Bro, Run for Your Life!

Xu Fan opened his eyes.

It felt as though something had exploded inside his head.

Two sets of memories overlapped.

One belonged to his previous life: decades of studying and working, ordinary through and through;

The other belonged to this life, dark and murky, with only a few scattered fragments he could dredge up.

The moment the two sets of memories met, he understood.

He reckoned something had gone wrong during his transmigration, leaving his consciousness stuck halfway. Only today had it slowly returned.

The place he had transmigrated to this time was called the Douluo Continent.

In his previous life on Blue Star, he had read this novel, where Soul Masters could summon clouds with one turn of their hands and rain with another.

He had never imagined he would actually transmigrate here in this life.

Xu Fan continued searching through the remnants of this life's memories in his mind.

He discovered that someone had stayed by his side and cared for him without ever abandoning him.

His older brother.

He had a biological older brother who treated him extremely well and worked at the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

As for what his brother looked like, he could not remember a thing.

His brother was an ordinary person, nowhere near being a Soul Master;

Xu Fan himself had never even undergone Martial Soul Awakening because his muddled mind had left him an idiot.

He lay in bed, pondering his current circumstances.

What sort of world was the Douluo Continent?

The weak were meat for the strong, Soul Masters fought incessantly, and the two great empires and Spirit Hall each had their own schemes.

Ordinary people were caught in the middle, liable to lose their lives at the slightest misstep.

His brother, an ordinary person, had to make a living in Heaven Dou City while caring for a younger brother who could not even speak coherently. The hardship involved was easy to imagine.

At that thought, an indescribable warmth welled up in Xu Fan's heart.

But as he thought further, his heart suddenly lurched.

The novel had mentioned that a major upheaval would break out in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace later on.

Qian Renxue of Spirit Hall had infiltrated Heaven Dou, first assassinating the princes one by one, then gradually replacing the people around the emperor.

His brother worked in there every day. Who knew when he might get swept into it without even understanding what was happening?

No, he had to tell his brother and get him to make plans early.

Quit his job and get as far away from that palace as possible.

Xu Fan threw back his blanket and braced himself on his arms to get out of bed.

But when he tried to move his legs, they did not respond.

He toppled over the edge of the bed and slammed heavily into the floor. His vision went black for half a moment before he recovered.

He turned to look at his legs.

They looked perfectly fine, but he could not feel them at all.

He could not remember how they had been injured, only that he had been unable to stand on them for a long time.

Transmigrating into a state like this was fucking miserable!

Just then, the door opened.

In a narrow alley, Xue Qinghe wore a simple set of casual clothes, with two attendants following behind him.

The older attendant spoke in a low voice:

"First Prince, although Xu Fan's brother died in the line of duty, why must you come in person to offer your condolences?

I hear there's something wrong with Xu Fan's head. What if..."

Xue Qinghe kept walking and said calmly:

"His brother gave his life in service to the country. Whether out of sentiment or reason, I ought to visit."

No one knew that this First Prince, Xue Qinghe, had already died five years ago.

The person now living under his identity was Spirit Hall's undercover agent, Qian Renxue.

For five years, she had carefully imitated that man's every word and action, molding herself into a benevolent, intelligent, impeccable future ruler.

A small courtyard stood at the end of the alley.

At Xue Qinghe's signal, the two attendants stopped outside the courtyard gate, while he entered alone and pushed open the door to the house.

As the door opened, she saw someone sprawled on the floor beside the bed.

She hurried over and hauled him up from the floor.

Dazed, Xu Fan was helped upright and raised his head.

A face was right before him: clear-cut features, plain clothes, an unfamiliar face.

But something thundered in his head.

Who in this world would come through the door and help him up?

Only one person!

"Bro! You're finally back!"

He seized the other person's sleeve in a death grip, his eyes instantly reddening.

"Bro, thank you for all the effort you've put into looking after me these past years. I've regained my senses."

The hands supporting Xu Fan paused almost imperceptibly.

