Immortal Reincarnation Tribulation

Chapter 2 Li Daoming's Bitterness

"Manager Liu, please, please find a doctor for Brother Du. He has been unconscious for several days. If this continues, I'm afraid he will never wake up again." The child pleaded desperately, his voice already trembling with anxiety.

"Hmph! What does it matter to me whether he lives or dies? It's good that he's dead. Do you know how much food and silver it costs to support a servant? You want me to call a doctor for a lowly servant? Are you out of your mind?" Manager Liu said irritably, quite annoyed, and he really didn't care at all about whether the person in the room lived or died.

"Manager Liu, Brother Du is very capable. After he recovered..."

"Alright, enough nonsense. He should be dead by now. Let's go in and take a look. Sigh, the funeral expenses will cost a lot of money again." Manager Liu muttered as he walked into the thatched hut.

When Steward Liu entered the room, he was stunned. The frail boy, who he thought was on the verge of death, was not only alive, but had also stood up perfectly fine.

Du Fan sized up the other person: triangular eyes, a mustache, pointed ears and a monkey-like face—a sharp and mean-spirited appearance. His gaze shifted to a boy of about ten years old, chubby-cheeked and sturdy, who was staring blankly at him, too excited to speak.

"You're not dead yet?" Manager Liu blurted out.

"Brother Du!" The little boy finally reacted and rushed towards Li Daoming.

Li Daoming felt as if he had been hit by a fierce tiger, and he staggered, seeing stars.

"Brother Du, you're not dead! That's great! Xiao Hu was so scared!" Xiao Hu finally couldn't hold back anymore and hugged Li Daoming, crying loudly.

"Since he's not dead, he can keep working tomorrow. What bad luck!" Manager Liu's face was gloomy. He snorted heavily and slammed the door as he left.

"Brother Du, how come you're suddenly better?" Xiao Hu asked in surprise after Manager Liu left.

Li Daoming smiled wryly. He didn't know if he was dreaming or in reality, and how to answer that question. But he was really hungry.

"Your name is Xiaohu?" Li Daoming looked the child in front of him over again. The little boy was a bit chubby, but not chubby; he looked quite strong. He was wearing dirty and tattered ancient cloth clothes and looked at him with puzzled eyes.

"Brother Du, what's wrong? Did you faint from hunger? Yes, that must be it. You've been unconscious for the past few days and haven't eaten anything. Wait here, I'll go to the kitchen and steal you something." Xiao Hu dashed out of the thatched hut, leaving Li Daoming standing there dumbfounded.

Sitting on the bed, Li Daoming began to recall what had happened before. The last scene in his mind was being hit by the soul extraction laser, losing consciousness, and waking up here.

"This can't be a dream, because I can't wake myself up."

Li Daoming is a biological scientist and naturally has studied dreams. If one is dreaming and aware of it, then it's possible to control one's wake-up time; obviously, that's not possible now. As for the pointless act of pinching oneself, Li Daoming would never attempt it, as it has absolutely no scientific basis.

"I've traveled through time; it's a soul travel."

After much contemplation, Li Daoming became certain that while such a thing might seem like mere fantasy to ordinary people, it wasn't too surprising to someone who had studied biological sciences for many years. His previous soul transplant experiment was essentially a form of time travel, albeit a time travel that occurred simultaneously. His current situation, however, involved time travel across timelines, perhaps to ancient times. As for the reason, it was most likely related to the malfunction of the equipment.

Li Daoming remained silent, a myriad of emotions welling up within him.

……

"Brother Du, look what I found! Half a roast chicken!" Xiao Hu ran back excitedly, looked around furtively, closed the door, and then excitedly ran to Li Daoming's side and shouted.

"Brother Du, hurry up and eat." Xiao Hu stuffed half a roast chicken wrapped in oil paper into Li Daoming's hands, but his eyes were fixed on the half roast chicken, and he swallowed hard.

