Chapter 1: Death and Rebirth

  Spring rain is silent, quietly and calmly sorrowful.

  The weeping willows, the tender green grass, in this hazy spring rain, appear to be so full of life and vitality, so serene and beautiful, that one can't help but relax and immerse oneself in it.

  But the good times didn't last, a sudden loud shout unexpectedly rang out, making one's ears shake. In an instant, this beautiful scene was like that broken mirror, shattered into pieces and dispersed into the sky.

  As I looked up, the sound came from a nearby burial ground.

  "Qin Yunniang, stop laughing. If you want your husband to be buried, first put your handprint on this land deed. Otherwise, hehe, you know what will happen."

  The speaker is a man...

  He looked up and saw that the man was born with a rough face, full of scars, and his body was wrapped tightly in a robe that would have looked like a sack on someone else, accentuating his rolls of fat, giving off an air of ferocity.

  At this moment, he had a ferocious look on his face, staring fiercely at the woman kneeling on the ground.

  He stood with his legs apart, arms crossed over his chest, standing straight in front of the woman. With a look that said "you don't follow me and I won't forgive you", it made people feel disgusted, but more so, it was a kind of fear.

  "Heavens! Isn't that Wang Zong's good-for-nothing son? How did this young girl manage to provoke such a rascal?"

  "It seems like he owed him money before he died!" someone whispered.

  "That shouldn't be either!"

  At this point, even the onlookers were stunned, having no idea how a normal funeral procession could turn into such a scene. It's worth noting that unless there was a deep-seated grudge between the two parties, it would be impossible for someone to stir up trouble at another person's funeral, especially with the coffin standing by, waiting to be buried.

  Everyone shook their heads in unison, and the gaze towards the girl was filled with even more sympathy.

  The girl was dressed in a white shirt, slender and weak. Even when Wang Zhuang spoke ill of her, she didn't show any expression, still quietly kneeling in front of the coffin.

  The silk spring rain continued to fall, and the girl's clothes were soon completely soaked, clinging tightly to her body, making her look thin and weak. The girl's shoulders trembled uncontrollably at this moment, and her fingers also revealed a pale blue color. It was clear that the girl was now on the verge of anger.

  "Hmph! Trying to play the victim? That won't work on me!" Wang Zhuang said coldly.

  The girl's thin shoulders shook even more violently, and after hearing this, she couldn't help it anymore, slowly lifting her head for the first time.

  Everyone's gaze also went with him.

  She was only eighteen years old, slender and weak in build, but her face was incomparably beautiful. Her pale complexion, curved eyebrows, small nose, cherry-like mouth, and the pale, helpless cheeks made her look so pitiful that one couldn't help but want to hold her in their arms and pamper her dearly.

  "Wow! She's really a lovely young lady!" Everyone was somewhat enchanted.

  At this moment, the girl's state is not good. Since her husband left, she has not slept for several days and nights, so she looks extremely tired. But this appearance, combined with the girl's weak temperament, shocked everyone even more.

  How beautiful!

  "Wang Zhuang, you wronged me by being my husband's fellow villager and clansman. For just a few mu of thin land, you've been pressuring me, a weak woman, to this extent. You should be ashamed as a man. Dare you swear before the heavens that my late husband indeed borrowed silver from you?" The extreme anger caused the girl's face to turn iron-green, and due to excessive grief, her outstretched jade fingers were also trembling slightly.

  The people who came to help with the funeral next door saw this scene, and their eyes were also filled with unbearable pain. Many of them clenched their fists tightly, but when Wang Zhuang's cold gaze swept over, they were suddenly struck by lightning, and the pity in their eyes turned into fear. Several robust men had previously been red-eyed and bulging with veins, but now they all retreated, although they didn't dodge when Wang Zhuang's gaze swept over them. However, from their flickering eyes, there was a hint of hidden fear.

  The girl kneeling on the ground saw this scene, and deep in her heart, there was also a strong sense of sadness emerging, followed by an unspeakable feeling of powerlessness.

  "Alright, I... agree with you."

  The girl stood up with a stumble, and the crowd couldn't help but feel another pang of heartache.

