Taiwu 2, Great Xia's northern border, Yuyang County.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, myriad rays of afterglow intertwined with the mist. Farmers returned home along the twilight country roads, and their cattle and sheep followed them into their pens.
In a mud-brick house north of the city, a dark-skinned farmer, a little girl with a topknot, and a Young Master dressed in plain white brocade were gathered around a worn wooden table, eagerly waiting for dinner.
The flame in the oil lamp on the table flickered, making the dim room seem to sway with it.
A moment later, a peasant woman in a coarse cloth skirt emerged from the night outside the main hall, tossed the ceramic dish and winnowing basket onto the table, and then returned to the kitchen with a cold expression.
"Young Master, you first."
The farmer pushed the dish and winnowing basket towards the Young Master, having perfectly mastered the art of deferral.
In the dish were salted radish shreds, and in the winnowing basket were four vegetable steamed buns, each the size of an egg. Yuyang County's land was barren, and this was the staple for the common folk's three daily meals, unchanging throughout the year.
The Young Master picked a steamed bun from the winnowing basket, observed it for a long while, and then asked, "Old Qiu, have you ever eaten meat?"
Hearing this, the little girl with the topknot suddenly became interested: "Father, what is meat?"
"Something more unpalatable than steamed buns. Just a small bite will give you a stomachache all night."
"Hiss."
The little girl bared her teeth, as if she was already experiencing a stomachache, her small face deeply wrinkled.
At this point, the Young Master broke off half of the steamed bun in his hand and fed it to the little girl, then tore off another piece and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing it to himself.
His name is Ji You, an undergraduate philosophy student from Linchuan University, with hobbies including singing, dancing, rap, basketball, hiking, photography, and rock climbing. He was incredibly good at playing Honor of Kings and was also witty and humorous.
However, that was more than two years ago.
During the summer vacation of his freshman year, he followed an expedition team through the Yunling no-man's-land, accidentally got lost in the mountains, and eventually ended up in this world.
He then fainted in a rice paddy and was rescued by a farmer from Yuyang County.
After he woke up, everyone called him Young Master Ji.
Later, Ji You learned that there was a wealthy landlord family in Yuyang County named Ji, and he looked exactly like their eldest Young Master, even sharing the same name.
It took him a long time to accept the fact of his Transmigration, but he had no intention of simply accepting his fate. After leaving the medical hall, he spent half a month wandering the mountains, searching for the way he came.
Then, his hanging heart finally died.
Later, someone told him that the Ji Family was a renowned landlord family in Yuyang County, so he believed that he would at least be free from worries about food and clothing, a truly perfect start.
But then he learned that it was a false alarm.
Because just the day before he arrived in this world, the Ji Family of Yuyang had been punished for offending a certain Immortal School, and their family members had either died or fled.
It was precisely because of this that the people of Yuyang County mistook him for the Ji Family Young Master who had accidentally stumbled into the deep mountains while fleeing.
Fortunately, Old Master Ji was not an utterly wicked and unscrupulous landlord; he had always treated his servants rather well. So, for the past two years, this imposter had been freeloading at the home of Old Qiu, the former Ji Family steward.
Old Qiu was a loyal servant of the Ji Family, reportedly picked up by Old Master Ji from the roadside when he was on the verge of starvation.
So, even though the family fortune was gone, he still referred to Ji You as Young Master.
But Old Qiu's wife disliked him greatly. After all, Old Qiu had started farming after he stopped being a steward, and their family's harvest was barely enough for three people. No one wanted an extra mouth to feed for free.
"In two days, the county will send people to collect taxes. Our family has eaten more than others, and we're still quite short."
"I'll go out and borrow some tomorrow; that should be enough."
Old Qiu chewed on a steamed bun and said to his wife, who was standing in the kitchen.
Every year during the autumn equinox, the people of Great Xia had to hand over sixty percent of their land produce to support the imperial court and the Immortals. This had never been reduced by even a fraction, even though the people were now living in destitution, leading to widespread starvation every winter.
This was not an uncommon sight in Great Xia; it would be a true wonder if any common folk managed to avoid starving to death.
Even more so, some elderly people who couldn't farm but still needed to eat and drink were sent to the 'Elderly Care Pavilion'—a living tomb—while still alive.
Li Shuping walked in, carrying a bowl of wild vegetable soup: "Borrow? Where can we borrow from? In these times, who has surplus grain?"
"I still have a close relative; I imagine they wouldn't ignore us."
"Didn't you say you were an orphan, adopted by the Ji Family at eight? What relatives could you possibly have?"
"I still have an old father-in-law," Old Qiu mumbled, lowering his head.
Li Shuping was stunned, then burst into a rage: "Ever since I married you, not only have I barely had any good days, but now we have to borrow everything from my mother's family?"
"When I was a steward in the Ji Family, I also let you have some good days..."
Li Shuping saw Old Qiu reach for the winnowing basket and slapped his hand away: "Don't eat anymore, give it to the Young Master. The Young Master is still growing."
The rather sharp-tongued Madam Qiu actually had a kind heart beneath her harsh words.
