I trampled the bones of dukes and ministers along Heaven's Avenue-but damn it, I was one of them!
Wu Youren's status wasn't actually that high. At best, he could claim a tenuous connection to the hereditary nobility, and even that was a stretch.
Facing a little lake of rippling blue water, he sat quietly until dusk, his heart as still as water. Sure enough, I've fucking transmigrated.
Friends who transmigrated often all knew that a sky-falling opening was standard procedure.
He hadn't encountered a club to the back of the head, that standard starter-village weapon, but things weren't much better.
A system... probably didn't exist. At least, he couldn't find one yet.
Apart from being not quite sixteen, there wasn't a single thing worth celebrating.
He was the grandson of a titled noble, had passable martial skills, and received a fixed allowance from his family on schedule...
That all sounded pretty good, but the problem was that he was a citizen of Great Jin, yet currently in Great Liang!
It all stemmed from the war twelve years ago. Great Jin had lost.
So his status was that of a hostage-one of them!
The scenery before him was lovely, but it wasn't home. A little lake-viewing pavilion stood on the bank, and a gentle west wind blew past, yet no reflection of the moon could be seen.
His face had changed; it was no longer yesterday's.
His biggest question now was: Who the fuck pushed me into the lake yesterday?
The lake was called Jasper, only about a thousand square meters in area. Its water was clear but very deep, and his predecessor hadn't known how to swim.
Fortunately, Liang patrol guards had heard the commotion. By the time they rushed over and pulled him out, he was already unconscious.
A soul drifting in from another world had found somewhere to dwell, and only after struggling until dawn had he awakened.
Everyone knew something was off with him, so nobody bothered him today.
So far, Wu Youren hadn't finished receiving all his predecessor's memories, and his emotions weren't quite aligned either. This was a good chance to sort things out.
He didn't believe he'd made any enemies. Who would deal him such a vicious hand?
Seeing the sky grow dark, he didn't want to suffer a second accident, so he stood and headed toward his quarters.
Before he'd gone far, he encountered two Liang patrol guards. At the sight of him, they couldn't help snickering. "Oh, isn't this Lord Wu?"
"The one whose suicide attempt failed? Hahaha, what a waste of that handsome shell."
The hostages certainly had status, but only in Great Jin.
Here, even the most ordinary patrol guards could address him as "Lord Wu," then follow it with a string of sneers and mockery.
Yet Wu Youren smiled and nodded. "I must thank you all for saving me."
Then he left at an unhurried pace. The two guards exchanged a look. "Was he mocking us?"
Only a bastard would want to save these descendants of foreign grandees, but there was no choice. If a hostage died for no reason, everyone would get a beating.
"Probably not," the other guard said thoughtfully. "We weren't the ones who did it. We did save him, after all."
Wu Youren also had a suspicion: his fall into the water hadn't necessarily been the work of Liang people.
He was merely a hostage. If they wanted to act against him, how simple would it be to kill him outright? They wouldn't even need an excuse.
But if it hadn't been Liang people, that made it even harder to guess!
Wu Youren truly hadn't offended any of his companions, because... he didn't qualify.
He was only a titled noble's grandson, the lowest-ranking member of the Hostage Prince Corps. Above him were dukes, marquises, counts, viscounts, and barons!
As for wealth, he was also the poorest. There was no possibility of murder for money.
This really was difficult to figure out!
When he returned to his quarters, he paused briefly-the door, which had been left ajar, stood half-open.
His room wasn't large, only eight or nine square meters, with two stools, a bed, a cabinet, and a desk.
There was also a small stove for boiling water to make tea, which could provide warmth in winter.
A burly youth sat on a stool and didn't rise when he saw him return. "Looks like there's nothing wrong with you now?"
"Thank you for your concern, Brother Linyuan," Wu Youren replied without betraying anything.
This fellow came from a viscount's family. He was big and brawny, but in reality... he was very good at office politics.
"We also investigated what happened last night," the burly youth announced expressionlessly, as though reading from a script.
"We unanimously concluded that one of the uncanny races might have infiltrated the place!"
This world didn't just have wars between human nations. Demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters also ran rampant, collectively known as the Weird Race.
"The Weird Race?" Wu Youren shook his head and removed the jade ring hanging at his waist.
This was a "Weird-Repelling Jue." Anyone with a little money would find a way to obtain one.
Wu Youren's Weird-Repelling Jue was made of extremely poor material and was quite crudely fashioned. Though called a jade jue, it might not even have been jade.
Yet even this imitation jade ring wasn't something ordinary people could possess. An ordinary well-off household would have, at most, one or two wooden ones.
Great Jin had plenty of titled nobles, but fewer than half their grandsons would possess jade rings.
Wu Youren had only received one because he was coming here as a hostage. His titled grandfather feared that if something happened to him, the family would have to select someone else. Otherwise, his turn would never have come.
He held the jade ring up for the other youth to see and gave a bitter laugh. "Does this look like I encountered something uncanny?"
Although the material of this Weird-Repelling Jue was rather poor, that was only compared with those within the Hostage Prince Corps. On the open market, ordinary people weren't even qualified to buy one!
So he wasn't afraid of the other youth mocking him.
"Perhaps it was a spirit creature," Shi Linyuan replied unconcernedly. "A jade jue can't ward off every Weird Race!"
But we're in the capital of the Great Liang State! Wu Youren had wanted to argue, but on second thought, there wasn't much need.
What mattered was that certain suspicions had essentially been confirmed.
He sighed inwardly. Slipping and falling into the water... how very much like court politics.
Next, would someone send over a red pill or something?
