Chapter 1 Part I

    "Zhenzhu Zhenzhu! My dear Zhu’er Zhu'er, mother's beloved child, sob sob sob... It's all mother's fault for not taking good care of you," the heart-wrenching cries of a woman pierced the air, overwhelming the senses.

    What's this noise about? Who's making all this racket? I'm trying to sleep. Ever since returning from the factory, I've been so exhausted I could barely crawl into bed. Who's crying and wailing so annoyingly nearby?

    Li Jing frowned in displeasure.

    "Ah, Zhu’er! My Zhu’er, you're not dead! Doctor, please summon Doctor Liu for me at once," the woman continued to lament while shaking her little daughter’s body, caused Li Jing to reluctantly open her eyes.

    Who's shaking me like this? And why is it so cold? Isn't it supposed to be summer in Beijing right now? Just yesterday, it was so hot outside the factory where I ate noodles. Why is it so cold suddenly? Could I be sick?

    "Zhu’er, can you hear mother? Oh, my poor Zhenzhu, what are we going to do, husband?"

    "The doctor is here! Make way!" The commotion continued, preventing Li Jing from falling back asleep.

    A rough skin gently pressed against her left wrist, then moved around her body, leaving her newly awakened mind utterly confused.

    "The body is too weak, malnourished, and the spirit energy is depleted. The cold weather is too much for her body to withstand. I'll prescribe some medicine, but she needs to take better care of herself. Eat more spirit-nourishing food to warm the body. She should recover within seven days," Doctor Liu, the village physician, advised after examining the frail eight-year-old girl.

    He sighed deeply, hiding his sympathetic gaze. Not just spirit-nourishing food, even ordinary food sufficient to sustain life was hard to come by for the He family. The He family, consisting of five members, one disabled, three young children, and a single weak woman, struggled to survive each day without sickness or death from cold, a testament to heaven's mercy.

    "Thank you very much, Doctor Liu. As for the medicine cost..."

    "For the medicine, let's settle on 5 brass coins. I know your family is struggling," he said, charging less than the cost of the herbs, but as he too had a family to feed, he couldn't waive the fee entirely. Doctor Liu wrote the prescription for his assistant and left with his medical bag.

    "Such a pity little girl."

    "Indeed, this winter is colder than usual. With such heavy snowfall, falling ill is inevitable."

    "If you feel sorry for her, why not pay for her medicine?"

    "How could I? My own family barely has enough to eat. How can we possibly help the He family? Let's go, we should head back home before end up paying for the medicine."

    The onlooking villagers quickly dispersed, as if staying any longer would bring them misfortune.

    Li Jing blinked in confusion. She looked around in alarm at her surroundings: a dilapidated hut with a roof that seemed ready to collapse on her head if she breathed too hard. There were only a few old items around and a tattered blanket covering her.

    What's going on? Where am I? And who are these people talking over my head? Are they filming a drama or something? Why am I so cold? Could I have a fever, causing me to hallucinate like this?

    With these thoughts, she succumbed to her overwhelming drowsiness once more, deciding to ponder her situation after some more sleep.

    Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo!

    The lone rooster's call woke Li Jing from her blissful slumber. No, she is now Zhenzhu, arrived here five days ago. Accepting this reality was difficult, but she had to acknowledge that she had transcended into an unknown place and into the body of Zhenzhu, a village girl with a frail body, who had died of cold five days ago, allowing her spirit to inhabit this body instead.

    In her delicate hand, she still held a shiny golden fish scale, about the size of a thumbnail, which she turned over absently.

    It was the only thing she had brought from Beijing, amidst all the confusion and bewilderment.

    She couldn't understand how her spirit ended up here, originally a leatherworker in Beijing factory, a recent fashion design graduate looking for suitable employment, working on leather goods like bags and shoes, and taking on sewing jobs for extra income. That day, as she cleaned a piece of crocodile leather, a small golden fish scale fell next to it, presumably from another fish’s or from a fish the crocodile had eaten. Dismissing the improbability, she pocketed the beautiful scale, and after a tiring day's work, she fell asleep in her dorm, only to awaken in another dimension with the fish scale as her sole companion.

