Chapter 2

Husband, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Seeing Wang Xiu unresponsive for a while, just staring straight at her, the woman asked again, a little worried.

Wang Xiu jerked awake, quickly regaining his senses.

He now inhabits the body of his ancestor Wang Jin, and must not give himself away.

"No, nothing." He hastily waved his hand, imitating a costume drama, trying to keep his tone steady: "Just, uh, thinking things over in the courtyard."

"Thinking things over?" The woman walked over, naturally smoothing his wind‑ruffled collar, and said, "These days the capital is tense; if there's nothing urgent, it's best to stay indoors. The other day, wasn't Zhang Sanlang arrested and thrown into jail just for saying a few extra words on the street?"

Wang Xiu's heart stirred.

The divine capital, Luoyang—tense times.

He recalled the game's pre‑start introduction: the Tang Dynasty, the first year of Shenlong.

This is a deadly moment in time.

In the first month of the Shenlong era's first year, Empress Wu Zetian fell gravely ill; chancellors Zhang Jianzhi, Crou Xuanwei, and others joined the Feathered Forest Army to launch a coup, forcing Wu Zetian to abdicate and restoring Crown Prince Li Xian to the throne—history calls it the "Shenlong Coup."

The Tang Dynasty's name was restored, but the power struggle in the court was far from over.

The Wu faction, the Li faction, later Princess Taiping, Empress Wei… it was a chaotic mess.

At such a time, an obscure commoner really does best to speak and act little—preserving life is paramount.

"I understand, my lady." Wang Xiu answered in agreement with her.

Uttering "my lady" gave him goosebumps, but the woman opposite was used to it and smiled reassuringly.

"Come inside quickly, the food's getting cold."

Wang Xiu followed her into the house.

The interior furnishings were simple: a square table, a few benches, with three dishes and a soup on the table.

A plate of greens, a dish of beans, a bowl of unidentifiable meat stew, and a basin of millet rice.

Wang Xiu sat down, looked at the food, and felt a mix of emotions.

Is this what an ordinary Tang household eats? It looks far too bland.

He picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of greens, and put it in his mouth.

No salt? Or hardly any—bland and tasteless.

He tried a mouthful of the meat stew, and an indescribable gamy smell shot straight to his head.

"Husband, does today's meat stew not suit your appetite?" Grandmother asked, seeing him frown, with concern.

"No, it's fine." Wang Xiu forced a smile and, gritting his teeth, took another couple of mouthfuls of rice.

Now he finally understood why the novice gift pack contained five packs of savory soy‑sauce beef jerky.

Compared to what's before him, that is practically a heavenly delicacy!

"Right, husband." Grandmother ladled him rice while seemingly offhandedly saying, "This afternoon, Elder Li next door sent someone to deliver a letter for you."

"A letter?" Wang Xiu blinked.

"Yeah, I put it on your desk in the study."

Wang Xiu instantly grew wary.

"Elder Li next door? Who is he? Sending a letter at this juncture—what good could come of it?"

He finished his rice in a few bites and set down his bowl and chopsticks.

"I'm full; I'll go check the study."

"Okay."

Wang Xiu, relying on bodily memory, walked into the study of the estate.

The study wasn't large—a bookshelf, a desk, with similarly simple furnishings.

He immediately saw an unsealed envelope lying on the desk.

Wang Xiu walked over, picked up the letter, and drew out the sheet inside.

The characters were traditional Chinese, written in cursive brush script, wild and flowing; even Wang Xiu, a history graduate, had to strain to read them.

He guessed and pieced it together, finally grasping the letter's gist.

The letter was from a neighbor named Li Duozo, living next door; it simply asked him to meet at the southern gate of Tongyuan at the third watch tonight to discuss an important matter.

The letter's end especially warned that this concerned his life and fortune; he must come alone and not tell outsiders.

Li Duozo?

Wang Xiu's mind raced searching that name.

Wait!

He remembered! Li Duozo was one of the main participants in the Shenlong Coup, serving as Right Feathered Forest Guard General at the time!

He had joined with Zhang Jianzhi, Jingyi, etc., leading the Feathered Forest Army into the palace to slay Wu Zetian's male favorites, the Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong brothers.

One could say he was the coup's core military commander.

Why would a Feathered Forest Guard General want to meet a nobody like him?

Wang Xiu's heart pounded.

He carefully recalled the background of his ancestor Wang Jin: obscure, an ordinary person.

Could it be… that Wang Jin and Li Duozo had some unknown personal connection?

Wang Xiu felt a huge headache.

This game is brutal—throwing me into a life‑or‑death situation right at the start.

To go, or not to go?

If he goes, at midnight at the southern Tongyuan Gate, facing a general who holds military power—if it's some kind of Hongmen banquet, his slight frame would likely mean "game over" on the spot.

If he doesn't go, offending this big shot could make life in the divine capital unpleasant thereafter.

Wang Xiu paced anxiously back and forth in the study.

He subconsciously wanted to bring up the game menu to see if there were any hints.

As the thought arose, a semi-transparent virtual interface indeed appeared before his eyes, visible only to him.

The interface was simple; the upper left showed character status, displaying "Wang Jin, Healthy." The upper right showed a map marking his current location.

Below that was an item slot.

Wang Xiu's gaze fell on the item slot.

Health-Strengthening Pill, Trauma Medicine, and… five packs of soy-scented beef jerky.

He stared at the beef jerky icon, and a thought popped into his mind unbidden.

The game description said that things inside could be materialized into reality…

Really or fake?

Why not… give it a try?

Once that thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.

Wang Xiu's heartbeat began to quicken.

He focused his consciousness on that pack of beef jerky, and indeed a small option appeared beside it.

【Materialize】

【Use】

【Discard】

Wang Xiu took a deep breath and chose 【Materialize】.

【Consume 1 point of mental power to materialize 'Soy-Scented Beef Jerky x1' into the real world?】

【Note: Materialization is irreversible; please choose carefully.】

Real world?

Wang Xiu blinked, then realized that this "real world" referred to his own twenty-first-century rental apartment.

That explains it!

He selected "Yes" without hesitation.

【Materializing; please check for it in the real world.】

Wang Xiu eagerly wanted to exit the game.

With a thought, he selected the "Exit Game" option in the main menu.

【End this simulation?】

【Simulation duration: 0.5 hours】

【Mental power consumed: 5 points (remaining 95/100)】

"Exit!"

Light and shadow shifted before his eyes again; when he came to, he found himself back in his own rental apartment of a dozen square meters.

He ripped off the headset, his heart still pounding "thump-thump."

Everything just now felt too real, leaving him momentarily unable to distinguish virtual from reality.

His gaze darted to the computer desk in front of him.

On the desk lay, right beside the antique game console, a pack of plastic‑vacuum‑packed… soy‑scented beef jerky, lying still.

The package also bore the production date and expiration date.

It was exactly the same as the one he had bought at the supermarket before playing the game!

Wang Xiu's breath caught instantly.