It would've been a normal day for me, I woke up, got ready for work and headed out. I placed my earphones in and turned the volume up to cancel any external noise. Closing my eyes, I walked down the street to the train station, bopping my head. I knew the path like the back of my hand, so it was not a problem for me.
I lived a very normal life, in all fairness, and I would say that I did pretty well for myself. I studied well in school, went to college for higher education and managed to graduate. Then, I landed a decent job straight out of education. Though there was the debt and the setbacks college had slapped me with, it was what it was.
Checking my watch, I quickly glanced at the time and realised… 'Fuuuuckkkk. I'm going to be late for the train.' Being in my mid twenties and having my own house and job was practically winning in life, but I had this problem (My mother's words), the problem was that I loved reading too much. Which led to the reason why this morning I woke up late for work. It was not my fault that the next chapter icon always looked so enticing at 3:00 AM.
As I did a light jog towards my destination, I reflected on the recent chapters I re-read last night, the images flashing through my brain as I went. The black and white drawings of Ouki proudly staring up to the sky as the light faded from his eyes, the image of Shin carrying Ouki's glaive and the view of a General that Ouki showed Shin in his last moments of life.
"Ahh, what a view if only I could see it myself?" I could not help but exclaim, the way Hara drew that panel was up there with one of my favourites. Rivalling some of the best panels from Ravages of Time, a manhwa also based on China's extensive past. Even the podcast I was listening to at the moment was on the topic of the Mongols and Genghis Khan's conquest by Dan Carlin.
Looking ahead, I saw that more and more people were coming into view, so I slowed down before swiping a hand over clothes to wrinkle out any creases and started to walk. As I looked around, I saw the usual sights: people sitting or lying outside the train station. They were dressed in worn-out or ripped clothes, a cup in their hand, hoping that someone would give them some change so they could get whatever they needed or desired.
Normally, I would not have given them any money and kept walking on. I was already late, and my train was in minutes. I could practically see the train station sign from where I stood across the road, but today I decided to help out a little. Reaching into my pocket, I felt the cold surface of the coins and a few bills, pulling out my loose change. I walked to the elderly man whose hand did not stop shaking even as he held up his cup.
"Have a better day," I said, dropping the money into his cup before giving him a nod and going on my way. The elderly man nodded back and said something, but I could not lip-read very well, and the volume on my earphones was too high.
So with my final nod, I looked at my watch and. "Shit, two minutes." I knew if I walked, it would be longer than two minutes, but if I did a quick sprint across the road, I would definitely get there. "Fuck it, we ball." There was a bus blocking my sight from oncoming cars, but as they said no risk, no reward. I decided to dart out and sprint across the roads.
My legs carried me across the pavement, and I reached the bus. As I took my next two steps, I felt something hit me hard in my side. The next thing, my head hit something, and there was a crack that thundered over the volume of my earphones.
Everything turned to darkness all too quickly.
….
262 BCE
STATE OF WEI: ON THE BORDER
*HUFF* *HUFF* *HUFF* I greedily gasped for breath as my eyes shot open, only to quickly close from the searing pain that could be nothing other than the sun. Feeling a heavy weight being pressed down on my body, I grunted as I pushed off whatever it was that was pressing me down. As I did, I saw what had been lying on my body, and the face of a young woman smiling greeted me.
I could see the faint marks where there had once been tears, as I continued to look at the face, my confusion slowly began to turn to realisation before a searing pain that felt as if someone was opening my skull and forcing things there… no, they were not things but memories. I screamed and screamed with all of my strength, as blood poured from out of my nose, ears, mouth and eyes.
It felt like my head was both exploding and being painstakingly put back together at the same time, with each memory being played in my mind's eye. A different life was being mixed and melded with my own, the warmth, the laughter, the cries and love. It was all nearly too much for my mind to keep a handle on.
The woman who had protected me was my mother. From what I could get from the force-fed memories, she had joined the Heir of Wei's harem, and then I was born, which is the reason why I saw the Wei Crown Prince and future King, Kei Bin's face in my memories a few times. Putting those two facts together, I concluded that my current situation was a result of infighting between the Queen and the harem.
Most likely not wanting anyone else to inherit the throne of Wei, she decided to eliminate the competition, which, given my clothes and the clothes of the woman and the memories and my fath- Kei Bin's face, would mean I was in the Warring States era of China. Taking the woman off me and placing her to the side, judging by my memories, I was around 12 - 13 years old.
