Chapter 1: Prison Lightning

In youth's bold spirit, I forge bonds with the five great cities,
With an open heart and fierce resolve, my hair stands on end.
In conversation, we share life and death alike,
A promise holds the weight of a thousand gold coins.

With valor and pride, I push the limits,
Embraced by the lightness of camaraderie, we take to the skies,
Fighting east of the city, we roar,
Drinking deep by the wine stalls, springtime colors rise from the cold jars,
As we draw on the sea's horizon.

Leisurely, I call the eagle, urge the dog,
With a white feather, I pluck the bow of the eagle,
While the cunning dens stand momentarily empty.
Joy is fleeting.

Like a dream of yellow millet, I bid farewell to the phoenix,
The bright moon lingers, rippling over the lonely reeds.
Amidst the bustle of officials, I carry a restless heart,
Dust settles, piled in the tomes of records.

Crowds gather like clouds, supplying the coarse needs,
Yet suddenly, miraculous deeds arise.
The horns and drums stir, melodies of fishing songs resound,
While I ponder the sorrow of the old man.

Uninvited, I bind my fate with a long cord,
The sword howls in the western wind.
I regret climbing mountains, gazing at the water,
My hands resting on a seven-stringed lute,
As I watch the returning wild geese vanish from view.

—He Zhu's "Song of Six Prefectures"

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In the prison of the Metropolitan Prefecture of Great Feng.

Xu Qi An awoke groggily, his nostrils assaulted by the damp, putrid stench saturating the air. It caused immediate discomfort, making his stomach churn with nausea.

What's with this overwhelming stench? Did that silly husky defecate on the bed again? Judging by the intensity, it might have done so right above my head…

Xu Qi An had a dog at home—a Siberian Husky, commonly known as a "silly husky."

After drifting in the capital for ten years, feeling lonely and isolated, he'd decided to get a dog for companionship and entertainment… not in a physical sense, of course.

Opening his eyes and taking in his surroundings, Xu Qi An was momentarily paralyzed with confusion.

Stone walls surrounded him on all sides, with three small square windows the size of bowls set high in the masonry. He lay on a cold, tattered straw mat, sunlight streaming through the windows onto his chest, dust motes dancing lazily in the beams.

Where am I?

Xu Qi An pondered in bewildered contemplation for a moment, and then he truly began to question his reality.

I've transmigrated…

A flood of memories surged forth like a broken dam, giving him no chance to react, forcefully inserting themselves into his mind and rapidly flowing through his consciousness.

Xu Qi An, courtesy name Ning Yan, was a constable in the Changle County Yamen, under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Prefecture of the Great Feng Dynasty. His monthly salary was two taels of silver and one stone of rice.

His father, a veteran soldier, had died nineteen years ago in the "Mountain and Sea Campaign." Shortly after, his mother had also passed away due to illness… Thinking of this, Xu Qi An felt a slight, morbid consolation.

As is well known, those whose parents have both passed away are often extraordinary individuals.

"I didn't expect to live again, yet I still can't escape the fate of being a law enforcer?" Xu Qi An felt a twinge in his teeth, somewhere between irony and disbelief.

In his previous life, he'd graduated from the police academy and successfully entered the system, securing an iron rice bowl—the envy of his peers.

However, although Xu Qi An had followed the path his parents had chosen for him, his heart was not in the profession of public servant.

He loved freedom, unbounded by constraints. He enjoyed the hedonistic lifestyle and resonated with a quote from Ji Xianlin's diary—though he'd never admit which one specifically.

And so, he had brazenly resigned and ventured into business.

"But why am I in prison?"

He struggled to process the flood of memories and soon understood his current predicament with sinking certainty.

Xu Qi An had been raised by his Second Uncle since childhood. Due to years of martial arts training, he consumed over a hundred taels of silver annually, which made his aunt deeply resent him.

