On Chinese New Year's Eve in the Hua Kingdom, at three in the morning, in the office building of a major internet company in Magic City.
The entire office building lay in darkness and silence. Only one workstation on the thirty-sixth floor was lit up by the glow of a computer screen.
In the shifting light and shadows, a figure could just be made out sitting in front of the computer. The screen's glow stretched a long shadow behind him.
Luo Yi sat at his workstation, his hands flying over the keyboard as lines of code appeared on the screen.
His fingers never stopped typing. He murmured under his breath, "It'll be done soon, it'll be done soon. Once I finish this project, I'll get a bonus of three hundred thousand."
"With that money, I can pay off the enormous debt Father incurred for his medical treatment. And Xiao Xi's university tuition and living expenses will be taken care of, too."
He had been working on the project for over a month, putting in overtime until two or three in the morning every day. More often than not, he slept right there at the office.
His hands kept striking the keys. He had reached the final line of code.
"Finally, it's done!"
With the project complete, an endless wave of exhaustion washed over him. Luo Yi reclined his specially designed office chair and lay back, ready to rest for a while.
The moment he closed his eyes, a stabbing pain seized his heart. He lost consciousness in an instant.
He had no idea how much time passed. Luo Yi felt the world around him dissolve into chaos as his soul drifted endlessly, searching for an anchor to cling to.
Then the agonizing pain in his chest suddenly vanished. Blinding sunlight shone on his face, and he forced his eyes open with all his might.
He was lying on the ground, covered by a woven straw mat.
The walls were built from yellow earth reinforced with bamboo strips. The room was completely bare, without a single thing in it.
Blinding sunlight streamed through a hole in the roof tiles and fell across Luo Yi's face.
"Where is this?"
He looked at the unfamiliar, harsh surroundings.
Confused, Luo Yi instinctively tried to slap himself hard, to see if he was dreaming.
But his hands and feet were weak, and his whole body ached. It felt as if he'd had a rather unfriendly, intimate encounter with a speeding truck and had been smashed to pieces. Even moving a finger was difficult.
Hadn't he just finished the project and lain down in his office chair for a nap? How had he opened his eyes to find himself in such a strange world?
Just as Luo Yi struggled to figure out what had happened, the battered door was pushed open from outside. A young woman in hemp clothes and a bamboo hat slowly entered.
Seeing the man on the ground awake, the young woman hurried excitedly over to Luo Yi.
"Brother, you're finally awake! Do you know—"
"You've been unconscious for three days! Everyone in the village said the Evil Spirit in the Mountain had harmed you and that you were already dead. They told me to bury you right away, before the Evil Spirit followed your scent back and hurt the others in the village."
"If you hadn't woken up, I wouldn't have known what to do."
As she spoke, the young woman wiped the tears streaming from her eyes.
As the young woman poured out her story, Luo Yi studied her carefully.
She looked about twelve or thirteen and strongly resembled his younger sister, Luo Xi, when she was little.
Her round little face was smeared black.
Her frail frame was dressed in men's clothes that were obviously much too large.
Not knowing who the girl was, he didn't dare say anything carelessly, worried that the moment he spoke, he'd reveal his true identity.
As the young woman kept talking, memories belonging to the original owner of this body gradually surfaced in Luo Yi's mind.
A flood of memories suddenly surged into his brain. His head grew heavy and clouded, and he lost consciousness once more.
Seeing her brother faint again, Luo Xi thought it was his last burst of strength before death and began to sob.
About an hour later, once he had absorbed the memories, Luo Yi opened his eyes again.
He carefully recalled the original owner's memories and sorted through them, forming a rough summary.
Luo Yi learned the basic facts about this world and the original owner of this body.
He confirmed one thing: "I really have crossed into another world!"
The year 916 of Great Qi, Cloud Prefecture, Yunlu County, Dongsheng Town.
Great Qi was a dynasty much like ancient Hua Kingdom. The difference from the ancient dynasties in his previous life was that this world had "martial artists" who could cultivate their abilities.
The original owner was also called Luo Yi. He was the eldest in the family and had a younger sister, Luo Xi, three years younger than him.
Their mother had died in childbirth when she gave birth to his sister.
Their father had raised the two siblings alone, hunting and gathering herbs in Yunling the Mountain near Dongsheng Town.
The day before Luo Yi turned sixteen, his father planned to go into Yunling the Mountain to hunt a large beast.
First, he wanted to improve the family's living conditions.
Second, he wanted to fulfill his child's long-held dream of going to the county seat to study.
But after entering the Mountain, he never came back.
Worried about his father, Luo Yi took the Hunting Bow his father kept at home as a spare and went into the Mountain alone to search for him.
When he first entered Yunling the Mountain, everything seemed normal.
A surge of pride welled up in Luo Yi. He thought hunting wasn't as dangerous as his father had said.
The deeper he went into the forest, the thicker the mist grew.
As he walked, Luo Yi sensed something was wrong. He remembered what his father had once taught him:
"An Evil Spirit lives in the thick fog at the heart of Yunling the Mountain. Once the fog engulfs you, death is certain!"
Seeing the thick fog not far away, Luo Yi turned to run—
"Xiao Yi, save me! Help me!"
Hearing his father's voice calling for help from behind him,
Luo Yi slowed his steps and was just about to turn around and look.
The dense fog in the forest swept toward him and swallowed him up.
In an instant, he lost consciousness and rolled down the mountainside.
A day later, Chen Liu, a hunter from Dongsheng Town who had gone into the mountains to hunt,
found Luo Yi lying on the ground, covered in wounds and unconscious.
Remembering that he had once received a kindness from Father Luo, Chen Liu couldn't bear to leave his benefactor's son lying dead in the wilderness. He carried the completely unconscious Luo Yi back to the village.
After absorbing all of the original owner's memories, Luo Yi looked around at the empty house. It was clearly different from what he remembered.
"Xiao Xi, where are all the furniture and other things in the house?"
Hearing her brother's question, Luo Xi thought, "After Father disappeared and Brother fell unconscious, Second Uncle Luo Wei took all the valuables in the house and sold them off, claiming he was arranging Brother's funeral."
How should she explain what had happened to the house without making her brother angry?
Seeing his sister hesitate, Luo Yi thought of an old rural custom: "eating the orphan's household bare."
From the original owner's memories, he knew his father had a younger brother, Luo Wei, who was lazy and gluttonous.
Pampered by their parents, Luo Wei had spent a year training in martial arts at the Town Martial Arts Hall.
After leaving the hall, Luo Wei relied on the skills he had learned there, along with his combative, violent, and fearless nature, to gather a large gang of underlings around him.
He had gradually become a scourge in the countryside. The merchants and villagers of the town complained bitterly, but dared not speak out.
"Did Luo Wei do this?"
At the question, a flicker of panic crossed Luo Xi's face.
Seeing her brother's pale complexion, she worried he hadn't fully recovered. If he confronted Second Uncle Luo Wei head-on, he'd be at a disadvantage. She was about to come up with an excuse to calm him down for now.
Seeing the change in his sister's expression, Luo Yi confirmed what he'd suspected.
"Don't worry, Xiao Xi. I won't act rashly!"
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