TRANSLATOR: AHMAD SHAHZAD
EDITOR: DRAGNEEL
Though Wu Ming’s complexion was indifferent as he looked at Housekeeper Wu interrogating the sturdy man, his brain was churning at a rapid pace. His brain was organizing information from the predecessor’s memories.
Although this guy was a playboy who didn’t learn anything useful, he still had some common knowledge. From his memories, Wu Ming found out that the country where he lived was called Great Zhuo.
The Great Zhou here was not related to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty from the history of his world. After all, this Great Zhou contained mystical powers, while Eastern Zhou didn’t.
Here, the flesh of a mortal person was comparable to King Kong's; like the fierce ancient Martial Artists or Mythical Divine Beasts.
There were also Confusion scholars who could read and learn from spirits. They could refine the righteous Qi, and cultivate their bodies into special ones.
This world also had free and unfettered Taoist Immortals who could command the wind and summon the rain.
There were shamans practicing witchcraft, learning to borrow energy from natural life, as well as the cruel and hidden Gu Poison Masters who could kill from a thousand miles away, old monsters, and more…,
Wu Ming wanted to know more, but what more could he expect from the memories of a playboy. The information he got was a miracle enough. If he wanted to know more, he might need to go to one of those Taoist Schools where his sister studied.
“Old Ghost Six was a complete waste!”
Housekeeper Wu flung his arm, making crackling noises from his muscles and bones. The noise produced was like a firecracker bursting in air.
Strengthened muscles and bones!
Unexpectedly, this chubby Housekeeper Wu wasn’t weak at all. His martial arts wasn’t that bad.
“Young Master! I will bring that bastard Lin Qi here for you.”
As he turned around, all that fierce and imposing aura around Housekeeper Wu disappeared. Replacing it all was the same old bootlicking expression as he wagged like a pup. The difference was far too obvious. He was like two different people.
“Wait! Let me think.”
If it was the previous Wu Ming; he would unquestionably yell at Housekeeper Wu to dismember that bastard Lin Qi brat.
But for this Wu Ming; he wasn’t the one who snatched someone’s woman nor was he the one who sent someone to kill that Lin Qi guy. He was certainly not going to take responsibility for all the bullshit done by the former Wu Ming.
Moreover, as Wu Ming had just crossed over, the ideologies and concepts of the previous world were still ingrained in his mind deeply. He could certainly not order the death of someone; especially someone who had nothing to do with him.
The most important thing was…, the current situation was too damn strange.
“Who is this Lin Qi? Tell me about him!”
Wu Ming decided he must have a good talk about the situation and clarify everything.
“Lin Qi?”
Housekeeper Wu was at first flabbergasted, but then immediately his bootlicking expression returned and he said, “Young Master, this Lin Qi lives in the White Water Town and is the neighbor of the young lady Yun. His parents died when he was very young, and from then on, he relied on a few acres of infertile fields to live his days…! Also, he had once participated in the Township Martial Hall, but was rejected during the inspection for not having the least bit natural talent root bone, and came out after 3 days…”
The more he listened, the stranger Wu Ming’s expression became.
Township Martial Hall of this world was akin to the Rural Primary School in the world that Wu Ming came from, just that the Martial Hall was a lot more popular. Basically, every farmer’s child went to the Township Martial Hall to learn basic Martial Arts for their self-defense. There, the children trained for several months.
The natural talent requirement for the Township Martial Hall was already very low. But someone whom even the Martial Hall rejected for having too low natural talent could only be trash among trash, a peerless waste.
“Natural Talent?!”
Wu Ming knocked his forehead with his fingers as he thought. At most, a mortal could live only for a hundred years. Theoretically though, it was possible for a mortal to live forever if they could cultivate Qi and practiced Martial Arts to a very high level.
In a situation where everyone possessed a natural talent for cultivation, the quality of their talent was the most important.
