"Master!"
"Run! Quickly!"
"Master, I've come to save you!"
"Get out of here! Remember to take your mistress home..."
"ROAR!"
...
"Ah!"
Zhou Chen jolted awake, gasping for air, his heart pounding in his chest.
In his dream, he had been sneaking over to knock on the door of the widow Qin Keqing in the middle of the night, but when the door swung open, a fierce tiger with a white forehead and piercing eyes had lunged at him.
The beast’s bloody jaws were clamped down on an old man, blood dripping everywhere.
The old man struggled in agony, screaming at him to run.
He had cried out for his master, consumed by grief.
"What a mess of a dream!"
Recalling the images from his nightmare, Zhou Chen shook his head, unable to help but grumble:
"Dreams really make no sense at all!"
He was an orphan; where would he have gotten a master?
He had had plenty of teachers, of course—the Japanese and Korean kind, mostly.
"Wait."
Zhou Chen’s pupils constricted. He suddenly realized he was in an unfamiliar room: a dilapidated wooden cabin, wooden stools, a wooden table, an oil lamp...
"Where is this?"
As the thought surfaced, a jumble of fragmented memories rushed into his mind like a torrential flood, causing his head to spin and throb with a splitting pain. It took him a long while to recover.
He had transmigrated.
Or, to be more precise, he had been reincarnated, and only now were his memories of his past life awakening.
This was an extraordinary world where demons ran rampant and immortals looked down from above.
He had been living with Old Man Cao since he was a child, surviving by hunting.
Old Man Cao was a skilled archer who often caught enough game to keep their life relatively comfortable.
However, though Old Man Cao was over fifty, his heart was still young. He had set his sights on Qin Hongyu, the daughter of Old Man Qin in the village.
Qin Hongyu was the same age as him—eighteen, with a willow-thin waist and a beautiful face—and countless men drooled over her.
Old Man Qin had demanded an exorbitant price: ten taels of silver.
Driven by desire, Old Man Cao had gritted his teeth and scraped together every last cent of his savings to pay it, though it meant their once-prosperous life suddenly became destitute.
Three days ago, hoping to improve their living standards and ensure he had more time to enjoy life with his new bride, Old Man Cao had taken Zhou Chen deep into the mountains to hunt.
But they had ventured too far and encountered a fierce tiger.
The beast had bitten into Old Man Cao and devoured him.
Zhou Chen had been lucky enough to escape with his life. After returning, he had set up a cenotaph for his master. Exhausted by grief and hunger, he had collapsed, only to wake up with the memories of his past life restored.
*Grumble!*
His stomach protested loudly. Zhou Chen rubbed his sunken belly and stood up to find something to eat.
He searched the cabin, but only found two stale, hard steamed buns and a jar of pickled wild vegetables—enough to make even a mouse cry.
"Damn it!"
Zhou Chen couldn't help but curse. Old Man Cao had spent all their savings on the bride price, and what little food remained had been squandered by others under the guise of helping with the funeral.
He realized the villagers weren't particularly friendly toward him; he and Old Man Cao were outsiders, not natives of the village.
"Infuriating!"
Zhou Chen grumbled as he heated the buns and choked them down with the salty vegetables, barely enough to quiet his hunger.
"System?"
"Interface?"
"Old man in the ring?"
Zhou Chen probed for a while but felt only disappointment. Who said every transmigrator had a cheat code?
He didn't seem to have one.
Or perhaps the time just hadn't come yet.
He had read plenty of stories; some people only got their powers after becoming immortals, some awakened after death, some had to get married to activate them...
"Forget it. I'd better go hunting and fill my stomach first!"
He patted his belly. Seeing that it was still early and the sun had just risen, Zhou Chen skillfully strapped on his wicker basket, tied a wood-chopping knife to his waist, grabbed his bow and arrows, and his trident, and headed toward the back mountain.
With the fusion of two lifetimes of memories, he wasn't a stranger here, though he dared not go deep into the mountains where Old Man Cao had been killed.
"Today was supposed to be the big day for Master and his mistress, but unfortunately, he didn't live to see it."
Zhou Chen sighed and shook his head.
Although his past-life memories were dominant, he still felt grateful toward Old Man Cao; after all, he hadn't "stolen" the body in a way that erased the original soul.
"Master, rest in peace. I'll go bring your mistress home soon; I’ll make sure to take good care of her for you."
