Chapter 2: Rebirth at the End of Han Dynasty

  In the year 173 AD, during the second year of Emperor Ling of Han's Xiping era, in the courtyard of the county magistrate's office in Wuyuan County, Pingzhou, three men, old, middle-aged and young, stood side by side, their faces tense as they stared at the tightly closed door of the bedroom.

  It was around dusk, the sun was about to set, and several fiery red clouds like blood hovered in the sky. The old man inadvertently raised his head to look at the sky and suddenly found that the original cloud had changed, gathering towards the courtyard above their home at a speed visible to the naked eye. The old man said to the middle-aged and young people beside him: "Bo An, He Er, look at the sky."

  The middle-aged man known as Bo An and the young boy looked up at the sky, only to see a rapidly gathering fire cloud hovering above their own courtyard. The cloud began to change shape, eventually transforming into a majestic dragon with its head raised towards the sky and its tail pointing straight up. One of the dragon's claws was pointing directly at their bedroom. The three people were left speechless, looking at each other in confusion, unable to utter a word.

  At this moment, a loud cry of a baby came from the bedroom, breaking the silence in the courtyard. At the same time, the strange phenomenon in the sky disappeared, as if it had never appeared before. Soon after, a midwife with sweat on her forehead opened the door and walked out, smiling at the middle-aged man: "Congratulations, County Lord, your wife has given birth to a baby boy, both mother and son are safe."

  The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Alright, alright, you go to the steward's place to receive your reward later." The midwife smiled and shook her head, saying, "County Master loves his people like his children, letting us common folk live a good life. Doing something for him is what we should do, why mention rewards?" After finishing speaking, she didn't care about others and turned around to walk back into the bedroom.

  "Father," a clear and crisp voice broke the temporary silence, that young man happily ran to the middle-aged man's side, pulled on the middle-aged man's sleeve, shaking it back and forth, and continued to say: "I have a little brother! I have a little brother!" The middle-aged man looked down at the young man shaking his sleeve, couldn't help but curve up the corners of his mouth, with kindness in his eyes, but said: "He Er, you are a member of the Han royal family, you should have the demeanor of a noble clan, how can you be so overjoyed and lose your manners?" The young man let go of his hand, and softly replied: "Yes, I understand, I will remember father's teachings."

  "Alright, Bo An, you're fine in every way except for this one thing. You clearly dote on He Er, yet you insist on putting on a stern fatherly air." The old man chuckled and walked over to interject. The middle-aged man spoke seriously: "I, Liu Yu, am a member of the imperial family, with the duty of supporting the Han dynasty and bringing benefits to the people. If I can't even teach my own son properly, how can I...". "Alright, alright," the old man waved his hand to cut off Liu Yu's words, "I know you have grand ambitions in your heart, but from what I've observed, this great Han dynasty is on the verge of collapse. The eunuchs and imperial relatives are fighting non-stop, and loyal officials are fleeing to the countryside one after another. Your ambitions are weighty and far-reaching indeed. Never mind that for now, shouldn't you be keeping your promise to me today?"

  Liu Yu's face suddenly turned bitter, and he responded with measured words: "Father-in-law, you see, just now the heavens have shown a strange sign, which is shocking. It must be in response to the birth of my young son. I think this child will surely make great achievements for the Han dynasty in the future. What do you think? Should we discuss it again later?" The old man's face turned ashen upon hearing these words: "Liu Yu! I have no sons, only a daughter who married you. You gave up the high-ranking official position left by your ancestors and started from a lowly position. I didn't complain. I only suggested that in the future, we would choose one of our children to inherit my legacy. You agreed wholeheartedly. Now, seeing these strange signs, my daughter's young son has unlimited prospects, but you want to go back on your word?"

  It turned out that Liu Yu was originally a member of the Han imperial family. When he was young, he gave up his father's fief and came to Pingzhou alone, starting from a small official position. He often relied on his father-in-law for support. Since his father-in-law had no son, he discussed with Liu Yu that in the future, one of his sons would be chosen to inherit his family business, which meant that his youngest son, who was just born, would follow his mother's surname and change his name to Ao.

  Liu Yu said with difficulty: "Father-in-law, if not so, wait for the next child to be born and let him inherit your family business?" The old man surnamed Ao scolded: "Nonsense! I am 68 years old this year. Can I still wait for your next child to be born? Don't talk nonsense, I have already thought about it. This newborn child will be the one, surname Ao, name Lie, and will be the next master of the Ao family." Liu Yu saw that his father-in-law was getting angry, so he hastily agreed: "Okay, okay, let's call him Ao Lie, but it's up to you, Father-in-law." The old man surnamed Ao nodded in satisfaction and said: "One Harmony, one Lie, one Quiet, one Dynamic, one Literary, one Martial. In the future, let He Er learn literature and let Lie Er practice martial arts. Wonderful! Wonderful!" After finishing speaking, he looked up at the sky and burst out laughing.

