True Transmigration

When Ang woke up, he found himself lying in a simple canvas tent. The surroundings were silent. He instinctively touched his body and felt an unfamiliar yet real sensation. "So the stuff in novels is real. This body's pretty sturdy." As he muttered to himself, he continued feeling out his new body.

I crossed over here as a soul, but this body isn't mine. Does that count as possession? Or reincarnation? Borrowing a corpse to return to life? Ang thought in confusion. He tried to sort through his thoughts, but his body was still recovering and his mental energy was greatly depleted. Amid his wild thoughts, he drifted back into a groggy sleep.

In his dreams, two sets of memories mingled in Ang's mind. One moment, he experienced the life of this body's original owner; the next, fragments of his life on Blue Star surfaced. In the dream, he constantly shifted between the two lives. Had he been awake, the strain would likely have split his head apart. The intertwining and collision of those memories were undoubtedly an enormous burden on his weakened body.

This Ang was no longer the same Ang. The soul now residing in this body belonged to Li Wei, an older young man from Blue Star. Li Wei's life on Blue Star had been utterly ordinary. From school to work, everything had followed a predictable path. Then, an accidental slip on the stairs had sent the back of his head crashing hard against them, leaving him in a vegetative state. But to the current "Ang," all of that had become a hazy past.

The real Ang had been an ordinary farmer of the Grand Duchy of Tan'anster, from a family that had farmed for generations. His family lived in Oak Bay in the northwest of the Duchy, a riverbend region named for its abundance of oak trees. The residents here mainly made their living growing rye and cutting timber. Ang's family was no exception, relying on hard work in the fields to get by.

The Duchy had a law requiring every man who reached sixteen to serve five years in the military. Ang had already served for four and a half years, and in another half year, he would be discharged and return home. He was a Senior Warrior Attendant skilled with a short hand axe and arm shield. He had originally planned to return home after his service, marry, have children, and continue living an ordinary life.

However, just a few days ago, Ang's regiment had encountered a group of demons. While fighting a lone demon, he had been struck hard in the back of the head and fallen unconscious on the spot. Because the demon's attack carried concussive force, Ang's soul had been shattered, leaving him in a state similar to a vegetative state. Though his comrades did everything they could to treat him, they could never wake him. That was how Li Wei's soul had accidentally entered this body, replacing Ang's scattered soul.

As Ang slept, his body was gradually taken over by Li Wei's soul. As time passed, the soul and body slowly fused, and their memories quietly converged as well.

After an unknown amount of time, Ang finally woke up. He braced himself with his hands and sat up, but the sharp pain at the back of his head made him instinctively touch the swollen area. "This injury's pretty serious. I hope it hasn't affected my brain function." Ang frowned and muttered, "But if I can think about my brain function being affected, I'm probably fine."

He carefully rose to his feet, feeling blood rush to his head as memories instantly battered his thoughts. The memories of two lives intertwined. Ang not only felt the experiences of the body's former owner, but gradually came to understand his current situation. Although Ang's soul had been shattered, it had not completely vanished. After Li Wei's soul entered, it fused with what remained, forming the current "Ang."

"Ang, twenty-one years old, an ordinary farmer from the Grand Duchy of Tan'anster. He's served four and a half years in the army and will return home after another half year. A Senior Warrior Attendant who likes using a short hand axe and arm shield, planning to go home, get a wife, and farm after retiring." Ang sorted through the information in his mind and gained a basic understanding of the body's former owner.

I really did cross over. This world actually has supernatural power! Ang was overwhelmed with emotion. Brother, you are me, and I am you. Since I've come to this world, I'll live well in your place. He silently made up his mind. Whether for himself or for the former Ang, he would live a different kind of life.

My old life was far too ordinary. This world is full of adventure and the unknown—I have to experience it properly. Flying through the sky, burrowing into the earth, all of it has to be on the agenda. Ang felt an unprecedented surge of excitement. Though returning to his original world was no longer possible, this New World before him was equally worth exploring.

Ang stepped out of the tent, intending to familiarize himself with his surroundings first. He had been unconscious for several days, and his body was terribly weak. He needed to find something to eat and replenish his energy. It was daytime outside, yet the camp was deathly quiet. Many tents lay scattered in disarray, as if people had fled in a hurry without time to pack up.

Ang checked more than a dozen tents in a row, only to find every one of them empty. "Strange. I remember this was a mountain battlefield garrison. Why isn't there anyone here?" Doubt rose in his heart, but finding food was the priority. He continued searching through the tents and finally found a jug of water and several rock-hard pieces of food in one of them.

He sat beside a table that was still mostly intact and placed the water and food on it. Looking at the food before him, he sniffed it. "This should be bread. It doesn't have much flavor, but it's edible. The former owner seemed to eat this as his usual staple." Recalling this, Ang began eating calmly.

Though the food was dry and hard, it was a rare delicacy to the starving Ang. He quickly wolfed down the pieces of bread with water. His hunger eased somewhat, and a little strength returned to his body.

After resting briefly, Ang began inspecting the entire camp. He discovered that aside from himself, there was not a single person left. Everyone withdrew? Ang looked at the disorderly camp, feeling uneasy and lost. Why didn't they check whether anyone had been left behind when they retreated? They just abandoned me here.

"Ah, looks like I was abandoned." Ang gave a bitter laugh. "I don't even know how many days I was unconscious, but the main force has already withdrawn completely. What am I supposed to do now?"

Ang wandered through the camp alone, occasionally finding useful items in the tents. After quite a while, he found several more pieces of dark bread, a hand axe, and a shield the size of a human head. "These should be my weapons and equipment." He instinctively slipped the shield onto his left arm, gripped the short axe in his right hand, and swung it a few times.

He weighed the equipment in his hands and found it rather heavy. "This axe weighs at least ten jin, and the shield is a finger joint thick. It's not light either." He tucked the axe at his waist and kept the shield on his left arm. Ang felt that his strength had recovered by about half.

But food was limited, and Ang knew he could not eat it all at once. He had to save some in case of emergency. He packed the water and food he had found into a backpack, then continued searching the camp for other supplies.

At the camp's western gate, Ang noticed a large number of footprints and guessed that the main force had retreated from there. He looked up at the sun and saw that it was slowly moving to his left. Based on the sun's direction, Ang determined the rough bearings and confirmed the camp's orientation.

After finishing his inspection, Ang packed his belongings and stood at the western gate, looking at the empty camp. He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and decided to follow the main force's trail to see if he could find them. After all, I know nothing about this world right now, and the former owner's memories can only provide limited information. Ang silently reminded himself that finding the unit and moving forward were the most important things now.

The moment he stepped out of the camp, Ang's heart filled with determination and anticipation. This was a brand-new world, a world full of the unknown and adventure. No matter what the future held, he was ready to face every challenge.