Chapter 1: Past Life and Present Life

  A bizarre murder case has brought together the province's most renowned criminal investigation experts and master detectives, who have all gathered together but are at a loss for what to do.

  "First, let's get to know the deceased Qin Mubai's background and life habits as well as his social circle."

  The slide show began with a crisp voice of a female police officer's explanation.

  "Qin Mubai, male, 29 years old this year, Han nationality, Army Lieutenant rank, national-level archer. His father is a Major General of a certain army group, and his mother is a professor of music at a certain ethnic college. In his early years, under the influence of his father, he entered a certain National Defense Science and Technology University to study and then joined the military. He has been fascinated with shooting since childhood and has exceptional talent in archery, later becoming an archer and winning multiple awards in major competitions. From a wealthy family, still unmarried, with many rumored girlfriends."

  The slide show displayed a string of different beautiful women's photos, among which there were not a few small-time celebrities, models and rich second-generation ladies. There were many men and women taking pictures together, and the handsome young man in those photos was Qin Mu Bai, the deceased who had been causing them endless headaches.

  A soft murmur arose: "It turns out he's a spoiled rich second-generation son."

  "Talk about his social circle and lifestyle."

  "Qin Mubai often calls himself 'life offending peach blossom'. He has a dual identity as a soldier and an athlete, plus the influence of his family and extensive personal hobbies, so his social circle is relatively large. In addition to some people in the sports and military circles, there are also people from the political and art circles. Moreover, he has a wide range of hobbies, including fitness boxing, piano, calligraphy, classical musical instruments, and beautiful cars. It's worth mentioning that whatever he dabbles in, he must master it."

  The female police officer's face turned slightly red, and many criminal investigation experts in the audience thought of a question: Is this sentence grammatically correct? Can "beauty" also be proficient?

  "This guy is simply a freak... " someone said, with a hint of jealousy in their tone.

  "Let's get back to the root of the problem. This demon... Qin Mu Bai, how exactly did he die?"

  "The cause of death is very strange," said the policewoman. "He died in his own bedroom. At that time, his model girlfriend, whom he had just met, was taking a bath in the bathtub. And Qin Mubai was playing the pipa in the bedroom, the music suddenly stopped, and he also suddenly died!"

  "What does the autopsy report say?"

  "The deceased's body was very healthy, with no signs of illness. The corpse and the scene were normal, without any signs of struggle or murder. On the surface, it seemed like... when he plucked the pipa, his life suddenly came to an end!"

  Many forensic experts on the scene furrowed their brows at the same time, some of them whispered to each other, and some looked at each other in dismay.

  "It seems possible that it is a high-tech murder case, and the killer's method is quite mysterious, waiting for us to investigate."

  "Cough... I say, could this demon have suddenly soul-traveled?"

  Everyone was taken aback, turning their heads in unison to stare at the guy who made the discordant sound, and glared at him in unison: "Be serious!"

  ……

  In the tenth year of the Zhenguan era, on a certain winter day, in the late afternoon, a strong gusty wind was blowing.

  The vast Guanzhong Plain stretches for thousands of miles, with a mountain peak piercing the sky and rising from the earth, facing the Qinling Mountains in the south.

  The mountains rise and fall in waves, with peaks stretching across. The mountain is named "Jiuzi".

  Qin Mubai, who was destined to be entangled with the peach blossoms, stood at the waist of Jiuzong Mountain, gazing out at the vast and majestic wilderness and misty mountains, his brow furrowed and his face seemingly not looking so good.

  Such a magnificent view, if it were in the past, he would surely be in a mood of climbing high and looking far away with a carefree heart, and might even recite that sentence from Jin Laoyezi "The earth shakes, a majestic landscape, thousands of years of elegance."

  But now, he felt a bit chilly and cool.

  There are no peach blossoms, but the scenery is indeed a thousand-year-old beauty. But if I myself have also become "thousand-year-old", then it's not fun anymore.

  Yesterday, Qin Mubai was still an excellent archer in the 21st century and held the rank of army lieutenant, enjoying officer treatment. The superior family environment is enviable, and a successful life has just begun.

  But now he has become a soldier of the Tang Dynasty!

