Chapter 1: Reborn

In a dimly lit room, a young man lay on a bed. His brows were tightly furrowed, his face pale, and large beads of sweat continuously formed on his forehead.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, the young man cried out and sat bolt upright. He gasped for breath repeatedly, then froze in place.

“I’m still alive?” Li Si stretched out his hands, finding it hard to believe.

He clearly remembered being run over by a car moments before. His head had even flown more than ten metres away. As for how he knew his head had flown that far, it was because he had remained conscious after it flew off.

“Something’s wrong.”

Looking at his hands, his fingers were slender and fair, nothing like the dark, rough hands he had developed from years of part-time work under the sun.

Li Si hurriedly got out of bed and searched the room for a mirror, but after looking for a long time, he found nothing.

Just then, he heard the soft patter of rain outside. He opened the door and walked out, intending to find a puddle and look at his reflection.

As soon as he opened the door, the smell of wet earth rushed toward him, and the scene before him left him stunned.

Ancient-style buildings stood before his eyes. There was none of the modern architecture he was familiar with. The occasional pedestrians hurrying along the road all wore long traditional robes.

Li Si stood there blankly for a moment, then looked around. There were no cameras and no film crew in sight.

“I’ve transmigrated?”

Looking down at the face reflected in a puddle, a face completely different from his former appearance, Li Si confirmed that he had been reborn and transported into another world.

In his previous life, his features had been utterly ordinary, and his skin had become dark from spending years handing out flyers under the scorching sun.

Now, however, he looked like a handsome young gentleman with refined features. If there was anything distinctive about him, it was that he looked somewhat feminine.

Sharp brows, peach blossom eyes, and elegant features. He was undeniably delicate and handsome.

Li Si felt dizzy.

He could not fully accept the fact that he had died, nor the fact that he had become someone he never would have interacted with in his entire life.

Suddenly, a flood of information poured into his mind, making the dizziness even worse. He could not help leaning against the doorframe for support.

The dizziness lasted several minutes.

The original owner’s memories allowed Li Si to understand what kind of world this was.

There were no computers, no mobile phones, no electric lights, and no steam engines. It was a completely ancient society.

However, the dynasty here was called Wei, and the imperial family bore the surname Yin. None of Earth’s historical dynasties matched it.

If there was one major difference, it was probably that this world contained supernatural entities.

As for how Li Si knew that, it was because everything here was exactly the same as a mobile game he had once played.

That game had suddenly appeared on his phone one day. He had tried it out and learned that its world was built upon various folk legends.

His death was also connected to that game.

While waiting at a traffic light, a speeding car had lost control and charged directly toward him.

Had he not been playing the game, he definitely could have dodged.

But he had been completely absorbed in it.

As a result, he was struck and killed.

Li Si had never imagined that after dying, he would transmigrate into the world of that very game.

In the real world, demons, monsters, and ghosts did not exist.

But in this game world, they were all real.

As for the original owner of this body, Li Si remembered him as well.

He was the character Li Si had been controlling.

A licentiate scholar born in Fengmen County. After both his parents died, he devoted himself to studying the classics in preparation for the imperial examinations.

He also enjoyed an excellent reputation and often taught basic literacy to children from poor families nearby.

This character had been the one Li Si was controlling just before he was hit by the car.

At the time, he had directed the original owner to visit a remote temple and burn incense.

The original owner had only just encountered a ghost at the temple when Li Si himself was crushed beneath the car.

Li Si shook his head and recalled the body’s most recent memories.

After meeting the ghost at the temple, the original owner had been chased for more than five kilometres (~3.1 miles), all the way to the county town. Only because the ghost dared not enter the town did it finally disappear.

The original owner had been so frightened by the encounter that he fell seriously ill and died.

Then Li Si arrived.

“At least I’ve been given another life. That’s my good fortune. I possess the knowledge of my previous life. Could I really end up living worse here than I did before?”

Li Si steadied himself.

Being able to live a second life was already a blessing from heaven. There was nothing to complain about.

As for the original owner, guilt arose in his heart.

He had never expected such an outcome.

He had thought it was only a game.

From now on, I’ll live well on your behalf.

Li Si thought this with deep guilt in his heart.

However, the original owner’s death had actually been inevitable.

When Li Si first started playing, the original owner had already been on his way to the temple.

In truth, he and the original owner were somewhat alike.

He had been abandoned by his parents, while the original owner’s parents had died suddenly.

As for the reason behind their sudden deaths, Li Si thought carefully but could not remember.

The moment he tried to think deeper, a tearing pain struck his head, as if a wooden stick had been thrust into his brain and violently stirred around.

The pain nearly caused him to collapse onto the ground.

Suddenly, children’s laughter came from ahead, interrupting his thoughts.

The pain vanished.

The rain had stopped, and a group of children came running out from the far end of the alley.

“Ouch!”

One little boy accidentally bumped into a child standing by the roadside. He fell flat onto the ground, and muddy rainwater splashed all over him.

Seeing the mud covering his body, the boy spat out a mouthful of muddy water and burst into tears.

When the boy’s companions saw him fall, they immediately surrounded the child by the roadside.

“You son of a dog, are you blind? You ran into my little brother!”

A boy noticeably fatter than the others stepped forward and shoved the child.

Li Si recognized the speaker.

He was the son of a nearby butcher named Yu Hu.

In recent years, Yu Hu’s father had expanded his pork business considerably. Nearly everyone in the county bought pork from his shop.

As Yu Hu shoved him, the child took a step backward and avoided the push.

Yu Hu nearly lost his footing and fell because of it.

“Hey! You even dared dodge!”

His chubby face immediately flushed red with embarrassment.

Angered, he lunged at the child like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey.

However, the child was exceptionally agile.

Like an eel, he darted back and forth among the other children.

Yu Hu could not catch him at all.

Li Si had never seen this child before.

He was probably from a nearby district and had come here to play.

Because Yu Hu was rather overweight, he soon became out of breath after several attempts.

Annoyed, he shouted at his companions:

“What are you idiots standing around for? Catch him!”

The other children had not joined in earlier because they believed a one-on-one fight was only fair.

But after hearing Yu Hu’s shout, they no longer cared and rushed forward together.

“Stop!”

Li Si frowned when he saw this and shouted loudly.

The children immediately halted.

Looking at him respectfully, they all greeted him.

“Teacher Li.”

The original owner possessed the status of a licentiate scholar, so he enjoyed their respect.

In this society, that qualification was still extremely useful.

Ordinary commoners would address Li Si as Scholar Li.

These mischievous children, having occasionally received instruction from the original owner, called him Teacher Li instead.

Seeing the children stop, Li Si secretly nodded.

Although most of them came from poor families, the original owner’s teachings had at least taught them the importance of respecting their teachers and elders.