"Ugh……"
Waves of pain pulled Lin Ning from his daze, back into consciousness.
He had no idea why his whole body was wracked with pain. Just last night, he had clearly been drinking celebratory wine with the entire company, celebrating that the company had successfully survived a year littered with corpses……
And as the CEO of an international trade company with over five hundred employees, even if he'd gotten drunk while celebrating, he shouldn't have been beaten like this……
But……
Why did every inch of his body ache?
He slowly opened his eyes, but what appeared before him wasn't his familiar bedroom, nor was it the ceiling of his office.
This was……a gauze canopy?
Lin Ning furrowed his brow through the pain, still trying to figure out where exactly he was, when suddenly his mind seemed to explode. A burst of agonizing pain nearly knocked him unconscious.
He had no idea how much time had passed. Lin Ning felt his whole body soaked in sweat, and the pain that had felt like falling into the deepest hell, leaving him terrified even in hindsight, finally began to slowly fade.
And yet Lin Ning felt even more bewildered.
He had actually transmigrated……
That burst of searing pain just now had left an entirely unfamiliar set of "memories" in his mind.
He had become someone else!
This situation, faintly familiar yet utterly terrifying, sent chills through Lin Ning's entire body.
He had never imagined that the transmigration stories scattered all over the internet would actually happen to him.
Even less had he imagined that after struggling for a full twenty years, from a penniless rural youth to the president of a listed company, and having just led his company through the biggest crisis in nearly twenty years, fate would play such a cruelly ironic joke on him……
He hadn't even tasted the fruits of victory yet, hadn't had the chance to seize new ground in the down market. What a shame, what a waste!
The one saving grace was that four years ago he had already drawn up a will, so that his parents back in his hometown wouldn't be left without support in their old age because of his sudden death. Fortunately, he wasn't an only son either—he still had brothers and sisters at home, and with his help and support, they had all been doing quite well……
Thinking about it now, over the years, he had hardly rested a single day. He was nearly forty and still unmarried.
Living day and night amid scheming and machinations, calculating and being calculated against……
"Sigh……"
Whether it was self-deception or simply a resilient, optimistic disposition, Lin Ning suddenly felt that taking a break like this wasn't so bad……
But the moment he relaxed, he became even more aware of the pain throughout his body.
And the memory fragments flashing through his mind like a movie told him exactly where this pain had come from.
"Watching" scene after scene of cause and effect, Lin Ning found himself "admiring" the original owner of this body down to the bone……
……
My name is Lin Xiaoning. I'm fifteen this year, the only son of the previous Stronghold Master of Qingyun Village, one of the Thirteen Great Mountain Forts of Canglan Mountain, the son-in-law of the previous Stronghold Master, and the betrothed of the current Stronghold Master.
My father was named Lin Dalong. He died of injuries sustained while saving the previous Stronghold Master, Tian Hu. I was thirteen that year.
Before he died, my father passed the position of Stronghold Master to his sworn brother, Tian Hu. I don't know if he was so badly wounded he grew confused, but he actually handed over the seat of power to his enemy.
But it doesn't matter. He may have been confused, but I'm not. My father's death can be avenged, and I will avenge it!
That hypocrite Tian Hu, putting on airs of benevolence, even said that once I came of age, he would return the position of Stronghold Master to me.
He also said that before my father died, he'd arranged for me to marry his coarse daughter. Hah, what a fine dream he's having!
I know Tian Hu just wants to sideline me, to make me a puppet. But I would never lower myself to a thief's level, and I will never marry his stinking girl, so he's bound to get rid of me before I come of age!
How could I just sit and wait for death?
After a full year of secret planning, I "quietly" left the mountain to make my way to Yulin City to avenge my father.
I know that Tian Hu was once besieged in Yulin City, which forced my foolish, confused father to fight to the death to save him, only to be mortally wounded by Yulin City's Commander, Luo Cheng.
Of course, I wasn't foolish enough to go throw my life away alone. I left behind a "will." I knew Aunt Chun checked on me every night to make sure I was sleeping soundly, so when she came into my room, she'd surely discover I was gone, and she'd surely find that "will"……
Sure enough, everything unfolded exactly as my brilliant schemes predicted. That despicable little man Tian Hu, upon seeing my "will," had no choice but to rush to save me!
And by then, I had already alerted the Yulin Pass garrison……
That night was truly perilous. If not for my brilliant foresight—accounting even for how long that despicable Tian Hu would take to arrive （I had accounted for his delay as well）—I nearly would've been done in by those dog soldiers of Yulin Pass.
It scared me absolutely witless!
But fortunately, I'm brilliant beyond measure and had planned ahead. At the critical moment, that despicable Tian Hu finally arrived in a rush with men from the stronghold, driving back the pursuing soldiers of Yulin Pass.
