Chapter 1

"Huh! Huh! Huh!"

In the darkness, Qin Ziling suddenly sat up from the wooden bed, his chest heaving violently, and his forehead drenched in cold sweat the size of beans.

He had just had a nightmare again.

In his dream, he saw himself sitting in a wheelchair, looking up at an airplane flying closer from the distance under the blue sky, making a loud rumbling sound as it broke through the air, trailing two long white tails of condensation.

Suddenly, the airplane transformed into a monstrous bird with a dragon's head, sporting broad fleshy wings, covered in golden scales, with two sharp fangs gleaming like daggers, and a pair of eyes that were dark holes with a flickering flame inside, looking extremely fierce and terrifying.

On the back of the monstrous bird, there was a tall, thin, old man with a haggard and ugly face, dressed in black and injured.

The two long white tails trailing behind the airplane turned into two massive swords, radiating a cold, sharp light.

In the dream, he suddenly became that haggard and ugly old man, lying on the monstrous bird that exuded a cold and sinister aura, feeling incredibly weak and powerless, facing the massive swords piercing through the air, filled with despair.

Suddenly, the two massive swords burst into a blinding light, and countless sword beams whistled through the air, covering the sky.

"I'm done for!" In the dream, the injured old man, who was also Qin Ziling, felt an indescribable pain, and then he saw his body, along with the monstrous bird, pierced through by countless sword beams, becoming riddled with holes, and then exploding violently.

The terrifying shockwave from this explosion caused several mountains below to collapse.

Blood and flesh rained down with debris.

The dream's scene froze on a severed finger slicing through the night, falling into an ancient well at the foot of a mountain, behind a dilapidated Taoist temple.

The severed finger was wrapped in a black ring.

The temple's entrance had a slanted, old signboard that read "Chixiao Temple."

...

After a long while, Qin Ziling in the darkness gradually calmed down. He glanced at the paper-covered wooden window, which was still pitch black outside, then lay back on the bed, looking up at the wooden beam above his head, which was covered in large spider webs, his eyes filled with a complex and bewildered expression.

Ten days ago, he was still in a hospital room with bright glass windows and a white-painted ceiling.

That day, his consciousness gradually became blurred and distant, and a great darkness enveloped him, threatening to swallow him whole. At that moment, he thought he had finally succumbed to the disease, and his life was about to end.

But he was not willing to accept it.

He was just over thirty, and three years ago, after enduring countless setbacks, his career had finally taken a significant turn for the better, and a beautiful life was within his reach.

So, he suddenly rallied, constantly telling himself to hold on. He struggled in the darkness, refusing to let his consciousness sink.

He believed that modern medicine was advancing rapidly, and as long as he held on, there was hope!

In the end, the great darkness that tried to engulf him dissipated, and he lost consciousness.

When he woke up, he found himself lying in this old, dilapidated wooden house, covered in a worn-out quilt, and he had become a nineteen-year-old young man named Qin Ziling.

Ten days is not a long time, but it is not short either. Because he not only possessed Qin Ziling's body but also inherited his memories, after ten days of confusion, he had slowly begun to accept and adapt to his new identity.

However, the recurring nightmares over these ten days, along with the occasional images of strange zombies that flashed through his mind, and the occasional evil, cold, and ruthless thoughts that emerged from his subconscious, made him feel a deep sense of fear and unease, as if there was a very dark, evil, and ruthless soul consciousness hidden within his own soul.

"If I really did transmigrate into Qin Ziling's body, why do I keep dreaming of myself becoming that ugly, even sinister old man? Why do I have fragmented, chaotic, and dark, evil images, including many strange zombies, in my mind, besides my own and Qin Ziling's memories? These are definitely not Qin Ziling's memories! Could it be because I watched too many ghost and zombie movies in my previous life?"

"But this time, in the nightmare, I clearly saw the name of the temple, which didn't appear in the previous dreams."

