and tried a mouthful.
The gruel nearly made him spit it out as soon as it touched his tongue, but he forced himself to swallow it down.
It tasted like chewing wax, and it scraped his throat raw.
He'd never dreamed that after enjoying barbecue, beer, and grilled kidney just a short while ago, he'd now be eating a vile gruel of wild greens.
"Nannan, Big Brother isn't hungry. You eat it," Lu Yuan said with a smile, glancing at the little girl staring fixedly at the bowl.
According to his memories, this was his younger sister. She'd just turned six and hadn't been given a proper name yet; Nannan was just the generic nickname everyone used for little girls.
The middle-aged woman beside her was his mother, known to everyone as Madam Yang.
"Big Brother, you eat. Nannan isn't hungry either!"
Nannan kept swallowing, but still shook her little head like a rattle-drum.
"Ah... Mother will make you some meat soup!"
Madam Yang sighed softly and started to get up.
"No need... it's too late. Let's wait until tomorrow."
Lu Yuan quickly grabbed Madam Yang's arm.
He knew all too well where the meat in her meat soup would come from.
As he spoke, he gulped down another mouthful of the wild-greens gruel, then thrust the bowl into Madam Yang's hands.
"I'm full. You and Nannan can share the rest!"
Madam Yang gave Lu Yuan a long look, then simply began feeding Nannan.
"Tomorrow, I have to find a way to earn some money!"
Lu Yuan resolved silently, a firm look in his eyes.
No matter what, he had to make sure their family of three didn't starve to death. And he absolutely couldn't let Madam Yang make that meat soup.
After that, he'd find a way to practice martial arts.
According to his memories, he was in a country called the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Great Zhou had been founded on martial might. Martial arts flourished, and the strong were revered.
True martial arts experts could establish sects, and even be ennobled as marquises or princes.
In short, might decided everything. Fists were the ultimate truth!
In his previous life, he'd been a lowly wage slave, working overtime every day to tighten screws and help his boss buy a mansion and luxury cars. No matter how hard he worked, he could hardly change his fate.
Now, all he had to do was train hard and become a true expert. He could turn his life around and change his fate completely.
In this world, it was harder than climbing to the heavens for the lower classes to scrape by.
Either you drifted through life and sank into darkness,
or you rose up in defiance and charged toward the light.
Since he'd ended up here, he naturally needed ambitions of his own.
If he was reborn only to live out another mediocre life at the bottom, then what was the point of coming here?
"But it takes at least ten taels of silver to join a martial arts school!"
Lu Yuan furrowed his brow. Just filling his stomach was already a problem. Where was he supposed to find ten taels of silver?
Could he use the knowledge from his past life to build wealth quickly? He'd probably be lying dead in the street before his business got off the ground!
Could he earn money through manual labor? In his current weak, frail state, he'd probably be transmigrating again in a couple of days!
Sell his body? He had the looks for it, but his physical condition was still a problem!
They said that killing and arson put a gold belt around your waist, but he wasn't even qualified to work as a hunter!
Learn a trade? Without spending several years as an apprentice, he wouldn't earn a single copper!
After a while of wild speculation, Lu Yuan unknowingly fell asleep.
Madam Yang first checked Lu Yuan's breathing, then tucked the quilt around him. Afterward, she carried Nannan and got up to leave.
His eyes closed, then opened. Morning had come.
"Grrr..."
Lu Yuan got up and cinched his belt tight.
"I'm going out for a while. Don't make meat soup, and don't eat Guanyin Clay. We'll talk about everything once I'm back!"
After calling to Madam Yang, who was busy with chores, Lu Yuan headed straight out the door.
"Come back early!"
Madam Yang wiped her eyes, then said softly,
"All right!"
Lu Yuan answered and hurried out of the house.
"Brother Yuan, want to make some money?"
He'd barely gone a few steps when a skinny, monkey-faced youth came running toward him.
"Let's hear it."
Lu Yuan looked at the youth, his interest piqued.
The skinny youth was named Fang Chang. They'd grown up together, more or less.
"Carry corpses to the Chaos Burial Mound. Ten wen each. You dare?"
Fang Chang lowered his voice.
"Let's go!"
Lu Yuan answered without the slightest hesitation.
In his previous life, he'd have simply replied, "Not even a dog would do that."
But now, all he wanted to say was, "If a dog won't do it, I will!"
He'd already died once. As long as he could earn money, he didn't care what he had to do.
Before long, Fang Chang led Lu Yuan to the people they needed to carry.
Calling them people was a stretch, even after piecing them back together.
"Ugh..."
Lu Yuan retched violently. Nothing came up, but he almost passed out again.
Fang Chang was no better. Tears streamed from his eyes as he retched.
These were clearly not ordinary refugees who had frozen or starved to death. They looked to have been the casualties of a brutal battle.
Thankfully, the land was covered in ice and snow. Otherwise, the stench alone would have driven the two of them away.
"Finished throwing up? Then get over here and carry them!"
A gray-robed old man spoke to the two of them in a flat tone.
They exchanged a glance, took a deep breath, then strode over.
Ten wen a body. They had to earn that money, no matter what!
After half a day's work, the two of them finally carried the last body to the Chaos Burial Mound.
As they buried the dead, they worked up their nerve to feel around for valuables. In the end, they found nothing.
Clearly, whatever they'd thought of, others had already thought of long ago.
"How old are you?" the gray-robed old man suddenly asked as the two of them were about to head home with their money.
"Sixteen!" Fang Chang answered.
The gray-robed old man nodded slightly, then reached out and squeezed several spots on their bodies.
Pain made both of them grimace and writhe, but they couldn't break free.
"A martial artist?" Lu Yuan wondered.
"You're not bad."
The gray-robed old man's eyes brightened as he looked at Fang Chang. Then he asked bluntly, "Do you want to train in martial arts?"
"Yes!"
Fang Chang nodded emphatically without a moment's thought. Then, as if remembering something, he hurriedly asked, "Can Brother Yuan come with me?"
"Can you endure hardship?" the gray-robed old man asked Lu Yuan, frowning slightly.
"Yes!"
Lu Yuan nodded without hesitation.
Just yesterday, he'd been wondering how to quickly earn the money he needed to learn martial arts. He hadn't expected an opportunity to come so soon.
"One tael of silver per month. You'll start paying next month. If you can't pay, you'll leave of your own accord. Any objections?"
The gray-robed old man asked again.
"None!"
Lu Yuan replied without the slightest hesitation.
At last, he'd taken the crucial first step on the path of martial arts.
The gray-robed old man had clearly taken an interest in Fang Chang. Lu Yuan was only an extra, but opportunities like this were rare, and he had to hold on tight. Even if he could only study for one month, it would still be worth it.
Next, he needed to study and train hard, striving to make some progress within a month. Then he'd have to find a way to earn enough for the next month's tuition, as well as the living expenses to feed his family of three.
"Come see me tomorrow at the Song Courtyard on East Street!"
With that, the gray-robed old man turned and left.
"Brother Yuan, we can finally make something of ourselves! When we get rich, we'll share our good fortune!"
"Sure!"
The two of them walked home side by side, their eyes filled with hope for the future.
The sun briefly peeked out, and the shadows of the two figures stretched longer and farther across the snow, until at last they disappeared completely.
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