Still, I'm not grateful to him. He must have wanted me dead, which is why he deliberately took so long to arrive. Hmph! None of this escapes my wise eyes!
But what delighted me most was that while that despicable Tian Hu was putting on a show of saving me, he was actually gravely wounded by Luo Cheng!
Ha! Ha! Ha!
Truly, heaven has eyes!
What a shame he wasn't struck dead outright, sigh……
After returning to the stronghold, because I so cleverly left behind that "will" in advance, that foolish Tian Hu and the others didn't blame me at all—they only told me never to be so reckless again.
How absurd. Me, reckless?
Tsk, tsk, what a hopelessly foolish man……
Watching Tian Hu cough up blood day after day, his injuries refusing to heal, I was overjoyed inside, though on the surface I played the part of a guilt-ridden, sorrowful son, staying silent day after day. A few times I nearly couldn't hold back my laughter—so close to being caught by that stinking girl from the Tian family, who kept glancing my way……
I don't know if Tian Hu had gone soft in the head, or if facing death had stirred some conscience in him, but in any case, he didn't blame me at all. He even praised me in front of everyone for my filial devotion and courage, so most people stopped holding it against me too.
What nonsense. Of course they had no reason to blame me—my father died saving Tian Hu, and no one blamed Tian Hu for that either……
Half a year later, Tian Hu finally died too, just like my father.
But in the end, his true colors showed themselves!
The position of Stronghold Master that belonged to my father—he actually passed it to his stinking daughter!!
Huh?!
Although I, Lin Xiaoning, come from a prestigious family （my mother was a young lady from a distinguished household, taken up the mountain by my father）, and am a proper scholar by nature （ever since learning to read at age seven, I've loved story scripts about talented scholars and beautiful ladies eloping for secret trysts, never tiring of them, and immersing myself completely）, aspiring to leave the mountain when grown to become an upright man of accomplishment and ambition, I never once wanted to be some whatsit mountain king among these ruffians.
But even if I don't want it, even if I look down on it, that position of Stronghold Master still belongs to my Lin family. Qingyun Village was founded by my grandfather, Lin Daniu—how could it possibly go to that vulgar, stinking girl?
See, none of this escaped my calculations. That old fox Tian Hu, even on his deathbed, finally showed his true tail!
What a joke—he and those foolish, spineless traitors in the stronghold came up with so many excuses, saying I was too young, shouldn't work too hard, that my martial arts weren't strong enough yet, saying that Wu Niang （Tian Hu's eldest daughter）, that stinking girl, was my father's Direct Disciple and also my future wife, so she'd temporarily hold the position of Stronghold Master for me……
Hmph……pah!!
I, the descendant of a distinguished family, a true scholar, was meant to have a chance encounter amid apricot blossoms and misty rain with some gentle, virtuous lady of good family, bound by fate for three lifetimes.
That stinking girl Wu Niang can kill a bear with a single punch.
For as long as I can remember, she—three years older than me—has spent all day hauling around a rock nearly as big as I am, hair disheveled, running wild all over the mountain. And she thinks she's fit to covet the position of my wife? Pah!
She even deliberately stole my mother's affection, coaxing her into making clothes for her, embroidering shoes for her, steaming osmanthus cakes for her—truly despicable and shameless……
Just thinking about all this makes me furious!
I think it's because my mother wore herself out doing all these things for that stinking girl that she fell ill and died so young!
Sooner or later I'll finish her off to avenge my mother!!
But right now, everyone in the stronghold has been bought over by Tian Hu, and I can't beat that stinking girl Wu Niang in a fight either……
But it's fine. Even though I can't beat Wu Niang, I can definitely beat her little sister Jiu Niang!
Jiu Niang is only six this year, that dim-witted yellow-haired girl who loves nothing more than following behind me all day calling me "brother-in-law." As if I'd ever be her brother-in-law!!
Watching Wu Niang sit in the Stronghold Master's seat day after day, throwing her weight around, with those hateful old-timers of the stronghold becoming her lapdogs, praising her for this and that, not daring to go west if she said east—and they still dare to say I'm in the wrong, badmouthing me behind my back. How infuriating!
All of this must have been deliberately arranged by that stinking woman Wu Niang. She's just as scheming and despicable as her father!
I think this can't go on any longer. Otherwise, sooner or later that stinking girl Wu Niang is going to harm me—she's bound to notice my intelligence and won't be able to tolerate me.
Sigh, when someone's too clever, it's never easy to hide it. It'll keep the enemy up at night……
So, I need to throw her into confusion first, make her suffer unbearably, and then expose her scheming heart……
This morning, after breakfast, I deliberately headed to the Back Mountain. I knew that little lapdog Jiu Niang would surely follow.
