Chapter 1: Another Lifetime as a Youth

Bang!

A screeching brake tore through the long night.

Qin Sang was still hesitating. He wasn't without the desperate courage to fight to the death, but he still had his family – his parents, his brothers…

The searing pain from his body dragged him back to reality. There was only pain; his limbs wouldn't obey him. His body seemed to be deformed, crushed into a small corner, and jagged iron frames appeared grotesque.

The car spun violently. Lights merged with the roadside neon, forming a kaleidoscope in his vision. A red line appeared before him; at its end, a dark yellow jade Buddha hanging there swung in a short arc, then immediately smashed into his nose bridge.

Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, fountain-like blood engulfed the jade Buddha. His neck artery must have ruptured.

"Car accident!"

Qin Sang was filled with deep regret. The other party had made the first move; he shouldn't have hesitated!

Death. Everything he had worked for, everything he had cared about, lost all meaning, shattering like reflections in a mirror or the moon on water.

The only thing he could think of was where he was going...

It had to be hell.

"I want to live."

Qin Sang's eyes were wide open.

The inertia from the impact hadn't ceased; he was still spinning. The jade Buddha in front of him swayed and swayed, as if swaying into his very soul.

A dark vortex swallowed him.

Boom!

The scorching sun blazed like fire.

The rocky mountains were steep, with jagged rocks and sparse greenery. From a distance came sporadic, short bird calls, adding to the oppressive heat.

On the rugged mountain road, a convoy of prisoner carts moved slowly. On either side of the convoy, several fierce-looking burly men rode their horses, cracking whips and shouting loudly.

These horse-riding strongmen weren't dressed like constables; their demeanor and actions were more like bandits or mountain robbers.

The cages on the carts were also very crude, clearly newly made, with fresh white wood showing.

Each cage was packed with prisoners.

Qin Sang, his hands and feet bound, was huddled in the corner of a cage, his gaze regaining some clarity.

Ever since he regained consciousness, he had been in a daze, with only occasional brief moments of lucidity. Only today had he fully assimilated the memories of this body.

This body also bore the surname Qin and came from a village called Wangjia Village. His parents were farmers in the village, and he had two elder brothers, making him the third child. The villagers called him Sanwa, and he hadn't yet reached adulthood, so he didn't have a proper name.

The Qin family was hardworking and had many laborers, so their life was quite well-off. But how much gold and silver could one really dig out of the earth?

Qin's father and mother had other thoughts. Not only did they send Qin Sanwa to study, but when he turned fifteen, they took him to seek out Shopkeeper Wang, hoping to secure a livelihood.

Shopkeeper Wang was an old acquaintance of Qin's father and also from Wangjia Village. In his youth, he had established a shop in a nearby small town, far more prosperous than the village farmers, and was a respectable figure.

Seeing Qin Sanwa was honest, Shopkeeper Wang was willing to take him on as an apprentice. Qin's parents were naturally grateful and quickly agreed.

This was the first time Qin Sanwa had left home in his life. In his apprehension, he diligently followed his parents' teachings, working very diligently. He earned Shopkeeper Wang's favor even more, who was willing to take him along when purchasing goods.

Unexpectedly, the world was chaotic. Not long after the shopkeeper and the young apprentice set out, they encountered these mountain bandits on the mountain road. Shopkeeper Wang was beheaded with a single slash, while Qin Sanwa was bound and thrown into a prisoner cart, his life temporarily spared.

Poor Qin Sanwa had never experienced such a sudden turn of events, and he soon died of fright, making Qin Sang the beneficiary.

Like a cuckoo usurping a magpie's nest, the unfamiliar body left Qin Sang with a distinct sense of detachment and strangeness. Various signs in the memories indicated that this was a world vastly different from his previous life, but Qin Sang was not in the mood to care about such matters.

The sun grew increasingly scorching, his body was utterly exhausted, and his wounds stung unbearably. Qin Sang gathered his spirits, blinking his aching eyes. His gaze suddenly swept to the last carriage in the convoy, and he abruptly remembered a scene he had witnessed three days earlier when he was conscious. Even though it was midday, a chill still ran down his spine.

