The Dayuan Empire was vast, rich in resources, and its people were strong and warlike. However, under Yuan Shao’s rule, imperial power became overly centralized. Taxes on the people grew heavier, tributary states were exploited, and immortality pills were obsessively refined… until the empire gradually declined step by step.
A sudden illness announced the end of Yuan Shao’s reign. After Crown Prince Yuan Motian ascended the throne, he swiftly executed the alchemists, reduced taxes, and loosened restrictions on merchants. The entire nation rejoiced. Five years after his ascension, the tributary state Mingyue Kingdom presented their nation’s specialty “gift” in exchange for protection—
Men who could bear children.
A luxurious carriage jingled steadily along the official road. Inside sat a man with hollow eyes. His overly delicate beauty for a man made him seem cold and distant. The bright red wedding robes only made his pale face look even whiter.
“Neigh—!”
The fine horse suddenly shrieked.
Not long after, sounds of fighting erupted outside. A gleaming blade lifted the pearl curtain aside. The man merely raised his eyes slightly. A relieved smile appeared on his puppet-like exquisite face as he allowed the blade to pierce through his chest. Warm blood stained the fiery red wedding robe an even deeper color.
The startled horse bolted wildly.
The black-clothed assassin jumped down from the carriage and watched as it plunged chaotically off the cliff…
When Luo Wangshu struggled out from the endless darkness, all the pain seemed to have disappeared.
His pale golden eyes stared blankly at the crescent moon in the sky. The surroundings were frighteningly silent, yet his heart inexplicably calmed down. He closed his eyes and quietly savored the joy of being alive.
The cries of partridges echoed faintly in the distance. The horrifying man-made car accident flashed repeatedly through his mind. His pale lips curved into a cold smile.
His existence really had blocked the paths of many people.
Ah… what a pity.
Heaven refused to let him die.
Luo Wangshu felt that his body was somewhat stiff. He couldn’t even control himself enough to perform simple movements. He frowned slightly. It seemed the only thing still listening to him was his face…
No sensation. Unable to move.
Luo Wangshu quietly gazed at the crescent moon in the sky. Perhaps his mother had protected him through this disaster. Those people probably thought he was already dead, right?
Closing his eyes once more, Luo Wangshu thought this was probably the most peacefully he had ever slept.
Warm sunlight poured down.
Luo Wangshu raised a hand and rubbed his eyes. Green shadows from the leaves danced above him while a gentle breeze blew by. The deserted wilderness around him reminded him of the reality that he had fallen off a cliff after the car accident last night.
Barely supporting himself as he sat up, Luo Wangshu suddenly froze.
It wasn’t because his body could move again.
It was because of the bright red ancient wedding robe mysteriously covering him.
Somewhat panicked, Luo Wangshu quickly felt over his body.
The gender was right…
Then he looked at the red mole on his right hand.
That was right too.
After calming himself down, Luo Wangshu focused his mind. When he opened his eyes again, the familiar five mu of farmland appeared before him.
The space still existed…
Clearly, he hadn’t been able to enter it last night.
Shaking his head, Luo Wangshu struggled toward a small river. The person reflected in the water had his features, but what was with the waist-length long hair, the terrible makeup, and the gorgeous wedding robe?
He stared blankly for a long time before recalling the rebirth and transmigration stories from novels.
He didn’t know which one had happened to him. In any case, he had arrived in another world. This body might be his previous life, or perhaps another version of himself from a different timeline.
He should probably be grateful that after obtaining a space ability, he had binge-read so many novels.
The only question was whether this world was real history or an alternate setting.
As a science student, he sincerely hoped it was the latter.
Scooping up a handful of river water, he washed away the cheap white powder on his face. Then he dug up a few medicinal herbs from the field. No matter what they were, he simply chewed and swallowed them. The pain in his body eased considerably.
There was no way he could wear the wedding robe outside. Unfortunately, there weren’t any long robes in his space either. If he removed the wedding robe, he’d only be left in his inner garments. He personally didn’t care, but in ancient times where propriety mattered so much, he’d probably get dragged off and drowned in a pig cage or something.
After thinking it over, Luo Wangshu decided to wear a shirt and long pants instead. He’d just say he was a refugee from another country.
Only after removing the wedding robe did Luo Wangshu discover a freshly healed hole in his chest.
Judging by it, someone had stabbed straight through him.
That spot seemed to be… his heart.
His pale golden eyes darkened slightly.
Borrowing a corpse to return the soul?
The mountains rose and fell endlessly. Unlike modern times with their towering buildings, the unpolluted air here made one feel refreshed all over.
Leaning on a wooden stick, Luo Wangshu walked along a small path. There wasn’t much grass growing on it, meaning people frequently walked here.
Surely he’d meet someone nearby, right?
He didn’t know how long he walked before the sun gradually rose higher. A strangely toned mountain song drifted over intermittently.
Excited, Luo Wangshu hurried toward the direction of the voice.
“Hey—Old sir, wait a moment!”
The old man carrying a huge bundle of firewood turned around upon hearing the call and squinted at the limping Luo Wangshu approaching him.
“Old sir, may I ask where this is? Can you take me down the mountain?” Luo Wangshu asked while panting.
The old man widened his eyes and moved closer to examine him. The moment he saw Luo Wangshu’s eyes, he seemed startled and backed away in fear, waving his hands frantically before leaving.
Naturally, Luo Wangshu followed after him while shouting, “Old sir, could you wait a moment?”
Unfortunately, with his injured leg, Luo Wangshu eventually lost track of him.
