At the foot of Yunmeng Mountain, inside a shabby earthen house.
"So, I've time-traveled?"
Gu Yuan, lying on the bed, shook his head, feeling terribly uncomfortable all over.
His forehead was burning, his body weak, his head dizzy, and his stomach was unbearably hungry!
On his waist, arms, shoulders, and other areas, there were several ghastly wounds.
The wounds bore teeth marks, some were torn, clearly caused by some kind of beast's bite, sprinkled with medicinal powder, with purplish-black edges, some areas oozing pus and blood.
Gu Yuan knew very well that his weakness and discomfort were due to the infection of his wounds.
The wounds were caused by vicious dogs.
A few days ago, the young master of the Qian Mansion, Qian Yunjie, called friends together, rode horses, and brought dogs and guards to the countryside to hunt in the mountains.
At that time, Gu Yuan was working in the field and was bitten by several hunting dogs, the pain causing him to faint.
Those people didn't care about his life, galloping into the mountains on horses.
It was his parents in this life who received the news, took him home in turns, and invited a doctor to treat him.
It was only just now that Gu Yuan finally woke up and also awakened the Mystery of the Womb.
"Not only did they set dogs on me, but afterward they ignored me as if I were nothing but a pig or a dog, damn Qian Yunjie... In this society, the people at the bottom have no human rights!"
Recalling the scene from three days ago when several hunting dogs bit him, Gu Yuan felt the wounds on his body begin to ache again.
Especially when he thought of the leading young man in fine clothes, armed with a long bow, sitting high on a horse, looking down at him with concealed disgust, Gu Yuan felt a gnawing anger.
But Gu Yuan couldn't think much more about that now, his stomach was hungry, his throat was painfully dry, he just wanted to drink some water to moisten his throat.
Struggling to get out of bed, he ended up collapsing to the ground, making him wince and gasp in pain.
"Oh my son, you're finally awake!"
At this moment, a thin old lady came in, carrying a pile of clothes.
Seeing Gu Yuan awake, she was filled with surprise and joy, hurriedly helping him up.
The old woman wore a coarse cloth skirt, her hair white, her eyes swollen, she looked a bit worn and aged.
She was Gu Yuan's mother, Gu Wangshi.
Gu Yuan sat by the bedside, forced a smile: "Mother, I'm fine, just a bit thirsty."
"Good, my son is fine, that's good!"
Gu Wangshi's eyes grew redder in her excitement, after pouring water, she hurriedly ran out:
"You haven't eaten anything for days, drink some water first, I'll make some food for you."
Gu Yuan picked up the chipped porcelain bowl, took a sip.
The cool water soothed his dry throat, his throat felt noticeably better.
Before long, the meal was ready.
A plate of dry salted radish and two bowls of thin porridge.
The radish, preserved with salty water, was without a bit of oiliness, the thin porridge was made from inferior rice, with poor taste, it looked downright shabby.
But Gu Yuan didn't show any hint of disdain.
This was not his resource-rich previous life.
In his past life, as long as one had limbs and was willing to work hard, one would never starve.
Yet in this life, due to harsh taxes and levies, forced labor, natural disasters, and low productivity, many people starve to death every year. Meat, eggs, milk, sugar, even refined grains, were luxuries for the landlords.
Having a meal, not starving to death, to mountain dwellers relying on nature, was already a great happiness, they dared not be picky!
Two bowls of rice porridge, one thick, one thin; the thick one was for Gu Yuan, the thin for Gu Wangshi.
Gu Yuan did not refuse, his father was old and overburdened, as the male of the household, he needed to recover quickly to shoulder the responsibility of supporting the family.
"Mother, where is Father, where did he go?"
Gu Yuan wondered.
Squeak—
Before Gu Wangshi could answer, the door was pushed open, an old man entered.
His face covered in wrinkles, his thin clothes stained with mud and watermarks, his face slightly pale.
"A Yuan is awake?!"
Seeing Gu Yuan, Gu Dashan was very pleased.
After exchanging a few words with Gu Yuan, he took out a patched little cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to Gu Wangshi: "Old lady, keep it well. Today, I helped dig a ditch for someone, the master was generous, gave two pounds of coarse rice."
As he spoke, an autumn breeze blew in from outside, making Gu Dashan shiver.
Looking at Gu Dashan's purple lips from the cold, his disheveled white hair, and his hands shaking from exhaustion, Gu Yuan pursed his lips, said nothing, feeling a bit sorrowful inside.
The family was already poor, and now to get a doctor for him, they must have spent all their savings, even their winter food supply was likely running low.
How to survive this winter was still a concern.
The family sat down and began to eat.
Despite the unbearable hunger, Gu Yuan still patiently sipped his porridge, fearful of hurting his body.