Seeing this, Li Daoming smiled, tore off a chicken leg and handed it to Xiao Hu. Without allowing him to refuse, he forced it into Xiao Hu's hand, and the two of them wolfed down the half roast chicken.

After eating, Li Daoming regained some of his strength.

"If I want to go back, I need to understand this world first, see if I can find the materials to make the soul extraction device, and then extract my soul again. Then I might be able to go back. I hope the technology here isn't too backward," Li Daoming thought to himself.

"Xiao Hu, after my serious illness, I may have lost my memory. Could you tell me about what happened before?" Li Daoming planned to start with Xiao Hu and try to learn as much as possible about the identity of this "Brother Du" and his environment.

"Amnesia? Brother Du, you mean you don't remember anything from before?" Xiao Hu stared wide-eyed at Li Daoming in surprise.

Li Daoming could only manage a wry smile.

"Okay, Brother Du, your name is Du Fan..." Finally, Xiao Hu told him everything he knew, rambling on and on.

It turns out that the person Li Daoming possessed was named Du Fan, who was fifteen years old. He lost both his parents when he was young and was taken in by the Yao family, where he became a servant.

This person is a loner and has no other friends besides Xiaohu.

Xiao Hu is five years younger than him and comes from a similar background. Du Fan usually takes good care of Xiao Hu and treats him like a younger brother. Just a few days ago, he fell seriously ill. Everyone who knew about this thought that Du Fan would not survive this time, but he miraculously came back to life.

The Yao family is the most prestigious family in Tianxiang Kingdom and also a cultivation family. Located in Tianxiang City, the imperial capital of Tianxiang Kingdom, they are affiliated with the Zishan Sect, one of the three major cultivation sects in Tianxiang Kingdom. They are responsible for cultivating low-grade spiritual herbs for the sect, thereby receiving benefits and protection from the Zishan Sect. This business is the main source of income for the Yao family.

Du Fan and Xiao Hu were responsible for managing one of the medicinal herb gardens.

Previously known for his harshness, Steward Liu's real name was Liu Neng, and he was in charge of all matters related to the Yao family's medicinal herb garden.

In addition to cultivating spiritual herbs for the Zishan Sect, the Yao family's medicinal garden also grows a large number of common herbs, which are sold to members of the royal family and prominent families in the court. Therefore, Liu Neng holds a superior position among the many stewards of the Yao family.

Besides herbal medicine gardens, the Yao family also encompasses many industries such as silk, grain, and horses, and even participates in the manufacture of weapons and equipment for the national army. However, these are not the reasons why the Yao family has remained the number one family in Tianxiang Kingdom for a hundred years. The true foundation of the Yao family is that it is a family of cultivators, with cultivators existing within the clan.

Cultivators are like immortals in the eyes of ordinary people. They are omnipotent, and even emperors have to be careful when dealing with them.

Xiao Hu was unaware of what happened outside of Tianxiang Kingdom. In his memory, Tianxiang Kingdom was the entire world, and the Yao family was the strongest existence in this world besides the three major sects.

Li Daoming covered the sleeping Xiao Hu with a tattered bed sheet and went outside.

It was late at night, the moonlight was like water, and the wind was as fierce as a knife. In the silence, Du Fan looked up at the night sky, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Cultivation? It seems I was wrong before. It's not time travel, but spacetime travel. This place... isn't Earth at all. This is troublesome." Li Daoming frowned after thinking for a long time.

After a long while, the starry sky faded, and dawn broke in the east. Li Daoming's thoughts were in turmoil.

"Liang Xin, I'm sorry, I can't go with you to get our marriage certificate today." Li Daoming's expression was filled with indescribable melancholy and helplessness. He regretted why he was so cold when he last spoke to Liang Xin on the phone. If he had been even slightly nicer then, he wouldn't be feeling so bad now.

"Du Fan..." Li Daoming smiled bitterly.