Chapter 2126: Thunder Strike

Pain, his whole body ached, and he could faintly smell something burnt in his nose.

Wait!

Zu'an remembered he had just been engaging in a heated debate on an online forum, unfazed by the thunderstorm raging outside. He had truly silenced all the debaters and left them speechless... Oh, wait, I meant he had convinced them with his virtue.

Then, a violent peal of thunder, and a basketball-sized bolt of lightning suddenly pierced through the wall from outside, emitting a faint red glow and flickering erratically in the air.

Zu'an heard a desolate, mournful whistling sound in his ears, a sensation difficult to describe accurately with words. He then watched as the keyboard on his desk gradually turned to ash, followed by his hand. The vanishing part moved up his arm, and then he knew nothing more.

It seemed he had just been struck by lightning?

What was that thing? Ball lightning? As a "keyboard warrior," he had read Liu Cixin's *Ball Lightning*. With his always unconventional way of thinking, he wasn't afraid; instead, he felt a surge of excitement. Had he become the Flash, or a quantum-state hero?

He tried hard to open his eyes, but everything was chaotic; he couldn't tell up from down or left from right. Suddenly, a tingling prickle ran through his fingers. He quickly turned his head to look—though he wasn't sure if he was seeing with his eyes or his mind.

A keyboard vaguely materialized near his fingertips, identical to the one he used daily, except that all its keys were incredibly dim. He tried to press them, but none would move, as if they were all soldered in place.

"Keyboard Warrior title bound successfully. Corresponding functions will automatically unlock upon meeting the conditions." A cold voice echoed in his mind, startling Zu'an. Others got titles like the Flash, Spider-Man, Iron Man—each cooler than the last. While "Keyboard Warrior" somewhat fit his personality, why did it sound so awkward?

"What are the conditions for unlocking?" Zu'an asked anxiously.

"Collect the secret tomes from 12 unknown lands in this world and embed them sequentially into the F1 to F12 slots. Each tome collected will unlock a corresponding function," the cold voice replied.

Only then did Zu'an notice strange engravings on the F1 to F12 keys of the keyboard, presumably corresponding to those 12 secret tomes.

"Good luck, Keyboard Warrior!" After saying this, the keyboard twisted, transformed into a phantom image, and burrowed into his finger, disappearing. Zu'an hurriedly pressed, "Wait, what are these 12 unknown lands? How can I find those secret tomes?"

Unfortunately, no matter how he called out, the cold voice never reappeared, and even the mysterious keyboard was nowhere to be found.

Zu'an couldn't help but curse. What kind of shoddy keyboard was this? Other protagonists started with awesome cheat abilities, so why did he need such harsh unlocking conditions? "Unknown lands" sounded like dangerous places, and would secret tomes just be handed out? And 12 of them? This was clearly a prank!

At this point, the surrounding chaos gradually receded. He could sense the presence of light, and faint sounds of people talking reached his ears.

"Strange, a clear sky and then sudden thunder. Doesn't make sense."

"He must have done something outrageous; heaven couldn't stand it."

"Oh, isn't this the notorious good-for-nothing son-in-law of the Chu family? For him to be favored by someone as angelic as the Chu family's eldest young lady, his ancestors must have been burning incense in their graves. Yet he wasn't satisfied; I heard he even snuck into the second young lady's bedchamber on his wedding night."

"My god, is he trying to have both sisters?"

"Hehehe, what brother-in-law doesn't like his sister-in-law?"

"He deserved to be struck by lightning!"

"What a pity that the Chu family's eldest young lady, beautiful as a celestial fairy, is widowed so young."

"Quiet! Be careful the Chu family hears you. They're searching for this beast."

Zu'an was completely bewildered. What was all this nonsense? Morality had truly declined. These people were just gossiping on the sidelines; couldn't they call an ambulance? Once he woke up, he would definitely expose and condemn their shameless behavior online!

"Clear the way, clear the way, the coroner is here!" Someone shouted.

"Coroner?" Zu'an was bewildered. Shouldn't it be a forensic doctor? Were they filming a historical drama here?

