The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

By the flickering firelight, looking at the little girl before him who was spouting tales of murder and revenge, Su Qi was speechless. A wave of pity washed over him, but he also felt his values ​​were completely out of step with this world. In China, a girl of that age was nothing more than a clueless elementary school student. The idea of ​​an elementary school student vowing to kill for revenge was simply unimaginable.

After a moment of silence, Xiao Chu suddenly asked, "What about Su Qi? Are you coming with me?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Su Qi out of the corner of her eye, a hint of unease in her eyes.

"I?"

After glancing at the little girl in front of him, Su Qi thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "I don't have a specific goal right now, so I'll go with you for now. It'll be good to have someone to look after me on the way."

Little Chu's eyes lit up, but she said arrogantly, "Alright, but you look very weak. Can you really protect me?"

"Heh, don't underestimate me just because I can't even tie up a goose. I'm still stronger than a little kid like you."

"Let's go then. Let's hide a little further in. It's easy for those bastards to find us near the village."

Having said that, the little chick turned and crouched down, moving deeper into the forest.

As Su Qi followed, he asked, "Why don't you just escape tonight?"

"Are you an idiot?" The little girl in front of me rolled her eyes. "You'll get eaten by monsters halfway there. Strange, how come you don't even know something like that?"

"Ahem... because I'm a foreigner, I'm not completely familiar with the situation here yet."

"Hmph, he looks like a useless adult. Little Hina can only rely on herself."

After saying that, Xiao Chu turned around and glared at Su Qi again. Suddenly, her expression changed drastically, and she cried out in alarm, "Watch out!!"

Before he could finish speaking, a flash of light fell and struck Su Qi hard on the back.

With a hiss, amidst the splattering of blood, Su Qi felt a sharp pain in his back, followed by a surge of heat that soaked his back. He staggered a few steps before collapsing weakly to the ground.

"Hehe, I didn't expect that just going out to take a piss would lead to an unexpected discovery of two little devils who had run away."

Amidst a cold laugh, a short, thin bandit with a scarred face emerged from the shadows. He was middle-aged, with a bald head and tied hair, wearing full armor. He held a small katana diagonally in his right hand, the narrow blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight, and drops of blood dripped from its tip, staining the ground crimson.

Although the bandit had a sinister face and fierce eyes, he was loose and sloppy all over, clearly a low-class person; but even so, as long as he had a knife in his hand, he was no match for the little girl and the otaku who was currently lying on the ground.

"Oh ho, I didn't expect this brat to be so good-looking." The bandit's gaze swept over Su Qi, then settled on the resentful little girl. He licked his lips, his eyes filled with lewdness. "Little beauty, don't be in such a hurry. After I get rid of this troublesome brat, I'll treat you properly."

As he spoke, he walked to Su Qi's side, raised his right hand, reversed the katana, and plunged it into Su Qi's back.

"Run!"

The little girl suddenly charged forward, knocking the robber to the ground, causing his katana to fly out of his hand. She then straddled him, stabbing and scratching him repeatedly in the face.

Damn it! I got slashed! Ouch!

On the other side, after the initial confusion and panic, Su Qi finally managed to regain his ability to think.

The blood is still flowing... Will I die? Will I really be resurrected? What if I can't be resurrected? I don't want to die! I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die... What should I do!?

The thought of possibly dying here triggered a flood of chaotic thoughts, and the fear of death gradually overwhelmed my consciousness.

Just then, he heard the chick's cry, and finally snapped out of his daze, noticing the situation outside.

Idiot, I can't run at all right now. If it were you, you might have a sliver of hope of escape, given the darkness and the terrain...

Suppressing his panic, Su Qi shook his head and tried to stand up, but the knife wound had either damaged his spinal nerves or caused him to bleed too much, leaving him weak and powerless.

Just then, the bandit shoved Xiaochu aside, grabbed her by the neck without mercy, and punched her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. Then, he picked up his katana and strode towards Su Qi with a ferocious expression.

Puff!

Su Qigang staggered to his feet, only to be stabbed through the chest and abdomen by a knife. A large amount of blood flowed down the blade, forming a small pool of blood on the ground.

With a cold snort, the bandit drew his knife, and Su Qi fell to the ground. The intense pain and coldness began to spread through his body, and his gradually fading consciousness slowly sank into darkness.