Qin Ziling's mind wandered, and he drifted off to sleep again.

When he woke up again, it was already dawn.

Qin Ziling's home was a three-courtyard quadrangle, with brick and tile structures, east and west wings, three main rooms, and four side rooms, connected by corridors and a mountain wall. All of this represented the former prosperity of the Qin family.

However, now the houses were tilted, and the red-painted mud walls were peeling, showing the current decline.

The cross-shaped path paved with blue bricks, which once looked quite refined, had now become a vegetable garden and a place for raising chickens and ducks, with chicken and duck droppings scattered everywhere.

Qin Ziling lived in the east wing. When he came out, a young woman, wearing a coarse dress, with a proper and graceful appearance, a slender figure, but yellowish skin and a malnourished look, was feeding the chickens and ducks.

"Master, you're up. I'll get you some water to wash your face," Yin Danyue said hurriedly when she saw Qin Ziling push the door open.

"No need, I'll do it myself," Qin Ziling waved his hand and then walked to the well to fetch water and wash up.

Seeing Qin Ziling fetch water and wash up himself, Yin Danyue looked puzzled.

She was a pitiful orphan who almost starved to death on the roadside. Qin's mother, seeing her pitiful state, brought her home.

At that time, the Qin family had not yet fallen into decline and had considerable assets, with good farmland outside the city and shops inside, and several servants and tenant farmers.

However, good times did not last long. First, the shop caught fire, and all the goods turned to ashes. Then, the old patriarch of the Qin family passed away, followed by Qin Ziling's father, who fell seriously ill. To pay for his treatment, the Qin family sold their good farmland and oxen, and the servants and maidservants left one by one.

Only Yin Danyue, who was ten years old at the time, was clever and obedient, and Qin's mother liked her very much. Out of pity, she kept her.

However, in the end, Qin's father passed away, and the Qin family's life became even more impoverished.

Qin Ziling, who had grown up as a young master, knew that Yin Danyue was a servant they had taken in, and he always considered her service as a matter of course, even scolding her when he was in a bad mood.

But after the ten days of his illness, Yin Danyue noticed that Qin Ziling no longer had the air of a young master and spoke to her more gently.

"Could it be that the young master has developed romantic feelings?" Yin Danyue's malnourished face turned red, and she hurriedly went to the kitchen to bring the breakfast she had prepared to the dining table in the main hall.

She had served Qin Ziling since childhood. In a wealthy family, she would be a concubine, not to be married off. Given the Qin family's current situation, it was unlikely they could afford a grand wedding for Qin Ziling, and the most likely scenario was that she would become his wife, saving the dowry.

So, in her heart, Yin Danyue had long considered herself Qin Ziling's woman, whether as a wife or a concubine.

Now, with Qin Ziling's modern mindset, he naturally treated women with respect and consideration, which surprised and delighted Yin Danyue, making her heart flutter with joy.

Seeing Yin Danyue go to the kitchen to bring breakfast, Qin Ziling went into the inner room, where his mother, Cui Shi, was already up and weaving.

Cui Shi was a renowned weaver in the village, and the cloth she wove was very popular, serving as the main source of income for the Qin family, besides their ten acres of thin land.

Cui Shi was in her early forties, but due to overwork, her hair was already half white, and her face was lined with wrinkles. However, her hair was neatly combed, and her clothes, though old, were clean and tidy, giving her a good demeanor, unlike a typical village woman.

Qin Ziling had heard from others in his childhood that his mother came from the Cui family in the neighboring Qinghe County.

However, since Qin Ziling could remember, Cui Shi never mentioned her family, and there had been no contact between the two families.

"Mother, you've worked hard. Let's eat breakfast," Qin Ziling said softly, looking at Cui Shi with a respectful and affectionate gaze.

Coming from the modern world, he not only integrated the memories and emotions of this life's Qin Ziling but also felt a sense of duty to fulfill the filial piety for the original owner.