  It so happens that the soldier of the Tang Dynasty was also named Qin Mubai, who is nineteen years old this year and looks exactly like him. The difference is that Mubai is his courtesy name, and his original name is Qin Liang.

  "Past life and present life", this is the only explanation Qin Mubai can think of.

  "Wasn't it just to create a bit of pre-bedtime atmosphere, show off my skills and play a tune on the pipa? As for getting my 'soul' stuck in the Tang Dynasty, turning me into a tomb guard... who knows who's managing the space-time continuum, must be some idiot who loves playing pranks but lacks creativity." Qin Mu Bai furrowed his brow, blowing against the cold wind of Guanzhong on a winter day, and tightened his thin military uniform, still shivering slightly.

  Soul Crossing!

  This was simply bizarre and incomprehensible for Qin Mubai!

  Not just that.

  The souls of Qin Mu Bai from two lifetimes seem to have "merged" together. In this body now, he possesses the memories and skills of both lifetimes.

  For example, the strength of this body is now stacked together, becoming incredibly powerful. Moreover, just like riding a bicycle or swimming, he can easily and skillfully use a set of horseback archery techniques!

  For example, he also remembered his current situation - it seemed quite impressive!

  Qin Liang, also known as Mu Bai, is the third son of the renowned Tang Dynasty war god Qin Shubao. His horseback archery skills were learned from his father Qin Shubao since childhood!

  However, Qin Mubai was a son born to a concubine, and he had two older brothers. In the feudal era where seniority and legitimacy were emphasized, even the right to inherit the family business was not available to him as an illegitimate child. Moreover, Qin Mubai seemed to be disliked by Qin Shubao and his two older brothers, so he was driven out of the house early on and thrown into the army to fend for himself. Furthermore, given Qin Shubao's prestige and influence in the Tang Dynasty, Qin Mubai surprisingly did not even obtain a military officer title, but was just an ordinary soldier in the Imperial Guard.

  As for the reason, Qin Mubai couldn't quite recall it. It seemed that this life's memories were a bit disjointed and fragmented in some places.

  "No way, I have to go back!" Qin Mu Bai thought resolutely, "I just received the notice and soon I'll be participating in an important archery competition, my new Porsche hasn't even reached 500 kilometers yet, that model girlfriend I just met might still be humming a love song in the bathroom waiting for me... What's more, I 'died' in such a bizarre way, my parents will go crazy!"

  After being blown by a gust of cold wind on the mountain, Qin Mubai entered the residence without hesitation, picked up a pipa, and began to play a pipa tune.

  The imperial mausoleum often holds some sacrificial rites, and naturally there is no lack of musical instruments. The curved-necked pipa was a mainstream instrument popular during the Tang Dynasty era. Qin Moyi had been influenced by her mother since childhood and had cultivated some musical instruments with a relatively high level, which could be considered a talent.

  Qin Mubai's life seems to have been destined to be tied to the "string" from an early age. Under his mother's cultivation, he had a lot of experience with the "piano strings" since childhood, and later developed a special fondness and talent for "bowstrings", eventually becoming a professional archer.

  "We came from nothing, and we'll return to nothing. No matter what, this world doesn't belong to me. In the 21st century, there are still N many things to do, my wonderful life has just begun, how can I spend my whole life cooped up in this desolate mountain of the Tang Dynasty, guarding a cold and icy grave?"

  There is no peach blossom here, but there are graves.

  As for this cold tomb, it's not ordinary, even Qin Mubai was moved by it.

  In the Tang Dynasty, the mausoleums of emperors were all built on mountains with walls carved into palaces. In this majestic Nine Peaks Mountain Yuangong Palace that stands thousands of feet tall, lies the renowned Empress Changsun, the wife of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin.

  Mausoleum name: Zhao Mausoleum!

  More than half a year ago, Empress Zhangsun passed away and was buried two months ago. Thus began the tragic life of Qin Mubai from the Tang Dynasty - from being an honorable Central Guard soldier (Imperial Forest Army soldier) to becoming a groundbreaking tomb guard.