Shi Linyuan waited a while. Seeing that he remained silent, he spoke again. "His Highness has learned of the situation and takes it very seriously. He's instructed us to keep following up."
The Hostage Prince Corps numbered a hundred, with one and only one Highness: the Jin king's youngest son, seventeenth in birth order.
The Seventeenth Highness was the genuine hostage. The others were merely study companions, attendants, hired fists, human shields...
Now His Highness had actually declared that the investigation would be pursued to the end, and for a bottom-rung hostage like him at that. It was rare indeed.
Yet Wu Youren truly understood now, and couldn't help sighing softly. "Hostages... why make life difficult for other hostages?"
"What are you saying?" Shi Linyuan's expression changed. "Who's making life difficult for you?"
Wu Youren didn't answer him, instead asking directly, "I want to know what I did wrong to disgrace Great Jin."
The hostages were usually fairly united when dealing with outsiders, but once an internal purge began, their ruthlessness was no ordinary thing.
Moreover, Great Liang was generally happy to see the hostages harm one another, and punishments were usually very light.
They were eager for Great Jin to fall into internal disorder. If too many slots were left empty, they could simply have Jin send another batch.
At these words, an odd expression appeared on Shi Linyuan's face. "I already said His Highness values you. Can't you understand what I'm saying?"
"I understand." Wu Youren nodded. "I'm very happy about it. I just feel a little unworthy."
A little unworthy? His Highness's gaze shouldn't have fallen on him at all. The gulf between their ranks was far too great.
Even as a death warrior, he barely qualified.
Not to mention... even if he were a death warrior, what sense was there in making him die once first?
Shi Linyuan's eyes shifted. "Good, as long as you understand. Then shouldn't you properly repay His Highness?"
"I haven't repaid him?" At those words, Wu Youren's anger surged. "I've handed over sixty percent of my allowance!"
The stipend his family sent wasn't much to begin with, and sixty percent had to be handed over to His Highness's "Hidden Dragon Plan."
The hostages' allowances were all transferred through the Office of Protocol of Liang's Court of State Ceremonial. There was no hiding them from anyone!
Of the remaining forty percent, Wu Youren could only keep ten. Ten percent went to the Office of Protocol's runner, and twenty percent to the Liang guards at the hostage residence.
These were all "the rules."
"There used to be a jar of liquor in your room," Shi Linyuan remarked blandly. "A small jar."
"I get it." Wu Youren raised a hand and slapped his forehead hard.
His expression was peculiar. "No wonder it disappeared. That liquor was a little different, but... did it warrant this?"
"Of course. That was strong liquor," Shi Linyuan replied seriously. "Don't you understand the difference between strong liquor and thin liquor?"
Of course I fucking understand! Wu Youren possessed that much common knowledge. Thin liquor was for the poor.
Even diluted with water... and then diluted again, it was still just thin liquor. Strong liquor was a guarantee of quality; adding water changed it.
But other things could be added!
"A thin-liquor jar filled with strong liquor." Shi Linyuan's face was solemn. "What were you thinking?"
That was liquor meant to be sold to Liang people... Wu Youren felt rather helpless. Can I tell you that liquor is poisonous?
Mineral drugs had been mixed into it. Mineral drugs!
He'd been rather unfairly implicated in this. His predecessor had actually done it, mainly because he was poor.
What surprised Wu Youren, though, was that this world actually had this kind of counterfeiting method too!
There was no unified name for mineral drugs here, nor even a unified understanding of them.
His predecessor had also obtained a secret formula and refined mineral drugs using similar methods.
If the processes involved hadn't been extremely similar, Wu Youren wouldn't have thought of this possibility.
So it was normal for his reaction to be a little slow-who the hell could have imagined that his predecessor's soul had scattered because of this?
Then he frowned. No, that shouldn't be right. Only trace amounts of mineral drugs could be added to liquor. Surely it wouldn't kill someone in one go?
Mineral drugs with liquor-the more you drank, the more you had. Ancient miscellanies were full of such things, but that was to sell liquor, not to kill people!
There was only a risk of chronic poisoning. It shouldn't cause problems in the short term.
Mineral drugs were even among the ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine. If the dose wasn't high enough, it really didn't matter.
His predecessor had understood this too. The proportions were quite suitable, and he had only taken a small taste, not daring to drink more.
He hadn't had the heart to pour away the remaining liquor, intending to keep it as a sample and find a chance to give the guards watching the hostage residence a "taste."
Who could have imagined that someone else would take it...
Then a possibility occurred to him, and his expression abruptly changed. "You all drank it?"
In that instant, he felt chilled to the bone, even his thoughts freezing solid. Don't tell me the Seventeenth Highness... you know?
"Of course. Such a small jar." Shi Linyuan regarded him with a half-smile. "Youren, you really gave everyone a huge surprise!"
Then it's fine! Wu Youren steadied himself and said blandly, "You stole my things, then called it a surprise?"
There was indeed a difference in status between a titled noble and a viscount, but stealing was stealing!
Yet someone skilled at office politics really was different. "With access to something like this, why didn't you offer it to His Highness?"
"Because I'm poor." Wu Youren raised one finger. "Ten percent. I only receive ten percent of my allowance!"
"I can't even afford the blood food I need for cultivation. Don't I have to find some way to make money?"
(The new book is out. Happy birthday to Sister Fangcao! For the early stages, updates are provisionally set at one chapter a day, at 8:50 p.m., so I can build up a stockpile before the paid release. Please bear with me, and please support the book by keeping up with updates, voting, and adding it to your collections.)