When night fell, darkness enveloped the land, and the sounds of animals echoed from time to time. Dangerous eyes waited for this moment to awaken.
In one of the many corners formed by the large cluster of huts, a middle-aged man stared at a dilapidated house, his eyes shining intensely.
Hearing a sound nearby, Ma Jing turned and saw a muscular man approaching. The two exchanged deep looks, still with a trace of caution in their eyes.
Looking away, Ma Jing said, âXu Zhi, I heard noises inside. If what you said is true, it should be almost time.â
âNo need to doubt me, old Ma. But if you want to test just how effective my poison is yourself, be my guest,â Xu Zhi replied with a hint of annoyance in his tone, his eyes full of dangerous light.
Ma Jing wasnât bothered by the rude words and continued to stare at the ruined hut, his irises cold as ice.
âNo, this canât go on like this. Wait here. Iâll check on the boy myself,â Ma Jing said suddenly. It was a spur-of-the-moment idea, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt he should do it.
Xu Zhi furrowed his brows at this. He was about to argue, but decided to let Ma Jing go through with the plan. The sooner they got what they wanted, the better. He simply watched as Ma Jing walked toward the house.
That was the scene right before Ma Jing knocked on Zhang Chenâs door.
While he waited, the minutes dragged by. When Xu Zhi was about to lose his patience, he caught a glimpse of Ma Jing returning. The expression on his face made Xu Zhi feel that something was wrong.
He didnât need to guess. Ma Jing approached quickly, his voice low and filled with rage:
âXu Zhi!! So much for your foolproof poisonâhow confident should I be in you!? Youâd better have a good explanation!â
âOld Ma, instead of spewing nonsense, why donât you just tell me what happened?â Xu Zhi replied, increasingly uneasy. This wasnât the first time he had used that poison; no ordinary human had ever survived it.
After nearly shouting, Ma Jing managed to calm down a bit and answered, âWhat else couldâve happened? I knocked on his door to check how bad he was, and guess what? He answered me! Standing and everything.â
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi frowned even more deeply and fell into rare contemplation.
âWait a second, old Ma. Are you sure he was okay? Couldnât he just be hanging on by a thread?â
âHm?â Ma Jing let out a doubtful sound as he thought. Upon remembering, he realized he wasnât absolutely certain. He quickly began searching his memory for any clues.
âHey, he did look a bit too pale, and his eyes were tired and unfocused.â
The more he spoke, the more excited Ma Jing became. Zhang Chenâs death might not be far off. Not only was he excitedâXu Zhi was also relieved to hear it. After all, in this world, strange things happened. What if Zhang Chen was a cultivator pretending to be a mortal?
âSo thatâs it. That brat Chen must just have a body slightly tougher than an ordinary mortal. Too bad that, in the end, heâll still fall to my poison.â
The two exchanged glances, a certain excitement stirring in their hearts. With nothing more to say, each turned and went to his own home. Neither of them noticed, but a dangerous light flashed deep in both their eyes.
A few houses down from Zhang Chenâs hut, a small, though not-so-dilapidated cabin stood silent. The light that usually illuminated it had been out for a long time.
Inside, a young girl of about fifteen sat cross-legged on her bed. At that moment, she was completely different.
Her long dark hair fell down her back, and from time to time, other colors seemed to shimmer through her strands. Her dress, once white, now barely concealed the unmatched beauty of her face.
If anyone she knew saw her now, they wouldnât recognize her, for she always kept her face dirty, with black specks scattered across it.
Anyone seeing her now would understand why she hid her beauty under mud: a true beauty that could topple nations!
Shen Jie, known as little Jie, was seen as a shy and timid person. Most people understoodâit made sense. Such a young girl living alone would naturally be overly cautious. But at that moment, the feeling she radiated was completely different.
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Her entire temperament had changed. Even the air around her seemed colder, something totally unusual for an ordinary girl.
Still sitting on the bed, she looked through a hole in the straw wall, and in her vision, the enormous moon loomed, almost taking shape in her eyes. Shen Jie stayed like that for several breaths, until she averted her gaze and lowered her head. If someone were there, they would notice that a moon was still reflected in one of her irises.
After a few moments, the moon began to fade until it disappeared completely.
âWhat should I do, Mother? Brother Chen is in danger. Can the âdangerousâ moon help me? Should I just ignore everything?â Shen Jieâs voice came out as weak as a mosquitoâs, full of doubt and uncertainty. She remained like that for a long time, her eyes full of memories.
The night passed quickly, with no major issues in the darkness, and the sunlight emerged over the damp earth.
For common people living near cultivator cities, a peaceful night was ideal. After all, even though the city patrol visited from time to time, their rare presence wasnât enough to drive off all evildoers.