Throwing the wooden stick aside, he plopped down onto a nearby rock and drew some water from his space to drink, feeling rather depressed.
After an unknown amount of time, someone patted his shoulder.
Luo Wangshu abruptly turned around.
It was a middle-aged man dressed in coarse linen clothes.
The man startled and stepped back, conflict flashing in his eyes before he finally smiled awkwardly at Luo Wangshu and said, “Kid, what’re ya doin’ here all alone?”
The accent was strange enough that Luo Wangshu could barely understand him.
Only then did Luo Wangshu truly realize that he had arrived in an unfamiliar ancient world where even the language differed.
Speaking slowly in standard Mandarin, he asked, “Can you take me down the mountain?”
Confusion flashed through the man’s eyes. After a while, he beckoned at Luo Wangshu.
“Come sit at my house.”
Luo Wangshu didn’t understand, but seeing no hostility from the man, he got up and followed beside him.
Throughout the journey, the man deliberately kept a certain distance from Luo Wangshu. Luo Wangshu assumed it was simply local custom and didn’t think much of it.
Only later did he learn that the man had been treating him like a woman.
By the time the sun tilted westward, Luo Wangshu followed the man to a thatched cottage at the foot of the mountain.
The man shouted loudly, and three children bounced happily out of the house. But after seeing Luo Wangshu, they all stopped in place.
The man quickly said something to the children. The oldest child turned and ran back inside shouting, “Mother—!”
Luo Wangshu suddenly felt something was wrong, though he couldn’t tell what.
A woman almost as sturdy as the man walked out holding a hemp rope.
At that moment, if Luo Wangshu still didn’t understand, he’d truly be an idiot.
He immediately turned and ran on reflex.
Unfortunately, his legs were useless, so he could only support himself with the wooden stick.
“Help—!”
The woman crossed several steps in two strides and quickly caught up to him, pinning him firmly to the ground.
Luo Wangshu’s struggles were pitifully weak before her strength. His cries for help brought no rescuers. The others merely glanced over before saying something enviously to the woman and walking away.
In the end, Luo Wangshu was tied up and thrown into a woodshed.
His heart sank into an icy abyss.
He had merely dressed strangely. Was there really a need to tie him up?
Suddenly, he remembered his history teacher mentioning “two-legged sheep.”
In ancient times when food was scarce, people ate “two-legged sheep”—
Human flesh.
Cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
Right now, his exhausted mental state prevented him from entering the space at all. His hands were tied tightly together, completely immobile. The hemp rope was ridiculously sturdy!
Calm down…
He absolutely had to calm down…
After taking several deep breaths, Luo Wangshu barely suppressed the panic in his heart.
Honestly, it was partly his own fault. Everyone else was so ugly, while he had delicate skin and fine flesh. If they didn’t catch him, who else would they catch?
Noisy arguing came from outside.
Luo Wangshu mockingly thought they probably weren’t discussing how to eat him, right?
His stomach growled loudly.
He didn’t even have the strength to break free from the ropes. The hemp rope was far sturdier than those fake TV ropes that snapped after a little rubbing.
At this point, all he could do was wait for death.
He spent over half the night in terror.
In the middle of the night, the woman entered the woodshed and yanked Luo Wangshu up from the floor.
Luo Wangshu jolted awake.
Were they finally going to do it?
No matter what, he still had to struggle. Maybe he’d somehow escape.
Prepared for a blade to come down on him, Luo Wangshu instead got dragged all the way to the village entrance.
A bullock cart was waiting there.
The woman smiled ingratiatingly while speaking to a thin, bony woman. Several expressionless children around six or seven years old sat on the cart. The driver was a burly man with a particularly eye-catching scar across his face.
The woman stepped forward and pinched Luo Wangshu’s face before nodding in satisfaction. She handed the woman a bag of copper coins, and Luo Wangshu was pulled onto the cart.
The woman was probably what they called a human trafficker.
Luo Wangshu sighed inwardly.
He’d seen this in a novel before, where the protagonist went to buy servants.
Now he was the one being sold.
Luo Wangshu thought maybe he was a fake protagonist…
The bullock cart bumped and rattled along the road.
Even though hunger made Luo Wangshu’s stomach cramp painfully, he didn’t dare make a sound. If he did, he’d definitely receive some unpleasant treatment.
They rattled along from midnight until dawn painted the eastern sky white.
The so-called marketplace finally appeared before them.
There were no cement roads. People simply spread rough cloth over the dusty ground, arranged their goods, and that became a stall.
Luo Wangshu quietly observed his surroundings.
They passed through streets selling vegetables and miscellaneous items before finally arriving at what could be considered a slave market.
Because Luo Wangshu was the cleanest and fairest-looking among them, he attracted many “customers.” But the moment those people saw his eyes, they all flicked their sleeves and left.
Meanwhile, the other children who came with him were all picked out and bought.
After an entire day, Luo Wangshu had only received half a bowl of water.
The woman shook her head and said to him, “Originally, I didn’t want to sell you to that kind of place either. But you’ve seen it yourself. Nobody dares buy someone with your identity. Fine, fine… you…”
Although Luo Wangshu only understood part of what she said, he roughly grasped the meaning.
Was she planning to sell him to a brothel?
Luo Wangshu: “…”
Couldn’t they at least pretend human rights existed?!
“How much for this one? I’ll take him.”
A deep voice interrupted the woman’s endless chatter.
Luo Wangshu froze when he saw the newcomer.
The woman also stared at the man in disbelief.
“Really?”