Awakening

The night was pitch black, the surroundings like ink.

A single orange flame, no larger than a bean, burned quietly in the darkness.

It seemed to be the only light in the world.

The flame flickered and swayed, as if a single breath could extinguish it. It was incredibly fragile.

In the faint light it cast, a young man with a pale face and bloodshot eyes sat quietly to one side.

The man was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with plain, unremarkable features. He bit his lower lip slightly; his lips were pale, as if he had lost blood not long ago.

His hair was fine, long, and black, tied into a simple high ponytail like a girl's. He wore a grey-brown cotton long-sleeved shirt with frog buttons that reached his knees, covering most of his simple trousers of the same color.

Thump, thump, thump.

Suddenly, a light knocking sound came from not far away in the darkness.

It was the sound of knuckles tapping against thin wood, sounding particularly sharp in the quiet night.

Thump, thump, thump... The knocking sounded again.

The man by the flame shuddered, but he did not make a sound. He had clearly heard it, yet he had no intention of responding.

"Are you asleep?" A sigh came from outside the door. It was the voice of a middle-aged woman. She hesitated for a moment, then turned and slowly walked away.

Only when the footsteps had completely faded did the man by the flame let out a slight sigh of relief.

He stretched out his hands, gently shielding the flame, feeling the subtle warmth radiating into his palms, and a look of relaxation appeared on his face.

"Lin Hui, you shouldn't light the lamp." A hushed voice came softly from behind the man.

"Lighting the lamp will attract things that shouldn't be here. The night is different from the day!" The voice slowly approached, and then, on the other side of the flame, a weary woman's face, seven parts similar to the man's, slowly emerged.

She watched the man with concern.

"What's wrong? Can't sleep again? You've been waking up in a fright in the middle of the night for the past few days. Did you encounter something during the day?"

"Mother, why are you awake too? I deliberately kept the lamp low because I didn't want to wake you," the man said apologetically. "I just... haven't been sleeping well lately..."

Hearing this, the middle-aged woman sighed and gently patted the man's shoulder.

"It's Mother's fault for being incompetent, unable to move into the inner city... Otherwise... how could it come to this..."

She didn't continue, but the worry on her face deepened.

"Alright, Mother, go back to sleep. I'll just sit for a little while and then go back to bed," the man forced a smile to show he was fine.

"Fine... Your father has to go supervise the work at dawn, I need to get some more sleep, or I won't be able to get up." The middle-aged woman nodded, stood up, and went to the door to check if the doors and windows were properly secured. Then, in the darkness, she accurately felt around to pinch a purple-black stone hanging on the wall by the door.

After confirming the stone was fine, she turned and shuffled into the inner room. Soon, the creaking of the wooden bed frame came, along with the sound of an old man grumbling as he turned over.

By the flame, silence returned.

The man sat alone, his mind flashing with the scenes of the past few days, as if he were trapped in a dream.

Every day he dreamed, or perhaps it wasn't a dream at all, but another life he had once lived.

In that world, there were skyscrapers, cars, and airplanes; humanity ruled the planet and was heading toward the stars. Ordinary people didn't worry about food or drink, and most spent their time on mobile phones and computers.

It was nothing like the current, difficult reality.

The man extended his index finger and gently wrote two characters on the dim ground—Lin Hui.

This was his name, and the only mark of his existence in this life.

He wiped away the traces, let out a soft breath, stood up, carefully moved away from the flame, and went to the door and window of the room.

Through the thin window, he found a few small holes and peeked outside.

The Lin Family lived in a large compound, a massive family of dozens of people, one of the few thriving clans in the area.

What met his eyes now was a square, Chinese-style courtyard.

The courtyard had rockeries, ponds, large trees, and pavilions—everything one could expect.

Yet, everything was shrouded in a thin, grey-white mist.

This was the Mist.

The environment Lin Hui found himself in this life was extremely troublesome.

Or rather, "troublesome" was an understatement; it was dangerous.

During the day, all sorts of strange, grotesque creatures wandered outside the city. At night, the Mist descended, and various terrifying, eerie dangers drifted about.

