UCTOOT CH70.2

Shi Shu rummaged through his bag and indeed took out a bottle of medicine. The man said, “Feed me, feed me. My hand is gone, eaten by a tiger, hahaha. I can’t do anything now. Help me, I’m begging you.”

Shi Shu quickly fed the medicine to his mouth, but before feeding him, he didn’t smell the Chinese medicine ingredients of a hemostatic drug. The powder was sprinkled into the man’s mouth. The man quickly swallowed it and said with a smile, “Thank you.”

The hunters came forward and were shocked by the sight. “Oh my god! He’s a goner, he can’t be saved!”

Shi Shu’s mind was in a mess. He said, “Let’s carry him down the mountain first, treat him first.”

Unexpectedly, the man who had been torn apart by a tiger suddenly had severe stomach cramps. His face contorted, his features twisted together, his throat trembled violently, and his body shook intensely. Shi Shu grabbed the medicine packet, his face changing. “This is arsenic!”

The man’s lips were deathly pale. “I can finally go home…”

A heavy blow struck Shi Shu’s mind. He felt dizzy. The person in front of him spat out black blood, bit by bit. Shi Shu stared at the blood clots, his mind in a daze, as if he were in the hall of Yama, where ghosts roamed. The hunters beside him, who had come to carry the person, were all scared back by the scene. “What’s going on? He could have lasted a while longer if we dragged him back? Why did his face suddenly change like that? What a miserable death!”

“What did he eat?”

“Forget it, he’s dead anyway. Let’s carry the body back first to warn these people! Don’t run into the mountains on your own! You too, get up quickly, go down the mountain!”

Shi Shu was pulled up by the arm by a hunter. On his handsome, fair face, his eyes were tightly closed, his lips pale.

Someone was startled by Shi Shu’s expression. “What’s wrong with you? Did the fright scare your soul away? Hurry down the mountain! Honestly, you don’t listen when I talk. You have to wait until someone dies before you know to be afraid.”

Shi Shu was pulled up by the arm by a kind hunter. He stumbled, his body weak, his vision dark, and the voice in his mind continued—

[Congratulations, transmigrator. The group transmigration system has been activated:
Name: Shi Shu
Age: 19
Kill count: 1/100
Name of the killed: Liu Ling]

[The current world is a one-hundred-person group transmigration competition. Transmigrators must defeat other transmigrators, causing their physiological death, and achieve the ‘Overlord of the World’ authority to return to the modern civilized world.]

[Current world, surviving transmigrators: 36/100]

[Participant ‘Shi Shu’ has killed the first fellow transmigrator opponent. Method: Poisoning]

[System authority unlocked: All levels]

[Participant can view the number of survivors and their identity information in the system]

[Current number of activated systems: Confidential]

[Geographical coordinates of other transmigrators: Confidential]

[For a person to transmigrate from the modern world to an ancient civilization is no different from a plundering raid. And to what extent can a person’s survival ability reach? Participants, please continue your efforts! Compete for supremacy, defeat your competitors, and return to your original world!]

Shi Shu closed his eyes, his heart cold. He repeatedly tried to confirm if he was sick and hallucinating. But the reality was that a year and a half after coming to this world, this cold, regular voice had appeared, and at the same time, a panel had appeared before his eyes. It had to be now!

Supported by the hunter, Shi Shu walked down the mountain, his mind in chaos, with only this system appearing in his consciousness. When Shi Shu thought “hide,” it would disappear, but when he thought “summon,” it would reappear in his mind’s consciousness area, the font and voice exceptionally clear.

At the foot of the mountain, everyone had come down. When they saw the body carried out by the hunters, they screamed in terror. Some faces turned pale. “Someone was eaten by a tiger again? A fierce tiger is hurting people, a fierce tiger is hurting people!”

The hunter shouted angrily, “Every year someone gets bitten to death, and only then do you know to be afraid! Only then do you know not to run around! Digging fuling to sell for money is important, but isn’t your life important! Go back! Tomorrow I’ll see who else wants money over their life!”

Shi Shu’s hands and feet were cold and stiff. His small basket was left in the forest. The hunter handed it to him. Shi Shu thanked him and turned to walk towards the city.

Closing his eyes and softly calling the system would make it reappear before him. To this day, the system had arrived late, and Shi Shu felt no joy at all. The sky was clear and blue, the road ahead was bright. Shi Shu sold the fuling, took the money, and returned to the inn. The inn was very lively. Du Zihan was sitting by the stove brewing medicine. Next to him were the dried clothes he had washed, including Shi Shu’s.

When Shi Shu approached Du Zihan, there was no prompt. But when he summoned the system, a cross mark appeared above Du Zihan’s head, and a line of text appeared in the system.

