Awakening Innate Wisdom

In the seventh year of Jianping in the Great Liang Dynasty.

Yunzhou was suffering from a severe drought. A thousand miles of scorched earth yielded no crops, and the people were plunged into misery. Uprisings began, and the dynasty was in turmoil.

Qingzhou.

Gu Family Village.

The orange-red glow of the setting sun spilled onto a thatched hut at the edge, its walls somewhat mottled. A gentle summer breeze blew, barely managing to dispel the lingering heat.

"Ugh..."

A muffled groan of discomfort came from the thatched hut.

Gu Sheng clutched his head, his face pale, his gaze slightly vacant as he sorted through the last wisps of information in his mind.

"So I really... transmigrated? To be precise, after dying unexpectedly fourteen years ago, I transmigrated to this world. And now, it's just my past life's memories awakening?"

For several days.

Gu Sheng's mind was a muddle, his thoughts hazy.

Others assumed he was simply lost in grief over his father's death, unaware that this was only part of the reason. The greater cause was the overwhelming influx of information into his mind.

Earth, cars, smartphones, nine-year compulsory education...

Familiar yet strange, novel yet mysterious.

To an ordinary farm boy, it was like stepping into a fairyland, unable to distinguish between dream and reality.

It wasn't until today.

After absorbing all the information, he finally understood that he had awakened his past life's memories.

The so-called Earth was the place he had lived in his previous life.

The reason for the sudden awakening of his past life's memories.

It was the shock of his father's passing. After waking from his faint, he had become like this, only returning to normal today.

"My fate in this life... is truly fraught with hardship."

Gu Sheng's eyes dimmed slightly.

With the awakening of his past life's memories, he had matured overnight, no longer the innocent, ignorant farm boy. Yet, these fourteen years of life were real.

Born into this chaotic dynasty, he only knew it was called the Great Liang Dynasty. The farthest he had ever traveled was Canghe County, which Gu Family Village belonged to.

Although the dynasty was still unified, signs of chaos were already appearing. Bandits and vagrants roamed freely, and ordinary folk would be fleeced within ten miles.

He had lost his mother in his childhood and lived solely with his father, their bond deep.

Now that his father had passed away, he was alone in the household. A sense of loneliness immediately washed over him. Fortunately, the current Gu Sheng had transformed; otherwise, he truly would have gone mad.

Even so, Gu Sheng felt a deep sadness.

He still remembered his father's frequent words to him, "Sheng'er, no matter how bitter or difficult it gets, you must live well. As long as you're alive, there's hope!"

Gu Sheng clenched his fists fiercely.

"I must live well! Even if this world is this difficult!"

If it were the Gu Sheng before awakening his past life's memories, a fourteen-year-old farm boy trying to survive alone in this world would have found it incredibly difficult.

But the current Gu Sheng, with the wisdom of two lives combined, had a greatly increased chance of survival.

More importantly.

A glint flashed in Gu Sheng's eyes—

"Proficiency Panel."

With a silent thought, a semi-transparent panel, visible only to him, appeared before his eyes.

[Name]: Gu Sheng
[Age]: 14
[Realm]: None
[Martial Arts]: None

"This is the game panel I developed before I died in my previous life!"

Gu Sheng felt a surge of excitement. This was essentially the only thing he had brought from his past life.

"The function of this game panel is simple: to help players cultivate martial arts. Once a martial art is initially practiced, it will appear on the panel. By continuously grinding proficiency, one can advance without bottlenecks!"

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a bit excited, but then, he deflated.

"Currently, I don't have a single martial art. This panel isn't very useful."

"I'll put practicing martial arts aside for now. I need to figure out how to survive first."

This world had martial artists. The strong could cleave metal and shatter jade, possessing immense strength. However, practicing martial arts wasn't simple; the saying "poverty breeds scholars, wealth breeds warriors" wasn't just an empty phrase.

Now that Gu Sheng's father was gone.

Although there were still some savings at home, he couldn't just live off them.

He needed to find a way to support himself.

It was a sad tale. Originally, Gu Sheng's family rented a few acres of land from the main family. After paying rent and taxes, they could support two people, and even had a surplus in good years.

But a few days ago.

