Bai Yuan had transmigrated.
He swore that if he ever got the chance, he would never again let his itchy fingers click on one of those damn pop-up game ads in the bottom-right corner...
He fell silent, staring at the dilapidated wooden hut around him, the window lattice long gone and a bitter wind howling through the opening.
The last thing he remembered, he was grinding away at a mobile game called "Great Martial Artist of the Chaotic Era." He didn't know when he'd fallen asleep, but when he opened his eyes again, he was here.
'A dream. This has to be a dream.'
Bai Yuan squeezed his eyes shut, then snapped them open.
Nothing had changed.
'I can't go back.'
He felt a wave of despair.
If he had transmigrated as the young master of some prominent family, free to while away his days in pleasure districts with a few beautiful, gentle maids at his side, he certainly wouldn't be this worked up.
But no, he had to transmigrate into the body of a good-for-nothing, a destitute wretch who didn't know where his next meal was coming from. Of course he wasn't happy about it.
Bai Yuan had no choice but to accept this cruel reality.
Fortunately, his sister-in-law was very pretty...
"Bai Yuan, are you feeling any better?"
A soft, gentle voice sounded from inside the house.
A pretty woman of about twenty, wearing a linen headscarf, entered by parting the door curtain, carrying a bowl of steaming noodle soup.
This was the sister-in-law of Bai Yuan's predecessor, Xiao Qiaoniang.
His predecessor had come from a decent family. While not fabulously wealthy, they were at least a respectable household in town.
Bai Yuan also had an older brother, who was a sickly person.
To improve his older brother's luck, their parents spent three copper coins and a bag of sorghum to buy Xiao Qiaoniang from a neighboring village.
Unfortunately, his predecessor's brother was not blessed with good fortune. He died of his illness before they could even complete the wedding ceremony, so Xiao Qiaoniang had to stay with the Bai Family to work.
Later, his predecessor's parents were killed by bandits while traveling outside the town, and both passed away.
Only Bai Yuan and Xiao Qiaoniang were left in the Bai Family.
The original Bai Yuan was the youngest son, doted on by his parents. He had none of the skills needed to be the pillar of the family and spent his days idling about Baisha Town.
If not for Xiao Qiaoniang supporting them with her needlework, he would have starved to death long ago.
"Thank you, sister-in-law."
Bai Yuan took the hot noodle soup from Xiao Qiaoniang's hands. A few specks of vibrant green scallion floated on the clear broth, standing out sharply.
His stomach immediately began to RUMBLE. Overcome by hunger, he ignored the heat and began to gulp it down.
"Bai Yuan, slow down. Be careful, it's hot."
Xiao Qiaoniang gently patted Bai Yuan's back.
Women in ancient times were mostly docile. When the original's parents were still alive, they had never let her lack for food or clothing, so she had always been grateful.
She also understood the custom of a younger brother marrying his deceased older brother's widow; such arrangements were common in Baisha Town.
The luck-warding ceremony was just one part of the plan; the Bai Family's parents had actually chosen her to be a wife for the younger brother all along.
But the original owner of the body, just like his damn dead brother, was not blessed with good fortune. He caught a cold at the start of winter and died a few days later, allowing the current Bai Yuan to take his place.
In no time, the bowl of noodle soup was empty.
There hadn't been any oil or meat in it to begin with, so now the bowl was so clean it didn't even need washing.
Bai Yuan set down the earthenware bowl, feeling refreshed and invigorated. The gloom in his heart had mostly dissipated.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the large storage jar in the corner of the hut, which had long been empty.
The family had run out of food long ago.
This bowl of white flour noodles was probably borrowed by Xiao Qiaoniang from their neighbor, Uncle Zheng.
Xiao Qiaoniang's meager income from her needlework was not nearly enough to cover their expenses.
'This is one hell of a starting point.'
Bai Yuan sighed softly.
'Change my destiny with knowledge from my past life?'
'That's the kind of plot you only see in power-fantasy novels. For the poor and powerless, possessing a great treasure will only get you killed faster.'
Right now, he just wanted to get a foothold in Baisha Town and live a stable life.
