CMWKSD – Chapter 1 Transmigration

Early Jiu Yue mornings carried a hint of chill. Frost-laden dew soaked into trouser legs, the cold seeping straight to the bones.

“Chaomian’s mother, once we enter the village, you carry this little girl on your back. It wouldn’t look good if others saw.”

“Alright!”

Jiu Yue woke amid the swaying motion, her head splitting with pain, her entire body sore and aching to the point of being unbearable.

Before she could clearly see her surroundings, she was set down, then lifted again onto a somewhat thin back.

Half-conscious, she opened her eyes and saw nothing but green everywhere—vast stretches of verdant foliage filling her vision.

Here and there, farmers headed out at dawn beneath the pale, fish-belly-white sky, some carrying hoes, others holding sickles.

Jiu Yue shuddered sharply. Looking at the men and women dressed in short working clothes, their faces carved with deep lines, every one of them clearly a farmer, she suddenly felt as though she had been transported back to ancient times.

As the number-one assassin of the Dark Moon organization in the twenty-second century, Jiu Yue killed without asking reasons—only price and personal inclination mattered. She had no idea who this woman carrying her was.

How dare they abduct her!

Killing intent surged in her heart. The arms hanging limply over the woman’s chest slowly slid up toward her neck. With just a bit of force—

The woman called Chaomian’s mother would be dead on the spot.

The woman panted as she carried Jiu Yue. Even though she was used to hard labor, bearing Jiu Yue was still somewhat strenuous.

She had to stop every few steps, then give Jiu Yue a hard bounce upward, as if afraid that this frail-looking little girl would fall.

“Heavens pity her… Look at all this blood. Who knows how she fell off that cliff.”

The man followed behind Chaomian’s mother, sighing repeatedly. Life at home was already hard, but when they had found Jiu Yue earlier, she was still breathing. A life was still a life.

The man couldn’t just stand by and watch her die, so the couple ended up bringing Jiu Yue home.

Jiu Yue felt confused. She had clearly been carrying out an assassination mission when her target detonated a bomb, choosing mutual destruction. Jiu Yue had been blasted into disorientation.

She only remembered falling off a cliff before losing consciousness.

And she was still alive?

She had to admit, her life really was tough.

But who exactly were the people who saved her?

What were their intentions? Jiu Yue didn’t know yet. She narrowed her eyes slightly, quickly assessing her environment and possible escape routes.

That was, until the couple brought her into a courtyard enclosed by yellow mud walls.

Seeing the low walls and the dilapidated house, Jiu Yue felt as though a mouthful of old blood was stuck in her throat, nearly spewing out.

This was the twenty-second century?

How could there still be such a backward place—so poor they couldn’t even afford concrete houses?

Could this be some deep mountain forest? If so, how was she supposed to get back?

As she breathed, Jiu Yue felt herself being set down. With a thud—good heavens! What kind of bed board was this? It felt like her bones were being painfully pressed.

“Ji Dahai, what junk have you picked up again?” A sharp, angry shout came from outside, making Chaomian’s mother’s hand tremble as she wiped Jiu Yue’s face.

Then the man who had just saved Jiu Yue rushed out. “Mother, I didn’t pick up junk. I saw a little girl injured and unconscious at the foot of Yun Mountain. I couldn’t just leave her to die, could I?”

“A little girl? Bullshit! Do we have the means to take people in?” As she spoke, the door was kicked open with a bang.

An old woman walked in—slanted eyebrows, triangular eyes, her face full of meanness. She cursed as she roughly shoved Chaomian’s mother aside.

Her hands groped over Jiu Yue’s body. If Jiu Yue hadn’t been unstable in her breathing at the moment, she would have slapped this person hard.

Assassins didn’t carry belongings on missions. Finding nothing, the old woman curled her lips and stood up, about to have Ji Dahai throw Jiu Yue out.

But when she clearly saw Jiu Yue’s cleaned face and her barely-there breathing, her eyes rolled twice.

“Has Yiqing still not woken up?”

At the mention of this, Ji Dahai’s eyes reddened. “Not yet.”

The old woman slapped her thigh and let out a shrill wail, the sound so piercing it startled even Jiu Yue.

“My poor Yiqing! Why is he so miserable? His face is ruined, and he still won’t wake up.”

