Wu Dongrong froze. "What merit could he have earned?"
Liao Yu said, "He faced a bandit alone and not only held his own, but also chopped off the man's hand, allowing us to capture him alive."
"What?!"
Wu Dongrong's first reaction wasn't joy. Instead, he hurried forward and carefully examined Wu Shuangren. "You're not hurt, are you?"
Wu Shuangren looked at the face before him, both familiar and unfamiliar, and felt conflicted.
Although he had inherited his predecessor's memories, they had passed before him like a revolving lantern and had not greatly affected his emotions or personality.
So he found it hard to truly regard the man before him as his father.
Besides, he had never been comfortable around his parents.
Fortunately, his predecessor had been a quiet, taciturn person going through a rebellious phase, so Wu Shuangren didn't have to worry about a drastic change in personality arousing suspicion.
But seeing Wu Dongrong covered in sweat, his eyes almost overflowing with concern and anxiety, Wu Shuangren's heart softened. "I'm fine," he said.
"What happened here?"
Wu Dongrong had spotted the palm print on Wu Shuangren's chest.
"I took a palm strike. It hardly hurts anymore."
"How the fuck is that fine?!"
Wu Dongrong grew even angrier.
Liao Yu hurriedly said from the side, "Old Wu, don't waste time. Hurry and take the boy home for your wife to look at. Don't let him end up with a hidden injury."
Wu Dongrong wasted no more words. He grabbed Wu Shuangren and turned to leave.
He soon brought Wu Shuangren home.
It was a residence with two courtyards, and lamps were lit in the yard.
As soon as Wu Dongrong brought Wu Shuangren through the door, a woman came out to meet them.
Her long hair was arranged in a bun, with a kingfisher-feather silver hairpin set at an angle, and a few dark strands hung beside her ears.
She wore a green, high-waisted ruqun. Her skin was fair, and her eyes and brows were lovely. Standing there, she was as graceful and beautiful as a white plum blossom.
She was the mother of Wu Shuangren's current body-Xu Nanzhi.
His predecessor had inherited most of his delicate features from her.
"You're back. How did it go? Are you all right?"
Xu Nanzhi spoke softly, each word clear and gentle, making people want to quiet down and listen without even realizing it.
"Nanzhi, quick, come look at Shuangren! He took a palm strike to the chest!"
Wu Dongrong spoke urgently.
Xu Nanzhi's expression changed slightly, and she hurried forward to examine him.
She was a doctor who ran a clinic in Bo County. Her medical skills and beauty were known far and wide, and she was highly respected.
Many people had been surprised when Xu Nanzhi chose to marry Wu Dongrong.
"How do you feel?"
Xu Nanzhi came up to Wu Shuangren and asked with concern.
Wu Shuangren felt uncomfortable. "I feel all right."
Xu Nanzhi lifted his clothes and saw the palm mark on his chest. Her expression changed completely, and her voice lost its usual calm. "And you still say you're fine?!"
Wu Dongrong immediately grew nervous. "Nanzhi, is Shuangren badly hurt?"
Xu Nanzhi said nothing. She took Wu Shuangren's wrist and began to check his pulse.
After a while, she frowned slightly and gave Wu Shuangren a puzzled look.
Feeling a little guilty, Wu Shuangren hurriedly asked, "What is it?"
"Oh, come on, say something! Don't scare me!"
Wu Dongrong asked anxiously as well.
Xu Nanzhi glared at Wu Dongrong before smiling at Wu Shuangren. "It really is nothing serious."
Wu Dongrong breathed a sigh of relief. "You scared me to death. As long as he's all right."
Xu Nanzhi said, "Shuangren, go lie down in your room. I'll give you an acupuncture treatment."
Wu Shuangren nodded and, following his memories, headed to his room.
After he left, Xu Nanzhi turned to Wu Dongrong and said in a low voice, "How strange."
Wu Dongrong frowned. "What is it?"
Xu Nanzhi said, "The palm print on Shuangren's chest was clearly left by an expert. If an ordinary person took a strike like that to a major acupoint on the chest, they would certainly die! But Shuangren's Qi and blood are steady, and his pulse is normal. It's as if he wasn't hurt at all."
Wu Dongrong was taken aback. "Could the person who struck him have been poorly trained?"
Xu Nanzhi was a little unsure herself. "Perhaps."
Then she asked, "Who were those bandits after tonight?"
Wu Dongrong's expression grew grave. "The Mo Family!"
Xu Nanzhi sighed. "Bo County is getting more and more chaotic."
She turned to look at Wu Shuangren's room. "I only hope Shuangren can stay safe and sound."
The subject made Wu Dongrong angry. "With that temperament of his, there's not a ghost of a chance he'll stay safe!"
Xu Nanzhi glared at him. "How can you say that about your own son?"
Wu Dongrong said, "You have no idea what he did tonight!"
With that, he told his wife about Wu Shuangren's "battle record" that night.
Xu Nanzhi listened with a deepening frown, repeatedly glancing toward Wu Shuangren's room.
She considered whether to go in and give him a beating before treating him with acupuncture.
In the end, remembering that Wu Shuangren was injured, she decided to treat him first.
She would beat him after he recovered!
