A moment later, Qin He's vision gradually blurred. A gray-white curtain slowly descended, and the sound of wooden sticks striking pierced through the dim yellow lamplight. The Shadow Play Performance seemed both illusory and real.
This was the life of a dead man.
Cheng Yongning, nicknamed Cheng Dayuan, was born in a place called Lingzhou in Xuanwu Kingdom.
He was the son of a retainer of the local Cheng Family and had been bestowed the surname Cheng.
So-called family retainers were generally figures only wealthy, powerful aristocratic families that established their own offices could afford. Some were strategists, some were formidable cultivators, while others possessed special abilities or resources in certain fields.
Cheng Dayuan's father was a scholar, specifically responsible for teaching the Cheng Family's children to read and write and guiding their initial cultivation. His strength was not high, only at the Wheel Sea Realm.
Yet all people shared one trait: dissatisfaction with their current circumstances. Whether they were members of powerful clans, peerless experts, or little farmers in the countryside.
If a man had no distant worries, near troubles would surely find him, just as was sung in the Song of Insatiability.
Once full, one wanted warm clothes. Once warmly dressed, one wanted a wife. Once married, one wanted status. Once one had status, one wanted power. There was no end to advancement; one always wished to take another step forward.
Cheng Dayuan's father was no exception. As an instructor of the Cheng Family, his life was prosperous, peaceful, and comfortable, and he was respected by others. No matter which Cheng Family descendant held power in the future, they would have to address this teacher who had enlightened them as "Teacher."
It was a position that grew more valuable and more comfortable with age. So long as one's