“Aunt, autumn is coming soon. What about next season’s tuition for the Martial Hall…”
In the dim, gray kitchen, the whole family had been silently eating the food on the table. The only sounds were the clinking of bowls and chopsticks and the occasional chewing.
Then, Su Yu, sitting on a small wooden stool with a wobbly leg at the corner, gently set down his bowl and chopsticks, raising his eyes cautiously toward his uncle and aunt at the head of the table.
“Ask your uncle. I have no money.”
The plump woman at the head of the table immediately rolled her eyes. She nudged the tall, lean, fair-skinned man beside her with her elbow. The small earring hidden under her hair swung as she did so, catching the firelight from the stove and shimmering gold.
Su Yu frowned inwardly. In this household, the one who truly controlled the money was his aunt, who came from a small family in town. His uncle might seem like the head of the family, but in reality, he didn’t even have a single tael of silver to his name—only a few strings of copper coins hidden under the bedboards.
But how could he dare to point that out? His father had died in the conscription, and his mother was working as a servant in a distant town. He was not only living under someone else’s roof but also completely helpless. If he showed even a hint of anger, he would be thrown out of the house tonight and become a demon’s meal outside the village.
So he had no choice but to turn his gaze to his kind-looking, honest uncle.
“Xiao Yu…”
The man at the head of the table picked his teeth with his tongue, then licked his lips and put on a helpless expression.
“You know our family’s situation. My meager salary is already used up buying the medicinal herbs for your little aunt and your sister’s martial training—plus those Qi Blood Pills. There’s nothing left…”
“Don’t say nothing left! We have to dip into Grandpa’s coffin money every month just to barely afford their training!”
Uncle Su Yun set down his bowl and chopsticks with a helpless look, spreading his hands. The sleeves of his robe slid down slightly, and the candlelight dyed the crystal bracelet on his wrist red.
Seeing this, Su Yu’s lips moved, but he didn’t dare say anything more.
Just then, his Aunt Qi Shi let out a cold snort.
“All these years, Lin’s Martial Hall didn’t charge tuition, and you didn’t bother to learn. Now that they’re charging, suddenly you’re eager to study. Who knows if you’re actually going to use that money for martial arts or go off on some shady business with your pack of worthless friends again?”
“Mom, don’t always think that way about Brother Yu. People change… If not, take the money for my training herbs this month and give it to Brother Yu for his tuition first. Let him—”
Su Rou, sitting next to Qi Shi, brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, hesitated, and started to speak. But before she could finish, Qi Shi’s suddenly cold glare made her swallow the rest of her words.
“Nonsense! What time is it now? The Martial Recruitment is next year at this time. If you skip even one month of medicine, how far behind will you fall? If you fail this time, you’ll have to wait another three years!”
Qi Shi’s scolding made the dining table fall into dead silence. Su Rou bit her lip, frozen in place, not daring to say another word.
Seeing her daughter frightened, Qi Shi’s expression softened a little, and her tone became gentler.
“Rou’er, don’t blame me for being stern. Our Su family simply can’t afford to support anyone else in martial arts for three years… Your little aunt may have exceptional talent, but in the end, the blood flowing in her veins isn’t Su blood.”
“Your grandfather trained in martial arts his whole life and never even stepped onto the Martial Path. You’re only seventeen and already at the First Tempering. All the hope of the Su family rests on you… There are some things you simply cannot afford to be careless about.”
“…I understand, Mom.” Su Rou could only lower her head in acknowledgment. Then she lifted her eyes gently toward Su Yu, offering a silent apology.
The kitchen fell into silence again. No one spoke.
After the meal, Su Yu silently gathered the bowls and chopsticks from the table, stacking them in a bucket to take to the river to wash.
But just then, Su Rou ran out after him. She kept her head down and said nothing, simply pressing something tightly into his palm before running back inside.
Su Yu was stunned for a moment. He looked down at what was in his hand.
It was roughly half a tael of silver and a small slip of paper.
He quickly turned around to return the silver, but his cousin was already out of sight.
Su Yu stared at the silver in his palm, dazed for a long moment. Only then did he remember to look at the note.
‘Don’t try to give it back. If Mom sees, I’ll definitely get scolded.’
He didn’t turn back again. He just took one last glance at the doorway, then quickly tucked the silver into his small money pouch, picked up the bucket, and silently walked toward the river.
After a long while, Su Rou poked her head out from the Su family entrance again. She leaned lightly against the doorframe, watching Su Yu’s fading back, her expression blank.
—
As night fell, Su Yu, having finished washing the dishes, hurried back home and lay down in his cramped storage room.
He lay on his side on the straw mat, his eyes reflecting the clutter scattered around him, and let out a helpless sigh.
Sighing, he reached under the bed and pulled out a clean white sheet of paper. He pinched it, frowning at the crisscrossing black characters and lines on it.
As long as he could remember, this paper had been with him. He couldn’t recall who gave it to him or where he found it. But the strange thing was, no matter where he threw it or forgot it, even if he tore it up or burned it, a brand-new one would always appear somewhere near him the next day. Even stranger, no one else could see this paper!
But aside from these peculiarities, the paper—which was whiter than ordinary paper and contained characters he couldn’t understand—had no other use!
When he first discovered this special paper, he thought he might have some unique trait too. He was extremely excited for a while… But now that he was eighteen and still couldn’t figure it out, all that remained was irritation.
“What’s the use? Get lost!”
Su Yu crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it carelessly into a corner. Then he turned over, clutched his small money pouch, and closed his eyelids.
Come to think of it, today might have been his eighteenth birthday. But it didn’t matter. No one remembered anyway, and he had nothing he wanted to celebrate…
Soon, his consciousness blurred amidst random thoughts.
But in the haze, some inexplicable images began to flash through the darkness of his mind.
[“This is the company’s new work schedule. Clock in according to the times from now on. If you screw it up, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”]
[“…”]
[“Damn, we had to be in class by eight in school, and now out here it’s still eight in the morning?”]
[“…”]
[“BANG—!”]
[“…”]
“!!!”
Suddenly, Su Yu sat bolt upright on his straw bed. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He furrowed his brows tightly as memories flooded his mind like a faucet.
“Is this… what they call the Mystery of Rebirth?”
He murmured, feeling as if he had just woken from a great dream.
After a long moment, he let out a long breath, somewhat organizing the chaotic memories in his mind, and began to reassess his situation.
“Damn, am I an idiot? I was actually thinking of borrowing money under the guise of martial training to help Er Gou’s mother with her medical treatment? I can barely take care of myself, and I’m thinking of helping others?”
“Even if Er Gou’s story is true, that was Little Sister’s training money. What right do I have to lend it to someone else?”
“And…”
“…Wait.”
Just as Su Yu was in a state of confusion, something that had previously frustrated him—something he had almost dismissed—suddenly flashed through his mind.
His eyes went wide. He scrambled off the bed, not caring that straw was flying everywhere, and began frantically searching in the corner of the room.
He quickly found the crumpled ball of paper he had tossed earlier. He swallowed, carefully unfolding and smoothing it out.
And the characters on the paper—the ones he had studied for eighteen years without understanding—now leaped off the page, clear and simple.
“Isn’t this… the new schedule from the company in my past life?!”
Su Yu finally understood what this paper was.
—