A lone battered man stood in the middle of a desolate land, staring up at the sky filled with dark clouds. He was unwilling to accept his fate. After all, he was a peak master of his sect. To be reduced to such a sorry state, he felt that the heavens had wronged him. If he had known earlier, he would’ve killed those people who betrayed him. Thinking back on the events a few days ago, he did not expect that out of all the people in his life, his very own martial elder brother, alongside whom he had fought most of his life, would be the one to betray him. He could only smile bitterly at the thought.
“Ah… Xinwen truly is unwilling…” he muttered in a weak voice as he saw another lightning form within the dark cloud looming above him. True to form, the dark cloud looked ominous and oppressive, as if bringing with it nothing but despair like the desolate land where Li Xinwen stood.
In his exhausted condition and with his spiritual energy spent, being struck by lightning would surely spell his death. A dark chuckle escaped his lips. “I can’t die yet. Not until I bring justice for their betrayal.” And just as the thought flashed through his mind there was a blinding light, and it was the last thing he saw.
A loud booming sound was heard throughout the land and after the cloud dispersed, two shadows came out of their hiding place and approached the area where Li Xinwen had stood just moments ago.
“So, not even ashes remain… Such a shame. I was really hoping to get that heavenly treasure off him….” This came from a man wearing a white robe adorned with red lining at the edge. The man’s expression was cold as he stared at the aftermath of the recent event.
A woman came forward, disbelief clouding her face over what she had just heard. “Shixiong1, I don’t believe that such heavenly treasure would be destroyed by a lightning tribulation for a peak Kongming stage…”
“Shimei2, do you think that was a normal lightning tribulation for a peak Kongming stage?” he asked. “I believe that was not a normal lightning tribulation but instead… divine’s tribulation.”
As soon as her elder martial brother mentioned the words ‘divine’s tribulation’ the woman’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Impossible! Wen-gege3 had already entered Dacheng stage?!”
“No. He was still at peak Kongming stage. The only explanation is that… the treasure is truly heaven-defying. Or else, do you think the heavens would strike on Xinwen without reason? As soon as Xinwen bound the treasure to himself, the divine tribulation was triggered.”
“Oh, then… Wen-gege is really gone? He won’t turn into a loose immortal?”
At this question, the man closed his eyes and spread out his spiritual sense. “There isn’t even a lingering spirit of him left in this world. Shimei, let us return to the sect and report this to Shiye4. You know what to say, right?”
The woman nodded her head and the two of them left for the sect without ever looking back.
***
As soon as Li Xinwen opened his eyes, he realized that he was in an entirely different world. Compared to his original world, the spiritual energy within this world was very thin. “I’m still alive…?” he asked himself as he lifted his hands to see if he truly was. He had only lifted his arm slightly when he heard the sound of a sliding door being opened.
“Ah! Patient Li, you’re awake! Please don’t move!”
Li Xinwen turned his head slightly in the direction of the panicked voice. He saw a middle-aged woman dressed in a weird fashion. “You are still heavily injured! Your wounds are still fresh and are still at risk of worsening your condition, so please don’t move around too much. Please hold still while I call the doctor.”
Li Xinwen took this time to do a quick look at his body. At a glance, he knew this was not his own body. ‘So… this body is not mine, and… this world is definitely not my world. Based on the amount of spiritual energy here, is it safe to assume that I have transmigrated?’ Li Xinwen thought to himself. For someone who had been thrown to a brand new world, Li Xinwen was very calm. After all, he had lived for over three centuries back in Long Xing5 and had already experienced things that can be considered as defying heaven.
Since the woman had not yet returned, Li Xinwen took time to observe his surroundings. The room was small and smelled of antiseptic. There was a window to the right which let the light in and other than a painting of some fruits hanging on the wall in front, the room was bare. He did a quick body scan and noticed that he had sustained a lot of injuries. He realized that this body was that of a mortal, thus he could not manipulate spiritual energy through his meridians. And finally, he found that the state of his soul was so pitiful, it was a miracle for him to even be alive.
Li Xinwen glanced at the door once more, but there was still no sign of the woman returning. ‘Since she’s not returning… let’s see whose body I am currently occupying…’
As that thought crossed his mind, he decided to use what little remained of his soul energy to check for memories. Massive amounts of information flooded his brain and Li Xinwen patiently sorted it out as he went through them.