Some people would practice Martial Arts for ten years, while some practice for ten years, but still, they might not surpass someone who had practiced only for one year, or even half-month or just ten days. That’s where the difference became visible. It was all because of natural talent.
Someone of great talent but poor conditions; that person was akin to having no talent.
Wu Ming's own body seemed to have strengthened by Martial Arts, but it was only due to various supplements, good Cultivation Techniques, and the supervision of his elder sister. Only then did the predecessor got connected with Cultivation.
According to the Martial Arts Trainer in the Fortress, Wu Ming’s natural talent was equal to the ordinary people, passable. However, the resources thrown into his cultivation were enough to raise ten or even fifteen Martial Artists of the same level.
The reason was the low perseverance of the predecessor.
“From what he said… that Lin Qi guy was even more of a wastrel compared to my predecessor… I must be careful!”
Wu Ming suddenly said in his heart.
The situation was far too abnormal for ordinary people to comprehend. A wastrel boy who had no talent for Martial Arts returned with his Cultivation improved by leaps and bounds and even killed with such decisiveness; he must have had some fortuitous encounter.
What if he encountered some old grandpa, unlocked some special inheritance, or crossed over from another world? Wu Ming felt that he was in a very awkward position.
After obtaining this new body he, Wu Ming, seemed to have become the irreconcilable enemy of that brat Lin Qi, he became the antagonist.
“I hope he is just a wise boy with the ability to bear patiently!”
Wu Ming, however, knew the horrors if he truly met a “True Protagonist.”
Not only did they had a monstrous speed at Cultivation, their life itself was sturdier than a cockroach. They were even simply capable of defying the heavens by not dying no matter how much you tried to kill them. After they became stronger, they would return to pay back all the debts people owed to them, not even sparing their family and teachers.
“If we follow the development in the past novels… At this time I should be sending a mob to deal with the protagonist and provide him with free experience to upgrade his level and suffer a loss… After that, my sister will appear, and the protagonist suffers a minor loss in her hands…, Then his strength will skyrocket, and he returns to slap us in the face again…, Later, my sister’s Taoist School will get involved and provide even more experience points to the protagonist…”
Wu Ming silently pondered in his heart. As he thought all this, his heart turned cold, and he shook his head, “No, no, no, it might not be like that. It is just me overthinking matters and scaring myself.”
“Young Master Ming?!” Housekeeper Wu saw Wu Ming shaking his head, so he called his name immediately.
“No, nothing… You, come with me…”
Wu Ming put all these thoughts to the side and led Housekeeper Wu to his study room according to the memories he had gained.
The rosewood bookshelf filled with brand new books. On the two sides, there were vases with plum incense inserted into them. The room overflowed with an incomparable fragrance. The long, thin desk was messy with a lot of books and stuff though. There were a few volumes of romance fiction, and some books describing erotic scenes. That was the stuff mainly covering the table.
“……”
Black lines covered Wu Ming’s forehead as he swept all that stuff to the side with his arm. As he swept everything away, Wu Ming frowned as he felt that the lighting in the room was too low. He took out a small object from his bosom. The object was covered with the purple cloud patterns and runes. As he snapped it,
Kacha! The runes ignited, and a small flame burned as it lit up the oil lamp.
The lighting in the room turned a lot brighter, but Housekeeper Wu’s face only filled with envy.
Wu Ming cleaned the table with a deadpan face, but his heart was full of complicated emotion.
In this world, the combination of extraordinary power and life were real, so close and connected.
Of course, that was just a home gadget. But even then, though it was just a gadget, it’s value was immense. Unless you had a prodigious elder sister and were the local tyrant somewhere—getting this gadget wouldn’t be that easy.
With this gadget, Wu Ming had confirmed the existence of mysterious powers in this world.
“You go find Lin Qi… He might not be in White Water Town, but he will not have gone too far away…”
“Rest assured Young Master! This little one will smash that brat to death, and then…” Housekeeper Wu smiled as he thought that he had understood the Young Master’s command.
