Chen Zhou felt his body growing incredibly heavy. He was dazed, unable to open his eyes. All he could hear was a conversation nearby:
"Then hurry up and carry him out! Don't let this fool die here—it's bad luck!"
"But where should we take him?"
"Just take him back to his home and give his brother some money!"
"Alright!"
.....
Then, Chen Zhou felt himself being lifted, and memories suddenly flooded his mind.
So that's how it is, he had traveled through time and arrived in an ancient martial arts world.
His predecessor was a young man from a farming family. After his parents passed away, only his older brother remained.
People like him were common, insignificant and at the very bottom of society.
But as the saying goes, "The weakest thread always snaps first." It was bad enough that he came from a poor background, but his past self-had also been somewhat simple-minded—almost like Forrest Gump from Forrest Gump.
His only redeeming quality was perhaps his good looks.
The current situation originated from an event of recruiting a son-in-law.
The Han family in Changqing County is extremely wealthy and a powerful family.
A few months ago, Han Wan'er, the Han family's daughter, had suddenly fallen gravely ill. No matter how many miracle doctors they sought, none could cure her.
Until the Han family found an expert, who proposed a solution: "bringing happiness to the family".
They believed that marrying Han Wan'er off would allow her bad luck and illness to transfer to her husband.
So, the Han family publicly announced they were recruiting a son-in-law. Normally, given Han Wan'er's beauty and the family's wealth, young men would have been lining up at their door.
But this time, it was clear that whoever married her would essentially be a scapegoat. No one was foolish enough to volunteer, no matter how high the Han family's offer was.
However, this gave Chen Zhou's brother an opportunity. Under the deception of his brother and sister-in-law, the foolish Chen Zhou was sold to the Han family and became a son-in-law.
On the very first day, the "rush for happiness" began. But in reality, it was nothing more than using him as a human medicine!
Chen Zhou was captured and forced to practice dual cultivation with Wan'er every day for several months!
Surprisingly, the master's method was effective. With continuous "good fortune," Han Wan'er gradually recovered, becoming more and more radiant.
On the other hand, Chen Zhou was infected with a strange disease, and his body became alarmingly thin from the constant strain.
And then, he died...
After piecing everything together, Chen Zhou was speechless. In his previous life, he had been an overworked corporate drone. In this life, he was nothing more than a disposable drug test subject. He was really blessed!
After a short period of thinking, he was carried out of the Han Mansion. The neighbors were talking about him. Someone asked, "Manager Zeng, what happened to your son-in-law?"
"Ugh, don't even mention it!" It was the voice of the manager Zeng: "This b*****d was not satisfied with being Han Family's son-in-law, he actually had an affair with my maid and was caught in bed by my mistress!"
"The young lady was kind-hearted enough to forgive him once, but he refused to change. He became even worse—stealing famous paintings and jewelry from the mansion to sell! The master was so furious that he beat him half to death!"
"Don't blame my master for being cruel. Fellow villagers, please judge for yourself whether such a guy should be beaten or not!!"
Soon someone rushed to answer:
"Yes, indeed!"
"That's right, an ungrateful, disloyal person!"
"Your Han family is so generous to have tolerated such a scoundrel for so long!"
"..."
Chen Zhou had no idea how much they actually believed Manager Zeng's words. But regardless, no one dared to offend the Han family, so they simply went along with the accusations.
With a heavy thud, Chen Zhou was thrown onto a wooden board again, followed by the sound of a horse-drawn carriage pulling away. "Gee, gee!"
This absurd situation filled him with anger. It was bad enough that they had used him and cast him aside, but now they were pinning false crimes on him too?
Yet in his current state, he couldn't resist at all—he could only endure the humiliation, the beatings, and the scorn.
Just as he was sinking into despair, Chen Zhou suddenly felt an itch in his head, as if something was growing in his brain. But upon closer inspection, it wasn't his brain that was growing—it was a book.
On the mottled cover of the book are written the three characters "Record of Merits and Virtues". The book's spine was bound with coarse linen thread, giving it an ancient and weathered appearance.
As a time traveler, Chen Zhou instinctively realized that this might be his golden finger—the key to changing his fate!
Could he open it?
Focusing his mind, he directed his attention toward the book. The next moment, the cover flipped open on its own. On the title page, a line of words was written in a flamboyant style:
[The Compassionate Chen Zhou travels the world, good virtues light the path, perfect merits break calamity, laughing at fate and all its laws]
As he finished reading, an influx of information flooded his mind, making everything clear.
This book was indeed a cheat item. Simply put, as long as he performed good deeds, he would receive rewards!
"The function is simple and direct... but I'm so weak right now. How can I even do anything good? This is truly a disaster!"
After what felt like an eternity of bumps and jolts, the carriage finally came to a stop—they had arrived.
"Shen Mao, Shen Mao!" Someone shouted, "Come out and collect the body!"
A burst of hurried footsteps was heard.
"Huh? What—what happened to my brother?!" It was Chen Zhou's elder brother, Shen Mao.
"He's dead! Stop wasting time and move him!"
"O-okay, okay!"
Chen Zhou was lifted once again and dragged across the ground.
"Also, here's the funeral money that Master Han gave to your family."
The sound of silver coins clinking together reached his ears.
Shen Mao's tone suddenly changed, filled with unexpected joy: "Ah! Thank you, Master Han! Thank you so much!"
"That's it, then."
As the sound of the carriage faded away, Shen Mao continued to shout: "Wife, hurry up and help me carry him into the yard!"
"Coming," a woman's voice replied, and Chen Zhou was lifted for the third time.
Like a dead dog...
Chen Zhou sighed and reluctantly forced his eyelids open. The first thing he saw was the sly, fox-like face of his sister-in-law, Tong Lian.
At the same time, Tong Lian also noticed the movement of Shen Zhou: "Wait a moment, Erlang* is not dead yet!" she exclaimed.
"What?! He's not dead?!" Shen Mao gasped, taken aback. After a moment of shock, his voice turned hesitant. "What do we do now? I've already accepted the funeral money..."
Something was wrong. What do you mean you've already accepted the funeral money?!
Sensing the unusual tone in his brother's voice, Chen Zhou mustered all his strength and weakly whispered:
"My wife... loves me very much... If you save me, she will reward you handsomely..."
Though his voice was faint, Shen Mao and Tong Lian clearly heard it. They exchanged glances, quickly making a decision.
"Quick, quick! Don't leave him outside, bring him inside!" Shen Mao ordered.
Chen Zhou knew that his life was temporarily saved. He was placed on the bed. Shen Mao continued, "Wife, give him something to eat. I'll go to the Han Mansion to see what's going on."
"Alright."
Shen Mao hurried away while Tong Lian brought a bowl of porridge and sat beside Chen Zhou. Gently lifting him up, she said softly: "Here, Erlang, drink some porridge."
The aroma of food was too tempting. Starving, Chen Zhou didn't hesitate and began gulping it down.
But as he ate, something felt off. Tong Lian's other hand was slowly moving downward along his clothes.
Her voice turned strangely sultry as she whispered in his ear:
"Erlang may be a bit slow... but he's so handsome. I've always been envious of him..."
"...?"
Is this nightmare still not over?!
T.N. *Erlang: Meaning second son in Chinese