Here, people relied on the high walls of the city during the day to avoid monsters, beasts, and disasters. At night, they relied on the Tuyue Jade Talisman obtained from the inner city government office to protect their homes, not daring to step outside.

These were the circumstances Lin Hui had excavated and organized from his memory since waking up a few days ago.

And this was not even the most bizarre part.

Hiss.

Lin Hui carefully used his finger to poke the hole in front of him slightly larger so he could see more clearly.

At this moment, the state of the courtyard he saw outside was completely different from the Lin Family's actual compound during the day!

Yes, it was completely different!

Although the Lin Family was a large clan, their courtyard was not nearly so refined; its decorations and repairs were strictly maintained to ensure basic living standards. It was nothing like the courtyard before his eyes, which possessed the extravagant style of a wealthy household.

Features like the pond, rockery, and pavilion were items of luxury that required long-term maintenance by hired help to remain pristine—they were far beyond what the Lin Family could afford.

Yet now, amidst the thin mist, what Lin Hui saw in his eyes was incredibly clear and real.

Gulp.

Lin Hui's throat moved involuntarily as he swallowed.

He was terrified.

If he hadn't awakened the memories of his past life, he wouldn't have been this panicked to see a scene he witnessed every single day.

But after awakening, he realized with chilling clarity exactly what these things represented.

This was one of the major points of the weirdness here.

Every night, under the shroud of the Mist, the scenery that appeared outside the residence was different.

Going out at night was forbidden; aside from the wandering mysterious threats, this was the biggest reason why.

Every night, after the mist enveloped the windows, it would first thicken, then slowly thin out. Afterward, the scenery one could see would vary each time.

To date, Lin Hui had already seen at least dozens of different styles of strange courtyards from his home.

Sometimes they repeated, but most of the time, they were constantly changing.

Various styles of ancient Chinese courtyards swapped back and forth, all of them dilapidated and worn, clearly having been left untended for a long time.

Standing at the window, Lin Hui watched the outside quietly, motionless as a statue.

It wasn't until the mist outside slowly thickened again, and then, after more than an hour, thinned out once more, that the original layout of the Lin Family courtyard was restored.

Everything quietly returned to normal.

At this moment, as daylight slowly brightened from the east, the entire courtyard seemed as if nothing had ever happened, returning to its usual state.

Only then did Lin Hui let out a long sigh of relief, slowly stepping back a few paces to return to the oil lamp.

Puff.

He blew out the lamp in one breath.

Watching the white daylight slowly filter through the window to illuminate the room, he could faintly hear his parents getting up and dressing behind him.

He knew that a new day of busyness was about to begin.

The Lin Family lived in the Outer City, the Outer City of Tuyue.

Tuyue was the name of the city they resided in; it was an incredibly vast urban area whose main structure was divided into two parts: the Inner City and the Outer City.

The Inner City was the prosperous core, a place of safe living and abundant resources. It was said to be a No Fog Zone, an absolutely safe area where there was no mist even at night.

The Outer City was the region where they lived. It wasn't a single district, but a vast area composed of many tiny towns built around the Tuyue Inner City.

Between each town were large stretches of farmland, vegetable plots, orchards, and various processing workshops.

The town where the Lin Family lived was called Xinyu Town. To the outside world, they were still Tuyue people, but internally, they were considered the suburbs of the suburbs.

"Why are you still standing there?" In the inner room behind him, his father, Lin Shunhe, draped a grey-white coat over his shoulders. He was buttoning the frog fasteners on his chest with one hand while grabbing a dark brown wild boar skin vest with the other; it was worn over his clothes for warmth.

"Couldn't sleep, just looking around." Lin Hui turned back and squeezed out a smile; he didn't want his parents to worry.

"Sigh..." Seeing this, his father seemed to think of something. He opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped.

He had a dull expression, dark skin, and a sturdy build. His hair was greying, and he worked as a supervisor at the town's oil mill. His wages weren't high, but they weren't low either—enough to support a family of three with plenty to spare.

In a normal world, such a life would be considered quite good. But they couldn't help the abnormal environment they were in.

