"Brother-in-law, as long as you don't drive my daughter and me out... I'll do anything you want..."
Desperate pleading reached his ears. Chen Shi'an's consciousness swiftly cleared, and he slowly opened his eyes.
Before him, a woman whose plain clothes could not conceal her beauty and grace was clinging tightly to the millstone beneath an old willow tree.
He himself had his arms wrapped around her waist, both hands pressed against the very places they should never have touched.
Hanging from his arm was a scrawny little girl, already showing the makings of a beauty, her eyes brimming with tears.
I'm this beast?
Chen Shi'an hurriedly released his sinful hands and remained dazed for quite some time.
I'm not dead after all? I've transmigrated!
In his previous life, he had been a retired frontier soldier. While saving a mother and daughter he had never met, he had been struck and hurled away by an out-of-control car...
When he woke, he had instead arrived here, in the Desolate Ruins.
A lawless land where refugees gathered, abandoned by the world, where the strong devoured the weak, demons ate people, and people ate people too.
Accepting that he had transmigrated, Chen Shi'an quickly calmed down and digested the memories of the body's former owner, merging them with his own:
This world was still an ancient feudal society, but it belonged to none of the dynasties he remembered.
Here, mortal kingdoms fought for supremacy, while martial artists possessed the strength to split mountains and sever rivers.
The former owner had also been named Chen Shi'an, a feckless loafer who was good at neither scholarship nor martial arts, a lazy good-for-nothing with nothing to recommend him but a handsome face.
Without a good elder brother, someone like him would never have lived to eighteen in the Desolate Ruins.
Unfortunately, his brother had died ten days earlier, leaving behind a widow and an orphaned daughter.
With his brother dead, their income had vanished, and their dwindling resources would soon run dry. Chen Shi'an had therefore decided to sell his sister-in-law and niece for a few taels of silver.
He could not sell them openly, however, because his sister-in-law and niece were residents of Windrise Stronghold in the Desolate Ruins.
Windrise Stronghold had a rule: anyone with resident status enjoyed its protection and could not be bought or sold.
The former owner had therefore planned to drive his sister-in-law and niece out of the Chen Family, stripping them of their resident status in the Stronghold first.
The buyer was already waiting nearby, not far from the Chen Family, for the mother and daughter to be driven out...
The mother and daughter before him were his sister-in-law, Su Qingrou, and his niece, Chen Tiantian.
The former owner had idled his days away and lacked even the strength to truss a chicken. He had intended to drag Su Qingrou out of the house, but despite tugging at her for ages, he had failed to get her out of the courtyard.
In the end, he had lost his balance and struck his head against the Old Willow Tree in the courtyard, knocking himself senseless.
By the time he regained consciousness, the body had a new owner.
Chen Shi'an felt rather helpless.
In his previous life, he had risked everything to save a mother and daughter he did not know, while the former owner had sought to sell his own niece and sister-in-law just to keep himself alive.
The same name, yet their characters were as far apart as heaven and earth.
You might have been a piece of scum, but since I've taken your body, I owe you something in return. I won't make any grand claims just yet, but clearing your wastrel reputation shouldn't be a problem...
Seeing Chen Shi'an standing there in a daze, Su Qingrou thought he was wavering and hurriedly said, "Brother-in-law, for your elder brother's sake, please don't drive us out, all right?
"If my daughter and I are driven out of the Chen Family, we'll lose the stronghold's protection. Death will be our only road."
"I know you've always wanted my body... You often peek at me when I bathe... As long as you don't drive us out, I'll agree to anything..."
At that, Chen Shi'an's face burned painfully hot.
He coughed awkwardly. "Sister-in-law, your eyes must have played tricks on you. I, Chen Shi'an, am an upright gentleman. I blush at the mere sight of an immodestly dressed woman. How could I do something so disgraceful...
"When did I ever say I would drive you out? I saw how heartbroken you were over my brother's death and wanted you and Tiantian to take a walk outside and ease your minds."
Su Qingrou blinked, her eyes filled with deep suspicion.
Chen Tiantian, who was only a little over ten, hurried to her mother's side and said urgently, "Mother, don't believe a word he says.
"He's a liar. Not a single word out of his mouth is true.
"He tricks me out of my New Year's money every year, promising to return it the next day. Year after year passes, and he's never paid any of it back."
Chen Shi'an wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it. He cleared his throat. "Tiantian, we're uncle and niece, bound by blood. A loan is a loan. Calling it a swindle hurts our feelings.
"You get one copper coin in New Year's money each year. From three to ten, that's only eight coins altogether.
"How could your uncle possibly refuse to repay such a little sum? Give me a few days, and I'll pay you back double."
