Chapter 2

Changchun Wushen Chapter 2 (2/730)

"Haha, hahaha."

Xia Houying sat astride the bed, arms crossed, staring blankly ahead.

A sense of futility escaped his lips in a series of hollow laughs.

"Hahahaha!"

After a while of laughing, he suddenly sobered up, his brows furrowing.

"Me, Nangong Xie? The second son of the Nangong family?"

Jin Chanxiang nodded his head.

"You might be surprised. I understand. Suddenly not remembering things and all. So, be a bit more careful."

"…What year is it now in the Wu Li calendar?"

"It's the 70th year. The Zhengtian Alliance has been established for 70 years now."

"Seventy years…"

Nangong Xie muttered, his face blank.

"So, I'm over 150 years old?"

When the Zhengtian Alliance was established, he was already in his eighties.

When he ascended the Tian Shan to achieve immortality, he was over ninety.

But after attempting to ascend and falling, sixty years had passed.

So if he had been alive all this time, he would be over 150 years old.

What kind of absurdity is this!

"Master?"

"…Where did my sixty years go?"

"Master, I'll go get a doctor right away. Sit down and rest for a moment. You need to calm down."

Jin Chanxiang got up and scanned Xia Houying from head to toe.

"I'll be right back."

With a worried expression, Jin Chanxiang hurried out.

Xia Houying looked up with eyes full of futility.

All he could see was an incredibly high ceiling.

'Damn, did they drop me to this guy?'

Is this some kind of joke?

The Nangong family, and the second son at that?

'Wow, I'm going to go crazy.'

Is this something a person with a brain would do?

He was Nangong Xie, the one praised as the best in the world, the best of all time.

And now, they had stuffed him into the body of some unknown Nangong family brat?

Or did he reincarnate into this body?

'And why sixty years later?'

They didn't reincarnate him immediately but chose to do it sixty years later. What kind of whim is this?

He was speechless, his nose clogged with frustration.

Had he ever felt this kind of shock in his life?

At least as far as he could remember, he hadn't.

Reincarnation!

For him, a supreme master, to reincarnate into such a mediocre body!

'Go to hell, you immortal bastards!'

His anger rose to the top of his head, then turned into a sense of futility.

The thought of losing all the cultivation he had done in his life made his blood run cold.

'Damn. Immortal bastards, do you think I'll thank you and cultivate again just because I got a young body? You're out of your minds.'

I am Xia Houying.

The tyrant Xia Houying.

A man who rose from the mire to the pinnacle of the world.

'Do you think I'll play by the rules you've set?'

No way, he had no intention of going along with the plans of those damn immortals.

Xia Houying got up from his seat.

His body still hadn't adapted, his head ached, and his legs trembled.

'What the hell did I do to not even be able to walk properly? Is this even a human body?'

Apart from being younger, nothing about it pleased him.

The only small comfort was that he had another chance.

Xia Houying glanced around.

He looked in all directions, worried that someone like Jin Chanxiang might jump out, but there was no one.

'I'm leaving.'

He had no intention of staying in the setup of those damn immortals.

He wanted to get out of the Nangong family as soon as possible.

'I'll return to the Tian Shan. I'll go back to the Tian Shan and start all over again, from one to ten, more thoroughly than before.'

It was just a brief pause in his journey.

Fortunately, he had another chance, so he could start again.

He was a man who never gave up, a man who had reached the pinnacle of the martial world with his relentless tenacity and perseverance.

He wouldn't be discouraged by something like this.

Xia Houying grunted as he stepped outside.

"Huff, huff. Why is this so hard? Is it because my body hasn't adapted yet?"

His feet felt as heavy as lead. He had never felt his body so heavy in his life.

His head was dizzy, and his stomach churned.

But he gritted his teeth and finally stood in front of the large main gate of the Nangong family.

In front of the main gate, warriors were gathered, milling about.

In the past, he wouldn't have even noticed them, but now his body wasn't in its usual state.

Even these low-level warriors seemed sharp to him.

