Chapter One: The Young Man

  The general encountered danger at a young age, narrowly escaped death, and did not speak for a month. The villagers all thought it was strange and considered him to be possessed by a ghost or god. However, the general became angry and scolded them, causing the villagers to scatter in all directions. Afterwards, they all respected and feared him. At that time, the general was only just over ten years old, yet his anger inspired such awe, wasn't it extraordinary?

  "Records of the Great Qin: The General's Anecdotes"

  The second child of Zhao Jia Village's Zhao Liehu, a 10-year-old boy named Zhao Shi, also known as Shitou, recently fell into an icy well and was rescued after being submerged for some time. Although he didn't suffer any physical injuries, he hasn't spoken a word since waking up. His eyes seem to have been affected by the cold water, giving him a chilling stare that sends shivers down people's spines.

  Zhao Wanshan, a seasoned hunter who has spent years dealing with wild beasts in the mountains, noticed an unusual glint in Shitou's eyes, reminiscent of a mother wolf protecting her cubs. This observation unsettled Zhao Wanshan, prompting him to seek medical help for his son.

  A local doctor was summoned, but his diagnosis and treatment seemed ineffective. The doctor prescribed a traditional remedy, which Zhao Liehu hastily grabbed, despite not understanding the characters on the prescription. He spent the entire night gathering herbs from over 20 miles away, only to find that the medicine had no effect on Shitou's condition.

  Ten days have passed since Shitou started taking the medicine, but he remains unresponsive and hasn't uttered a single word.

  The villagers all believed in ghosts and gods, at this time, Zhao Liehu hurriedly invited Zhao Bansian from the village again.

  When Zhao Bànxiān arrived at the Zhao family's home, he was determined that the child had been possessed by a water ghost from the well and that they had to invite a god to drive out the evil. Inviting a god was not a big or small matter for the villagers of Zhaojia Village, except for weddings and funerals. On the day of the ritual, dozens of people from the village came, old and young, surrounding the altar set up by Zhao Bànxiān, watching with eyes full of reverence, curiosity, and excitement as Zhao Bànxiān, who had a somewhat immortal air about him, opened the altar to invite the god.

  But the ending was embarrassing, maybe Zhao Banshen's magic was not enough, or maybe the water ghost's magic was too strong, or maybe Zhao Banshen's spell had taken effect. Who can say for sure? After Zhao Banshen had been struggling for half a day, the child who had been quietly sitting in front of the altar and hadn't spoken a word for several days suddenly spoke up.

  "Stop pretending and get out." The voice was neither loud nor soft, nor was it particularly stern, but the chill in it made everyone who heard it feel a shiver run down their spine.

  Zhao Banshan, who was dancing with great fanfare, suddenly turned to stone on the spot. No one knew who shouted "Ghost!" The onlookers immediately scattered in all directions. When Zhao Banshan came back to his senses, he jumped even higher, his face deathly pale, and took off running, rolling and crawling like a rabbit that had been shot with an arrow.

  Zhao Shi watched as the people quickly disappeared into the distance, and he didn't know what kind of feeling was in his heart. When he woke up, he had already sensed that something was off. Time-space travel sounded like an unbelievable idea, but it had already started to be explored in movies from the 80s. By the 21st century, this was no longer a fresh topic.

  Time and space may have been a bit inaccurate, to be precise, he is a soul attachment. His body has gone through hundreds of battles, his tough body like steel has gone who knows where, now his soul is still that cold and cunning warrior, but his body has become a weak and fragile body of a child from who knows what era.

  "Hey, don't scare your dad... Is that you, Stone?" Zhao Liehu and his family surrounded Zhao Shi from a distance.

  Zhao Shi took a glance, three women, the one who looked like she was in her thirties should be this child's mother, two younger ones were his sister and his younger sister. As for the man, he was this child's father. After these few days, Zhao Shi had naturally become very clear about all these things.