Sighing, Lin Shunhe said nothing more. He put on his vest, unlocked the door, and pushed it open to leave.

"Ah-He, you haven't eaten yet?" his mother, Yao Shan, called out from behind, chasing after him.

"Not eating, I'll grab some public food at the workshop." Lin Shunhe didn't look back. He waved his hand, crossed the courtyard, opened the gate, and walked out, quickly disappearing beyond the door.

At this time, the courtyard had returned to the Lin Family's original appearance.

There was a white stone well, two crooked, blackened trees, and a set of grey stone tables and stools. The table was even carved with a blurred chessboard grid and some faint black markings.

The surroundings were enclosed by uneven earthen walls, and in the corner of the yard, piles of firewood, old furniture, and farm tools were stacked.

Lin Hui watched his father leave, then grabbed a coat and slowly walked out as well.

His mother chased after him and stuffed a vegetable bun into his hand. It was piping hot and carried the faint fragrance of vegetable oil, which he devoured in a few bites.

"If you have nothing to do, go outside and soak up some sun. I have to go to work in a bit, I'll be back in the afternoon." Mother Yao Shan had changed into a bright white cotton dress, put on her sleeve covers, and shouldered her small bag, intending to head out.

Lin Hui remembered that she worked at a garment workshop in town. She was a veteran employee who had been there for over ten years.

"The young mistress of the house is coming to inspect today. I'll find an opportunity to mention your situation and see if there's any hope. Don't be anxious." His mother carefully urged him.

"Mm." Lin Hui nodded.

Before awakening his memories, he had already reached the age where he should have been out working to earn money.

But because he hadn't learned any trade earlier and had spent his time in a daze, he only came to his senses after awakening, but by then, it was already a bit late.

His parents had been busy lately trying to arrange a future job for him.

Seeing this, Mother looked left and right before leaning in, lowering her voice with a mysterious air.

"I told you not to worry, and I wasn't just trying to comfort you. Your father took on a private job a while back—don't go spreading this around—but the job was finished yesterday, and the employer promised to secure a top-tier path for you..."

"A private job!?" Lin Hui's expression shifted in alarm; if caught, there would be serious trouble.

"Just don't go blabbing about it. Rest easy, it's fine; plenty of workshops around here have done the same." Mother was clearly accustomed to it.

Lin Hui stopped speaking. The deed was already done, and saying anything now was useless.

There were over a dozen workshops of various sizes in this town. If one were to really count, many of the supervisors had likely done the same; if they were going to make arrests, they'd be arresting a whole crowd.

He was only worried about the risk... He knew the oil mill where his father worked was town property. If discovered, the consequences would be far more severe than a private oil mill's side job; he might even be exiled to the frontier as cannon fodder.

"Your father should be able to send word back today. Be patient and wait. If there's nothing to do, you can walk around the area during the day to stretch your limbs, just remember to come back as soon as the bell rings," Mother continued.

"Right... I understand..." Lin Hui's mind was a mess, so he could only nod.

He had been hit with a massive influx of memories over the past two days, and at this moment, he had no concrete plan for himself or his future. He could only take it one step at a time.

He watched as Yao Shan simply combed her hair, fastened a bean-pod jade hairpin, and hurried out the door.

Lin Hui followed her to the courtyard, stood at the gate, and looked outward.

Outside was a wide, horizontal road of yellow mud, dotted with sparse green grass. The surface was uneven, with puddles in some places, clearly indicating it had rained recently.

Houses were connected along the yellow mud road like sesame seeds on a curve, extending into the distance along his line of sight.

The houses varied in size, ranging from earthen huts to stone courtyards, but they all shared one common trait—they were all built with high perimeter walls.

By now, the road was already bustling with carts, horses, and people: cargo pushcarts, ox carts, carriages carrying passengers, children herding chickens and ducks to graze, and, most numerous of all, people leaving their homes to head toward the town center for work.

Lin Hui stepped out, smelling the faint, raw scent of yellow mud, and followed the road toward town.

On both sides of the road, between the houses, were vast stretches of fields and vegetable patches where people had already begun their labor.