  It is said that Empress Changsun, apart from being renowned for her virtue in later generations, was also a happy woman during her lifetime. It would not be an exaggeration to describe her as having "gathered three thousand favors in one life". After her death, Emperor Taizong of Tang followed his beloved wife's last wish to "build a mausoleum on the mountain" and buried her at Jiuzong Mountain. He also built a shed on the plank road outside the Yuan Palace and ordered palace staff and soldiers to live there. Because Emperor Taizong refused to believe that Empress Changsun, who was only 36 years old, had passed away, he ignored the advice of many ministers and insisted on sending eunuchs and imperial guards to serve and protect the empress at the Zhao Mausoleum Yuan Palace.

  Sending living people, even the Terracotta Warriors of Qin Shi Huang are no longer needed!

  This is an unprecedented move so far.

  No matter how later generations criticize Li Shimin's romantic and lustful nature, at least for now, his deep affection for Empress Changsun is beyond doubt.

  But Qin Mubai didn't care about any of this, the only thing he wanted to do now was to play the pipa desperately, hoping to cross back again. How others looked at him and gossiped about him, he didn't care about any of it either.

  The melodious pipa sound echoes through the majestic and vast Zhao Ling Mountains. The eunuchs and small officials who guard the tomb, whose spiritual lives are extremely empty, quietly listen to this tune, sometimes with boiling hot blood, sometimes with inexplicable sorrow.

  At the same time, everyone suddenly thought of a question: wasn't Qin Sanlang kicked in the head by a horse and became a bit muddle-headed two years ago? How did he become more agile after lying down with a fever for two days and still play the pipa so well?...

  A few days later.

  Qin Mubai had always been a confident and optimistic person, but at this moment he felt an unprecedented sense of despair and collapse.

  His pipa-playing fingers had blistered after days of practice, yet he still holed up in this cramped room without returning. Moreover, no matter how beautiful the music was, listening to it thousands of times would make people feel like it's deadly noise, and finally someone came to complain about him.

  He was an exceptionally tall and sturdy Han Chinese, at least 1.9 meters in height and over 100 kilograms in weight, with a charcoal-black beard and face, iron-cast muscles full of explosive power, majestic like a demon god. However, he was very kind-hearted, named Yuwen Hongtai, the comrade-in-arms and best friend of Qin Mubai of this generation of Tang Dynasty.

  "Xiao Bai, haven't you been possessed by a ghost lately? I see that something's off about you from head to toe. When did you learn how to play the pipa?" Yuwen Hongtai asked, holding up a bowl of wine and blinking his copper-bell-like eyes.

  "Don't call me Xiao Bai." Qin Mu Bai also held a bowl of wine in his hand, the palace's sacrificial wine was precious and fragrant, but this undistilled white wine had an alcohol content that was really too low, so he drank it like beer.

  He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, shaking his head: "I really don't know what to say to you."

  "Huh?" Yuwen Hongtai was taken aback, showing his teeth in a smile. "Forget it, let's just drink! Let's drink ourselves to death and consider that our farewell gift! Who knows when we'll be relieved from guarding this tomb? We might spend the rest of our lives here, so what's the point of being petty? At least there's plenty of good food and drink here, let's go all out!"

  "Cheers!" Qin Mubai had been feeling depressed and stifled with no one to talk to, so he opened up his heart and took a big swig.

  The sixth bowl went down, and Yuwen Hongtai's eyes widened: "My dear mother, I'm not mistaken, am I? You used to blush at half a bowl and fall over at one bowl, what's going on today, are you possessed by a ghost?"

  "Cut the crap, drink!"

  "Hmm... " Yuwen Hongtai was a rough and careless man, didn't think deeply about it, shook his head and said, "In the old days, my ancestor's great hero could also drink like you, Xiao Bai..."

  "Don't call me Xiao Bai again."

  "Oh, Old White... I remember back in the day, our ancestor's great hero could also drink like you..."

  Qin Mubai shook his head with a bitter smile. He had heard this speech more than a hundred times in the past few days. According to Yuwen Hongtai's own boasts, he was a collateral descendant of the "Eight Great Pillar States of Guanzhong" Yuwen clan, but unfortunately, the family had declined and fallen to the point where his generation could only serve as a small soldier in the Imperial Guard.

  The Imperial Guard of the Great Tang Dynasty is not something that anyone can become, generally it's only the sons of aristocratic families who take on this role. Qin Mu Bai's father was Qin Shu Bao, which goes without saying, and Yu Wen Hong Tai being a descendant of the Guan Long aristocracy might actually be true.