The eighth year of Yongping, winter.
Deep in Sheep Dung Alley, Wen'an County.
In a tiled-roof house, Lu Chen lay on the kang wrapped in a stiff, cold old quilt. The room was dim, and the pitiful glow and warmth from the stove couldn't dispel the chill in the old house.
A deathly bluish-gray pallor tinged his face. He cursed weakly:
"Damn heaven..."
He hated this world, and he hated Li Tianrui, that bastard who'd struck it lucky.
Ten years ago, he'd been a college graduate. While crossing the road, instead of hitting the jackpot, he'd been sent flying by a doddering old man's red-light-running mobility scooter. When he opened his eyes again, he was in this godforsaken place.
As soon as he'd transmigrated, his parents had died of an epidemic, leaving him an orphan.
To survive, he'd gone hungry and cold, scavenged spoiled leftovers, and fought wild dogs for scraps. His life had been cheaper than the mud beneath his feet.
Fortunately, with a fierce streak that didn't care if he lived or died, and a few crude moves he'd picked up brawling on the streets, he'd carved out a patch of turf in South City with his fists and sweat.
Sheep Pen Street got its name from the several sheep pens beside it. Its name was lowly, and so was the place itself.
A dozen or so eateries, taverns, and shops crowded the street, all bottom-tier establishments. They had no banners or shop signs, and their customers were all laborers, cart-pullers, and other people scraping by at the bottom.
Lu Chen and a few brothers collected protection money on the street.
It was a nice-sounding name, but in truth it was just a protection racket.
With that income, they lived fairly comfortably, with food and drink aplenty.
Li Tianrui was young, a year younger than Lu Chen, and fond of doing despicable things. He'd kick in widows' doors in the dead of night, peep over walls at unmarried girls bathing, and take food from street vendors without paying a single copper.
He'd made life miserable for everyone on the street.
The neighbors couldn't stand it anymore, so they all went to Lu Chen to complain.
Since he collected protection money from them every month, he couldn't just sit by and let this scoundrel ruin the whole street.
So he'd taught Li Tianrui a lesson twice. He hadn't hit him too hard; he'd only wanted him to rein it in.
Who could have guessed that this filthy, shameless bastard would strike it lucky and catch the eye of a jianghu sect called the Green River Sect?
And just like that, Li Tianrui transformed into a disciple of the sect.
Trouble followed close behind.
Li Tianrui's senior sister came looking for him, demanding justice on behalf of her bullied, worthless junior brother.
Lu Chen's few tricks could intimidate people in street brawls.
But in front of someone who'd truly trained in martial arts, they were a joke.
All he remembered was darkness closing in, his bones creaking, and being tossed beside a stinking ditch like a torn sack. If a few of his men hadn't dragged him back to this dilapidated tiled-roof house, he would've already reported to the King of Hell.
"Cough..."
Lu Chen coughed violently, spat out a mouthful of clotted blood, and collapsed back onto the kang, utterly drained.
"Boss, it's time to eat! We've got pig's head meat today. Smells great!"
A stocky young man with a face black as the bottom of a pot shoved the door open and came in. Rubbing his frostbitten hands, he pulled an oil-paper package from inside his clothes.
His name was Shuan Hu, one of Lu Chen's men, and among the sharper ones.
He unfolded the oil paper, revealing two steamed corn buns and a small chunk of pig's head meat.
Lu Chen propped himself halfway upright, pinched off a slice of pig's head meat, put it in his mouth, and chewed slowly.
"Where's Blind Man? I haven't seen him all day."
"Han Lao Wu from Dog Urine Alley heard you were badly hurt, Boss, and wants to grab our turf! Brother Blind was so angry he said he'd go stab that old dog tonight!" Shuan Hu said.
Lu Chen silently chewed his corn bun. The only sound in the room was his dry chewing.
After a long while,
Lu Chen swallowed the bun and said hoarsely, "Go tell Blind Man: if Han Lao Wu wants our turf, give it to him."
"What?"
Shuan Hu stared at him, thinking he'd misheard.
"Boss, we're giving it up? Then what the hell are we supposed to live on, drinking wind and shitting air? Without our turf, where are we going to collect protection money? It's our only livelihood. It's our lifeblood!"
