Chapter Two: Sons of Humble Origins

Xu Kang was truly filled with regret. He realized he had overestimated his own willpower and underestimated the agony of Despair’s Pain. The effect was so overwhelming that every second felt worse than death itself. When the fifteen seconds finally passed, he couldn't utter a single word; he only gasped a few ragged breaths before his eyes rolled back and he passed out cold.

He had no idea how much time had gone by when he finally awoke. The mages, hunters, priests, and others who had surrounded him were gone, and he found himself lying on a bed.

“Phew... So it was just a dream,” he sighed, finally coming to his senses. He exhaled a long breath and then shook his head with a wry smile. “Damn, what a nightmare! My heart’s still pounding. I really should’ve listened to Fatty and taken a break from gaming for a few days.”

He reached under his pillow for his phone, intending to call Fatty, but as his hand touched the pillow, the cold, slippery sensation stopped him short.

“What’s going on?” He sat up, confused, only to discover that the soft sponge pillow beneath his head had turned into a stone pillow over a foot long!

It was only then that he realized, with a jolt, that this was not his bed. In fact, this wasn’t even his room.

Was he still dreaming? A dream within a dream?

As soon as the thought flashed through his mind, a torrent of memories surged through his brain like a raging river, the pain so intense it made him cry out.

“Ah...!”

Despite the splitting pain, the flood of memories left his mind clearer than ever. And so, while enduring the agony, he understood one thing with absolute clarity—

He had transmigrated.

But this was not the kind of physical transmigration where one’s entire body appears in a new world, but the more clichéd soul transmigration—possession, as people often called it.

The person he had possessed was also named Xu Kang, a young man born into a humble family.

Xu Kang's father had died young, leaving his mother, Lady Xu, to raise him alone. Because he had been frail since childhood, she named him Kang, hoping he would grow up healthy. Unfortunately, things had not gone as she wished, leading to the present situation.

From the original owner’s memories, Xu Kang learned that he was not an only child in this world; he had an elder brother named Xu Fu.

If this were the Qin dynasty, he might have been excited to have an elder brother named Xu Fu, but the memories in his mind told him the Qin was long gone—this was the Han dynasty.

And not just any time, but the chaotic end of the Eastern Han.

During this period, the eunuchs wielded power and fought incessantly. Under their manipulation, the Han court had seen emperor after emperor in just a few decades: Emperor Shang, An, Shun, Chong, Zhi, Huan, and Ling, a constant cycle of turmoil.

The frequent changes on the throne sent the government spiraling into decay. Local strongmen levied heavy taxes and seized land, while famine and disaster struck year after year, leaving commoners struggling on the edge of starvation and death.

Finally, in the seventh year of Guanghe, the first month of 184 AD, the starving people could bear no more. Led by Zhang Jiao of Julu, they launched the largest religious uprising in Chinese history—the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

The followers of the Yellow Turbans shouted, “Heaven is dead, the yellow heaven must rise; the year is Jiazi, great fortune under heaven!” Their cry found resonance across the land.

Millions joined the rebellion, sweeping through the country, burning government offices, slaughtering officials—war and flames erupted everywhere.

Within just ten days, the Yellow Turban general Bo Cai led his forces to conquer Changshe County of Yingchuan Commandery, where the Xu family resided, and the rebels advanced toward Luoyang.

The capital was thrown into panic.

The flustered Emperor Ling of Han, on the one hand, listened to Grand General He Jin and allowed the local elite families to raise their own armies to suppress the rebels; on the other, he dispatched Left General of the Gentlemen-at-Arms Huangfu Song and Right General Zhu Jun to confront Bo Cai as he neared Luoyang. The two sides clashed fiercely at Changshe County.

To escape the chaos, Lady Xu took her two sons and fled with other refugees to Luoyang.

The journey from Changshe County to Luoyang was nearly two hundred kilometers. In the modern era, that would be just a three- or four-hour drive, but in these days of primitive transportation, it was a long and arduous trek.

After days of hardship and anxiety, the frail “Xu Kang” couldn’t hold out. Shortly after arriving in Luoyang, he passed away, allowing the present Xu Kang to take over his body.

Lady Xu, unaware of this, rushed into the room at the sound of commotion. Seeing Xu Kang clutching his head and crying out, she burst into tears herself.

“Kang’er, what’s wrong? Don’t scare your mother! If anything happened to you, how could I go on living... Oh, my poor boy...”

Seeing his mother weep so bitterly, Xu Kang felt an inexplicable pang in his heart. Enduring the pounding pain in his head, he forced a weak smile for her.

“Mother... I’m alright, please... don’t wor—”

He hadn’t finished reassuring her before he fainted again.

When he woke once more, dusk had fallen outside, and several oil lamps now flickered in the room, their flames releasing the resinous scent of pine.