[Known transmigrator: Du Zihan]
[System: Not activated]
[Merit value: 1%]
[Kill difficulty: Assessing… estimated to be extremely low…]

Shi Shu stood dazedly at the door, dressed in green, his fair face handsome, his figure upright and elegant. Shi Shu stared at Du Zihan without blinking. Du Zihan had already prepared the meal and was happily teasing Laifu. “Go, so good! Little Shu Bao, how was your day? Weren’t you tired from being out? I feel better already. We don’t have to keep staying at the inn. You shouldn’t go out to dig that fuling either, it’s so hot.”

When Du Zihan turned his head, Shi Shu was looking at him. Du Zihan was scared by his strange gaze. “What’s wrong? What did you encounter today? You seem completely out of sorts.”

Shi Shu suddenly laughed out loud. “Hahaha, that’s hilarious! I’m dying of laughter!” I’m dying of laughter! What system! Just because you made the rules of the game, I have to follow them? Who do you think I am? Sorry, born a rebel!

“What’s so funny? Tell me and we can laugh together.”

Shi Shu shook his head. “Nothing. Since you’re better, let’s pack up and think about where to go next.”

Du Zihan said, “Do you want to go to the seaside? I’ve never seen the sea. In the modern world, I wanted to go to the seaside with a partner if I fell in love, but I didn’t get into a relationship before I transmigrated. We’ve walked to the ends of the earth, shouldn’t we go to the cape now? Isn’t the end of the world the sea!”

“…………”

Shi Shu pointed at him. “Watch what you say. I’m wary of gay men.”

Du Zihan suddenly reacted. “Fuck! Ptooey!”

Shi Shu turned around, throwing the system completely out of his mind. Another name surfaced. In the days and nights of wandering, this name was like a fleeting spark. Shi Shu pondered in his heart, Has Xie Wuchi discovered this group transmigration system? He probably hasn’t. If he had discovered it earlier, Du Zihan and I would have been killed by him long ago.

Shi Shu thought about it carefully and smiled. “The devil is sleeping.” He couldn’t believe how cruelly Xie Wuchi would kill others if he learned about this system and wanted to go home.

Shi Shu was a little unsettled, but he shook off the thought. Sitting down to rest, Shi Shu discovered that in this system, the names of the eliminated could be seen, but the reason for elimination was kept secret, probably to prevent people from knowing whether they died by accident or were killed by a transmigrator.

In total, out of 100 transmigrators, only 36 remained after a year and a half. Among them, a portion were probably still daydreaming, like himself and Du Zihan. Shi Shu slowly scrolled, searching for “Xie Wuchi… Xie Wuchi… Xie Wuchi…”

Confirming that he didn’t see the name, Shi Shu didn’t know whether to be relieved or tense. He had thought he would have no more to do with him, but if one day in the future, Xie Wuchi activated this system, he might search the ends of the earth to find him and Du Zihan. At that time, he would probably have to see him again.

Shi Shu hid the system and never looked at it again.

The next day, Shi Shu and Du Zihan began to look for a place to take a boat, thinking of going to the seaside. Chencai had no dock, so the two had to walk to a city on the river. The path became one of small bridges and flowing water, green bricks and white tiles. A clear stream slowly caressed the clean white pebbles. Shi Shu never expected that after more than a year, he would once again set foot in the territory of Changyang County!

This was the place of the Xu clan of Changyang, the Confucian clan of a hundred generations, where Xu Shouchun’s family was. A year had passed since he was last here. The Red Thread Festival was over, but red threads were still scattered on the streets, and the red embroidered ball was still being thrown from the high platform. They had arrived just in time for the lingering excitement.

Shi Shu and Du Zihan were too tired from walking and went to a teahouse to drink tea. Unexpectedly, a servant in blue clothes was sitting in front of them, who looked at Shi Shu for a long time while drinking tea.

Shi Shu smiled and asked, “What are you looking at me for? Do you know me?”

The blue-clothed servant said, “My apologies, my apologies. I am a servant of Old Master Xu Shouchun of the Hedong Academy. But seeing that the young master looks familiar, like an old acquaintance, I couldn’t help but look a few more times.”

Shi Shu’s memory was average. He wasn’t sure if this was someone he had interacted with when he and Xie Wuchi came to Changyang County last year. “Like which old acquaintance?”

The blue-clothed servant said, “Hahaha, may I ask the young master’s surname?”

Shi Shu said, “My surname is Shi.”

“Then that’s right! The young master I know is surnamed Xie. It seems I really was mistaken.”

Shi Shu’s heart leaped. Afraid of being recognized further, he laughed twice and buried his head in his food. But just then, people from the government office suddenly rushed in from outside and said, “Something big has happened, something big has happened! All of you listen up! Take down all these red cloths in your shop. Within the day, go to the cloth workshop to buy white cloth and hang it on your doors. Emperor Taikang passed away a few days ago. During the national mourning period, any form of entertainment is prohibited, and livestock are not allowed to be slaughtered. Start making arrangements immediately! For the next ten days, no one in the country is allowed to eat meat. Go, go!”

