In the summer of the Tai Xuan calendar year 13,497, Dongbo Lake in Yizhou, Great Yan Kingdom, suddenly flooded. Demon calamities broke out one after another, ravaging several prefectures and leaving hundreds of thousands displaced.
The sun gradually slanted westward. On a bumpy dirt road, Lin Le walked alone, stabbing pain shooting through the soles of his feet. After walking for so long, the flesh beneath them had long since been worn through.
But Lin Le's spirits soon lifted, because he spotted a city in the distance.
Though the flow of people at the city gate was sparse, it moved neither too quickly nor too slowly. It looked as though a certain degree of order remained.
At last, he had reached somewhere safe.
Joy welled up in Lin Le's heart. These past few days in the wilderness, he had not known a moment of peace. Venomous insects and wild beasts lay ahead, wolves and tigers stalked behind him; the slightest rustle of wind or grass could wake him.
With a destination in sight, Lin Le found more strength in his steps and completely forgot the pain in his feet.
Yet halfway there, Lin Le quickly discovered a major problem: the city gate was closing.
Watching the soldiers prepare to shut the gate, Lin Le broke into a jog, hoping to rush inside before the final moment.
But he had overestimated his own speed.
With a bang, the city gate shut completely, crushing the hope Lin Le had just raised.
"Fuck!" Lin Le could not help cursing.
This felt even worse than in his previous life, when he reached an intersection just as the traffic light changed from green to red, leaving him only that tiny sliver of time short of making it in time for perfect attendance!
No matter how steady one's temperament was, one could not endure that instant plunge from hope into despair.
He raised his head to look at the plaque bearing the words Baishan County, then glanced at the guards atop the city wall. Gritting his teeth, Lin Le swallowed all the frustration in his chest.
He could not afford to provoke them!
Looking at the hard bows on those guards, if he dared make a fuss, an arrow might very well come flying down.
Seeing the occasional bloodstain on the ground, Lin Le knew full well that someone had already paid with their life to serve as an example.
This was not the civilized modern society of his previous life. This was a feudal society where people eating people was laid bare in the open—and one with supernatural powers at that.
Don't get angry! Don't get angry!
His chest rose and fell violently several times as Lin Le tried to calm himself.
At least he had reached a stable place. Even outside the city, it was somewhat safer.
Lin Le looked around and saw a gathering place that had already taken shape. The people within appeared to be, like him, refugees fleeing disaster.
Lin Le approached the gathering place. The moment he drew near, he felt many gazes converge on him—confusion, numbness, malice, and more besides.
Most people only gave him a hurried glance before looking away, but a few pairs of eyes remained fixed on him.
He had been targeted!
A person's gaze carried weight. Since awakening the mystery of the womb a few days ago, Lin Le's spiritual senses had grown much sharper, and he could clearly perceive this.
Is it because I look young?
With the mentality of an adult, Lin Le had become much more cautious in his actions. During his flight, he had exchanged his brocade clothes for the hemp garments of a dead man and smeared yellow dirt over his fair skin until it looked swarthy.
The only thing difficult to conceal was his somewhat plump build. It had only been seven days since he began fleeing, so even if he wanted to lose weight, there was only so much he could do.
You'd better not provoke me!
Lin Le tightened his sleeve cuff, revealing a section of sharp blade.
It was a dagger, specially kept for self-defense.
The moment the dagger appeared, Lin Le felt those gazes shift away from him.
There was a vast difference between having a weapon and not having one. Even if those lurking in the shadows saw profit in Lin Le, they had to consider whether it was worth the risk. After all, there were other targets like him, and some were easier to prey upon.
After circling outside the gathering place, Lin Le found a withered tree and sat beneath it.
Enduring the soreness, Lin Le pulled his feet, whose flesh had stuck to the insoles, out of his shoes and let them scab over in the air. As for treating them, he did not have even a single medicinal herb at his side.
Letting them scab naturally was already the best solution Lin Le could think of.
