Chapter 1: Rogue

Chapter 1: Vagrant

Great Xuan Dynasty, the third year of Yuanshou, spring.

The river overflowed onto the plains, causing a great famine; people were resorting to cannibalism.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled over the long streets of Wuling City. Su Mu placed the load from his back down in front of several men, his spine, bent nearly ninety degrees, finally straightening out.

"Su Mu, you chopped eighty-seven catties of firewood today. I’ll count it as ninety. That makes nine wen in total."

The man in the lead had someone weigh the load Su Mu had set down. He spat on his finger, flipped through a few pages of a ledger, and glanced over as he spoke.

"Many thanks for your care, Master Zhang."

Su Mu put on a fawning smile.

Master Zhang counted out a few copper coins and tossed them onto the ground, where they made a crisp, clinking sound.

Su Mu hurriedly crouched down and quickly gathered the scattered coins.

Seven copper coins.

The amount was correct.

Three trips out of the city, eighty-seven catties of firewood chopped, minus the two-wen "customary fee," leaving seven wen.

…………

"What a godforsaken, miserable place! Why is it so hard to stay alive!"

Su Mu walked along the muddy street, the resentment in his chest constantly churning.

It had already been two months, and Su Mu still couldn't fathom how he, a graduate of a top-tier university with a bright future, had woken up in this Wuling City.

And to make matters worse, he was a complete vagrant!

"Liu" (vagrant) meant having no house or land; "Mang" (scoundrel) meant having no legitimate profession.

"Sigh, I’m even worse than a vagrant. At least they have household registration. I don't even have that."

Su Mu crossed a muddy alley and ducked into a dilapidated temple that was open to the elements on all sides.

Months ago, his predecessor’s hometown had been hit by a flood. The predecessor had fled all the way to Wuling City, eventually dying of hunger and illness, leaving his body to be occupied by the current Su Mu.

To settle the refugees, the imperial court had made a special exception, allowing them to register in Wuling for a fee of five hundred wen per household.

Wuling City was one of the largest cities for hundreds of miles around. In normal times, a Wuling household registration would be worth at least several dozen taels of silver.

Five hundred wen was already the court’s "favor" to the refugees.

But even so—

"Still three hundred and fifty wen short..."

Su Mu couldn't help but sigh. "Damn the Firewood Gang. Firewood in the city sells for three wen a catty, but they only pay us one wen a catty. And even then, they still take a cut for their 'fees.' Even the most ruthless capitalists aren't this cruel!"

His current body was severely malnourished and lacked strength. Carrying seventy or eighty catties of firewood a day was his limit. After earning seven or eight wen and deducting the two or three wen for daily food, he could save at most four or five wen a day.

If it rained, he wouldn't even have those four or five wen.

When he first woke up, Su Mu had hoped to use his advanced knowledge to live a life of comfort and plenty.

But before he could even flex his muscles, he discovered that this world wasn't as simple as he thought.

Ever since he saw a man punch through a boulder taller than a person, he knew this was a world of extraordinary power where ordinary people struggled to get ahead.

Moreover, even being an ordinary person wasn't easy.

In Wuling City, you couldn't just do whatever you wanted.

Every trade and industry was monopolized by some faction.

To have a legitimate profession, you first needed a household registration.

Even if you wanted to do manual labor or join the underworld, you couldn't escape the oppression of the gangs.

The Rice Gang, the Fish Gang, the Firewood Gang...

Su Mu had no special skills; he couldn't fish, he couldn't hunt, and he couldn't bring himself to beg.

He didn't even have the strength to carry heavy sacks at the docks.

Chopping firewood was the only job simple enough for him to barely manage.

"We’re both transmigrators, so why is the gap so huge? Others are born into noble families, or are wealthy merchants, or at the very least, the son-in-law of a prominent household. And me?"

Su Mu plopped down into a pile of hay and pulled a cold, hard steamed bun from his chest to gnaw on.

A bun cost one wen; a meat bun cost three.

Right now, he could only afford the plain bun.

Working hard every day, not daring to get sick or slack off, yet he could still only afford a plain bun.

All the hardships he hadn't suffered in his past life were being made up for in this one.

"Nothing to show for it. I have a 'golden finger,' but I don't even know what it's for!"

As Su Mu chewed his bun, he focused his mind, and a translucent panel appeared before his eyes.

He wasn't the only one in the ruined temple; several beggars were curled up in their own piles of hay.

