Luoshui County.
Early morning.
Shafts of dawn pierced through the clouds, shining upon the ancient city walls.
Luoshui County, originally tranquil, had already become bustling; the expansive city avenues filled with cries of vendors on every corner, creating a noisy scene.
In the east of Luoshui County, within a small courtyard enclosed by fences.
Jiang Ning sat on a wooden chair facing the sun, elbows and knees bent, hands supporting his jaw as he quietly flipped through a book he was holding.
"Mythical Era Record"
This was a miscellaneous book that contained stories about gods.
Before the Great Xia, the book recorded a world where gods and humans coexisted.
Rivers had gods, mountains had gods—gods were everywhere.
Although it seemed like a far-fetched miscellaneous book, Jiang Ning was reading it with extreme seriousness, utterly engrossed.
"Reading and Writing Experience Value +1"
...
"Reading and Writing Experience Value +1"
...
After a while, Jiang Ning turned to the last page, slowly shifting his gaze away as he completely closed the book.
"After this reading session, Reading and Writing Experience Value has increased by a total of 8 points."
The next moment.
A panel appeared before him, a panel only he could see.
"Name: Jiang Ning"
"Source Energy: 13.5"
"Skill: Reading and Writing (Perfection 968/1000) (Trait: None)"
"I'm finally close to reaching the full value! I wonder what changes will occur when this Reading and Writing skill reaches perfection."
Looking at his panel, Jiang Ning felt quite exhilarated.
In recent days, he had browsed through all the books in his house, from ancient general histories to various canonical and essential writings, reading them all thoroughly.
With these books, he had gradually progressed his skill from beginner to master, small success, and then to great success.
With each breakthrough, he felt his mind become clearer, his thinking quicker, his hearing and sight sharper.
As he knew, this was clearly the effect of divine enhancement.
In Great Xia, among scholars, reading nourished the spirit!
After this period of diligent reading, he had discovered the wonderful utility of his panel.
This panel indeed possessed the power to transform decay into magic; as long as he focused on reading books, it allowed the Reading and Writing skill to continuously grow, once proven, proven forever.
Now, any book he had read vividly recorded in his mind could be recalled at a mere thought.
And now, he was only a little more than thirty Experience Points away from a breakthrough to Perfection in this skill. With his current efficiency, after reading a few more books, he could earn those thirty-plus Experience Points.
With his current level of learning, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that participating in imperial examinations to achieve the rank of student or scholar would be effortless.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ning's heart filled with anticipation.
The honors of the coming year could completely change his personal circumstances.
"Toot toot!"
"Toot toot!!"
Just then, a soft, glutinous voice reached Jiang Ning's ears.
Hearing this sweet sound, Jiang Ning instantly snapped back to reality.
Following the sound, he saw a little girl, carved from jade, with big eyes and two pigtails pointing skyward running wobbly towards him, her chubby cheeks particularly eye-catching.
Seeing his five-year-old niece, Jiang Ning fully regained his senses.
"Little Dumpling, slow down!"
He couldn't help but show a faint smile on his face.
In this family, the closest to him was his five-year-old niece, Yuanyuan, nicknamed Little Dumpling.
From the delicate and exquisite features of his niece, he could tell that she would surely be a beauty in the future and it was evident she had great genetics, her mother's appearance was absolutely remarkable.
"Little Dumpling, this is Guoguo's book, take a look!"
While speaking, Little Dumpling tried to lift her head to look at Jiang Ning.
Even though Jiang Ning was just sitting on the chair, his height still required the five-year-old Little Dumpling to lift her head to see his face clearly.
Jiang Ning grinned and took the book that Little Dumpling was struggling to hold, feeling delighted inside.
For him, the type of book did not matter, as long as it was a book he hadn't read before, it could increase his Reading and Writing Experience Value.
With this new book, his Skill would definitely reach Great Success in the Experience Value by the end of the day.
He took the book in his hand without looking at it closely, and immediately set it aside, then rubbed Yuanyuan's little head.
"Little Dumpling is wonderful!!"
"Little Dumpling, you're so pretty!" Little Dumpling was generous with her praise for Jiang Ning.
Hearing this, Jiang Ning couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, rubbing her tiny head saying, "What do you know about being pretty or not!"
"Being pretty means being pretty, Little Dumpling is pretty, just like daddy!" The little one, Little Dumpling, retorted strongly.
Hearing this sentence, Jiang Ning smiled noncommittally.
Just then, a woman's voice suddenly drifted from the nearby kitchen.
"Time to eat!"
The voice was direct and cold, devoid of much emotion, but inherently carried a gentle aura.
Jiang Ning looked up and saw a woman about thirty, her demeanor and appearance like that of a ladies of high society, appearing at the kitchen doorway just as she caught Jiang Ning's gaze.
The remarkably beautiful woman glanced indifferently at him before withdrawing her gaze, seeming somewhat disdainful.
Seeing this, Jiang Ning couldn't help but give an embarrassed smile.
How could he not know that his sister-in-law had some complaints about him living in his elder brother's house for over a decade?
After all, she and his brother had been married for over a decade, and by now they had a son and a daughter.
Their elder son, Yiming, was already fourteen years old, studying literature and martial arts with great ambition. However, since he was young, he had been extensively educated and also trained in martial arts, which had not been cheap.
Under these circumstances, his past self had been idle and unproductive for over a decade, and all expenses had been solely borne by his elder brother.
And his brother was just a constable in Luoshui County with limited income; how could his sister-in-law not have complaints about him?
Especially in recent times with the daily rising price of grain, for a household of five, finances were even tighter, and the complaints against him had increased.
Thinking of this made him feel quite helpless.
He was well aware that his sister-in-law wasn't fond of him, and he completely understood; it was a natural human sentiment.
He had always been leeching off his brother and sister-in-law's family.
Yet even now, he had no real solution; his former self had left no savings, and most of his time since his arrival two months ago had been spent recuperating, so even if he had wanted to move out, he was utterly incapable.
"With the current situation in Luoshui County being anything but peaceful, I must inevitably continue leeching off my brother," Jiang Ning thought inwardly.
He already had plans for the future in his heart.
These days, thanks to his brother's duty at the county government and his recent avid reading, he had gained an understanding of the changing dynamics of the world.
The Great Xia Dynasty he now found himself in evidently mirrored the chaos of a dynasty's final days.
Even in this little Luoshui County, there were several forces surreptitiously agitating.
As someone who specialized in history in his previous life, he was all too familiar with such situations.
History always repeated itself, not with absolute similarity, but with unavoidable parallel trajectories.
Thus, he was well aware that the Great Xia Dynasty, which had been established for over eight hundred years, amidst natural disasters, refugee crises, rampant rebellions, and outbreaks of bizarre cults, was clearly showing signs of imminent collapse.
In the face of such circumstances, only power that belonged to oneself could offer survival in the turbulent final days of the dynasty.
Otherwise, once the overwhelming tide of history arrived, with widespread chaos and strife, especially in a world where martial arts shone brightly and throve, where the weak could defy ten, the strong could form an army, and the mightiest could contend against nations.
As ordinary citizens caught in such overwhelming historical currents, how could one survive?
His elder brother was only a common constable in the county government, no different from a grain of sand in the historical tide.
"I still need to rely on my brother's power for a while, and as for my brother and his family, I can only repay them later!"