"Brother Yuan, the grain jar at home is almost empty."
Faintly, Zhao Yun heard a woman's voice coming from the sea, ethereal and mysterious, yet all he could hear was the rumbling of the deep ocean currents.
He followed the voice, as if summoned back to his soul, drifting aimlessly towards the sea surface, some memories... emerged with it.
He remembered he was drinking wine.
Drinking at a class reunion.
Many of his former classmates achieved success, while he, as the class monitor, ended up butchering pigs as a butcher.
So, he pretended to be drunk and foolish, lowered his head, and drank heavily.
Then... he blacked out from drinking.
"Brother Yuan, if you don't go hunting, we'll all starve to death. There aren't many people needing written work in the village lately, I can't earn money... sorry..."
The woman's voice came again, tinged with apology.
Who is Brother Yuan?
Who is she calling?
Zhao Yun was curious.
The next moment, as if answering his question, countless memories surged, flooding into his mind.
These unfamiliar pieces of information let him live through someone else's life in just a few minutes.
Zhao Yun understood.
So, Brother Yuan... is him.
He... had crossed over!
Brother Yuan, named Li Yuan, was a hunter in this Shanbao County.
He became a hunter because his family had a "Quasi-Hunting Token" issued by a former County Magistrate.
Three years ago, a plague ravaged Shanbao County, and Li Yuan's parents did not survive the disaster, leaving him orphaned.
With his parents gone, life had to continue.
Li Yuan couldn't do anything else but brave the mountains to hunt.
As for this woman, she was left behind by an old friend during a long journey.
That old friend had a knightly demeanor, a person seemingly from the Jiang Hu, someone Li Yuan admired greatly; they often spoke about loyalty and brotherhood over drinks.
However...
The woman stayed for two full years, and the old friend never returned.
Li Yuan realized that it wasn't just being left behind; she was entrusted to him.
The woman was named Yan Yu, twenty years old, with delicate features but somewhat petite due to malnutrition, usually wearing a village girl's jacket with a blue base and white flowers, and tight black trousers wrapping her long legs, standing under the golden sunlight, she looked like an enticing village beauty.
Yan Yu could write a bit, so she earned some copper plates by writing letters for people.
While Li Yuan went hunting, she kept the house spotless, did laundry, cooked, worked diligently without complaint.
But this winter, when Li Yuan went hunting, he was startled by a raging wild boar, narrowly escaped death to return home, and then fell seriously ill.
Today, he had just shown slight improvement, but upon rising, he was dizzy again, collapsing to the ground.
Then, Zhao Yun crossed over.
The timeline connected.
Yet Zhao Yun took a moment to accept this fact.
He tried to open his eyes, clearly seeing the petite and beautiful village girl before him, acknowledging she was three years older than him, which was why he usually called her "Sister Yan."
"Are you okay, Li Yuan? Maybe... rest another day. I'll see if I can borrow some grains or beans from Aunt Wang next door."
"Sister Yan, I'll go hunt first, if I catch something we won't need to borrow."
Zhao Yun, or rather Li Yuan, took a deep breath.
Since he came to this world, he had to go out and see.
"Brother Yuan, be careful. This cold winter makes it hard to find game in the mountains. Any creatures around must be tough and sturdy, fierce and fat."
To her, Li Yuan was the only man she could rely on.
Li Yuan didn't speak. He quietly grabbed the hunting bow hanging on the wall, also picked up the worn-out quiver beside it, and a small pouch.
The quiver held five arrows, the tips sharpened again and again. Originally, there were fifteen arrows, but ten were lost during the boar chase. Having five left wasn't bad.
In the pouch were twenty handy stones. The "Shooting Stone" could ensure some game hides remained intact, to sell for a better price.
He pushed open the door and walked out.
Outside was a tether with an empty collar. He had raised a big yellow dog, but this fall, it loyally protected its master, only to be killed by a rampaging black bear in the mountains. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been chased by a boar in winter.
The tether swayed forlornly in the wind, lightly striking the wooden wall, making a "pa-pa" sound.
"Survive!"
Li Yuan retracted his gaze, grabbed a firewood blade from beside the wall, inserting it into his waist, then picked up a trident, glanced at the distant mountain path, and stepped out.
