Awareness came with the heartbeat that had stopped. It was no longer the scent of oil or the dust of Guangzhou that assaulted his senses, but rather the musty smell of damp moss, the remains of burning incense, and the stench of dried blood.
Yoe Choin tried to catch his breath, his chest feeling as if it were being pressed by a hydraulic press.
"Uh... My head... hurts...!!"
When he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry, obscured by a mess of long, black hair. When he reached for his head, he was amazed at how slender and delicate his hands were for someone who had spent two decades wielding crowbars and hammers.
He was in an underground cave.
"This... isn't a hospital,"
the young man's voice was hoarse and full of despair. Suddenly, unimaginable pain exploded. Choin felt a scorching energy tearing at his heart, like a giant drill tunneling through his flesh.
"Qi Deviation..." A memory of Moen Kang Yo, the betrayed and poisoned illegitimate son of the Demon faction leader, began to surface in my mind. Amidst the pain, a black shadow appeared before Choin's inner eye. The figure of a young man with glowing red eyes and a vast, dark aura stood arrogantly and haughtily.
"Who are you... How dare you... a lowly being from another world, disturb the sacred vessel of the Moen clan's descendants!"
The real Moen Kang Yo shouted, his aura surging out uncontrollably and trying to devour Choin's consciousness.
Yoe Choin ignored the bluff. He crossed his arms across his chest, staring at the demon like he was facing a subcontractor who had failed to meet a deadline.
"Listen, kid. My name is Yoe Choin. I'm the Foreman and have been building buildings that reach the clouds since before you were born. And now, I see this body of yours that looks like it's about to be reduced to trash."
"Shut your mouth... you foreman or whatever!!"
Moen Kang Yo shouted, his sky-high ego threatened.
"I am a genius of bloody sword techniques. I will reunite Jianghu! Get out of my body now, or I will devour your soul to pieces!"
"You want to take control?"
Choin smiled amusedly.
"Go ahead. But look at the plumbing system in your body. It's like it's been installed backwards. The pressure is incredibly high here, and without my control, your heart will explode from overload in ten minutes. Do you want to die like a 'genius' who explodes foolishly?"
"True strength doesn't require cowardly calculations like yours! And what you're pointing at is my dantian!!"
Kang Yo retorted, his eyes filled with rage.
"This body is mine! I'd rather perish with it than let a foreign soul like you control my life!"
"That's not determination, that's stupidity masked by ambition,"
Choin cut in sharply.
"This body has potential. Its foundation is strong, your bones are as hard as K-500 concrete, but the electrical and plumbing installations are rubbish. If you want revenge on those who destroyed you, you need a foreman like me to renovate this ruin."
Moen Kang Yo was stunned. His anger still simmered, but the intensifying pain in his meridians couldn't refute the words of the figure before him. Outside the cave, the rumbling sound of a stone door sliding could be heard, followed by the sly voice of the messenger who wanted to take his body.
"Remember this, Foreman,"
Moen Kang Yo hissed, his ego still bruised but aware of the urgency of the situation.
"I'm not giving you this body. I'm simply allowing you to be my 'servant' to rebuild my strength. If you fail, I will personally destroy your soul!"
"Deal!!"
Choin grinned, delighted at being given a chance to live again in another world, united with his stubborn nature.
holding the hilt of the black sword beside him.
"Is this your sword?!"
Yoe Choin asked Moen Kang Yo in his mind's eye.
"Yes, use it well and prove to me that you're useful, you servant."
Moen Kang Yo replied with arrogance and lingering anger.
"Now, let the foreman take over control of this project site."