Chapter 1

His eyelashes fluttered a few times, and his eyes suddenly snapped open. Li Yi woke up from a nightmare.

The first thing he did after sitting up from the bed was to look down at his body... his arms were still there, his legs were still there, everything that should be there was there—thankfully, nothing was missing.

After checking himself from head to toe, even glancing inside his pants, Li Yi finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Who would have thought that the fire safety system of such a large provincial library would be so poor? With the weather being around 37-38 degrees Celsius, it was unbearable to stay at home. Li Yi had only gone to the library to enjoy the air conditioning and read some books to elevate his sophistication. But he ended up falling asleep, and when he finally woke up from the heat, there was no one around him.

All he could see were flames, the fire had even spread to the bookshelf next to him. If he hadn't woken up at that critical moment, tomorrow's headline might have been "A Male Reader Dies in a Fire at the XX Provincial Library While Napping..."

Realizing the situation, Li Yi immediately tried to escape. But just as he got up and ran towards the fire exit, a large bookshelf fell down beside him. After everything went black, Li Yi lost all consciousness...

In such a situation, he was actually not dead and had no injuries at all. Li Yi silently gave a hundred likes to the firefighters in his heart.

So, this must be a hospital, right?

He didn't know which hospital it was, but the bed was so hard that it was uncomfortable to lie on, and there was a faint musty smell in the air. He wondered how long the sheets hadn't been washed... Li Yi decided to give this hospital a bad review after he was discharged; the user experience was terrible.

Looking around, he saw a simple bed made of two wooden planks, an old and dilapidated low table, and a few tattered line-bound books on the table... There wasn't even a TV. This hospital was indeed very old... Wait? What was that thing at the corner of the table, an oil lamp?

How could this hospital... Holy crap, is this a hospital?

Li Yi, who had just woken up, was still a bit slow in his reactions. It wasn't until now that he realized this place didn't look like a hospital at all!

He was a patient, yet he was treated like this. Li Yi felt a surge of anger and jumped out of bed, not even bothering to put on his shoes, and ran out barefoot.

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A moment later, Li Yi stood by a clear, shallow stream that flowed past his front door, his expression completely bewildered.

The water was very clear, and the reflection of a young man in the water scared away the fish that were playing there.

The young man in the water had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a handsome and refined appearance, and fair skin. He wore a moon-white scholar's robe, with his hair tied up high, truly a beautiful and elegant young man. Such a talented young man would surely attract many young girls in love.

Even Li Yi had to admit that this guy was incredibly handsome. Li Yi stood there for half an hour, feeling almost tempted to be swayed.

But the problem was, he didn't recognize this stunningly beautiful young man!

That wasn't the worst part.

The worst part was that this guy was clearly his own reflection!

Li Yi slapped his own face, and the young man in the water also slapped his own face. Li Yi frowned, and the young man's beautiful eyebrows also furrowed. Li Yi was bewildered, and the young man's expression looked like he had been hit by a husky...

"Haha, I get it, this is a dream, I must be dreaming!"

Li Yi laughed loudly and slapped his own face hard, the burning pain almost making him cry.

An old man with gray hair, who was walking past Li Yi with his hands behind his back, looked at him in shock, seeing him laugh and slap himself, his expression full of fear.

"Has this Li family boy gone mad from reading too much?"

Li Yi didn't have time to pay attention to the old man walking behind him. In fact, he was still in a state of extreme shock and didn't even see the old man. After trying to slap himself a few times and still not waking up from the dream, Li Yi finally collapsed by the river, his legs giving out.

A while later, Li Yi sat by the river, his hand supporting his chin, his eyes vacant, staring blankly at the water.

At that moment, he looked like a philosopher.

"Who am I?"

"Where do I come from?"

"Where am I going?"

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One by one, complex and profound questions began to surface in his mind. Just as he was about to think about "to be or not to be," Li Yi finally came to his senses.

Coming from the 21st century and having read countless novels and watched countless TV shows, after calming down and thinking for a while, Li Yi had a guess that he himself found hard to believe.

But before that, he needed to verify it.

He looked down at his reflection in the water again. Seeing a face he hadn't seen for over twenty years, Li Yi felt an indescribable strangeness.

"Phew, pretty boy!"

He looked at the young man in the water with disdain and spat into the water.

The old man behind Li Yi saw this and his expression became even more terrified.

He had lived for several decades, but this was the first time he had seen someone laughing and slapping themselves, and then spitting at their own reflection in the water...

"Has this Li family boy really gone mad?"

Just as Li Yi was about to find someone to ask about the situation, he turned his head and saw an old man with white hair and beard standing on the path behind him, looking at him with a terrified expression.

Li Yi was delighted to finally see a living person!

He put on what he thought was a very friendly smile and slowly walked to the old man's side, asking, "Sir, what year is it now, and where am I?"

When Li Yi spoke, the old man's face changed again.

It's over, it looks like the Li family boy has really gone mad. He doesn't even recognize himself, and his words are incoherent. The old man had no idea what he was saying.

Seeing the old man's expression, Li Yi thought he hadn't heard clearly. After all, it was normal for the elderly to have hearing problems. Just as he was about to speak again, he thought of something, pondered for a moment, and then asked again, "May I ask, sir, what year and month is it now, and where is this place?"

This time, the old man finally understood what Li Yi was saying.

He sighed deeply, his expression full of regret.

He couldn't believe that such a smart and handsome boy had gone mad from reading. He had thought that if he continued his studies, he might bring glory to the family, and the Li family village would be proud. He even planned to marry his unmarried granddaughter to him. But now—sigh, what sin has heaven committed!

Seeing two strong men carrying hoes walking from a distance, the old man quickly waved to them and shouted loudly, "Dazhuang, you two brothers, come over quickly! The Li family boy seems to have lost his mind. Don't let him run around, grab him quickly!"