Sure enough, I'd only made it to Half Mountain when she came chattering along behind me. Heh heh, my schemes never fail.
Everything went exactly as I predicted—that yellow-haired girl Jiu Niang followed me up the Back Mountain, and I deliberately led her toward the Cliff of Contemplation, where the stronghold punished people to reflect on their wrongs.
The Cliff of Contemplation sits on a sheer precipice, a place hardly anyone ever visits.
But that foolish girl Jiu Niang, for some reason, stopped walking partway there, fear showing on her face, insisting on turning back.
Naturally, I wouldn't allow it. My plan was to wait until we reached the Cliff of Contemplation, then quietly push Jiu Niang off—that way, no one could pin it on me afterward, and even if they did, I'd simply deny it.
But this annoying girl refused to go, ruining my brilliant scheme……
Still, even if she tried to run now, it was too late. I picked her up and ran straight for the Cliff of Contemplation. She was terrified, crying and screaming for me to let her go, calling me "brother-in-law"……
What a joke. How could I, Lin Xiaoning, possibly be soft-hearted?
Not a single decent person in the whole Tian family!
Such a young yellow-haired girl, and already so good at playing pitiful!
She's misjudged me, Lin Xiaoning!
Only……
The unexpected happened. Heaven wasn't on my side. How infuriating.
I had just carried Jiu Niang to the Cliff of Contemplation, hadn't even pushed her off yet, when that bastard Zeng Niu, who'd heard the commotion from who knows where, caught up to me.
That bastard—his father Zeng Zhuang was my father's own retainer, and his family's martial arts were taught to them by my father himself, yet instead of avenging my father, he took the enemy as his own father, bought off by Tian Hu's petty favors. Truly a despicable bastard!
Ouch, ouch, he hit me so hard, it hurt so much!
A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle—I even begged him for mercy, calling him "Master," but he kept beating me like he wanted me dead……
Heavens, there's no living with this, that ungrateful bastard has gone mad!
How infuriating—I, a once-in-a-generation genius, destined to claim the title of Top Scholar, the greatest talent under heaven, dying at the hands of some fool. I simply cannot accept this……
Look at that, that foolish girl Jiu Niang is actually begging for mercy on my behalf……
Pah! As if I need some Tian family member pleading for me!
Ow, because I spat at Jiu Niang, I got beaten even harder……
My Lin family has really been ruined by the Tian family. My father was killed by that old schemer Tian Hu, my mother was killed by that stinking girl Tian Wuniang, and now I've been killed by this little yellow-haired girl Jiu Niang……
Ouch, it hurts, it hurts so much……
Heaven isn't on my side, heaven isn't on my side!
I'm dying, my soul is already drifting away……
I won't accept this, I won't accept this!!!
……
Having witnessed the "brilliant" yet short life of the self-proclaimed genius schemer Lin Xiaoning, and feeling the endless resentment left behind by the original owner, even Lin Ning, with his thoroughly tempered composure, couldn't help but wince.
The original owner had perfectly embodied the image of a delusional, second-generation "chosen one" combined with a born scumbag. In his final memories, the pitiful, miserable crying of Jiu Niang as he carried her toward the cliff edge to throw her off was something even Lin Ning found hard to watch—yet in Lin Xiaoning's heart, there had only been twisted hatred.
The early deaths of both parents had left this still-underage sapling completely and irreversibly bent out of shape.
Thinking again of this body's current predicament, Lin Ning, aching all over, immediately felt this was going to be tricky.
He still didn't know how he'd been saved and brought back.
The original body, Lin Xiaoning, had believed himself brilliantly resourceful, thinking his schemes could fool everyone in the stronghold. But after browsing through his memories, Lin Ning helplessly discovered that most people in the stronghold had long since seen through this brat's self-important scheming, which was why most of them kept their distance from him.
If not for the fact that Lin Ning's father, Lin Long, had been the Great Chieftain two generations back, and a man of great honor who had done favors for most people in the stronghold, the original body Lin Xiaoning might not have survived to this day……
Everyone had already reached the limit of their patience before, and now, after today's incident……
Killing him outright probably wasn't likely, otherwise there'd have been no point saving him.
But what he'd done today had thoroughly torn away any pretense. No matter how magnanimous those people were, they wouldn't keep indulging his reckless behavior any longer.
Compared to Lin Xiaoning, whom everyone despised, Jiu Niang was beloved by everyone in the stronghold.
Thinking about it this way, from now on, the stronghold would probably just let him fend for himself……
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard a creaking sound of a door being pushed open from outside. Enduring the pain, Lin Ning slowly turned his face toward the doorway.
Could it be that someone from the stronghold had come to seek justice for Jiu Niang, or to eliminate a troublemaker before he could cause more mischief?
……