Chapter 1

Old Zhang's body was discovered over half a month ago.

The disturbance it caused in the small mountain village had yet to subside.

This was not surprising.

For the mountain people, going to the government office to file a lawsuit was a very rare occurrence. Zhangjiao was a small mountain village, and the residents were honest and simple mountain folk. They rarely had any dealings with the government, let alone entering the government office.

Ding Qi sat at the dinner table, his head buried in the half black steamed bun in his hand, thinking about Old Zhang.

It was dinnertime, and the Ding family was having their meal.

There were four people in the room: Ding's father, mother, and a younger sister who was seven years younger than Ding Qi.

Ding Qi also had an older brother who was four years his senior, working as an apprentice outside the mountains and rarely returning home.

Dinner was just around dusk. Looking out the door, one could still see the sun not fully set.

This was the second meal the Ding family had today, and it was usually like this.

The mountain people had few sources of income and mostly relied on the few acres of land at the foot of the mountain for their livelihood. Sometimes they would go hunting or gather herbs, living a hard and frugal life. To save more food, they generally ate only two meals a day.

The Ding family was no different.

During meals, the Ding family usually had porridge and a bowl of salted cooked mountain vegetables.

One meal in the morning before going to the fields, and one in the afternoon, which was now.

Ding Qi remembered the last time he had meat was three months ago when a guest visited the house.

Thinking of this, Ding Qi couldn't help but swallow the mountain vegetables he had scooped from the bowl, smacking his lips and recalling the meaty aroma from a few months ago.

Old Zhang, who died over ten days ago, was very familiar to Ding Qi.

The small mountain village was not large, with fewer than a hundred households. If a family went up the mountain and managed to hunt two more mountain chickens, the news would spread throughout the village instantly.

The hundreds of people in the village knew each other well.

Old Zhang, in Zhangjiao, was more famous than the ordinary mountain people, and the disturbance he caused in the small mountain village was not the first time.

Old Zhang's real name was Zhang Zhu, nearly sixty years old, and considered a rare old man in the small mountain village. In his early years, he had two sons, but both were conscripted by the government and never returned. His wife also died early, and now he had no close relatives.

Fortunately, when he was young, Old Zhang had worked as an apprentice in a pharmacy in Qixia Town outside the mountains for a year. Although he was sent back due to his lack of talent, he did learn the skill of gathering herbs.

With this skill, and by serving as a wild doctor treating colds and fevers in the nearby villages, he did not worry about food and drink even in his later years.

To the mountain people, Old Zhang's age was considered half in the grave. In a few more years, he would die like an ordinary person.

However, over two years ago, when Ding Qi was ten, Old Zhang caused an unexpected disturbance.

That year, while taking shelter under a tree, Old Zhang was struck by a bolt of lightning and went mad.

At least, that's what the villagers thought.

After Old Zhang was discovered and revived, he began to occasionally speak incoherently.

Old Zhang claimed that after being struck by lightning, he regained the memories of his previous life. In his past life, he was the leader of a large martial arts sect called the Sun Moon Divine Sect.

His name in his past life was Ren Woxing, and he lived in a dynasty called the Ming Dynasty.

However, according to the most learned old scholar in the village, there was no dynasty called the Ming Dynasty.

The old scholar's judgment further confirmed that Old Zhang had gone mad after being struck by lightning.

However, the mad Old Zhang, who had been mad for two years, died unexpectedly half a month ago.

When Old Zhang's body was discovered, Ding Qi had secretly followed to see it. At that time, Old Zhang's body was unrecognizable, and his death was extremely tragic. His eyes were wide open, filled with unwillingness, and he looked as if he had died with his eyes open, which was very frightening.

This made the young Ding Qi, who had never seen a corpse, have nightmares for several nights.

The recent lawsuit in Zhangjiao, which was causing a stir, was not because Old Zhang's death was suspicious or a murder case. It was related to Old Zhang's death.

Although Old Zhang's death was tragic, there was nothing suspicious about it. He and a white-striped tiger fell from a cliff over thirty meters high and died from the fall.

From the marks on the body, it was clear that before falling, Old Zhang had fought with the tiger.

He had over a dozen deep claw marks on his body, one eye was clawed out, and his right side was deformed and bloody. Even without falling from the cliff, he had no chance of survival.

Along with Old Zhang's body, five hundred-year-old ginseng plants were also found near the cliff, which was the cause of the lawsuit.

According to various signs, the old hunters in the village said that the scene did not look like Old Zhang had simply encountered a tiger hunting for food. It was more like Old Zhang and the tiger were fighting over the precious ginseng and fell to their deaths.

The location where Old Zhang had the accident was deep in the mountains. Generally, hunters from outside the mountains hunted on the outskirts and rarely ventured deep. If it weren't for the coincidence, the body might not have been discovered at all.

The three households of hunters who discovered Old Zhang's body and the hundred-year-old ginseng later argued over the distribution of the ginseng, eventually leading to a lawsuit.

That night, Ding Qi lay on the earthen bed, looking at his little sister, who was sleeping soundly next to him. He, who usually fell asleep easily, tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

The image of Old Zhang's unrecognizable body and his eyes filled with unwillingness kept appearing in Ding Qi's mind, unable to be dispelled.

