Chapter 2: The Second Generation as People

  The night fell like water, the sound of insects and ants outside the window was clear and audible, occasionally the sound of a night bird's cry seemed particularly crisp and clear. The moonlight was gentle and pure, its soft glow passing through the window lattice, gently stroking his distant face. Gaoyuan had been awake for a long time, but he didn't want to open his eyes, his mind still thinking about everything that happened during the day.

  What's going on with me? Am I dreaming? I raised my hand and pinched myself hard on the thigh, it hurt so much that it felt like my heart was being pierced. It really hurts, it seems that all of this is not a dream, but something that is truly happening to me.

  A snoring sound came from the front of the bed, and when I turned my head, I clearly saw a young man lying on a grass mat on the ground under the moonlight. He was not very old, definitely no more than twenty years old. What made Gaoyuan shocked and frightened was the clothes on that young man's body, as well as the decorations on the clothes of those people seen during the day when he was awake. It was as if he had entered a scene from an ancient costume TV drama, and he himself had become a prop for these people to perform with.

  This is absolutely not the era where I should be. Even if I was rescued, I should still be in a hospital room, with snow-white walls, soft lighting, and beautiful nurses in uniform, but definitely not like this now.

  Where am I? Severe headache, reached out to touch my head, found thick bandages wrapped around it, pressed a few times outside the bandage, immediately clear about the injury, fingers pressing, an open irregular wound, as if hit by a brick.

  A strong feeling of discomfort between the chest and abdomen, hands moving down, not unexpected, a bandage wrapped around the chest and abdomen, pulling open the thin quilt covering his body, two hands propping up the bed board, slowly getting out of bed, leaning against the headboard, slowly unwrapping the tightly bound bandage, a strong smell of Chinese medicine wafting to his nose, gently wiping away the medicinal paste on the wound, a shocking wound appearing before his eyes, looking at the wound, Gaofar swallowed hard, he had been shot, not just once, but now what was in front of him was clearly a knife wound, he had been shot multiple times, yet all he saw was one wound.

  Although his lofty aspirations had been tempered like steel in the life-and-death struggles of these years, at this moment he was still frightened out of his wits, and his hand fell limply down, striking the bedside with a loud thud, making a dull sound.

  The young man sleeping on the ground was extremely alert, and as soon as the sound started, he sprang up from the ground like a carp jumping out of water. Seeing Gaoyuan sitting half-up in bed with a dazed expression, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Heavens! Young master, what are you doing? Why have you untied your bandages?" He quickly rushed to the bedside and reached out to pick up the scattered bandages.

  Gao Yuan stared blankly at the unfamiliar face, letting him carefully wrap the bandage around himself. After a while, he finally asked a question.

  "Who are you?"

  The young man was taken aback, looked up at Gao Yuan and said, "Young master, what's wrong with you? You can't even recognize a lowly person like me?"

  "Who are you?" Gaoyuan repeated.

  "Master, I'm Zhang Yi, I'm Lord Lu's personal attendant." Zhang Yi was also somewhat bewildered, because from the distant look in his eyes, it seemed that Master really didn't recognize him at all.

  "Master Lu, who is Master Lu?" Gao Yuan asked blankly, what had happened after all? Why was everything in disarray.

  "Master, you can't even remember Lord Lu." Zhang Yi stopped what he was doing and looked at Gao Yuan in disbelief.

  Gao Yuan shook his head, raised his hand and rubbed his temples, muttering: "Can't remember, can't remember anything."

  Looking at the bandage wrapped around his head, Zhang Yi said somewhat nervously: "Young master, I'm afraid you've suffered a brain injury, that's why you've forgotten. You should rest well, maybe it'll be better in two days."

  Gao Yuan shook his head, he knew it wasn't for this reason.

  "Is your name Zhang Yi?"

  "Yes, young master."

  "Who is Lord Lu? Where am I? Who am I?" Gao Yuan stared at Zhang Yi and asked.

  "Master!" Zhang Yi knew the problem was serious, it seemed like Master had amnesia. "Your name is Gao Yuan, this is Fufeng City, Lord Lu is the county magistrate of Fufeng County and also your uncle. The Lu family and yours are close relatives!"

  "Am I Gao Yuan?"

  "Yes, you're called Gao Yuan, from Fufeng, and this year you've just turned eighteen. You've grown up in Fufeng City since you were a child!"

  Gao Yuan blinked his eyes, almost fainting, he was about to turn thirty, but in the blink of an eye, he had returned to being eighteen again.

  "Is it just you in your household?" he continued to ask.

  Zhang Yi confirmed at this time that the young master in front of him really didn't remember anything. He thought to himself that this was no small matter, and tomorrow morning, he would have to go tell Lord Lu.

  "Yes, young master, your parents have passed away long ago, and it's been Lord Lu who has been taking care of you all these years!" Zhang said.

  I'm not myself anymore! Gao Yuan finally came to a conclusion. His two hands were tightly clenched, his fingernails deeply embedded in the flesh, and his hands slightly trembling. If it weren't for the strong will he had cultivated through years of life-and-death battles on the arena, he would have gone mad long ago.

  "Zhang Yi, what year is it this year?" He asked a very important question.