Ji You, somewhat moved, reached for the winnowing basket, only to hear Li Shuping's latter half of the sentence ring through the room: "Eat heartily, so you can pull the plow during spring plowing."
"How can the Young Master work in the fields?"
Li Shuping broke the steamed bun into pieces and said, "The Ji Family is gone. What will he eat if he doesn't work in the fields? Only you still treat him like a Young Master. Otherwise, why would the Old Master's Young Miss break off the engagement with him?"
Young Master Ji originally had an engagement set from childhood, with Fang Ruoyao, the Young Miss of the county magistrate's family.
However, on the third day after Ji You was sent to the medical hall, a carriage from the county yamen arrived.
At that time, County Magistrate Fang Zhongzheng dismounted with his daughter Fang Ruoyao, forcing him to voluntarily sign a letter of annulment, intending to break off the engagement.
Ji You was still lying in the medical hall, not yet recovered, when his handprint was pressed onto the document.
However, he didn't feel heartbroken; after all, it was someone else's future wife.
Just a few days ago, news came from the county town that Young Miss Fang had been selected by the Tianshu Academy of the Great Xia Holy Sect and would go to Shengjing to cultivate the Dao and become an Immortal.
The Qingyun World has always revered cultivators, with even the imperial family showing them great respect. However, becoming an Immortal is not something one can simply choose to do.
The laws of Great Xia state that commoners may only engage in production and are forbidden from privately cultivating Immortality; otherwise, it is a capital offense, and their three familial clans will also be implicated.
So, for Fang Ruoyao to have the opportunity to become a legitimate Immortal cultivator was truly a step to heaven.
Thus, after this news spread, Young Master Ji was ridiculed for a long time again.
But this was not Ji You's fault; it was because the original Young Master Ji had a bad reputation.
Li Shuping bringing up Young Miss Fang now was not meant as an intentional taunt, but rather to make Ji You and Old Qiu understand that the so-called Ji Family was already a shadow of its former self, and she wanted to persuade him to face reality.
Ji You broke off a piece of steamed bun and fed it to Old Qiu's daughter, saying, "Next autumn, I should achieve success. When that time comes, I'll give Qiu Ru delicious food and drink."
"I want delicious food and drink!"
Qiu Ru's eyes sparkled, and she took a big bite of the steamed bun with her small hand.
The little girl was five years old this year. The Ji Family was gone before she could remember, and she hadn't lived a good life since. Now, she couldn't even remember the taste of meat.
Li Shuping felt a bit helpless, thinking that they were barely able to eat now, yet this Young Master was still dreaming of delicious food and drink. He was probably terminally ill.
However, there were always good things in tough times, just like her foolish daughter.
When Qiu Ru was born, she was frail and sickly, coughing every day. In the past two years, she had suddenly gotten much better. Although the family was short on food and couldn't eat much meat, her daughter was surprisingly growing sturdier.
Doctor Chen in the county was considered a master healer within a ten-mile radius; even he was amazed and declared definitively that there was something unusual about this matter.
But Old Qiu often told her that this was 'good deeds rewarded with good fortune,' and urged her to be kind to the Ji Family Young Master. Yet, in these impoverished days, when would it ever end?
"I'm done eating."
Ji You suddenly spoke and stood up.
Old Qiu was stunned: "Young Master, why did you eat so little? Keep going."
"Forget it, the family has no surplus grain. Let's save some for later."
At Hai Shi, the night was deep, the moon hung at the willow's tip, the lamplight extinguished by the moonlight, and all was silent.
Ji You left Old Qiu's house and walked along the dark path towards the city. At this moment, a crimson streak traversed the night sky, like a bleeding wound, dyeing the nearby night pink.
This was not a rare celestial phenomenon; it was said to have existed since ancient times and remained until now.
"Heaven's Demise... what does it mean?"
"Does it mean heaven is dead?"
Ji You recalled a series of syllables he heard on the walkie-talkie the day he Transmigrated, feeling somewhat puzzled.
Just then, he arrived in front of a two-courtyard residence and pushed the door open.
He didn't live at Old Qiu's house but at the Ji Family's only remaining ancestral home.
The residence was large, but the valuable items had been sold by the Ji Family members during their escape, leaving only broken bricks and tiles.
Ji You stepped into the second courtyard and suddenly saw a scholar in plain clothes sitting on a willow tree in the adjacent courtyard. His face was as fair as jade, and his sword-like eyebrows extended to his temples. He hung an oil lamp on a tree branch, held an old book, and read silently, framed by the silver crescent moon in the sky.
However, upon seeing someone approach, the scholar from the adjacent courtyard took down the oil lamp, lifted his foot, and jumped down from the willow tree.
Ji You seemed accustomed to such scenes and paid no mind. He turned and returned to his room, lit a candle, closed the doors and windows tightly, and carefully drew the black curtains.
"Give me a Huazi."
He pulled open a drawer and, by the faint candlelight, took out an incense stick named 'Huaxian Yin'.
This incense had a calming effect, allowing one to enter a state of meditation instantly.
Ji You inserted the incense stick into the censer, took off his boots, and sat on the bed. A few breaths later, a faint spiritual light shimmered around his body.