  In the main bedroom of the county magistrate's residence, Liu Yu looked at his wife, Ao Xue, with a pale face and said gently: "Madam, you've worked hard." Ao's wife pushed the newborn baby boy in Liu Yu's direction and said softly: "Husband, look, this is our youngest son. Give him a name." Liu Yu lowered his head to look at the young child in Ao's arms, and although he was still in swaddling clothes, for some reason, Liu Yu could truly feel a deep and sharp aura emanating from the child. Sighing, Liu Yu turned to his wife, with a bitter smile on his lips: "No need to think about it, your father has already given the child a good name, called Ao Lie, following your surname." A vague laugh interrupted the conversation between the couple, and they quickly looked down at the young child, only to see that he had surprisingly opened his mouth, laughing vaguely while trying to clap his small hands together.

  Mrs. Ao couldn't help but chuckle and tidied up the quilt that had been messed up by her young child, then said to Liu Yu: "You see? The kid seems to like this name." Liu Yu nodded reluctantly, as if resigned to his fate: "Alright, if he likes it, we'll just go with this name. Anyway, I won't be able to win against my old father-in-law." Mrs. Ao heard this and couldn't help but giggle, scolding him: "What? You don't like taking my surname?" Liu Yu shook his head and forced himself to say: "It's not that it's bad or anything...

  Madam Ao stretched out her jade hand and placed it on Liu Yu's wrist, softly advising: "Husband, don't be angry. Think carefully, no matter whose surname the child takes, isn't he still our flesh and blood? You are still the child's father, this is an unchangeable fact." Liu Yu lowered his head and thought seriously for a moment before smiling and saying: "Madam's words are not wrong, I was thinking too much. Could it be that I'm afraid this little thing won't call me 'dad' in the future?"

  Thus, in the 21st century, Ao Lie, a martial arts enthusiast and adventurer, somehow ended up in the Eastern Han Dynasty, becoming Liu Yu's second son, and also somehow took his mother's surname, still called Ao Lie!

  Time flies like an arrow. Eight years later, it was the fourth year of Guanghe, and Liu Yu had been promoted to Taishou of Jiuyuan County due to his outstanding performance.

  The warm sunlight of a summer afternoon poured down, making people feel languid and unable to muster the energy. However, in the backyard of the county governor's mansion, a sturdy young man was practicing swordsmanship tirelessly. His offense and defense were perfectly harmonious, his sword moves flowing like clouds and water, without any hint of stagnation, revealing that this young man had put in a lot of hard work into mastering the art of sword fighting. This was Ao Lie after crossing over. In his previous life, he was an extraordinary martial artist who had cultivated ancient martial arts. After rebirth, he quickly abandoned his past and adapted to his new life. A true hero should wield a three-foot sword and achieve great fame that would last for generations - wasn't this what he had pursued in his past life? Now that he had the opportunity to come to the late Eastern Han dynasty, a time of war and strife when heroes rose and fell, how could he waste the beautiful intention of heaven? The Five Barbarians' invasion of China? With Ao Lie's rebirth, the disaster that had brought suffering to the sons of the Han people would surely be eradicated!

  Since his rebirth, Ao Lie has persisted in practicing the ultimate techniques he learned from Mount Wudang, regardless of the season or weather. Every day, he practices the Wudang Nine Yang Skill in the morning and at night; during the day, he practices Taiji Sword and Taiji Gun; and in the evening, he uses various methods and herbs to temper his body and strengthen his bones. Combining his past experiences with eight years of bitter practice, Ao Lie's skills have become unique, although still far from the realm of a grandmaster. What surprises Ao Lie is the change in his body - for some unknown reason, since his rebirth, he feels that his strength has increased several times over. After undergoing various training methods and taking rare herbs to cultivate his foundation, Ao Lie feels that he can now easily kill an ox with one punch, something that was previously impossible for him.

  After finishing his sword practice, Ao Lie put away the long sword in his hand and just wiped off the sweat with a towel when he heard footsteps approaching from afar. Without asking, it was definitely his mother, Mrs. Ao, who knew his habits well, bringing him tea. In recent years, every time he took a break from practicing, Mrs. Ao would seize his brief rest time to bring over tea she had personally brewed or some honey water drink. Sometimes his father Liu Yu, older brother Liu He, and grandfather Ao Lao Zhang would also come along. This made the reborn Ao Lie increasingly deeply feel the warmth of family affection. In his previous life as an orphan, he could only faintly sense such warmth in his dreams.

  As expected, after the gate was pushed open, Madam Ao's majestic figure appeared in Ao Lie's line of sight. Madam Ao walked slowly to Ao Lie's side, picked up the outer garment on the clothes rack and put it on Ao Lie, then reached into her bosom and took out a white silk handkerchief, gently wiping Ao Lie's forehead. Ao Lie felt his mother's unintentionally revealed maternal love, and a joyful smile appeared on his face: "Mother, I've already wiped my sweat." Madam Ao lightly hummed in response, but her hands didn't stop moving, carefully helping Ao Lie wipe again.