  "Master, this year is the ninth year of Da Yan Zhao Ping! " Zhang Yixin said Master was indeed confused by his injuries this time, and Lord Lu would be heartbroken if he knew about it.

  The ninth year of Da Yan Zhao Ping! Gao Yuan groaned in his heart, what the hell is this time? Even if he had won the jackpot and returned to some era for some unknown reason, it seemed that there was no such thing as the Da Yan Zhao Ping era in history! He rolled his eyes and fell unconscious again.

  "Master! Master!" Seeing Gao Yuan faint again, Zhang Yi's expression changed in an instant.

  When Gao Yuan woke up again from his coma, the sky was already bright, and the outside was sunny, but Gao Yuan's heart was filled with gloom. The Road Lord who appeared last night was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at him with concern, while Dr. Qiu stood beside him with his head bowed.

  "Gaoyuan, are you awake? Early this morning, Zhang Yi came to find me, hmm, Doctor Qiu, can you tell me what's going on? How could Gaoyuan forget everything?" The middle-aged man turned his head and asked Doctor Qiu.

  "Although such cases are rare, they are not unheard of. There are records in medical literature..."

  "That's enough, don't tell me all that, I just want to know the reason, and can it be cured?" Lord Lu bluntly cut off the doctor's attempt to cite precedents.

  "Yes, yes, sir. In this state, Young Master Gao must have suffered severe brain damage and lost some memories after the injury. However, it's usually just partial memory loss, but for someone like Young Master Gao to forget everything so completely is indeed rare."

  "Then, is there a possibility of recovery?"

  "This, this, recovery is also possible, but it takes a very long time. Maybe, maybe..."

  Listening to Dr. Qiu's hesitant words, Lord Lu's heart slowly sank. Dr. Qiu was the best doctor in Fufeng City, and even in the entire Liaoxi Prefecture, he was a renowned figure. Yet, not even he dared to make a definitive diagnosis, fearing that Gao Yuan's illness was too troublesome.

  He got up and walked back and forth in the house for a few laps, then looked at Gaoyuan again, "Doctor, looking at Gaoyuan's appearance, it seems that he just forgot some past events, and his intelligence doesn't seem to have been damaged."

  "Yes, sir, this is exactly what puzzles me." Ji De Bao nodded repeatedly.

  "Alright, forget it then!" Lu Gong suddenly smiled and walked to the bedside, looking at Gao Yuan. "Gao Yuan, it's okay if you've forgotten past events. Hmm, Zhang will tell you later. For now, just remember that my name is Lu Hong, I'm your father's sworn brother, your parents passed away early, and I'm the closest person to you."

  Gao Yuan nodded slightly, this time after waking up from his coma, he seemed to have figured out many things and accepted his fate. The man in front of him who claimed to be his uncle, Lu Honglu, was the county magistrate of Fufeng County, a not-so-small official in the county, either second or third in command. It seemed that this time, being reborn as a human, he had gained a pretty good background.

  "Yes, Uncle Lu, I remember, you are the closest person to me."

  "Alright!" Lu Hong patted Gao Yuan's shoulder with satisfaction. "Take good care of your injury, you're eighteen now and can't just wander around the world like before. Once you've recovered, I'll arrange something for you to do. You should be doing something too, your father was a hero in his time, don't tarnish his reputation."

  "Thank you, Uncle, for taking care of me!" Gao Yuan hastily said.

  "A family doesn't speak two different languages." Lu Hong waved his hand, "There's still something going on in the government office, since you're not seriously injured, I'll head back now. If there's anything, just ask Zhang Yi, he's been following me, and he's clear about your family's affairs too."

  "Yes, Uncle."

  Seeing the distant air color not bad, Lu Hong nodded in satisfaction, turned around and looked at Qiu De Bao, "Qiu Daifu's wonderful hands brought back spring, indeed extraordinary, I'll treat you to a drink as a thank you."

  "I don't dare, I don't dare, the old man doesn't dare to take credit!" Ji De Bao bowed and said, but in his heart, he let out a long sigh of relief. Last night, Lord Lu was still threatening to drive him out of Fufeng City, but now, after just one day, everything had changed. Fortunately, this guy's life was tough and resilient, and somehow, despite such severe injuries, he managed to pull through. Looking at his complexion, it was clear that his life was absolutely safe."

  "Zhang Xiaoge!" Lu Hong had left, and Qiu De Bao finally stood up straight. "I've already given Young Master Gao a few more prescriptions. These two are for internal use, one dose is to be decocted in three waters, and taken three times a day. These two are for external application, after getting the medicine back, crush it, mix with warm water into a paste."

  Zhang Yi took over the prescription, "Thank you, Mr. Qiu."

  "No need to thank me, I just hope that Master Gao recovers soon. Otherwise, Lord Lu will not let you off easily!" Ji De Bao shook his head repeatedly, "Xiao Ge, remember to change the external medicine once a day."

  "Of course I remember!" Zhang smiled and said, "How could I dare forget."

  Qiu De Bao nodded and picked up his medical box to leave, but just as he was about to step out of the door, two people entered from outside. "Good day, Mr. Qiu!" The first person was none other than Jing Er, the young girl who had appeared at Gao Yuan's bedside last night. Behind her followed her younger brother, who was over ten years old and bouncing around with energy, a stark contrast to Jing Er's worried expression.