The Canal Bandits
In the year 257 of the Great Qian dynasty, the land was ravaged by floods and famine. At that time, Liu Shen was but thirteen, unable to fill his belly, and so he became a laborer for the Canal Guild
Lingnan Road, Anqing Prefecture, Heyang County.
Grand Canal Wharf.
A caravan of mules, hauling wooden carts loaded with burlap sacks, trudged slowly toward the wharf where merchant boats were docked. The mules panted heavily in exhaustion, and the wooden wheels groaned under the weight with mournful creaks.
A group of bare-chested porters deftly shouldered the sacks and carried them onto the merchant boats moored by the dock. After sending off several boats, they gathered in small groups to take a breather from the heat, chatting idly about their families or grumbling about whether there would be any meat for supper.
Among them was Liu Shen, only seventeen years old.
But unlike the others, he sat alone in the shade, his head bowed as he wiped the sweat and dust from his face, a look of nervous anticipation flickering across his features.
From his perspective, a curious gear-like object spun rapidly before his eyes...
Whether it was a borrowed body or an awakened past life, it was hard to say.
At thirteen, Liu Shen’s hometown was struck by catastrophic floods. Countless homes were washed away, untold numbers drowned.
He lost his memory in the disaster, but by some strange twist of fate, a latent wisdom awakened within him.
He fled all the way to Anqing Prefecture, nearly starving to death along the way, and witnessed firsthand the bitter reality behind the light phrase “children swapped for food” that history books so casually mentioned.
With no memory of his life before thirteen, and not a single familiar