NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: The Chaotic World
Chapter 1: The Chaotic World
“There are only two buckwheat flatbreads left. Tomorrow we will run out of food. If he doesn’t wake up, we’ll have to find a strong man to take care of the household.”
“I don’t want that. If Brother Lian dies, I’ll die with him.”
“You look so delicate. If you die, who will help with the work and earn food for the family? Who will take care of your mother in her old age? You ungrateful little thing!”
In a daze, Xu Lian heard the scolding voice of an elderly woman accompanied by the sobs of a younger woman.
What’s going on?
This is a lot to take in.
Xu Lian felt pain all over his body. He struggled to open his heavy eyelids and saw the dim light of an oil lamp.
He was in a low, dilapidated mud house, lying on a simple wooden bed covered with a patched quilt.
In the corner of the room was a dark stove, with some pots and dishes stacked nearby.
In the center of the room was a broken wooden table and several stools.
An elderly woman with yellowish skin, wrinkled features, and a frail body sat across from a younger woman who was pale and slender. Both were bent over, holding strips of cloth and needles, apparently sewing shoes.
Strangely, both women had strips of cloth wrapped around their wrists, with faint traces of blood visible.
“Ugh… cough cough cough.”
Xu Lian’s throat was dry and sore, causing him to break into a coughing fit.
Hearing the noise, the younger woman looked up in surprise, quickly putting down the strips of cloth and needle and wiping away her tears. She picked up a bowl of water from the table, hurried over to help Xu Lian sit up, and offered him the water.
The old woman raised her head and looked at Xu Lian with a frown on her face. “He’s awake, but he’s barely hanging on. He can’t go out and work to earn food, and we still have to feed him. Did our family owe him anything in the past?”
The younger woman pleaded, “Mother, Brother Lian just woke up, please don’t complain.”
The elderly woman muttered a few more words under her breath before lowering her head and resuming her stitching.
“What’s going on?”
Just as Xu Lian was trying to make sense of the situation, a flood of memories suddenly surged in his mind like a geyser.
Pain.
It hurt so much!
His head felt like it was going to explode, and he was covered in cold sweat.
After the memories settled down, he understood.
This was a chaotic world filled with strange occurrences and suffering.
The elite lived in luxury, indulging in excess and pleasure, while the common people barely scraped by, living in constant fear of starvation and death.
The family in which Xu Lian now found himself lived in a small town in the Yin Dynasty.
The head of the household was Li Jinshui, along with his wife Wang Cuiyun and daughter Li Xiya. The family had been doing well, but a few days ago, Li Jinshui had gone missing while working in a mine, leaving the family in a dire situation.
Xu Lian, the young man known as “Xie Lian” in this body, had grown up with Li Xiya. When the family needed help, he had moved in to take over Li Jinshui’s job at the mine, trying to earn food and support the family.
But bad luck struck. Just 16 years old and without much strength or experience in the heavy work of the mine, Xu Lian had been crushed by falling rocks on his first day, losing his life.
“This… clearly, I’ve transmigrated.”
Xu Lian’s heart sank, and he felt a sense of unease.
How could someone like him, who had only played games, watched videos, and ordered takeout in the modern world, survive in such a strange and dangerous world?
He might not even make it through three chapters.
Luckily, he had read many web novels and knew a certain supreme secret spell.
Immediately, he closed his eyes and silently recited it in his mind.
“System…”
“Daddy.”
But nothing happened.
Could it be… the system didn’t understand modern terminology?
“Father!”
Still no response, the spell was ineffective!
Xu Lian felt disappointed. Without the system, what could he do?
“Brother Lian must be hungry.”
Li Xiya took two flatbreads out of a clay pot and gave one to Xu Lian. She tore the other one in half, sharing it with Wang Cuiyun.
Wang Cuiyun grumbled as she bit into her portion of flatbread. “We’ve been stitching shoes all day, and we only get half each, while he does nothing but lie there and gets a whole one. You are so generous to the poor man!”
Li Xiya gently replied, “Brother Lian is injured, he needs to eat more so he can get better and help us earn food.”
Wang Cuiyun scolded angrily, “Look at other men! If they’re injured, they should leave and let a capable man come in and take care of the family. That’s the way to survive! What’s this about feelings? Can you eat feelings?”
The original owner – did you hear that? She’s talking about you! Xu Lian chewed his flat bread silently.
He was a person with some pride, and he didn’t want to take this insult lying down. If this had happened in modern society, he would’ve snapped back and left immediately… to go to the hospital and get treated.
But this was a world of strange occurrences and bandits, a time of suffering. He was still recovering from his injuries, and leaving would be equivalent to seeking death.
When faced with a choice between enduring humiliation and preserving his life, life took priority. He could only swallow his pride and endure for now, biding his time.
Of course, there was another reason.
Li Xiya was a pretty girl, and she had been kind to him. If he left, Wang Cuiyun would immediately find a strong man to take over, and that would likely lead to him bullying Li Xiya. Xu Lian couldn’t bear it, and he didn’t want to leave her vulnerable. He simply couldn’t let that happen.
For something like bullying Li Xiya, it would be better for him to do it himself… It was such a simple, easy to understand truth.
“Clack!”
“Clack, clack!”
The strange sound of bamboo clappers echoed from the street outside. “Night Patrol (No. 1).”
The three of them tensed up instantly.
Li Xiya quickly grabbed a kitchen knife and a small clay cup, unwrapped the cloth on her wrist, and made a small cut on the wound, letting the blood drip into the cup. She then opened the wooden door, placed the blood-filled cup outside, and closed the door.
Once she had done this, Wang Cuiyun blew out the oil lamp with a “whoosh,” plunging the room into darkness.
If Xu Lian hadn’t inherited the memories of the original owner, he would have been confused. Thankfully, he understood.
This world was full of strange and dangerous phenomena, and the Night Patrol was one of them.
Every night, the Night Patrol would appear like wandering ghosts and go from house to house. Each household had to prepare a cup of blood and place it outside their door to ensure their safety.
If no blood was left outside, the “night patrol” would break in and drain the blood from everyone in the household.
No one had ever seen what the “night patrol” looked like, because those who had seen it were all dead.
There were two rumors about the Night Patrol. One claimed that it was a towering creature with a green face and sharp teeth, while the other said it was a formless black mist.
Although Wang Cuiyun was not yet forty, due to the constant bloodletting, she looked as if she were in her fifties or sixties. Li Xiya’s pale complexion was also a result of this.
Apart from the “night patrol” that appeared every night, there was another strange phenomenon that occurred during the day: women couldn’t be outside for long periods of time, as it would attract misfortune.
Therefore, every household needed strong men to work and support the family. Women couldn’t be out for too long, so the men had to go out, work, and earn food to maintain survival.
“Rest for at least one more night. If you still don’t feel better and can’t go out to work tomorrow morning, I’ll have to find a strong man to take over for you.”
Wang Cuiyun gave Xu Lian a cold look in the dark and said this before dragging Li Xiya into the back room.
Xu Lian lay silently on the wooden bed, lost in thought.
This world was cruel. A man who couldn’t earn food would doom the women in his family to starvation, and he would be abandoned.
If a man was injured, disabled, or useless, he had to leave on his own.
If he didn’t and insisted on being a “lazy old man,” the women would bring in a strong man to take his place and kick him out without hesitation.
If it came to that, you will lose your face, so it was better to leave on his own.
Damn it… Xu Lian silently prayed for his injuries to heal quickly, while also sending a few thoughts toward the women of this world.