Su Mu didn't mind them and observed the panel.

This panel had appeared the moment he woke up, and no one else could see it.

...

[Name: Su Mu]

[Status: Woodcutter (Refugee)]

[Points: 15]

...

When he first woke up, his status was "Vagrant."

Once he started chopping wood, the "scoundrel" part was removed, but the "vagrant" part remained.

For the past two months, Su Mu had studied the panel whenever he had the chance.

At first, he thought he would use this cheat to defy the heavens and change his fate—"My life is determined by me, not by heaven." Since the world was so big, surely he could have a bite to eat?

But after two months, he still hadn't figured out how to use the points.

The only attribute on the panel was "Status," and the points couldn't be added to anything.

"What I’ve verified so far is that the points are related to status. The higher the status, the faster they increase. It’s like a person's starting line; some are born in Rome, others are born as beasts of burden."

Su Mu thought to himself.

When he was a vagrant, the points increased by one every ten days.

After he became a refugee, the points increased by one every five days.

"Could it be that I can only add points after learning the martial arts of this world?"

Su Mu couldn't help but sigh.

He had secretly inquired; there were ways to learn martial arts. There were martial arts schools in Wuling City, but they cost ten taels of silver a month.

There were also Jianghu sects that would occasionally open their gates to recruit disciples.

At the very least, the pawnshops in the city sold martial arts manuals, usually for a few dozen taels of silver.

Regardless of the method, it was as difficult as ascending to heaven for the current Su Mu.

He hadn't even saved enough for the five-hundred-wen household registration. Even knowing a path to the heavens was nearby, he could only sigh in helplessness.

...

"Hoo—"

Su Mu pulled out the rusty, dilapidated wood-chopping knife from beneath him and hacked at the ground, venting the frustration in his chest.

"People are dying!"

Just then, a terrified scream shattered the silence of the night.

Su Mu froze. He had only swung his knife; could he kill someone from a distance?

The next moment, he heard a beast-like roar.

Immediately after, the listless beggars in the ruined temple all jumped up and fled in terror.

"Oh no, a demon!"

Su Mu’s heart sank, his entire body feeling as if it had fallen into an ice cellar.

After coming to this world, he had heard legends of demons while chatting with the local refugees and beggars.

It was said that this very temple had been attacked by a demon before, and all the people on the street had been slaughtered, which was why it was so dilapidated and had become a gathering place for refugees.

As for what the demons actually were, none of the refugees could say for sure. They were just described as having green faces and fangs, being bloodthirsty and cruel, possessing immense strength, and being able to tear wild beasts apart with their bare hands. For an ordinary person, encountering a demon meant death.

Thinking of these legends, Su Mu jumped up without hesitation and ran with the crowd.

Although life was bitter, he didn't want to die in the mouth of a demon and become its food.

As long as he was alive, there was hope. If he died, everything would be gone. Who knew if he’d get another chance to transmigrate if he died again?

The beast-like roars grew closer, and Su Mu ran even faster.

He kept overtaking the sallow, emaciated refugees.

If I can't outrun the demon, I can at least outrun you lot!

Now was not the time for high moral standards.

Soon, Su Mu realized how naive he was.

Outrunning the others was useless. The demon wasn't a tiger; it was a hundred times more terrifying than a tiger!

On the long street, a figure nearly five meters tall leaped high over everyone's heads and crashed into the ground with a boom.

"Crack!"

The refugee in the lead was grabbed by the demon like a chick, brought to its mouth, and had his neck bitten through in one snap.

Tossing the corpse aside, the demon charged into the crowd of refugees, claws and limbs flailing. Every time it moved, a refugee was sent flying.

Some were even more miserable, being grabbed by the demon and bitten to death.

This was a one-sided slaughter!

Su Mu felt cold all over. Facing a giant nearly five meters tall with immense power, let alone resisting, he couldn't even escape.

"Is dying at the hands of a demon my fate, Su Mu?"

Watching the demon get closer, Su Mu could even smell the fishy, bloody stench from its mouth. His heart hammered faster and faster.

"If this is my fate, then I choose not to accept it!"

With only the sound of his own pounding heart in his ears, a fierce, murderous look erupted in his eyes. "Even if I die, I’m going to splash you with my blood!"

He gripped his wood-chopping knife, took two running steps, and leaped high into the air.

With one strike, he hacked at the demon's knee.

(End of chapter)