Beneath the vast, boundless sky, a horse-drawn cart laden with silver straw swayed from side to side as it traveled along a path through lush woodland.
A young man in ragged, coarse-cloth clothes sat atop the pile of straw, staring blankly at the sapphire-blue sky.
"What the hell happened?"
"Did I transmigrate?"
Chu Lingfeng's contorted expression gradually returned to normal, though his brows remained knitted together.
Chu Lingfeng had some idea of what had happened to him, but he still could not quite believe it. Everything had happened too suddenly.
He had actually transmigrated. For no apparent reason, he had ended up in another world, in the body of a foreigner named Bruce Wayne.
He had read many kinds of novels, with transmigration stories his favorites because they were so immersive. He had fantasized about transmigration and rebirth himself, but those had only been idle imaginings to stave off boredom, completely separate from reality.
He had never imagined that one day, transmigration would happen to him.
Chu Lingfeng felt dazed, caught between a sense of gain and loss.
He could not help thinking of his parents in the other world. They must have been frantic over his sudden disappearance. He was not an only child; he had an older brother, who would surely take good care of their parents in his absence.
That thought put his heart somewhat at ease.
"I have to find a way back!"
Chu Lingfeng silently made up his mind. Though he had transmigrated, he could not let go of his family or his homeland. As for how to return, he had no idea. Perhaps a way would present itself.
Keep a wish alive, and someday it would find an answer.
Before he returned, however, there was something else he needed to do.
He had to take Bruce Wayne's place and survive in this unfamiliar world.
Chu Lingfeng began recalling the memories that remained in this body. Some details were missing, but he could piece together the broad outlines of its identity, background, and social connections without difficulty.
The body's original owner had been a country boy with few acquaintances, so there was no need to pretend he had lost his memory to get by. He had lived in Akin Village, in Rhode Town of the Gothe District, which fell under Folendana City in the Rune Kingdom.
The Rune Kingdom resembled the monarchies of the ancient West.
Bruce's parents had died three years earlier, leaving him only an old horse and a flatbed cart. He had made a meager living harvesting straw for landowners. The things beneath him now were everything he owned.
But that miserable situation had finally taken a turn for the better.
Bruce had an uncle named Flickent Wayne.
Flaikent lived in Lane Village in Rhode Town. He was a gentleman and a wealthy landowner, but he had a terrible relationship with Bruce's family. There seemed to have been a feud between their ancestors, and the two families had practically no contact.
Even when Bruce had been too poor to afford food, this uncle had never come to his aid.
Their poor relationship no longer mattered, however. Bruce had received word that The Flekent Couple had died suddenly. His uncle's property would soon belong to him; he would inherit everything Flaikent owned.
That might have sounded unreasonable, but such was the law of the Rune Kingdom.
Flaikent was a landowner with a large tract of land in Lane Village. Though the land was held in his name, that did not mean he could dispose of it as he pleased. All land belonged to the kingdom, and Flaikent owned it in name only. His uncle did not have complete control over it, much less the right to buy or sell it.
The laws of the Rune Kingdom stipulated that a landowner's land, along with any property acquired through it, could neither be transferred nor sold. It could only be inherited, and the heir had to be a male blood relative of the landowner. Brothers, sons, and nephews all qualified.
This was the Rune Kingdom's unique Entailed Estate Law.
If there was no male heir, the kingdom would reclaim the land and redistribute it as a reward to someone who had rendered service to the kingdom. Any property acquired through that land would automatically become public charitable assets.
If there were several male blood relatives, the closest relative would inherit all the land and property. The other men might receive money or other remaining assets, but the heir held absolute authority over their distribution. He could even keep everything and distribute nothing.
Of course, doing so would damage his reputation.
Bruce's uncle Flaikent had been unlucky. He had only two daughters and no sons, and Bruce was his only other blood relative. Thus, after his death, Bruce would inherit his land and manor. Even though Flaikent had loved his daughters and had a terrible relationship with Bruce, he could not change the fact that Bruce was his heir.
All of Flaikent's property had been acquired through that land, so his daughters could inherit none of it. Bruce would, however, have to pay for their upkeep, with the amount determined by the local cost of living.
Given the cost of living in Lane Village, Bruce would have to pay very little for their upkeep, even if he inherited a great deal of property.
"All in all, this identity isn't bad."
Chu Lingfeng narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"From now on, I'm Bruce Wayne, a country boy from Akin Village and a future landowner."
Bruce Wayne stroked his chest, feeling his heart beat.
According to the memories left in this body, his uncle had leased the land to a number of farming households, earning at least 2,400 silver Rune Coins in rent each year. That was no small sum in the Rune Kingdom. Even in one of its major cities, it would be enough to rent a mansion and enter high society.
Rune Coins were used not only in the Rune Kingdom but throughout the continent on which it stood. Some coastal regions on overseas continents used them as well, though not widely.
That was all the original Bruce's scant knowledge had told him about Rune Coins, but it did not stop the current Bruce from understanding their value. Two thousand four hundred silver Rune Coins would be a fortune, and he was about to inherit Flaikent's manor and other property as well.
He was going to become a rich man!
Joy and excitement surged through Bruce's heart, impossible to suppress.
The original Bruce had felt the same way. The moment he heard the news, he quit his job and eagerly set off from Akin Village for Lane Village. They were close to each other, after all. He could never have expected that a strange turn of fate would let an outsider take over his body.
What a pity.
Bruce clicked his tongue twice. Fate truly toyed with people, and he had reaped the benefit.
Wait, why did I take over Bruce's body?
Bruce suddenly sank into thought. That seemed impossible to explain. Transmigration itself had happened without warning, but if he had returned to life in someone else's corpse, Bruce should have died first. Simply seizing his living body like this seemed rather wrong.
Could Bruce already have been dead when I arrived?
Then how did the original Bruce die?
As he pondered these questions, the joy in Bruce's heart gradually subsided. His smile faded, and his brows knitted together again.
A windfall really could rob a person of reason. Fortunately, he had not lost his yet.
Bruce pulled an envelope from inside his clothes. It contained an obituary and a notice from Rhode Town's property office, informing him of the sudden deaths of The Flekent Couple and asking him to complete the inheritance formalities as soon as possible.
It was this letter that had told the original Bruce he stood to inherit a fortune, prompting him to ride his straw-laden cart to Lane Village. But partway there, he had been replaced by someone from another world.
For some reason, looking at the envelope gave Bruce a faint sense of foreboding. He could neither explain nor describe it. It was simply a feeling, as though a shadow was closing over him, as though something had happened that he had forgotten.
He tapped his head. Perhaps the mingling of two people's memories, along with all his unanswered questions, had left his head aching slightly.
Was it the strain of adjusting to a new world, uncertainty about the future, or a vague awareness of dangers lurking beneath the surface of this world?
Bruce clenched his fists.
Suddenly, he remembered something. Though this society resembled the ancient West, it did not seem to be an ordinary world.
Certain mysterious powers existed in this world as well.