Did I Transmigrate?

I still have a chance, I'm still alive!

Even if what you saw was a corpse, shouldn't you still call the police?

Ji Yuan couldn't understand what was going through these people's minds—what they were doing was practically murder!

Some of the earlier conversations were strange too; could these people really have something wrong with their heads?

Ji Yuan could tell they weren't joking. They really were ignoring him. After one of them covered him up a bit and placed a wet cloth on his forehead, everyone went back to their own business.

Zhang Shilin instructed everyone to move the fire a little closer to the Mountain God Statue, so that the dying beggar could get a bit warmer.

"Snap, snap, snap..."

Sparks flew with each strike of the flint, and after a few tries, a small piece of tinder caught fire.

"It's lit, it's lit! Get the firewood!"

"Coming, coming."

"Don't pack it too tight!"

They added some fine twigs, carefully tended the flame, and soon the fire was blazing.

The Traveling Merchants set up an earthen stove and placed their portable iron pot on it. Someone fetched a Bamboo Tube from the temple entrance that had been collecting rainwater, pouring the clear water into the pot to boil. Everything was done in an orderly fashion.

Once these tasks were finished, the Traveling Merchants finally relaxed a little, all sitting on the ground to rest.

"Rumble..."

Thunder rolled across the sky, and the rain showed signs of intensifying.

The Traveling Merchants, waiting for the water to boil, stared blankly at the downpour outside the Mountain God Temple.

"I wonder if this rain will stop before dark?"

Someone sighed worriedly.

"Judging by the look of it, it won't let up for a while!"

Another person replied casually, tightening their clothes.

"This spring rain is really cold!"

"Yeah! Even lean oxen and horses struggle through the second of the eighth month!"

The group huddled around the modest fire to warm themselves, their damp clothes hung on a thin pole from the temple to one side.

The lid of the iron pot grew restless as the water temperature rose, and before long, it began to rattle and clatter.

"The water's boiling!"

Liu Quan said with a smile, then took a wooden ladle from a basket. The other Traveling Merchants each pulled out their own wooden bowls or Bamboo Tubes.

Liu Quan patiently took each bowl and tube, filled them with Boiling Water using the ladle, and handed them back one by one.

Meanwhile, a young man opened a basket and pulled out a cloth bag filled with assorted flatbreads and other dry rations. He carried the bag around, handing out food to everyone.

"Here."

"Hey, take this!"

"Brother Zhao, your favorite steamed bun."

"Thanks!"

Each time the young man handed one out, someone would pat his arm or thank him. Soon he reached Zhang Shilin.

"Brother Shilin! There are still steamed buns and flatbreads—what do you want?"

Zhang Shilin glanced at the cloth bag.

"Give me a flatbread."

"Alright."

The young man took out a dry flatbread and handed it to Zhang Shilin, who nodded as he accepted it. Then the young man put the bag back in the basket, grabbed a steamed bun for himself, and sat back in his original spot.

Some people were already blowing on the water in their wooden bowls, eating their dry rations with the slightly cooled Boiling Water.

Throughout this, Ji Yuan could hear the crackling of burning wood, the bubbling of boiling water and the clatter of the pot lid, the sound of ladling water, and the chatter of these people.

He thought to himself, Damn, how cold-hearted. These people are all eating now, completely ignoring whether I live or die!

"Shilin, back in Shuixian Town, I heard people say that Niu Kui Mountain has been unstable lately. No one stays up there at night. If this rain keeps up, won't we have to spend the night in the mountains?"

The speaker was a middle-aged man gnawing on a dry flatbread, named Jin Shunfu, his face covered in crisscrossing wrinkles.

Zhang Shilin also gazed at the Rain Curtain outside.

"We should be fine if we're careful at night. And besides..."

He glanced at where Ji Yuan was lying.

"This beggar has been here for a while. If he's fine, why should we, with so many of us, be afraid? Even if a Great Beast shows up, we can drive it off!"

The young man handing out rations shuddered at that, choking on his water.

"Cough, cough, cough... cough, cough, cough, cough... Oh, Brother Shilin, cough, don't scare me like that! Are there really Great Beasts on Niu Kui Mountain?"

"Hahahaha..."

"This kid... hahaha!"

"Little Dong, you really need to work on your courage! Hahaha..."

The people around all burst into laughter at this. The young man had only been with the team for less than two months, but he was a spirited and hardworking lad. Since everyone was from the same hometown and familiar with each other, they often looked out for him.

Zhang Shilin smiled and glanced at Wang Dong.

"Little Dong, Niu Kui Mountain has many peaks and dense forests. In truth, it spans a full two hundred li in circumference. It's perfectly normal to have a few Great Beasts, but the paths we've chosen are all on the outer edges, so it's still relatively safe."

Niu Kui Mountain, not Ox Head Mountain? Great Beasts? Shuixian Town?

Ji Yuan, sitting off to the side, grew more and more puzzled. How had he gone from Ox Head Mountain to Niu Kui Mountain? Did "Great Beast" mean a tiger? The name Shuixian Town was secondary—after all, China was vast, and he couldn't know every place.

By the campfire, the Traveling Merchants chatted and laughed. Zhang Shilin noticed that Jin Shunfu was still frowning, so he moved closer and quietly asked a question.

"Old Jin, what's wrong? What exactly did you hear in Shuixian Town?"

Jin Shunfu washed down a mouthful of dry flatbread with some Hot Water, glanced around, and replied in a similarly low voice.

"Shilin, I heard some folks in Shuixian Town say that Niu Kui Mountain might be haunted by Demons and Monsters..."

For some reason, those words gave Zhang Shilin Goosebumps.

"At the time, I took it as a joke and didn't think much of it. We passed through Niu Kui Mountain twice Last year without any trouble, so what could happen? But now, I suddenly feel a bit uneasy for no reason. Don't laugh at me, Shilin..."

Jin Shunfu's added remark was as much to reassure himself as it was an explanation.

"Don't scare yourself. Get some good rest!"

Zhang Shilin Patted Jin Shunfu's arm. They had a small private rule when traveling—never pat someone on the shoulder, whether day or night.

But there was actually another person in the temple who also got Goosebumps: Ji Yuan, who was practically a vegetable.

The things these people were saying didn't sound like a joke at all, and they certainly weren't acting. Honestly, if this were a performance, Ji Yuan was confident he would have heard the sounds of filming equipment and stage setups. He was certain that aside from himself, there were only those twelve people.

Footsteps gradually approached, pulling Ji Yuan back from his thoughts.

Zhang Shilin carried a wooden bowl to the side of the Beggar behind the statue of the deity, felt his forehead—still Scalding Hot—and noted his breath was faint, almost nonexistent. He studied the Beggar closely; though his face was dirty, there were no sores or rotting patches.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Shilin still reached out, using his wrist to lift Ji Yuan's head slightly, and brought the wooden bowl to Ji Yuan's cracked lips.

"We can't do much. Have a drink..."

The temperature-appropriate Hot Water spilled from the Corner of Ji Yuan's mouth, but plenty also poured into his oral cavity, and his throat reflexively swallowed it down gulp by gulp.

Sweet dew Descended, moistening his insides. Ji Yuan felt much more comfortable all of a sudden.

He recognized this voice—it was the one those people called "Brother Shilin," "Shilin," or "Leader Zhang." So his name was Zhang Shilin.

Clearly, this man didn't seem like a lunatic, and neither did the others. A wildly strong suspicion sprouted in his heart.

Could it be... I've actually traveled through time?