Chapter 1

Pain, all over, and a faint smell of burning in his nose.

Wait a moment!

Zuan An remembered that he was just engaging in a heated debate on the forum, even though a thunderstorm was raging outside, it did not affect his state at all. He was truly making the others speechless, and the forum was silent... No, that's not right, I'm convincing them with virtue.

Then a loud thunderclap, and a basketball-sized lightning bolt suddenly came through the wall, emitting a hazy red light, changing shape in the air.

Zuan An only felt a mournful and desolate whistling sound in his ears, hard to describe with words. Then he saw the keyboard on the table gradually turn to ashes, followed by his hands, the part that was destroyed spreading up his arm, and then he knew nothing.

Was I just struck by lightning?

What was that? A ball of lightning? As a keyboard warrior, he had read Liu Cixin's *The Ball Lightning*. His mind, always quick, was now filled with excitement rather than fear. Could I have become the Flash, or a Quantum Knight?

He tried to open his eyes, but everything was a blur, and he couldn't distinguish up from down. Suddenly, he felt a tingling pain in his fingers. He turned his head to look—though he wasn't sure if he was seeing with his eyes or his mind:

A keyboard faintly appeared near his fingertips, just like the one he used every day, except that the keys were all dark. He tried to press the keys, but none of them moved, as if they were all welded in place.

"Keyboard Warrior title bound successfully. Functions will unlock automatically when conditions are met." A cold voice echoed in his mind. Zuan An was startled. Everyone else becomes the Flash, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and so on, all cool. The title of Keyboard Warrior fits my personality, but it still sounds awkward.

"What conditions are needed to unlock?" Zuan An asked urgently.

"Collect the secret texts from 12 unknown places in this world and embed them in the F1 to F12 slots. Each text collected will unlock a corresponding function." The cold voice replied.

Zuan An then noticed that the F1 to F12 keys on the keyboard had some strange engravings, corresponding to the 12 secret texts.

"Good luck, Keyboard Warrior!" After saying this, the keyboard twisted and turned into a shadow, disappearing into his finger. Zuan An hurriedly asked, "Wait, what are the 12 unknown places, and how can I find those secret texts?"

Unfortunately, no matter how he called, the cold voice did not appear again, and the mysterious keyboard was gone.

Zuan An couldn't help but curse. What a lousy keyboard! Other protagonists start with amazing powers, but I need such strict conditions to unlock? Unknown places sound like trouble, and secret texts aren't just given out. Twelve of them? This is just a joke!

The surroundings gradually became clearer, and he could feel the presence of light. He could faintly hear people talking:

"Strange, clear skies suddenly turned stormy, it doesn't make sense."

"It must be because he did something against heaven, and the heavens couldn't bear it."

"Hey, isn't that the famous waste of the Chu family, the son-in-law? Being chosen by a fairy-like lady like the Chu family's eldest daughter is already a stroke of luck, but he still wasn't satisfied. I heard that on their wedding night, he actually went to the second daughter's bed."

"Wow, trying to have both sisters?"

"Hehe, which brother-in-law doesn't like his sister-in-law?"

"Deserves to be struck by lightning!"

"Pity that the Chu family's eldest daughter is so beautiful, but she's already a widow at such a young age."

"Shh, be careful, the Chu family is looking for this beast."

Zuan An was confused. What a mess. The world is really degenerate now. These people are gossiping and don't even call an ambulance. When I wake up, I'll expose and condemn this shameless behavior online!

"Move, the coroner is here." Someone shouted.

"Coroner?" Zuan An was puzzled. Shouldn't it be a forensic doctor? Is this a period drama?

Soon, he felt someone squatting beside him, pressing his body: "The body is scorched yellow, soft and black, hands are open, mouth is open, eyes are wide, and there are large red and purple patches on the skin without any damage. This is indeed the symptom of being struck by lightning."

Zuan An was both angry and afraid. If I'm dead, that's one thing, but such a terrible death is unbearable. He suddenly sat up with a burst of strength: "Can you at least put some makeup on me before taking a photo?"

"Zombie!" The onlookers scattered instantly.

Zuan An was also stunned. He saw that the people around him were dressed in ancient clothing, and the quality of the fabric was generally poor, not like the luxurious and beautiful costumes in period dramas. More frighteningly, there were no cameras, no cell phones, no power poles, no cars, no signs of the modern world he knew.

So I'm not dead, did I travel through time? This scene is familiar from novels.

"You... you are what... what kind of monster?" The coroner, who had fallen to the ground in fright, pointed at him, his lips trembling.

"Monster? Can't you tell the difference between a living person and a dead one? What kind of coroner are you? Cough..." His mouth and nose kept smoking, and he was choked by the aftereffects of the lightning strike.

Zuan An noticed that his clothes were not the same as before, and his arms were thinner. A terrifying thought suddenly struck him, and he quickly pulled down his pants to look inside, letting out a heart-wrenching cry: "Oh~ NO~"

A grand picture of a spreading eagle had turned into a pecking chicken, and no one could accept such a huge difference.

At this moment, the surroundings suddenly became quiet. People in the distance parted to make way, and many looked in a certain direction with a呆滞 expression, some even lowering their heads in guilt but couldn't help sneaking a peek.

Zuan An instinctively looked and finally understood why they reacted this way. A woman in white slowly walked over.