The last thing he saw was the little chick, who was kicking and struggling, being dragged by the collar into the village that was burning in the darkness, leaving a long and twisted trail of struggle on the ground.

Then, Su Qi died.

Chapter Three: Everything is going according to plan

In a pure white world, Su Qi, lying on the cold floor, suddenly opened his eyes.

"I'm not dead yet!?"

He sat up abruptly, quickly reached out and touched his chest a few times to make sure there were no wounds or bleeding, and then let out a long sigh of relief.

"He really didn't die! It seems the Return by Death has taken effect."

Recalling the scene just now, the cold touch of the blade piercing his chest, the moment before he died that seemed to be stretched out, and the extreme emptiness before his consciousness completely sank into darkness, he still felt lingering fear, and his chest still felt faintly painful.

"It seems I'll have to experience death many more times, so... is having the ability to return from death ultimately a blessing or a curse?"

Perhaps because he had just experienced his first death, Su Qi inexplicably entered a state of enlightenment, pondering (or rather, being in a daze) for a while before recovering. He covered his face and sighed, "Alas, how embarrassing! To be successfully backstabbed by a third-rate bandit, I could compete for the award for the most embarrassing transmigrator in history."

After saying that, he stood up and looked around at where he was.

The floor was pure white, the sky was pure white, and the white earth stretched endlessly to the four corners of the earth, with no end in sight. Even the horizon disappeared into this pure white world. And because it was so white, everything in sight was the same color, which could even cause dizziness if you looked at it for too long.

He blinked, looked around, and found the entire space empty, almost devoid of anything except himself. The reason he said "almost" was because there was still a strange building, about the height of a person, not far away.

It was a three-tiered structure, with a base approximately three meters long, resembling a stepped pyramid or the base of a pillar. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that it was carved from a single piece of unknown, jet-black stone, its surface smooth as a mirror, with each tier adorned with numerous mysterious and enigmatic golden symbols and characters.

Su Qi reached out and touched it, and a white screen with black characters popped up in front of him.

The screen was very simple, with only two options in the center: "Load Save" and "Completion Results". The completion results screen was grayed out and unavailable. He clicked "Load Save", and a dialog box immediately popped up: "Load save and return to the starting point? Yes or No?"

Su Qi was silent for a moment, then reached for the "Yes" button on the dialog box, but just a second before pressing it, he suddenly stopped in mid-air.

He hesitated. The thought of the extreme pain and emptiness he felt before death made him instinctively unwilling to experience it again. However, there was nothing here, and staying would only drive him mad. Besides, Xiao Chu wouldn't have encountered that bandit in the first place; it was all because of him that she was delayed and captured. As a man, how could he shirk responsibility? Moreover, how could he not avenge the betrayal?

"Tsk, I don't want to become a 'trash protagonist'!"

After standing silently for a moment, Su Qi finally gritted his teeth and pressed the button hard.

……

Moonlit night, grassy slope, fireflies twinkling, insects chirping noisily.

"It was exactly this time."

Su Qi, lying on the grass, opened his eyes, looked up at the starry sky, and there was no confusion in his eyes.

He immediately stood up, deftly tore open his left sleeve, half-squatted down, and wrapped his foot. Then he turned his head and saw a grass snake silently emerge from the bushes beside him.

"Hello Xiaoqing, goodbye Xiaoqing."

Su Qi greeted them expressionlessly, then stood up and strode towards the village.

A moment later, in the woods near the village. This time, he didn't just stand there watching the robbers kill; instead, using the location from his previous playthrough as a reference, he quietly and cautiously searched the vicinity.

Su Qi was lucky; it didn't take long for him to find the fledgling, almost curled up, hiding under a large tree. He then smiled slightly and stealthily made his way towards it.

……

It's so dark...it's so scary...Will I be discovered? Will I be eaten by monsters? Mom, I'm so scared...

Embraced by thick tree roots on both sides, the chick hugged its knees, straining to open its eyes and survey its surroundings, its small body trembling slightly in the darkness.

At this time of year, she would usually be in the brightly lit mansion, with her parents and servants by her side, but now that place called "home" was gone forever; and although she was more mature and brave than most of her peers, she was still just a child. How could she not be afraid when the whole village was killed and she was hiding alone in the wilderness?

Guh...