"Little Hui, are you not resting well lately, or what? Why is your face so pale?" After walking only a few steps, an elderly man with a white beard, who was weeding on the side, looked up and asked.

His name was Li Quanzhong, and he lived to the right of the Lin Family compound; he was an old neighbor of many years. He had an only son who worked as a barber in town.

"Yeah, I haven't been sleeping well lately... I've got a bit of a headache." Lin Hui casually made up an excuse.

"You need to be careful then. Go back and drink more hot water. If that doesn't work, go get some Wanfu Meat to eat; you'll recover quickly," Li Quanzhong said with a chuckle.

Wanfu Meat...

Lin Hui's heart stirred.

The population of the Tuyue City District was massive, with the outer towns being the most densely populated. Logically, given the backward productivity of this era, maintaining such a large city should have been extremely difficult, but that was where the strangeness lay.

The city government would distribute a fixed amount of something called Wanfu Meat at regular intervals.

It was a type of meat that smelled and tasted delicious. No one knew what creature it was carved from, but every person could receive a large chunk weighing over ten pounds each month.

The point wasn't just that; this Wanfu Meat, besides satisfying hunger, could cure all illnesses!

No matter the sickness, as long as you ate a small piece, you would be cured quickly, without even needing to see a doctor.

Lin Hui snapped back to reality, chatted casually with Old Man Li for a few moments, and then continued along the yellow mud road.

However, he hadn't walked long before he saw a crowd of townspeople gathered outside a small courtyard ahead.

Several of his cousins from other branches of the Lin Family were also there watching the commotion. Seeing him approach from afar, the boys scattered, pulling at their eyes to make faces at him, and one bold one even spat in his direction from a distance.

Lin Hui made a move to rush over, scaring the boys into running away quickly.

Their branch was considered quite ordinary within the vast Lin Family. The reason he was so disliked by these kids was that, before his awakening, he had been a complete failure—lacking both talent and looks. Compared to the other youths his age, Lin Hui was nothing more than a good-for-nothing loafer who spent his days lying at home doing nothing.

In an era where both adults and children had to work to survive, lying at home and living off one's parents was something looked down upon.

After shooing the boys away, Lin Hui walked closer, stood outside the crowd, and stood on tiptoe to peer inside.

As he looked, he vaguely heard a few people on his right whispering and discussing things, using words like Mountain Ghost, Peach Tree Spirit, and revenge.

A few middle-aged women on the left were softly moving their lips, rhythmically chanting a prayer.

Further inside, two guards dressed in black official uniforms and carrying blades stood like two walls, blocking the townspeople from watching.

The two were chatting in low voices, ignoring everyone else; they were speaking some town dialect that he couldn't understand at all.

Lin Hui looked further in and vaguely saw the courtyard gate standing wide open, with faint traces of blood on the ground.

A human leg, gnawed until it was a bloody mess with the White Bone exposed, was clearly visible from the doorway.

"Stop looking." A naked child nearby, who had been poking his head in, had his ear grabbed by his mother from behind and was dragged away forcefully.

"See that? That's the price for not replacing your Jade Talisman in time. I'm telling you, don't you ever go messing with the Jade Talisman again!"

"Let go! It hurts! I won't do it again, I promise I won't!" The child wailed as he was slowly dragged away.

Lin Hui watched the mother and child leave; dressed in his gray long-coat, he was completely inconspicuous among the similarly dressed crowd.

"This isn't about the Jade Talisman," a low female voice said suddenly from beside him.

Lin Hui turned his head and saw a tall woman in a gray long-coat and black leather pants, who had appeared behind him at some point.

The woman's face was somewhat similar to his, and her hair was tied into two simple buns. She was holding a soy sauce jar, clearly having just returned from the grocery store.

"Let's go, stop looking. This was a daytime attack by a Door-Breaking Ghost." The woman was Lin Hongzhen, the eldest daughter of the Lin Family's main branch and Lin Hui's cousin. She was a year older than him.

"Door-Breaking Ghost..."

Lin Hui repeated the words, his expression turning ugly. This was a collective term for all the monsters and beasts that attacked humans during the day; it didn't literally mean a ghost.