I Am Immortal in Great Yu

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Troubled Times

In the Thirty-Second Year of Emperor Shizong, a great drought struck the Three Southern States of the Yu Country, causing a poor harvest and stirring the beginnings of unrest.

Yunzhou.

Daze Prefecture, Changshan County.

BANG!

With a sharp crack, the partially closed door of Caozhi Hall was kicked open.

A ruddy-faced, full-bearded man in his thirties walked in with two underlings. ”Yo, Ah Rui, you’re in? Why close the door in broad daylight?”

”Lord Hu!”

Across from him was a pale-faced boy of fifteen or sixteen with a bit of fuzz on his chin. His name was Fang Rui. Upon seeing Lord Hu, he immediately stood up from behind the counter, his face wreathed in a smile. ”Just taking a little afternoon break. I was actually waiting for you, to pay this month’s fee!”

As he spoke, he offered up twelve large, round coins with square holes in their centers.

”Paying up so readily this time?”

Lord Hu took the large coins and weighed them in his palm a few times; he knew the amount instantly. ”It’s not enough. Word came from above. Starting this month, the fee is increasing by twenty percent.”

”Twenty percent?”

A pained look crossed Fang Rui’s face. Gritting his teeth as if physically hurt by the expense, he pulled another three large coins from his robes.

”So cooperative? I thought I’d have to use other methods.”

Lord Hu narrowed his eyes, a smile that didn’t reach them playing on his lips. ”Ah Rui, have you come into some money lately?”

”You must be joking, Lord Hu. Is there anything that happens on this street that you don’t know about? If I’d struck it rich, how could I possibly hide it from you?”

”It’s just that I know we can only run our pharmacy thanks to you and the Tiger Gang looking out for us. So, no matter how hard things get, we must support your work!”

Fang Rui bowed, his face full of a sycophantic smile. Finally, he added, a little sheepishly, ”I wouldn’t dare hide it from you, Lord Hu, but I do have a small request. My father has been conscripted, so there’s no one really in charge of Caozhi Hall. I was hoping you might look out for us a little extra.”

”Good, good. Ah Rui, you know how to read a situation. Don’t worry. This is what the Tiger Gang does for a living; we won’t let anyone bully you.”

Lord Hu smiled and patted Fang Rui’s shoulder twice.

”My deepest thanks, Lord Hu!”

Fang Rui smiled fawningly as he saw Lord Hu out.

That’s right. He just smiled and saw him off. No muttered threats like ’thirty years east of the river, thirty years west,’ and no cold glint in his eyes.

’A man like Lord Hu has seen all sorts of people from every walk of life. He’s an expert at reading others. Show the slightest hint of resentment or indignation, and you’d get a savage beating. He wouldn’t bother with any rules.’

’In both his past life and this one, Fang Rui understood a simple truth: in the presence of those powerful enough to control your destiny, you must maintain a sense of awe and fear, regardless of whether they are good or bad, kind or evil.’

’Of course, one can compromise and feign compliance, but one must not lose their backbone... These debts must be remembered.’

After seeing Lord Hu off, Fang Rui returned inside, the smile finally vanishing from his face.

”Brother Rui, are they gone?”

Just then, the curtain to the back room parted, and a middle-aged woman in her forties emerged. She wore a simple wooden hairpin and a blouse and skirt of coarse cloth. It was Fang Rui’s mother, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family.

”Mom, they’re gone!”

A smile returned to Fang Rui’s face, this one much more genuine. ”I told you, I can handle paying the monthly fee. You didn’t need to watch from the back.”

”Oh, you silly child. I was just worried, that’s all. Your father always used to be the one to deal with them...” At the mention of Fang Rui’s father, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family let out a heavy sigh.

”Don’t worry, Mom. Even though Dad was conscripted, he’s an army Physician, so his safety is more or less guaranteed. Besides, heaven helps the good...” Fang Rui said, trying to comfort her.

”I hope so!”

Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family nodded, then her face filled with anguish as she remembered the extra three large coins. ”It used to be ’two for white, three for black,’ and now it’s ’three for white, four for black’... What has this world come to!”

The so-called ”two for white, three for black” meant the ”white” path—the Government Office—took twenty percent of the profits, and the ”black” path—the gangs—took thirty. ”Three for white, four for black,” naturally, meant the Government Office now took thirty percent, and the gangs took forty.

With the former, if you scrimped and saved, you could still put a little money aside. With the latter, it was difficult to even make ends meet.

”Yes, this world... the greater the disaster, the heavier the exploitation,” Fang Rui sighed.

”Let’s not talk about this.”

Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family shook her head and picked up a basket, ready to head out. ”Brother Rui, you watch the house. I’m going to buy some grain.”

”Can’t buy corn flour anymore, have to get all Sorghum Flour... We’re out of soap beans, too...”

She mumbled on to herself.

