Chapter 87: I, Too, Am a Transmigrator (Two-in-One)

Jiang Li and Mother Liu looked at Jiang Jinshi with puzzled faces; after a while they finally reacted, and Jiang Li said uncertainly.

"Say it again?"

Jiang Jinshi extended a finger toward himself, "Your brother and I are mountain bandits!"

The sudden news hit the two of them dizzily; Mother Liu wanted to say this matter wasn't a joke, but Jiang Jinshi's expression already gave her the answer.

Without giving the two any time to catch their breath, Jiang Jinshi continued, "Not only me; now everyone in the village is a mountain bandit."

"What?" Mother Liu couldn't believe her ears; since when had Da Jiang Cun become a bandit nest, and she had been kept in the dark all this time.

At that moment Jiang Li suddenly recalled that her brother seemed to have told her before that when he went out with a machete, he said he was going to rob.

But…

She hadn't expected it to be true!

Mother Liu then remembered what the two brothers had said that morning, and, with a probing tone, said,

"That… that the raid on Jiangcheng…"

Jiang Jinshi hadn't expected that, with most villagers absent, the news could spread into the village so quickly; however, there was nothing to hide, and once they reunited with the villagers they'd know sooner or later.

So Jiang Jinshi nodded and said, "Yeah! It was me who did it."

Mother Liu rolled her eyes and collapsed backward.

Jiang Li's eyes were sharp and her hands quick; she hurriedly supported her mother.

"Mother! Mother! What's wrong with you?"

Jiang Jinshi's eyelids twitched uncontrollably; he hadn't expected his mother to react like that at all.

Mother Liu, with a mournful face, trembled uncontrollably all over: "Mountain bandits… the mountain bandits are going to be beheaded by the authorities!"

Jiang Li held her mother without speaking, but her brows were furrowed, clearly sharing the same worry.

The scene before him left Jiang Jinshi unsure how to admonish them, but he quickly thought of a solution.

As the Village Head had initially agreed to join after hearing that Yangguangzhai and the County Magistrate had cooperated, after a few days of full meals he felt no discomfort at the idea of the group raiding Jiangcheng.

So letting the Village Head and the villagers guide the two was most appropriate.

Thus Jiang Jinshi said, "Let's go over there first! We'll gather everyone together and talk later!"

Mother Liu forced herself to sit up, and she and Jiang Li supported each other as they walked toward the doorway.

As the few of them neared the village center, the enthusiastic greetings of the crowd

"Elder, the meal is almost ready, just sit and wait!"

"We don't have much to clean up either; there are plenty of things in the stronghold!"

"Elder, what is there to clean up? We'll go help."

"Right, right, two of you come help together."

Jiang Jinshi quickly raised his hand to decline, "There's nothing valuable at home; later just tidy up casually, and everyone can start preparing dinner."

Seeing the crowd's faces beaming with joy, Mother Liu seemed to relax a little, though her underlying worry remained.

Jiang Jinshi knew that villagers like Mother Liu usually trusted the Village Head more; it wasn't that they didn't trust him, but whatever he said she would still worry.

So Jiang Jinshi went to fetch the Village Head; after some explanation the Village Head understood his meaning and turned to find several village aunties.

The Village Head didn't ask the aunties to follow his words, but quietly led a few of them to near Liu Yu and opened the conversation.

"Fortunately our village has Xiao Shi! Otherwise everyone would still be starving now!" the Village Head opened the topic.

One auntie quickly replied, "Indeed! If it weren't for Xiao Shi, how could we eat a full meal?"

"Damn! I'm not afraid of you laughing; at that time my family had been starving for three days. The child's father went to borrow grain, even broke his leg and no one would lend!"

"The main point is that most of us had no food, how could we borrow from outside!"

"Xiao Shi is a good kid; even when he has ability he doesn't forget to give us a hand!"

"Usually we can call him Xiao Shi, but when there are many people we must call him Elder; Captain Luo said so, to avoid tarnishing Xiao Shi's reputation."

"Yes, yes! I remember!"

The casual chat was naturally overheard by Liu Yu and Jiang Li; Liu Yu could understand that they were speaking from the heart, and she immediately felt curious, wanting to find out what her son had been doing outside during this time.

