After an unknown amount of time, Wenlong slowly regained consciousness. He kept his eyes closed, memories churning through his mind. Had I died again? He recalled everything that had happened since he came to this world.
His name had been Wenlong in his former life, and it was still Wenlong here. He had grown up surrounded by his family's love.
During an argument, his eldest and second brothers had tried to protect him, only to be cut down one after another by members of the Kai.
Back then, he had hated the heavens for bringing him into this world without giving him anything. With empty hands, how could he protect his family? He could not even protect himself.
Now, he thought of his grandparents, who had fought to the death without retreating to protect their clansmen. Then there were his parents-his father had suffered severe injuries in the war between lineages.
His poor mother had shouldered the heavy burden of leading the lineage. Sadly, this is as far as I can help you. Mother, I'm sorry.
He stirred and discovered that his entire body ached with pain that pierced to the bone. His eyes snapped open, and he realized he was not dead.
He was lying at the edge of a cliff, with cold wind howling below him and a pitch-black cave opening farther in.
He tried to stand, only to discover that both his legs and one arm were broken. Forcing himself to endure the pain, he thought, I can't die here. His will to survive grew stronger still.
The cliff below remained a bottomless drop. With no other choice, he endured the pain throughout his body and crawled toward the cave opening.
As soon as he crawled inside, he found it much warmer than outside. He could only feel his way through the darkness and keep crawling forward.
After crawling for a long time, he finally spotted a faint glimmer of light within. Only then did he feel a hope of survival, but when he reached the light, disappointment washed over him.
Not a blade of grass grew here, and there was nothing else-only glowing stones in the cave and white water pooled in a hollow in the rock.
Hungry and thirsty, he could not afford to worry about anything else and crawled over.
He cupped the water with his one good hand and drank. Only after drinking his fill did he examine his surroundings.
At that moment, waves of pain coursed through his injured body. Yet the hand resting in the water, which had hurt as though its flesh were being sliced moments earlier, had miraculously stopped hurting.
Does this water help with injuries? With no time to think further, he hurriedly rolled his entire body into the water. All his pain vanished at once.
The water felt wonderfully soothing, and before he knew it, he had fallen unconscious again.
When he woke, he had no idea how much time had passed, but his whole body felt comfortable. He shifted a little and found that the pain that had once filled his body was completely gone.
He slowly got up, only to discover to his astonishment that all the white water had disappeared.
He looked down at his legs. He clearly remembered that they had been broken, yet now his arms and legs were as good as new. He was overjoyed; he had been terrified of being left crippled.
Being whole is much better. Now I can run and jump again. He was delighted, but he still needed to find a way out.
After walking a few steps, he realized he was heading toward the cave where they lived. Nearby, he spotted a skeleton. Could this be one of the Wen ancestors? He could not help wondering.
Whoever it was, they were surely a forebear. He approached respectfully and bowed three times.
Just as he raised his head, he caught a flash of light. He went closer to investigate and discovered a golden object pinned beneath the skeleton.
It did not seem to be a sheet of gold, and he could not tell what material it was made of. Some writing was recorded on it.
After reading it, Wenlong learned that this person was indeed the founding ancestor of the Wen. Unable to break through to the next realm, he had entered life-and-death seclusion, only to die of old age here.
The white water was spirit water-precious stuff indeed. Now it was all gone. What a pity, what a pity.
According to the ancestor, anyone who possessed mental power could awaken it after taking a single drop of spirit water.
Wenlong closed his eyes and tried to sense it. Sure enough, he could sense everything around him.
Following the instructions left by the ancestor, he went to the left and easily opened a stone chamber with his mental power. Inside, he found many books and some things he had never seen before.
Only by finding the notebook the ancestor had left behind could he learn about everything here.
Despite all the things filling the chamber, he did not dare touch them carelessly. He searched only for a book that looked like a notebook. Even after searching the entire room, he failed to find it.
Looking utterly helpless, Wenlong sat on the stone bed, at a loss for what to do.
After so many years, these things should have weathered away, yet everything in the room looked as good as new.
It seemed the ancestor must have used some treasure to preserve everything in its original state.
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