While talking, they touched on the incident of Gu Yuan being bitten by a dog. Learning that Butler Wu of the Qian Mansion had visited once and symbolically given one silver coin as compensation, and threatening Gu's father not to publicize this matter, Gu Yuan's expression turned unpleasant.
Almost killed him, pushing the whole family to the brink of despair, and then only giving such a small amount of money, not even enough to pay a doctor for treatment. Is this treating them like beggars?
That wasn't all. They even threatened Gu's father not to spread the word, or bear the consequences!
Whose sense of justice is this?
Is there still any law?
Is there still any justice?!
"Child..."
Gu's father glanced at Gu Yuan with some concern, murmuring, "Father knows you're feeling wronged, but we are all just mud-legs toiling in the fields, unable to provoke these big families in the county. Maybe we should let this matter go..."
As he spoke, he looked anxiously at Gu Yuan's face.
Their family was merely rural villagers with two acres of sparse land, possibly facing starvation in bad years.
In contrast, the Qian Mansion was a significant household in the county, owning over three thousand acres of fertile land, involved in the medicinal business, with numerous servants, hundreds of clan members, raising over a dozen strong Martial Masters as nursing home guards, and several tributors with unique skills.
It is said that the elite among them could even leap over houses and tear apart tigers and leopards!
In this county, the Qian Mansion was undoubtedly the local tyrant, sitting like a tiger on its territory!
The disparity between them was not just ordinary.
His son was too straightforward, heading into things with a single-minded focus, at an age where actions were taken without considering the consequences.
If you can't swallow this resentment and seek revenge, even showing a hint of it might bring catastrophic disaster to the whole family!
Gu's father thought Gu Yuan would get angry and argue, but unexpectedly, Gu Yuan just calmly nodded, "Father, I understand what you mean. Don't worry. I won't make trouble."
The old couple was stunned, exchanged a glance, seemingly a little surprised.
They did not know that the Gu Yuan before their eyes was no longer the original Gu Yuan, much more mature in psychological age, naturally not impulsive.
The circumstances were stronger than people.
Gu Yuan understood well that, against such a behemoth like the Qian Mansion, when lacking enough power to resist, swallowing pride and compromising was the correct approach.
Merely holding onto a brave sense of retribution would not only risk his own life but also implicate his parents. That was not bravery; it was foolishness!
Of course, the head could bow... but this account still needs to be kept!
"Damn this world!"
Gu Yuan sighed.
This is the sorrow of the underclass...
The wrongdoer walks away, while the victims must swallow their pride, live in fear, and worry about retaliation!
How absurd?!
...
After eating, Gu Yuan returned to bed to lie down, occasionally pulling on his wound, making him grimace in pain.
Moments later, he vaguely heard the sound of his parents talking next door.
The old couple was discussing where to go in the upcoming days to find work, washing clothes, to earn some food.
Gu Yuan remained silent, starting to think about what he should do next.
In this feudal society, winter was the "season of death" for the poor.
Every winter, many people would starve or freeze to death in their homes.
"Now it is late autumn, winter is coming, and the family is almost out of food. So, the primary issue before me is food! Secondly, it's firewood for heating!"
Gu Yuan's eyes showed contemplation: "With my identity as a villager, the possible ways to earn money are either hunting or chopping wood, but hunting requires tools. As for chopping wood..."
As he thought, Gu Yuan suddenly sensed something, abruptly turning his head toward the door.
Beneath the worn-out wooden door was a gap, and at this moment, a yellow-grey mouse poked half of its body through.
Moments later, it sneakily slipped in, raising its head to sniff around.
As if sniffing the scent of food, the mouse headed straight for the rice jar in the corner!
This mouse was slightly different from the ordinary house mouse, larger in build, slimmer, with a slightly yellow fur coat, and a gleam of cunning in its eyes.
Gu Yuan recognized it as a unique mountain rat at the foot of Yunmeng Mountain, an omnivore living on plant roots, wild fruits, grains, sometimes catching insects, small snakes, or frogs to eat.
In this current season, with the field's grains harvested and sown, and fewer insects around, this mountain rat was obviously looking for food.
"If I remember correctly, this type of mountain rat is much cleaner than house mice, and it seems to taste quite good. It's even nourishing."
Recalling the delicious taste of mountain rats, Gu Yuan's mouth instinctively produced saliva, swallowing in anticipation.
This body had not tasted meat in a long time.
As soon as the mountain rat sneaked into the rice jar, he quickly got up, grabbed some clothes, barefooted, and quietly approached.
The mountain rat in the jar seemed to hear the commotion, suddenly darting out, but the well-prepared Gu Yuan caught it with his clothes, causing it to squeak and struggle.
Gu Yuan grabbed a nearby shoe and was about to send it to meet Buddha, but just then, a line of small text appeared before his eyes:
[You have captured a mountain rat (white), do you wish to tame it?]