So Liu Yu slowly approached the group and sat down, hoping to extract some information from them.

As the topic deepened, Liu Yu also realized what her two brothers had said about the Yangguangzhai Elder drinking a dou of blood every day, and that most of the rest was false.

The aunties didn't know much about Yangguangzhai, so they could only give a rough account, but it didn't affect their constant praise of Jiang Jinshi.

At this moment Jiang Jinshi stood nearby, seeing his mother's worried expression fade, and he silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Throughout, Jiang Li didn't say a word, merely listening silently to the crowd's praise of her brother, unaware that she herself wore a bright smile.

"Xiao Hu, Ye Chang, help me move some things!" Jiang Jinshi decided to take this chance to go home and tidy up, mainly the household grain, the cloths and newly made clothes; the rest didn't matter, they could be thrown away.

The three returned home and started moving everything at once, quickly emptying it, but Jiang Jinshi didn't take the beds, cabinets, or pots and bowls.

These items aren't scarce on Lianhuan Shan; they were already tattered and should have been discarded long ago.

Meanwhile, Li Xinyue was hurrying back into the house, limping as she went.

Today's climb up the mountain yielded no harvest; instead she sprained her ankle, and now her stomach was starving to death.

Reaching the doorway, Li Xinyue instinctively shouted, "Xiao Lizi, I'm back!"

But the empty room gave no response; when Li Xinyue entered, she found no one inside.

Although Li Xinyue was a bit puzzled, she didn't think much of it, and boiled some water on the fire.

"Sizzle! How about… since no one's home today, let's eat instant noodles!"

Instant noodles are a magical thing; if you haven't had them for a long time you crave them, but after a couple of servings you feel sick and want to vomit.

Thinking of how long she'd been transmigrated, besides once eating a self‑heating hot pot she'd been eating the local food all this time, making her miss the cuisine of her past life even more.

So she decided to act; Li Xinyue bought a pack of instant noodles from the mall system—Handsome Fu's instant noodles—and waited eagerly for the water to boil.

After moving the few belongings from the house to the village entrance, Jiang Jinshi regretted not bringing a donkey; seeing that the villagers also had plenty, he could only shoulder his load back to the stronghold.

Just then, Jiang Ze came running over.

Translation: "Just then, Jiang Ze came running over in a light jog."

Just then, Jiang Ze came over with a light jog.

Boss, it's time to eat!

Boss, it's time to eat!

Sure!

Translation: "Alright!" or "Okay!" Chinese colloquial. We'll use "Alright!"

To be honest, Jiang Jinshi had little appetite; when he first arrived, his body was severely malnourished, so he ate whatever he could.

Translation: "To be honest, Jiang Jinshi was somewhat lacking in interest; when he first arrived, this body was truly malnourished, so he ate whatever he could."

We need to keep all info. Let's produce: "To be honest, Jiang Jinshi was somewhat lacking in interest; when he first arrived, this body was truly malnourished, so he ate whatever he could."

But now that his living standards have improved, he began to miss the various delicacies from his past life, and even occasionally cooks dishes just to have a little snack.

Translation: "But now that his living standards have improved, he began to miss the various delicacies of his past life, even occasionally cooking himself to satisfy his cravings."

to satisfy his cravings

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but the taste seemed noticeably different from what he remembered.

Translation: "He couldn't tell if it was his imagination, but he felt the taste was quite different from what he remembered in his previous life."

Nowadays, this plain grain porridge is seen as a rare delicacy by everyone, and even without any side dishes it's filling enough.

Translation: "Nowadays, such a thick porridge made purely of grain is considered a rare delicacy by everyone, and even without any side dishes it can fill one up."

Jiang Jinshi, however, wished he had some pickled vegetables or something else to go with it; otherwise it felt bland and hard to swallow.

Translation: "Jiang Jinshi, however, wished he had some pickled vegetables or something else to eat with it; otherwise he always felt tasteless and found it hard to swallow."

The crowd lined up by the pot, and upon seeing Jiang Jinshi arrive, they hurriedly said, "Boss, let me serve you first!"

