Chapter 001 - A Harsh World
“Li Yuan, the millet jar is almost empty.” Zhao Yun seemed to hear a woman's voice drifting over from the surface of the sea. It sounded distant and ethereal, tinged with a hint of mystery. Yet, all he could truly catch was the rumble of the ocean depths in his ears.
He drifted upward, as if guided by that voice, his soul seemingly being pulled up to the water's surface. Then, as he broke through, a deluge of memories came bubbling up along with him.
He remembered drinking, drinking at a class reunion.
Many of his former classmates had made a life for themselves, climbing up the ladder of success, achieving milestone after milestone. Yet he had ended up as a butcher, carving up pigs for a living...certainly a fall from grace for the old class president.
So he chose to ignore reality by drowning his disappointment with booze. He kept his head low and gulped down glass after glass after glass...until everything went black.
“You know, if you don't go out hunting soon, we'll starve. Hardly anyone in the village needs any writing done lately, so I haven't earned anything. I'm sorry....”
The woman's voice returned, prodding at his consciousness.
Li Yuan? Who’s that? Who's she calling?
Zhao Yun's curiosity was piqued. Then, as if to answer his questions, a second deluge of memories—ones that did not belong to him—flooded into his mind.
Within a matter of moments, he had lived another man's life...or rather recalled his own. He wasn't sure how or why, but it appeared he'd transmigrated, becoming another person entirely.
The person the woman was calling for was him. He was Li Yuan, a hunter in Gemhill County. He hunted because his family owned a special permit, once issued by a former county magistrate.
Three years ago, a plague had ravaged Gemhill County. Li Yuan's parents did not survive, leaving him behind. Life had to go on, so he took up a bow and ventured into the mountains to hunt. He knew little else.