She rubbed her stomach, not knowing how many times her hunger had been felt, and looked up at the crescent moon, which was obscured by a few wisps of dark clouds. After hesitating for a moment, she finally stood up, leaning against a tree root, and prepared to find something to eat to fill her stomach.

However, at that moment, a figure suddenly appeared behind Xiaochu, covered her mouth, and pulled her into his arms.

The chick was filled with terror and wanted to scream, but could only whimper. It wanted to break free, but it was too small and weak to budge the man's arm. Even so, it refused to give up and struggled more and more fiercely.

Seeing this, Su Qi quickly leaned close to her ear and said, "Shh, don't be afraid. I'm not a good... no, I'm not a bad person. If we keep making a scene and attract the bandits, we'll all be killed. I'll let go now, so just stop making a scene and nod if you agree, okay?"

The chick paused for a moment, then nodded.

Su Qi smiled slightly and let go of her hand, but she turned around and kicked him hard. He gasped and quickly squatted down, clutching his right calf and rubbing it rapidly.

"Hmph, bad guy!"

The kimono-clad loli stood in front of him, arms crossed, looking down at him with a face full of shame and anger, her big eyes glistening with tears, clearly quite frightened.

"You're dressed so strangely, who are you?" she asked with suspicion and wariness.

"Ahem, my name is Su Qi, and I come from the Tang Kingdom on the opposite continent..."

……

A few minutes later, in the woods by the village, Su Qi and Xiao Chu lay quietly in the grass, waiting.

"Hey, you big bad guy, what are we waiting for here?" Little Chu asked impatiently in a low voice.

Su Qi scratched his left arm, which was bitten by mosquitoes, and stared coldly in the direction of the village. He said in a low voice, "Wait for our common enemy. Also... my name is not Big Bad Guy, it's Su Qi, or you can call me Handsome Man."

"handsome man?"

Xiaochu glanced at his profile and found that although he was quite good-looking, he was still a long way from being a handsome man. She then said without any politeness, "Hmph, so Mother was right. Bad guys are all thick-skinned."

"Alright, let's keep a low profile and stop talking about my stunning good looks. That guy will be here soon, so let's discuss the battle plan first..."

……

A moment later, a short, thin bandit swaggered into the woods; it was the same guy who stabbed Su Qi to death in the first playthrough.

"Very good, everything is going according to plan..."

Su Qi's eyes lit up, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips. Soon, he would avenge himself and the little girl from the previous timeline!

Chapter Four is in the works.

Behind me, flames surged and voices clamored. On the ground beneath my feet, the elongated shadows of trees twisted like snakes or shifted and changed like ghosts.

Saburo, his face flushed and filled with excitement, stepped into the dark woods. He was still savoring the wonderful sensation of the blade slicing through a human body, completely oblivious to the fact that he, like the victim, had once been an ordinary farmer.

Not long ago, due to insufficient manpower, he was suddenly conscripted by the daimyo while working in the fields as usual, and became a foot soldier of the lowest rank.

At first, he thought he would no longer have to do those tiring and boring farm work, and he could make meritorious contributions on the battlefield, become a samurai, and reach the pinnacle of life. He was secretly happy. It wasn't until he was scared out of his wits on the battlefield, then defeated and chased, and when he encountered a monster while running away with others, he almost got eaten. Only then did he realize how naive he had been.

After surviving these brushes with death, and being influenced by those thugs and scoundrels, he finally realized that there was no future in being cannon fodder or easy targets. Being a good or honest person only meant being bullied; only the wicked could thrive in this chaotic world.

So he first deserted, then became a bandit. Anyway, even if he escaped back, he'd definitely be caught and sent to the battlefield to die; his wife and daughters were of course less important than himself. Life is short, so one should enjoy it while one can, otherwise, even in death, one will only become a pitiful, starving ghost.

He was incredibly grateful that he had become a bandit. The delicacies he had never even smelled before, the rich young ladies who would never have given him a second glance, he could now enjoy them to his heart's content simply by wielding his knife and killing people; compared to that, he was utterly foolish to have been so exhausted every day that he could only dig out a little bit of pig feed from the ground.

However, compared to wine, women, and food, what he enjoyed most was seeing those once arrogant and wealthy merchants groveling at his feet. Whenever he saw them filled with fear, begging for their lives in hushed tones, he felt superior, as if he had become a powerful figure who could arbitrarily control the lives of others.