Chapter 1: Crossing Over

The warm morning sunlight poured into the room, causing Wu Ming to squint his eyes.

“Ahh-choo…”

He half-sat up from the bed, leisurely stretching his arms, gazing at the tiny spots of light dancing in the small room and the floating dust particles in the air. Especially the antique furniture, the intricately carved sandalwood bed he was on, and the brocade quilt embroidered with exquisite needlework depicting mandarin ducks playing in water, he suddenly shook his head.

“This must be a dream!”

This was Wu Ming’s first reaction. Immediately followed by a second: “This dream about ancient times feels so real…”

While thinking, he pinched his cheek and tried to decipher the calligraphy on the landscape paintings adorning the walls. Suddenly his expression changed, and his right hand unconsciously dropped.

“Ahh!”

A soft cry of pain came from beside him. On the other side of the embroidered pillow was a mass of flowing, glossy black hair, exuding a young girl’s natural fragrance.

The quilt shifted, revealing a delicate oval face, tear tracks still fresh, with an expression of innocence.

In an instant, Wu Ming was drenched in cold sweat, then hot sweat, then waterfall sweat…

An extremely ominous premonition instantly engulfed Wu Ming. A moment later, he lowered his head in thought, then calmly got up, stepped off the bed, picked up the scattered trousers and green robe from the floor, put them on one by one, and finally combed his hair in front of the bronze mirror. Seeing the face of a youth seemingly no older than fifteen or sixteen, he maintained his cold expression and strode out the door.

Throughout this, the girl on the bed had silently watched Wu Ming’s every move, expressionless, her eyes like still water, as lifeless as a walking corpse.

As she was lying on her back, she didn’t see that once Wu Ming stepped outside, his cold demeanor immediately crumbled, and he fled in a panic.

“It wasn’t a dream!”

Wu Ming wandered around the huge courtyard in disarray, his clothes not properly worn, and saw servants and maids dressed in ancient attire bowing to him and respectfully calling him “Master Ming.” The complex emotions surging inside him were indescribable.

“Really ancient times… Could I have been reincarnated?”

As someone who had read countless novels in his previous life, this scenario was not unfamiliar to Wu Ming.

However, novels are one thing. When it actually happens to a person, who could possibly stay calm?

“Master Ming, what’s wrong? Was the girl from last night not to your satisfaction?”

A fawning voice approached. Wu Ming turned his gaze and saw a middle-aged, fat man bowing with a sycophantic grin. His large, oily face was full of flattery. Dressed slightly better than the servants, he seemed to be a butler or steward.

“This is a classic yes-man!”

Wu Ming mentally categorized him, and as he looked at the man, a sudden familiarity surged in his mind, and he blurted out: “Butler Wu!”

“At your service!”

Butler Wu instantly straightened his back, assuming the posture of a loyal hound: “What does Master Ming require?”

He completely ignored the fact that Wu Ming was not properly dressed.

Who didn’t know that Master Ming was the apple of the eldest Miss’s eye, spoiled rotten, and had long been known for his eccentricities? Missing a few buttons was nothing compared to the many outrageous things he had done.

Seeing Wu Ming in such a daze, the butler immediately suspected last night’s girl had failed to please him and began scheming in his mind.

“Orders?”

Wu Ming composed himself.

First and foremost, he was certain—he had been reincarnated!!!

Not only that, but he was now in a body completely different from his former self! Though much younger, he was definitely less handsome than his previous incarnation.

Of course, at this moment, handsomeness was not the issue. If the fact that the young master had been replaced was discovered, the consequences would likely be…

Instantly, Wu Ming’s mind conjured up gruesome scenes of being boiled in oil, thrown into a pit of excrement, and other such ancient methods used to punish heretics and witches. His legs began to tremble.

“For now, I must hide this, and absolutely cannot let anyone discover the truth!”

With this thought in mind, Wu Ming uttered a line that had been used throughout history and across cultures: “I’m hungry!”

This wasn’t a lie. This body had apparently been through quite a bit last night, and now his stomach was growling.

“Oh! It’s my mistake! I deserve punishment!”

Butler Wu slapped his own face, still smiling: “Master Ming rose late today, and the servants forgot to prepare breakfast. They truly deserve a beating! A beating indeed!”

In truth, in such a wealthy household, even if one rose at midday, there would still be a warm breakfast waiting. As soon as Wu Ming had stepped out, maids were already ready to serve.

But Wu Ming had been too dazed to notice, wandering aimlessly through the courtyard, and who dared to stop him?

As always, the fault was always the servants’, never the master’s. Thus, the loyal dog Butler Wu dutifully shifted all blame to his subordinates: “Let me go and prepare it right away… How about at Lingfeng Tower? That’s where Master Ming always likes to dine…”

“Fine, let’s go there!”

Wu Ming had no idea where that was anymore. However, at this moment, his mind was in a haze, and fragmented memories began to surface, merging with his consciousness, as if he were reliving another life from a different perspective.

Eager to find a place to sort through these memories, Wu Ming naturally agreed without hesitation.

…

Moments later,

Wu Ming was seated at the top floor of Lingfeng Tower, staring blankly at the breakfast before him.