'But I'm not going to fight, and who would dare to stop the second son of the Nangong family from passing?'

Being the second son of the Nangong family meant he was the son of the family head.

Who would dare to stop him?

Having fully grasped his identity, he walked forward confidently.

Thud. Thud.

As Xia Houying finally stood in front of the main gate, the warriors rushed over.

There were so many of them, it seemed excessive, but he ignored them.

"Master! What are you doing here?"

Xia Houying put his hands behind his back and said calmly.

"I'm just going out for a bit."

So, hurry up and clear the way, you guys.

He made a dismissive gesture, waiting for the warriors to move.

"What? No, you can't. Please go back inside!"

What? This isn't the reaction I expected.

"I'm just going out for a bit."

"No! The family head will punish you. You can't go outside."

"What nonsense? I want to go out!"

Who do these people think they are, blocking his way?

Xia Houying tried to push past the warriors to get out.

Thud!

"Huh?"

A dull sound accompanied his being pushed back, and he frowned.

I clearly pushed them, so why did I get pushed back?

But his confusion was short-lived.

"Sorry, it's the family head's strict order!"

A warrior grabbed his waist and forcibly dragged him back inside.

"What? You're grabbing me?"

These people, how dare they!

Even if his body wasn't in its usual state, he still had some skills.

By shifting his center of gravity forward and lowering his center of mass, he could resist even a bull's pull...

Squish, squish.

"What? Why isn't my inner strength responding?"

'Ah, right. This isn't my body.'

Xia Houying's eyes widened as he saw himself being dragged along the ground, helpless.

"Keh, keh?"

And the pressure that followed made his head snap back.

'Damn, what's happening?'

And... why is my vision getting blurry?

With all the questions swirling in his head, darkness soon enveloped him.

* * *

Blink, blink.

A ceiling that was unfamiliar yet somehow familiar came into view.

It was the ceiling of Nangong Xie's quarters.

"..."

Xia Houying tried to remain as calm as possible, but he couldn't hide his astonishment.

"Did I... faint?"

Fainted?

Me?

He clutched his head and sat up, shaking his head.

"I must not have adapted to this body yet. Or maybe this body is incredibly weak."

Otherwise, how could he not have resisted the strength of a gate guard?

Thinking about it, fainting made sense.

"I can't go through the main gate. Since the family head is enforcing a strict no-exit policy, there's no need to waste my strength."

In his current state, he definitely couldn't leave through the main gate.

Xia Houying quickly accepted this reality and got up.

He dragged his trembling legs out.

"Huff, huff! Then I'll take another route!"

Giving up was not in his nature.

He considered assessing his incomprehensible physical condition first, but his top priority was to get out of this damn Nangong family.

He didn't want to be a pawn in the immortals' plans for even a moment.

He could recover his body once he was outside.

Xia Houying changed direction and faced the wall.

At the main gate, the gate guards who had made him faint were standing guard with a stern look.

'You should consider yourselves lucky. If I were in my usual state, I would have knocked you all out!'

Xia Houying, who had generously (or so he thought) forgiven the gate guards, leaned against the wall.

Patrolling warriors strolled by.

He quietly observed the moving warriors.

'Alright.'

Xia Houying nodded as he watched the warriors leave the wall.

His gaze returned to the wall.

He slowly moved to a corner where no one was around and reached out to the wall.

"There's nothing more certain than climbing over a wall!"

He chose a secluded part of the outer wall.

It was a blind spot where people's eyes rarely reached, and he had confirmed that the warriors had passed, so now all he had to do was act, and getting out would be simple.

"Alright, let's go!"

Xia Houying didn't hesitate and put strength into his hands.

The wall was not particularly high, only about eight feet.

His new body had relatively long limbs for his height.

He could reach the top of the wall with a few stretches.

Crack!

"Ouch! What the hell is wrong with this body? Why is it so weak!"

The problem was that when he tried to insert his fingers into the cracks of the wall and pull himself up, his bones screamed.

"Ugh!"