A short while later, Xu Nanzhi entered Wu Shuangren's room with a set of acupuncture needles and told him to take off his shirt and lie down on the bed.
Then Xu Nanzhi inserted needles into Wu Shuangren's chest.
Watching Xu Nanzhi's earnest expression, Wu Shuangren had mixed feelings.
He had never experienced such care before.
After she inserted more than a dozen needles, the effect was immediate. Wu Shuangren soon felt the stabbing pain in his chest disappear.
"Amazing!"
Wu Shuangren couldn't help exclaiming.
Xu Nanzhi looked at him and said gently, "No matter how skilled I am, I can't bring the dead back to life. Before you act on impulse again, think a little more about your father and mother."
"..."
Wu Shuangren pressed his lips together and said nothing.
After finishing the treatment, Xu Nanzhi told him to get a good rest and left his room.
Alone in his room, Wu Shuangren lay on the bed, sorting through the memories in his mind-
The Wu Dynasty in this world had much in common with many dynasties he remembered from his previous life. At its height, all the surrounding small states had bowed their heads in submission and paid tribute year after year.
Now its national strength had declined, and signs of chaos had appeared. First, the Jin State, established by the Jurchens in the north, stopped paying tribute and repeatedly sent its cavalry to raid the Wu State's borders.
The two states were now at war and had fought more than a dozen battles, large and small. Overall, the Wu State had the advantage, but it lacked the strength to send an expedition to deal with its enemy once and for all.
Seeing that the Jin State no longer paid tribute, the Tubo State in the west followed suit. It too had border clashes with the Wu Dynasty, which then erupted into several wars.
With external enemies eyeing it like tigers stalking their prey, the Wu Dynasty was also unsettled within, with rebellions breaking out across the land.
A year ago, the Yellow Turban Rebellion had erupted in Yi Prefecture. In just half a year, it had swept across the entire Hebei Circuit, and word of its great momentum had even reached Yi Province, where his predecessor lived...
Wu Shuangren finally concluded that the era he lived in would probably soon descend into chaos!
In chaotic times, human lives are worth no more than blades of grass. If I didn't have a cheat, I could only leave my fate to heaven.
Wu Shuangren shifted his vision again and looked at the Trait above his head.
[Match for One Person]!
He didn't know whether he was the only one with a Trait, or whether other people in this world could have Traits too.
But no matter what, his own Trait's effect was powerful enough!
Wu Shuangren clenched his fists, an excited shiver quietly creeping up his spine.
In his previous life, he had refused to spend his whole life trapped in a small county town. So, relying on his fists, he had climbed step by step to the world's most elite fighting stage and become a champion.
In this life, living in an era like this and bearing a Trait like his, how could he be content to accomplish nothing?
In his previous life, no matter how strong an individual was, he could at most become a king of soldiers or a fighting champion. In the end, he could never stand at the very top of the pyramid and become a truly important figure.
But this world had no guns or cannons, and the importance of individual martial strength was magnified many times over.
With a Trait like [Match for One Person], he would have limitless possibilities in a chaotic world!
A fire burned in Wu Shuangren's heart. He seemed to have become that little boy in a small county town once more, gazing up at the starry sky.
He began to look forward to this world.
Chapter 4: Martial artists of the present age
Under the night sky, at the Wu Clan residence.
Wu Shuangren lay in bed, studying his Trait.
It was the foundation on which he would establish himself in this world, so he had to understand it completely.
He discovered that he could decide whether or not to "equip" the Trait with a thought.
When the Trait was "displayed" above his head, it was equipped.
In that state, Wu Shuangren's attention was sharply focused, his reactions were quick, and his control over his body became exceptionally strong. He felt as if he could do anything!
But maintaining that intense focus for a long time quickly drained his mental stamina.
Even though Wu Shuangren lay in bed doing nothing, after keeping the Trait equipped for over an hour, he could distinctly feel his mind flagging. He was utterly exhausted, as though he had fought someone for five full rounds in an octagon.
The words [Match for One Person] above his head also gradually faded until they vanished completely.
Wu Shuangren was forced out of that special state and could no longer equip the Trait.
So once my mental stamina runs out, I can't equip the Trait anymore. I expect it's the same if my physical stamina runs out.
He pondered to himself, But does that also mean that even if I faced the strongest person in the world, I could defeat them before my physical and mental stamina ran out?
For a moment, his imagination ran wild.
Equipping the Trait consumes mental stamina, while fighting consumes physical stamina. As long as I improve both, I can keep it equipped longer. My current body still has plenty of room for improvement. I'll start training tomorrow!
Full of ambition, Wu Shuangren drew up a series of plans for himself.
In the end, he fell into a deep sleep amid his visions of the future, a smile on his face...
The next day, Wu Shuangren woke early and instinctively sprang out of bed, ready for his morning workout. It was a habit he had developed in the past.
Only when he saw his surroundings clearly did he remember that he had transmigrated.
After a moment's pause, he got dressed and walked out of his room.
In the courtyard, Wu Dongrong was practicing with a saber, his upper body bare.
The old frontier soldier's body was covered in scars, a fearsome sight.
They were all marks Wu Dongrong had acquired on the battlefield years ago.
The way he practiced with the saber was rather different from what Wu Shuangren had imagined.