Chapter 1

Volume 1 Chapter 1

Hot. His whole body was scorching, as if he were in a sea of fire.

Han Jingchuan breathed rapidly, struggling to open his eyes. A needle-like pain came from his temples. He gritted his teeth in agony and slightly lifted his eyelids. A blurry figure appeared before him.

“Jingchuan!”

Who was calling him?

He used all his strength to try to raise a hand, wanting to grab this person, but failed.

No, he couldn’t. He had to get this person out of here quickly, otherwise—

Otherwise what? There was no answer in Han Jingchuan’s chaotic brain. Only his subconscious told him: hurry, or it would be too late!

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down, and the piercing white light illuminated the delicate face of the person before him.

“Shu Le!”

Han Jingchuan shouted and abruptly opened his eyes. His head felt like it was about to explode, but he paid it no mind. He anxiously looked around, his heart seemingly about to leap out of his throat.

Nothing. Shu Le was not here.

Han Jingchuan unconsciously let out a breath of relief, then suddenly thought: Where would Shu Le be? That lightning had clearly struck right at him and Shu Le. He should have been saved, but this place did not look like a hospital. Could Shu Le have been taken to a hospital?

“Jingchuan! You’re finally awake!” A trembling yet slightly joyful voice sounded by his ear.

Han Jingchuan shifted his gaze to the source of the voice. A man dressed in ancient-style clothing, with a warm and gentle face, sat by the bedside, looking at him with concern.

“I—” Han Jingchuan had just wanted to ask where this was and why there was ancient-style cosplay, when an uncontrollable itch came from his throat.

Cough, cough, cough—as if he were going to cough out his lungs.

“Ah, don’t speak yet. Take it slow, slow down.” Seeing this, the man anxiously stroked Han Jingchuan’s chest, then turned his head and shouted outside the room, “Dalin, Dalin! Jingchuan is awake!”

Before long, the door was pushed open forcefully. The one who rushed in first was an elderly woman, followed by several others, filling the already small room to the brim.

“Chuan boy, you’re finally awake. You scared your granny to death.” The old woman wiped her tears as she spoke, quickly walking to the bedside.

“Alright, Mother. Didn’t Doctor Wu say that as long as he wakes up today, it’s fine? With slow recuperation afterward, there won’t be any major problems.” A middle-aged man supported the old woman and comforted her.

What on earth was going on? Han Jingchuan finally managed to stop coughing, his mind full of question marks: Was the “Jingchuan” they spoke of him? But he did not know these people either.

The nerves at the back of his head throbbed with pain. Han Jingchuan bit his lower lip tightly, forcing himself not to think about anything else for the time being.

Seeming to ease his headache, his senses gradually returned. He found himself lying on a hard wooden bed. The thin quilt covering him did nothing to block the threads of cold wind coming from the side. The dilapidated roof looked long in disrepair, with several tiles missing. Sunlight pierced through the cracks, revealing floating dust.

A completely unfamiliar environment.

Just as Han Jingchuan was utterly bewildered, a sharp pain suddenly came from his temples again, followed by a massive influx of information flooding into his brain.

So this was no longer the modern era. The current era was a dynasty that did not exist in history, called Dasheng. Han Jingchuan was no longer the Han Jingchuan who was a fourth-year university student. Instead, his soul had possessed this current body. The owner of the body was another scholar also named Han Jingchuan. The gentle man before him was the original body’s father, a… ge’er?

What did ge’er mean? Because there were too many memories and they were very chaotic, Han Jingchuan could not sort it out for the moment and could only wait until he had rested to slowly figure it out. What could be confirmed was that he had transmigrated.

Having barely digested some basic information, Han Jingchuan felt somewhat at a loss. How did he transmigrate? How could he return?

In modern times, his family could be considered happy. Although his parents were busy with work and not close to him emotionally, his father owned a listed company. As a genuine rich second-generation only son, he had been dressed in fine clothes and fed delicate food since childhood. Suddenly arriving in this poor and backward ancient era, the gap was too great for him to accept.

Moreover, his parents had raised him for over twenty years, and there were other relatives and friends—all ties he had in modern times. If he was gone, what would happen to his parents in the future?