Some unknown beast had charged into the fields, completely destroying the crops of Gu Sheng's family and several other families around them.

Disaster struck just before the harvest.

Gu Sheng's father was so enraged that, combined with years of hard labor, he couldn't recover.

Thinking of this.

His expression couldn't help but darken.

After a few light breaths, Gu Sheng rolled off the kang, carefully fumbled under the stove, and after a moment, pulled out an old oilcloth package.

He opened it.

Inside were ten large coins and thirty-two small coins, totaling five hundred and thirty-two copper coins, just over half a tael of silver.

This was all the savings a tenant farmer could scrape together in a lifetime of working the land.

Only when the harvest was good could they have some surplus.

If they encountered a drought, they would harvest nothing.

"If this money were converted to millet, it could buy over fifty catties. If converted to rice bran, it would be just over one hundred and twenty catties."

"We still have about thirty catties of rice bran at home. For me alone, if I'm frugal, it should last about a month."

Gu Sheng was at the age where he was still growing.

If he ate his fill, he could consume two catties of rice.

But he couldn't be so extravagant. If some great disaster struck, all he would have to rely on was this savings.

"I can't spend this money carelessly. If a young man in the village pays one tael of silver upon reaching fifteen years old, he can follow a teacher to practice martial arts. This is my chance to change my fate!"

Gu Sheng put the oilcloth package back under the stove. Unsure, he added a few more stones, pressing down firmly.

In these times.

Bandits were rampant, and Gu Sheng's home was on the edge of Gu Family Village. It was better to be cautious.

"I wonder how the matter I asked Brother Erniu to help with today turned out."

Gu Sheng sat on the edge of the kang, contemplating.

After days of muddled confusion, he had consumed a lot of rice bran. Once he regained his senses, Gu Sheng's first priority was to ask Gu Erniu to find him a job within the village.

With so little food left at home, if he didn't find work, he would eventually starve. At the very least, he needed to hold on for a few months until the next planting season.

Otherwise, he would have to borrow from the main family, or even sell himself to them, completely losing his freedom.

In this world, ordinary people had to exert every ounce of effort just to survive.

Gu Sheng waited silently in the house, minimizing his movements to avoid excessive physical exertion.

A short while later.

As the sun was about to set completely, a rough voice sounded from outside the house.

"Asheng, come out quickly! Meet Steward Gu He!"

Gu Sheng's spirits lifted. They had finally arrived!

He strode out.

He saw two figures standing outside the fence.

The first was a middle-aged man with a somewhat prosperous appearance, of medium build. Although his clothing wasn't made of the finest silk brocade, it was still far superior to Gu Sheng's coarse linen.

This was Gu He, one of the stewards of Gu Family Village's main family, responsible for managing all sorts of miscellaneous affairs in the village.

Trailing half a step behind was a young man in his twenties. His simple cloth clothing was occasionally adorned with pieces of unknown animal hide. He was muscular and somewhat simple-minded, looking at Gu Sheng with a mixture of worry and concern.

Gu Erniu's ancestors and Gu Sheng's ancestors had a close relationship.

Even now, the two families still kept in touch. After Gu Sheng's father passed away, Gu Erniu continued to look out for him.

He was skilled at hunting and a good archer, often going into the mountains to hunt. His life was more comfortable than Gu Sheng's family's.

Since his future survival was at stake, Gu Sheng dared not be negligent. He stepped forward and respectfully said:

"Greetings, Steward Gu He, Brother Erniu. Please come in and sit."

Gu Erniu was immediately surprised.

The Gu Sheng he knew would usually just stand at the door and smile foolishly, not extend such a greeting and invitation.

"It seems that Uncle Shun's passing has made Asheng grow up a lot," Gu Erniu thought to himself.

However, Gu He casually waved his hand.

He surveyed the dilapidated thatched hut, then his gaze settled on Gu Sheng. His brow furrowed slightly, and he said in a deep voice:

"He's so thin. I'm afraid he won't be able to handle the wood chopping job. He might not even be able to chop two hundred logs a day."

Gu Sheng had delicate features and slightly tanned skin. Due to long-term malnutrition, he was somewhat gaunt.

Hearing Gu He's words, Gu Sheng's heart tightened.

Wood chopping was indeed strenuous work.