Soon, he felt someone squatting beside him, pressing fingers on various parts of his body. "The corpse's flesh is charred yellow, the entire body soft and black, hands splayed open, mouth agape, eyes wide. There are large areas of red and purple on the body, but the flesh is intact. Indeed, these are the symptoms of death by lightning strike."

Zu'an was both angry and scared. Dying was one thing, but looking so ugly in death was completely unbearable! He didn't know where the strength came from, but he suddenly sat up. "Could you at least put some makeup on me before taking pictures?"

"It's a zombie!" The onlookers instantly scattered in all directions.

Zu'an was also stunned. He saw that the clothes worn by the people around him were indeed ancient attire, and the fabric quality was generally poor, unlike the luxurious beauty seen in historical dramas. What was even more chilling was that there were no cameras or film crews nearby, nor could he see any cell phones, utility poles, cars, or any other signs of the world he was familiar with, as far as his eyes could reach.

So he wasn't dead after all. Had he transmigrated? He had seen such scenarios countless times in novels, so he was quite accustomed to them.

"You... what kind of... what kind of monster are you?" The coroner, who had just fallen to the ground in fright, pointed at him, his lips trembling.

"Monster your head! You can't even tell the living from the dead, and you call yourself a coroner? Cough, cough..." As he spoke, smoke incessantly billowed from his mouth and nose, choking him somewhat. It must have been an after-effect of being struck by lightning.

Only then did Zu'an notice that the clothes on his body weren't his original ones, and his arms were even much thinner than before. A horrifying thought suddenly struck him. He hastily pulled down his pants to look inside and immediately let out a bloodcurdling wail, "Oh no!"

What was once a majestic "great roc spreading its wings" had become a "chick pecking at rice." No one could accept such a huge discrepancy.

Just then, the surroundings suddenly fell silent. The distant crowd parted, each person staring blankly in a certain direction. Many even lowered their heads guiltily, yet couldn't help but secretly glance up.

Zu'an instinctively looked, finally understanding why these people reacted this way. A woman in white slowly approached.

Bright eyes, snow-white skin, and features as exquisite as a painting. The mountain breeze gently swept by, making her dark hair dance and her white dress flutter. A light blue ribbon softly cinched her slender, willow-like waist, making her appear like an ethereal fairy from the clouds.

"Holy cow!" He blamed his own lack of vocabulary for not knowing how to describe her beauty.

Seeing her look down at him, Zu'an, unwilling to be outdone, climbed to his feet. "Beautiful lady, do you have a boyfriend? If so, would you mind swapping him out? If not, would you mind having an extra one?"

A hint of displeasure flashed across the white-clad woman's face. She said coldly, "Well, Zu'an, it's only been a few hours, and you don't even recognize your own wife?"

Zu'an was instantly shocked. This woman, who seemed to have stepped out of a painting, was this unlucky guy's wife? Even more shocking was that this unfortunate soul, struck dead by lightning, was also named Zu'an?

Just then, a flood of both familiar and unfamiliar memories surged into his mind.

Familiar because this world resembled ancient China, with similar language and culture; unfamiliar because it was a world of cultivators, where individual martial prowess was extremely formidable. Some could even cleave the sea with a single sword stroke or traverse vast distances in one step.

Unlike the Xianxia stories he remembered, the greatest martial power in this world was mostly held within the imperial court. The higher one's strength, the higher their status and power tended to be.

The Great Zhou Dynasty, where he now found himself, was ruled by an emperor who was one of the most powerful cultivators in the world.

This was an incredibly powerful dynasty, with a vast territory far exceeding any in ancient China. Imperial princes and royalty were dispersed across the land, guarding the four directions. Beneath the princes, dukes, marquises, counts, viscounts, and barons—nobles of varying ranks—each held their own fiefdoms and private armies, governing their local areas alongside centrally appointed officials.

For example, the local Moonlit City was the fiefdom of Duke Moonlit, Chu Zhongtian.

The original owner of this body was also named Zu'an. He was an orphan raised by his uncle and was known throughout the city as a useless young man. He was neither skilled in academics nor martial arts, yet he harbored immense ambitions, always aiming high and boasting, which was everyone's impression of him. It was said his uncle was even angered to death by him.

However, what shocked everyone recently was that such a good-for-nothing had actually won the favor of the Moonlit City Princess, the eldest young lady of the Ducal Manor, and was brought into the Chu family as a son-in-law.