  For several days, these people's concern and care for him also awakened some distant memories of Zhao Shi, but that was already a thing before he was thirteen years old.

  Zhao Shi slightly raised the corner of his mouth, which was equivalent to a smile. "I'm fine." Although the events that had occurred were somewhat bizarre, with time travel and soul possession no longer being new topics in his lifetime, it still took him several days to digest the fact that they had happened to him personally. He didn't shout or scream, and his years of self-discipline and nerves as hard as steel also prevented him from asking silly questions like "Where is this?" or "What era is this?" Instead, he carefully observed everything in front of him and drew his own conclusions. This place should still be within China's borders, judging by the people's appearances and conversations. Even their accents seemed to belong to the northwest dialect. However, the people here wore ancient clothing, with braids on their heads, which was certainly not a characteristic of modern attire. From the houses and furnishings, it could also be determined that this was not a crowded and polluted modern city.

  But Zhao Shi didn't care about his situation, he had no parents, no wife, not even friends, all the things that ordinary people would worry about meant nothing to him, so what difference did it make where he lived?

  It was the current body that made Zhao Shi very satisfied. At over 30 years old, Zhao Shi had been feeling his energy and physical strength declining day by day. But now, in this new body, he felt a surge of vitality. He stood up, stretching his arms wide under the shocked gaze of the Zhao family, took a deep breath of cool, unpolluted air, and muttered to himself: "I'm still alive..."

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  A year's time has passed in a flash...

  The mountain village is backed by Niutou Mountain, which has two main peaks that are opposite each other and resemble a pair of horns on an ox's head. The mountain is not very high, but it is densely forested with various birds and beasts roaming about. In the early morning, mist rises from the forest, creating a breathtaking view. In front of the village is a crystal-clear stream that winds its way through, which is not very deep or fast-flowing. Fish swim back and forth in the stream, which has a lovely name - Clear Brook. With both mountains and water, the village's surroundings are even more picturesque and pleasant to behold.

  Zhaojia Village is closed and quiet, the people living here are kind and simple, with a harmonious atmosphere. Although no one is rich, everyone is content with their fate, kind to others, and happy-go-lucky. The longer you stay here, the more it feels like being in a secluded paradise away from the hustle and bustle of the world, with a sense of timelessness.

  Such a peaceful life, if placed in front of any other modern person's soul, would probably feel dull. Don't think that just because the scenery is beautiful, with mountains and water, it's good; in this backward mountain village, people are still in the era of slash-and-burn farming, without internet, without TV or phones. For modern people, this might be a great tourist destination, but to live here for long, out of ten people, nine would not be able to bear the simplicity and hardship, and the remaining one would be a freak like Zhao Shi.

  Zhao Shi rarely felt very satisfied with life here, and he, who had experienced countless twists and turns, seemed to have found his own haven in this place far away from the world. The murderous intent that had been boiling like a wild beast between midnight dreams was gradually calming down in the face of daily peaceful life. Although he didn't know how long such days could last, he had unknowingly taken this place as his second hometown.

  The mountain village was quiet, but it wasn't without outsiders coming and going. Every year after the autumn harvest, tax officials would come to collect taxes, which also allowed Zhao Shi to learn about many outside things. This place belonged to Xi Qin's Guiyi County, and the year was the 25th year of Xi Qin's Zhengde Emperor.

  The name "Xi Qin" had Zhao Shi pondering for several days. Xi Qin had appeared in the history of Huaxia, but Zhao Shi wasn't very familiar with history. However, he had read about the Five Barbarians' invasion from books, which seemed to mention that Xi Qin was a regime established by the Xianbei tribe. But when he asked around, it didn't seem to be the case. As everyone knew, after the Han dynasty's decline and the Three Kingdoms' wars, the country was in shambles, and the people were impoverished. Then came the Wei and Jin dynasties, followed by the Northern and Southern Dynasties, with no peaceful moments in between. This led to the later Five Barbarians' invasion, where non-Han Chinese established 16 regimes, but they all appeared briefly. The Xi Qin regime, from its establishment to its demise, probably lasted only a few decades at most. But now, this Xi Qin had already been established for over 200 years, and the current emperor was an unadulterated Han Chinese. At this point, Zhao Shi realized that history seemed to have undergone significant changes in this world, becoming less reliable. He didn't know if he was still within China's borders, but at least this place was no longer the Huaxia land he knew.

