Chapter 1: A Gentle and Kind Woman

Xishan Village, Chen Family.

Chen Wuji opened his eyes, seeing the smoke-blackened walls and the hard bunk with only a mat laid on it, and remained silent for a moment.

The memories in his mind were unfolding like a revolving lantern.

He knew he had transmigrated into the body of a foolish little hunter in the borderlands of the Dayu Dynasty.

But he did not want to accept it that way.

Because his family was too poor!

They didn't even have a decent piece of furniture; there was only one quilt, no mattress, and they slept on the hard mat.

As for clothing, it was even more fucked up.

Chen Wuji's current state was completely that of a savage.

He had no pants, only a leather skirt plus a leather jacket.

Going commando was bad enough, but it was even the same leopard print as the Monkey King.

No wonder he's a hunter, he's particular.

What shocked Chen Wuji was that, despite being this poor, he actually had a wife of heavenly beauty and fragrance.

However, likely out of pity for Chen Wuji's hardship, this beauty whom he treasured like a fragile treasure, fearing to drop her in his palm or melt her in his mouth, also ran away with a bucket during his period of foolishness.

"What a pity, this beauty left too early; if she had left later, letting me use her would also count as a benefit for me."

Chen Wuji shook his head with some regret.

At that moment, the door was gently pushed open.

Immediately after, a woman with a lovely appearance and graceful, swaying figure walked in holding a steaming coarse bowl.

She sat on the edge of the bunk, reached out to touch Chen Wuji's cheek, and said with some heartache, "Good Wuji, come, get up and drink this bowl of medicine; drinking it will cure your illness."

That soft palm sent a shiver through Chen Wuji's whole body.

The woman before him was named Huo Sanniang, a woman of extreme gentleness.

She had married the original body's brother two years ago; at that time, coincidentally, her brother-in-law was seriously ill, and even kowtowing had to be done while being carried.

Huo Sanniang's parents and Chen Wuji's father, who had just passed away last year, all believed that rushing into a marriage would cure the illness.

Unfortunately, this rush-marriage was likely aimed at the wrong target.

Less than two months after marriage, her brother not only didn't improve, but completely passed away.

Because of his serious illness, they never even entered the bridal chamber.

After Chen Wuji went insane, his daily life was entirely taken care of by Huo Sanniang.

One had lost her husband, the other had lost his wife; they could be considered fellow sufferers.

Chen Wuji thought, turned over and sat up, and took the medicine bowl from Huo Sanniang's hand.

He didn't know how to start a conversation with this strange woman.

Then let's first drink a bowl of medicine to calm the shock.

Huo Sanniang lowered her head and glanced at the empty space under Chen Wuji's leather skirt; her cheeks flushed red, and ripples arose in her heart unbidden.

But constrained by their relationship, she never dared to show those ripples.

"Wuji, after you finish the medicine, rest well; I'll go to Yuan Laoer's house to borrow two taels of millet to make you lunch." Huo Sanniang said, blushing and lowering her head.

Hearing that, Chen Wuji suddenly thought of something.

There was no rice left at home to cook, and he didn't know how Huo Sanniang had been feeding them these past days.

Moreover, not having food was bad enough; the month before, government officials came once to demand the household tax and mountain forest and waterway taxes.

From the court's demand for payment to the final deadline, there was about a month for the people to raise money.

If they couldn't pay by the deadline, they would be forcibly escorted to the borderlands to do labor.

Nine out of ten who go there never return; once sent, it's hardly different from a death sentence.

Now, counting the days, there are only a few left.

Chen Wuji's scalp instantly went numb.

No food, no drink, and still have to pay taxes—what a hellish start.

"I, I'll get up, go... go, hunt." Chen Wuji continued to maintain his idiot persona.

He needed a proper reason to make himself act normal.

Huo Sanniang stopped Chen Wuji, "What can you hunt looking like that? Even finding your way home is difficult."

Chen Wuji took down the bow and arrow, rope from the wall, slung them on his back, and also grabbed a wooden spear in his hand, "I, I can do it, I can."

Having said that, without waiting for Huo Sanniang to say more, he bolted out of the house.

He could forego being a gentleman, but he wanted to be a responsible man.

Having transmigrated into this boy's body, the people related to him, besides the woman who ran away with a bucket, are now just this gentle woman.

How could we let such a woman have no rice to cook and no clothes to wear?

Xishan Village isn't big; the total households before and after the mountain add up to only about thirty.

Chen Wuji took a shortcut out of the village and plunged into the big mountains.

When this lad was young, he often went into the mountains with his father and brothers; the surrounding peaks were very familiar, saving Chen Wuji a lot of trouble.

All along observing the surroundings, Chen Wuji's two eyes widened like searchlights, scanning for game tracks—whether flying in the sky or running on the ground, as long as it could fill his stomach, he wanted it today.

As he crossed a mountain hollow and passed through a shallow pond, he suddenly noticed a sideways-walking creature flash in the water, "Damn... even up the mountain there's this thing?"

It's not surprising that Chen Wuji, having seen little, found this strange; it was truly the first time he'd seen such a thing.

He had always thought that this crab thing at the very least lived in lakes.

"Never mind what species it is; as long as it's a crab it's edible; today it seems I can not only solve my food and clothing needs, but I've also managed to scoop it up." Chen Wuji took off his bow and arrow and rope, then jumped into the shallow pond.

Just as he stood by the water's edge, stunned for a moment, he had already noticed three crabs.

Although it's not very meaty, even crushed bones of this thing are more nutritious than tree bark.

Chen Wuji slowly moved his feet in the water, gently lifted a stone slab, then swiftly struck out and seized the teeth‑bearing, clawing creature inside in one grab.

"Don't hide, you selfish jerk who only looks out for his own head."

The first crab made it ashore safely.

Having no net or basket, Chen Wuji grabbed a handful of weeds and tightly bound the crabs, then first tossed them into a stone pile to soak.

Over the next nearly two hours, Chen Wuji, feeling his first intense craving for food, patiently turned over every stone slab in the small pond, not missing even the holes along the shore.

The haul wasn't small—aside from twenty or so crabs of various sizes, he also dug out four yellow eels from the hole, enough for two meals.

"I only came into the mountains to fill my stomach, but I didn't expect to eat this well." Chen Wuji gazed at the crabs big and small, his mouth nearly splitting up to his ears.

When he lifted his head, he suddenly found himself face‑to‑face with something that had risen upright and was hissing, flicking its tongue.