"Beep... beep..."
Chen Kuang's wrist trembled as he flipped the spatula, carefully watching the heat of the tomato scrambled eggs.
He held the phone against his ear, waiting for the other end to pick up.
"Beep—Hello, this is the Security Command Center, please go ahead."
A soft, melodic, formulaic female voice.
Ha...
Chen Kuang chuckled, turned off the gas stove, and poured the tomato scrambled eggs onto the plate.
Grabbing a pair of chopsticks, he carried the plate to the living room and gently placed it on the coffee table.
He then plopped down on the sofa.
Perhaps hearing the laughter, the operator hesitated: "Hello, may I ask what you need?"
Chen Kuang picked up a bite of tomato scrambled eggs to taste; the color, aroma, and taste were perfect—this was undoubtedly the best he'd ever made. His previously empty mood brightened.
"Do you like tomato scrambled eggs?"
He asked.
"...Sir, malicious calls to the security line could lead to detention."
"Uh, just asking casually, surely it isn't that serious? I really have something to say."
"Please quickly explain the situation."
"Alright then... I want to confess; I killed three people."
"What?"
Chen Kuang glanced down; his clothes below the waist were all soaked in dark red, especially the pant legs, and while cooking earlier, the bloodstains trailed everywhere.
Beside the sofa and on the floor, lay one middle-aged adult and two young adults.
All three had already fallen asleep, sinking into a slumber as innocent as a baby's.
Chen Kuang felt dizzy from lack of oxygen, reported an address, and leaned back:
"You'll find out soon enough why... I posted everything online about a murder case from seventeen years ago, deleting it won't help; someone will spread it... cough cough... ha..."
"Sir? Sir?!"
Chen Kuang pressed his thumb to hang up the call.
Smirking, a metallic taste rushed up his throat.
It seemed his lung had been pierced...
Asphyxiated, he sank into darkness.
...
In the year 1135 of Cangyuan, Liang Kingdom was destroyed by Great Zhou.
The Black Armor Army broke into the Liang Capital, beheaded Emperor Liang, and captured over 2,600 individuals, including Grand General Huo Hengxuan, imprisoning them in the Celestial Prison.
The dim Celestial Prison was underground, with an oil lamp lit every ten feet along the corridors.
The air was dull and damp, heavy with the stench of rot and blood, even the flames seemed on the verge of dying.
Soldiers temporarily serving as prison guards opened the thick iron door at the end, letting in a trace of cold wind and rain from outside, providing some air circulation.
"Move faster! Think you're still the Grand General?! Get inside!"
"Smack!"
Squad Leader Li Erhuang shouted, kicking a disheveled old man into the cell.
The old man's hands and feet were severed, chains pierced through his collarbone, covered in mangled flesh and blood.
"Cough cough... ugh... cough..."
The old man lay weakly on the ground, his body battered and bruised, wounds deep enough to expose bone.
He tried to get up, but without hands or feet, he squirmed, only to slip on the filth of the floor.
The soldiers all burst into laughter.
Li Erhuang took a bun from his lunchbox and tossed it at the old man's head.
The dried bun bounced once, rolling to the side, scattering crumbs everywhere.
Seeing the bun, the old man immediately struggled to crawl over, trembling as he clutched it with his wrist, devouring it eagerly, almost choking.
"Hahaha, nice shot, Mr. Li!"
"What Da Liang God of Slaughter, looks like a dog!"
The prison guards, having enough fun, continued distributing buns.
In the next cell, a court musician was held.
Emperor Liang, just before the city was breached, was still enjoying music and dance within Jinghe Hall!
This musician was also unfortunate, experiencing the beheading of Emperor Liang, the execution of fellow musicians, he was terrified to paralysis, and spent three days feverish and unconscious in the cell.
Li Erhuang thought, after three days of no water, this musician should also be dead.
Might as well collect the corpse...
What he didn't expect was to see a young man in coarse white linen standing upright in the center of the cell, his eyes beneath the dim light as piercing as cold stars.
At a glance, he seemed as if a vengeful spirit from a story!
Li Erhuang was startled and shouted sharply,
"Are you human or ghost?!"
"What are you talking about, Mr. Li?" "Isn't he still the blind guy? Where's the ghost?" The soldiers were puzzled.
——A court musician has the chance to glimpse palace secrets, and being blind enhances auditory sensitivity, so they must all be blind people trained from an early age.