For a moment, Qian Renxue did not know what to say.

She had clearly only come to offer condolences to a child who had lost his family, yet he had mistaken her for his older brother.

She settled Xu Fan back onto the bed and made sure he was leaning securely.

Before coming, she had looked into this family's circumstances.

Xu Fan, the sole younger brother of a palace servant who had died on duty, had been an idiot for years, had an old leg injury, and lived alone.

Yet the boy before her had clear eyes and spoke coherently. Where was there even a trace of an idiot?

How had he regained his senses the moment she arrived?

Xu Fan took a couple of breaths, and his chest no longer heaved so much.

Important business came first.

He leaned forward a little and lowered his voice:

"Bro, listen to me. Find a way to leave the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace. Something big could happen in the palace at any moment."

Qian Renxue's hand stopped in midair as she tucked in his blanket.

Something big?

Without betraying anything, she asked calmly, "What could happen?"

Anxious, Xu Fan said bluntly:

"There's an undercover agent from Spirit Hall in the palace! They'll eliminate the princes one by one, then replace everyone around the emperor with their own people, and finally..."

Before he finished speaking, all warmth abruptly vanished from Qian Renxue's eyes.

Killing intent surged up almost instantly.

Standing beside the bed, she could reach Xu Fan's neck with a single stretch of her hand.

But in the next instant, she forcibly suppressed that impulse.

No.

Xu Fan had been an idiot for years. Where could someone who could not even leave the house have learned this?

What else did he know?

Was someone else behind him, secretly laying plans?

Countless thoughts flashed through Qian Renxue's mind, but her expression regained its calm.

"Where did you learn these things?"

Xu Fan loosened his grip on her sleeve a little and said earnestly:

"Bro, I know this sounds strange, but everything I'm saying is true.

All these years, my consciousness went to another world.

In that world, I read a novel called 'Douluo Continent.' It was about this very world we live in."

The room fell silent.

Douluo Continent.

Of course Qian Renxue was familiar with it.

She had lived on this continent since childhood: Martial Souls, Soul Masters, Soul Rings, and all those intricately entangled powers.

Yet according to Xu Fan, Douluo Continent was actually the title of a novel.

In another world, someone had written this place into a novel?

Absurd!

But thinking back further, every word of his earlier remark about "eliminating the princes" had hammered against her heart.

If this really was fabricated mad talk, how could it be so accurate?

He had actually laid out her entire undercover plan.

After a long while, she finally moved.

She pulled over the old stool beside the bed and sat down by its edge, intending to question him thoroughly.

"Douluo Continent, a novel?"

"Yes, Bro!"

Xu Fan nodded vigorously. With no time to say more, he asked the most pressing question first.

"Bro, does the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family currently have four princes? Have the second and third princes died?"

He first had to establish how far reality had progressed into the book.

Qian Renxue's heart tightened, but her expression betrayed nothing.

The second prince, the third prince.

Those two were next in her assassination plan.

"No. Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"No?"

Xu Fan froze for a moment, then his eyes widened.

At least this meant it was still relatively early in the timeline.

At the very least, there were still a dozen or so years until the Heaven Dou Palace Coup.

Xu Fan lowered his voice and said secretively:

"Bro, you don't know this, but the undercover agent Spirit Hall sent into the palace is none other than the Pope's daughter, Qian Renxue!

She killed the real First Prince, took on his appearance, and assumed his identity!"

Qian Renxue's fingers abruptly clenched.

The Pope's daughter.

Qian Renxue.

He had even spoken her name.

Killing intent surged again, almost breaking through her reason.

Kill him.

Now. Immediately.

But the moment that thought surfaced, she ruthlessly pressed it back down.

She couldn't kill him.

Was there someone else behind him?

Wouldn't killing him stir the grass and startle the snake?

For the sake of her undercover plan, she had to stay calm.

Only after a moment did Qian Renxue slowly unclench her hand.

She forcibly suppressed the murderous intent in her heart, keeping her voice as steady as possible.

"What else did this novel you read say?"