Ji Dahai hurried to support her. “Mother, it’s fine. The doctor said he’ll wake up.”

The old woman slapped his hand away. “That old Chen is half a quack. Can his words be trusted?”

Used to obedience, Ji Dahai glanced sideways at the equally timid Chaomian’s mother. “Then… what do you mean?”

The old woman pointed with her withered, sallow hand—straight at Jiu Yue. “A wedding to ward off bad luck! We must do it! This girl was so badly injured yet still survived—she must have a hard life. Use her to bring Yiqing good fortune. That way, we won’t need to spend extra money either.”

Ji Dahai and Chaomian’s mother froze at the same time. Chaomian’s mother waved her hands frantically. “That won’t do, Mother! How could it? This girl hasn’t even woken up. We don’t know her name or where she’s from. How can we marry her off to someone? That’s not right.”

The old woman didn’t care about their opinions at all and turned to leave. “Who cares what her name is or where she’s from. Since you picked her up, she has to become a daughter-in-law of the Ji family.”

Jiu Yue’s mind was utterly shaken. What the hell? Married off just like that? She was only nineteen!

She, the dignified number-one assassin of Dark Moon, was going to be reduced to a bride meant to ward off bad luck?

But the unfamiliar surroundings made Jiu Yue realize this was not the time for impulsiveness. She had to figure out her situation first before finding a way out.

So Jiu Yue continued to play dead. Taking advantage of the moment Ji Dahai and Chaomian’s mother turned away, she used silver needles to prick several acupuncture points on her body, creating the illusion of breathing in but not out.

The old woman bustled noisily out of the room. Not long after, several men and women of all ages appeared in the courtyard.

Ji Dahai stepped out and looked at his father. “Father, this won’t do. Yiqing, he still—”

The old woman shot him a vicious glare. “Since when does Yiqing’s marriage depend on you? I’ve made the decision.”

As she spoke, she pointed at a middle-aged man. “Dahu, you—take twenty copper coins and go to the government office to register the marriage. While you’re at it, find those good-for-nothing friends of yours and get this wild girl registered under our household.”

Ji Dahu glanced disdainfully at Ji Dahai. “Mother, didn’t you say she doesn’t have a name?”

“She was picked up in Jiu Yue, so call her Jiu Yue.”

“Alright.”

With that, Ji Dahu grabbed the copper coins and ran off.

The old woman was overjoyed, secretly delighted with her own little scheme.

Her niece on her maternal side had always liked Ji Yiqing, but that niece was ugly, fat, and lazy—hardly a good match.

It wasn’t that she was being generous by getting a marriage document for some unknown wild girl. Rather, that girl looked like she wouldn’t live long anyway, had nothing valuable on her, and was clearly from a poor background.

Once she died, Ji Yiqing would become a widower.

A disfigured widower—when it came time to remarry, how could he afford to be picky?

Spending just thirty or forty copper coins, no bride price, no wedding feast—what a bargain!

Country folk generally didn’t like registering marriages, so the fee at the government office wasn’t high. Compared to a wedding banquet, a marriage document was still cheaper. And without proof, if Ji Yiqing later refused to acknowledge it, that would be troublesome.

In Great Qi, women held a low status. Even with household registration, they had no land. Calculating it all, she was actually losing out.

Her niece might not be much, but she was loyal to her. Ji Yiqing, a widower, marrying her niece—a pure, unmarried woman—would be Ji Yiqing marrying up!

When the time came, Ji Dahai, Ji Yiqing, and that crippled Ji Chaomian would all be firmly under her control. None of them would escape.

Did they think Hu Chunhua was a pushover?

Back then, for Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian to study, Ji Dahai had even supported the children of Ji Dahu and Ji Dajiang to study as well.

So many children—yet Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian started their studies the latest, at twelve years old. Still, only those two were the best at studying.

Just when they were about to succeed—

One got his face ruined, the other lost the use of both legs.

Wasn’t that retribution?

Not only would she ruin their legs and faces, she would also ruin the rest of their lives—force Ji Yiqing to spend a lifetime with her niece.

Why should her own sons and grandsons all be worthless, while Ji Dahai, that weak man who lost his mother early, had two promising sons and a daughter as beautiful as a flower?

She would grind down the sons and grandsons left behind by Su Nian!