Chapter 2: Crossing Over! Zixing? Zixin? Shouwang? Zhouwang?

  "Hasn't it returned to ancient times?" Zhang Zixing's voice trembled, "Is it the effect of antimatter energy or that strange blue light energy?"

  "Is Your Highness unwell?" The girl asked tentatively as she heard the prince utter some incomprehensible and strange phrases.

  Zhang Zixing grasped her hand and asked excitedly in a loud voice: "What era is it now? The Emperor... no, who is the Son of Heaven?"

  The young girl cried out in pain, the jade bowl fell to the ground, and the soup splashed everywhere. She trembled with fear and said: "Your Highness must be confused, today's emperor is Emperor Yi, your father!"

  Di Yi? Zhang Zixing didn't think of which king it was for a moment, but when he saw the large number of oracle bone inscriptions on the wall and bronze decorations (the bronze ware had Jinwen), he finally confirmed - it turned out that he hadn't died that day, but had mistakenly entered the time tunnel and returned to the Shang Dynasty. Although in the 24th century there were many people who were also enthusiastic about studying time jumping or artificial wormholes, no one was able to succeed, and crossing through space-time could only be achieved in fantasy novels. He didn't expect such an incredible encounter to happen to himself!

  He also vaguely recalled that he had gone through a fierce struggle between life and death, the object of which was another "self", and finally he seemed to have overcome his "self" with strong willpower before waking up.

  The girl looked at Zhang Zixing's dazed expression, felt afraid in her heart, and rolled out to run away, shouting: "It's bad! Come on! Something happened to King Shou!"

  This shout caused a huge stir, and the surroundings suddenly became restless. Zhang Zixing also woke up from his contemplation, he was wise beyond his years and deeply knew that his current "prince" identity was not trivial. One misstep could lead to fatal consequences, so he had no choice but to continue lying in bed, thinking of a countermeasure in his heart. No matter what happened after the lab accident, returning to another era was an unchangeable fact. For now, the most important thing was how to use this new identity to survive...

  After a moment, a group of people rushed over, led by two young women who were dressed in luxurious clothes and had beautiful faces.

  "Your Highness, what's wrong?" Two women walked up, one of whom asked anxiously, "Is it because you haven't sobered up from drinking?"

  "Who are you?" Zhang Zixing thought for a moment and felt that pretending to have amnesia was still the best approach.

  "Your Highness can't even recognize us two?" The two women exchanged a glance, and this surprise was not trivial. One of the women immediately asked the maid: "What exactly happened after Your Highness returned to the mansion drunk the other day? Was it because you servants didn't serve properly?"

  The maids were so frightened that they hastily knelt down and said "dare not": "Report to the two ladies, since the night of the thunderstorm two days ago, the prince has been drunk and sleeping soundly without waking up. The slaves have been guarding the prince's side all along and dare not be slightly careless."

  "Then can Your Highness recognize these two children?" Another woman asked while holding hands with two six or seven year old boys.

  Zhang Zixing naturally couldn't recognize him, knowing that this must be the wife and child of "Shou Wang". Afraid of revealing his true identity, he simply covered his head and pretended to be in great pain: "How my head hurts, I can't remember anything..."

  "Your Highness can't even recognize your own flesh and blood?" The woman stumbled a few steps, almost fainting. "The great ancestor Cheng Tang is above, what's to be done!"

  Another woman hastily said: "Sister, this matter is no trivial thing, it must be immediately reported to the imperial physician for diagnosis and treatment, and this matter should be quickly memorialized to the Emperor."

  "Sister is right, come quickly! Hurry and invite the imperial physician!" The woman nodded and said: "Sister, you stay here to take care of the prince, I will immediately enter the palace to report to His Majesty."

  The entire Wang Fu was in an uproar again, and the imperial physicians soon arrived, but they were all at a loss as to what to do about Shou Wang's "strange illness". This matter also shocked the current emperor - Shou Wang's father, Emperor Yi.

  Unlike what Zhang Zixing had imagined, Emperor Yi, who rushed overnight, did not have much imperial majesty. At this moment, he looked more like a kind father, at least in front of his son "Shouwang".

  "Wang Er, you don't recognize your parents, wife and children, do you know your own name?" Emperor Yi walked closer to Zhang Zixing and asked tentatively.

  Zhang Zixing covered his head in a contemplative state, suddenly shouting with a headache and claiming that he couldn't remember anything. Emperor Yi only thought that he was seriously ill, and his face immediately showed a painful expression. Zhang Zixing secretly scolded those imperial physicians for being mediocre, not even recognizing this "amnesia" that is commonly seen in movies. This is also no wonder, who let the medical level of this era be backward?

  "Zi Xin, my son, you were still displaying your divine might just the other day, in Feiyun Pavilion, changing the pillars and beams, intimidating all the officials. How is it that today you're so ill? Even the imperial physicians are at a loss..." Emperor Yi looked at his unrecognizable "son" with a sorrowful sigh.

  Shou Wang's two wives, Jiang Shi and Yang Shi, heard this and hastily knelt down, calling themselves guilty. The maidservants and imperial physicians were even more so, cowering on the ground, not daring to move. Zhang Zixing suddenly heard the words "Zi Xin" and was shocked: "'Purple Star'? I also... my name is Purple Star?"

  Di Yi saw Shou Wang react and hastily said: "Wang Er, have you thought of something?"