His fingers felt like they were about to break, but he gritted his teeth.

And slowly, very carefully, he lifted his body.

His hands, shoulders, and feet trembled.

"Damn, is climbing a wall this hard?"

Squish, squish.

Sweat quickly rose from his body, and beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Huh?"

No, am I sweating from climbing the wall?

What kind of body is this?

'Just get over it and think later!'

Xia Houying clenched his teeth and put strength into his hands again.

Like a turtle slowly climbing the Tian Shan, he gradually climbed the wall.

Sweat dripped down, soaking his body, but he didn't care.

'I am the tyrant Xia Houying. Do you think I can't climb this? I can do it! I will do it!'

Thud! Thud!

"Huff, huff, huff!"

Xia Houying's mouth gradually opened, but finally, he could see the end.

He pulled himself up with his elbows and finally reached the top of the wall.

The sense of achievement was immense, even though it was just a wall.

"Alright! Alright. Haha! That's right, I can do this. Now, I'll go down and... "

As Xia Houying prepared to climb down the other side, his pupils dilated.

Below the wall, warriors were staring at him blankly.

"..."

"..."

For a moment, their eyes met, and an awkward silence fell.

A myriad of emotions crossed the air.

Xia Houying, sweating profusely, looked at the warriors, and the warriors, with blank faces, looked up at him.

The warriors' mouths gradually opened, and their eyes bulged.

Xia Houying sighed deeply and covered his face with one hand.

'How many guards are there?'

I didn't even imagine there would be guards outside.

'Should I push them away and run?'

As he felt the urge to do so while looking at the warriors climbing the wall, a shocked cry came from behind.

"Master! What is this? You shouldn't move, the doctor said so!"

Jin Chanxiang, below the wall, was wringing his hands and shouting.

"What are you doing there? It's dangerous, come down quickly, Master! Quickly!"

Trapped between a rock and a hard place, Xia Houying sighed deeply.

Warriors were already climbing the wall from the front, and Jin Chanxiang was making a fuss from behind.

"Damn. Nothing is going right."

Xia Houying alternated his gaze between the front and back and shook his head.

In the meantime, the warriors below had grabbed his legs.

"Alright. Let go."

Who dares to touch my body!

"No, it's dangerous, step on my shoulder... "

"Alright, I said."

Xia Houying shook off the warrior's hand and firmly shook his head.

'I can't do this. I need to wait for a better opportunity to escape. I'll recover my body in the meantime.'

He reluctantly let go of the wall and sighed.

"Master!"

"Huff!"

The warriors, who had climbed the wall and reached out their hands, were shocked, and Jin Chanxiang, below, screamed.

'What's the fuss about?'

Is the wall a thousand-foot cliff?

Even a seven-year-old could jump over it, so why are they so shocked?

As he fell to the ground, Xia Houying let out a hollow laugh.

He stepped on the ground, thinking about returning to his quarters.

As he shook his head, amused by the distorted faces of the warriors, a strange sound was heard.

Crack!

"Huh?"

What is it?

The sound was very familiar yet strange.

I've heard it countless times, but where?

Just as he was about to turn his eyes to identify the sound,

Thud!

His body tilted, and he fell flat.

"What? What's happening?"

A sense of foreboding and unease washed over him.

His pupils dilated and fixed on his raised foot.

Foot...

Swing, swing.

"Swing, swing?"

Why is my ankle like that?

"Uh?"

Realizing the situation, Xia Houying's pupils widened.

'B, broken...?'

The moment he recognized his broken ankle, a terrible pain shot up from his swinging foot to his throat.

"K... Kaaah!"

Just from falling off a wall, my leg is like this?!

"What kind of body is this...?"

...You damn immortals.

"Crack!"

Foam rose from Xia Houying's lips.

"Master!"

"Doctor! Doctor! To the medical hall!"

"Ah!"

The warriors' screams echoed throughout the courtyard.

Jin Chanxiang, shocked by the sudden commotion, opened his mouth in horror and then muttered dejectedly.

"It's over."