After Transmigrating, I Married a Young Wife to Continue the Family Line - Chapter 2:

Chapter 2: Killing as Easily as Drinking Water

Li Chen took a swift step forward and shielded Yu Qingwan behind him. His hand shot out with lightning speed, catching Zhang Hu’s kicking leg and using the momentum to fling it aside.

Zhang Hu immediately lost balance and split his legs wide apart. Unfortunately for him, there was a rock directly beneath him.

His groin slammed into stone. The pain was beyond description.

“You bastard born from a donkey’s backside! You dare lay hands on me?!” Zhang Hu clutched his crotch as he staggered to his feet, cursing furiously through a twisted expression of agony.

Before he could finish speaking, there was a sharp sound. A flash of cold steel streaked through the air.

The dagger pierced directly into his right shoulder. Blood sprayed wildly.

Li Chen slowly withdrew the blade. Blood poured out like overturned crimson dye, soaking half of Zhang Hu’s body.

The little maid-wife shut her eyes in terror once again.

“Get lost!” Li Chen barked coldly, pointing the dagger at Zhang Hu’s nose.

Having just transmigrated, he did not wish to kill yet.

“You rotten worm! You dare stab me? I’ll bring my brother and the men from the stronghold to chop you into minced meat!” Zhang Hu’s vicious nature erupted. Though injured, he refused to leave and continued hurling curses while clutching his shoulder.

“You’re threatening me?” Li Chen frowned, his eyes turning colder.

Since the man wanted to die, killing him would make no difference.

Li Chen glanced around. No one was nearby.

His home stood at the eastern edge of the village, isolated and remote. The nearest neighbors were over fifty meters away on the hillside to the right, separated by a section of mountain wall. Unless someone deliberately spied on them, no one could see what happened here.

“Threatening you? Haha! Just wait, you little piece of trash. Tonight your grandpa here will bring men over. We’ll chop off all five of your limbs, then take turns enjoying your maid-wife right in front of you before selling her into the black pits, urgh…”

Zhang Hu was still shouting arrogantly.

But halfway through his threats, his voice stopped abruptly.

Li Chen’s dagger had already pierced through his throat. With a savage twist, he shredded the windpipe completely, silencing him forever.

The movement had been too fast. Zhang Hu saw only a flash of cold light before darkness swallowed him whole.

If he wanted death, then death he would have.

“Ah…”

The little maid-wife screamed.

Li Chen glanced back at her. She immediately covered her mouth, trembling like a leaf in a storm.

“Go cook. I’ll deal with the corpse.”

Leaving those words behind, Li Chen dragged Zhang Hu’s body away.

Killing felt as natural to him as drinking water.

The little maid-wife staggered back into the house on shaking legs, nearly falling at the doorway.

Li Chen searched the corpse from head to toe. Zhang Hu was completely broke. There was nothing on him.

Too lazy to bury the body, Li Chen dragged it to a nearby slope and shoved it down.

The mountain wolves, wild dogs, and vultures would naturally erase all traces for him.

But after finishing, his strength was nearly drained dry. Waves of dizziness swept over him.

Too weak. Too hungry.

Forcing himself onward, he returned home. Yu Qingwan was cooking, her hands trembling like freshly plucked strings.

Li Chen washed his hands in a basin of clean water before sitting down. “Have you ever seen someone killed before?”

“While fleeing as refugees… I-I have…”

“Then why are you still afraid?”

“This servant… this servant is only worried the authorities may come investigating. It would bring endless trouble.”

“Did anyone see Zhang Hu following you and trying to steal the grain?”

“I took the small paths. No one should have seen us.”

Li Chen nodded. “If no one saw and no one reports it, then killing him changes nothing. In these chaotic times, the authorities can’t even be bothered to care.”

“Besides, Zhang Hu’s elder brother Zhang Guang supposedly has ties with the Black Wind Stronghold bandits. If Zhang Hu had gone back alive, today’s matter would never have ended peacefully.”

He explained a little more because he did not want his little maid-wife thinking he was some bloodthirsty madman who killed at every whim. He did not want her living beside him in constant terror.

As a former thug himself, Li Chen naturally understood Zhang Hu’s background well.

If Zhang Guang discovered his younger brother had died by Li Chen’s hand, trouble would surely follow.

“What… what if we can’t keep it hidden…” Yu Qingwan asked in a trembling voice.

