The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 1: Careless
Xiao Yi woke up from the darkness.

The last image I remember is the deafening explosion during that stunt scene. He, as a stunt double, had just completed an extreme stunt when he was instantly engulfed in flames.

But what's going on here? Has she taken on a new role? It looks like it's another period drama.

Such realistic snow.

Snowflakes landed on my forehead, and the wind slipped into my collar, chilling me to the bone.

A whistle fell on the stone steps in front of them, and a weapon rack stood at the end of the steps. Snow was piled up in the courtyard, and an old plum tree with gnarled branches leaned horizontally. The eaves above were covered with snow, and a hexagonal pavilion could be vaguely seen in the distance.

Shifting the gaze to the other side, the drifting ashes came from a brazier under the eaves. An obese boy was squatting in front of the brazier, burning paper money and muttering to himself.

"Now I burn money...a lot of money, may my merits and virtues increase, and may good deeds be rewarded."

He stretched his luxurious brocade robes to a bulge, his movements were timid and hesitant, and his expression was greasy and sleazy, like someone who had just secretly eaten a large bowl of fatty meat and was afraid of being discovered.

The boy looked up and saw that Xiao Yi had opened his eyes. He was stunned and forgot to drop the paper money in his hand.

"Ouch, it's so hot... How... How are you alive?!"

Xiao Yi sat up, rubbing his aching head, thinking to himself that it was rare to actually have lines this time.

He couldn't remember anything that happened in between, so he said, "I think I have a blackout. Do you have a script?"

"what?"

The young man in the brocade robe collapsed to the ground, muttering, "Did it come back to life? All that burning was for nothing. Did I burn too much and buy my life back?"

These lines are a bit difficult to follow... No, Xiao Yi looked down at himself, his extremely young body wrapped in coarse blue clothes.

He is not him.

It was as if my soul had traveled to another world.

He staggered to his feet, reached out, and felt the slight warmth of the brazier; it felt somewhat comfortable.

He brushed his hand over the dust again and pinched the fat, sagging face of the boy in the brocade robe. The touch of his fingertips was incredibly real.

"Ahhh! Stop pinching me! Let go! Let go now!"

"Where is this?"

"Huh? Where? Isn't this still my home? Are you still Xiao Yi?"

"It's Xiao Yi."

"It's still Xiao Yi? That's good, you scared me to death."

"who are you?"

"Me? I am the Grand Tutor, Chancellor, Military Governor of Guide Army, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards, Infantry and Cavalry, and Inspector General of the Capital... Hmm, I forgot the rest, but anyway, I am my father's second son, Shi Deyuan."

"What dynasty and era is this? When and where is it?"

"In the third year of the Qianyou reign of the Han Dynasty, in Kaifeng Prefecture, Tokyo."

Xiao Yi was puzzled and murmured, "Han? Kaifeng? Tokyo?"

"Yes, I know about Luoyang in the west and Kaifeng in the east. Don't ask me again, or I won't be able to answer."

"Is Xijing not Chang'an, and Luoyang not the Eastern Capital?"

"Really? I remembered it wrong again? Don't worry about such trivial matters."

The topic stopped abruptly.

After a while, Shi Deyuan couldn't stand the silence, so he reached out his finger and poked Xiao Yi's chest.

"You...you're really not dead?"

"I'm not dead." Xiao Yi offered a weak explanation, saying, "I have amnesia, and I don't remember many things."

Shi Deyuan breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest, saying, "I knew it. I'm not afraid at all."

Xiao Yi's head was still throbbing. He closed his eyes to catch his breath and said, "I've forgotten how I passed out."

Shi Deyuan lowered his head, smiled furtively, and whispered a sentence.

"Of course I hit him."

"You? Why?"

suddenly,

"call--"

A whistling stick came crashing down on Xiao Yi's head.

The blows of the stick were fierce and merciless.

Xiao Yi instinctively dodged, and the whistle slammed down, kicking up the accumulated snow.

"Don't move!" Shi Deyuan shouted. "Stand still, or I'll beat you to death."

"Why?"

"Your life is worthless."

Another blow struck, and the horizontal plum branch snapped with a "thud," the plum blossoms falling to the ground like blood, quickly trampled into a mess.

Xiao Yi was not hit by the baton, but Shi Deyuan's casual remark, "Your life is worthless," struck him like a thunderbolt.

He didn't know how much his life, lost in the explosion, was worth, but he realized that in this era, Shi Deyuan didn't need to pay a single copper coin for killing him; the basin full of paper money was the compensation.

The baton swept across, like a sickle cutting grass, aimed at his head.

At that critical moment, Xiao Yi had a sudden flash of inspiration and realized which dynasty he was in—the Later Han Dynasty.

The Later Han Dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period was an era of war, chaos, and where human life was cheap. "Awooo!"

A scream of pain rang out from the courtyard.

Shi Deyuan dropped his whistle stick, which Xiao Yi snatched away. The white waxwood stick struck Shi Deyuan's ankle like a snake, making a sound like cracking a walnut.

"what!"

Shi Deyuan turned and ran, but his injured foot twisted, and he rolled down the stone steps like a ball.