Stretching out his legs, Lin Le took out some fried rice from the lining of his clothes and fed it into his mouth bit by bit. He ate with great concealment.
The disaster had struck suddenly. The refugees probably had not brought much food with them, and after so many days, their supplies should have run out.
Lin Le did not want to be targeted because of that.
When his mouth began to feel dry, Lin Le took out a piece of plant root and bit down on it. After sucking every drop of juice from it, he spat it out.
There isn't much water left. Lin Le touched his pocket. Only two of those plant roots remained.
Fortunately, he had reached an inhabited area. Finding a clean water source should not be much of a problem.
Curling up, Lin Le fell asleep. He was too exhausted.
A faint rustling sound woke Lin Le. He made no sound and did not move, merely opening his eyes a crack to observe his surroundings.
The sky was dim, and nothing seemed amiss, yet Lin Le keenly noticed two figures using the bushes as cover to circle in on him.
He had still been targeted.
Though he did not know where he had exposed himself, Lin Le's muscles began to tense.
Within the bushes, two men stared greedily at Lin Le.
When they saw the dagger in Lin Le's arms, they had indeed not wanted to approach him. But after thinking it over carefully, they noticed that Lin Le's hands were unusually fair and lacked calluses.
After putting their heads together, the two knew that Lin Le was likely the young master of some wealthy Household that had suffered calamity.
A young master like that might very well have the capital needed to make a comeback on him.
Though he had a weapon, he was small and looked as though he had little strength.
Wealth stirred the heart. After considering it, they decided to do it.
Even if they failed, they would only suffer some injuries. But if they succeeded, they might gain a great sum of money!
The two drew closer and closer to Lin Le, while Lin Le finally made out their figures clearly.
Because the bushes were unevenly spread, one of the men was closer while the other was farther away.
That gave Lin Le the chance to break them one by one.
Three, two, one!
Huff! Taking a deep breath, Lin Le shot up from the ground and charged straight at the nearer one. He could not allow the two of them to encircle him.
He moved so quickly that the nearer man had only just reacted when Lin Le had already closed to within three feet of him.
What?!
In his panic, the man raised the stone in his hand and smashed it down.
So slow.
Watching the man's movement, this thought surfaced in Lin Le's mind, but it did not hinder his actions in the slightest.
His foot slid, and Lin Le twisted aside to evade the blow. Then the dagger in his hand stabbed cleanly and decisively into the man's neck.
In and out. Having landed the strike, Lin Le swiftly retreated and opened the distance.
Because it was dark, the other man could not make out the situation either. He only saw Lin Le collide with the other man and could not help asking, "Brother, are you alright?"
But how could the man clutching his neck in terror still speak?
The other man also sensed that something was wrong. His gaze swept over, and he saw Lin Le already charging toward him.
That man was vicious as well. The wooden club in his hand immediately swung down at Lin Le.
Still really slow.
Lin Le said nothing. He merely stepped abruptly to the right, easily dodging the strike before stabbing backhandedly.
Squelch!
The dagger sank firmly into the man's neck.
What did killing someone feel like? To Lin Le, it felt ordinary. If he had to compare it to something, it was like slaughtering a New Year's pig—one stab, then just make sure not to get hurt when it struggled.
The smell of blood spread through the air. Lin Le pulled out the dagger. The man beneath him had completely stopped breathing. Turning to look at the other man, he saw that he too had already bled to death.
A profound and mysterious sensation suddenly arose, and Lin Le's mind could not help sinking into it.
Following that profound and mysterious sensation, he suddenly saw a red lotus seed.
Then he saw one drop of golden water and two drops of red water fall from thin air, watering the red lotus seed.
Nourished by the droplets, the red lotus seed rapidly took root and sprouted, growing into a red lotus flower, three lotus leaves, and a lotus whip.
Divine Ability: Lotus Incarnation
This name automatically appeared in Lin Le's consciousness.
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