“Then we kill a few more,” Li Chen replied calmly.

The little maid-wife continued cooking with shaking hands while Li Chen remained lost in thought.

In this familiar yet unfamiliar world, what path should he take next?

In his previous life, he had crossed battlefields and smoke-filled wars to become the legendary king of mercenaries.

Yet after entering the business world, even as the ruler of a massive corporate empire, he had still been forced to bow before those truly powerful.

Standing outside the estates of officials and noble families, even the dogs in their courtyards would not spare him a second glance.

Power over wealth. Wealth over business. Business over soldiers. Officials over merchants. And above all stood true authority that controlled everything.

Li Chen raised his head toward the heavens. His eyes turned sharp and merciless.

Since fate had granted him another life, then in this life, no matter what, he would stand at the peak of the world itself. He would sleep with beauties in his arms and wake holding power over all beneath the heavens. Using the romance only men understood, he would prove the truths everyone recognized.

But lowering his gaze, he frowned slightly.

Hopefully there truly wasn’t some problem with that part of his body.

The meal was finally ready.

One pot of wild vegetables and 250 grams of coarse flour. Barely enough for two people to eat once.

The household had already run out of food. If Li Chen had not insisted on cooking everything so they could at least eat their fill once, Yu Qingwan would only have dared use a tiny handful of flour.

Even the coarse salt had only been sprinkled with a few grains. Salt was controlled by the government and absurdly expensive. They could only afford to use it once every two days.

The wild vegetable porridge was hard to swallow, but Li Chen had already accepted reality and ate it calmly.

As a former legendary mercenary, he had survived countless hellish situations. He had eaten grasshoppers, insects, and even maggots dug from tree trunks before.

Wild vegetable porridge was nothing.

Still, continuing like this would eventually kill them. Their survival crisis had to be solved.

Silently drinking bowl after bowl of the bitter, rough porridge, Li Chen turned to look toward Mount Taibai outside.

A plan had already formed in his mind.

The vast Mount Taibai contained endless resources. Naturally, it also held endless prey.

First, he would hunt in the mountains to sustain their livelihood and strengthen his body.

After surviving this difficult period, he could make longer-term plans.

Once he was finally somewhat full, Li Chen regained a bit of energy.

After eating, he entered the woodworking workshop in the western room.

The previous owner’s father had been a famous carpenter throughout the surrounding villages. After his death, he had left behind this workshop.

It had remained unused for years and was covered in dust. The slightest movement sent clouds of dirt flying everywhere.

Inside a long wooden chest, Li Chen found an unstrung bow and ten arrows coated with tung oil for preservation.

They had been kept in excellent condition. There were even several spare bowstrings.

He restrung the bow, picked up the arrows, and walked outside, only to freeze in surprise.

Beside the stove, Yu Qingwan was scraping tiny bits of flour from the edge of the pot with her finger before sucking them into her mouth.

She scraped carefully. Ate carefully. Not even the smallest crumb was wasted.

Only then did Li Chen realize that in his extreme hunger earlier, he had eaten nearly the entire pot of porridge himself. Yu Qingwan had barely eaten at all.

Letting out a quiet breath, he stepped outside.

Seeing him emerge, the little maid-wife hurriedly lowered her hand and nervously lowered her eyes. “My lord.”

“Mm.” Li Chen nodded and waved the bow in his hand. “I’m going to test the bow a few times.”

Yu Qingwan had kept her head lowered in fear the entire time and had not noticed the bow in his hands. Hearing his words, she instantly froze in shock.

Her cheeks flushed bright red. She twisted her fingers tightly together and pressed her legs close as she asked in a trembling voice, “M-My lord… are you… already better? But it’s not even dark yet. I’m afraid that may not be appropriate…”

“It’s easier to aim before dark. Once night falls, you can’t see clearly,” Li Chen replied casually, completely unaware of what his little maid-wife had misunderstood. He found it strange. Why would testing a bow require darkness?

Yu Qingwan’s face turned even redder.

So her lord insisted on doing it while it was still bright because he wanted to see everything clearly. That… that was far too embarrassing…

Her beautiful eyes seemed almost watery with shame. She bit her lip lightly, but she did not resist.

Instead, she nodded obediently, her voice soft as silk. “Yes, my lord…”

Then, incomparably gentle and obedient, she turned around and closed the door. Her pretty face burning red, her body trembling softly, she slowly removed her clothes…