In the dim light, he saw Lady Xu sitting by his bed, gently wiping sweat from his brow with a warm, damp cloth. As soon as he opened his eyes, she beamed with delight.

“My son, you’re finally awake! You frightened me half to death!”

Without waiting for his reply, she called out toward the door, “Cui’er, is the medicine ready? Bring it in!”

“Coming!” responded a young woman in a green cotton skirt, who soon entered carrying a bowl, which she respectfully handed to Lady Xu.

“Madam, the young master’s medicine is ready!”

“I’ll feed him. You may go.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Cui’er curtsied to both Lady Xu and Xu Kang before leaving. Xu Kang stared after her in mild surprise.

“So even a humble family has a maid? I guess I really misunderstood what being ‘humble’ meant in ancient times.”

He had always thought “humble families” in ancient China meant poverty and destitution. But now, having transmigrated to the Eastern Han and inherited the original’s memories, he realized he’d been wrong.

In the Eastern Han, a “humble family” didn’t mean being poor—it referred to families with less social standing, mostly ordinary small and medium landowners who weren’t part of the gentry.

Such families generally wanted for nothing and could afford a few servants or maids. But their chances of entering officialdom were slim.

The Han selected officials through recommendation, and the power to recommend was in the hands of the great aristocratic clans. For sons of humble families, official aspirations were all but impossible.

In these circumstances, some of the more studious sons buried themselves in books, but most chose another path—becoming “knights-errant.”

Knights-errant were all the rage in the Eastern Han, but far from the righteous heroes of martial arts novels, they were mostly idle sons of wealthy families, more skilled at forming gangs and brawling than upholding justice. In the modern era, these were precisely the types targeted by anti-gang campaigns.

Unfortunately, Xu Kang’s “elder brother” in this life, Xu Fu, was one of them—a knight-errant, who’d brought Lady Xu no end of worry for years. Even now, the mere mention of his name made her frown.

As she fed Xu Kang his medicine, she couldn’t help but grumble about her eldest son.

“Kang’er, your brother is nothing but trouble, always stirring up mischief and making me anxious. When you’re well, you must study hard and not follow in his footsteps, do you hear?”

“Yes, Mother,” Xu Kang could only nod. But as soon as he answered, a burst of laughter sounded from outside.

“Ha ha ha! Second Brother, you’re finally awake! That’s wonderful! Look what I’ve brought you!”

Xu Kang turned to see a slightly plump figure stride through the doorway. In his left hand was a wine jar; in his right, a bundle wrapped in lotus leaves. He set the jar down, deftly unwrapped the bundle, and held it out to Xu Kang.

“Second Brother, this is roast lamb leg. I acquired it in the course of my chivalrous deeds! Take it, and if you like it, there’ll be more tomorrow!”

Xu Kang was speechless.

Chivalrous deeds could get you roast lamb these days?

He eyed the golden, juicy, aromatic roast meat, highly suspicious of its origins, but seeing his elder brother’s exuberant air, he couldn’t bear to dampen his spirits. He nodded slightly.

“Thank you, Brother.”

He reached for the lamb, but before he could touch it, Lady Xu’s hand shot out like lightning, smacking the bundle and the lamb onto the floor—then she landed a slap squarely on Xu Fu’s face.

“Wretch! Instead of studying, you’re always making trouble. Have you caused more mischief today? Kneel, now!”

Stunned by the slap, Xu Fu dared not argue with his mother’s furious glare. He dropped to his knees with a thud and bowed his head for a scolding.

But Lady Xu was in no mood to forgive. She barked at the maid outside, “Cui’er, fetch a rod! Today I’ll beat this unruly boy to death, hurry!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Not daring to hesitate, Cui’er quickly brought in a bamboo rod as thick as her thumb and handed it to Lady Xu.

Without another word, Lady Xu began striking Xu Fu’s back, making him tremble with pain. But the fool was stubborn—though shivering, he uttered not a sound. This only enraged Lady Xu further. She raised the rod again, preparing to strike even harder.

But before she could bring it down, Xu Kang interjected.

“Mother, please wait!”

She paused, frowning at him. “Kang’er, don’t plead for this wretch! Today I must beat him to death!”

“That’s right!” Xu Fu echoed from the floor. “I angered Mother; I deserve a beating. Second Brother, don’t intervene!”

Xu Kang could only stare.

Was he being a fool for nothing?

Glancing at this equally stubborn mother and son, Xu Kang couldn’t help but twitch his lips and force a smile.

“Actually, Brother, Mother, you misunderstand me. I meant that the bamboo rod is useless—you should use this!”

He lifted the stone pillow from his bed, held it out to Lady Xu, and pointed at the dumbstruck Xu Fu.

“Mother, use this to beat him. With enough force, one blow will do the job!”

Xu Fu: (ºДº*)