Li Erhuang took a closer look and saw the young man bow his head, with a thin face showing faintly handsome features, yet his eyes were vacant and unfocused, still the blind guy.
This person is actually still alive, but seeing his dazed appearance, he might have been burned stupid!
"Phew..." He breathed a sigh of relief, then heard his subordinates chuckling, briefly angered.
"Hey, blind guy, come eat!"
Li Erhuang banged on the railing, watching the young man slowly come over.
With a quick eye-roll, he stealthily spat on the bun in his hand and then extended his hand to pass it over.
The soldiers behind him saw this, and squeezed their eyebrows and made faces, bursting into laughter.
Clearly, for them, teasing this "blind man" was a great amusement.
Although expected to wake up either in a hospital or a prison, never thought it would be in this way...
Chen Kuang lowered his gaze, noticing small lines in the lower right corner of his view.
If not paying close attention, it might even be mistaken for an illusion.
[You have digested the Elixir of Longevity, acquiring the passive "Meat Ganoderma": Your flesh can almost regenerate infinitely and is equivalent to the essence of heaven and earth, consuming it can prolong life and cure diseases.]
[Your eye disease is completely cured, gaining the passive "洞若观火": Your eyesight is greatly enhanced, allowing you to see through all illusions and disguises.]
[You spend the whole day idle, eating and sleeping, like an innocent child, gaining the passive "Fetal Breathing Technique": The way of nature, born of non-action, your every breath is a cycle of exchanging Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.]
[You successfully condensed the first Qi cavity, reaching the Ninth Grade Meridian Opening Realm, gaining the passive "穴位逆乱": All of your acupuncture points are scrambled, completely different from ordinary people.]
This was the Golden Finger that traveled with him...
A mechanism that would record daily events he experienced, transforming them into passive status bars.
Even though his life over the years had been relatively dull, he would still read novels to pass the time and soon accepted reality.
As well as another set of memories.
Same name and surname, at age six due to family poverty, his parents blinded him and sold him as an apprentice to a musician for a bushel of rice.
A bushel of rice...
In this era, it roughly feeds a family of three for barely a month.
Entered the palace, silent, and after much difficulty, was praised once by Emperor Liang, thinking hope finally arrived.
Then... the country's downfall.
Chen Kuang knitted his brows, having no memories of the so-called "Elixir of Longevity."
In his memory, only summoning to perform at Jinghe Hall by Emperor Liang with a group of musicians.
After the performance, Emperor Liang bestowed fine wine, and he drank...
Then, no more after that.
Upon waking, he was already firmly pinned to the ground by Great Zhou soldiers who broke into the hall.
All around, the bodies of other musicians lay scattered...
In the grand hall, Emperor Liang slumped on the dragon throne, already without a head.
The original body was scared stiff, burning with fever in the prison for three days, dying on the spot, which gave the opportunity for Chen Kuang's rebirth.
"Dead blind guy, truly burned stupid?!"
Li Erhuang cursed a few words.
Only then did Chen Kuang reach out, pretending to grope around, expressionlessly received the bun.
His gaze landed on the sticky yellow phlegm dripping from the bun, paused for a moment, and slowly tore off the bun's skin.
The soldiers moved to the next room...
Inside the cell were one big and one small, Lady Liang and the Little Princess.
The men with malicious intent surrounded to tease for a while, seeming to have some reservations, they dared not actually act.
The beautiful Lady Liang died rather than submit, in the end only receiving half a bun, as the soldiers left, she cradled the four-year-old Little Princess, crying mournfully.
She cried for unknown durations, her expression shifting multiple times, as if finally making some decision, her eyes seemed dead, gazing outside the cell.
The Little Princess was starved, grabbing the bun and munching.
Yet because of teething, munching was quite difficult, after a long time only soaking the bun's skin.
She looked up, seeing the tear stains on the woman's face, reluctantly tore off a piece, passing it to Lady Liang, wiping her tears with her small palm.
"Mom, you eat, don't cry."
Her expression serious, "Once you eat your fill... you won't cry."
Lady Liang was startled, instinctively swallowed, but then shook her head, smiled gently and said softly, "Ying'er is good, mom's not hungry..."
"Bang!"
Lady Liang was stunned, but saw a bun with a pitted surface roll over.
"For you."
She turned her head, only to see the young man half-sitting in the darkness, his expression unseen.