The main dish was crab roe buns, clearly prepared by the Wu family chef with great skill. The translucent dough revealed the golden crab roe inside, so finely crafted it resembled an artwork.

Alongside were several delicate side dishes, fragrant and mouthwatering.

Even the soup accompanying the meal was a milky-white broth with a sweet-and-sour flavor, very appetizing.

Overall, even in his previous life, Wu Ming would have had to spend a significant amount of money to enjoy a breakfast of this caliber.

Yet Wu Ming’s expression remained blank as he suddenly picked up a crab roe bun.

Whoosh!

A cold wind blew through, and Wu Ming felt a sudden urge to be swept away by the wind.

This wretched tower was drafty on all sides. With a few gusts, not only did he feel chilled, but more importantly, all the food was cooling rapidly!

“Bring a warming brazier!”

The loyal butler had already prepared a copper brazier with burning charcoal, finally rescuing Wu Ming’s appetite.

Otherwise, no matter how exquisite the food, unless it was specifically meant to be cold, its flavor would greatly diminish once cooled.

“Good. You may leave now. I need some peace.”

After barely finishing his meal, Wu Ming waved his hand.

Butler Wu, however, led the maids to clear the table, then bowed deeply before retreating with a feline gait, his footsteps nearly silent.

The rules in this large household were indeed strict.

Wu Ming sat upright, eyes slightly closed as if in meditation. Suddenly, he stood and leaned over the railing.

Before him stretched endless rooftops, and beyond them, high, thick walls connected together, forming a small fortress.

The Lingfeng Tower he stood in was likely the watchtower of this small fortress.

Looking out, he saw farmland crisscrossed with paths, farmers and oxen working hard outside the fortress walls. Within, wisps of smoke rose from homes, and numerous servants, maids, and dependent families moved about in orderly fashion, like worker ants in a hive.

From Wu Ming’s perspective, he could only see black dots—heads of people—moving about, as lively and vivid as ants.

Standing there, his wide sleeves fluttering in the wind, Wu Ming felt a slight sense of transcendence.

And now he understood why the previous occupant of this body liked being here—it was all for show, to enjoy the feeling of being high above, like a god looking down upon the world.

Thinking of this, Wu Ming couldn’t help but raise a middle finger toward a certain someone who no longer existed.

“Indeed… I really am in another world now?”

After a long while, Wu Ming withdrew his gaze, organizing the memories he had absorbed, and sighed.

This was not his past life, nor was it the ancient world he had imagined!

Though the former occupant had been a spoiled brat, from the fragments of memory Wu Ming had extracted, he knew this was a vast, mysterious world filled with arcane powers!

Coincidentally, the body he now inhabited had also been named Wu Ming. He had grown up with a beloved older sister. Aside from a few distant relatives, he was the sole heir to this massive estate—strangely enough, without attracting any outside greed.

According to the memories, all of this seemed to be due to his elder sister, who had shown extraordinary talent from a young age and had been accepted into a Daoist academy for training.

Strangely, though the sister had doted on Wu Ming, the memories of her evoked a vague sense of fear in him.

“Sigh… Fortunately, she’s currently deep in cultivation at the Daoist academy, so I won’t be discovered immediately. As for the rest, they’re just servants—who would dare question their master?”

Gaining confidence, Wu Ming descended the stairs with his hands behind his back and saw Butler Wu waiting nearby.

“What is it?”

“It’s about the girl, Yun, in your room…”

Butler Wu hesitated, as if reluctant to continue.

“Her…”

Wu Ming rubbed his temples, feeling somewhat troubled.

According to the memories, this Wu Ming had been a local bully, committing many despicable acts.

Yun had been the girl he had “taken” the previous night. She apparently had a childhood sweetheart.

Strictly speaking, “taken” wasn’t quite accurate. After receiving Wu Ming’s gifts of money and valuables, her parents had happily sent her to the Wu household, not even caring about her status or title.

“I’m not taking the blame for that!”

Wu Ming recalled the former Wu Ming’s tone and said: “As for that girl, I’ll be generous and send her back, along with some money and cloth, so she can marry this Lin Qi fellow.”

“Eh?”

Butler Wu looked astonished: “But Master Ming had already sent people to beat Lin Qi to death!”

“Oh… Immediately recall Ghosthand Liu! Tell him to come back at once!”

Wu Ming slapped his forehead. With so many memories flooding in, he had nearly forgotten this detail.

Ghosthand Liu was naturally a guard of the Wu family, who had done many dirty deeds for the former Wu Ming. He had the blood of over a hundred souls on his hands—not joking, but at least ten murders were certain.

“Report!”

At that moment, a muscular man came running in, panic evident on his face: “Master Ming, bad news! Ghosthand Liu has been killed by Lin Qi!”

“What? This person was supposed to be a weakling. How could he defeat Ghosthand Liu?” Butler Wu frowned.

But Wu Ming’s mind exploded with a thunderclap, as if struck by lightning, a terrible premonition forming:

“Could it be… I’ve been reincarnated into the villain of my past life’s novels—the one who bullies others and serves as the hero’s experience points? Oh no! This plot doesn’t fit at all!”