Great Yan Dynasty, Danyang Commandery.
The mountains were tranquil, heavily locked in clouds and mist.
Inside a stone house in Heifeng Stronghold, Chen Changsheng, who had just fused the memories of his two lifetimes, tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
His state was peculiar. It was soul-transmigration, yet also somewhat like awakening memories of a past life. He possessed the memories and emotions of two lifetimes, but the dominant control over his soul belonged to the Chen Changsheng who had crossed over from Blue Star.
The prospect of attaining Chang Sheng through Martial Art in this world excited him endlessly. However, as a man who had been single for twenty-eight years on Blue Star, suddenly facing four ready-made children left him completely at a loss.
Amidst his thoughts, waves of hunger emanated from his belly, causing his stomach to cramp incessantly as if it were burning in flames. He quietly snuck over to the water vat in the kitchen and drank his fill, but the moment he lay back down, he was hungry again. It was no use! He wanted to cook a meal, but he was afraid of waking the kids. Right now, he was completely unprepared mentally for how to face them. He truly didn’t know how the original owner had survived on just two bowls of gruel a day!
"Sigh. A grown man without even one cent in savings, truly living within four bare walls, yet you dared to take on the ultimate beast of burden package. I’m honestly in awe of you!"
Complaints aside, Chen Changsheng desperately wanted to sneak to the battlefield at Tiger Ridge right now and chop off two chunks of dead Warhorse meat to bring back! But in early spring, walking eight miles of mountain roads alone—he didn’t dare!
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
A knocking sound came from the door, closely followed by Clan Leader Chen Xuan’s voice outside.
"Chang Sheng, are you alright? If you’re fine, come into the mountains with us to clean up the battlefield!"
Speak of the devil! Hearing this, Chen Changsheng was overjoyed and hurriedly replied, "Clan Leader, I’m fully recovered! I’ll go into the mountains with you!"
He got up nimbly and shouted toward the west wing, "Yuyao, take good care of your younger siblings! I’m heading to Tiger Ridge!"
"Dad... oh... wait... wait, there’s still a flatbread in the kitchen. I’ll get it for you!"
Even though his eldest daughter, Chen Yuyao, wasn’t fully awake yet and her words were drowsy, she still came sprinting out. A twelve-year-old girl should have been in the prime of her growth, yet she was short and frail. Her clothes were entirely covered in patches, a sight that made Chen Changsheng sigh with sorrow.
After a burst of RUSTLE RUSTLE, Chen Yuyao shoved a half-bran, half-flour flatbread into Chen Changsheng’s hands. In the pale light of dawn, her eyes sparkled brightly, and Chen Changsheng could instantly spot the worry in his daughter’s gaze.
His predecessor hadn’t had a good relationship with his four children. Last year, when the family faced financial hardship, he had wanted to marry off his twelve-year-old eldest daughter, Chen Yuyao, in exchange for a bride price. To save money, he had dragged his eldest son, who had already gained a modest reputation at the County School by the age of ten, back home to farm. Combined with his traditional, old-school patriarchal demeanor and his cowardly, weak attitude toward outsiders—knowing nothing but farming—this directly caused his four children to both fear and resent him.
Yet now, no matter how strained their father-daughter relationship was, his daughter still instinctively worried about him in a critical moment.
Taking the flatbread, Chen Changsheng felt a warmth in his heart. Still not knowing how to face his ready-made daughter, he could only turn and leave.
If this were his past life, Chen Changsheng didn’t know if a dog would eat this flatbread, but he could guarantee that a Human definitely wouldn’t. But right now, under the pale glow of the eastern sky, he munched on it with great relish as he trekked along the mountain path.
As the sun rose in the east, they arrived at Tiger Ridge.
The government troops had already withdrawn. Warhorses, the Corpses of the government troops, the government’s Weapons, valuable large items, bundles, saddlebags, waist pouches, and so on, were all gone.
The entirety of Tiger Ridge, spanning over a hundred zhang in radius, was a sea of crimson blood. Severed limbs and broken arms were scattered everywhere. Colorful intestines were particularly glaring against the snow, and red and white matter looked like blooming flowers. The blood-ice congealed on broken spears reflected the Chaoyang, looking like a ground strewn with scarlet eyeballs. The ice mirrored the overlapping silhouettes of Humans, and in those reflections, every Human was draped in a veil of blood.
The early spring was still biting cold. The freezing wind wrapped around the snowflakes on the treetops, carrying the dense stench of blood from the mountain pass straight into their noses.
How could Chen Changsheng have ever seen such a terrifying scene? His stomach began to churn, and his strength faded. In a moment of inattention, his straw sandals sank into the slush of blood and ice. The metallic stench of blood, mixed with the freezing air, rushed directly into his nasal cavity, and his body suddenly went somewhat limp!
They were all ordinary villagers. Although there were occasional armed brawls between villages, and although the Barbarians would invade every year, the villagers of Chen Family Village had rarely experienced such a bloody scene. For a time, everyone argued endlessly over the division of labor. The most popular task, of course, was shoveling dirt and digging pits. This work required strength, but it didn’t involve coming into contact with severed limbs, broken arms, or colorful intestines.
Clan Leader Chen Xuan continuously listened to everyone’s opinions and began assigning hands.
Chen Changsheng was just about to ask to dig pits or butcher the Warhorse Corpses when a voice full of mockery suddenly rang out.
"Clan Leader, Chang Sheng was injured last night. I imagine he doesn’t have much strength right now. Why not let him pick up the mangled Corpses? It’s much easier work!"
Chen Changsheng didn’t even need to turn his head to know that the other party was Chen Fusheng. He was the strongest of this generation, trained over the past ten years as the next Clan Leader, and was infinitely close to the Martial Artist Realm. He wasn’t a bad Human, but he simply loved to show off and haggle over every little detail. The original owner had once talked back to this guy, so he was frequently targeted. Yesterday, the original owner had been so terrified by the brutal conditions of the battlefield that his legs gave out, and he was ultimately knocked unconscious by a Barbarian’s club. Chen Fusheng’s current scheme was naturally an attempt to see him make a fool of himself again.
But no one knew that the current Chen Changsheng was no longer the Chen Changsheng of yesterday. Since he had arrived in this world where lives were as cheap as grass, and since he wanted to achieve Martial Art Chang Sheng, he had to pass this trial. He was not the cowardly and timid Chen Changsheng, but rather a Chen Changsheng who dared to fight and struggle!
While he was lost in thought, the Clan Leader saw that he didn’t object and spoke gently, "Chang Sheng, you go join the team looting Corpses and picking up mangled Corpses!"
Chen Changsheng nodded. Picking up mangled Corpses was disgusting, but he coincidentally wanted to temper his mental fortitude, and this work truly was less physically demanding.