“What? Emperor Taikang has passed away?!”

“The emperor has died!”

It felt as if a heavy blow had struck Shi Shu’s mind. His heart skipped a beat. He turned his head and saw the blue-clothed servant sitting and eating. Next to him was a roll of white cloth, which he had clearly gone out to buy specifically. Needless to say, the noble clans must have known about Emperor Taikang’s death on the same day.

Shi Shu and Du Zihan quickly finished their meal and walked out. As far as the eye could see, all the shops on the street were draped in white cloth. The audience under the embroidered pavilion had been driven away, and someone was taking down the bright red signs. The common people had all dispersed, and bailiffs appeared on the roads, patrolling to maintain order during the national mourning.

The blue-clothed servant came out holding the white mourning cloth. Shi Shu called out to him and asked, “Brother, Emperor Taikang has passed away. May I ask who the next emperor is?”

The blue-clothed servant said, “Prince Han. The brother succeeds the brother. A few months ago, Emperor Taikang issued an edict, naming Prince Han as the Imperial Younger Brother. After his death, the younger brother will become the emperor. Prince Han has already entered the imperial ancestral temple. As soon as the national mourning period is over, he will ascend the throne and be proclaimed emperor!”

Prince Han…

Shi Shu released his grip on him, his eyes shifting. “It’s actually the Heir… it’s actually him who’s taking the throne…!”

Emperor Taikang was only impotent, his body was not weak. How could he have issued an edict within a year, passing the throne to his younger brother?!

The blue-clothed servant, on the other hand, looked at Shi Shu seriously. “Little brother, are you sure your surname isn’t Xie?”

Shi Shu smiled brightly. “Do I need to lie to you about this? If my surname isn’t Xie, it isn’t Xie. If you don’t believe me, ask my brother, Shi Zihan.”

Du Zihan said, “Ah? Mmm, mmm, yes, yes. My brother and I were born with the resounding surname ‘Shi.’ We won’t change our name or surname. Lying about that would be a disgrace to our ancestors, wouldn’t it?”

“Oh.” The blue-clothed servant smiled, completely convinced.

Two figures walked side by side from the side, dressed in elegant and luxurious clothes, embroidered with jade patterns, their demeanor noble and outstanding. Shi Shu knew with just a glance from the corner of his eye that it was definitely that pair of young masters from the Xu family!

“Let’s go!” Shi Shu turned around and ran wildly towards the dock with Du Zihan.

From behind, a voice faintly drifted over. “Young Master, I met a young gentleman who looks a lot like Xie…”

Shi Shu ran in a hurry, his shoes clattering on the stone slabs. He ran to the vicinity of the dock and saw a southbound merchant ship about to leave. He and Du Zihan rushed forward in one leap and with a “thud!” jumped onto the deck.

“Yeah! Let’s go see the sea!”

Whatever court reinstatement. Once Prince Han ascends the throne, Xie Wuchi’s career will surely soar! As they say, between the wood and the goose, the dragon and the snake transform! What position of power will Xie Wuchi rise to because of this?

He is him… I am me. A bright smile appeared on Shi Shu’s face. He turned and stood in the ship’s cabin, unable to resist saying that chuunibyou catchphrase, “I’m going to be the man who becomes the Pirate King—”

The wind on the river was very refreshing. Shi Shu had only thought about politics for a moment, but he quickly threw it all to the back of his mind. His new journey had begun!

This river flowed downstream, heading towards the eastern sea, which was the end of the world. But now they had encountered another difficulty! There was no way to work on the ship, and his and Du Zihan’s savings were dwindling. Finally, the day had come.

“—Get off, you! If you have no money, what ship are you taking! Cough, ptooey!”

“Hey, hey, don’t push, don’t push!” Shi Shu, losing his balance, jumped onto the riverbank, caught the bundle stuffed into his arms, and rubbed his messy hair. Beside him, Du Zihan was kneeling on the ground in a face-plant position.

“Reality, this bloody reality.”

Shi Shu grabbed his bundle and helped Du Zihan up. The two had been on the boat for too long and were slightly malnourished. Both of them had lost some weight.

After half a year of wandering, Shi Shu had learned to read maps. He quickly asked about their current location and learned that there was still some distance to the coastal city of Fengcheng. It would take a long time to walk over mountains and ridges, but by taking a boat down the river, they could reach it in three days!

Du Zihan thought for a long time. “Shi Shu, actually, there’s something I’ve never confessed to you. Because I was afraid of dishonoring my school, I never told you my graduate major.”

Shi Shu asked, “Huh? There’s such a thing? What was your graduate major?”

