When Lin Yuan opened his eyes again, he found himself lying in a soft baby crib. Sunlight streamed through the window panes, and the air was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood. He blinked—this body was so small that even turning his neck felt like a struggle. The memory of his death in the previous life, hit by a car as an ordinary man, was still vivid, yet now, he had become an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes.
"Yuan'er, it's time for your milk," a gentle voice said from nearby.
Lin Yuan struggled to turn his head and saw a woman with a kind and gentle face leaning over him. She wore a simple cotton dress, her hair tied neatly with a wooden hairpin, eyes full of tenderness. This was his mother, Su Wan. Beside her stood a man of medium build, with a warm and sincere face, smiling at him—his father, Lin Shouye.
"This child's eyes are so bright," Lin Shouye said, touching Lin Yuan's forehead. "Not like other infants, so blank and uncomprehending."
Su Wan gently picked up Lin Yuan and fed him warm goat milk. While swallowing, Lin Yuan observed his surroundings: the room was small but tidy; most furniture was made of wood and simple in style; several landscape paintings hung on the walls, naïve in technique but with their own charm. This was a typical middle-class household—not wealthy, but stable enough.
Over the next few months, Lin Yuan began the process of "learning to speak." He had to imitate the most basic syllables: "ah," "ee," "ma." Su Wan and Lin Shouye patiently repeated simple words, and Lin Yuan quietly felt relieved—at least the language of this world was not entirely foreign; many pronunciations resembled Chinese.
But the real breakthrough came six months later.
One evening, Su Wan held Lin Yuan in the courtyard, pointing at the moon in the sky. "Moon," she said.
Suddenly, Lin Yuan realized—he understood the word. Not through infant instinct, but by genuinely grasping its meaning. Like a lock being opened, the language of this other world began to flow into his consciousness.
From that day on, his learning accelerated at an astonishing pace. By the age of one, he could understand most daily conversations; at two, he could respond simply; by three, he could even speak complete sentences. Su Wan and Lin Shouye were amazed, believing their child to be exceptionally talented, unaware that it was the residual language ability of a reincarnated mind projecting itself.
However, what truly allowed Lin Yuan to understand this world were the bedtime stories Su Wan told each night.
"Yuan'er, tonight I will tell you the story of the Four Races," Su Wan said, sitting by the bed, holding a hand-drawn picture book.
Lin Yuan leaned against his pillow, eyes wide open. This was his favorite moment every night—through these stories, he was piecing together the world around him.
"Our world is called 'Tianyuan Realm,'" Su Wan opened the book. The first page showed four separated continents. "There are four major races in the world: Humans, Demons, Gods, and Ghosts."
She pointed to a continent in the east. "Humans live in the Eastern Domain. It is mostly plains and hills, with rivers crisscrossing, suitable for farming and living. Our Lin family lives in Qingzhou of the Eastern Domain."
Then she indicated the southern region: "The Demons live there. The South Domain is full of primeval forests, mountains, and lakes. The Demons live in harmony with nature; some can transform into beasts, while others retain their demon forms."
Next, she flipped to the Western Domain—depicted as floating islands in the sky above erupting volcanoes. "The Gods live in the floating islands of the Western Domain. They are said to be born with divine power. The volcanoes below the islands are kept stable through their power."
Finally, the Northern Domain: a frozen world with mountains locked in eternal ice. "The Ghosts live in the extreme north. It is a land of harsh icefields and frozen mountains."
Lin Yuan couldn't help asking: "Mother, why do the Ghosts live in such a cold place?"
Su Wan paused, her eyes growing slightly complex. "That is because of the 'Millennial Blood War' three thousand years ago."
Over the next few nights, Su Wan told him the story of the war that had reshaped the world.
"The Ghosts were born with a 'vampiric talent,'" Su Wan said in a low voice. "They can enhance their power by drinking the blood of other races. At first, they only kept war captives as 'blood slaves,' but later… they began raiding border villages."
The illustrations depicted dark scenes: Ghost soldiers capturing Humans and Demons, locking them in cages.