    She discarded all scientific reasons. It must be because of this fish scale that she had ended up here!

    This place was unknown to her, unrecorded in history. She found herself in Dongshan Village, a small and desolate village, surrounded by eight other villages scattered across the valleys. The land was mostly sandy and not suitable for cultivation, only able to grow a few types of small plants and some herbs. The villagers survived by hunting and collecting herbs in the forest, selling firewood they collected. The nearest forest was four li away from Dongshan Village. The He family relied solely on Zhenzhu's mother, Miss Wang, who collect herbs for sell, earning just enough to buy two jin of wheat daily, barely sustaining the five of them.

    He Lei, Zhenzhu's father, had been bedridden for over three years and could no longer work. Her elder brother, He Ming, was ten, and her younger brother, He Yu, was three—neither of them were old enough to earn a living, leaving Miss Wang as the sole breadwinner.

    "Zhu’er, are you awake, child? Come, have some hot porridge, and you'll recover quickly," Miss Wang placed a steaming bowl of porridge before Zhenzhu, who looked disheartened at the watery meal.

    Life, oh life, why must the transcending lead me to poverty? How many days left to live, or when will the starvation might claim me, remains unknown.

    Heaven's so cruel!

    "Mother, have father and He Ming, He Yu eaten yet?"

    "Sister, you eat first. I'm not hungry," a small voice replied, accompanied by a cute yet emaciated boy, He Yu, gazing sadly at the bowl of porridge, willing to endure hunger so his sick sibling could eat more.

    "Come eat with us, He Yu," she said, pitying the young face.

    "No, I want you to eat," he insisted, shaking his head vigorously.

    "I can't finish it all. Come share with me."

    "No, I must check on elder brother first. He's feeding father," the young boy said, then ran off to another room where their father lay ill.

    He Lei, originally from the Zhang family, was a low-ranking soldier in Chenyuan City. Elder Zhang was a peddler who eventually opened a small shop in a not-so-favorable location, later expanding it into a profitable grain store. He had three sons; the eldest, Zhang Lei, was born to his first wife who had passed away, while the two younger sons were from his current wife. The younger sons helped manage the grain store but lacked business acumen, barely keeping the store afloat. Zhang Lei, however, had a knack for business but chose a military career instead. Old Master Zhang, seeing his eldest son's disinterest in commerce, did not press the issue, allowing him to pursue his own path. As long as he sent his salary home, he and his family lived off a monthly allowance from the main household, leading a simple and content life with enough food and money for necessities.

    After Elder Zhang passed away, the stepmother's treatment towards him changed, the stepmother reduced their monthly allowance and food supplies for his family, often leaving them hungry. When Zhang Lei protested, she accused him of being ungrateful, so he eventually stopped sending money to the main household. However, this led to worsening relationship when the stepmother complained to the city officials, accusing him of neglecting them. Forced to resume payments to avoid conflict, Zhang Lei's family was treated worse over time, eventually leading to an accident that left him bedridden. Zhang Lei’s compensation of sickness from the official was seized by the main household, and soon Zhang Lei’s family was expelled with only a small sum of money. Pregnant and with two children and a sick husband, Miss Wang hoped to rely on her parents' goodwill in their rural hometown, only to find them deceased, leaving behind only a dilapidated house and a plot of land 2 mus in size.

    "Look! Elder brother and sister, mother found spirit herbs today! We'll have delicious egg porridge," He Yu exclaimed excitedly, holding an herb that shimmered with a faint blue glow, its refreshing scent was filling the air.

    "Great! With a bit more money, we can buy eggs for tasty porridge for father and you," He Ming replied joyfully.

    Spirit herbs were exceedingly rare, unlike ordinary herbs with no spirit energy, used for basic medicine. Spirit herbs, however, could be made into spirit-enhancing pills sold at high prices to cultivators.

    In this dimension, there were two types of power: spirit energy and power of the character. Spirit energy existed in all living beings, varying only in quantity from birth.