Du Zihan said, “Aerospace Manufacturing Engineering. I’m an engineering student. I’ve been thinking along the way, why don’t we build our own boat and row down?”

Shi Shu said, “I’m fine with it, I just don’t know if you are.”

Du Zihan said, “Of course I am! The current is gentle below here, it’s not a big problem.”

Shi Shu scratched his head. Right now, he and Du Zihan had been thrown into a desolate little city. This place was close to the coast, and along the way were many shipwrecks. Driftwood had been pushed to the shore. Du Zihan picked up the pieces of wood one by one, arranged them neatly with abandoned ropes and reeds from the shore, and in one afternoon, made a somewhat crude wooden raft.

Shi Shu squatted by the wooden raft and looked at it. “Is this really okay?”

Du Zihan excitedly pushed the raft into the water. “Fuck! Look!”

Shi Shu turned to look. “Fuck! It’s floating!”

“It’s floating!”

Du Zihan stood on the raft, and it didn’t sink. An even more joyful expression appeared on his face. “It works, it works, it works!”

Shi Shu walked directly onto the raft. “You said it, if we die, we die together.”

At first, Shi Shu was a little worried, but soon the feeling of fun surpassed the worry. He and Du Zihan sat on the raft, giggling. They tried it out, and it began to drift downstream with the current.

Shi Shu tried to hold back his laughter, but he really couldn’t. He laughed all the way. This raft was actually of pretty good quality. In the evening, they would stop by the river and tie it up, and the two would go foraging for crabs and shells to roast and eat.

But unexpectedly, on the last day, this raft had a problem. Du Zihan carefully studied the current. “Is it about to merge into the sea? Why does the flow speed feel a bit off?”

Shi Shu asked, “?”

At this moment, he and Du Zihan were floating in a vast, wide river area. Laifu was also lying down obediently. Shi Shu couldn’t help but want to grab him by the collar. “Don’t mess with me, Du Zihan! My liberal arts grades weren’t good, I don’t understand this stuff.”

Du Zihan said, “Don’t worry, don’t worry!”

“Splash!” A big wave came over. Laifu wasn’t sitting steady and suddenly fell into the water, starting to swim vigorously. Shi Shu’s eyes widened, and he gripped the raft’s partitions tightly. Unexpectedly, just as he pulled Laifu up, he turned around and Du Zihan had fallen into the water.

“Splash!” Another big wave from the sea.

Shi Shu cursed, “Fuck!” and jumped into the water. The very cold water instantly soaked his body. Shi Shu pulled Du Zihan and swam forward. Fortunately, Du Zihan knew how to swim, just not very skillfully, but with Shi Shu’s support, he could swim. Laifu, on the side, also knew how to swim, paddling his paws and following beside Shi Shu.

Shi Shu was out of breath. The raft and luggage had been washed far away by the sea waves. Shi Shu led one person and one dog towards the shore. The mud and sand in the water were stirred up. When he looked up, it was evening, approaching sunset. He and Du Zihan had finally drifted to the seaside. At this moment, a golden sun was resting on the sea level, its quiet golden glow sprinkling over the entire rippling sea.

This was the seaside. For the first time since coming from the modern world, Shi Shu saw the sea again.

The waves came one after another. After Shi Shu got the hang of it, his swimming became smoother. A moment later, he heard a “hahaha” sound next to his ear. Du Zihan was laughing wildly. “This is too unlucky!”

“…………”

Shi Shu held back for a few seconds. “Save your energy.” He couldn’t hold back and started laughing as he approached the shore. “Fuck, hahaha, ah, are you crazy, ahahahaha! Du Zihan, you’re really crazy!”

The sand on the beach was not the loess of the mainland. Shi Shu lay on the soft, warm sand. Laifu was panting heavily, shaking his wet fur all over his face.

“…”

Shi Shu wiped his face and looked up at the sunset by the sea level. He had lost all his energy and was so tired that he didn’t want to move for a while.

So good. Thinking back to the freezing cold of Senzhou, it felt like a world away.

Shi Shu lay quietly, not moving. The youth’s tall body basked in the warm sun, unrestrained and free. Shi Shu was drowsy, until a moment later, a small voice came from behind. “There are two drowned people here.”

“…………”

Wait, what do you mean? Do you need to question my swimming skills? Shi Shu did a carp flip to sit up. He was startled by what was behind him and let out a scream. “Ah, brother! They’re alive!”

Shi Shu looked up and saw a brother and sister. The brother was about seventeen or eighteen, tanned dark and shiny all over. The sister was just over ten, holding her brother’s sleeve with one hand. They were standing under a tree, looking at him and Du Zihan curiously. They seemed to have never seen people from outside before.

Shi Shu stood up. The other party asked first, “Who are you?”

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