"Roll call! Roll call! Everybody line up, you lazy dogs—move it, or do you want the overseer to drag you out with his whip?"
A barrage of shouting and cursing echoed from outside the window.
Heng's eyes snapped open, as if he'd just broken the surface after nearly drowning.
He sat bolt upright, gasping for air.
Sweat poured from his forehead like rain, dripping onto the worn-out straw mat beneath him with faint, crisp patters.
A straw mat?
We don't have anything like this at home. Where the hell am I?
And what's with all that yelling outside?!
Confusion swirling in his mind, he glanced around in bewilderment.
He was in a dilapidated thatched hut.
The walls were thin and cracked adobe, the roof a haphazard pile of straw and mud, with cold wind whistling through the gaps.
He'd just broken out in a sweat, and now the chill hit him like a bucket of ice water, making his teeth chatter uncontrollably!
"Have I... transmigrated?"
Struggling to recall, a flood of memories that weren't his own suddenly rushed into his mind.
It turned out that he, too, was now named Heng—a mountain dweller in the southwestern reaches of the Great Qing Dynasty.
The southwest was blanketed in dense forests shrouded in deadly toxic mists; ordinary folk who entered rarely survived.
Yet within those mists lay countless rare treasures—capable of curing any ailment, extending lifespan, and vastly increasing one's strength. They were worth a fortune!
Thus, the Mountain Patrol Division had been established.
They lorded over the mountain dwellers, forcing them at regular intervals to enter the mountains and harvest these treasures.
The mountain dwellers were of the lowest status—treated like serfs. Though they gathered endless riches, it all went to the nobles and officials above them. They themselves suffered the effects of the toxic mists, dying young and miserably.
The finest silks are worn by those who never tend the silkworms.
The original owner of this body had fallen ill from the mists while foraging, succumbing to the poison and perishing.
Now, the shouting from the guards outside was summoning the mountain dwellers for yet another expedition into the mountains.
"Holy crap—I barely survived the last trip, and now I have to go again?"
It felt like he'd been clubbed over the head; his mind was foggy, his heart filled with despair!
He wanted to hide and skip it.
But looking at his empty, rundown hut, where could he possibly go?
In the Great Qing Dynasty, everyone's status was fixed from birth by household registration.
The lowest classes: mountain households, bonded servants, and the like.
Mid-tier: commoner households, artisan households, and so on.
Higher: military households, hunter households...
And even more privileged: official households...
Heng's registration was as a mountain dweller—a mountain household.
Foraging in the mountains was his obligatory duty. Refusing meant prison or execution!
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
Heng staggered out the door, his steps unsteady and weak.
His body, ravaged by the toxic mists, had only gotten a second chance through his transmigration—but it clearly hadn't recovered.
In this condition, heading into the mountains? He'd have no chance of survival.
Just certain death!
Outside, a group of gaunt, ragged mountain dwellers—faces sallow and clothes in tatters—had already assembled.
"You... how are you..."
A scrawny, rat-faced man covered in scabs caught sight of Heng emerging and turned pale as a ghost, instinctively backing away several steps.
"Scab Li..."
The name popped into his mind unbidden.
"Since you're dying anyway, that money might as well go to me..."
A hazy voice and fragmented images surfaced.
While the original owner lay bedridden and dying from the poison, this Scab Li had sneaked in at night and stolen every bit of savings he'd scraped together over the years!
Not content with that, Scab Li had throttled him in a frenzy, fearing revenge—and made sure to finish the job by strangling him to death.
No wonder the man looked like he'd seen a ghost upon seeing Heng alive and walking!
Instinctively, Heng reached into his pocket—cleaner than a whistle.
In other words, forget the dangers in the mountains for now; he didn't even have money to buy rations for the trip!
"If I remember right, the original owner scrimped and saved for five or six years to put aside three taels of silver. I need to get that money back..."
The thought crossed his mind.
But in his frail, starving state, he was no match for Scab Li!
He had to push the idea down.
What alarmed Heng most was that while he wanted to let it go for now, Scab Li clearly had other plans.
Seeing Heng still alive, the initial shock gave way to a vicious gleam in his eyes. He deliberately sidled closer, acting as if he wanted to team up for the mountain trek.
Anyone could see the bastard was up to no good!
He was here to finish the job—to eradicate any loose ends!
A chill ran down Heng's spine.
What kind of nightmare starting point was this?
Lowly status, broke as hell, and now targeted by a thieving murderer?
It never rains but it pours—nothing but bad luck!
Had he just transmigrated only to die again?
Despair gripped Heng, but just then, something unexpected happened: his mind throbbed faintly, and deep in his consciousness, a golden light burst forth.
The light blazed like the sun, dazzling and mesmerizing!
Enduring the pain, he focused—and saw within the glow a pale golden cauldron.
"This cauldron..."
Heng nearly cried out.
Before transmigrating, he'd bought what he thought was an antique replica cauldron at a flea market in Panjiayuan. Playing with it at home, he'd accidentally dropped and shattered it.
Strangely, from the broken pieces tumbled a tiny cauldron the size of an almond.
When he touched it, he lost consciousness.
Upon waking, he was here.
Now, he tentatively reached out with his mind to connect with the cauldron—and visions unfolded before him like scrolls.
First: endless, majestic mountains and forests.
Countless bizarre peaks and crags, innumerable rare herbs and plants!
Endless mountain spirits and ghosts roamed and frolicked, with fleeting glimpses of mythical beasts like kunpeng, phoenixes, and divine dragons.
But all this vast world, its myriad landscapes, eventually converged into a single painting.
The painting swirled and was effortlessly absorbed by the golden cauldron.
Golden script slowly appeared on its surface before Heng's eyes.
[Cauldron Master: Heng]
[Destiny: Mountain Foraging and Demon Subjugation]
[Destiny Attribute: Rising Star of the Wilds]
So... I've become the master of this cauldron?
Holy crap—what does this thing even do?
Excitement surged through Heng.
This world wasn't ordinary!
The truly powerful could leap across rooftops, live extraordinarily long lives—even lowly folk like him had heard tales.
Legends spoke of beings like immortals: commanding winds and stones, moving mountains and filling seas!
Now, with this artifact, could it open the door to becoming one of the strong?
As the thought formed, he indeed felt a wondrous connection to the small golden cauldron.
A faint golden aura began flowing from it toward him!
Buzz!
A warm current suddenly gathered at his mouth and nose, flowing down his throat.
In an instant, the weakness plaguing his body vanished.
Instead, he felt refreshed, energized, and sharp.
The only downside: with the illness gone, his hunger sharpened painfully.
Penniless as he was, food was now a serious problem.
Looking back at the golden cauldron, new flowing golden script had appeared.
[Destiny Ability: Mist Absorption (Beginner): Can consume mountain mists, enhancing spiritual sense to detect spirited objects within a certain range.]
Mist Absorption?
No wonder my poison-ravaged body recovered instantly—the toxins must have been digested!
And soon, Heng realized the benefits went far beyond that!
From now on, he was immune to the mountain mists!
Everyone in the Great Qing knew why foraging was so perilous, a dance with death: those dense, fog-like mists that claimed lives!
But now, unafraid—he could search those vast mountains with ease?
Getting rich, growing powerful, rising in the world—no longer just dreams.
A bright path forward had opened wide!