Editor: Lap Tran
Great Xia, Ji Province, Stonefire City.
It was already March, but the weather remained cold. On the dilapidated streets, thinly clad people constantly moved back and forth, peddlers on both sides shouted loudly, accompanied by the faint begging sounds of a few beggars.
Amidst the crowd, Chen Chie, dressed in a white scholar's robe, hurried home with a packet of medicine.
This world was plagued by evil spirits. He had been here for several days, and even walking on the main road in broad daylight, he still felt a chill down his spine. He was a transmigrator. He had transmigrated into the body of someone with the same name, Chen Chie. The nineteen-year-old Chen Chie was a poor scholar. His father had gone to the capital to take the imperial examinations nineteen years ago and never returned. His mother, Wang Ru, had raised him alone. Because of this, Chen Chie understood his mother's hardships. From a young age, he had resolved to study diligently, hoping that in the future he could join the imperial examinations in the capital, inquire about his father along the way, and bring peace of mind to his mother. But he hadn't expected to encounter a cheating scandal during the first county-level examination, causing him to regretfully fail. The disappointment led to shortness of breath, and this world's Chen Chie died, allowing him to transmigrate into this body.
Of course, all that was in the past. For him, finding his father or taking the imperial examinations no longer mattered. Currently, he had only one goal: to quickly activate the jade vase he carried in his mind from his transmigration, to gain some life-saving ability. He still didn't know the specific functions of the jade vase. But as long as he took medicine, a portion of the energy would enter the jade vase. Since arriving in this world a few days ago, he had continuously feigned illness, and his mother had continuously given him medicine. If he continued to pretend for another three or four days, the jade vase would likely be fully charged, and then, who knew, there might be a change. But last night, there was a thief in the house, which added even more pressure to his heart. He couldn't wait. That's why today he had taken more than half of his private money to buy medicine.
"I just hope the jade vase is something good..."
Filled with anticipation, Chen Chie quickened his pace. His home was in a small alley on the outskirts of Stonefire City, consisting of only two single-story rooms and a small courtyard. The living conditions were not good. But in these chaotic times, having a place to live was already considered not bad.
Just as he reached the entrance of his alley, the tension in Chen Chie's heart had just begun to ease, but at that moment, three figures suddenly appeared in the alley. One man, around thirty years old, dressed in neat black clothes, with a strong build and dark skin, was the original body's maternal uncle, Wang Zhen. Behind him were two yamen constables carrying sabers. Seeing this, Chen Chie's heart skipped a beat. In the past, his uncle had been a ruffian, and later he had established a gang. In the current chaotic times, gang vendettas were quite common. To avoid implicating his sister and nephew, his uncle rarely interacted with his family on normal days. But what was happening today? Not only had his uncle appeared near his home, but he was also being pursued by the authorities. Without time to think further, Chen Chie quickly approached to ask.
"Uncle..."
“What’s wrong?”
Wang Zhen saw that Chen Chiet was also perfectly calm. He didn’t rush to answer, but instead whispered something into the constable’s ear before pulling Chen Chiet aside. “It’s nothing serious, just stabbed someone, will be in jail for a while. But don’t worry, I know people inside, I’ll be out before long.” At this point, Wang Zhen paused, a cruel glint in his eyes, and said coldly, “Too bad I couldn’t kill that brat!”
“What happened, Uncle? What exactly is going on?” Chen Chiet asked softly. Although Uncle rarely visited their home, he had deep affection for his sister and nephew, and often looked after the Chen family mother and son.
Wang Zhen said in a deep voice, “Wasn’t there a thief in your house last night? After your mother told me, I went to check around your house, and unexpectedly ran into that brat Liu A-Gou!”
“Liu A-Gou?” Chen Chiet carefully recalled, quickly finding the person in the original owner’s memory. This Liu A-Gou was a beggar who had been roaming the streets since childhood, involved in schemes, deception, and theft. A few years ago, this fellow stole from their house, was caught by the original owner, and handed over to the authorities. He was apparently sentenced to several years of hard labor. Calculating the time, he would have been released this year. The original owner remembered very clearly that Liu A-Gou’s expression when he was taken to the yamen was extremely vicious, constantly threatening, saying that if they didn’t release him, he would definitely seek revenge once he got out…
“I know him… Was it him last night?” Chen Chiet’s voice held a hint of complexity. Anyone can make threats, but few actually follow through…
Wang Zhen said gloomily, “I saw him this morning, and there was something wrong with his eyes. I’d say there’s an eighty to ninety percent chance it was him. If I’m not mistaken, he entered your house last night to steal the Scorching Sun Stone.”
“Steal the Scorching Sun Stone?” Chen Chiet’s heart suddenly turned cold, then filled with dread. The Scorching Sun Stone was an important item for warding off evil spirits in every household; if stolen, the house would easily be invaded by malevolent spirits. According to the laws of Great Xia, stealing a Scorching Sun Stone was a grave crime.
“He wanted to take revenge on you… So naturally, I had to strike first. Unfortunately, it seems that brat learned some skills in prison. I couldn’t kill him on the spot, and instead, I disturbed passersby,” Wang Zhen said with regret.
Chen Chiet couldn’t refute him. Their house had been robbed, and Uncle saw Liu A-Gou near their home. Just from an unfriendly glance, Uncle immediately concluded that he intended to steal the Scorching Sun Stone for revenge, and decisively moved to kill him. There was no concrete evidence, it was all based on instinct, striking first and leaving no escape. It seemed a bit reckless…
But this was the way of survival in chaotic times! At this moment, Chen Chiet suppressed the indignation in his heart. Was it wrong for the original owner of this body to have caught Liu A-Gou and handed him over to the authorities back then? But if he had been spared back then, who knew if he would have taken an inch and demanded a yard? Or should they have turned a blind eye and let him steal? But if they let him steal, what would he and his mother eat? So, no matter what choice they made, it wouldn’t have been right. In a dog-eat-dog world, there was no such thing as reason.
Seeing Chen Chiet’s serious expression, Wang Zhen continued, “That brat was stabbed by me. His injuries aren’t light, so he won’t be able to cause you trouble anytime soon…”
"But this brat is very vicious; he does things without leaving any way out. Once he recovers, he might come looking for you. You and your mother should limit going out. Wait until I'm free, then we'll figure things out."
Trần Triệt bowed his head, saying apologetically, "It's me who implicated you, Uncle."
"...Vương Chấn was slightly surprised after hearing that, then gently patted Trần Triệt's shoulder. "Don't say that, I'm your uncle. But you've changed. If it were before, you would definitely have thought of reporting him to the authorities to expose him, haha."
"...He chuckled twice, then turned and went back to the two constables. "Alright, I'm going. You go back and take good care of your mother; you're not a child anymore."
Trần Triệt nodded, but he didn't rush into the alley. Instead, he stopped and watched the two constables take his uncle away. Only after the three figures had completely vanished did he clutch the packet of medicine in his hand and slip into the alley.