As he walked, he observed the surroundings. His home was at the foot of Xiao Mo Mountain in Shanbao County, though not a slum, it was barely better than one.
The only thing Li Yuan wanted to do was improve his skills, earn more money, choose a good day to propose to Yan Yu, and move to Silver Creek.
The security at Silver Creek was much better than here at Xiao Mo Mountain.
But to live there, you needed connections.
Without connections, you needed silver.
Unfortunately, his hunting skills were not strong... it was hard to save enough silver.
Li Yuan exhaled a foul breath, shook off distractions, and followed the experience in his mind, watching around as he climbed the mountain, turned past the mountain pass, and down into the canyon, truly entering the mountain.
...
The mountain's shadow shifted...
The sun quickly moved past.
By evening, Li Yuan dragged his weary body back home.
He didn't catch anything!
There are fewer wild animals in the mountains during winter, especially in the areas close to human habitation. The last time he encountered that wild boar was only after he ventured deep into the "Second Layer Mountain".
But today, he didn't dare to go in.
Inside the house, Yan Yu saw him return empty-handed and said nothing. She ran to the copper mirror, grabbed some wood ash from a basin, smeared it evenly on her face, then tilted her head towards Li Yuan and asked, "Brother Yuan, do I look uglier?"
When Li Yuan looked over, he saw Yan Yu's originally beautiful face had turned ashen, resembling a sickly refugee.
He nodded and sighed, "Sister Yan, I'm sorry for the trouble."
Yan Yu smiled sweetly, blinking her eyes, and said, "I'll go borrow some grain from Aunt Wang's house, be right back."
With that, she hurriedly took a bowl and went out the door.
Soon, Yan Yu returned, but the bowl contained only some "mixture".
There was just a little millet, while the rest was mostly a mix of grain husks and beans.
What are grain husks?
The skin of grains, hard to swallow, but if you pinch your nose, it's possible to get it down.
This autumn, there was a poor harvest in the county, and there wasn't much grain. The price of rice increased, and even grain husks rose in price along with it.
"Brother Yuan, I'll pick out the beans in a while and cook you a bowl of bean rice," Yan Yu said.
Li Yuan replied, "Cook it mixed, we'll eat together."
...
After dinner.
Li Yuan lay on the bed. The bedding had been dried in the sun at noon, and it was relatively comfortable to sleep on.
However, beneath the sheet was packed straw, which made it a bit cold.
He curled up, trying to wrap himself as much as possible in the quilt, keeping still to preserve some warmth.
After a long time, he gave a self-deprecating smile.
Coming to this otherworld in total darkness, even surviving is difficult... this is worse than being a butcher.
But it's not despair.
You can complain, but when daylight comes, you still have to find a way.
In this big winter, how can one hunt?
But if you don't hunt, what else can you do?
These days, even landowners don't lack people; they don't want you even if you wish to be exploited unless you sell yourself off.
From his memory, Li Yuan actually knew a few things.
In this Xiao Mo Mountain, some families have quietly sold their family members, some sold daughters and sons, and some even sold their wives.
Thinking about it this way, Aunt Wang's family lending even a bit of grain is quite something.
"Sleep now." The young man closed his eyes, thinking no more.
In the middle of the night, he suddenly heard the creaking sound of a door opening.
He opened his eyes, only to see a familiar figure suddenly walking over in the darkness.
That figure came over, pulling the quilt, and said shyly and hurriedly, "Brother Yuan, I want to be with you."
As she spoke, she pulled the quilt open and directly slipped inside.
"Sister Yan..."
"Brother Yuan..."
The night turned warm.
Until midnight, everything fell silent.
Yan Yu lay tired but happy in Li Yuan's arms.
The bed was warm.
...
In the morning, the first ray of light slipped through the cracks of the window, flickering on Li Yuan's face.
Li Yuan opened his eyes.
Suddenly... he froze...
A line of information flashed before his eyes:
[You spent a harmonious night with Yan Yu and gained 5 remaining points]
Then, a panel appeared:
[Name: Li Yuan]
[Add Points: 5 points]
[Realm: Unranked]
[Cultivation Skill: None]
[Skills: Basic Archery (6/10); Basic Tracking (4/10)]
[Divine Techniques: Immortality]
[Equipment Bar: Locked]