Zhang Chen spent his first night in a new world peacefully. Even before the sun had fully risen, he was already awake. Upon waking, he was still a bit dazed. He stared at the straw ceiling for almost five minutes.
His sleep had helped clarify the memories in his mind, and the pain had faded to an almost nonexistent level. Still lying on the bed, his eyes shone brighter with each passing moment.
"What a pitiful life... I, one of the youngest billionaires of the century, am now this poor. And as if that werenât enough, I ended up in the body of an even more miserable young man... What a grand joke from fate! Hahaha... Hmph!!"
Zhang Chen's emotions still seemed somewhat disordered. One moment he was laughing, the next, angry. Gradually, he began to calm down.
By the time the sun rose into the sky, he was already sitting cross-legged on the bed, massaging his temples while remaining silent. Zhang Chen felt that new memories were still surfacing, though thankfully they did so gently.
"The Zhang Clan? On the run? This really is a cultivation world... A world of superhumans... Unbelievable," he muttered to himself, analyzing the memories.
"Hmm!?" â A flash of memory made him exclaim unintentionally, and the more he thought, the more information about a certain person came flooding in.
Without realizing it, Zhang Chen was already on his feet, his voice trembling as he said, "Mother! I... I have a mother? Where is she?"
Zhang Chen asked the empty air, though it felt more like he was questioning his own mind. Unfortunately, that memory seemed deeply buried. The body's previous owner had carefully hidden those memories, yet something deep within his soul told him she wasnât far away.
The sound of his heartbeat echoed in his chest, and a smile crept onto his face. Even though her whereabouts were still a mystery, many other memories of his mother began to emerge, and a unique warmth blossomed in his heart.
Zhang Chen remembered the family that had taken him in when he was just a child. The warmth in his chest felt similarâyet slightly different this time.
He soon fell into deep thought, recalling the bodyâs former owner.
"Donât worry, I wonât dishonor this body, nor your parents," he said quietly. Then, kneeling on the floor, he bowed his head. "From this day forth, your parents shall be mine as well."
Bowing three times, Zhang Chen let out a deep sigh.
A moment later, he stood up straight, pride now clearly visible in his eyes.
By that time, the sun was already high. Its rays shone through the gaps in the walls of Zhang Chenâs hut. Seeing that the day had fully begun, he stretched and walked toward the kitchen. The machete on a battered table reminded him of the events from the previous night. His eyes gleamed for a brief moment before he looked away.
It was called a "kitchen," but there was barely a divider between the main room and the exit door, which sat just beside it. The name came mostly from the clay stove in the corner, near some clay bowls.
Despite the modest conditions, Zhang Chen didnât feel lost. The memories of the bodyâs previous owner were still fresh in his mind. Walking to one of the sealed jars, he opened it with familiarity and scooped out a ladle of white rice.
This rice looked plumper, its color more vibrant. Though he had eaten many luxurious foods in his past life, he had never seen rice that looked so beautiful and full of life.
Instinctively, he picked out a slightly thicker clay bowl. There was already some firewood in the stove, and with practiced ease, Zhang Chen lit a flame by spinning a stick quickly between his hands. He quickly noticed that his physical body felt stronger than usual.
Wasting no time, he placed the pot over the flame and covered it. According to his memories, it would take the time of two incense sticks for the rice to cook. His stomach, however, was already voicing loud complaints. It seemed he hadnât eaten in three days.
Zhang Chen returned to the bedroom and, moving with practiced familiarity, walked to one side of the bed and lifted a floorboard. Beneath it was a piece of wood with a faint greenish tint, different from the others. He lifted it, revealing a book lying silently in the corner.
"Fundamentals of the Five Elements," Zhang Chen murmured as he held the book. Upon touching it, related memories began to rise in his mind.
From those memories, he learned that it was a basic cultivation technique in this world, focused on the five elements. But he also recalled that he hadnât bought the book.
In those memories, he had received it as a gift from someone, though he couldnât remember who. All he could see was a delicate hand offering the bookâa hand that seemed full of warmth.
"It mustâve been my mother!" Zhang Chen exclaimed involuntarily. There was no clear proof, only the warmth blooming in his chest at that moment.
With a joyful smile, Zhang Chen held the book tightly. Calming his emotions, he flipped through it lightly, but now was not the time to read.
Time passed, and before he realized it, the aroma of rice filled the air from the kitchen. He quickly hid the book beneath the bed once again and went to prepare his meal.
Swiftly, Zhang Chen served the rice into a clay bowl. Without waiting for it to cool, he sat on a creaking chair and devoured the rice eagerly. In that moment, he felt that the simple white rice was one of the best meals he had ever had in his life. Perhaps it was the riceâor perhaps it was the body, starved after days without food.
Knock, knock.
Just as he was devouring the rice, a familiar knock sounded at the door, followed by a soft voice:
"Brother Chen, are you awake?"