Chapter 1

The setting sun's fading red light filtered through the small, high-set prison window, casting a particularly desolate glow inside the cell.

A light rain had just fallen outside, and the warm spring breeze, carrying a hint of moisture, blew in, dispersing the moldy and foul smell that permeated the cell, bringing the vibrant scent of spring into the stuffy room.

Creak! Creak!

The harsh sound echoed in Wu Hao's drowsy ears. He slowly opened his eyes and took another look at the cell before him.

It was only about ten square meters in size, with some withered grass piled against the earthen wall. Wu Hao's new body lay weakly on top of it.

Yes, a new body! At least in Wu Hao's confused memory, the body his soul now inhabited was not the original one! This was so bizarre that Wu Hao didn't even notice someone had entered his cell...

The two men who entered were wearing round-necked robes and head wraps, with flowers tucked behind their ears. The light inside the cell was too dim to see their faces clearly. One of the men walked over to the drowsy Wu Hao, squatted down, and felt his nose. Then, in a very strange accent that Wu Hao could still understand, he said to the other, "Sir Chen, this Wu Haogu has come back to life."

Sir Chen exhaled and said, "Good, good, it's good that he's alive... Warden Wang, I didn't expect this fellow to be so timid, he could have been scared to death."

"The sir is right, should we continue to detain him?"

"Why keep him? If he dies again, who will go and find what the noble eunuch wants? His brother knows nothing and is a student at the Imperial Academy, making him hard to manipulate. Besides, the art trade has its own rules, and we can't go too far..."

Sir Chen suddenly raised his voice and snorted, "Treasures of the world belong to those with virtue! What virtue do the Wu family have? Do they deserve to possess such treasures? If they don't hand them over, the Wu family's troubles are just beginning!"

Treasures? What treasures?

In his dazed state, Wu Hao searched through the jumbled fragments of his memory and indeed found a large amount of information about precious paintings and calligraphy. There were works by Wu Zongyuan, the father and son Huang Quan and Huang Jucai, Cui Bai, Guo Xi, Li Tang, Mi Fu, and Huang Tingjian, and they all seemed to be genuine!

And... these treasures really belonged to his family?

How could he have such absurd memories? These treasures might not even be complete in the Palace Museum, how could his family possibly own them?

If he really had them, he would be a wealthy and powerful man, not working overtime day and night, and then getting into a car accident on his way home...

Wait a minute!

Wasn't it a rollover? Wu Hao remembered working overtime at a game development company, drawing original art until late at night, and then driving home. He was probably too tired and drowsy, which led to the rollover!

Wu Hao struggled to lift his head and looked around. It definitely wasn't a hospital... it looked more like a prison cell.

Could a rollover result in a traffic violation and arrest? Even if he was arrested, this prison cell was too dilapidated...

While Wu Hao was confused, the man called Warden Wang spoke again, this time seemingly addressing Wu Hao: "Wu Dalang, stop pretending to be dead, get up quickly, you're being released today."

Wu Dalang? And Wu Song...

Thinking of the name "Wu Dalang," another bizarre thought popped into Wu Hao's mind—he was actually Wu Dalang!

But not the Wu Dalang who sold steamed buns, and he wasn't short. He was the young master of the Wu family art gallery on Panlou Street in Kaifeng, and his name was Haogu, with the courtesy name Chongdao.

What was going on? Was he dreaming?

What made Wu Hao feel even more like he was in a dream was that his memory told him it wasn't the 21st century, but the first year of the Yuanfu era in the Song Dynasty under the Zhao family!

He was no longer a concept artist in the 21st century game industry, but a painting and calligraphy merchant in Kaifeng, the capital of the Song Dynasty. It seemed that due to some unknown rare treasure, he had fallen into trouble, been arrested by the Imperial Guard, and thrown into the Kaifeng prison. The inexperienced and naturally timid Wu Dalang was so frightened in the prison that he fainted...

Then, Wu Hao's soul somehow entered this body.

What was this? Wu Hao thought, could it be a soul transmigration?

Or did the car accident damage his brain?