“Who told you to kill him?”
Wu Ming gave him a side glance and said, “After you find him, explain to him that all this was a misunderstanding. We will return the young lady Yun to him, and then the feud between the two sides will end there and then.”
Housekeeper Wu’s eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost, not his Young Master.
“One more thing!” Wu Ming said, “Send someone to the Dao Institution and tell my sister that I have gotten into big trouble, and need some ‘Strong Experts’ to deal with that… I am in urgent need of help!”
Wu Ming deliberately emphasized the words 'Strong Experts' to make sure that the Housekeeper Wu clearly understood.
“Young Master Ming…, do you really intend to involve the Missy in this matter?” Housekeeper Wu asked as he held his breath, “It isn’t just for that brat, right?”
Although this playboy Young Master frequently courted disaster, there was never a need to involve the Missy as no one dared go too far against him, but this time…,
Housekeeper Wu felt that his little brain couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
“Just do what I told you to do!”
Wu Ming sent the confused Housekeeper Wu out, shut the door to the study, and then took a long breath.
The predecessor’s sins; He would surely not carry his original body owner's sins.
That’s why he would first send others to test the waters. If that Lin Qi was willing to reconcile, then all was good.
If he refused though, then he would use underhanded methods to deal with Lin Qi.
Wu Ming was certainly not a foolish demon king in a fairy tale who sent his men to deal with the protagonist one by one. Once all the men were killed by the protagonist and converted to experience points, the poor demon king was the only one left to die alone.
Although he hadn’t met the people in his family, he had digested all the memories from the predecessor. He should have a high chance to not get found out by them.
Moreover, he only asked his elder sister to send out an expert, not for her to come over herself.
Wu Ming also felt ashamed for using the same tactics as this bastard whose body he had transmigrated into.
But at this time, under the threat of a suspected future protagonist, Wu Ming certainly wouldn’t hesitate to use his ultimate trick—to hide behind his guardian without hesitation.
With his current strength, it was impossible for Wu Ming to protect himself. It wasn’t that shameless to seek protection from others when he hadn’t grown in power.
After confirming that there wasn’t anyone else in the room, and the door was locked, Wu Ming immediately decided to take the gamble that could decide his life and death in the future.
“System!”
… Only Silence.
“Golden Finger/Cheat!”
… Silence once more.
“Grandpa?”
There was no response and the study room was still as empty as before. Wu Ming did not believe it and looked up, then inside and outside, through the entire study room. Suddenly, he sat back in his chair and said in a mourning tone, “Golden Finger! Cheat! System! Where is my goddamn cheat…?”
In Wu Ming’s previous life, there was always this myth:
Is your life not pleasant? Do you regret your past? Do you hate this stereotyped life? Is your life a failure and you want to start over?
Then cross over! As long as you transmigrate, even if you were a beaten dog or a salted fish, you would rise immediately. Become a CEO, get married, have young and beautiful mistresses, drown in riches, and reach the pinnacle of life! Voila!
As long as you transmigrate, problems are not problems; only greatness!
Ugly could become handsome; handsome could become supreme; weak could turn into warriors, and even idiots could change into peerless geniuses!
But the most important of all is the – Golden Finger! With a Golden Finger, you are invincible!
After Wu Ming confirmed, again and again, he slumped into the chair, and sighed in a mournful tone, “Oh God! Why! No cheat… How am I going to survive in this world without a cheat? How am I going to contend against those premium players who can crush mountains and flip rivers? Time-Space administrators! I want to file a complaint! I want to go home!”
At least, compared to this world where hidden dragons and crouching tigers were everywhere, and the supreme made the law; his former world now seemed much, much safer, and more like heaven.
For ordinary people like him, the life in that world was much better than being the dregs of society in a world like this.
….
After a long time, the silent study room finally heard some voice. Shaking his head, Wu Ming exhaled and said, “No Golden Finger included in the package! Could I really be the villain who gives experience to the protagonist?”