At eighteen, he'd reached the peak of Qi Refinement but could progress no further—a martial arts bottleneck. Under mounting pressure from his aunt, he'd moved out of the Xu residence to live independently.

Through his uncle's connections, he'd secured a position as a constable in the yamen. Life had been going reasonably well until…

Three days ago, his Seventh-rank Green-robed Second Uncle, who served in the Imperial Sword Guard, had been escorting a batch of tax silver to the Ministry of Revenue when an incident occurred, resulting in the catastrophic loss of the silver.

A staggering 150,000 taels of white silver.

The court and the common people were shocked. The Emperor flew into a rage, personally decreeing that Xu Pingzhi would be beheaded in five days, with his three clans of relatives implicated. Male relatives would be exiled to the frontier, while female relatives would be sent to the courtesan quarters.

As Xu Pingzhi's nephew, he'd been stripped of his constable position and thrown into the Metropolitan Prefecture's prison.

Two days!

In just two days, he would be exiled to the desolate frontier, spending the rest of his life in hard labor—if he survived the journey at all.

"Starting in hell mode, huh…" Xu Qi An felt a chill run down his spine, his heart sinking into the pit of his stomach.

This world was under the rule of a feudal dynasty, with no concept of human rights. What kind of place was the frontier?

Desolate, with a harsh climate that broke men like kindling. Most criminals exiled to the border didn't survive beyond ten years. Many more died en route due to various accidents and diseases before even reaching the frontier—bandits, illness, exposure, starvation.

Thinking of this, Xu Qi An's scalp tingled with a bone-chilling sensation.

"System?"

After a moment of silence, Xu Qi An's probing voice echoed in the quiet cell, tentative and desperate.

The system didn't respond.

"System… The system, please come out." Xu Qi An's voice was tinged with increasing urgency.

Silence reigned, oppressive and absolute.

No system. There was no system!

This meant he had almost no way to change his situation. In two days, he would be shackled and sent to the frontier. With his physique—peak Qi Refinement—he probably wouldn't die on the journey.

But this wasn't a good thing. Being exploited for labor until death, worked to the bone in the frozen wastes…

It was too terrifying!

Xu Qi An's beautiful fantasy of transmigrating to ancient times shattered like a soap bubble, leaving only anxiety and raw fear churning in his gut.

"I must find a way to save myself. I can't just die like this."

Xu Qi An paced in the small cell like an ant on a hot pan, like a beast fallen into a trap, desperately trying to think of a solution, any solution.

I'm at the peak of Qi Refinement, with frighteningly strong physical attributes… but in this world, that's only equivalent to an unyielding silver rank. Escaping is impossible…

Rely on clan and friends?

The Xu family wasn't a large clan, with relatives scattered across various places. And with 150,000 taels of tax silver stolen—an astronomical sum—who would dare to plead for mercy at such a critical moment? Who would risk the Emperor's wrath?

According to Great Feng law, meritorious service could offset crimes and avoid the death penalty!

Unless the silver was recovered…

Xu Qi An's eyes suddenly lit up, like a drowning man grasping at a lifeline.

He was a proper police academy graduate, rich in theoretical knowledge, with clear logic and strong reasoning abilities. He'd read countless case files, studied criminal psychology, forensic procedures.

Perhaps he could try to approach this from the angle of solving the case, recovering the silver, and atoning for his crimes through meritorious service.

But then, the light in his eyes dimmed like a snuffed candle.

To solve the case, he would first need to see the case files and understand the detailed course of events. Only then could he investigate properly, follow leads, reconstruct the crime.

But now he was trapped in prison, with no one to turn to, no resources, no access. In two days, he would be shackled and sent to the frontier!

There was no solution!

Xu Qi An slumped to the ground, his eyes vacant, staring at nothing.

He'd been drinking heavily at a bar yesterday and woken up in prison. It seemed he might have died from alcohol poisoning before transmigrating—what a pathetic way to go.

Had the heavens granted him this chance to transmigrate not for a new life, but because they felt his death had been too easy? Was this some cosmic joke?

