The streets of Qing shui Town were alive with morning bustle, but Lin Yuanfeng's mind was far from it.
He racked his brains, pacing in a quiet corner near the town gates.
If it were any other young man in his place/age, most would have given up. The desperate might sell themselves to unscrupulous masters or become thieves to resolve this situation.
But Lin Yuanfeng carrying the wisdom of two lives-knew better. Panic solved nothing. Brute force was foolish. He needed a plan that worked.
His gaze fell toward the forest outside the town. The answer was clear. Spirit medicines grew there in the wild. If he could find them and sell them at the town market, he could gather enough spirit stones to buy real medicine for his parents.
The path was dangerous, but if he did nothing… he would fail them, and this life too would be swallowed by the same loneliness he had suffered before and life has no meaning living alone again.
Determined, he tightened his fists.
There is only one way.
Before stepping into the forest, he needed preparation. The beasts here, nourished on spiritual energy, would detect ordinary humans instantly. Entering unprepared would be suicide. He needed something to mask his presence.
Because bandits had taken all the spirit stones on him but fortunately, not everything had been lost.
He gently probed between his left cheek and lower teeth-where a small, smooth object had been hidden.
One spirit stone.
A mere inch long--small enough to be missed by greedy hands, but valuable enough to change fate.
Perhaps it was the wisdom of previous life in his soul or maybe it was fear. But the present Lin Yuan had hidden a spirit stone here--as if some part of him knew he would need it.
One spirit stone could be converted into ten spirit sand. He used it wisely.
He used the 10-spirit sand to buy
five stalks of scent-concealing grass—common weeds(5-spirit sands) that could mask human qi when crushed and applied.
Two small porcelain bottles to store the juice(2- spirit sands),
one small medicine box adult palm size to carry medicine safely(2-spirit sands),
and a strip of Grade 1, early-stage Yao beast jerky—tough fibrous, and packed with enough energy to keep him going for a day(1-spirit sand).
Every choice was deliberate. Every coin counted.
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On a stone slab near the forest edge, he began crushing the grass with careful precision, extracting the pungent, metallic juice.
It smelled… unpleasant.
But that was the point.
Two bottles were filled, the remaining paste smeared over his clothes, hair, and exposed skin. Even the medicine box holding the jerky wrapped in leaves was coated, ensuring the beasts wouldn't be able to smell it and secured them under his robe, right against his chest.
His parents were injured at 6 am after doing some first aid like bandaging the wounds he reached the market by 8 am and got robbed in half an hour and all the preparation has taken some time, as he glanced at the sky the sun was barely past its morning peak, casting long shadows across the forest edge
By 10am in the morning, he was ready. The journey would be short--he needed to return before 2pm, as most Yao beasts began their hunt by late afternoon like from 4-5pm.
And a lone teenager with barely any cultivation? He wouldn't last a minute.
His current cultivation was low—barely in Qi Refining 1st layer Early Stage, and not even the middle stage. Spiritual farmers cultivation rarely progressed ; their work was to nurture the earth, not for fighting monsters.
His goal was clear: survive the forest, collect valuable herbs, return by 2 pm, sell them at the market, and save his parents. Failure was not an option.
He took a deep breath, feeling the wind carry the earthy scent of trees and damp soil.
The forest loomed ahead, shadows flickering between trunks and light shimmering faintly. Every step he took was careful, measured.
He was no ordinary boy. Years of surviving alone in Beijing had taught him patience, observation, and composure. Two lives had made him resourceful.
Lin Yuan adjusted the medicine box under his robe and tightened his grip on the porcelain bottles. His heart beat steadily--not in fear, but in calculated anticipation.
One step at a time. One herb at a time. One spirit stone closer to saving them.
And with that resolve, stepped into the forest.
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The change was immediate.
The air felt different--thicker, alive. Shafts of sunlight pierced through the dense canopy above, illuminating floating motes of spirit qi like shimmering dust.
This wasn't a high-ranked spiritual zone--Ling zhou never had strong qi compared to legendary Tian zhou—but even here, nature felt richer, deeper… different from the world he'd once known.
With each step, the sounds around him shifted.
Town chatter faded.
The chirping of birds and rustling leaves replaced it.
The faint hum of spiritual energy brushed against him, barely perceptible yet alive.
Water trickled faintly nearby.
Every few minutes, he would stop, breathe, listen. He wasn't strong--but he was calm. Years of corporate hardship had taught him that panic never solved problems. In the office, silence was survival.
Here—alertness was survival.
He scanned trees, rocks, crevices.
He wasn't seeking beasts.
He was seeking herbs.
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He remembered the knowledge from his present body.
Cold Dew Grass—grows in damp soil near rocks, used to reduce inflammation.
Vein-Nurturing Moss—sometimes grows under fallen logs, good for wound recovery.
Spirit Orchid—rare, faint silver tint on leaves, grows near tree roots, a single stalk worth 15 to 20 spirit stones.
Spirit Orchid.
Just one… would be enough to save his parents. And more.
He walked deeper.
Birds scattered.
The wind shifted.
His heartbeat steadied, his mind strangely clear. Not the dull emptiness of the office life he once had--but calm alertness, like water flowing steadily around rocks.
He wasn't just Lin Yuan from Beijing anymore.
He wasn't just Lin Yuan from Qing shui Village either.
He was both.
He was wiser.
Stronger.
He bent down, brushed aside a patch of leaves.
Something shimmered faintly.
Silver veins--on a leaf.
His pulse quickened.
He knelt down carefully.
There it was.
Spirit Orchid.
Small, modest--but elegant. Life and spirit wrapped around a single stalk.
Delicate. Priceless.
He exhaled, slowly, carefully.
Hands steady. Heart steady.
Perhaps… fate didn't abandon him after all.
He carefully wrapped it in leaves, placing it gently into his medicine box--safe, dry, protected.
A small smile touched his lips.
One step out of helplessness.
One step closer to saving them.
One step toward the life he never got to live.
And just as he straightened up--
A branch snapped.
Not far behind him.
Breathing sound
Slow. Heavy.
Not human.
And something was watching him.
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