Chapter Two: The Manifestation Beyond the Self
When Liang Jin came to his senses, he found himself in an unfamiliar place. The sky was clear, and in the distance stood a great mountain that resembled a massive reclining ox. At its foot stretched a continuous village. It seemed this was the Giant Ox Township the system had mentioned. Yet, unlike the snowy landscapes he had expected, the area was lush and green. Only in the warm southern regions, where winters were mild and snow scarce, could such vegetation endure through the cold season.
A sudden shock struck Liang Jin’s heart. Could it be that in the blink of an eye he had crossed thousands of miles?
“My current state... is so strange!” Liang Jin’s feet pressed against the earth, and he could feel his physical body truly present in Giant Ox Township. Yet simultaneously, he sensed another “original self” standing guard within the imperial palace. Remarkably, he could even perceive the five senses and six perceptions of that original self.
“So, this means I have effectively gained a doppelgänger?” he mused. “And this doppelgänger has inherited my strength as an eighth-rank martial artist.”
He approached a puddle and, using the watery reflection, examined his appearance. His face had changed but looked handsomer. His clothes had shifted from the armor of the imperial guards to a refined cyan robe. Soft and delicate-skinned, he appeared like a scholar.
At that moment, a caravan of horse-drawn carriages rumbled along the road and halted beside him.
“The village chief, alive and looking like a scholar,” a voice exclaimed.
“And... a healthy person, free from the plague!” another added.
Liang Jin stood and turned to face the caravan. His heart sank. Everyone inside bore the pallor of illness, occasionally covering their mouths to cough. Most terrifyingly, their exposed skin was covered in clusters of pearl-like pustules. Some pustules had burst, oozing white pus and yellowish tissue fluids, emitting a foul stench. It was repulsive.
All of them were afflicted similarly, clearly victims of a contagious disease.
The curtain of the lead carriage lifted, revealing a middle-aged man’s face, also clearly infected. He coughed twice and bowed respectfully to Liang Jin.
“You must be a stranger here,” he said. “Our village and nearby settlements have been struck by an epidemic. I advise you to leave before you too fall ill.”
He spoke kindly before preparing to move on.
But Liang Jin interrupted, “I have come precisely because of this matter.”
Hearing of the epidemic, and recalling the system had granted this body the special ability “Healing Charms,” he roughly understood his mission.
The middle-aged man’s eyes brightened with hope. “You’re a healer?”
Liang Jin replied, “I am an immortal.”
The group exchanged glances, brows furrowing. From inside one carriage came a sharp female voice:
“Another con artist here to scam us!”
“You have some nerve coming to our Lu family village to swindle!”
“I don’t know how many charlatans like you I’ve chased away these days.”
Before the voice finished, a young girl emerged from the carriage. She was in her late teens, dressed in red, with sharply angled eyebrows and glaring fiercely at Liang Jin. Were it not for the pustules covering her face, she might have been considered beautiful.
The middle-aged man shouted, “Silence!” and the girl sulked back inside.
Liang Jin said again, “Bring paper and brush.”
With these, he could use the system’s “Healing Charms” ability. His words confused the caravan members.
Liang Jin’s voice hardened. “Didn’t you hear me? Bring paper and brush! Also a tinderbox, and a bowl.”
The men in the caravan frowned; this young man was shockingly rude. The girl in red suddenly whipped out a riding crop, threatening to strike. The middle-aged man quickly restrained her and shot a warning glance.
Reluctantly, the girl fetched the requested items and tossed them before Liang Jin with a cold snort.
Liang Jin took the paper and brush and activated the system’s ability. In the next moment, his arm moved swiftly, sketching a series of intricate, arcane symbols on the paper. The symbols flashed briefly, as if imbued with mysterious power.
He scooped water from the puddle into the wooden bowl, lit the paper on fire with the tinderbox, and dropped the burning talisman into the water.
The healing charm water was ready.
The caravan was about to depart.
“Stop!” Liang Jin called out, holding the bowl toward the girl in red.
“You drink this,” he commanded.
She ground her teeth in fury. “Are you insane? Drink that puddle water? Especially with burnt paper ashes floating on top? Impossible!”
The middle-aged man’s patience snapped. “I have treated you with respect, and you appear a learned man. I beg you not to lose your manners. We will take our leave.”
Because Liang Jin resembled a scholar, the man had maintained the minimum courtesy. But this did not give Liang Jin license to make trouble.
Liang Jin snorted coldly. “I have come to save your lives. Why should I be polite to you?”
Suddenly, he moved with lightning speed. Before anyone could react, he was beside the carriage, reaching out to grab the girl in red.
“No!” the men shouted. “He’s a martial artist!”
They scrambled for their weapons, but were too slow.
Before they could intervene, Liang Jin had seized the girl by the neck and stepped aside.
The middle-aged man panicked, shouting, “We have no enmity with you! We have always helped you. Why this aggression? Please, do not harm my daughter. We can talk this through!”
Though many, the men hesitated, restrained by the village chief’s daughter in Liang Jin’s grip and fearful of a martial artist’s strength.
Martial artists were common within the imperial palace; even ordinary soldiers in the imperial guards were ninth-rank martial artists. But that did not make them ordinary folk. The imperial guards were elite troops, selected from the nation’s best. Among commoners, martial artists were rare and revered.
Though the caravan members looked fierce, Liang Jin discerned none were martial artists.
Still holding the girl’s neck as if she were a mere chick, Liang Jin said calmly, “Open your mouth.”
The girl’s feet dangled midair, eyes wide with terror. She knew he could snap her neck with ease.
She reluctantly opened her mouth.
Seizing the moment, Liang Jin poured the healing charm water into her mouth. She coughed violently.
When done, Liang Jin tossed her back as one might throw a sack.
The others hastened to catch her. The middle-aged man stared at Liang Jin in shock and anger.
Yet Liang Jin sat calmly upon a nearby stone, eyes closed, and said softly, “Soon, you will come back begging me.”
Seeing his daughter unharmed, the middle-aged man glanced at Liang Jin warily, then silently waved his hand and swiftly departed with the caravan.