Looking ahead and behind, there were very few prisoner carts left.

There was no time; he had to find a way to escape!

Five people were crammed into the narrow prisoner cart. Qin Sang's bones ached from the squeeze, and he hunched back.

The prisoners in the cart were all young, able-bodied men, just like Qin Sanwa, all innocent unfortunates who had been captured.

Qin Sang pushed several times with effort, but heard no curses, only a few weak groans, and couldn't help but feel a surge of despair.

Including himself, the prisoners were all ravenous and incredibly weak. The mountain bandits, on the other hand, were all brawny and had horses. How could they possibly escape?

Just then, a light breeze blew, bringing a rare touch of coolness. Ahead, a 'jade belt' appeared – a river of moderate size behind the mountains. The river was wide and calm, its surface shimmering with ripples, not swift at all.

There were ancient trees along the riverbank, and waist-high yellow grass covered the entire river flat. The grass rustled in the wind, making it an excellent place to bury bodies.

"Whoa!"

The leader of these mountain bandits was a burly, bearded man. After leading the group to the riverside, the leader turned his horse around and rode back towards the last carriage.

Unlike the other prisoner carts, this carriage was covered with a black cloth, making it impossible to see who was inside. The person inside had never emerged.

Before reaching the carriage, the leader dismounted, shed his fierce expression, and lightly walked to the carriage side. He knelt on both knees and respectfully said, "Reporting to Immortal Master, this is the Sunken River. The Sunken River connects to the Wuling River, and this place is already within the Great Sui Kingdom."

The carriage remained silent; there was no response, and the leader prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to rise.

After a while, a hoarse, unpleasant voice emerged from within: "Build rafts to cross the river, and continue north."

The burly, bearded man quickly assented. Just as he was about to rise, a violent fit of coughing suddenly erupted from the carriage: "Quick... quick, send two blood sacrifices in... cough cough..."

Qin Sang was startled, and then all the prisoners stirred restlessly.

Whenever the Immortal Master demanded blood sacrifices, two prisoners would be sent into the black-covered carriage, and an hour later, two corpses would be brought out.

Three days earlier, Qin Sang had inadvertently seen what the corpses looked like. Live people went in, and what emerged were mummified bodies; their flesh and blood completely drained, only skin clinging to their skeletons.

Those shriveled eye sockets were still vivid in his memory, as if silently recounting boundless terror to him, shattering Qin Sang's worldview.

If his five senses hadn't been so clear, Qin Sang would have thought he was in the eighteen layers of hell, yet he couldn't recall any level where the torture involved draining flesh and blood.

"Come out!"

The leader ordered his subordinates to cut down trees to build rafts, then personally pulled two men from a nearby cart.

Qin Sang secretly sighed in relief, but the despair in his heart didn't lessen in the slightest. If he couldn't escape, he would at most only live a few more days than these two. What was there to be grateful for?

Qin Sang's eyes were fixed on the bandits who were building the rafts. These bandits were incredibly efficient; a raft was almost complete in the blink of an eye. Qin Sang could only pray they would cut corners, and the raft would capsize and break apart in the river.

Compared to being drained dry, he would rather drown in the river. He would consider this life just an extra dream before dying.

The leader walked quickly towards the carriage. The two unlucky men, carried by the leader, screamed and cried with their last remaining strength, while the bandits by the river continued to laugh mockingly.

The sounds of water, wind, blades, footsteps, screams, groans, sinister laughter...

All these sounds flooded into his ears, and the entire world suddenly became chaotic. Qin Sang felt an intense irritation in his heart, his head swam, and he felt dizzy, about to faint. Then, suddenly, he heard a thunderous shout.

"Demon! Let's see where you'll run this time!"

Qin Sang abruptly looked up, only to see a dazzling white light flash from the mountaintop. It cut through the air, even more brilliant than the sun.

The white light pulsed, appearing to be a sword!