"Time flies, it's already morning," Cui Shi stopped her work, smiled, and then got up to join Qin Ziling in the main hall.

The dining table in the main hall was already set with several black steamed buns, a plate of scallion stir-fried eggs, a plate of vegetables, and a pot of porridge.

Seeing Cui Shi and Qin Ziling come in, Yin Danyue quickly served them each a bowl of porridge and pulled out a chair for Cui Shi.

Cui Shi and Qin Ziling sat down, but Yin Danyue stood by without sitting.

"Danyue, sit down and eat with us. From now on, you don't need to wait for me to call you," Qin Ziling looked at Yin Danyue and said.

"Okay!" Yin Danyue blushed and then sat down.

Cui Shi said nothing, but her gaze towards Qin Ziling showed a hint of satisfaction.

After everyone was seated, Cui Shi and Yin Dany each took a black steamed bun and ate with the vegetables and porridge, not touching the scallion stir-fried eggs.

"Mother, Danyue, you should also eat some stir-fried eggs," Qin Ziling saw this and tried to give them some scallion stir-fried eggs.

"You need to practice martial arts to build your strength and energy. The consumption is high, so you should eat the stir-fried eggs. We do light work and are women, so this is enough for us," Cui Shi said.

"Yes, young master, practicing martial arts is the most important!"

Seeing that Cui Shi and Yin Danyue refused to eat the stir-fried eggs, Qin Ziling felt both moved and helpless, as well as deeply ashamed and powerless.

After ten days in this world, he had already understood that practicing martial arts required a lot of energy, and eating a few eggs was far from enough to build strength and energy.

Those who practiced martial arts and achieved success usually ate meat and medicinal herbs every day, and in truly wealthy families, they even ate exotic beast meat.

But the Qin family was now in decline, and paying the monthly tuition for the martial arts school was already a strain. There was no extra money to buy meat and medicinal herbs for Qin Ziling, let alone exotic beast meat.

Exotic beasts lived in the deep mountains, were extremely powerful and ferocious, and even experienced old hunters dared not venture deep into the mountains to hunt them. Only martial artists who had reached the Power Realm dared to hunt exotic beasts in the mountains.

However, even for martial artists at the Power Realm, hunting exotic beasts in the mountains was extremely dangerous, and they usually went in groups of three to five.

"Without meat and medicinal herbs, no matter how hard I train, it will be in vain with this body's foundation and talent!" Qin Ziling sighed inwardly, but he did not say it out loud.

A mother knows her son best. Although Qin Ziling did not say anything, Cui Shi seemed to understand his thoughts and sighed, "Ziling, I know you have high aspirations and want to practice martial arts like your grandfather to revive the Qin family. But our family is not what it used to be, and we cannot provide you with meat and medicinal herbs. It will be a thousand times harder for you to achieve what your grandfather did. If you think it's impossible, you should make other plans."

"Mother, I want to keep trying," Qin Ziling replied without hesitation.

Reborn in this world, how could he be content to live a mediocre life in a small village?

Moreover, this was a world of survival of the fittest, where the strong ruled, and bandits and wars were rampant. Without powerful martial arts, he could not protect his family, let alone himself.

So, no matter how difficult and slim the chances, Qin Ziling would not give up.

"Alright, as long as you have the determination, I will support you," Cui Shi nodded with a complex expression.

"Thank you, Mother." Qin Ziling looked at Cui Shi's half-gray hair and wrinkled face, feeling a lump in his throat, and lowered his head.

As he lowered his head, his gaze fell on the bowl of porridge in front of him, and the image of the ancient well from his nightmare flashed through his mind.

"Mother, is there a temple called Chixiao in this area?" Qin Ziling asked impulsively.

"Chixiao Temple?" Cui Shi was slightly taken aback and looked at Qin Ziling with surprise. "Why are you suddenly asking about Chixiao Temple?"