1: Chapter 1: On His First Day After Transmigrating, He Was Used as a Horse

The foul stench of mud mixed with horse urine filled his mouth.

Yang Yuan was being trampled on the ground, with a half-grown boy riding on his back. The boy pinched his ears and pulled upward with force: "Giddyup! Giddyup! You plague-ridden horse, why aren't you moving?"

A group of half-grown boys gathered around, jeering.

"Brother Ergou is mighty!" "Ride him to death! Ride him to death!"

Yang Yuan was sixteen years old. An hour ago, he had just undergone Transmigration into this world.

Memories of his previous life still lingered in his mind—graduating from university, just finding a job, and dying suddenly from overwork. When he woke up, he was lying in the mud of this dilapidated village, and the original owner's memories flooded back along with the pain.

An orphan, parents both dead, raised by the charity of the village. He was the softest persimmon in the village, someone everyone could trample on.

The guy on his back was named Wang Ergou, the village chief's son. His father gave him this name in the hope that he would be as easy to raise as a dog. As it turned out, he wasn't like a dog, but rather like a donkey—both stupid and overbearing.

"Still dazed!" Wang Ergou slapped him on the back of the head. "Crawl! If you don't crawl ten laps today, don't even think about eating!"

Yang Yuan gritted his teeth, braced his hands in the mud, and crawled forward one step.

His knees struck a pebble, causing him to gasp in pain. But he made no sound.

Wang Ergou laughed heartily on his back, pulling his hair from side to side: "Hurry up! Didn't you eat?"

The laughter around him pierced his ears like knives.

Yang Yuan's vision went black, and acid churned in his stomach. The memories of his twenty-plus years in his previous life played back in his mind over and over—the nine-to-five work, the endless crowded subways, the constant takeout food, and finally, dying suddenly in front of a computer.

That life had been lived like a dog.

In this life, right from the start, he was truly being ridden like a dog.

"Son of a..." He cursed under his breath.

"What did you say?" Wang Ergou stepped on his back and ground down with force. "Not convinced? I'm riding you, so what? If you're not convinced, stand up!"

Yang Yuan's face was pressed into the mud, and breathing became difficult.

He knew that the original owner had survived exactly like this—swallowing his pride and letting others bully him. The village chief's family held absolute power in the village, and no one dared to offend them.

But he, Yang Yuan, was not the original owner.

Although he had been an office drone in his previous life, he had never truly accepted his fate deep down. Otherwise, his last thought before dying wouldn't have been: "If I get another chance, I will never be a loser again."

Now, that chance had really come.

But as soon as he arrived, he was being trampled into the dirt.

"I'm asking you a question!" Wang Ergou's palm slapped down again.

Just then, a hurried shout came from the village entrance: "Ergou! Ergou! Stop playing! Something happened!"

Wang Ergou looked up: "What is it?"

"A strange woman collapsed in the dilapidated temple at the village entrance! She's covered in blood! You should go take a look!"

Wang Ergou's eyes lit up: "A woman? Covered in blood?" He kicked Yang Yuan away. "I'll deal with you later!"

With that, he led the group of half-grown boys and ran off in a rush.

Yang Yuan lay in the mud, panting for a long while before recovering.

He slowly crawled up, covered in mud, his mouth stained with dirt and grass clippings. He raised his hand to wipe his face and found his palm covered in blood.

He looked at the blood on his palm and froze for two seconds.

Then he smiled.

The smile was somewhat bitter, but his eyes were strikingly bright.

"A strange woman... a dilapidated temple..."

He staggered toward the village entrance.

The dilapidated temple was not far from the village; it was a Earth God temple that had been abandoned for many years. The temple door was crooked, and there was a large hole in the roof.

Fresh footprints were scattered on the ground—Wang Ergou and his group had been here and left. They had probably seen that the woman was covered in blood, feared trouble, and ran away.

A bunch of cowards.

Yang Yuan pushed open the door, and a strong smell of blood rushed toward him.

The temple was dimly lit. A young woman lay beneath the deity statue, covered in wounds. Her cyan dress was soaked with blood in several places, her face was pale as paper, her lips were cracked, and she was unconscious.

Yang Yuan walked two steps closer and crouched down.

The woman was still breathing, but very faintly. The wounds on her body were deep, and several places had turned black—this was a sign of poisoning. If not treated, she would not survive the day.

"Water... water..." The woman's lips moved, emitting a faint sound.

Yang Yuan stared at her for a few seconds.

Reason told him: Don't meddle in other people's business. You can't even survive yourself, and you want to save someone else?

But deep within his heart, a voice echoed—it was what his mother had said before she passed away in his previous life: "Xiaoyuan, a person must have a conscience. When you can help someone, don't stand by and watch."

He cursed, turned around, and ran out. He scooped some water from a puddle outside the temple and carefully fed it to the woman.

The water flowed down the corners of her mouth. Her eyelids twitched as if she were trying hard to open her eyes, but she ultimately failed to wake up.

Yang Yuan sighed and prepared to go out again to find some medicinal herbs.

Just at the moment he turned, a cold, mechanical voice exploded in his mind.

[Ding! Detected the host's benevolent thoughts regarding "the grace of parents' upbringing" and "protecting the weak"...]

["More Children, More Blessings · Chivalrous Legacy System" is binding...]

[Binding successful!]

[Welcome to the Return of the Condor Heroes world. Host's current status: Mortal. Task System has been activated. Please explore on your own.]

Yang Yuan froze.

"Sy... System?"

He looked down at his muddy hands, then looked at the unconscious woman on the ground.

The corners of his mouth slowly curled into an arc—somewhat bitter, but more filled with the wild joy of finding a way out of a desperate situation.

"More Children, More Blessings..."

He cursed a profanity under his breath.

But his eyes were strikingly bright.

Cheng Ying let out a moan in her unconscious state, her fingertips twitching slightly.

Yang Yuan crouched down and looked at her face.

He suddenly felt that this strange world didn't seem so cold anymore.