Chapter 1, Confusion

Such a strange sight was seen for the first time by the people of Shaoxing City, prompting many to rush out of their homes and look up at the sky. The disheveled young master in the tree also noticed the unusual colors in the sky, looking up and clapping his hands in silly laughter, saying: "Hehe! How fun, really fun!"

Upon hearing this, several servants quickly nodded and were about to lift the seemingly lifeless young master. However, the little girl named Liu'er rushed over to stop them, crying out: "No! The young master is not dead; he is still alive! I just saw him move, sir! Please, do not! The young master is not dead; we should quickly call the doctor to save him! I beg you!"

However, the Southern Song Dynasty, which was situated in the south, remained oblivious to its circumstances, continuing to revel in a state of peace and prosperity, completely unresponsive to the sword of Damocles that hung ominously overhead. In the city of Shaoxing, it was springtime, and the gentle breeze brought a warm, drowsy feeling. In the afternoon, in the back garden of a grand residence within the city, a young maid was anxiously calling out softly to a large tree.

After hearing Liu Er's cries, the middle-aged man displayed a hint of compassion on his face. He then bent down to check on the child lying on the ground. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed as the little girl had said; the child was not dead yet, at least still had a breath, and his chest was slightly rising and falling. Straightening up, he shook his head and instructed, "He is indeed still alive. Gao Fu, please go fetch a doctor to treat the Third Young Master. It is better to do what we can. Let's carry him back inside the house."

He floated in the air, observing everything happening below, until a beam of light shone upon him from the sky. Reluctantly, he ascended into the heavens, but for some unknown reason, he seemed to be engulfed in a mist. Ultimately, amidst a glow of rosy light, he suddenly fell towards the ground.

Young Master? How did I become the Young Master? Huang Tao racked his brains but could not make sense of it.

After waiting for a long time, someone outside shouted in a harsh tone: "Liu'er, the young man is coming!"

The man dressed in official robes has a rather pale complexion, with a tuft of neatly groomed beard on his chin, clearly a scholar at first glance. However, at this moment, his expression is not very pleasant. In this era, when someone is struck by lightning, people tend to gossip. Generally speaking, it is believed that only those who have committed immoral acts would face divine retribution, so why has such misfortune befallen his family today?

Just as people began to feel a sense of unease, a blinding flash of lightning suddenly appeared amidst the red clouds in the sky, striking directly downwards and landing precisely in this grand mansion. The foolish young master in the tree was lying on his back, gazing up at the sky, when he suddenly realized that this bolt of lightning was descending towards his head, and a look of terror instantly appeared on his small face

The young girl was captivated by such a scene, forgetting to remind the young master in the tree to be a little more careful. Meanwhile, the strange colorful clouds in the sky continued to emit flashes of lightning, accompanied by intermittent rumblings of thunder. The city of Shaoxing became lively, with people exclaiming in surprise, uncertain of what such an anomaly would bring them

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that this so-called young master has a somewhat dazed expression on his face, to put it bluntly, he can be described as mentally challenged, lacking sharpness of mind. At this moment, he is making an effort to climb the tree, and the reason is simple: there is a bamboo-woven kite hanging from the branches. It turns out that his kite has gotten stuck in the tree, and he is trying to retrieve it, which explains the anxious look on the little girl below.

Gradually, his hearing began to recover, and he started to hear the faint sound of crying, the voice of a girl. It sounded sorrowful and heart-wrenching, evoking deep sympathy. However, he still could not open his eyes and could only listen quietly. He was unable to discern who it was that was crying for him by his side. One would think he had no girlfriend who would cry for him so sorrowfully. How strange! He could only listen quietly, still unable to figure out who it was that was crying for him by his side. One would think he had no girlfriend who would cry for him so sorrowfully. How strange!

The third young master smiled foolishly at the little girl and replied in a muffled voice, "It's nothing, I'm almost able to reach the kite!"