Bright eyes, snow-white skin, and a face like a painting. The mountain breeze gently blew, and her black hair danced, her white dress fluttered, and a light blue sash was tied around her slender waist, making her look like a fairy from the clouds.

"Damn!" He cursed, lacking the words to describe her beauty.

Seeing her look down at him, Zuan An got up defiantly: "Beautiful lady, do you have a boyfriend? If you do, would you mind changing? If not, would you mind having one more?"

A hint of displeasure flashed across the woman's face, and she said coldly, "Zuan An, in just a few hours, you don't even recognize your own wife?"

Huh?

Zuan An was shocked. The woman in front of him, who looked like she stepped out of a painting, was actually the wife of this unfortunate man? Even more shocking, this man struck by lightning was also named Zuan An?

At this moment, a flood of familiar yet strange memories surged into his mind.

Familiar because this world was similar to ancient China, with similar language and culture; strange because it was a world of cultivators, where personal strength was extremely powerful, and some could even cut through the sea with a single sword or cross vast distances in a single step.

Unlike the immortal novels he remembered, in this world, the highest powers were mostly held by the imperial court. The stronger a person was, the higher their status and power.

The current Great Zhou Dynasty, its emperor was one of the most powerful cultivators in the world.

This was an incredibly prosperous era, with a vast territory far exceeding any dynasty in ancient China. The imperial family and nobles were scattered across the land, and below them were dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons, each with their own fiefs and private armies, governing their territories alongside officials appointed by the central government.

For example, the city where he was, Bright Moon City, was the fief of Duke Chu Zhongtian.

The original owner of this body was also named Zuan An, an orphan raised by his uncle, a well-known waste in the city, incapable in both literature and martial arts, with lofty ambitions and a tendency to talk big. It was said that his uncle was literally scared to death by him.

However, what shocked everyone recently was that such a waste had won the favor of the Bright Moon City princess, the eldest daughter of the Duke's family, and was taken into the Chu family as a son-in-law.

How could such a waste deserve the noble Chu Miss, let alone such a beauty? Everyone felt that they could do better.

And the beautiful woman in white in front of him was Chu Chuyan, the eldest daughter of the Chu family.

In response to her question, Zuan An quickly reacted, smiling and reaching out to hug her waist: "I was just trying to lighten the mood to avoid making you sad."

Since this was another version of himself in a parallel world, this wife was naturally his wife—of course, if she were less beautiful, he would never acknowledge this marriage.

Chu Chuyan subtly turned away, avoiding his hand: "Sad, for you?" Her voice was cold and distant.

Zuan An didn't mind, thinking she was just embarrassed in public, and quickly followed, trying to improve her impression of him.

But a figure blocked their way. Zuan An focused and saw a girl in a green dress, with a straight fringe and many delicate braids, extremely slim, and the most noticeable feature was her slender waist.

Zuan An was about to compliment her, but her words were not pleasant: "Forgot your place? No manners, get to the back."

Zuan An was taken aback, vaguely remembering that this girl was Chu Miss's personal maid, Xue'er, and thought, "How dare a maid speak to her master like that?"

At this moment, whispers spread around:

"That's the Chu family's eldest daughter, indeed beautiful beyond words."

"Even the maid is so beautiful!"

"The man struck by lightning is indeed the Chu family's weak son-in-law. I wonder what he did to deserve it."

"Everyone in the area knows he's a freeloader in the Chu family. Look at how he cowers in front of a maid."

...

Weak son-in-law?

Zuan An's face was strange. His life in this world was a bit miserable, but he didn't care. So what if he's a freeloader? Being a freeloader is also a skill, and you can't even do it!

Chu Chuyan quickly got into a carriage, and Zuan An tried to follow, but was stopped by Xue'er, who glared at him. The other servants seemed used to it and started the carriage, completely ignoring him.

Zuan An was annoyed. His husband was just struck by lightning, and his body was still weak. Letting him walk back?

So he ran over and sat on Xue'er's thigh.

Xue'er was startled and quickly moved aside, leaving a gap, and Zuan An slipped into the carriage.

The carriage had a faint, charming fragrance, and Chu Chuyan was reading a book, clearly not expecting him to come in. She was momentarily stunned.

Zuan An was about to say something when he noticed the title of the book in her hand—*Sweet Pet: The Tyrant Sword Immortal's 99 Days of Love*.

Xue'er angrily came in to grab him: "Hey, what are you doing..."

Chu Chuyan quickly put the book in her sleeve, her flawless face turning slightly red: "Forget it, Xue'er, let him stay."

Xue'er glared at Zuan An and sat back in the front of the carriage, still angry.

"What did you see just now?" Chu Chuyan's eyes had a dangerous glint.

Zuan An waved his hand: "I saw nothing."

Does this world have romance novels too? The title is as embarrassing as ever. I never thought such a cold woman would secretly read such books.

Seeing her disbelieving face, Zuan An, fearing for his life, quickly changed the subject: "Wife, do you know about the unknown places in this world? Which one is closest to us?"

Chu Chuyan looked at him in surprise: "Where did you hear about the unknown places?" Xue'er outside the carriage also had a flash of interest but quickly lowered her head to hide it.

Zuan An instinctively replied: "I heard it from someone."

"Impossible!" Chu Chuyan frowned. "Ordinary people have no chance of knowing about this."