"From now on, I can no longer go to Old Zhang to listen to stories."

Thinking of this, Ding Qi gently turned over, careful not to wake his little sister.

Since Old Zhang went mad and started speaking incoherently, the wild doctor who was well-liked in the mountain village became increasingly isolated.

Even the children in the mountains, whose parents feared that Old Zhang might have a bad influence on them, were not allowed to approach him.

Ding Qi was an exception.

He liked to go to Old Zhang to listen to his stories of the martial arts world.

These thrilling and interesting stories made the young Ding Qi, who rarely came into contact with the outside world, listen with rapt attention and become deeply engrossed.

Old Zhang said that the stories he told were things he had experienced in his past life. Although Ding Qi did not believe it, it did not affect his enjoyment.

Now that Old Zhang was dead, there was no longer an opportunity to hear those interesting stories, and Ding Qi felt very regretful.

While listening to those stories, Ding Qi sometimes felt that Old Zhang might not have been mad.

Even more so... the stories he told might really be things he had experienced in his past life.

Perhaps because no one wanted to interact with him and his life was too monotonous, Old Zhang did not mind when Ding Qi often pestered him to tell martial arts stories.

Over the past two years, the person who had the most contact with Old Zhang was probably Ding Qi.

Whenever Old Zhang told martial arts stories, Ding Qi could always see a unique spirit in his eyes that was not found in ordinary old men in the mountains.

That expression gave Ding Qi the feeling that Old Zhang could cover the sky with just one hand, like a domineering and powerful hero.

Sometimes, seeing such an Old Zhang, Ding Qi would feel afraid involuntarily. It was as if the person in front of him was not an old man about to die but a fierce tiger that devoured people.

For a while, Ding Qi was scared by Old Zhang's unusual expression and dared not meet him. However, in the end, a child's curiosity to hear thrilling martial arts stories overcame his fear of Old Zhang.

When telling stories, Old Zhang did not always have this frightening expression. Often, as he told the stories, his expression would turn into one of unwillingness and despair.

Just like the expression Old Zhang had when he died.

Why was this, Ding Qi had asked Old Zhang.

Old Zhang said that if he could have regained the memories of his past life when he was young, he could have quickly become a top martial arts expert by relying on the martial arts techniques and experience in his memory. He could have roamed the world like he did in his past life.

However, now, his body, worn out by years of hard work, was already old and lifeless, and he was at the point of death. Not to mention becoming a top expert, even cultivating enough true qi to extend his life and strengthen his body was impossible.

After listening to Old Zhang's stories for so long, Ding Qi also knew what true qi was.

In Old Zhang's stories, martial artists cultivated this true qi. A master with deep true qi could shatter a large rock with a wave of his hand, and it was very powerful.

Thinking of true qi,

Ding Qi turned over, calming himself down. Soon, he felt a warm current, as small as a tadpole, moving through his body.

Feeling the warm current in his body, Ding Qi smiled slightly, showing the simple smile of a mountain village youth.

"True qi."

Ding Qi knew that the warm current in his body was the true qi often mentioned in Old Zhang's stories.

This true qi was transferred to his body by Old Zhang.

After learning about the miraculous effects of true qi from Old Zhang's stories, Ding Qi was very eager to experience this mysterious power. He constantly pestered Old Zhang to see what true qi was.

Old Zhang, annoyed by Ding Qi, transferred a small amount of true qi from his body to Ding Qi and taught him a basic method to move the true qi.

Although the true qi in Ding Qi's body now was as small as a tadpole, when Old Zhang transferred it to him, it was even smaller.

Following the method to move the true qi, it took nearly two years for the true qi in Ding Qi's body to reach its current level.

Feeling the barely perceptible true qi in his body, Ding Qi seemed to think of something, and his smile disappeared. He frowned, his face turning bitter.

When Old Zhang taught him the method to move the true qi, he once told him that although his martial arts talent was better than that of ordinary people, the standards for martial artists were not the same as those for ordinary people. According to the standards for martial artists, his talent was very average, even

could be said to be somewhat poor.

No matter how much he practiced, he would not achieve much. Not to mention becoming a top martial arts expert, even reaching the level of a fourth or fifth-rate expert was far from possible. At best, he would be a bit stronger than ordinary people.

Ding Qi, who had just begun to feel the true qi in his body, was unwilling to believe it. He often had the childish fantasy of one day achieving great success in his practice and being able to fly and roam the martial arts world like the experts in Old Zhang's stories.

However, after nearly two years, Ding Qi had grown into a young man. During this time, he also realized that it was just a fantasy.

Just as Old Zhang had said, his martial arts talent was not good. After such a long time, the true qi in his body was still barely perceptible.

This small amount of true qi could not even shatter a large rock with a wave of the hand, let alone slightly improve his physical condition or nourish his body.

This situation naturally made Ding Qi very discouraged, and he had even thought about giving up on practicing. However, thinking of the world of martial arts in Old Zhang's stories, which was completely different from the peaceful mountain village, Ding Qi would regain his spirit and continue to practice the true qi, which had little effect.

"Tomorrow..." A thought arose in his mind, and the frown on Ding Qi's face, caused by the slow progress of his true qi practice, relaxed.

With this thought, Ding Qi's face showed a hopeful expression, and he fell into a deep sleep.