1: Chapter 1 Life Simulator

In the eighth year of Yunhe in Great Wei, there was a great drought across the land.

In June of the same year, a locust plague struck, and countless commoners starved to death.

On the eighth day of July, starving people in Yuzhou gathered to revolt, and the world fell into chaos.

...

Qingzhou, Hechuan City.

Vibrant red pomegranate flowers swayed gently in the morning breeze. A single dewdrop slid down, falling from a height of five or six meters, landing right on a young man's cheek.

Su Jiuchuan reached up to wipe his face and spoke softly to the frail young woman: "Second Sister, Big Brother has gone on a long trip and I don't know when he will be back. Keep the door locked and make sure not to come out!"

"Mm, I know! You should also return early."

The woman's face caught the morning glow, revealing delicate features. Although her skin looked rough, her figure was slender and shapely, quite beautiful.

Her name was Su Yunxia, and she was Su Jiuchuan's second sister.

Su Jiuchuan also had an older brother named Su Yuanjiang, who was an Escort Guard at the Fuyuan Escort Agency in the city.

Although an Escort Guard was not a Martial Artist, he was considered an assistant to the escort masters, tasked with shouting to clear the path during escort missions.

And the escort masters were at least Ninth-Rank Martial Artists.

It was because of this that the three Su Family siblings could barely maintain stability in this chaotic outer city.

Su Jiuchuan had been in this world for over half a year. At first, he still carried the confidence and aspirations of one who had experienced Transmigration.

He had tinkered with cement, sold roasted buns, and even performed storytelling on the street. However, in this chaotic world, such businesses were simply not meant for someone like him.

Eventually, he realized the reality, and he was left with nothing but fear and a precarious existence.

This was a chaotic world, and in such times, martial strength was the only guarantee.

Of course, Su Jiuchuan also had his own trump card.

When he had undergone Transmigration, a panel appeared before his eyes, called: Life Simulator.

However, this Golden Finger could not be used yet. Every time he summoned the simulator, it would prompt: Insufficient balance, please top up.

...

"Yo, isn't this the little brother of the Su Family? Is your second sister at home?"

Su Jiuchuan emerged from the alleyway and happened to run into three tall, burly men.

He recognized these three; they were local thugs. The leader was named Yang Hu, and the two behind him were his lackeys. These men wandered the streets all day, and no one knew what shady business they were up to in private.

"Second Sister is not at home. A few days ago, Big Brother introduced her to a job doing laundry for a wealthy family in the inner city."

Yang Hu had long been drooling over his second sister, but intimidated by Big Brother Su Yuanjiang's status at the escort agency, he dared not act recklessly.

However, this world was messy, and working at an escort agency was a life of licking blood off a blade; one might never return at any moment.

Therefore, Yang Hu still liked to glance at the Su Family's home whenever he could.

Today, Su Jiuchuan lied again. With Big Brother not at home these past few days, it was better to be careful.

"Oh, not at home, huh!" Yang Hu shook his head with some regret. "When you see your second sister, give her my regards. I saw she looked a bit thin the other day; I'll find a couple of bird eggs another day to help her nourish herself."

Su Jiuchuan nodded submissively, offered a few perfunctory words, and quickly left.

Passing through various narrow paths, Su Jiuchuan soon arrived outside an old bluestone courtyard.

From the courtyard, the crisp sound of reading aloud could be heard from time to time, occasionally mixed with the low reprimands of an old man.

This was an academy; the master had once obtained an official rank. However, in these chaotic times, it was difficult for scholars, so he could only provide elementary education for wealthy families here.

Su Jiuchuan slowly walked around the academy once, finally finding a sunny spot to sit cross-legged. He narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky, lost in thought.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but a clamor came from the academy; school was out.

"Su Jiuchuan!" A big child wearing pigtails ran up to him furtively and called out.

"These are for today." The child threw the scrolls and a box of stationery he had been hiding in his clothes onto him.

Su Jiuchuan caught them, weighed them in his hands, and said calmly: "Today, it's one tael of silver for one thousand characters!"

In the past, it had been half a tael of silver per thousand characters; today, the price had gone up.

The world was getting more and more chaotic, and he had to activate his Golden Finger as soon as possible.

"Fine, fine, hurry up. I'm going to play first and will come back to pick it up later." The child muttered impatiently, casually pulled a piece of broken silver from his clothes, tossed it over, and then strode away.

This child was the son of a big salt merchant in the city, and he was always generous, so he didn't mind.

Su Jiuchuan didn't rush to check the silver. He and the kid with pigtails had a long-term business arrangement. Over the past few months, relying on the business of transcribing homework, he had accumulated quite a bit of silver.

He skillfully moved to a large bluestone nearby and wiped it clean with his sleeve. Only then did he take out the stationery, grind the ink, pick up the brush, and begin transcribing diligently.

Sometimes, Su Jiuchuan thought it was quite interesting.

In his previous life, his father always forced him to practice calligraphy, which he had resisted. Who would have thought that in this world, this would become his most important money-making skill.

Past noon, the kid with pigtails arrived late. Su Jiuchuan handed over the work and then took out the silver from his clothes to take a look.

He took a deep breath. "Top up!"

Instantly, the silver in his hand disappeared.

[Top up successful, current balance 10.2]

[Do you wish to use the Life Simulator? Using it once consumes 10 points.]

Seeing this prompt, Su Jiuchuan's eyes turned red.

It had not been easy. After half a year of living in trepidation, he had finally completed his initial accumulation and saved enough money to use his Golden Finger.

He impatiently chose yes.

Instantly, lines of text appeared before his eyes.

[Eighteen years old, you are living a poor life in Hechuan City.]

[After Su Yuanjiang went on an escort mission, there has been no news for over a month.]

[One day, you return from being out and discover that Su Yunxia has died at home. You know the murderer must be Yang Hu.]

[The next day, you seek revenge on Yang Hu, but you are no match for him. In the end, you jump into the river and luckily save your life.]

[You swear to take revenge. Consequently, you find a job at a pawnshop in Xishui City.]

[Twenty-three years old, you finally save enough money to buy a martial arts Secret Manual, "Cleansing Heart Formula".]

[Twenty-eight years old, you spend five years and finally master the first level, becoming a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist.]

[Twenty-nine years old, you prepare to return to Hechuan City to seek revenge on Yang Hu. While passing through a valley, you encounter a monster. You fight to the death but are ultimately killed, dying at the age of twenty-nine.]

...

That's it?

A monster? Did I get the wrong script?

Putting aside these odds and ends, Su Jiuchuan's heart sank. Big Brother had been gone for over a month this time without returning; had something happened on the road, or was the journey just too long?

That Yang Hu really did bully his way to their door and even killed his second sister.

[Simulation ended. You may choose to retain one of the following items.]

[One, the martial arts Realm at twenty-nine years old.]

[Two, the martial arts experience at twenty-nine years old.]

[Three, the life wisdom at twenty-nine years old.]

Seeing this, Su Jiuchuan was ecstatic.

In other words, he could immediately possess the Realm, martial arts experience, or life wisdom from his twenty-nine-year-old self in the simulated life—one of the three.