In ancient times, exile was a punishment second only to execution—slow death instead of quick.

In his previous life, although society had beaten him down, at least he'd lived in peaceful times. How nice it would have been to be reborn then. He could have stolen his parents' savings to buy a house without hesitation, made a fortune on real estate.

Then, with his mother's help, he could have broken his stock-loving father's hands to prevent him from becoming a leek in the market, constantly harvested by institutional investors.

At this moment, the sound of chains rattling came from the end of the dark corridor, shattering his bitter reverie—likely indicating a door being opened.

Footsteps followed, measured and deliberate.

A jailer led a haggard-looking handsome scholar, stopping in front of Xu Qi An's cell.

The jailer glanced at the scholar and said gruffly, "Half an incense stick's time."

The scholar bowed respectfully to the jailer, watching him leave before turning to face Xu Qi An.

The scholar wore a moon-white robe, his jet-black hair tied up with a jade hairpin. He was quite handsome, with sword-like eyebrows, star-bright eyes, and thin lips that suggested both intelligence and severity.

Memories of this person surfaced in Xu Qi An's mind like bubbles rising.

Second Young Master of the Xu family, Xu Xinnian.

The son of his Second Uncle, Xu Qi An's cousin, who had passed the provincial examinations this autumn—a genuine talent.

Xu Xinnian calmly looked directly at him: "I paid the soldiers escorting you to the frontier three hundred taels. It's all the silver our family has left. You can go in peace, there won't be any 'accidents' on the way."

"What about you?" Xu Qi An asked, surprised despite himself. He remembered that the original owner didn't have a good relationship with this cousin.

Because of his aunt's dislike, apart from his Second Uncle, the rest of the Xu family didn't treat Xu Qi An well. At least his cousins wouldn't show too much closeness to him—family gatherings were awkward affairs.

Moreover, in the original owner's memory, this cousin was known for his sharp tongue and cutting remarks.

Xu Xinnian impatiently said, "I've been stripped of my scholarly honors, but I have the protection of the academy masters, so I don't need to be exiled. Just take care of yourself. When you reach the frontier, keep your temper in check. Live for as long as you can, be it a year or more."

Xu Xinnian had studied at the prestigious Yunlu Academy in the capital and was highly regarded by his teachers. He was also a newly appointed scholar, which carried some weight. Therefore, after his Second Uncle's incident, he wasn't imprisoned, but he wasn't allowed to leave the capital either. He'd been running around seeking help for many days, calling in every favor, pleading at every door.

Xu Qi An fell silent. He didn't think Xu Xinnian would fare better than himself in the long run. It wasn't just about losing his scholarly status; he would likely be relegated to the lowest social class, with his descendants barred from the imperial examinations for generations, unable to change their fate through the only legitimate path.

Moreover, in two days, the Xu family's women would be sent to the courtesan quarters to be humiliated and degraded—a fate worse than death for respectable women.

Xu Xinnian was a scholar, a man of reputation and pride. How could he still have the face to live in the capital after such disgrace? Perhaps being exiled to the frontier was actually a better choice—at least there, no one knew his shame.

Xu Qi An's heart stirred with sudden realization. He lurched forward several steps, gripping the iron bars tightly: "You're thinking of taking your own life?!"

Uncontrollably, a wave of profound sadness welled up in his heart… even though he didn't truly know this person, didn't share their memories completely.

Xu Xinnian's face remained expressionless as he waved his sleeve dismissively: "What's it to you?"

After a pause, he lowered his gaze slightly, avoiding eye contact with his cousin. His expression softened almost imperceptibly: "Live on."

With that, he turned decisively to leave!

"Wait!" Xu Qi An reached through the bars, grabbing his sleeve desperately.

Xu Xinnian stopped, silently looking at him with weary eyes.

"Can you get the case files? The files for the tax silver theft case."

The question hung in the stale prison air between them.

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