Lightning Passage

Shen Changchuan stood atop a dirt mound, gazing blankly into the distance.

The early spring wind carried the scent of freshly turned earth as it brushed across his face, bringing a faint chill.

He subconsciously tightened his grip on the reins—a rough hemp rope caked with dried clumps of mud that had rubbed his palms raw.

At the other end of the rope was a gaunt old water buffalo, listlessly chewing on the tender grass that had just sprouted from the ground.

"Rustle—"

A sudden gust swept across the fields, pressing the surrounding wild grass low. Shen Changchuan's tattered clothes flapped loudly in the wind, and his bare toes curled involuntarily.

He looked around in confusion. In the distance stretched rolling emerald fields, with several blurry figures laboring among them. Above was a clear, freshly washed blue sky, while a few sparrows fluttered over the ridges between fields, chirping crisply.

"This is..."

He slowly raised his right hand, his movements stiff as a puppet's.

What entered his sight was a dark, skinny hand. Its knuckles protruded like dead branches, and black mud was embedded beneath its fingernails.

Its palm was covered in calluses, along with several fresh wounds—this was absolutely not the hand he remembered!

Looking down, he saw himself dressed in a coarse cloth garment patched upon patches, hanging loosely from his frail body and exposing his sharp collarbones. His bare feet were smeared with mud, thick calluses covering the soles, their edges already cracked.

The moment before, he had passed through the gateway of the Ancient Inheritance Assessment.

The next moment, he had appeared here, transformed into this state.

He had become a cowherd.

A cowherd so poor he could hear the coins in his pockets clatter!

"Wait, did I transmigrate again?"

Shen Changchuan's Adam's apple bobbed as