  Zhao Liehu furrowed his brow as he watched the figure making strange movements in the courtyard, shaking his head and sighing. Ever since his son had fallen into a well a year ago and nearly lost his life, he didn't know if it was due to shock or, as Zhao Banshan said, being possessed by a ghost, but his son had become completely different from before. He rarely spoke a word, and had also become distant from the family members. This wasn't what worried Zhao Wanshan the most; as long as his son was fine, nothing else mattered. But after scaring away Zhao Banshan, a year had passed, and during this time, his son's body had become stronger and more robust, and he had grown taller by a large margin. The physique of an eleven-year-old boy was already almost on par with that of fifteen-year-old boys in the village. This should have been a good thing; Zhao Wanshan himself was born sturdy and strong, and after years of hunting fierce beasts in the mountains, his body was even more robust. His son naturally took after him.

  But the little guy's actions became more and more suspicious, making some bags himself, filling them with stones from the riverbank, tying them to his body twice a day, morning and evening, running around the village until he was exhausted. This is not all, now he is punching and kicking, making loud noises, his moves are messy, but looking at his energy, it seems like he wants to take someone's life. Zhao Wanshan himself did not teach his son these deadly skills, now the villagers are spreading rumors that Zhao Liang's boy has gone mad, if this continues, what will happen?

  It seems that it's time to tell the child about their relatives, and also to dispel some bad luck. Zhao Wanshan thought to himself...

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  "Stones, eat slowly, don't choke...". Shi Tou Niang gently patted Zhao Shi's back, her doting intention was evident.

  Zhao Shi remained silent, but his wolf-like devouring movements also slowed down. In a year's time, although it was difficult, he had basically adapted to the role in this family. However, habits formed over the years were not easy to change overnight. He still spoke little and would not behave like an eleven-year-old child. Pretending to be an innocent child? This was something he really couldn't do. The two young girls in the house also added a few points of fear towards this changed brother (or older brother), their eyes always looking at him timidly. But as his mother, Zhao Wang Shi still treated him with extra love and care, which added a bit of warmth to Zhao Shi's heart that had not experienced such affection for a long time.

  "Stones, I want to tell you something." Zhao Wanshan said, looking at his son steadily.

  Zhao Shi silently put down the chopsticks in his hand, and the kind of careless indifference that flowed outwards made Zhao Wanshan feel like there was a huge stone stuck in his heart. He was furious but couldn't express it, facing this son who seemed to be completely different from before. Although Zhao Wanshan didn't want to admit it, he couldn't scold or beat him like before, as if trying to make Zhao Shi act like a child again. It was impossible. Now, being stared at by a pair of cold eyes that seemed to be filled with ice and snow, or other icy things without any temperature, even though his heart was full of anger, it was like being doused with a basin of cold water, making his whole body feel cool and numb. Not to mention saying anything to teach him a lesson.

  "Cough, cough..." Zhao Wanshan coughed twice and swallowed back a bellyful of words, shifting his gaze away. As the master of the house in his prime years, Zhao Liehu secretly let out a sigh of "big but not by my own will", which was an excuse for his somewhat weak behavior, but his voice still unknowingly carried a hint of compromise, "Shi Wa'er, tomorrow come with Father to the city, go see your third brother, it's time for you..."

  Before he could finish speaking, the courtyard gate creaked loudly and a loud voice shouted out, "Are Auntie and Uncle at home? Little San has come to visit you two!"