The original shared the same name as Li Xinwen which would make it easier for him since he wouldn’t have to shed his real name. Next, the original was actually an actor who was on the rise to fame. He had four family members left in this world – an elder sister, an adopted younger brother, his mother and his aunt who was currently living in another country.
Li Xinwen never had any family. He was an orphan and lived as a street rat for the first decade of his life. Then, by sheer luck, a wandering cultivator discovered his aptitude and he was taken into the Soaring Heaven Sect6. Since then, he had lived for the sect, rising from a no-name disciple to an infamous peak master.
Remembering his past made him recall his elder brother and junior sister’s betrayal and his mood turned sour. Not wanting to think more of it, Li Xinwen decided to absorb the world’s information – so he could live well, until the day he found a way to return to his Long Xing.
‘But still… This guy is quite sad,’ Li Xinwen sighed inwardly as he read what happened to the original soul of the body. Apparently, the original suffered a car accident and sustained life threatening injuries. Though he survived the operation, his soul was in its weakest state, allowing Li Xinwen the chance to occupy it without any resistance. ‘It’s alright. I’ll make sure to live for your sake too. I’ll also take care of your family.’
Since Li Xinwen received the original’s memories, he knew how important his family was. And considering he never had family in his own world, he might as well try and cherish this family he would now have.
“Doctor, he’s in here,” the woman’s voice from before came from outside the door. Li Xinwen prepared his mind as he stared at the door. After all, the difference between his world and this world was heavens apart. He didn’t want to look suspicious at all.
The door opened and a man who seemed to be in his twenties entered the ward. “Mr. Li?” the man called out as he approached the bed. “How are you feeling?” he asked as he started to do his work and checked on Li Xinwen.
“I’m feeling… alright. Just a bit of headache,” Li Xinwen answered calmly, though his voice came out as a hoarse whisper.
“Don’t worry. That is normal,” the doctor replied. “Mr. Li, we have contacted your family so they should be here soon. Other than your major wound, the rest have healed up quite well in the two months you were in coma. For the next few days, you will be under a strict liquid diet to allow your stomach to adjust. Then gradually, you can try eating soft food, however, please avoid taking in solid food for at least a month,” the doctor advised before finishing his checkup. “You are lucky, Mr. Li. Out of the six people in your vehicle, you are the only one who survived the accident.”
“The heavens must be smiling on me,” Li Xinwen laughed.
“Or maybe you had the best medical team to take care of your operation,” the doctor said, with a hint of arrogance in his tone. From this, Li Xinwen deduced that it was this man who had led the medical team to operate on the original’s body.
Li Xinwen decided to stay quiet and the doctor left not long after. About five minutes later, a nurse came in with the liquid food and even helped Li Xinwen eat. Li Xinwen felt embarrassed at being fed as an adult. But his current condition left him no choice but to accept and swallow his embarrassment along with every spoonful of congee.
***
Half an hour after he was fed by the nurse, the door to his room slid open and two people entered. Li Xinwen saw that it was the original’s mother and adopted younger brother.
“Ah‘Wen…” the mother was the first to speak after they settled on the chair beside his bed.
“You’re finally awake, Mother was worried…” she said as tears started to pool in her eyes. With the bags under her eyes, he could see that this elderly woman had barely slept.
“Mother, you don’t have to worry anymore, I’m alright now.” Li Xinwen replied. He felt a tug in his heart and spent some time calming his mother down. He held her hand in his as they talked about anything and everything, like old friends who missed each other dearly. It was clear that the mother still couldn’t believe her son was finally awake.
She had prepared for the worst since the doctor had informed her that he might possibly end up in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. The mother and son continued to converse until the nurse came in to tell them that Li Xinwen needed to take his medicine and rest.
When Li Xinwen opened his eyes next, he saw an unfamiliar figure in his room. He narrowed his eyes and asked, “Who are you?”
Hearing this question, the man couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “Is that any way to talk to your patron7?”
Li Xinwen realized he had done something wrong and quickly sifted through his memories. He found the man’s information very easily. But what he found made his face turn dark and ugly.
‘To think the original indulges in this kind of behaviour…’
1 Shixiong – Senior Martial Brother
2 Shimei – Junior Martial Sister
3 Gege – A variation of ‘dage’ which means elder brother.
4 Shiye – Martial Grandmaster
5 Long Xing – Li Xinwen’s Original world
6 Soaring Heaven Sect – One of the many sect in Long Xing
7 Patron in this case means something like a sugar daddy
