Chapter 1

The moon was bright and the stars sparse in the sky.

In the ancient and elegant room, the young man, draped in a thin robe, stood by the window, gazing into the night sky: "It has begun."

The young man's name was Zhao Huizhong, and he was currently being held as a hostage in the neighboring country's hostage residence.

His figure, standing by the window, was somewhat slender, and his complexion carried a slight, unhealthy pallor.

When he turned around and looked behind him, the scene inside the room came into view.

This was a square-shaped bedroom. Next to the young man was a rectangular wooden table, on which several dark brown bamboo scrolls were neatly arranged. Beside the table stood an ancient-looking lamp figure.

The lamp figure was nearly half the height of a person, resembling a lady in a wide-sleeved robe, made of earthenware.

Her hands were raised to support a ring-shaped lamp stand, where the wick, nourished by lamp oil, flickered and burned, casting a play of light and shadow in the room.

The lamp figure was squatting in a kneeling position, one leg bent.

There was also a brown wooden bed in the room.

Behind the bed, in the shadows, was a washstand with a bronze mirror and basin.

On the bed, a young girl was sleeping soundly.

Her small face, closed eyes, slightly raised eyebrows, and delicate lips formed a vivid and charming visage.

The shoulder and neck exposed outside the blanket were as white and smooth as fine porcelain, and further down, her body's curves rose abruptly... Her face, still flushed, showed traces of sweat, indicating that she had experienced a very intense "contest" before falling asleep.

And the young man by the window, Zhao Huizhong, was the male protagonist of that contest.

His body was actually only fifteen years old, but as a hostage, he often found himself in situations beyond his control.

He had to do it; there was no choice.

He was effectively imprisoned here, surrounded by people filled with malice, all of whom were spies watching him.

Since becoming a hostage, various schemes targeting him had never ceased.

This included deliberately pushing him to form various bad habits, and young singing girls were occasionally sent to him.

The purpose was to turn him into a greedy, lustful, and aimless waste.

This was a common and unfortunate treatment for a hostage.

So, Zhao Huizhong, who had been trained to be a waste, was taken over by a soul from another world after an accident more than ten days ago.

The girl on the bed was a newly sent dancer, whose purpose was to further drain his vitality.

Zhao Huizhong, turning back, gazed at the girl on the bed under the lamplight. After a moment, he suddenly turned and blew out the lamp in the room.

Then, he felt his way in the dark, put on a set of clothes, and transformed into a completely black night traveler.

After preparing everything, he opened the door and walked out.

Three days ago, someone had secretly contacted Zhao Huizhong, expressing the intention to rescue him and help him return to his country.

Tonight was the moment the operation began.

Zhao Huizhong left the room and began to act according to the prearranged plan.

The moment he left the room, the girl on the bed's ears twitched, and she opened her eyes in the darkness, coldly glancing at the direction Zhao Huizhong had left.

She quietly sat up, and as the blanket slid down, her full and beautiful upper body curves were revealed.

Then, the girl also disappeared from the bed, like a wisp of black smoke, "floating" out of the room through the open window.

Surprisingly, after she left the room, there was movement behind the washstand, where a bronze mirror was placed. The surface rippled like water, and two people appeared out of nowhere.

One old and one young, like two lifeless ghosts.

The young one, dressed in a black robe, looked exactly like Zhao Huizhong, who had just left the room.

The old one was short and carried a metal object that looked like a compass with an uneven surface.

This disk was the reason they could hide in the room without being discovered.

The old man, dressed in black, with a goatee, had eyes that glowed like cold lightning in the darkness, scanning the surroundings cautiously. He lowered his voice and said, "The Crown Prince's judgment was correct; this woman is indeed problematic. We will use a decoy to throw them off, greatly increasing our chances of a successful escape."

In fact, the young man who emerged from beside the mirror was the real Zhao Huizhong after the soul transfer.

The one standing by the window earlier was a decoy brought in by the old man who had come to rescue him.

This was a preparation made in advance to rescue Zhao Huizhong.

The decoy's role was to attract the attention of the watchers.

The old man pondered, "The girl looked like an ordinary person; how did the Crown Prince discover she was problematic?"

The young man pointed to his nose.

The old man was taken aback. What did pointing to the nose mean? Could it be that the woman was problematic because he smelled it?

Respecting the young man's identity, the old man did not dare to press for more details.

