Unstoppable Martial Arts: Starting with brother's wife and young sister Chapter 1 Natural Disaster

It is the 385th year of the Great Xia Calendar.

A catastrophic drought has gripped the realm.

Following the arrival of winter.

A brutal snowstorm has descended.

The snow has been falling incessantly for over a month.

Local townspeople whisper that Heaven is signaling its displeasure with the Great Xia, unleashing these disasters upon the people.

At this very moment,

In Shuanggang Village, located within the Yunze County of the Celestial Water Commandery.

Beneath the radiance of the silver moon, a figure cloaked in snow stands before a modest bluestone dwelling.

A bow and a quiver are slung across his back.

In his right hand, he grips a flaxen sack.

Faint squeaking noises emanate from within the bag.

"Phew...."

A plume of white mist suddenly materializes.

After shaking the heavy snow from his clothes, the man approaches the entrance to knock.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The rap echoes against the scarred wooden planks of the door.

Seconds pass.

A soft feminine voice drifts from the other side.

"Who is there?"

"Sister-in-law, it is me, Chen Xuan. Please, open up!"

The man identifies himself as Chen Xuan, a local hunter.

Moments later,

the sound of scraping wood resonates from behind the door.

"Creak!"

The aged door groans in protest.

A narrow opening appears.

"Brother Xuan, come inside quickly. It is so late, and I have been worried sick about you."

A woman with a face dusted by freckles appears, her expression full of genuine concern.

As soon as Chen Xuan steps across the threshold, she hurriedly pulls the door shut.

She then shoves a heavy wooden table against the entrance.

The grating sound repeats.

Because Shuanggang Village borders the mountains and wild beasts often roam near, every household reinforces their doors with furniture or stone blocks at night for security.

.....

The interior is dimly illuminated.

A lone oil lamp flickers,

the flame, no larger than a thumb, wavers as the door shuts, causing a thin trail of black smoke to curl upward.

"The snowfall is far too heavy; I only managed to catch a single rabbit."

Chen Xuan sighs apologetically as he hands the sack over to the woman.

"You only recently recovered from your illness, and I told you plainly not to risk going out, yet you insisted. If something had happened, how could I face the ancestors of the Chen Family?"

The woman’s tone carries a sharp reprimand, yet it masks deep affection.

Her name is Su Wanqiu.

She is Chen Xuan’s elder sister-in-law.

Five years have passed since

the elder brother, Chen Tian, was mortally wounded during a mountainous hunt, never to recover from his injuries.

In the aftermath,

a village Elder suggested a marriage to invite good fortune.

Thus,

Su Wanqiu became Chen Xuan’s sister-in-law.

Tragically,

Brother Chen Tian eventually succumbed to his fate, passing away on a bitter winter night.

Three years ago,

a plague ravaged the village,

and Chen Xuan’s father, being frail with age, also perished.

Now,

the household consists only of Chen Xuan, his widowed sister-in-law, and her younger sister—the three of them cling to each other to endure.

Su Wanqiu places the sack on the floor, then moves to help Chen Xuan divest himself of his hat and wet raincoat.

She carries herself with the tenderness of a mother.

Just then,

a bright voice rings out from the inner room: "Brother Xuan has returned."

Rustling fabric signals someone moving.

Quickly, a figure wrapped in a quilt, wearing only a light vest beneath, emerges from the shadows of the inner room.

This is Su Yun, the younger sister of Su Wanqiu.

"How can you wander out wrapped in only a quilt? What have you become?"

Witnessing her sister’s lack of decorum, Su Wanqiu scolds her.

"I simply couldn't be bothered to dress properly."

Observing her sister’s annoyance, Su Yun huddles close and begins to act spoiled.

She fears this elder sister more than anyone.

With their parents gone, she was raised entirely by Wanqiu.

To her,

Su Wanqiu serves as both a sibling and a guardian.

After her playful antics, she sticks her tongue out at Chen Xuan.

