Chapter 1 A Dream
The freezing cold water wrapped around Bai Qingchen, pulling him down like a heavy stone.
His lungs ached like they were about to burst, and fishy, cold water poured into his nose and mouth. He tried to breathe, but it only made him choke even harder, and he coughed heartbreakingly.
His hands and feet tried desperately to paddle, but they seemed frozen and unresponsive. The cold penetrated his thin clothes, freezing him so hard that every bone in his body ached.
My consciousness became increasingly blurred, my ears were buzzing, and I could vaguely hear someone talking on the shore.
"It would be better to drown this bastard, so he won't be an eyesore to the young master!"
"Ha, let's teach him a lesson and see if he behaves!"
Bai Qingchen wanted to scream for help, but his throat felt like it was blocked, and no sound came out. Darkness surged up like a tide, threatening to swallow him completely.
Just when he felt he was about to give up.
"There's someone in the water! Look!"
"It looks like Bai Qingchen! Pull him out quickly!"
"Plop!" Someone jumped down.
A cold but strong hand suddenly grabbed his frozen arm and pulled him out of the freezing water.
"Cough cough cough! Ugh—!"
Bai Qingchen lay on the edge of the pool, vomiting so hard that he was dizzy. The chaotic sounds around him seemed to be separated by a layer of fog, getting farther and farther away. Finally, his eyes went black and he knew nothing.
Seeing him lying on the ground, dripping wet, an older servant shivered and looked at the young man in silk clothes next to him: "Master Peng... Master Peng, this... this..."
"What are you looking at?!" Zhang Peng glared. "He was blind and slipped and fell! He's a loser, he deserves it!"
"That's right, get rid of it quickly. It's so unlucky to lie here!" A follower next to him immediately joined in.
No one dared to say a word. Several servants quickly lifted Bai Qingchen up and hurriedly took him back to his little room.
The doctor came quickly. Although it was just the beginning of winter, the pond was already covered with thin ice. If the person soaked in the pond for a long time without treatment, he might develop a chronic illness.
Bai Qingchen felt like he was being roasted on a fire, his whole body burning hot and his bones aching. He was dazed, his mind boiling like a pot, a chaotic mess of images swirling around.
Suddenly, the sky was pitch black, and a thick black mist, as thick as ink, covered the sky. Rumbling noises and terrible roars mixed together, and the air was full of the smell of blood.
In the chaos, he seemed to see a figure wearing white clothes, but the clothes were covered in blood and were torn.
That face...why does it look a bit like mine?
He saw the man bite his tongue hard, igniting something with his blood, and a layer of blue flames suddenly rose from his body.
He seemed to be desperately trying to maintain the barrier formation, just to protect his companions behind him who were also injured and could hardly hold on for a while longer.
"Hold on a little longer... just a little longer..." His mouth was filled with blood foam, but his back remained straight. Outside the hood, the demon's roar shook the ground.
Suddenly, there was a chill on my back!
"My Lord, be careful!" someone screamed.
Phew!
An evil sword emitting purple-black demonic energy pierced into him from behind, and the tip of the sword came out with blood.
The one holding the sword was actually his fellow Taoist whom he usually called a brother! His face was now distorted beyond recognition.
Immortal Lord Fu Yu suddenly turned his hand and grabbed the bloody sword blade tightly!
The evil spirit seemed alive and immediately burned his palm into a bloody mess, but he seemed to feel no pain.
The other hand slapped the traitor on the head with great force!
There was a muffled sound, and the man went limp.
"Uh..." Immortal Lord Fu Yu also swayed and knelt on one knee.
He was horrified to find that the evil energy that had penetrated his body was like countless poisonous insects, drilling into his dantian along his meridians.
With every breath I took, I felt like something important was disappearing rapidly.
He can't fall! He has to wait for that person to come... When that person comes...
Who is that person? Who is he? Is he the Immortal Lord? Or...
"Ah!" A sharp pain shot through my head. The cold water and the raging flames of war raced wildly in my mind. Which was real? Which was fake?
Bai Qingchen suddenly opened his eyes and gasped for breath like a thirsty fish, his throat so dry that it was smoking.