Huang Tao suddenly felt a renewed pain in his body, and his mind was a chaotic jumble of information. The first thing that flashed in his mind was the frenzied expression of Du Laosan at the moment of death, followed by a loud bang, and then a series of bizarre and strange occurrences, along with the collective gasps of his colleagues.

Third Young Master! Hurry down! Otherwise, the Master will scold you again

Who is Liu Er? A doctor? Where is this title still in use? Why not call him a physician? Huang Tao felt it was strange, and a series of question marks floated in his mind

The first to arrive were several servants. Upon seeing the tragic state of the young master struck by lightning, they hurriedly lifted him into the pavilion. The young maid was terrified, kneeling beside the foolish young master, crying and calling out to him, begging him not to scare her, shaking his body incessantly. However, the foolish young master showed no response at all

The first thing he could ascertain was that he had perished along with that damned Du Laosan, for when the explosion sounded, he experienced a sensation of his soul leaving his body, his thoughts having separated from his physical form, gradually floating upwards. He could even look down upon the chaotic blood and flesh in the ditch below. His body, along with Du Laosan's, had long since been reduced to fragments in the midst of that deafening roar. Then he saw his colleagues nearby, who had been lying on the ground, crying out and scrambling to their feet, rushing towards the ditch. This feeling was extraordinarily peculiar; there was no pain, no sorrow, everything seemed so tranquil. Gradually, he floated upwards, able to gaze down at the disarray of blood and flesh in the ditch, while his body and Du Laosan's had already been shattered in that explosion. He then observed those colleagues nearby, who were crying and shouting as they got up and rushed to the ditch. This sensation was truly remarkable; there was no pain, no sadness, everything appeared so calm. Although he could see those people, they could not see him. It was at this moment that he truly believed that a person indeed possesses a soul.

With a cry of "Ah...", that foolish young master let out a scream, and then tumbled down from the tree in a flurry. Fortunately, there were several branches beneath him that broke his fall, preventing him from landing flat on the ground. Instead, after breaking several branches, he rolled down into the flower bushes below the tree

After speaking, he did not linger any longer, kicked the maid Liu'er again, and scolded, "It is all your fault, you maid! Wait until I return to deal with you!" Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he left the pavilion and returned to the residence

This information is chaotic and disordered, and Huang Tao is unable to piece them together. He cannot comprehend his current situation. In any case, he can feel that he is alive, with a persistent pain in his body that constantly reminds him that he now possesses a flesh-and-blood form

Strange! Truly strange! Logically speaking, having been struck by lightning, one should have turned to ashes by now, or at the very least, been charred. Yet, your young master’s pulse is remarkably steady, as if nothing has happened! He only has some minor burns on his body, nothing serious at all. It is indeed strange!

The young girl replied tearfully: "My lord! It is all Liu Er's fault. The young master was just flying a kite in the garden, and the kite got stuck in a tree. When the young master went to retrieve the kite, he was struck by lightning! Wuwu..."

Huang Tao lay in bed, completely devoid of strength, even lacking the energy to open his eyes. He could only lie there, enduring the constant pain coursing through his body. To distract himself from this bone-deep agony, he could only think of other matters, striving to organize the chaotic thoughts in his mind. After much effort, he finally began to gradually clarify some things.

"The wind is picking up, Third Young Master! Hurry down, or you might fall!" The young girl became even more anxious and started calling for him again from below

Several servants hurriedly carried the young master into a modest bedroom, left him there, and quickly exited the room. The appointed Gao Fu swayed as he left the courtyard to fetch a doctor for him. Only the frail Liu Er remained, busily fetching some water to wipe down the foolish young master lying on the bed

Strangely enough, after the lightning struck, the red cloud in the sky quickly dissipated, and not a single drop of rain fell, as if nothing had happened at all. People shook their heads in disbelief, exclaiming their astonishment. Consequently, some well-meaning individuals began to concoct rumors, claiming that a celestial phenomenon had occurred in Shaoxing Prefecture, and that a sage would surely emerge there.

