In his past life, Shi Yi had been the kind of man who ate his fill, had nothing better to do than nitpick, and spent his days offering unsolicited opinions on the internet. He could never have truly grasped the reality of starving to death. But now, as he stood here, a genuine sense of crisis washed over him.
The young woman looked troubled. Their journey here had been far from smooth; they had encountered wild boars blocking the road several times, each instance forcing them to slip away with the utmost caution. Before she could respond, Shi Yi ducked into the mountains.
The woman scanned her surroundings. There was nothing to do but stay here for now; it was certainly better than being eaten by boars or tigers. Exiled all the way from the capital of Da Chu to this frontier, her journey had been like a walk through the halls of hell. At the thought of her parents, tears trickled from her cold, clear eyes. Yet, she possessed a resilience beyond most; she quickly composed herself.
She took another look around and realized that while the house was dilapidated, the environment was actually quite pleasant. Compared to the bustling capital of Chu State, this place had a unique charm. Behind the cottage lay a shallow stream fed by mountain springs. She walked over to the water, which was barely ankle-deep. It was clear and cool, the bed filled with colorful pebbles that sparkled under the crisp sunlight.
She rolled up her grimy skirt, revealing slender, pale calves like white lotus roots that looked naturally graceful as they dipped into the water. She knelt and cupped the cold water in her hands, gently wiping away the filth on her face. Inch by inch, as if casting a spell, the exquisite face hidden beneath the grime began to emerge. Her skin was naturally fair, delicate as snow; her eyebrows were like a crescent moon, and the corners of her eyes curved upward naturally. Her nose was elegant and straight, her lips like dew-kissed cherries—vibrant even without rouge. However, having endured great misfortune in the capital of Chu State, she remained as cold as mid-winter frost.
After cleaning up, she resolved to survive at any cost. Only by staying alive could there be hope for the matters weighing on her heart. Spotting a vegetable patch nearby, she found a stone hoe inside the house. She frowned. Farmers in Da Chu had long since transitioned to bronze hoes; she hadn't expected a rustic villager like him to still be using a stone tool. It was surely the most primitive implement one could find among the farmers of Da Chu. After a moment of silence, she took the stone hoe and headed to the garden.
She did not know, however, that a momentary turn of her head had left a man hidden in the nearby bushes stunned. This was Liu Zhigao. Having just returned from the town after procuring supplies, he had hurried back to the village. He had originally intended to stop by to mock Shi Yi, the young master he had once served. He never expected to see the young woman, now washed clean. He was struck dumb by her beauty.
"That fool Shi Yi, he picked up a treasure?" Liu muttered to himself. "And he only spent a pound of rice! The people in town must all be blind! It was me who kowtowed to the officials to help him get her!"
Jealousy turned Liu's eyes blood-red; he was driven to the brink of madness. Unable to restrain himself, he scrambled out of the bushes. But before he could reach her, the woman holding the hoe turned back and said coldly, "I am afflicted with consumption. Do you dare to come any closer?"
In an instant, Liu Zhigao recalled the warnings from the town officials. In these times of drought, people were dying of hunger everywhere, let alone sickness. For an ordinary person, falling ill was a death sentence. He was terrified of death. Yet, the more he looked at her face, the more his possessiveness grew.
"If you don't want to die, you’d best keep your distance," the woman continued. She stopped acknowledging him and went back to work.
After a moment of internal conflict, Liu glanced at the supplies he had brought. He still needed to deliver them to the village. He put on a facade. "You’ve misunderstood, miss. I meant no harm. I shall return once Shi Yi is home. I am, after all, a friend of his..."
"I don't care what your relationship is with him," the woman replied coldly.
Liu felt as if he had swallowed a mouthful of stale filth; it was agonizing. The skin on his high cheekbones twitched, and the sinister, mean-spirited nature of his triangular eyes was fully exposed. *You’re nothing but a criminal,* he thought to himself. *Don't you dare act so high and mighty in front of me! Once I drop these supplies off at the village, I’ll be back for you.*
He imagined how Shi Yi had treated this sickly woman like a treasure. If he humiliated her right in front of him, wouldn't the fool lose his mind? He loved the idea of watching that waste of space break down in impotent rage. As for her consumption? He would just gag her after he dragged her away. He grew excited at the thought, let out a smug laugh, and turned to leave.
Meanwhile, in the mountains, Shi Yi was looking for game. But after two years of drought, the village was starving; any animal with meat on its bones, even mountain rats, had been wiped out. There were no animals left. He occasionally saw a rabbit, but these creatures had spent so long outsmarting local hunters that they were craftier than the hunters themselves; they never strayed far from their burrows and bolted at the slightest sound. His plan to catch a rabbit to fill his stomach fell through.
Wild fruit? The trees had been stripped bare. Wild vegetables? Dug up completely. However, he did find an abundance of mushrooms. From the host's memories, he knew the people of this world didn't eat mushrooms, fearing they were poisonous, and because they couldn't distinguish between the safe and the toxic, deaths had occurred.
He recalled that while the host’s family was poor, they had saved a pound of oil, intended for the banquet when he eventually found a wife. *This kid’s life really was miserable,* Shi Yi thought. He decided to go home and cook the mushrooms to fill his belly. Inside the woods, he also found quite a bit of kudzu root, which, like the mushrooms, was ignored by the locals. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to sustain two people; to survive, he would have to hunt in the deep mountains. The host's memories confirmed that the deep woods were full of game, but also tigers, which was why the locals dared not enter.
That was hardly a problem for him. In his past life, Shi Yi had been a senior technician in a factory with excellent manual skills. He searched the host's memories again and discovered that this dynasty did not exist in the history he knew. Moreover, its technological level was remarkably low. While it had poetry and civil service exams like the Tang and Song dynasties, they lacked iron-smelting technology; warfare was still limited to bows and arrows. All metal weapons were made of bronze. Iron, let alone steel, did not exist. There were no crossbows, the kings of cold weaponry.
In his past life, Shi Yi had frequently used traditional methods to craft such items to sell online. It was a familiar trade, and easy. With a crossbow in his hands, he could be king of these mountains!
After digging up some kudzu, gathering edible mushrooms, and chopping enough wood to build a crossbow, he headed down the mountain. Just as he returned, he saw Liu Zhigao, wearing nothing but his underpants, standing at the entrance of his dilapidated house, drooling and looking incredibly lecherous.
"Little lady, open the door! That idiot Shi Yi can't support you. Why don't you come live with me instead? I’ve thought it over—I don't mind your consumption."