Chapter 1

"Is there any pursuit in life that cannot be ignited after visiting Watt's steam engine?"

————Arthur Young, "A Tour in England and Wales"

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Li Hui didn't know how long he had drifted in the boundless chaos, or in which direction. He couldn't even sense the completeness of his body, as if he had split into countless fragments, like a scattered meteor shower, shattering his memories from his previous life.

The only thing he could still recall was seeing, or perhaps glimpsing in his mind, the huge star chart with its intricate lines, and the corner inlaid with the Argyle gray diamond (the corner belonging to Pluto) suddenly shattering amidst the heavy breathing and screams of a giant man and woman.

Then, Li Hui felt the universe tilt. The once flat ground suddenly collapsed and tilted, turning into a steep slope. He and countless stars slid down rapidly.

It seemed like the sound of water, and Li Hui felt the substance of water hitting his consciousness. He passed through a long, dark tunnel and entered the water, where bubbles emerged from all sides, making faint gurgling sounds.

Light seemed to appear again, the light ball expanding continuously.

He didn't know if he was rising or sinking, for although he had consciousness, he still couldn't feel the existence of his body.

Slowly, he saw a young man with black hair, his face pale, his limbs spread out as if drowning, his entire body spinning towards him.

Was he rising or sinking?

Finally, as they passed each other, Li Hui couldn't help but struggle in the darkness to ask (he didn't know how to speak without a voice, or if the other person could hear him), "Who are you?"

Suddenly, the young man twisted his neck and glanced at Li Hui, his pale face showing a terrifying, half-smiling expression, and clearly answered, "It's you..."

The young man spoke in a foreign language.

But Li Hui could understand him perfectly, which was incredibly magical.

After speaking, there was another roar, and the young man's figure, now a pale white, like a piece of paper, slipped into the deep, endless darkness.

"!" Li Hui wanted to grab him.

But he couldn't touch anything.

At that moment, with the motion of reaching out, Li Hui saw his hand moving in the water.

This hand was undoubtedly his, but not the one he originally had.

Then water rushed into his throat, and Li Hui immediately felt the wheels trampling in his lungs, the real pain of drowning!

"Help, help, save me." He couldn't help but shout, and it was clear that this language was not his original one, but it came out naturally.

Sigh, it didn't matter, this wasn't the first time he had encountered this.

The mysterious girl holding the yellow snake was the culprit.

And the symbolic meaning of the broken corner of the star chart, engraved with patterns and text, he understood: Pluto—passion, power, turmoil, death, and renewal.

The light ball in the water shook more violently, like the color of Pluto, the gray-white gem.

With a splash, Li Hui's head emerged from the water, and he greedily breathed in the air of the upper world. His previous consciousness and memories were still fragmented, unable to be pieced together. Then Li Hui was pulled by several strong arms onto the grassy shore. He slightly raised his left hand and was startled to see that his wrist and fingers were covered with translucent down. This was definitely not his original body! How could I have such dense body hair?

But he didn't have time to think more. Various sounds in his ears made him feel his stomach churning, and his body convulsed, and he fainted again....

"Are you awake?"

When Li Hui's eyelids, struggling through the chaotic darkness, finally opened a crack and widened, allowing the light and images of reality to enter, a face with a full beard appeared before him.

This face had messy hair, a cotton shirt, and a loose, oily linen tie around the collar.

It was a barbarian.

Before Li Hui could answer, the bearded man asked again, "You're awake, Felix Gaudin?"

Felix Gaudin....

He lay on a four-poster bed, supported by two pillows and a cushion. In his line of sight, he saw a chest of drawers leaning against the whitewashed wall, with brass handles hanging like two rows of buttons. A candle on the chest cast a faint light, and above it was a mirror integrated with the chest of drawers.

Soft, hurried footsteps sounded, and the room became brighter. A girl holding a candlestick appeared before Li Hui, or rather, Felix now.

She stood beside the bearded man, by the bed, about sixteen or seventeen years old. She wore a white linen dress, her thick hair naturally combed back, her brown eyebrows spreading out, meeting at the bridge of her straight nose, her forehead bright and flat, her skin not snow-white but a soft wheat color, her eyes amber, her eyelashes still glistening with tears, filled with concern and worry for him.

"How is he, Doctor?"

"He must have inhaled a lot of dirty water... but it's not serious... let me check, let me check... his eyes have a luster, they're open, that's good... but he looks a bit haggard." The bearded man, who turned out to be a doctor, repeatedly rubbed his hands, as if thinking but unable to make a decision, mumbling indistinctly. Then he said to the girl, "Dear Miss Aire, you..."

Soon, the bearded doctor, frowning, took the towel soaked in hot water from Aire and gently placed it on his cheeks. Li Hui immediately felt very comfortable, but his limbs were still weak, unable to express gratitude to the doctor.

Then the bearded doctor suddenly raised a knife that gleamed with a cold light.

Li Hui was startled. He looked at his reflection in the blade, and it was indeed the face of the young man who had fallen into the deep pool, exactly the same.

The blade quickly approached.

Miss Aire's eyes widened, and she clutched her floral shawl, quite alarmed.

Li Hui felt the same way. Was this doctor going to perform surgery on him with this knife?

No, no, I, I will die.

I've come this far, I can't die like this under a surgeon's knife, especially since this doesn't even look like a surgical knife!

But how could he resist? The knife touched his skin, making a sharp, grating sound.

Sweat rolled down Li Hui's forehead, his eyes rolling as he watched the bearded doctor, sometimes focusing, sometimes raising his chin, skillfully manipulating the blade to rotate on his cheeks and chin. What a precise operation.

After a while, Li Hui felt his face much fresher. The doctor sighed, put the knife back, and pulled out a black leather strap from a box, rubbing the knife on it a few times before neatly putting everything away and standing up.

"Doctor Tronchon." When the doctor nodded to Aire, she expressed her concern.

"He can get up now. I've done all I can. If he can eat and walk freely in three days, he will be fully recovered." The doctor replied kindly.

At that moment, footsteps sounded again, and the door opened. A tall, gray-haired old man, furious, raised his fist and shouted at Doctor Tronchon, "My son had a seizure and fell into the pond, and you just shaved his beard?"