In fact, after the foolish young master wiped his face clean, he looked not at all ugly; one could even say he appeared quite handsome. After Liu'er had cleaned his face, she collapsed in front of the bed and began to weep again

He has merely fainted; he should be fine in a couple of days. Later, you can go to my place to get some burn ointment and apply it to him, and he will recover quickly," said the person referred to as the doctor.

The originally bright sky was suddenly overshadowed by a dark cloud, enveloping the entire city of Shaoxing. The wind began to pick up, causing the branches of the large trees to sway in the air. Yet, this young master continued to clumsily crawl upwards, completely oblivious to the changing weather.

However, whether a sage will emerge in the future is unknown to anyone at this moment. Yet, within this grand mansion, there appears a child who has been electrocuted, seemingly in a perilous situation

At this moment, looking at that foolish young master, his appearance could be described as exceedingly bizarre, with every strand of hair standing on end. He emanated a burnt odor, and his clothes were partially charred. Additionally, when he fell, he got caught on branches, leaving his entire outfit in tatters. Moreover, his face was covered in a layer of soot, his mouth agape, and it seemed he was exhaling more than inhaling, presenting a picture of someone on the verge of collapse

After hearing this, the master lowered his head to look at the son lying on the ground, seeing his face darkened, he shook his head and sighed, "What a tragedy! Truly a tragedy! This is just his unfortunate fate! You all prepare to take him outside the city and bury him!" In his view, the child was beyond saving, and for this foolish boy, it might also be a form of relief. He did not even bend down to check if the child on the ground still had any breath left, but issued this command instead. Moreover, he seemed to feel a sense of relief himself, as if he had finally resolved a lingering concern.

What exactly happened, he did not know; he only knew that now his mind was filled with some very chaotic information. This information resembled a collection of disorganized fragments, continuously presenting images of certain individuals. These individuals were dressed in peculiar attire, seemingly in ancient costumes, yet he could not ascertain their identities or how they had integrated into his thoughts.

At this moment, the sky displayed an unusual phenomenon; the dark clouds suddenly began to turn red. During this time, some gaps appeared, allowing sunlight to pour through these openings, creating a radiant glow. The dark clouds also took on a blood-red hue, and faint flashes of lightning emerged within the cloud layers. Soon, the sound of thunder reached human ears.

In light of such an incident, it was only natural for a servant to rush to the front courtyard to inform the master of this grand residence. Before long, a middle-aged man dressed in official attire arrived at the pavilion in the back garden, following the servant.

Upon seeing his form, the little girl immediately began to cry in fear. At that moment, someone in the garden had already heard the little girl's cries for help and started running towards the back garden

The young girl was momentarily stunned by the sudden accident, covering her mouth in shock for a while. Only then did she remember to call for help: "Come quickly! The young master has been struck by lightning! Hurry! ..." As she shouted, she hurriedly rushed to the side of the third young master, who lay motionless on the ground.

The middle-aged man entered the pavilion with a dark expression. When he looked down and saw the tragic sight of the child lying on the ground, he kicked the little girl who was crying beside him to the ground and shouted, "Crying! What are you crying for? What on earth is going on? I asked you to watch over him; why didn't you keep a proper eye on him? How could such a thing happen!"

A voice that seemed very old let out a hum, and then someone walked up to him, grasped his wrist, and placed two fingers on top of his wrist

"Doctor, please come in quickly and take a look at our young master! He has been struck by lightning! He still hasn't woken up!" The weeping woman, with a sobbing tone, got up and ran away, seemingly calling out to someone at the door.

In the eighth year of the Jiaqing era of the Southern Song Dynasty, on the vast Mongolian grasslands, the legendary figure Genghis Khan led his warriors to unify the entire Mongolian steppe and began to set his sights on the more prosperous southern territories. A wave of bloodshed and turmoil swept through the north, as the Jin Dynasty and Western Xia trembled under the iron hooves of the Mongolian army

A child of about twelve or thirteen years old was climbing a tree, wearing a silly grin on his face. Although the little girl below referred to him as the Third Young Master, his attire suggested that he was a poor boy, covered in grease and somewhat tattered, which seemed quite out of place in the environment of this grand residence