Casting immortality in the furnace

Chapter 1 Fan Zhou

At the time of the Autumn Equinox, wild geese fly south.

The rice in the field was bent over by the weight of its long, full ears of grain, swaying in the autumn wind and shining in the sun.

This is harvest season, a time of joy and celebration.

But Fan Zhou was not happy.

He sat on the edge of the field, wearing a linen blouse and a tattered straw hat, one hand supporting his cheek as he looked at the rice in the field, feeling just like them.

With sunburnt skin, a bent back, and a drooping head, he was exactly like an old farmer from the countryside.

A self-deprecating smile appeared on Fan Zhou's lips:

"Without realizing it, I've become just like the villagers here."

"Maybe one day I'll completely forget everything that happened before I transmigrated..."

Yes, Fan Zhou is a time traveler.

One day, he was happily eating instant noodles and watching anime in front of his computer when suddenly everything went black.

When he opened his eyes again, he was already a twelve-year-old farm boy in the deep mountains and forests, also named Fan Zhou.

Fan Zhou's parents died early, and he lived with his grandfather.

Grandpa fell down this spring and didn't make it. Now he's all alone in the family.

After burying his grandfather, Fan Zhou continued to live alone in this deep mountain, toiling in the fields all day, but ultimately still suffering from cold and hunger.

These hopeless days never brought him a moment of peace.

"Gurgle~~~"

A rumbling sound from his stomach interrupted his reverie.

Fan Zhou sighed and took out a rice ball wrapped in bamboo leaves from his chest.

Although it's called a rice ball, it's actually mainly made of wild vegetables and mixed grains. The small amount of broken rice is still in its husk, making it hard and rough to eat, and it hurts your throat when you swallow it.

"Fortunately, the rice harvest will be ready in a few days."

Fan Zhou comforted himself and looked at the rice in the field, estimating this year's harvest.

"These two and a third acres should yield about four hundred catties of rice. After paying the autumn tax, poll tax, grain tax, and vehicle tax..."

"All things considered, and considering those scoundrels' scales, it would amount to about seventy or eighty catties of rice."

These seventy or eighty catties of rice accounted for almost one-fifth of his total harvest.

This is all considered good, after all, the land belongs to his family.

If you rent land from a landlord to cultivate, you'd be lucky to have one or two out of ten left over.

"Thank goodness, I'm still alive."

Fan Zhou slowly chewed the mixed grain rice ball, but an uncontrollable thought rose in his mind:

How long will this continue?

This thought made him feel restless again.

Fan Zhou looked up and around. As far as the eye could see, there were mountains stretching like city walls, blocking out the small village and casting a large shadow over it.

"What's it like outside the mountains?"

Fan Zhou didn't know.

All he knew was that he was currently in the Yue Kingdom, in Hongjia Village.

Hongjia Village is located in a remote mountainous area, dozens of miles away from the county seat. It has very little contact with the outside world and is almost completely isolated.

Judging from the situation in the village, this world should resemble an ancient dynasty.

However, Fan Zhou's grandfather said that there are immortals in this world who can fly, and he had seen them with his own eyes.

"If immortals truly existed, what would this world be like?"

Fan Zhou really wanted to know.

But he's barely able to afford food right now, so he really doesn't have the energy to think about these things.

After finally swallowing the mixed grain rice ball, Fan Zhou got up and walked towards the rice paddy.

He held a sickle in one hand and selected the fully ripe rice ears to cut down, to be used as food for the next few days.

His rice jar had been empty a few days ago.

When he had harvested a large handful of rice and was about to go home, he saw a group of people standing on the edge of the field.

These people stood in the shadows, talking and looking around his rice paddy. The two leaders seemed quite at ease, as if the rice belonged to them.

They are all villagers from Hongjia Village.

Leading the group were village chief Hong Shunzhi and his son Hong Gang.

What are they doing here?

A bad feeling welled up in Fan Zhou's heart.

Despite his doubts, Fan Zhou remained calm and walked towards them, clutching the rice stalks.

The villagers in front of him were whispering among themselves, and if someone's eyes met his, they would grin at him.

Fan Zhou's gaze darkened slightly; he found these smiles strange.

As he approached, village chief Hong Shunzhi smiled and asked him:

"A-Zhou, your rice is growing very well! Can you estimate how many pounds it weighs?"

Hong Shunzhi is over sixty years old, thin and frail, with a full head of white hair. He leans on a cane and wears a straight robe, which, although adorned with rank badges, is unlike that of an ordinary farmer.

His wrinkled face carried a hint of authority, and his eyes, peering through the cracks, scrutinized Fan Zhou from head to toe with a critical gaze.

