Trembling

Crack.

A bolt of purple-blue lightning flashed past the window, illuminating the entire night sky in a ghastly white.

Wang Yiyang sat upright in the training hall, his eyes, which had been tightly shut, suddenly snapping open.

He was dressed in the crisp suit he wore to work, his hands resting on the armrests of a wooden chair, sweat beading on his forehead and his lips dry and chapped.

His black hair had grown a bit long, slightly obscuring his eyebrows. Yet, at this moment, Wang Yiyang lowered his head and breathed deeply, forcing his lungs to frantically exchange oxygen with the outside air.

"Where... where am I?" He looked left and right.

Surrounding him was the familiar training hall.

It was still that originally abandoned training hall back in his hometown.

It was said that his grandfather had been a martial arts expert who opened this martial arts school in his youth, intending to bring honor to his ancestors and brighten the family name.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

The martial arts school had indeed been operating, but in this day and age of advanced technology, there were simply too few people truly willing to settle down and study martial arts.

Even Wang Yiyang had absolutely no interest in it.

Ever since he was a child, after trying to practice a few times, he had completely abandoned his grandfather's guidance due to boredom and monotony.

Later, he followed the standard path of schooling and exams, eventually getting into a decent university. After graduation, thanks to his solid technical skills, he found a respectable job at an internet company.

He had only been working for two years, not even having the time to find a girlfriend, when he suddenly received the tragic news from his hometown.

The martial arts school had caught fire, his grandfather had failed to escape, and thirteen people, including those in the school, had all perished.

Upon receiving the news, Wang Yiyang didn't hesitate to book a ticket back home.

After a tortuous investigation, he finally uncovered the truth.

The one who killed his grandfather was actually the school's strongest disciple, the senior apprentice Zhong Can.

Because Zhong Can had been unable to make a breakthrough for a long time, he believed that Wang Yiyang's grandfather was hiding the key techniques and deliberately holding him back, leading him to lash out in a fit of rage during an argument.

His grandfather was beaten to death on the spot, and the others met with the same sudden disaster.

However, Wang Yiyang still harbored doubts about this truth.

Although he wasn't interested in martial arts, he possessed basic common sense.

Given the strength of the senior apprentice Zhong Can, the idea that he could kill his grandfather in a short time while simultaneously taking out all the other members of the school didn't seem realistic at all.

According to the investigation coordinated with the police, he received shocking news.

Behind the senior apprentice Zhong Can, there seemed to be a rather mysterious organization.

This organization had unknown motives and acted with cruel brutality. His grandfather's death and the deaths of the others at the school were very likely the result of this organization's interference.

Through a tech-savvy friend, Wang Yiyang found a trace of the organization's name in the police files.

The name of that organization was Mantis.

Just as he was getting close to the truth, a sudden car accident completely swallowed his consciousness.

When he woke up again, he was already sitting in this training hall at his hometown's martial arts school.

The air was damp and cold.

Wang Yiyang felt the right pocket of his suit, where his familiar phone and car keys were.

The plastic texture of the phone and the slightly raised buttons gave him a small sense of relief.

He took out his rol smartphone and glanced at the time on the screen.

'March 11, 4471, 7:42 PM.'

"This time...!!" Wang Yiyang's pupils constricted.

Wasn't this the time from two months ago when he returned to his hometown to visit his grandfather?

He had happened to have a three-day holiday during that time, so he thought he would go back to see his grandfather, whom he hadn't visited in a long while.

So, he bought some fruit and nutritional supplements and returned home to visit his eighty-nine-year-old grandfather, Wang Xinlong.

Although Wang Xinlong was already eighty-nine, he looked at most like a man in his seventies.

Seeing his eldest grandson return home, he was deeply gratified and dragged Wang Yiyang to drink a heavy amount of white liquor.

As a result, both of them got drunk.

Wang Yiyang, feeling dizzy and muddled, ran to the training hall and slept for the night, only realizing the next day that he hadn't returned to his room but had sat in the training hall all night.

In the gloom, Wang Yiyang's expression was dark, his eyes flickering.

"Who could have imagined that two months later, my grandfather and everyone in the martial arts school would die such an inexplicable, tragic death?"

He did not believe that his grandfather would die inexplicably in a fire.

Given Wang Xinlong's physical fitness, he had recently participated in an ultra-long-distance rally and won second place.

That was a ten-thousand-meter endurance run. With such physical condition, what kind of fire could have prevented him from escaping?

Wang Yiyang did not believe it.

"And what a coincidence, to have gotten into a car accident as well."

He lowered his head, scrutinizing his own hands.

His fingers were short and thick, the lines on his palms were clear, and there was a faint scar on the thumb of his right hand.

That was from when he had been drinking with his grandfather; he had used too much force while opening a bottle and accidentally cut himself with the opener.

Hah.

Wang Yiyang slowly stood up, walked to the practice hall window, and looked out at the tranquil martial arts gym courtyard.

The only people living in the entire gym were his grandfather, himself, his senior apprentice brother Zhong Can, and a hired nanny. The rest of the disciples all returned to their own homes and did not stay at the gym.

Could it be that I really have returned? Returned to two months ago? Wang Yiyang still found it hard to believe.

He pushed the door open and stepped out into the courtyard.