The young man smiled. The girl was indeed problematic, and he had smelled it.

The girl had no human scent...

As for why he had such a special sense of smell...

Since the soul transfer, he had noticed that his body was gradually undergoing some changes, not just in his nose and senses, but in his entire body, which had become abnormal.

More importantly—there was "it."

A secret brought by the soul transfer!

As the young man thought of "it," a circular mark slowly appeared on his shoulder, like a totem. Something emerged from it and instantly settled on the young man's shoulder.

This thing was dark in color, and at first glance, it looked like a black shadow.

Its body was about half a foot long, slender and smooth, with no eyes, ears, mouth, or nose, and it was uniform in thickness, making it impossible to tell if it had a head. It looked somewhat like a worm.

After emerging from the totem-like mark, it raised its upper part and stayed on the young man's shoulder, as if watching the old man with the young man.

"It's out again..." the young man thought.

At the same time, he noticed that the old man was completely unaware of the strange thing on his shoulder, not even glancing at it.

The young man thought again, "Indeed, only I can see it..."

In the first few days after the soul transfer, the young man had discovered the existence of "it."

This thing had been imprinted on him since the soul transfer.

Through some experiments, Zhao Huizhong gradually discovered some of its functions.

Currently, Zhao Huizhong believed it was a kind of parasitic unknown substance, lacking obvious intelligence but possessing some special instincts.

It could hide inside his body but also manifest outside, though it could not stay away from Zhao Huizhong for long.

Based on Zhao Huizhong's current discoveries, its function was to enhance his abilities.

This thing, once inside his body, would form a totem-like mark, which was not fixed in shape and moved around.

When it stayed in a particular part of his body, the abilities of that part would be amplified.

For example, when it moved to his eyes, his vision would improve.

When it lingered near his nose, his sense of smell would become more acute.

Previously, his ability to detect the girl's problem was due to the enhancement provided by this mysterious substance.

It could amplify his strengths based on his own characteristics, making him more powerful.

As for where this thing came from, Zhao Huizhong was still uncertain, attributing it to the anomalies caused by the soul transfer.

After all, soul transferers were not ordinary people, and having a special ability was quite normal.

In the days since the soul transfer, it had become Zhao Huizhong's "toy," subject to various experiments and explorations. Unfortunately, the time was too short, and he had not made more discoveries.

At this moment, Zhao Huizhong focused on the metal disk in the old man's hand:

"How does this thing make us invisible, even to perception?"

The old man respectfully replied, "Your subject practices the art of the Guibing Dao, a branch of the Zajia lineage in the Three Teachings and Nine Streams. I am currently at the Xiaoxu realm. Using the secret device in my hand, I can hide myself, and no one below the Sheng realm can detect me.

It is because of this special ability that I was assigned to bring the Crown Prince back to the country."

Zhao Huizhong's thoughts raced: "What is the Guibing Dao? Three Teachings and Nine Streams? Sheng realm? The information is overwhelming...

I can confirm that this is not the Warring States period, nor is it Earth, but rather a world of strange and supernatural phenomena... Wait, in the days since I arrived, I noticed that the Big Dipper can be seen in the night sky.

If this is not Earth, why are the stars arranged the same as on Earth?"

The young man's eyes narrowed, and he remained silent.

"Crown Prince."

Zhao Huizhong's thoughts were interrupted by the old man, who saw the compass in his hand emit a faint light.

He guided the light, writing an ancient seal script character in the air.

Zhao Huizhong, having integrated the memories of his predecessor, immediately recognized it as the seal script character "snake."

In the next moment, the character "snake" stretched and transformed into a real snake, with clear scales, a brownish-green body, and eyes that glowed eerily, observing the surroundings.

The temperature in the room dropped sharply due to the snake's appearance, as if they had entered an ice cave.

Zhao Huizhong was secretly startled. What kind of trick is this?!

The old man quickly retracted the snake, which disappeared from the air.

"Crown Prince, this is the ability of the Guibing Dao at the Xiaoxu realm, capable of initially materializing some skilled things."

Zhao Huizhong was quite shocked: Holy crap, this is even more amazing than the story of Ma Liang and his magic brush, writing a character and turning it into a snake...

"Crown Prince, we need to leave at the same time as the decoy. It's time to go," the old man said.

"Alright," Zhao Huizhong replied.