How could such a good-for-nothing be worthy of the noble Miss Chu, especially when she was such a peerless beauty? Everyone felt that they could do better than him.

And this beautiful woman in white before him was the Chu family's eldest young lady, Chu Chuyan.

Faced with her questioning, Zu'an reacted quickly, smiling as he reached out to embrace her waist. "Wasn't I afraid you'd be sad and upset? I was just making a joke to lighten the mood."

Since it was another version of himself from a parallel world, this wife was naturally his wife as well—though, of course, if she had been unattractive, he would absolutely not have acknowledged this marriage.

Chu Chuyan subtly turned away, perfectly avoiding his hand. "Sad and upset? For you?" A hint of coldness was discernible in her faint voice.

Zu'an didn't mind, thinking she was simply too shy to be affectionate with him in public. He quickly followed, wanting to seize the opportunity to boost her favorability.

To his surprise, a slender figure blocked their way. Zu'an focused his gaze and saw a girl in emerald green clothing holding out her hand to block him. She had neat bangs, many delicate small braids tied on her head, and an extremely slender figure. Most striking was her "willow waist" that could be encircled by a single hand.

Just as Zu'an was about to praise her as a charming young girl, her words turned out to be far from pleasant. "Have you forgotten your place? No manners. Get back there."

Zu'an paused, vaguely recalling that this girl was apparently Miss Chu's personal maid, Xue'er. He thought, *You, a mere maid, dare to speak to your master like that?*

At this point, whispers spread among the onlookers.

"This is the Chu family's eldest young lady, isn't she? Truly unbelievably beautiful."

"Even her maid is so pretty!"

"That guy struck by lightning really is the Chu family's good-for-nothing son-in-law. I wonder what merits he possesses."

"Who in these parts doesn't know he's freeloading off the Chu family? Look at him, so submissive in front of a maid."

Good-for-nothing son-in-law?

Zu'an's expression was strange. This world's version of himself seemed to be living a rather miserable life. But he didn't care about that now. So what if he was freeloading? Being able to freeload successfully was also a skill; you guys couldn't even manage it if you tried!

Chu Chuyan quickly boarded a carriage. Zu'an tried to follow, but he was glared at by Xue'er, the maid sitting at the front of the carriage, and blocked from entering. The other servants seemed accustomed to this, simply starting the carriage and completely ignoring his presence.

Zu'an was annoyed. No matter what, her husband had just been struck by lightning and was still very weak. Were they just going to make him walk all the way back?

So, without a second thought, he jogged over and plonked himself right onto Xue'er's lap.

Xue'er was startled and quickly dodged to the side, creating an opening. Zu'an then squeezed directly into the carriage.

A faint, enchanting fragrance filled the carriage. Chu Chuyan was reading a book and evidently hadn't expected him to enter. He used to always stay obediently outside, so for a moment, she was stunned.

Just as Zu'an was about to speak, he suddenly noticed the title of the book in her hand—*Ninety-Nine Days of Demanding Love from the Sweet and Doted Young Wife and Overbearing Sword Immortal*.

Xue'er stormed in, intending to grab him. "Hey, I told you, you..."

Chu Chuyan swiftly tucked the book into her sleeve, a slight blush flashing across her pristine face. "Never mind, Xue'er, let him stay here."

Xue'er glared at Zu'an, then huffily returned to sit at the front of the carriage.

"What did you just see?" A hint of danger flickered in Chu Chuyan's eyes.

Zu'an waved his hand. "I didn't see anything."

Did this world also have romance novels? The title was indeed as embarrassing as ever. He truly hadn't expected a woman as aloof as her to secretly read such books.

Seeing her expression of disbelief, Zu'an, worried about being silenced, quickly changed the subject. "My dear wife, do you know about the unknown lands in this world? Which one is closest to us?"

Chu Chuyan looked at him with surprise. "Where did you hear about 'unknown lands'?" Outside the carriage, Xue'er's eyes also flashed with a sharp gleam, but she quickly lowered her head to conceal it.

Zu'an subconsciously replied, "I heard it from someone else."

"Impossible!" Chu Chuyan frowned. "Ordinary people wouldn't have any way of knowing that term."