Chương 1: The Unluckiest Transmigrator

The winter wind howled with a fury that threatened to overturn the earth itself. Piercing frost seeped deep into every crevice of the dilapidated mountain village. In the gloomy dead of night, within a rundown thatched hut, a boy of about ten lay curled up on a bed of straw. The thin blanket and stiff, dried animal pelts seemed utterly powerless against the biting cold endlessly creeping through the cracks in the walls. The boy's face was deathly pale.

His teeth clamped tightly on his lower lip, and his features contorted as if enduring immense agony. A moment later, his breathing gradually steadied. His eyelids fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes. Transmigration. Digesting the fragmented memories that felt like they were mashing his brain into paste, Zhang Xiong was forced to accept a harsh truth: he had transmigrated. According to his predecessor's memories, this place was called Giant Willow Village.

The name came from a century-old willow tree at the village entrance, which had stood there since their ancestors first settled the land. It was one of several impoverished, starving hamlets surrounding Yellow Leaf Town. Beyond that, Zhang Xiong couldn't scavenge any more information. This body had never left the village since birth, knowing only that this land was ruled by a nation called Great Yan. His predecessor was named Song A'niu.

His father had died early during a hunt, and his mother had passed away less than a year ago. The scrawny body had to bear the heavy burden of survival all alone. Forced to forage in the fields during the freezing winter, he contracted a severe chill. Unable to fight off the illness, he kicked the bucket, graciously handing over this fleshy vessel to him. Zhang Xiong—now having to go by Song A'niu—let out a bitter laugh. He really just wanted to point a middle finger at the heavens and curse.

"Oh God, you've got the wrong guy! I was living a damn good life. I had zero need for reincarnation!" He had been a highly skilled plastic surgeon with a more than decent income. After a few years of saving, he had a house, a car, and a bright future ahead of him.

"Great Heavens, I didn't even want to die! And even if I had to, you could have at least given me a quick end!" Zhang Xiong howled, tears welling in his eyes. He had been helping a beautiful woman with a cosmetic procedure. Everything went perfectly. Afterward, conducting a routine post-op checkup that yielded flawless results, he was in high spirits. The host and guest were thoroughly enjoying each other's company, chatting amiably.

Having some free time that day, he invited the beauty for an outing in the suburbs—a perfect opportunity for some "outdoor combat" and profound discussions about life. He had stocked up on "ammunition" early on, fully determined to fight a grand battle. Who would have expected that just as the prelude began, a thunderstorm would break out? He stepped out to secure the tent, only to be struck squarely by a bolt of lightning. He lost consciousness instantly.

By the time he regained his senses, he found himself transmigrated here. Fine, transmigration was transmigration, but did they really have to throw him into the body of an orphaned brat? The family was destitute, possessing only a single set of thin clothes that barely covered his body. According to the memories, the predecessor had rarely enjoyed a full meal since childhood and frequently starved during winter. No one in the village knew how to read; knowledge was passed down solely by word of mouth.

Their entire existence reeked of rural backwardness. As his thoughts ran wild, a gut-wrenching pang of hunger struck, making Zhang Xiong dizzy and blurry-eyed. He suddenly remembered that this body hadn't eaten anything all day. It was the combination of cold and starvation that had completely broken his defenses, leading him to freeze to death right here. How long had it been since he last felt hunger? Zhang Xiong cursed inwardly. To be so famished that his stomach lining felt glued together...

it left him utterly speechless. Forcing down his physical discomfort, he got out of bed and began rummaging for food. After wasting half the day and exhausting his last ounce of strength, he couldn't find a single damn thing. Despair bred in his heart. The lingering cold made him shiver uncontrollably. Not even a mouse would bother sneaking into this house. No cockroaches, no nothing—and soon, no life either for him.

"Why am I so damn unlucky?" Left with no other choice, Zhang Xiong could only light a fire to boil a pot of water, scraping the last bit of salt in the house into it. He hoped this would at least replenish some electrolytes for his body. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. He downed several large bowls to warm himself up. Only when his stomach felt full did he crawl back into bed, curling up under the pile of thin blankets and animal pelts.

Sleeping was obviously out of the question. Who knew if he would ever wake up again in this state of health? Zhang Xiong tried to focus his mind to distract himself from his bodily sensations. Perhaps the warm water helped dispel the freezing hunger. He felt a sliver of strength return to his body, and his mind grew active, beginning to plan for the future. Yet, the more he thought, the more lost and clueless he felt, not knowing where to begin. This tiny frame exuded nothing but powerlessness.

The family was dirt poor; even lighting a fire for warmth required meticulous calculation since firewood was incredibly scarce in winter. The current societal environment was likely ancient feudalism. That meant his exceptional plastic surgery skills were utterly useless. Without the proper tools and instruments, he was screwed. In this era, a minor wound could cause death by infection. Tell me, are you scared or what? Fortunately, he had an optimistic personality.