He was not making an empty promise. He genuinely intended to repay the money, and he needed to earn silver even more urgently.
The former owner had wanted to sell his sister-in-law and niece not merely to pay for his daily needs, but also to pay the city construction tax.
Residents of Windrise Stronghold had to pay the city construction tax once every six months. To put it plainly, it was protection money.
Two taels of silver per person, every six months.
While Chen Shi'an's elder brother was alive, the Chen Family had been exempt from the city construction tax because he served as a squad leader in Windrise Stronghold's City Guard Battalion.
Now that his brother was dead, someone had immediately come to demand payment, with a deadline at the end of the month.
Two taels each-for himself, Su Qingrou, and Chen Tiantian, that made six taels.
If they could not pay the city construction tax, they would be driven out of Windrise Stronghold. Without its protection, given Chen Shi'an's current frail physique, he probably would not last two days in the Desolate Ruins, where bandits ran rampant and Demon Beasts prowled, before being devoured without even a scrap of bone remaining.
Chen Shi'an's elder brother had spent more than twenty years in Windrise Stronghold's City Guard Battalion and had accumulated some savings. But before his death, he had spent nearly half a year bedridden with injuries, and almost all those savings had gone toward medicinal decoctions.
After paying for his funeral as well, the Chen Family could now barely scrape together a few copper coins.
Selling his sister-in-law and niece would have brought the former owner money from their sale while saving him four taels of silver in city construction tax-a fine bargain that killed two birds with one stone...
"Pay me back double again."
A mocking expression crossed Chen Tiantian's thin little face. "You've been saying that for eight whole years. When have you ever kept your word?
"Besides, you're certainly good at spending silver, but do you know how to earn it?"
Chen Shi'an flushed despite himself. "I'll keep my word this time. By the end of this month at the latest."
"I'll believe you when an old sow climbs a tree." Chen Tiantian gave a little snort.
Su Qingrou hurriedly pulled her daughter back, afraid she would anger Chen Shi'an. "Brother-in-law, you need a woman around to look after you. I can wash clothes, cook, tend crops and mulberry trees... Anything a woman can do, I can do... I absolutely won't be a burden. I can even help with the household expenses..."
Looking at the lovely yet grief-stricken woman before him, Chen Shi'an felt a tangle of emotions, both pity and a measure of shame.
Although the former owner had committed those vile deeds, he would have to bear their consequences.
"Sister-in-law, there's no question of being a burden. We're a family. Even though my elder brother is gone, you're still part of the Chen Family."
"If you don't want to go out and clear your head, then forget it. I have something to attend to now, so I need to go out."
With that, Chen Shi'an prepared to leave the courtyard.
Seeing this, Su Qingrou's first thought was that Chen Shi'an was putting on an act, playing some trick. He surely had no good intentions.
Having lived under the same roof for more than ten years, she knew her brother-in-law's character all too well.
"Brother-in-law, are you really not going to drive us out of the Chen Family?" Su Qingrou asked cautiously.
Chen Shi'an waved a hand. "What do you mean, really? Every word I spit out is a nail driven home. Once I, Chen Shi'an, give my word..."
At that point, he could not continue.
Why?
The former owner had even swindled a child out of her New Year's money. His solemn promises were not worth half a copper coin.
So he stopped speaking and strode toward the gate.
Once trust collapsed, rebuilding it was harder than climbing to heaven.
Getting Su Qingrou and her daughter to believe him would be a heavy burden and a long road.
"Brother-in-law, please don't go gambling again. Your elder brother is gone. If you owe anyone more money, we won't be able to repay it..."
Seeing that Chen Shi'an really was leaving, Su Qingrou called out urgently.
"Sister-in-law, I'm not going gambling. I'm going out to take care of something. I'll be back soon." Without looking back, Chen Shi'an crossed the threshold and strode away.
The buyer for Su Qingrou and Chen Tiantian was waiting nearby. Since the former owner had already accepted a deposit, he naturally had to settle that matter first.
Otherwise, there would be considerable trouble.
"Uncle is the last person we should trust. He's definitely gone to gamble."
In the Desolate Ruins, the strong devoured the weak, and children matured earlier as a result. Chen Tiantian took her mother's hand. "Mother, let's hurry and leave.
"Even if Uncle doesn't drive us out of the Chen Family, we already can't afford the city construction tax. Now he's gone off gambling too. Sooner or later, we'll be driven out of Windrise Stronghold.
"Rather than wait to be driven out, we should leave on our own. At least that would give us more time to prepare."
Su Qingrou's face was drawn with misery. "How could I not understand that? But where could we go?
"Without the stronghold's shelter, there's no way for us to survive.
"In the Desolate Ruins, everyone is merely clinging to life. Every extra day we can live is another day..."
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