Chapter 1

Rainy Night.

A group of ragged villagers struggled through the mountain forest. The mountain path, washed by the heavy rain, had become muddy and difficult to traverse. The feeling of wet clothes sticking to their bodies was utterly miserable.

The heavy rain had been falling for half the night, showing no signs of stopping. The villagers, who had been moving slowly, came to a halt. Lu Yan, who was leading the way at the front, temporarily left the group to scout ahead, allowing the other villagers to take shelter from the rain and rest.

Lu Yan was the most experienced hunter in the village. If it weren't for his observation of enemy movements when he returned from hunting yesterday, and if it weren't for this sudden heavy rain, no one in the village would have escaped.

The people at the front stopped, and Lu Chuan had to stop as well. He pushed the hair and rainwater off his face and looked back toward the village below. A massive fire illuminated the rain-soaked night, making it particularly noticeable.

It had been five days, and he still found it hard to adapt to this new world.

This was a world where cultivation was possible. He had personally seen Lu Yan shoot an arrow with lightning, pinning a giant python to the ground. However, the birthplace of Lu Chuan, the poor and dilapidated Lu Family Village in the northern border of Wu Kingdom, had very poor infrastructure.

On Blue Star, Lu Chuan was a "young master" who could never leave the air conditioning in summer and would always take a taxi to a place 500 meters away in the rain. In this new world, he had to go up the mountain to collect firewood just to start a fire.

No mobile phones, no computers, no family or friends, and a future life full of confusion.

The only thing that comforted Lu Chuan was his orphaned background. Being an orphan in a new world, based on his experience with web novels, was a classic protagonist template. However, it was a pity that almost everyone in Lu Family Village was surnamed Lu, and it did not belong to the Ye, Lin, Xiao, or Chu families, making his background less perfect.

"Don't look, Brother Chuan, they're all gone." Lu Hu patted Lu Chuan, who was staring at the village below. The flames produced by magic could not be extinguished by the heavy rain. In the firelight, there were a few villagers who had clung to hope and were unwilling to leave, but they were now clearly in grave danger.

"Damn it, the guards at Zhenbei Pass are all useless. The Jing Kingdom's army has already reached Longchuan County, and they didn't even give any advance warning. Feh." Lu Hu spat angrily. Lu Family Village was in the heart of Wu Kingdom, and he couldn't understand how the Jing Kingdom's Longxiang Iron Cavalry had crossed Zhenbei Pass and suddenly appeared.

Lu Chuan didn't respond. He continued to look at the fire below, thinking that such sudden disasters were typical of forcing the protagonist into action. Wherever he went, battles would break out, and innocent people would die.

"Brother Hu, where are we going now?" Rainwater covered Lu Chuan's face again. He wiped it off with his hands and asked with difficulty.

"We'll wait for my father's message. If everything is fine, there should be a shortcut ahead that leads to Beining City." Lu Hu turned to look at the front of the group. A faint light was flashing rapidly in the dark forest, heading for the mountain top.

Lu Yan was not only the most experienced hunter in the village but also the village's strongest fighter. It was said that in his youth, he had studied in Beining City and had been a named disciple of the Qintian Sect for several years. He had once hunted a four-meter-tall black bear king alone and dragged it back from the mountain.

The mountain forest was not safe. The prey that hid during the day could become dangerous in the rain at night. The villagers' dangers did not come only from the beasts and monsters in the forest but also from the rain, the dark night, the enemies behind them, and their empty stomachs.

A bolt of lightning struck from the sky, masking the sound of Lu Chuan's hungry stomach.

...

Lu Chuan was certain that he was special. Any穿越者 with a golden finger would have such confidence.

He just needed to close his eyes and clear his mind to see an ancient-looking copper coin in his mind. One side was dull, with the character "Yin" written on it, and the other side was bright, with the character "Yang" written on it.

The copper coin could provide Lu Chuan with one "divination" opportunity each day, giving him an answer to a question. There were no restrictions on the question's scope. It could confirm any fact that had already occurred, but it could not predict the future. Since the coin had only two sides, the questions could only be yes-or-no.