Even without any leads, Zhang Xiong had to motivate himself to survive. He set a goal: learn to read, escape poverty, and march toward wealth. With his modern knowledge far surpassing this era, achieving this shouldn't be too hard. The hard part was surviving tonight. Zhang Xiong shuddered violently. Just a moment had passed, and the chill showed signs of returning, making his entire body run cold. He threw all the reserve firewood into the flame. The scorching heat on his face finally made him feel a bit better.

But right then, the hunger pangs struck again, gnawing and twisting at his guts.

"I might just be the unluckiest transmigrator in the world." Did he transmigrate to this world just to take a quick look and immediately hit 'game over'? He was truly unwilling to accept this. Amidst his chaotic thoughts, he didn't realize when he fell asleep. A long while later, as Zhang Xiong was submerged in a deep slumber, a sudden suffocating, bone-piercing cold assaulted him. It felt as if he had been buried in a pile of ice, jolting him awake.

Through the blurry darkness of the room, he saw a green-faced, yellow-fanged shadow with mottled, multi-colored skin pressing down on him. It leaned close to his face, sniffing intensely. Violated?! And by such a disgusting, ghastly monster?! The alarm bells in his shrine of chastity were blaring like crazy, scaring Zhang Xiong half to death. He desperately tried to muster the strength to push the ugly ghost away or scream for help, but it was all in vain.

His body remained icy and motionless, as if it didn't belong to him.

"Am I dead already? No more lucky reincarnations? Am I currently checking in at hell?" Dr. Zhang thought in despair. But why did the surroundings look exactly the same? Wasn't this the same rundown thatched hut from before? Moreover, although he couldn't move, he could genuinely still feel his physical body. By the flickering light of the dying embers, he watched in despair as the monster pressed against his head.

It extended a tongue that looked like suction cups, sliding over his nostrils and mouth, greedily sucking. It's over! I'm not dead yet, but I'm about to be. A ghost is stealing my soul.

"What the hell? Logic and science don't explain this! Ghosts actually exist in this world? My life is over!" - Zhang Xiong screamed furiously in his mind, unwilling to accept his fate. Right at that moment, a cluster of light erupted within his mind. He distinctly felt something akin to a silver bolt of lightning flash inside his head.

A surge of electricity rapidly shot out from the depths of his soul, coursing through his entire body, and then rebounded out through his nostrils and mouth directly into the ghastly entity. The points of contact with the ghost emitted loud, crackling pops. Lightning is the absolute bane of ghosts and spirits—that saying was no lie. It only had time to let out a piercing shriek before the lightning bolt tore straight through it, reducing it to motes of light that vanished into thin air.

Regaining his freedom once more, Zhang Xiong abruptly sat up, clutching his throat and panting heavily. Never before had he realized that simply breathing was such a beautiful thing. It took him a long while to calm down and inspect his body. Without him noticing, a sphere of silver light the size of a ball was now flickering within his Sea of Consciousness.

"Could this be my Golden Finger?" thought the transmigrator, pleasantly surprised, drawing on his extensive experience reading web novels. He carefully and deliberately focused on the sphere of light. Unfortunately, no information was transmitted to him. It wasn't a system, and there was no instruction manual. It seemed to be just an ordinary bolt of lightning. It must have been the very thing that struck him and caused his transmigration. It had to have some use, right? Was it only good for dealing with ghosts?

Was this forcing him to become a fraudulent shaman? Brimming with an academic's curiosity, Zhang Xiong used his consciousness to command the sphere of light, testing if it could generate lightning. It wasn't too difficult; instantly, silver sparks flickered at his fingertips. It actually worked! Could he transform into the Flash from now on? Excited, Zhang Xiong searched around the room for a target to test the power of his electricity, but unfortunately, he couldn't even find a cockroach.

Forced to make do, he locked his sights on a spider at the head of the bed and extended his cruel claws. Crackle... Sizzle... A tiny, thread-like stream of silver electricity shot straight at the little spider. It gave a sorrowful twitch and sprawled flat on its web. Zhang Xiong sniffed hard, but the smell of burnt flesh was incredibly faint. It seemed the power wasn't that great after all. Just as he was sighing in disappointment, the little spider suddenly twitched its legs and stood back up.

It dazedly spun around looking for its enemy. Finding no one, it scurried angrily under the bed to find a place to sleep. F*ck! Old Master Zhang stared wide-eyed. Son of a b*tch, it couldn't even electrocute a spider! And he actually thought about becoming the Flash. Better to wash up and go to sleep. Was it truly only effective against souls and useless against living creatures? If so, when he ran into hooligans bullying him in the future, his only option would be to take the beating.

He'd spend his life as a fake shaman playing tricks with spirits. Unwilling to give up, Zhang Xiong continued studying the sphere of light, determined to find a useful function for it. Sadly, there was too little data. Looking closely at the sphere of light now, though not very obvious, it was definitely slightly smaller than before. It seemed emitting electricity consumed a portion of its energy. He would have to be careful when using it.