  She glanced at the crowd around her, and then the girl's gaze fell on the tall man standing in front of her. She stared at him carefully, as if she wanted to remember him firmly.

  This made Wang Zhuang's hair stand on end, and his heart was also filled with a sense of unease.

  The rain grew heavier, bringing with it waves of mist. The girl's figure in the rain also became faint and elusive, as if she were about to transform into a butterfly, fluttering lightly, as if ready to fly away into the distance.

  "I'll get you back for this!"

  With a final burst of radiance, the girl smiled faintly and turned her head to look at the coffin in front of the grave. Her eyes also returned to their usual calmness, like a wife waiting for her husband to return home, warm and gentle. Then everyone saw that the girl's thin and desolate figure rushed towards the coffin in front of her like a ghost.

  "She's going to crash into the coffin!"

  ………………

  Darkness, endless darkness! Wang Min felt as if he was surrounded by boundless blackness. His mouth couldn't speak, his eyes couldn't see, and his ears couldn't hear! Was this hell? Immediately afterwards, an uncountable amount of pain surged towards him.

  "Pain, severe pain, unbearable pain"

  It was an inexpressible pain, the soul was also torn apart, and waves of intense pain kept coming from that sea of consciousness. Even with Wang Min's superhuman willpower, he couldn't help but let out a loud "wail".

  "Roar"

  Actually, the moment the girl rushed towards the coffin, people moved, no matter what, they couldn't bear to see such a lively life disappear in front of everyone. However, just as everyone was about to take action, a mournful cry suddenly appeared, and everyone was struck like lightning, as if they had been petrified, not moving at all.

  Then a strange scene appeared, the originally chaotic crowd was like petrified, becoming completely still and quiet. People were shocked, with thick fear appearing in their eyes, the world suddenly became silent, with even the sound of a needle dropping audible, making people's hair stand on end. Next came the intermittent sounds of gasping for air, as if this was the only way to vent the tension and unease in their hearts. People cautiously sized each other up, until finally those somewhat frightened gazes converged uniformly onto the coffin.

  With a "whoosh", the crowd surrounding him immediately dispersed. What's more, there were some timid ones who were trembling with fear, unable to move, and soon after, under the scornful gaze of the crowd, they lost control of their bladder, accompanied by a faintly discernible stench that kept spreading, causing everyone to hurriedly cover their noses, while some women also furrowed their brows, taking out their handkerchiefs.

  Rushing to the side of the coffin, the girl who was about to knock on it also got a fright when she heard the sound. However, in an instant, intense joy couldn't help but appear on her face, and her pretty face once again shone with radiance. Under the reflection of her tears, she looked even more beautiful and lovely, accompanied by the hazy smoke and mist, like a fairy emerging from the mortal world.

  "Brother Meng, is that you?" The excessive excitement caused the girl's face to flush red as well.

  The coffin was quiet and still, without a single movement, and the girl's hopeful cries were also unmoved. Seeing this scene, the crowd took a deep breath and then burst out laughing at those who had lost control of their bladders. Perhaps only in this way could they fully vent their anxiety from just now. As for those who had lost control, they all turned red with embarrassment, hung their heads low, or covered their faces, and simply pretended that nothing was wrong.

  For a long time, girls have been getting no response at all.

  The girl's eyes gradually dimmed. Her cheeks also showed deep fatigue, and finally turned grayish white.

  A gentle breeze came, blowing up a few strands of green silk in front of the girl's forehead, making her look even more desolate.

  "Is that so?" As she spoke, tears fell uncontrollably, and no one knew how much pressure the girl's fragile heart had endured in this rollercoaster of emotions. From great sorrow to great joy and back to great sorrow again, the girl had exhausted too much of her spirit.

  The rain had quietly subsided, as if it had exhausted all its strength. A few rays of sunlight appeared at the edge of the sky. The girl looked haggard and terrifying, on the verge of collapse.

  "Dong... dong... dong... dong"

  The sound of knocking, from small to large, gradually increased. At first, it was barely audible, but then suddenly became loud, and finally clearly reached the ears of everyone present, as if it had a special magic power that made people's hearts unconsciously resonate with it. As a result, the expressions of the crowd became tense again.

