"Yesterday, it seems there was another death over at the mine."
"I heard too. Some say it was a Magic Beast that rushed into the mine."
"This is the third time already this month. It seems the person who died this time was just transferred from the family not long ago. What are we going to do when it's our turn?"
Conversations drifted over as Lin Xiu slowly opened his eyes, looking a bit dazed.
Above him was a thatched roof an the ground was covered in a lot of hay.
"Where is this?" Glancing around, Lin Xiu saw a red spirited horse nearby, feeling like he was in a stable.
The conversations grew fainter and fainter until the backs of the few people disappeared around the corner of the wall, completely out of hearing range.
"Their clothes?" Lin Xiu withdrew his gaze, surprised to find himself wearing the same rough linen shirt as them, the fabric very coarse and the color dull.
Suddenly, a stabbing pain shot through his head, and Lin Xiu fell to his knees, clutching his head.
After a moment, he raised his head, eyes filled with shock. "I've crossed over!"
Memories of the original body slowly surfaced in Lin Xiu's mind.
He was living in Te Lan City with the Lin family as a servant responsible for caring for the young master's horses.
Moreover, this was a world without magic, only Dou Qi.
"Dou Qi..." Suddenly, four words flashed through Lin Xiu's mind. It was the title of a book.
Just as he was about to delve into deep thought, Lin Xiu's thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming from afar.
"Lin Xiu, Lin Xiu..." A seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth, his face full of panic, ran towards the stable, his voice tinged with a hint of tears.
Lin Dong, a servant of the Lin family, shared a room with him.
As memories of the other person surfaced, Lin Xiu stood up and dusted himself off. "Why are you crying?"
"I've been chosen! Lin Xiu, I've been chosen!" It seemed like Lin Dong had encountered something extremely terrifying, his lips trembling and his face devoid of color.
"What are you talking about?" Lin Xiu was initially puzzled, but then quickly understood. "They want to send you to the mine?"
The Lin family lived in Te Lan City, part of the Jia Ma Empire, with the nearest Magic Beast Mountains not far away. The Lin family had discovered a kind of ore near the mountains, so they set up a mine.
But recently, the mine had been causing deaths, and many laborers refused to work there. While the Lin family was trying to solve the mine's problems, they were also sending their servants to fill in.
Lin Dong's face was ashen. "Yes."
The mine had become a bottomless pit of danger. Lin Xiu couldn't think of any comforting words, so he simply patted Lin Dong's shoulder.
Due to their status as servants, they couldn't defy the family's orders, otherwise, no one would care if they were beaten to death.
"Lin Xiu, I plan to escape. Do you want to come with me?" Lin Dong suddenly lowered his voice. "The mine's problems won't be solved anytime soon. If this continues, it will be your turn sooner or later."
"Lin Dong, don't act impulsively." Although Lin Xiu had just crossed over, he understood the situation. They weren't even Dou Practitioners.
Once they ran away, there was a high probability they would be caught by the Lin family's Dou Practitioners, and death would be certain.
Although going to the mine was dangerous, at least there was a glimmer of hope.
"No, I'm very calm." Lin Dong's eyes were determined, unable to be persuaded, and he turned to leave.
Standing next to the stable, Lin Xiu's mood was complex. In this world where strength was revered and the weak were prey, the lives of ordinary people were indeed insignificant.
"Fortunately, I have Brother Ma. The mine's matters won't concern me for the time being." Lin Xiu looked at the only spirited horse in the stable.
It was a spirited horse with red fur, a First Rank Magic Beast known as the Red-Maned Fiery Horse, greatly loved by the young master of the Lin family due to its exceptionally beautiful fur color.
Because of a bit of expertise in horse care before he became a servant, Lin Xiu was specially assigned by the young master of the Lin family to take care of it.
In the more than a year of caring for it, Lin Xiu's life was much more comfortable compared to other servants.
In a daze for a moment, Lin Xiu followed the memories of his predecessor, feeding the horse and cleaning the stable.
When it was time, Lin Xiu went to have dinner. Here, he saw other servants, perhaps due to just crossing over, he didn't go up to talk, quietly finished his meal, and returned to his resting room.
The next day.
Lin Xiu on the bed opened his eyes, looking at the unchanged room, he sighed, "Not a dream, I really crossed over."
On the opposite bed, Lin Dong's bed was empty; he hadn't returned all night.
"I hope you can escape successfully..."
After offering a blessing, Lin Xiu refocused his attention, his expression becoming somewhat nervous and expectant. "I can't believe I'll also start cultivating Dou Qi."
Sitting cross-legged, following the movements in his memory, Lin Xiu formed hand seals, his mind gradually calming.
A faint aura appeared in the air, extremely weak. As he breathed in, it entered his body and settled in his dantian.
Practicing Qi for the first time, Lin Xiu's spirit trembled as if he saw a future Dou God beckoning to him.
However, soon he realized that the aura had disappeared. No matter what he did, he couldn't find it.
"Each person can only sense a limited amount of Qi per day, it seems to be related to one's innate talent and aptitude. Once it reaches the limit, continuing to cultivate is ineffective."
Lin Xiu felt that the talent of this body was very weak. The Qi he just cultivated felt like nothing compared to even the smallest bit of Dou Qi.
It must be noted, the Dou Qi Continent highly values talent, especially in the Dou Disciple stage. After reaching the tenth stage of Dou Disciple, one can condense Qi into a cyclone to become a Dou Practitioner and begin to cultivate Martial Arts.
According to the standards of families in Te Lan City, having the seventh stage of Dou Disciple at sixteen years old is worthy of family cultivation. Those who do not meet the requirements will be sent to work on family properties.
Lin Xiu is now seventeen years old. It's unclear how many stages of Dou Disciple he has because it hasn't been tested, but it's estimated that it won't be very high.
After finishing his cultivation, Lin Xiu began his daily work: feeding the horse, washing it, and cleaning the stables.
After a busy session, Lin Xiu wiped the sweat from his brow and caught sight of a few people passing by the stable. The items they carried seemed vaguely familiar.
"Wait a moment." Lin Xiu stopped them. "You have Lin Dong's things, don't you?"
"Are you Lin Xiu?" the leader asked.
A faint aura of pressure emanated from the leader, like that of a Dou Practitioner.
Lin Xiu nodded.
"Yesterday, Lin Dong tried to escape and was killed. According to the rules, his belongings need to be disposed of."
The leader showed a hint of indifference. "You people never seem to understand your place. You and Lin Dong lived together. If you have similar ideas, it's best to crush them immediately, or else the consequences will be dire!"
After they left, Lin Xiu remained standing in place, unmoving, feeling a chill in his limbs.
At this moment, Lin Xiu fully realized just how cheap life could be.
Yesterday, he had been talking with Lin Dong, and now he was dead!
"I will become stronger! I didn't cross over just to be trampled on like an ant!" Lin Xiu silently swore in his heart.
However, in the evening, someone arrived at the stable.
"Lin Xiu, get ready. You're going to the mine tomorrow." The Lin family steward spoke as if it were a mundane, ordinary matter.
But this matter could potentially decide life and death for someone.
"Steward Lin, I can't go." Lin Xiu turned to look at the Red-Maned Fiery Horse in the stable. "The young master ordered me to take care of it. Unless he personally tells me otherwise, I'm not going anywhere."
"It?" Steward Lin's gaze swept over the figure in the stable, his brow furrowing. After looking at Lin Xiu for a moment, he said nothing and turned to leave.