”Mom, wait,”

Fang Rui suddenly called out, stopping Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family and pulling her toward the back room.

”Brother Rui, are you going to do that again?”

”Uh-huh!”

”Can we not do it? It feels uncomfortable.”

”Hey, Mom, just listen to me!”

Fang Rui pulled Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family into the back room, took out his tools, and began adding a few pimples and freckles to her face.

”Mother! Big Brother!”

Just then, a voice came from the bed. It was a young girl in a blouse and skirt with her hair in two pigtails. Her name was Fang Ling.

”Ling’Er, awake from your nap?”

Fang Rui turned his head and asked, ”Take a look at Mom. Is she ugly?”

”Ugly.”

Fang Ling nodded honestly. ”Uglier and uglier.”

”Then I can rest easy.”

Fang Rui patted his chest, looking relieved. He said to Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family, ”Mom, you can go out now... Oh, right, stuff some rags under your clothes to look a little more bloated... In times like these, it’s safer to look ugly.”

Although Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family grumbled and seemed reluctant, she still did as Fang Rui said. After giving a few more words of instruction to Fang Rui and his sister, she finally left with her basket.

By now, Fang Ling had already put on her shoes, combed her hair, and gotten out of bed.

RUMBLE!

Her stomach rumbled.

”I’m going to get some water,” Fang Ling said.

”Wait,”

Fang Rui rummaged around and, from who knows where, produced half a Sorghum Flour cake. He handed it to Fang Ling. ”Here, gnaw on this.”

CRUNCH!

Fang Ling took it, broke it in two, and gave the larger half to Fang Rui. ”Big Brother, you gnaw on it too.”

Fang Rui looked down at Fang Ling’s large, jet-black, sparkling eyes and her yellowish hair, and smiled. ”I’m a grown-up. I don’t need to gnaw on it.”

”Oh, right. Come here, I’ll put some pimples and freckles on your face, too.”

”Oh.”

Fang Ling obediently came over.

Fang Rui watched as Fang Ling struggled to chew the hard sorghum flour cake while letting him do as he pleased. A small smile touched his lips. ’This little sister of mine seems a bit dull-witted, not the brightest sort.’

’Then again, he understood. In this world, literacy was a rarity. It was only natural to be less astute if one didn’t read.’

’In an environment like this, complex personalities—scheming but appearing harmless, or being cleverly mischievous—were unlikely to exist.’

On the other hand, children from poor families mature early, and Fang Ling was a perfect example of this: obedient, well-behaved, and sensible.

”Alright, done.”

After adding a few more pimples and freckles to Fang Ling’s face, making her look considerably uglier, Fang Rui clapped his hands. He let his sister play in the back room while he went out to the main hall.

He sat down behind the counter.

Fang Rui rubbed the bridge of his nose and recalled the events of this life.

’That’s right, he was a Transmigrator. But unlike the typical orphan protagonists, he had a father, a mother, and a sister.’

His father, Fang Baicao.

His mother, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family.

His little sister, Fang Ling.

The previous owner of this body, also named Fang Rui, had been sickly since childhood. Half a month ago, a severe illness had allowed the Fang Rui from Earth to transmigrate and occupy this body.

’The country I’m in is called Great Yu. To be specific, the Yu Country, Yunzhou, Daze Prefecture, Changshan County... This year there was a summer drought, a poor harvest, the Taiping Sect is rebelling outside the city, and there’s a conscription... ’

As Fang Rui thought of this, a complicated look appeared in his eyes.

Half a month ago, when he had just transmigrated and was recovering from his illness, the conscription was in full swing. It was easy to imagine that if Fang Rui had been sent to the army with his frail constitution, it would have been a death sentence.

At the critical moment, his new body’s father, Fang Baicao, had stepped forward. Despite being over the conscription age of fifty, he had used his status as a Physician to pull some strings and take Fang Rui’s place.

’It wasn’t just my father, but my mother and sister, too...’

In the days since Fang Baicao left, Fang Rui had become the head of the household. At mealtimes, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family would have him eat first, giving him the thickest parts of the congee while she and Fang Ling had the watery leftovers. They prioritized the grain for him, even if it meant they went hungry...

All of this made him feel a sense of warmth.

’To be honest, as a Transmigrator, it was impossible to say that he had any deep feelings for Fang Baicao, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family, Fang Ling, or this family at the very beginning.’

’But as they spent time together, he had come to accept them from the bottom of his heart.’

’After all, a man is not made of stone. How could he remain unfeeling?’

’In this chaotic, ancient-like world, if I want to survive with my whole family, I have to be careful and cautious... Compared to the other common folk of this era, who live muddle-headed lives without any hope, I am different!’

’Because... I have my golden finger...’

”AHH—”

Just as Fang Rui was thinking, a sudden scream from outside jolted him. He quickly got up, went to the door, and peeked carefully through the crack.

...