There were dead bodies everywhere around me; some of them were the men who risked everything for me to get even a moment further away from the pursuing troops of the Queen of Wei. There were women as well who had joined my mother, hoping to cross the border into Zhao and live quietly there. The hope and bittersweet smile that they had as they knew they had died, but at least I would get to live.
All I could do was lower myself to the ground and kowtow to them for doing all they could for this boy; these were people trying to protect the person's body I had taken over. I kowtowed once more to my mother, who had given me life, and though I was no longer the son she once had, I still wanted to make her spirit proud, and lastly, I kowtowed to heaven for giving me this opportunity at starting again (In one of my favourite manga).
The name I received and would carry in this life, as it was the name my mother gave to me, was none other than Jing Zhe, or Sei Chou. The year was 262 BCE, 16 years before the reign of Ying Zheng or Ei Sei. The massacre of Chou Hei will occur this year, and Qin Great General Bai Qi or Hakuki will add another massacre to his list before falling out with the Qin King and dying the year after.
As the lone survivor, I decided to move a bit further and find some nearby water to wash up and have a look at myself. I was not accurately sure how tall I was, but I could not have been shorter than 5 feet 6 inches and had a skinny build. My hair was bone straight and long, nearly reaching my waist. I also had deep black eyes. The resemblance to a certain cultivator was uncanny, as I moved my head from side to side and further inspected my looks. A screen popped into life directly in front of me, like an actual holographic screen.
*DING!* Assistance system activated. The system has bonded with the host; this system's task has been set. The task only helps the host with his new life. Would the host like to open the one-time-only starter gift package?
Reading the words, I couldn't help the slight confusion in my mind; there was also some measure of horror at the fact that a screen had appeared from out of nowhere. The screen also followed my line of sight, so I basically could not take my eyes off of it. Seeing there was no option, I clicked yes.
*DING!* ONE TIME STARTER GIFT OPENED!
Congratulations! One Captain America peak physique!
Congratulations on receiving the following supplies:
10,000 Jian swords, all tempered stainless steel!
10,000 long bows, 10,000 polearms, tempered stainless steel!
10,000 spears, Damascus steel-tipped!
50,000 armour sets!
One storage ring with 1,000 square meters of space!
30,000 Gold
100,000 stones of Food (non-perishable whilst in storage).
I couldn't even look over and contemplate my winnings too quickly as the system interrupted me with another one of those dings that managed to ring inside my head and in front of me.
*DING!!!!* Now playing message for the host. "Hey, there, kiddo. I kinda messed up real bad with the time on your watch when you were going to work in the morning. The clocks were meant to go forward, but well… I forgot and indirectly/directly got you killed. Ah, but you did a good thing at the end of your life. So, to not only make up for my blunder and to reward you for the good deed you did for my prankster of a nephew, I sent you some gifts. Dropping you into your favourite manga and giving you a little boost. I am practically the Greatest R.O.B. of all time.
Also, before I forget, this system is kind of useless apart from using it as a map, so I am giving it to you out of goodwill. Take it and run wild, have as much fun as you can. Or have none, whatever floats your boat, really. Now that it is all done, I say we are even, and this is goodbye for a lifetime!"
Looking at the message, I didn't speak for a moment, as the screen went black, and then the indignation kicked me like a mule. "I DIED BY ACCIDENT!!" Like, seriously, kind of BS is that? And all because the clocks did not go forward and the time was wrong as well, so I wouldn't have run for the train if it were right.
Then there was the whole thing of the R.O.B. nephew playing pranks by acting like a homeless man outside of train stations. I ran both of my hands along my face and then one through my hair.
"It is what it is…" I sighed. The milk was spilt, and there was no point crying about it. What was done was done, I had a new life to start and fast. With all the gifts I had, there was still no home for me. It was not like I could turn up back in Wei, and if I understand the time even a little, the Qin were also going to attack Wei, or it might've been a feint, but still (Hara plays fast and loose with historical facts).
Which whittled down my options a ton, as I looked at the little map that told me how many supplies I had, gave me weather reports and future forecasts and showed me where I was and how far the next state was. I made my decision and started walking. I went north from my direction, knowing that heading to Qin would more than likely mean I would be caught up in a war. I decided to head to Zhao instead of any other option, since Han and Qi were both way too weak for any future planning.
I didn't want to risk going across Wei to get to Chu, and the Yan were even further away than Zhao. Looking towards the distance ahead, I sighed, there was not much on the horizon but dirt, grass and a lot of open plain.
"This is going to be a long walk."
CHAPTER DONE