Chapter 1 (1/2)

Disaster In Jail

Inside the jail cell of Dafeng’s Jingzhao Courts, Xu Qian woke to the smell of damp rot—the stench unsettled his stomach.

‘Where is the smell coming from? Did Erha poop on the bed again? Judging from the smell, it might be near my head…’

Xu Qian had a Siberian Husky named Erha.

He had moved to Beijing and spent the past ten years working. The loneliness prompted him to adopt a dog for companionship and recreation…not in the sexual way, mind you.

Eyes opened, he surveyed his surroundings and was dumbfounded.

There was a stone wall with a window the size of three rice bowls—sunlight streamed in from the uncharitable opening. Xu Qian was on a tattered straw mat, the light illuminating his chest and the motes of dust in the air.

‘Where am I?’

Xu Qian spent some time in a trance-like state thinking about life. He began to doubt reality.

‘Did I die?’

Before he could react, a wave of memories crashed against his mind. The information was swiftly uploaded into his brain.

Xu Qian—

courtesy name

, Ningyan—was a constable in the Dafeng Dynasty, appointed by the Changle County Courts. Changle County was under the governance of Jingzhao City. His monthly pay was two silver taels and a stone of grain.

His father was a soldier who died 19 years ago in the Battle of Shanhai Pass. Soon after, his mother passed away due to sickness. Xu Qian felt a twang of sympathy.

Everyone knew it was rough to lose both parents.

Xu Qian felt his teeth ache. “The cop life chose me even in reincarnation.”

In his previous life, Xu Qian had graduated from the police academy and joined the forces. It had been a secure job.

The career path was endorsed by his parents but his heart was never in it. He never took to being a public servant.

He liked being free and unconstrained and he appreciated a life of luxury and materialistic wealth. The words left by Ji Xianlin in his diary echoed with him.

Hence, Xu Qian decided to quit his job and start a business venture.

“But how did I end up in a jail cell?”

Xu Qian sifted through the memories in his head to find the answer.

Orphaned, Xu Qian was raised by his uncle, Xu Pingzhi. As Xu Qian practised martial arts, his uncle had spent more than a hundred silver taels each year on his lessons—a fact that made his aunt dislike Xu Qian.

At the age of 18, Xu Qian reached maximum refinement and the lessons stopped. Under the insistence of his aunt, he moved out of the Xu family house.

Through his uncle’s connections, Xu Qian managed to land a job in the county courts as a constable. Life was pretty good…

Three days ago, his uncle—a seventh-ranked official stationed in the Armed Guards—was delivering a cargo of silver taels to the Ministry of Revenue. During the journey, an incident caused them to lose some of the cargo.

A total of 150,000 silver taels was found missing.

The courts and the people were shaken. Furious, the Emperor demanded Xu Pingzhi to be executed within five days. The punishment extended to three generations of the Xu family—the men would be banished to the kingdom borders while the women would be sent to the Entertainment School.

As Xu Pingzhi’s nephew, Xu Qian was unsurprisingly sacked and thrown into jail.

Two days!

In two days, he would be banished to the harsh, deserted borderlands. There, he would be expected to toil for the rest of his life.

Xu Qian felt a shiver down his spine. There was little hope in his heart as he muttered, “Already at a disadvantage from the start. Is this some sort of hell?”

The memories told him he was in a feudalistic period—human rights were non-existent and he dreaded to think how life at the borders were like.

The lands were barren and the weather was horrid. A majority of the criminals sent to the borders did not live past ten years and many died from accidents and disease before even reaching the borderlands.

As the thoughts filled his mind, Xu Qian felt a chill on his scalp.

“System?”

Xu Qian’s tentative voice broke the silence in the jail cell.

There was no response.

“System… Father System, come on out,” Xu Qian pleaded.

Pindrop silence greeted him.

There was no System. How could it be?

This meant there was no way he could change his circumstance. Two days later, he would be sent to the borders in shackles. His physical health suggested he would survive the trip.

Surviving was not all that ideal. Xu Qian had been a tool for the courts and the remainder of his life would be squeezed out of him through hard labor.

Horrible, just horrible!

Any grand illusions Xu Qian had about the ancient period was quickly shattered and replaced by anxiety and fear.

“I have to find a way to get myself out of this situation. I can’t just die like this.”