Lu Chen sighed.
"You don't know. Last month, Han Lao Wu's daughter became Master Feng's concubine, kept in a separate house. With Master Feng backing him, we can't afford to provoke Han Lao Wu."
"No wonder that old dog suddenly got cocky. What are we supposed to do, then? I've still got my old mother to support..." Shuan Hu said anxiously.
Lu Chen gnawed on his corn bun and said nothing more.
He couldn't stay on this street. Li Tianrui's family lived right here.
That bastard was petty and vengeful. Once he came back, he wouldn't let Lu Chen off easily.
After Lu Chen had eaten his fill, Shuan Hu left with his head hanging, without a word.
Cold wind slipped through the cracks in the door.
The last spark in the stove went out, too.
Lu Chen suddenly heard a noise outside.
Shuan Hu had just left, and the footsteps didn't sound like one of his men. Who could it be?
He strained his ears, staring fixedly at the window paper.
Whispered voices came from beneath the courtyard wall.
It was Yao Dalong, the neighbor who sold boiled water, and his son, Nao Dan.
"Dad, let's come back tonight. It's broad daylight. If Boss Lu is awake, we're done for," Nao Dan said.
Yao Dalong spat.
"Coward. That little bastard got the shit beaten out of him and is hanging on by half a life. So what if he's awake? That little bastard's been collecting protection money for years. He's probably got so many coppers stuffed into the kang cavity that it's full. We might as well help ourselves. Strike while he's down and finish him off. You block the door and keep your eyes open. Watch out for Shuan Hu and Blind Man coming back..."
Lu Chen's expression immediately darkened.
He'd made his way on the streets, but he had his own rules. He never bullied men or women, and he went especially easy on small vendors.
He was even more willing to help poor neighbors like Yao Dalong. He'd lent them rice and coppers without hesitation.
Sheep Pen Street was only the size of a palm.
Who among the neighbors hadn't called Lu Chen a decent man, to his face or behind his back?
That was exactly why, when Lu Chen was injured and his brothers went out on errands, they hadn't even left someone behind to keep watch.
Who could have imagined that his kindness would be repaid with betrayal?
"Did they really think I was easy prey?"
Lu Chen reached beneath his pillow and pulled out a cold, hard Bone-Cleaving Knife. It had a thick spine, a thin blade, and a wickedly bright point.
He slid off the kang and pressed his back against the black wall beside the door.
There was a rustle outside.
Yao Dalong's head poked in first. His eyes darted about in the dimness, scanning the empty kang.
"Huh? Nobody here?"
Muttering, he stepped over the threshold.
The last dregs of strength pent up inside Lu Chen suddenly exploded. He thrust the short knife in his hand straight into the soft flesh of Yao Dalong's flank. The blade went in at a vicious, cunning angle.
"Aaagh—!"
Yao Dalong let out a soul-wrenching scream, like a stray dog scalded by boiling water. His hand clamped over his side and came away smeared with blood.
Terrified, he stumbled backward through the doorway and fell headfirst outside. He scrambled away, howling, "Run, Nao Dan! That baleful fiend is awake!"
Lu Chen braced himself against the doorframe, panting like a bellows.
He watched Yao Dalong flee and tried to chase him, but his legs wouldn't obey. He collapsed to the ground.
Lu Chen's vision blurred. A strange page suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Chronicles of Jianghu Heroes [Basic Card Pool: Entering the Jianghu] [Single Draw: 150 wen; Ten Consecutive Draws: 1350 wen] [Lu Chen: Strength 13, Vitality 8, Inner Force 0, Critical Hit 1, Movement 3, Constitution 2, Fortune 1, Fist Techniques 9, Leg Techniques 2] [Martial Arts: None]
Wasn't this the martial-arts gacha mobile game he'd played in his previous life?
He'd played it for a month, spent half a month's living expenses, and still hadn't managed to draw a single gold card. Furious, he'd uninstalled it on the spot.
He never imagined this thing would have come along with him when he transmigrated.
Lu Chen braced himself against the wall and tried to stand.
But the last bit of energy pent up in his chest drained away. His vision went black again, and he collapsed, unconscious.
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