And even if he accepted the original body’s memories, that did not mean he could quickly develop any familial affection for the original body’s family. Was he supposed to live with these “strangers” from now on?

No, he had to go back. Han Jingchuan frowned.

Seeing him frown, the original body’s father thought he was uncomfortable and quickly asked, “Are you still feeling unwell? You’re still running a fever. It’s normal to feel out of sorts. In a while, drink the medicine and sweat it out, and you’ll feel a bit better.”

Oh, so he had a fever. No wonder he dreamed he was in a sea of fire. Han Jingchuan thought sluggishly.

But before he figured out why he had come here, wanting to return to modern times would probably be very difficult. He should get through the immediate crisis first, otherwise in the eyes of these ancient people, he might be taken for a monster.

Although he had made up his mind, he still could not bring himself to call the person before him “Father.” Han Jingchuan cleared his throat and weakly said, “I know. I’m a bit tired and want to sleep a while longer.”

“Alright, alright, you sleep first. When the medicine is ready, I’ll call you to drink it.” The original body’s father stood up to go brew medicine for Han Jingchuan.

“Father, you’ve been accompanying Second Brother for several days. Hurry and rest. I’ll go brew the medicine.” A youth with a red tear mole at the corner of his eye said this and turned to leave the room.

“Let Xing boy go. I’ll watch Chuan boy here. Younger brother’s husband, you and Dalin both go rest.” The middle-aged man supporting the old woman spoke.

“Then I’ll trouble you, Eldest Brother.” Another slightly younger man patted the original body’s father, signaling everyone to leave and not disturb Han Jingchuan’s rest.

The room finally returned to quiet.

Han Jingchuan closed his eyes, trying to sort out his thoughts.

The original body had caught a wind-cold during the final session of the child scholar examination. Because he had repeatedly failed and was already depressed at heart, and because he usually buried himself in studying and neglected exercise, his body was weak. This time, due to illness, he could not finish his exam papers. Knowing he had no hope of passing again, he fell into a daze while ill, and before he could catch his breath, he passed away just like that. His own soul had somehow transmigrated over.

The original body’s family had quite a few people. His grandmother Han Cui-shi was still alive. The man sitting in the room watching over him was the original body’s eldest uncle, named Han Dashi. The one who had gone out to brew medicine for him was the original body’s full younger brother, Xing boy.

The original body had two fathers. One was named Han Dalin, and the other was Liu Zhu, who gave birth to him… wait, gave birth to him?? So in this dynasty, besides men and women, there was a third gender—ge’er, who looked similar to men and could bear children!

What kind of magical place was this? Han Jingchuan was stunned for a moment.

He did not know whether his body in modern times was dead or alive. Most likely it was already dead, or he had become a vegetable, otherwise his soul probably would not have come here. Would he never be able to return? Han Jingchuan was unwilling to think further.

And Shu Le—that scene of lightning and thunder must have scared him to death. He was so timid, always dropping golden beans at the slightest thing.

Sure enough, he and Shu Le were just incompatible. Otherwise it would not have been such a coincidence that the moment the two of them touched, they were struck by lightning, and it even struck him into this strange dynasty. Han Jingchuan fell asleep amid his wild thoughts.

——————

East end of Xiliu Village

Inside the Shu family courtyard, sounds of quarreling could be heard. The voices grew louder and louder, and neighbors poked their heads out one after another to look into the courtyard.

“I already said don’t treat him. Did you hear what the doctor said? It’ll take at least five taels of silver to cure him. Where would our family get that money? I don’t know what Father and Mother were thinking. If they’d married him off two years earlier, none of this would have happened!”

“Keep your voice down!” A young man’s voice suddenly rang out. “Then what do you suggest? He’s already been carried back. Are we supposed to throw him out? Father and Mother didn’t say they would definitely spend the money. What are you in such a hurry for?”

“Anyway, if Father and Mother plan to use the public funds, you have to stop them! Otherwise think about what will happen to Dabao in the future. I still want to send Dabao to school.” The woman said indignantly.

“I know what I’m doing.” The man wiped his face and turned to go to the storage room beside the kitchen.

In the storage room, a middle-aged man and woman stood before a broken wooden plank bed, looking down at the youth on the bed with eyes tightly shut, face pale as snow, and a blood-seeping white cloth strip wrapped around his head. They sighed in unison without prior agreement.