The place he was in was called Qinghe County—or to be precise, Qinghe County, Huanglong Prefecture, Ling Province, of the Xuan Yang Dynasty.
The Xuan Yang Dynasty was no different from the feudal dynasties of his previous life. A dizzying array of harsh taxes and levies made life unbearable for the poor at the bottom, who had to struggle with all their might just to survive.
'Hard, hard, hard!'
In his past life, Bai Yuan was just an ordinary programmer. In ancient times, he was basically useless. With no practical skills, every step was a struggle.
'Farming?'
The Bai Family's fields had been sold off by his predecessor long ago. Even the ancestral home was sold, which was why they had moved to this small wooden hut in a corner of Baisha Town.
'Otherwise, how could Xiao Qiaoniang have managed to support them all this time on her own?'
After thinking it over and over, Bai Yuan decided to try his luck in Mentougou, just outside Baisha Town. Maybe he could find one or two wild animals that had frozen to death.
He told Xiao Qiaoniang his idea.
Xiao Qiaoniang's face was sallow, but her eyes were exceptionally bright. Her figure was gaunt from long-term malnutrition. She looked at him with some surprise.
"Bai Yuan, I heard it's already snowing in Mentougou. It's too dangerous, you absolutely can't go."
Her usually aimless brother-in-law had suddenly had a change of heart, which made Xiao Qiaoniang very confused.
'Could it be that his near-death experience knocked some sense into him?'
Xiao Qiaoniang thought to herself.
Although this brother-in-law of hers was unreliable, he was, after all, the last man in the house. She didn't want anything to happen to Bai Yuan.
If she were to be blamed for the deaths of all four members of the Bai Family, her future days would only be harder to endure.
"I'm just going to look around the foot of the mountain. Nothing will happen."
Bai Yuan waved his hand dismissively.
In his past life, he used to watch videos of survival experts like Bear Grylls and Ed Stafford before bed. His theoretical knowledge was very rich.
'I should... be fine.'
If he weren't forced into a corner, Bai Yuan wouldn't have resorted to such a desperate measure.
All the remaining money from selling the ancestral home had been spent by Xiao Qiaoniang on a doctor to treat Bai Yuan's illness. There was nothing left.
Seeing her brother-in-law's resolute attitude, Xiao Qiaoniang felt a strange feeling rise in her heart.
Before, she had been struggling to support everything alone. Now that she had a man to rely on, even the cold winter wind didn't seem so biting.
"Okay. Bai Yuan, you must be careful."
Xiao Qiaoniang gave a soft, obedient hum of agreement.
She had long since come to see this "brother-in-law," who was three years her junior, as her husband. Now that Bai Yuan was finally showing a change for the better, she was naturally overjoyed.
The temperature in Mentougou was at least ten degrees colder than in Baisha Town. The mountain peaks were blanketed in white snow, with no trace of human activity.
Bai Yuan walked through the snowy woods, the snow CRUNCHING under his feet. The bone-chilling wind made him instinctively pull his cotton-padded jacket tighter.
This jacket was one of the few heirlooms his parents had left behind.
Staring at the vast, white expanse of the snowy forest, Bai Yuan's heart began to pound with uncertainty. The gap between theory and practice was just too great.
He had already heard wolves howling at least three times on his way up.
Even the most experienced hunters in Baisha Town were no match for a wolf pack.
If he ran into one, his chances of survival were zero. But he had no way to retreat.
If he didn't want to starve, he had to risk his life.
'Oh, heavens above, please let me find a wild animal.'
Bai Yuan pressed his palms together and raised them to his forehead.
Suddenly, a flash of golden light flickered before his eyes.
'An illusion?'
Bai Yuan rubbed his eyes hard.
But the golden light before him only grew brighter, finally coalescing into lines of small text.
[Name: Bai Yuan]
[Class: None]
[Skills: None]
[Enhancement Points: 0]
[Acquire a Class!]
[Swordsman] [Boxer] [Hunter]
"A cheat system!"
Bai Yuan trembled with excitement. He was all too familiar with this interface.
This was the very thing that had killed him from all the grinding!
"I choose Hunter!"
He made his choice without a moment's hesitation.
A crooked smile spread across his face.
"Excellent. Time to start the speedrun."