J'étais prêtre dans le monde primordial des bêtes

Chapitre 1

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Main text

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Chapter One: A Dream of Returning to the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 1

Late at night, inside a dilapidated house without even a roof, an old man was carrying a pile of firewood, adding it to the fire in front of him. In the firelight, his face revealed his advanced age; his hair was gray, and his face was weathered. However, his eyes were bright and piercing, and his movements showed no signs of old age.

The dim firelight barely illuminated the entire room. In the corner of the room, a young man, half-naked, could be seen lying on a pile of dry grass, whether unconscious or fast asleep, it was unclear.

He added a few more pieces of firewood, making the fire burn a little brighter. The old man put down the firewood he was holding, walked over to the young man, and touched his forehead. After a moment, he withdrew his hand.

"Still a tough nut to crack..."

Muttering to himself, he pulled a tattered, illegible piece of clothing from under himself and covered the young man with it. Then he sat back down in the fire, took out a grayish-black flatbread-like object, and put it on the fire to roast.

……

Lu Xuan felt a splitting headache, as if the back of his head had cracked open. He was dizzy and weak all over. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt glued shut. He tried to touch the back of his head, but the moment he moved, his whole body trembled. He then realized that it wasn't just a headache, but pain throughout his entire body, as if every bone in his body was broken.

What happened? He tried hard to recall. But his mind was a mess, completely unable to concentrate or think about even the simplest thing. After struggling for a while, an irresistible fatigue washed over him, and Lu Xuan fainted again.

When he woke up again, he only saw a dim, flickering light in front of him. He was stunned for a while before he realized that it was a burning fire.

Looking closer, I saw an old man sitting by the fire. He was dressed in some kind of tattered, ancient-style clothing. He was eating something in his hand with great relish.

Lu Xuan took a moment to steady his vision. Then he looked around, trying to figure out where he was. Just then, a sharp pain shot through his brain again. A series of messages followed.

"Ah..." Lu Xuan couldn't help but scream. He collapsed onto the straw again, his whole body convulsing.

The old man standing nearby sighed. Then he took out a tattered cloth, soaked it in a water vat next to him, and went over to place it on Lu Xuan's forehead.

The sudden coolness eased Lu Xuan's convulsions somewhat. His consciousness gradually returned to his own control.

"Thank you," he said weakly. Just now, he had remembered most of what had happened. Yes, he had transmigrated.

Lu Xuan was originally a working-class man in the city. He worked a regular job during the day and did some freelance writing on the internet at night. Although it was tiring, the income was quite good. Without a girlfriend, he lived a very comfortable life on his own.

He spends his time browsing forums, occasionally popping into the comment sections of other novels to either express envy or simply hurl insults. That's right, he also has a third job: keyboard warrior.

Whether it was from reading too many novels or from criticizing too harshly, he offended some unknown entity. In any case, he woke up to find himself transported to another world.

He transmigrated to an ancient town. He didn't know which dynasty it was, or even where he was. Most terrifyingly, it seemed to be some kind of lawless frontier. Suffering from frozen shoulder, cervical spondylosis, and other occupational ailments common in online novel writing, Lu Xuan had never encountered such a place where the true law of the jungle prevailed.

So he failed on the very first day.

Because of his accent, he could hardly understand either the Han Chinese or the non-Han Chinese. Forget about finding work; even when he begged, no one could understand what he was saying.

He was in a small town. Almost everyone walking on the streets carried a knife. Lu Xuan could smell blood from two meters away in some places. He didn't dare to think too much about where the blood came from. He just wanted to find a place to settle down.

But he soon discovered that this simple goal was an unattainable dream here.

Because of the language barrier, every shop turned him away. Some tried to pull him in, but the way they looked at him wasn't like they were looking at a person, but more like they were looking at livestock. Lu Xuan instinctively felt that being dragged in wouldn't end well, so he turned and ran.

He spent most of the day without even getting a sip of water. Lu Xuan was exhausted and hungry, but danger was yet to come. His strange hairstyle and unusual clothes made it seem as if several tails were hanging far behind him.

Seeing the figures carrying knives, Lu Xuan became even more terrified. He frantically tried to escape, but as soon as he left the town, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and lost consciousness. When he woke up again, he was here.

"Did you save me?" Lu Xuan asked weakly, looking at the old man in front of him.

"Save me? You can think of it that way if you want. I just thought you looked delicate and fair-skinned, not like someone from around here. Maybe I could squeeze some money out of you. But so far, no one has come looking for you. It seems like I've lost money in this business." The old man's accent was also heavy, but it was to the point that Lu Xuan could barely understand him.

Lu Xuan did not respond to this topic, but instead changed the subject.

"Can you tell me where this place is?"

"What's wrong? You're already here, and you still don't know where this place is?" The old man looked at him with some doubt.

"I can't remember," Lu Xuan said, pointing helplessly to his head. He could clearly feel a sizable wound on the back of his head. Although it had stopped bleeding, the sharp pain caused his face to twitch intermittently.

"Oh! It's better if you don't remember. After all, people who come here generally don't want to remember why they came here. This is a small town in the Western Regions. It doesn't have a specific name. To the east is the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and to the west is the territory of the Turks. This area is theoretically under the Tang Dynasty, but in reality, it's a no-man's-land."

It encompasses all walks of life. Any random guy carrying a knife on the street might have committed crimes in one place and ended up here. Anyone who can open a shop here needs at least ten or eight lives on their hands to keep the place in check. You actually dare to look for work in those shops!

Lu Xuan listened in silence, but his heart was already churning with turbulent emotions.

The Tang Dynasty, the Turks... I've actually arrived in the Tang Dynasty.

"Tang Dynasty, what era of the Tang Dynasty is it now?" Lu Xuan asked eagerly. While the Tang Dynasty is one of the best points of time travel, it depends on the period. The early Tang Dynasty was fraught with crises, but also offered many opportunities. The prosperous Tang Dynasty was flourishing, a time of great beauty and wonder, truly captivating. However, after the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty gradually weakened, making life increasingly difficult.

"The year!" The old man was taken aback for a moment, then looked thoughtful.

"Yes, it should be during the Kaiyuan era now. I don't remember exactly which year of Kaiyuan it is. The people living here count the days. They don't look at the years."

"During the Kaiyuan era..." In the dim firelight, Lu Xuan repeated the era name softly. He felt as if he were in a dream.

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Chapter Two: Strangers and the Knife

Chapter Two

The place where Lu Xuan and his companion were located was a dilapidated house on the outermost edge of the town. Because it had no roof, no one came to claim it. The two of them barely managed to find shelter there.

A few days later, Lu Xuan felt he was almost fully recovered. This surprised him somewhat. He knew exactly what his body was like before. It was riddled with various minor ailments. With an injury of this severity, he wouldn't be able to get out of bed for at least a month or two.