"The Humans, Demons, and Gods could not tolerate it." Su Wan flipped to the next page, showing the leaders of the three races standing together. "So the three races formed an alliance to oppose the Ghosts. The war lasted nearly a thousand years, hence the name 'Millennial Blood War.'"
Lin Yuan held his breath. Three thousand years ago—the scale of time was staggering. On Earth, wars rarely lasted a thousand years, yet in this world, racial conflicts persisted for so long.
"Eventually, the leaders of the three races jointly killed the previous Ghost King," Su Wan pointed to the last page of the book: three heroes standing on the icy plains, the fallen Ghost King beside them. "The Ghosts surrendered and were permanently confined to the Northern Domain. Since then, Tianyuan Realm entered an era of peace."
"And now?" Lin Yuan asked.
Su Wan smiled: "It's still relatively peaceful. The Ghosts rarely leave the Northern Domain. Relations among the other three races are not harmonious, but not hostile either. Humans are ruled by the Tianqi Emperor under a feudal monarchy. The throne is hereditary, with three provincial administrations and six ministries—similar to what your father saw when he last visited the capital."
Lin Yuan thought to himself: this system was basically a replica of ancient China. Could there be some connection between this world and Earth?
With these bedtime stories, Lin Yuan's understanding of Tianyuan Realm gradually became clear:
Humans were the most numerous, occupying the Eastern Domain, focused on farming and trade. His father, Lin Shouye, was a regular merchant, running a cloth business between Qingzhou and nearby towns. Human society had clear social hierarchies, but middle-class families like the Lins could at least afford sufficient meals. Though no lavish feasts, rice, vegetables, and occasional meat sufficed.
Demons resided in the Southern Domain and respected the "natural covenant," able to communicate with forests and mountains. The Demon race had many subgroups: Wolf Tribe, Fox Tribe, Bird Tribe, etc.
The Gods were the most mysterious. Floating islands in the Western Domain were inaccessible to ordinary people, and Gods rarely interacted with other races. Legends said they possessed "Heavenly Dao power," but the specifics were vague, even in Su Wan's stories.
The Ghosts were the smallest group. Confined to the Northern Domain, their numbers seemed dwindling. Yet Su Wan's stories hinted that some Ghosts still operated in secret, though they dared not openly violate the peace treaty.
On Lin Yuan's fourth birthday, Lin Shouye brought home a more detailed geographical book.
"Yuan'er is learning quickly. Take a look at this," Lin Shouye said, handing it to him with a smile.
Lin Yuan eagerly flipped through the pages, which included not only illustrations but also simple text descriptions. He devoured the information: the Eastern Domain was divided into twelve provinces, with Qingzhou in the southeast; the human emperor Tianqi had just turned forty this year, ruling for fifteen years; the functions of the three provinces and six ministries; even rough population estimates—the Humans around eighty million, Demons thirty million, Gods one million, and Ghosts… only one hundred thousand.
"Father, why are the Ghosts so few?" Lin Yuan asked.
Lin Shouye sighed. "The Ghosts suffered heavy losses during the Millennial Blood War. Also, the Northern Domain is harsh and not conducive to reproduction." He patted Lin Yuan's head. "But you don't need to worry about these things for now. The world is at peace."
But Lin Yuan couldn't help worrying. As a reincarnator, he knew all too well that "peace" was often just a façade. Could three thousand years of hatred truly be fully resolved? Was the Ghosts' vampiric talent still secretly passed down? Why were the Gods so isolated?
In his previous life, he had been an ordinary man, working overtime until death. No special abilities, no mysterious background. At night, Lin Yuan lay in bed, gazing at the stars outside the window. The moon in this world shone brighter than Earth's, and the stars were arranged differently.
He closed his eyes, and in his dreams, the outline of the four continents appeared, along with the shadow of the war three thousand years ago. But beyond the shadow, there was sunlight—the plains of the Eastern Domain, forests of the South, floating islands of the West, and the frozen Northern Domain where the Ghosts were confined.
This was a living, breathing world. And he, Lin Yuan, would live his second life here.
With memories of his previous life, with his new family, and with curiosity and caution regarding the Four Races.
The story was only just beginning.