The first question Lu Chuan tried was whether his original self on Blue Star was dead after he had crossed over to this new world.

The coin landed on the bright Yang side, indicating "yes."

This answer was both expected and somewhat melancholic. It also determined the question he would ask the next day: whether there was a way to return to Blue Star in this world. The coin again landed on the Yang side, giving him hope of returning home.

On the third day, Lu Chuan asked if he had the talent for cultivation. The coin once again showed the bright Yang side. However, when he asked Lu Yan about the basics of cultivation while hunting, he learned that the biggest obstacle to his cultivation path was the lack of a substantial sum of money for tuition.

This Wu Kingdom was not good; there was no nine-year compulsory cultivation education.

On the fourth day, Lu Chuan didn't know what to ask. He waited until the skill cooldown was almost over and randomly asked if the most powerful person in the world was male.

The coin spun a few times and landed on the Yang side.

Yay, victory for men!

Boring...

Lu Chuan was somewhat disappointed with his golden finger. It couldn't "add deep blue points," wasn't a combat skill, and couldn't make money. Knowing whether the most powerful person in the world was male or female was meaningless in his current situation.

The villagers around him were in a commotion. Lu Yan, who had been scouting, returned with some not-so-good news.

The massive fire had caught the attention of Wu Kingdom. A red flame, a magical signal indicating an enemy attack, rose above Zhenbei Pass. Beining City, not far away, also lit up with a signal, entering a state of alert.

Compared to a small village under attack, the safety of Zhenbei Pass and Beining City was more important. In the heavy rain and with the enemy situation unclear, whoever was in charge of the defense would prioritize holding their ground.

The fire in the village below had gone out, and the sudden enemy had disappeared into the rain, leaving no trace. No one knew if the enemy would suddenly attack from behind. The villagers could only silently resume their journey in the rain.

The rain grew heavier. All Lu Chuan could hear was the sound of wind and rain, the rustling of people passing through the bushes, and the cries of children from the group, which quickly disappeared, followed by the hushed scolding of parents.

The cries and complaints in the group gradually became uncontrollable. The endless rain, the dangerous forest, the seemingly endless mountain path, the hunger, and the loss of strength, along with the possibility of the enemy catching up, were like heavy stones crushing the villagers' mental defenses.

Someone began to question whether continuing in the rain would make most of them fall ill. Was it really necessary to rush to Beining City? Should they find a cave nearby to hide in? The enemy might not come up the mountain, and even if they did, they might not find them in the cave.

The group stopped again. Whether to continue or not could mean life or death for the entire village. The village leaders began to argue intensely.

Lu Chuan leaned against a tree, panting heavily. In both lives, he had never been in such heavy rain for so long. If it weren't for the fact that this world's Lu Chuan often went hunting with the group, his body would be much stronger than in his previous life, and he would have given up long ago.

The arguments grew louder. Lu Yan insisted on going to Beining City. His hunter's intuition told him that the group was being watched, and stopping would mean certain death.

Lu Yan had high prestige in the village. The villagers had managed to escape to the mountains before the Jing Kingdom's cavalry arrived thanks to his judgment and warning. However, the other elders in the village instinctively avoided his gaze and chose the other option.

Most of the villagers did not have such strong bodies, especially the elderly, who could no longer walk.

Lu Yan fell silent. He was a child who had grown up in Lu Family Village. Although he had embarked on the path of cultivation, he had eventually returned to the small village and was always respectful to the village elders.

But this was a matter of life and death, not just for him but for his wife and children, who were also in the group.

Lu Chuan heard the elders' arguments. As a child, he couldn't participate, but he listened to Lu Yan's concerns. The enemy might be targeting the group of villagers.

This was something he could help confirm. So, in the rain, he closed his eyes, and the coin in his mind slowly spun.

'Are the Jing Kingdom soldiers who attacked Lu Family Village chasing us?'

Yang side, indicating "yes."

Damn!