"It is alright, truly. We are only family here, sister-in-law."

Chen Xuan pipes up to defend her.

"You always spoil her too much."

Su Wanqiu shakes her head with a weary sigh.

She then instructs Su Yun, "Go pour Brother Xuan some hot water, while I heat the meal. You must be starving after being out so late."

"Hehe, I must admit, I am quite famished, sister-in-law."

Chen Xuan gives an innocent chuckle.

Having spent the entire day traversing the mountains, he had been hungry for hours.

"Rest yourself; I shall return shortly."

Su Wanqiu says, heading quickly toward the kitchen in the back.

Chen Xuan watches the departure of his sister-in-law, lost in thought.

Ever since she married into the Chen family,

she has worked with tireless diligence, keeping their humble home pristine.

"It is a pity; she is barely in her early 20s, yet already a widow."

He sighs to himself.

Meanwhile, as for Su Yun,

after handing him his water,

she squats on the floor, gazing intently at the rabbit inside the sack.

"Oh, it is so adorable."

The fluffy white hare, possessing bright, round, obsidian eyes, instantly captivates her girlish spirit.

Presently,

Su Wanqiu returns with a steaming bowl of sorghum porridge and three sorghum pancakes.

"Eat quickly while it is warm."

"Mmm, thank you, sister-in-law."

Chen Xuan wastes no time.

He sits at the small table and begins to devour the meal.

Hunting is physically exhausting work,

and furthermore,

the snow depth in the back mountains is nearly at his waist now,

transforming every single step into a Herculean effort.

"The hardships of life are only worsening."

Su Wanqiu watches him eat with empathy, though the creases of worry deepen upon her forehead.

"Indeed they are." Hunched over, Chen Xuan consumes a mouthful of porridge followed by a bite of the sorghum pancake.

The pancake is exceptionally hard... and possesses a distinctly bitter, mysterious aftertaste.

Yet,

in the current state of the world, obtaining three meals daily represents an incredible luxury.

"In my past life, things were so much easier; at the very least, we ate nutritious food!"

Yes,

Chen Xuan is a soul displaced from another world.

In his former existence, he served as a war correspondent for Central Mom,

tasked with covering a hospital under bombardment by Agge.

While documenting the plight of the wounded soldiers,

he never anticipated a missile to descend from the clouds.

Boom!

The earth trembled as the very mountains seemed to collapse.

When he regained his senses, he inhabited this body.

The original Chen Xuan had perished from a cold-induced illness, allowing him to take over.

An inexplicable bitterness lingers in his mouth.

Even though he had lived in this world for over a month,

consuming countless sorghum pancakes, the texture remains agonizingly difficult to accept.

In his past life, due to the nature of his work, he had sampled many rich delicacies,

never dreaming,

that he would fall to this level of desperation.

Though Chen Xuan frowns, he swallows the food regardless.

While the two adults contemplate the uncertainty of the future,

Su Yun,

maintains a carefree attitude, amusing herself with the injured rabbit.

She seems to be having a wonderful time.

Suddenly,

Su Wanqiu speaks up: "Yun'Er, go back to your sleeping quarters!"

"Ah?... Very well!"

Su Yun’s soft reply is brief, and curiously clipped.

"This girl is usually so high-spirited, why is she acting so strangely?"

The odd reaction prompts Chen Xuan to look up,

only to catch Su Yun nearly burying her head beneath her quilt, her tender cheeks flushed a deep, crimson red.

This leaves him thoroughly confused.

Once she has retreated to her room, Su Wanqiu addresses him quietly: "Brother Xuan, I have been thinking that you and Yun'Er should be wed. What are your thoughts?"

"Brother Xuan?"

Chen Xuan is overcome with profound astonishment.

He struggles to compose his features.

Su Yun is only 16, standing at roughly a meter and a half in height.

When he first beheld her, he had been struck by her appearance.

He was stunned now only because Su Wanqiu had broached such an entirely unexpected subject.