Translation: "Everyone stood in line by the pot, and upon seeing Jiang Jinshi arrive, they hurriedly said, 'Boss, let us serve you first!'"

Jiang Jinshi shook his head, indicating that they didn't need to worry about him.

Translation: "Jiang Jinshi shook his head, indicating that everyone need not attend to him."

Just then, Jiang Li came to find him, saying, "Brother, sister-in-law hasn't come back yet!"

Translation: "Just then, Jiang Li came looking for him, saying, 'Brother, sister-in-law hasn't returned yet!'"

Thinking of his quiet, somewhat simple wife, Jiang Jinshi decided to go look for her.

Translation: "Thinking of his quiet, somewhat simple cheap wife, Jiang Jinshi decided to go find her."

"Don't worry, she might have gotten lost on the mountain; I'll go look for her!" After saying that, Jiang Jinshi casually patted Jiang Li's head.

Translation: "'Don't worry, she might have gotten lost on the mountain; I'll go look for her!' After saying that, Jiang Jinshi casually patted Jiang Li's head."

This time, Jiang Li didn't dodge, letting Jiang Jinshi's big hand rest on her head.

Translation: "This time Jiang Li did not dodge, allowing Jiang Jinshi's big hand to rest on her head."

"Be careful! There are wild boars on Mount Xiao Jiang!"

Translation: "'Be careful! There are wild boars on Little Jiang Mountain!'"

"Don't worry! If a wild boar runs into your brother, it's the boar that's out of luck!"

Translation: "'Don't worry! If a wild boar meets your brother, it's the boar that's unlucky!'"

After saying that, Jiang Jinshi turned and walked away; Xiao Hu and Ye Chan tried to follow, but he stopped them, telling them to stay and eat in peace.

Translation: "Having said that, Jiang Jinshi turned and walked off; Xiao Hu and Ye Chang were about to follow, but Jiang Jinshi stopped them, telling them to eat in peace."

Ye Chan, thinking of Jiang Jinshi's fearsome martial prowess and that no one in the village could stand against him, let him go alone.

Translation: "Ye Chang, thinking of Jiang Jinshi's terrifying martial prowess and that no one in the village could oppose him, let Jiang Jinshi go alone."

Xiao Hu didn't think much about it; he just did whatever Jiang Jinshi said.

Translation: "Xiao Hu didn't think much about it; he simply did whatever Jiang Jinshi said."

Having walked only a short distance, Jiang Jinshi suddenly wondered, "What if Li Xinyue has already returned home?"

Translation: "Having walked not far, Jiang Jinshi suddenly wondered, what if Li Xinyue had already returned home?"

He decided to go check anyway, so they wouldn't miss each other if they went up the mountain.

Translation: "Forget it; I'll go check, lest we miss each other again on the mountain."

Arriving at his small courtyard, Jiang Jinshi suddenly caught a whiff of fragrance.

Translation: "Upon arriving at his small courtyard, Jiang Jinshi suddenly caught a whiff of fragrance."

"Huh! I smell instant noodles, or maybe the old jar pickled cabbage flavor!" Jiang Jinshi muttered to himself, then shook his head, thinking he must be imagining things.

Translation: "'Huh! I seem to smell instant noodles, or maybe old jar pickled mustard greens!' Jiang Jinshi muttered to himself, then shook his head, thinking he must be hallucinating."

As he got closer to the room, he saw the smoke drifting out and immediately realized Li Xinyue must have come home; she was probably preparing to boil water and cook rice.

Translation: "As he drew nearer to the room, Jiang Jinshi also saw the smoke drifting out, and immediately realized Li Xinyue must have returned home; she was probably preparing to boil water and cook."

"This silly girl, there's no food left at home, what is she cooking?!"

Translation: "'This silly girl, there's no food left at home, what is she cooking?!'"

In the midst of his muttering, Jiang Jinshi pushed open the door, still saying, "Xin Yue, there's nothing at home—"

Translation: "In his muttering, Jiang Jinshiyi pushed open the door, still saying, 'Xinyue, there's nothing at home…'"

Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Jinshi stood there stunned.

Translation: "Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Jinshi stood there stunned."