Fan Zhou walked up to him, his brows furrowing at the look in his eyes, and casually replied:

"I don't know, but it should weigh over 300 jin (150 kg)."

A man among the villagers immediately chimed in, "More than that, it must weigh over 400 jin!"

Fan Zhou glanced at him; the man's gaze darted away, seemingly afraid, yet also harboring a hidden ferocity.

"Hehe, the harvest is not bad, which shows you put your heart into it." Hong Shunzhi smiled, revealing a mouthful of black and yellow rotten teeth.

He glanced at the rice stalks in Fan Zhou's hand, a feigned look of doubt on his face:

"Xiao Zhou, I remember you're already sixteen, right? Then this year's autumn tax will have to be calculated as if you were an adult."

Before Fan Zhou could answer, a woman from the village said, "That's right, he was born in November, and it's almost the end of September now! A few more days won't make a difference."

Someone else chimed in, "Yes, Dazhuang was only born a little over six months earlier than him, and he turned 18 in June!"

Seeing these people singing in unison, Fan Zhou felt a chill run from head to toe, realizing they had conspired together.

But he replied, "Village chief, you're mistaken. It's only the fifteenth of the month after the New Year."

Hong Gang, standing to the side, crossed his thick arms and sneered, "You've miscalculated. You're fifteen this year, but sixteen by the traditional Chinese age reckoning!"

He was picking at his ear with one hand, his rough, brown face showing a hint of disdain, completely ignoring Fan Zhou's expression.

"I told you I didn't remember wrong."

Hong Shunzhi, his weathered face beaming with pride, looked down at Fan Zhou and said:

"Now that you are an adult, you should pay the same taxes as adults, and you should also be subject to the corvée labor."

Fan Zhou did not reply; his expression had become extremely gloomy.

Seeing that he still dared to give him attitude, Hong Shunzhi's old face darkened, and he said in a deep voice:

"Today the county issued a conscription notice, requiring Hongjia Village to send ten people to mine. We've all discussed it and decided to include you. You'll go to the county with the rest of us tomorrow."

"Mining?"

Fan Zhou was both shocked and furious. "You didn't even consult me!"

Before he could finish speaking, someone from the village shouted, "You're all grown up now, you should come with us to do corvée labor!"

"My son also did corvée labor; he was about your age back then."

"Yes, that's the case in every household."

"You should also do something for the village."

The surrounding villagers responded enthusiastically and all spoke up for Hong Shunzhi.

Fan Zhou's words were stuck in his throat, and he felt a chill spread from his heart to his limbs, freezing his fingers stiff.

His gaze swept over the villagers before him. Their eyes gleamed with malice, and they uttered words of justice and such. Strangely, however, they hid in the shadows, concealing their faces behind the village chief, Hong Shunzhi.

This group of people clearly wanted to take advantage of his family's wealth, but they were acting suspiciously, trying to cover their tracks and not daring to make a direct move.

"Hahaha……"

Fan Zhou couldn't help but laugh. He laughed at these people's despicable behavior, and at himself for being afraid of such a group of people.

The villagers' expressions changed, and they looked at him with hostility.

Fan Zhou, however, looked at them with a smile:

"Since you've decided to seize my land, why bother with all this pretense? It's not the first time you've done this!"

The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment, not daring to look him in the eye.

"What nonsense are you spouting, you brat!"

Hong Shunzhi stomped his cane angrily and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Everyone will help you harvest your rice, and everyone will help you pay your taxes! I'll collect the rest of your rice and give it to you after you finish your corvée labor! I can guarantee that no one in the entire village will take a single grain of your rice!"

Fan Zhou remained noncommittal; he already understood everything in his heart, and simply said:

"I see."

He glanced at Hong Shunzhi and the others, then turned and left, clutching the rice stalks in his hand.

As he walked further away, the group of people behind him started making noise again.

"What kind of attitude is that? So disrespectful!"

"It's as if we've mistreated him!"

Hong Gang lowered his arm, his gaze fixed on Fan Zhou's departing figure with a sinister look, and whispered to Hong Shunzhi:

"If you ask me, we should just kill him!"

Hong Shunzhi glared at him with a look of disappointment and frustration:

"If you do it, who will do the corvée labor? Are you suggesting we make Bin'er do it?"

Hong Gang was speechless for a moment, then crossed his arms dejectedly.

"alright!"

Hong Shunzhi turned around irritably, looking at the group of villagers behind him with a gloomy expression:

"Keep an eye on him. If he gets away, one of you might end up going mining!"

Everyone nodded in agreement and dispersed.