    One can train for their spirit energy, or spirit energy cultivation, required considerable resources, including consuming spirit-enriched food and pills, affordable mainly by nobles or those of high statuses. Common folks considered even a single meal of spirit food a great fortune.

    Those who cultivate spiritual energy are respected by everyone. Most of those who cultivate spiritual energy enter government service as high-ranking officials in the royal court or serve as warriors for the realm.

    On the other hand, the power of rubes involves drawing spirit-infused symbols on objects to enhance their effectiveness. For example, drawing runes on a sword can imbue it with spiritual energy and increase its attack power, or drawing runes on armor can enhance its defensive capabilities. Rune artists must deeply study rune patterns. To become a rune artist, one must first be a cultivator of spiritual energy, as spiritual energy is required to draw the runes. Therefore, rune artists are the highest class in society, with higher-level rune artists receiving greater honor and recognition.

    "These three spirit herbs must be worth at least one tael!" He Yu said excitedly. It was rare for her mother to be fortunate enough to find spirit herbs, as they were exceedingly rare.

    "Don't damage them; they'll lose value, and we won't be able to buy egg porridge," Miss Wang teased, elated that these herbs could sustain them for at least another month. Normally, earning ten brass coins was good enough, but finding spirit herbs today brought her to tears, knowing her children would eat well for a while.

    "Let's go, mother. Let's sell them to Old Man You so we can buy three eggs," He Yu urged, eager for the small luxury.

    "Alright, alright, you little imp," Miss Wang smiled fondly, grabbing the basket to visit Old Man You, a middleman who bought herbs to sell in Fengfu City market, which is the nearest city to Dongshan Village. He bought herbs daily, dried them, and sold them weekly in the city, also trading for eggs, meats, and necessary items for villagers, since he had a cart capable of hauling goods.

    "Grandpa You! Today, my mother got some spirit herbs too!" He Yu called out from the front of the house, even before entering Grandpa You's courtyard. 

    "Oh Really? Little Yu? Ah, congratulations!" Grandpa You came out of his house and affectionately ruffled He Yu's hair. 

    "Oh, congratulations, Miss Wang. You must earn quite a lot today. Truly lucky." 

    "That's right. Why can't I ever find spirit herbs?" 

    "Do you think finding spirit herbs is as easy as picking mushrooms?" a villager who had brought herbs to sell to Grandpa You said enviously. 

    "Just a few spirit herbs and they're celebrating as if they've found a thousand-year ginseng. Look, my husband caught a whole deer today. But as they say, for a poor family like yours, three spirit herbs might just prolong your difficult lives a bit more. Ha ha. Oh dear! Just blue spirit herbs, and I thought you found golden ones, heh," a sharp voice rang out, grating to the ears. Miss Wang quickly covered He Yu's ears. 

    That sharp voice belonged to Miss Yu, whose husband was the best hunter in the village, often bringing back large game from deep in the mountains. Once, he even hunted a silver spirit deer, highly valuable and able to sustain an ordinary family for three years. Thus, Miss Yu's family was the wealthiest in the village, making her quite haughty and envied by the other women for having such a capable husband. 

    Seeing Miss Wang successfully gathering spirit herbs, Miss Yu couldn't resist sneering. 

    "Miss Yu, that's not right. Blue spirit herbs are already quite good. Who would be lucky enough to find golden spirit herbs?" 

    "Exactly, I've never even managed to gather blue spirit herbs myself. Have you ever, Miss Yu?" villagers who’s not fond of Miss Yu's arrogance, chimed in. 

    Spiritual energy comes in various levels, ranging from blue, indigo, navy, silver, gold, to white. The blue level has the lowest spiritual energy, while the white level has the most concentrated spiritual energy.

    "Pfft, someone like me doesn't need to bother collecting herbs. Just my husband going hunting brings in at least 200-300 brass coins a day. No need for me to strain myself collecting herbs," Miss Yu bragged, confidently in her husband's abilities. Thinking that they must be jealous of her.

    The other women, envious of Miss Yu, didn't say anything further, some too tired to argue. 

    Miss Wang didn't want to waste time arguing with Miss Yu. She quickly sold the herbs for ten eggs and four jin of rice, then hurried home with her son.