A large tree grew in the center of the yard; he did not know its species, but every year, the tree would sprout many purple-red leaves.

Every autumn, a few purple-red leaves would drift slowly down with the wind each day, creating a beautiful atmosphere.

Wang Yiyang stood under the large tree, took out his phone again, and opened the messaging app Feixun.

Then, he found the company group chat.

Ignoring the idle chatter of his colleagues, he clicked directly into the group announcements.

The latest announcement showed a timestamp from three minutes ago, followed by a complete date.

'March 11, 4471, 7:45 PM.'

Still in disbelief, he opened other apps, checking every place where the time was displayed.

Ten minutes later.

Wang Yiyang finally confirmed it: he had indeed been reborn.

Reborn back to two months ago.

"Yiyang, sobered up so quickly?"

Suddenly, a deep male voice came from behind Wang Yiyang.

He was startled, but kept his body calm and turned around quickly.

Standing behind him was a burly man at least two meters tall.

In the darkness, the man's eyes glowed with a faint, eerie light, like those of a hungry wolf, making one feel intimidated.

Is that Brother Zhong Can? Wang Yiyang's heart skipped a beat; he recognized the man's identity at a glance.

Zhong Can, of unknown origin and unknown age, had suddenly appeared at the martial arts gym when Wang Yiyang was in his teens and had been learning martial arts from his grandfather ever since.

This man was always silent and honest, a man of few words but great integrity. He was born with immense strength.

Although Wang Yiyang had never been close to him since childhood, he respected him deeply.

He respected anyone who kept their word.

Because keeping one's word was, in itself, a very difficult thing to maintain.

"I slept for a while and came out to catch some air to clear my head," Wang Yiyang forced a smile onto his face.

"You're wearing too little; you'll catch a cold. Better go back and sleep," Zhong Can said in a low voice.

"Got it. You should get some rest too, Brother Zhong Can. You've had a hard day," Wang Yiyang replied.

"It's nothing," Zhong Can replied, then slowly walked past the tree toward his own room.

His silhouette, under the gloomy sky, appeared vaguely cold and chilling. It made Wang Yiyang's skin crawl in a way he couldn't describe.

Wang Yiyang watched him leave and enter the house before he finally looked away.

His grandfather had always been good to him since he was a child, but two months later, he had met with a sudden disaster, followed by Wang Yiyang's own sudden car accident.

There were simply too many coincidences hidden within all of this.

When there are too many coincidences, they are no longer coincidences, but inevitabilities... Wang Yiyang's heart sank.

He didn't know how he had been resurrected or reborn, but since he was back, he would first investigate what exactly happened to his grandfather.

But how should I go about it?

He was just an ordinary white-collar worker with no strength to truss a chicken; the most intense thing he had ever done in his life was kill a chicken with a knife.

And even then, the chicken had struggled and scratched him fiercely.

Should I just go to the police? Wang Yiyang frowned.

Under what pretense would he report it? Should he run over and say, "I suspect my grandfather will be killed by Zhong Can in two months, so I'm here to file a report in advance"?

Wouldn't that make him look like a lunatic?

Yet, investigating in secret was clearly highly dangerous.

From the fire at the martial arts gym to his own suspiciously coincidental car accident, it was clear that there was likely a mastermind pulling the strings behind the scenes.

"It's a pity Mom and Dad aren't here... though even if they were, they probably couldn't do anything about this." A sense of irritation stirred in Wang Yiyang's heart.

He reached out to press his hand against the trunk of a large tree; the rough, cold bark quickly helped him calm his mood.

"Should I just go find Grandpa and drop a hint?" He thought for a while, coming up with this solution.

Given his grandfather's personality, he would likely just pat him on the shoulder, laugh heartily, and dismiss it as having had too many dreams.

Wang Yiyang couldn't settle his mind; he pondered for a long time but couldn't find a way to break the deadlock.

He couldn't be sure if he had just had a nightmare, but the memories in his mind were so vivid that he was forced to believe they were real.

Even if it were a mental hallucination, it shouldn't be this clear, right?

After hesitating for over ten minutes, he finally made up his mind to go talk to his grandfather and at least drop a hint.

He turned around, ready to head toward his grandfather's house.

Suddenly, his gaze swept across the area and happened to catch the window of Senior Brother Zhong Can's room, where a pair of eyes reflecting a faint, eerie light were watching him in silence.

Wang Yiyang had no idea how long the other had been watching him; he only felt his entire body break out in goosebumps, layer upon layer.

That feeling was exactly the same as the time he had encountered two rabid dogs in the city.

But the intensity was far, far greater.

Wang Yiyang felt as if his heart had been tightly gripped by a giant hand, leaving him unable to move.

His lungs struggled to draw even a single breath.

His vision began to blur, his face flushed a deep red, and a chill ran down his spine.

Yet, for some reason, he couldn't tear his gaze away—he couldn't look away from those eyes.

"What... what is happening to me?" Wang Yiyang struggled to break free, but it was futile.

The blood in his body felt as if it were being manipulated by someone else, its circulation slowing down, slower and slower.

Creak.

Just then, the sound of a wooden door opening shattered Wang Yiyang's dangerous state.

He gasped for air, snapping back to his senses. When he looked at Zhong Can's window again, it was empty; there was nothing there.