Li Xinyue had just taken a couple of slurps of instant noodles when she didn't expect Jiang Jinshi to return; seeing the noodles in her hand, she quickly put on a calm front and said, "I picked this up in the mountains—I don't know what it is—I'll try a bit."

Translation: "Li Xinyue had just slurped two mouthfuls of instant noodles, not expecting Jiang Jinshi to return; looking at the noodles in her hand, she immediately put on a calm front and said, 'I picked this up on the mountain; I don't know what it is—I'll try a bit.'"

Li Xinyue wasn't at all worried about her lie being exposed; in her view, people of this era wouldn't recognize the stuff, so whatever she said didn't matter.

Translation: "Li Xinyue wasn't at all worried about her lie being exposed; in her view, people of this era wouldn't recognize this stuff, so whatever she said didn't matter."

Jiang Jinshi now understood—everything clicked!!!

Translation: "Jiang Jinshi now understood, understood everything!!!"

The time traveler he had been searching for, the owner of the mineral water bottle, was……

Translation: "The transmigrator he had been looking for, the owner of that mineral water bottle, was……"

Li Xinyue!! His cheap wife!!

Translation: "Li Xinyue!! His cheap wife!!"

Thinking back on everything that had happened—the heavenly-sent wild boar, finding wild ginseng, this string of good fortune—he had never doubted her, and now Jiang Jinshi realized he wasn't as sharp as he thought.

Translation: "Thinking back on everything that had happened—heaven-sent wild boar, finding wild ginseng, such good fortune occurring one after another—he had never doubted the other party, and Jiang Jinshi suddenly felt he wasn't so smart either."

But Li Xinyue didn't seem so bright either, claiming everything she found was picked up in the mountains, even the instant noodles in her hand……

Translation: "However, Li Xinyue also seemed not so smart, saying whatever she found was picked up on the mountain, even these instant noodles in her hand……"

Thinking about this, Jiang Jinshi's mouth twitched, and a phrase suddenly popped into his head.

Translation: "Thinking of this, Jiang Jinshi's mouth twitched, and a sentence suddenly popped into his mind."

"Everyone, hurry and look—this is wild instant noodles, or maybe the old jar pickled cabbage flavor!"

Translation: "'Folks, quick look, this is wild instant noodles, or maybe old jar pickled mustard greens flavor!'"

Seeing Jiang Jinshi silent, Li Xinyue took another slurp of noodles and asked, "Where are Xiao Li and the others? I came home and didn't see anyone."

Translation: "Seeing Jiang Jinshi silent, Li Xinyue slurped another mouthful of noodles and asked, 'Where are Xiao Li and the others? I came home and didn't see anyone.'"

Jiang Jinshi took a deep breath, forced his chaotic thoughts aside, and prepared to confront Li Xinyue as a fellow time traveler.

Translation: "Jiang Jinshi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his chaotic thoughts, preparing to confront Li Xinyue as a fellow transmigrator."

"Xin Yue, you……"

Translation: "'Xinyue, you……'"

"Boss, how can you go up the mountain without a torch? Otherwise I'll go with you!"

Translation: "'Boss, how can you go up the mountain without a torch? Otherwise I'll go with you!'"

Before Jiang Jinshi could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Jiang Ze running over with a torch.

Translation: "Before Jiang Jinshi could finish his words, he was interrupted by Jiang Ze running over holding a torch."

Jiang Ze arrived at the doorway, saw Li Xinyue inside, and let out a sigh of relief.

Translation: "Jiang Ze arrived at the doorway, saw Li Xinyue inside the house, and let out a sigh of relief."

"Sister-in-law is home! Then we don't need to go up the mountain."

Translation: "'Sister-in-law is at home! Then there's no need to go up the mountain.'"

But Li Xinyue noticed the wording in their speech; it was clear that "Boss" was referring to Jiang Jinshi.

Translation: "But Li Xinyue noticed the words spoken by the other party; it was obvious that 'Boss' was calling Jiang Jinshi."

This title is commonly used in large families, businesses, secret societies, and bandit hideouts.

Translation: "This title is commonly used in large clans, businesses, secret societies, and bandit strongholds."

So, this seemingly frail scholar must be the leader of some organization?