  "I seem to remember something, I think that's what my name is." What a coincidence, Zhang Zixing thought, it's convenient that even the names seem to be exactly the same, so let's just go with acknowledging it.

  "That's great, did you remember anything else?" Emperor Yi and Ernv heard him recall the name, both showing a surprised expression, they didn't know that this "Zixing" was not that "Zixin".

  "All I remember is my own name. Everything else gives me a headache." Zhang Zixing hesitated and asked, "Are you my father?"

  "Of course! Xīn ér, I am your father!" Although his son did not address him with the formal title of "Father Emperor", this term of endearment added a few more degrees of closeness, making Emperor Yǐ feel especially affectionate.

  "Dad, why have I suddenly forgotten everything?" Zhang Zixing chimed in.

  "Is the prince not being invaded by evil spirits?" Emperor Yi pondered, "It's a pity that Taishi Wen Zhong led the army to conquer the rebels and has not returned. Otherwise, with his identity as the leader of the Teachings Gate, he would have known many capable people and been familiar with various techniques, and he would certainly be able to resolve the prince's troubles."

  Hear, Zhong! Intercept the teachings! Zhang Zixing, who had a special fondness for gods and monsters since his student days, finally remembered the meaning of this "Shouwang" he represented. It turned out that Shouwang was actually the infamous tyrant Emperor Zhou of Shang in Chinese history - Di Xin! What shocked him even more was that from Emperor Yi's words, it seemed highly likely that this world was not just the Shang Dynasty recorded in historical books, but a world closer to the mythological world of the classic novel "The Investiture of the Gods"!

  Zhang Zixing, although still not daring to confirm this point, was also worried that outsiders would notice the flaws and hastily said: "Father, just now when I heard my name, I had a special sense of familiarity. Can't someone tell me about my past slowly, or let me come into contact with some familiar people? Maybe I can recall past events."

  Emperor Yi nodded and said: "Since the imperial physician is incompetent and has heard that the Grand Master has not returned, there is nothing else to do for now."

  In the following days, Zhang Zixing naturally went around looking for "forgotten memories". Combining his understanding of Fengshen Yanyi and Shang Dynasty history, he finally got a clear picture of the situation with the King of Longevity. He also started to get familiar with everyone else, even if there were some differences in their words, they had "amnesia" as an excuse. Upon learning that the King of Longevity was recovering smoothly, Emperor Yi's frown disappeared, but he didn't know that his original son had been replaced by someone else.

  It's been over a month, and Shou Wang's "illness" has basically recovered. Except for some memories that have not fully returned, he is no different from ordinary people. He even seems to have changed into a different person, changing his past arrogant attitude, handling matters calmly and steadily, speaking cleverly, and treating others with humility and courtesy. Emperor Di heard the news and was both surprised and delighted, secretly thinking that the spirit of Cheng Tang's ancestor was at work.

  Zhang Zixing, while carefully adapting to the environment, finally confirmed that he had come to a mysterious world with the background of the Chinese Shang Dynasty in a way similar to rebirth. It is likely to be another strange parallel space. In this space, some virtual characters and mysterious Taoist techniques in "The Investiture of the Gods" are also real existences.

  This time, the situation of "rebirth" was very strange. Shou Wang seemed to be a projection of Zhang Zixing in this parallel space, and their appearance and physique were extremely similar. Two people who were originally never supposed to meet were intertwined due to some inexplicable power. Although their bodies merged perfectly, their vastly different souls could not fuse together. As the saying goes, "one mountain cannot contain two tigers," both sides wanted to control the body, subconsciously rejecting and fighting each other. In the end, Zhang Zixing's "existence" declared the disappearance of Shou Wang's original consciousness.

  Due to the advanced technology of the 24th century, many previously incurable diseases were overcome by scientists one after another. Human physiology was greatly improved, with an average lifespan of 250 years, and both physical quality and mental state were far beyond those of ancient people. After this strange "rebirth", Zhang Zixing felt that his body's various functions and mental state not only did not decline but became even stronger. Especially the strength of his flesh, for some reason increased by tens of times compared to before, had long surpassed human limits, making it hard to imagine. No wonder Emperor Yi said that Shou Wang had performed a wonderful "supporting beam replacing pillar" play in Fei Yun Pavilion the other day - this was exactly the effect of Zhang Zixing and Shou Wang's body perfectly merging.

  In "The Investiture of the Gods", there was a scene where King Zhou fought a great battle at noon with Huang Feihu and single-handedly fought against the marquises, cutting down Nan Bo Hou. Moreover, this was after he had indulged in wine and lust every night. From this point alone, it can be seen that King Zhou's own strength was indeed extraordinary. However, Zhang Ziyu knew that even if he could truly have the bravery of a thousand men like King Zhou, he would still be a mortal being, fundamentally unable to contend with those mysterious and magical immortals. Whether in history or legend, the outcome for the Shang dynasty was always the same - it would be destroyed by King Wu of Zhou, and the Son of Heaven, Zhou, would also meet his demise.

  Now that we know our future fate, it's impossible to live a numb life waiting for death.

  If it were just an ordinary traversal or rebirth, Zhang Zixing was confident that with the technological knowledge he possessed, he could bring about a leapfrogging progress to this backward Bronze Age and establish an invincible and stable regime. However, his greatest enemy in the future would not be ordinary humans, but powerful gods, demons, and even masters who could destroy the heavens and earth, so how could he resist?

  What should I do? Every time Zhang Zixing thought of this question, he had a particularly powerless feeling.