  Perhaps due to excessive fatigue, the melancholic girl did not notice any of this.

  The knocking sound grew stronger, and the spiritual coffin seemed to be holding a strange beast inside. Although it was still quietly placed there, it brought an unparalleled sense of pressure to everyone present.

  "Ugh... Ahh..."

  The coffin lid actually opened a gap automatically, and later it became wider and wider. The expressions of the crowd also changed dramatically, and now almost everyone has started to lose their composure.

  It was the previously majestic King Wang, now involuntarily drumming in his heart, with all his body hair standing on end.

  The opening gap grew larger, and Wang Zhuang seemed to feel the chill of the cold wind blowing in waves, his whole body was chilled. He seemed to see countless ghosts with blood flowing towards him.

  The next scene was even more astonishing, as a pale and slender hand slowly emerged from the coffin, followed by a ghostly figure that floated out of it, dangling its scarlet tongue and opening its mouth wide as if to devour someone.

  "My god, it's a ghost, it's eating people......" Unable to bear it any longer, Wang Zhuang let out a loud cry and ran wildly towards the distance.

  It's impossible that what floated out was a ghost. In fact, Wang Min had woken up long before and the noise outside the coffin was crystal clear to his ears.

  By the faint light at the seam of the coffin, he carefully examined it. That blue-green robe was so strange, as if it had been pushed forward for hundreds of years. Looking at the style again, he couldn't help but admit that he might have really traveled through time.

  Just as he was perplexed, his brain had another wave of pain, and it wasn't until a while later that it slightly subsided.

  Through the fusion of memories, he gradually confirmed that he had indeed crossed over and arrived in the late Northern Song Dynasty! Looking at this handsome and sunny body, he couldn't help but laugh and cry.

  Half a minute later, he gradually calmed down. No matter what, he had to survive in the end. Since heaven gave him a chance to rebirth, then...he shouldn't give up!

  From memory, it seems that the original body was also named Wang Min, a scholar who came from a not-so-wealthy family. In addition to this, he had a beautiful wife, which made him quite embarrassed! The original body's health had always been poor, extremely weak, and how he ended up lying in this coffin is still unclear.

  All I remember is that on a stormy night, as I was walking alone, it seemed like someone was calling my name. Just as I was about to turn around and investigate, there was a sharp pain in the back of my head, and then my memory went completely blank.

  After slightly exercising his stiff hands and feet, he rested for a while, and finally had some strength. He pushed against the coffin lid with all his might, and with one final jump, "thud", he landed on the ground.

  His legs went soft, his body was weak and exhausted. Wang Min finally couldn't hold back, and sat down on the ground with a thud. He panted heavily, breathing in the damp air, looking at the sky and earth, Wang Min felt exceptionally relaxed.

  He looked around at the crowd standing there, staring at him with tense eyes, and Wang Min waved his hand to the crowd in a friendly manner.

  Boom

  The crowd dispersed in all directions, fleeing like birds and beasts, with swift and agile speed.

  "Huh?"

  Seeing this, Wang Qin's face turned red with embarrassment and he rubbed his nose awkwardly. Turning around, seeing the tired and weak girl, his heart also softened. Opening his arms wide, looking at her gently, he said softly: "I'm back!"

  Seeing this, Yunniang could no longer hold back, ran over and tightly hugged Wang Min, crying loudly without regard for her image.

  In the moment of embracing, Wang Min's body that had just recovered was also involuntarily tense.

  Looking at the girl's once black and shiny hair becoming so coarse and dull, Wang Min felt a deep heartache, and his tense body also relaxed quietly.

  It can be imagined that during this period of time, the lonely and helpless girl had suffered greatly!

  "Okay, don't cry, let's go home," Wang Min said softly.

  "Hmm!"

  The artistic girl nodded obediently, but still tightly grasped herself, as if she would disappear the moment she let go...

  Seeing the still tense girl, Wang Jin's heart also softened. He gently patted the girl's smooth forehead, disregarding her protests, and domineeringly pulled her into his arms, walking step by step towards the distance...