“Forget it, maybe. Le boy’s fate is poor.” The man shook his head. “If the Han family won’t work out, then return the betrothal gift.”

“I know, husband. There isn’t much public silver. If we use it to treat Le boy, You Nian and the others will definitely be unhappy. I just, I just…” The woman wiped the corners of her eyes where there were no actual tears, then said, “Back then the Han family gave three and a half taels as betrothal gift. Returning it would not be a small sum either. And Le boy is, after all, a piece of flesh that fell from my body.”

The man said nothing.

“Father, Mother, it’s not that my wife and I are cruel. It’s just that our family…” The young man who had been listening at the door for a long time could not help pushing the door open and entering, but before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by someone who came running in hastily.

“Father, Mother, my husband and I have saved some silver. Can we pay to treat Le boy?” A thin and slender ge’er looked pleadingly at the middle-aged man and woman.

“Younger brother’s husband, what kind of talk is that?” The young man—the eldest brother of the youth lying on the bed, Shu Younian—cut in displeasedly.

Never mind that Second Brother and his wife actually had private savings, and it seemed like quite a lot. Just the fact that they were willing to pay for Third Brother’s treatment—then should he pay too? If he did not, what would the villagers think of him if word got out?

“Eldest Brother.” The thin ge’er knew he was not good with words and was so nervous he nearly tore the corner of his clothes.

Hearing this, the woman was moved. If Le boy could be cured without spending their own money, that would naturally be good. After all, the Han family was still waiting for the person to marry over. If they just ignored Le boy like this, it would be hard to explain to the Han family. What if it affected their old Shu family’s reputation? In the future, Dabao still had to study and become a high official. Besides, if her own child could be saved, of course she still wanted to save him.

“Shui boy, how much silver do you have?” the woman asked softly.

“Over 600 wen, Mother. First give Le boy a prescription. If it’s not enough, we’ll go borrow more!” As soon as Tao Qingshui heard his mother-in-law loosen up, he hurriedly tried to hand over the cloth bag.

“Only that much. What’s it enough for? Alright, younger brother’s husband, since you have private money, keep it yourself. Father and Mother probably won’t blame you.” Shu Younian frowned. Just 600 wen alone was not little; he had not realized Second Brother and his wife could save so well. But this amount was far from enough for the medical fees.

He looked at his parents again: “You two should think clearly. If you really go borrow money, when will Second Brother and the others be able to pay it back? Won’t it still come from public funds? My wife and I still have to raise Dabao.”

Shu Younian’s tone was cold and hard: “If you’re worried about the Han family, then if they dare come demand the betrothal gift back in the future, I’ll handle it.” This was planning to refuse to pay.

Wei Hehua was silent for a long while, then nodded. After all, in the future she would still have to live with her eldest son, and there was still Dabao. They had to think for their grandson. The Shu family was not some wealthy household. If they could not afford treatment, that was Le boy’s fate. If the Han family really came for the silver, they would think of something then.

“Mother!” Tao Qingshui cried out mournfully. It was only five taels of silver. It was impossible that the public funds did not have it. If today it were Shu Dabao lying there, his parents-in-law would borrow from the whole village and still not give up. Tears streaming down his face, he looked again at his father-in-law Shu Guangquan, feeling all the strength drained from his body.

Shu Guangquan was about to speak when a sharp woman’s voice rang out: “Younger brother’s husband, what are you scheming? Do you have to take all the Shu family’s silver to treat Third Brother and leave the whole family in debt before you’re satisfied?”

Tao Qingshui said hoarsely, “Eldest Sister-in-law, you know perfectly well that’s not what I mean. Le boy has suffered since childhood. We can’t just let him lose his life at such a young age.” Tao Qingshui could not continue.

“You!” The woman was about to keep shouting when a low murmur came from the bed: “Mmm, so noisy.”

Everyone was stunned and looked toward the wooden plank bed in unison.

They saw the youth’s eyelashes tremble slightly, as if awake but not yet awake. Before he opened his eyes, a tear rolled down from the corner of his eye. “It hurts so much, Han Jingchuan.”

The last three words were almost only breath, heard by no one.

Author’s note