My whole body was burning hot and my clothes were soaked with sweat.
What was that just now? A fight between gods? And he was the unlucky immortal who got stabbed? That felt too real.
He was still in his shabby house, with a coarse cloth tent roof, a patched old quilt, and the familiar smell of herbs in the air.
"You're finally awake!" a voice sounded beside him.
Bai Qingchen turned his head with difficulty and saw Wu Yu.
Another apprentice at Renjitang was coming over with a bowl of warm medicine.
"I'm telling you, can you please be quiet?" Wu Yu stuffed the medicine bowl into his hands, his tone a little annoyed and a little worried.
"Do you still think you're the former Young Master Bai? That bastard Zhang Peng pushed you into the water. You were lucky to be pulled out this time, but who knows what even more immoral things they'll do next time!"
Thinking of Zhang Peng's usual appearance, Wu Yu couldn't help but curse: "That bastard will be struck by lightning sooner or later!"
He saw Bai Qingchen just staring at the medicine bowl in a daze, not saying anything, and sighed.
"I know you're angry. But right now, we're just apprentices trying to make a living in a pharmacy."
"Having a place to sleep, being able to learn a skill, and having something to eat—how many people want this kind of life and don't have the means? Think about it yourself."
Wu Yu pointed outside and said, "The manager's work is piled up, I have to go quickly. You should rest well and take the medicine." After saying that, he left in a hurry.
The room became quiet.
Bai Qingchen looked at his rough hands with frostbite scars, and touched his coarse cloth clothes that were washed white.
He picked up the bowl of warm medicine. In the turbid medicine was a pale, haggard face with a bit of youthfulness. It was the sixteen-year-old Bai Qingchen.
He is back, or... those hundreds of years were just a ridiculous dream he had before he drowned?
Now that he has woken up from his dream, he has been reduced to his original form and has become a little apprentice in Renjitang who can be bullied by anyone.
He clenched his fists tightly, and a surge of anger rushed to his forehead.
Zhang Peng!
The name was like a thorn in his heart.
He knew very well why Zhang Peng always caused trouble for him.
When his parents were still alive, he was able to go to school. His teachers often praised him for his intelligence and eagerness to learn, and used him as a role model.
What about Zhang Peng? He relied on his family's wealth to stir up trouble, a notorious scoundrel in the school. The teacher, irritated, would constantly compare the two of them, saying, "Look at Bai Qingchen."
After his parents were murdered by thieves, the few things they had at home were divided up among their relatives. No one wanted to take him as a burden.
Finally, like throwing away a burden, they threw him into the Renjitang run by Zhang Peng's family as an apprentice, saying that they were looking for a way for him to make a living.
This wait lasted for seven years.
In these seven years, Zhang Peng has never let him have a good day!
What happened today was that Zhang Peng brought a few lackeys to block him in the pavilion by the pool, pushing and shoving him, and finally deliberately pushed him into the cold pool with thin ice!
He remembered it clearly. The icy cold water was like needles pricking him, making it hard for him to breathe. He felt like he was really going to die.
At that moment, his soul seemed to fly away. When he opened his eyes again, he had become the young master of Yaowang Valley, who was still in his infancy.
Was it really just a dream? A strange dream he had when he was about to drown and his brain was confused?
Because he hated Zhang Peng so much and was too unwilling to accept it, he turned himself into a powerful immortal in his dream?
Bai Qingchen stared at the swaying medicinal soup in the coarse earthenware bowl. The haggard face inside also swayed, as if mocking him.
Putting the bowl down, he closed his eyes and tried hard to catch the last black-robed figure in his dream, but the shadow dissipated like smoke, leaving only the empty pain in his heart and an indescribable sense of familiarity.
Was the dream too real, or was there something really different?
He opened his eyes again, the confusion in his eyes faded a little, and there was something indescribable.
He picked up the medicine bowl, frowned, and drank the bitter and astringent medicine in one gulp.
Regardless of whether the dream was true or false, he had to rely on himself to get through this difficult moment.
He took note of Zhang Peng's account.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com