Translation: "So, this scholar I thought was weak and feeble—what organization's leader is he?"

Jiang Jinshi was in the middle of a "fellow villager meets fellow villager" exchange with her; being interrupted naturally annoyed him, but he couldn't say so to her face, so he had to make up an excuse to send her away.

Translation: "Jiang Jinshi was currently busy having a 'fellow townsman meets fellow townsman' chat with the other party; being interrupted naturally annoyed him a bit, but he couldn't say so in front of them, so he could only find an excuse to send them away."

Once they were alone again in the room, the two spoke in unison.

Translation: "When only the two of them remained inside the house, they spoke in unison."

"You are……"

Translation: "'You are……'"

"Boss is……"

Translation: "'Boss is……'"

Jiang Jinshi took a deep breath, gesturing for Li Xinyue to speak first.

Translation: "Jiang Jinshi took a deep breath, gesturing for Li Xinyue to speak first."

Li Xinyue, not holding back, took a sip of soup noodles and asked, "Was Jiang Ze just calling you Boss?"

Translation: "Li Xinyue, without hesitation, took a sip of soup noodles and asked, 'Was Jiang Ze just calling you Boss?'"

Jiang Jinshi nodded and added, "I built Sunshine Stronghold."

Translation: "Jiang Jinshi nodded, then added, 'Yangguangzhai was built by me.'"

"Pfft! Cough cough cough~"

Translation: "'Pfft! Cough cough cough~'"

Li Xinyue was taken aback; she had only heard at noon about the "glorious deeds" of Sunshine Stronghold, and now that evening her cheap husband claimed to be its Boss—quite a shock!

Translation: "Li Xinyue was choked up, because she was truly shocked—she had only heard at noon about Yangguangzhai's 'glorious deeds,' and now in the evening her cheap husband claimed to be the boss of Yangguangzhai, which was quite stimulating!"

"Hey! I heard you have to drink a dou of blood every day!"

Translation: "'Eh! I heard you have to drink a dou of blood every day?'"

"Fake!" Jiang Jinshi said with a straight face, planning to give her an even more shocking revelation later.

Translation: "'Fake!' Jiang Jinshi said expressionlessly, planning to give her something even more stimulating later."

"Oh! Oh!" Li Xinyue then realized that, since Jiang Jinshi was the Boss of Sunshine Stronghold, she could cling to his thigh for protection, ensuring her safety.

Translation: "'Oh! Oh!' Li Xinyue then realized that, since Jiang Jinshi was the boss of Yangguangzhai, perhaps she could cling to his thigh for safety!"

"Any more questions? If not, it's my turn to ask!" Jiang Jinshi stared at Li Xinyue without blinking; his calm eyes hid a brewing storm.

Translation: "'Any more questions? If not, it's my turn to ask!' Jiang Jinshi stared unblinkingly at Li Xinyue; beneath his calm eyes, stormy waves were brewing."

"You... you ask!" Li Xinyue felt the other's gaze, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy.

Jiang Jinshi drew a deep breath and said, word by word: "You're a transmigrator, right?"

"Thud!"

Li Xinyue's instant noodles slipped from her hand and fell to the ground, the broth spreading across the floor to her feet; she stared wide‑eyed, rooted to the spot, and after a moment stammered.

"Who… who are you?"

Jiang Jinshi had no intention of teasing Li Xinyue, and he replied in a low voice: "I am also a transmigrator."

The air seemed to freeze at that moment; Li Xinyue never expected that besides herself there was another transmigrator in this era, and for a while she didn't know what to think, remaining silent.

Jiang Jinshi's mind was also in turmoil; at first he had many questions he wanted to ask—such as which era the other person came from, which city they lived in before transmigrating, what job they had, and so on—but for some reason he couldn't speak now.

After a while Li Xinyue suddenly said: "Odd changes, even stays the same!"

"Look at the symbol's quadrant."

Once the code matched, Li Xinyue knew Jiang Jinshi wasn't bluffing—he really was a transmigrator too.

Jiang Jinshi looked at the instant noodles in Li Xinyue's hand and asked tentatively: "Do you have a system or an assistant… right?"