Zhou Chen’s gaze was deep and resolute.
He knew it was impossible to make that greedy, stingy drunkard Old Man Qin return the ten taels of silver.
At least, he couldn't do it right now.
Besides, Old Man Qin probably couldn't produce ten taels of silver even if he wanted to.
But bringing Qin Hongyu home was a possibility.
This world was dangerous; death was a daily occurrence.
By custom, with Old Man Cao dead, Zhou Chen, as his only relative, had the right to demand that Old Man Qin either return the money or give him Qin Hongyu.
Cases like this weren't rare.
Next door, Wang Daniu had gone fishing before his wedding, met with disaster, and drowned in the river; his brother, Wang Erniu, had then taken his place and married the bride.
Zhou Chen wasn't acting out of lust, but out of a need to establish his standing.
If he couldn't get the money back or bring Qin Hongyu home, others would only think he was weak and easy to bully.
If he couldn't even protect his own legitimate interests, he would be bullied to death later on.
"Strike once to avoid a hundred future blows!"
He had to use this incident to tell everyone that even though Old Man Cao was dead, he, Zhou Chen, was not to be trifled with.
This was exactly why Old Man Cao had urged him to bring Qin Hongyu home before he died.
About half an hour later, Zhou Chen reached the back mountain. He kept his guard up; though he had been here countless times and the outer areas were relatively safe, one still had to be careful.
Often, venomous insects and snakes were more dangerous than large beasts.
Dahe Village backed onto the Changling Mountains and faced the Qing River. It was rich in resources, but most of its residents were fishermen.
There weren't many hunters in the village, and Old Man Cao had been the most famous among them.
*Rustle!*
The grass swayed, and a gray shadow flashed by.
"A hare!"
Having followed Old Man Cao since he was small, Zhou Chen had sharp eyes and agile movements. He quickly skirted around the bushes and spotted the fleeing gray hare.
He drew his bow and released the arrow in one smooth motion. The moment the hare leaped, the arrow pierced its hind leg!
"Good luck!"
Zhou Chen was overjoyed. It wasn't a direct hit, but it had landed.
He dashed over, grabbed the struggling rabbit, bound its legs with rope, tossed it into his basket, and continued hunting.
However, his luck seemed to have run out. He didn't encounter much more game, and he missed the only wild chicken he saw.
"Forget it. Time to go back."
Zhou Chen headed down the mountain with the hare on his back.
He didn't return home, but headed straight for Old Man Qin's house.
Old Man Qin was in his forties and was currently lying on a bamboo chair in his courtyard, sipping wine and enjoying himself.
Old Man Cao was dead, and Zhou Chen was just a brat. Wasn't he easy to handle?
Once the wind died down in a few days, he could find another good match for Qin Hongyu and sell her again—maybe for another ten taels of silver!
How delightful!
*Knock! Knock! Knock!*
Just then, a knock at the door startled Old Man Qin from his pleasant dream.
He looked up to see it was Zhou Chen. His expression darkened, but after a long moment, he stood up and opened the door, saying coldly:
"Little Chen? What is it?"
"Uncle Qin, you know my master had an accident three days ago and can't marry Sister Hongyu. We're at the end of our rope at home, so I’ve come to ask you to return the bride price for an emergency."
Zhou Chen got straight to the point.
"Little Chen, I know you're struggling, but your Uncle Qin is struggling too. Where would I have any extra money?"
Old Man Qin looked troubled, brushing him off.
"Don't you worry, as soon as I have money, I'll send it over to you!"
Zhou Chen sneered. If he waited for Old Man Qin to have money, he’d be waiting for a lifetime!
"Since Uncle Qin is in such a bind, then according to the long-standing custom, you should let me marry Sister Hongyu."
"Little Chen, I have to criticize you for that. Your master just died, and you're already thinking of marriage? Do you have no conscience toward him?"
"This was my master's dying wish."
Zhou Chen's eyes turned cold. Suppressing his rage, he said heavily, "If I don't do this, *that* would be failing my master!"
"In that case, you head back first. Let me pick an auspicious date, then we can discuss the wedding!"
"Discuss my ass!"
Zhou Chen grabbed Old Man Qin by the collar, a flash of light appearing in his hand as he pressed his wood-chopping knife against Old Man Qin's throat.
"Cut the act. Either give me the money, or give me the girl!"
"Otherwise, I'll show you that the rage of a common man can splash blood five paces away!"