When he looked up again, he saw the baton coming down, striking straight at the top of his head. He was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. He felt a warm sensation in his groin as fear overwhelmed him.

"Erlang!"

A figure suddenly darted out from the courtyard gate.

A thick, strong arm caught the stick with a loud thud.

The man who arrived was a towering giant with a thick beard, probably two meters tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a leopard-like head and piercing eyes. He was not dressed as a servant, but rather wore a light leather armor.

After rescuing Shi Deyuan, the thug seized the stick and simultaneously kicked out with lightning speed.

"You unfilial servant who has harmed his master, die!"

Shouts erupted, accompanied by a strong smell of blood.

A murderous aura emanated from him, and Xiao Yi sensed that the thug before him must have killed countless people.

He had never dealt with such deadly attacks on the battlefield before, especially with this young and inexperienced body; his intuition told him he was about to be overwhelmed.

But Xiao Yi had spent half his life doing the most dangerous work, and his adventurous spirit made him unable to sit idly by and wait for death. He instantly pounced on the man, trying to grapple and strangle him.

"Straight bitch!"

The thug had never seen this move before. He was momentarily stunned and almost subdued. He cursed and drew his sword.

"Quick, kill him... wait, don't kill him." Shi Deyuan crawled to the side and shouted, "Zhang Mantun, I told you not to kill him."

"Why doesn't Erlang kill this shameless dog that's biting its master like a madman?!"

"He's a crucian carp."

"What?"

"Stop fighting, everyone stop fighting. Xiao Yi, let go, don't move, or he'll kill you. Zhang Mantun, come here quickly... come on, bend down."

The fighting stopped, and Xiao Yi, panting and on high alert, saw Shi Deyuan desperately pulling Zhang Mantun's tall body down, his expression a mixture of fear and excitement, and speaking impatiently.

Xiao Yi pricked up his ears and stared intently at Shi Deyuan's lips, vaguely sensing what he had said.

"He's changed..."

Then, Zhang Mantun's eyes, as big as copper bells, widened in surprise, followed by a look of utter absurdity that was both laughable and absurd.

Seeing that they were talking seriously and seemingly in a daze, Xiao Yi slowly walked over.

The two people were so different in height that their voices were actually quite loud.

"As the Zen master said, the sins committed in this mansion are too heavy, so I burned paper money, a lot of paper money."

"I knew it! This courtyard is really smoky. I hope Erlang didn't burn the eldest young master's golden-crowned babbler with paper money. We've been searching the whole courtyard for ages."

"Shh, listen to me, Xiao Yi definitely bribed the gods down there. Look at his eyes, he's completely different after seeing the gods, and he learns martial arts instantly. Unlike you, who taught me for so long and still couldn't teach me. Don't think I don't know you told Father I was too stupid. I know you're not very bright, and I won't argue with you, but I've studied martial arts for so long, and Xiao Yi still managed to outdo me by using money—ah, my money! You want to beat him to death? Aren't you stupid? Aren't you?"

"Erlang, I think he usually lets you have your way, but today he's gotten a little too bold and is really going to fight. I'll twist his head and teach him a lesson."

"Nonsense, I've figured it out. My father hopes I'll become successful, but I can't do it by relying on you. I need to know how to bribe the gods so I can become as successful as him."

"Such a finished product?"

"You don't understand. As long as you know how to use money, there's nothing you can't do. That's just how the world is. It doesn't matter if it's heaven or earth, human or ghost."

"Let him go? Good heavens! I've failed to manage my subordinates properly, and they've gone too far!"

“Use them and then kill them, I have a way… Ah!” Shi Deyuan was speaking enthusiastically when he suddenly noticed Xiao Yi standing behind him and was startled. “You, you were eavesdropping? How could you do this?!”

Zhang Mantun shrugged indifferently and said, "So what if I hear it? Anyway, this good-for-nothing who can't even start a fire is definitely going to die today."

"Why?"

Just then, a servant in blue ran to the courtyard gate and said, "Young Master, return to the mansion and summon Second Master to the hall."

Instantly, Shi Deyuan's face turned pale.

He was clearly terrified of his father, his lips trembling as he finally managed to utter a trembling word after a long pause.

"What...what should I do?"

"Let Erlang get punished."

Zhang Mantun was also helpless, with nowhere to vent his frustration. Seeing Xiao Yi's indifferent expression, he shouted, "Why are you looking at me? Even if I don't kill you, you'll still die. The commander said that Erlang's martial arts have not improved. I will give him twenty lashes and kill all the servants in the courtyard!"

"Why should I?" Xiao Yi retorted.

"Ask? A mere sparring maidservant, asking questions!"

One sentence, tinged with subconscious disdain, stuck in Xiao Yi's heart.

Looking up and around, one sees high walls and deep courtyards, clearly defined, like one prison after another.

He suddenly wanted to ask himself, in his past life he was someone's substitute, in this life he is someone's sparring partner, a slave who has no right to even ask a question after his life is taken away, is this how he wants to live?

Resign yourself to death? Or choose a different way to live?
He let out a long sigh of relief, which dissipated into the snowy early winter of the Later Han Dynasty.

Xiao Yi's gaze calmed down, and after a long while, he murmured, "I have a way."

(End of this chapter)