Yun Qiang opened his eyes, only to be greeted by an unfamiliar room. He scanned his surronding; He was currenlty sitting in a corner of what looked like a cell. Yun Qiang tried to move and stand up, but he couldn't. Everytime he tried to move he felt his mind becoming muddled and unclear. However this wasn't the first time something like this happened to him so Yun Qiang managed to stay calm.
"It's another dream" Yun Qiang sighed "Guess I'm trapped here for a while"
Despite his resignation, Yun Qiang couldn't help but feel excited about this dream. It had been 10 years since he started having these strange lucid dreams, but this was the first time the setting had changed. Usually, the dreams followed the daily life of a man who shared his name, a Yun Qiang who lived a normal life in an unknown mountain village.
But a prison? That was new. Yun Qiang's interest was caught, and his imagination started to run wild as he waited for the "plot" to unfold. Maybe the dream-Yun Qiang had robbed from a rich person? Did he kill someone? Or was it for a girl?
Suddenly, Yun Qiang's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the cell door opening. A man stepped inside, followed by two subordinates.
The man in charge didn't look old, but something about him commanded awe. He had sharp facial features, and his eyes were golden, like his hair. His body was strong and well-defined; this, coupled with his black military uniform, gave him the heroic look of a seasoned general.
Dream-Yun Qiang looked at him with surprise in his eyes. Then he asked:
"Why?" His voice was filled with sadness mixed with regret.
Hearing this, Yun Qiang feel sorrowful, as if he was sharing dream Yun Qiang's emotions. Before he could think about it clearly, his mind was suddenly overwhelmed by pain. Dream-Yun Qiang turned his head toward the source of the pain. A sword had pierced his body.
A sword? Wait... why am I feeling pain? This isn't real! This is just a dream!
As Yun Qiang panicked the pain increased, completly overwhelming his ability to think clearly. His vision began to darken as dream-Yun Qiang spoke his final words.
The only thing Yun Qiang could hear before losing consciousness was a single word:
"Sorry."
Dream-Yun Qiang died.
Yun Qiang woke up screaming.
"AAAAAAA!!"
His breathing was rapid as he frantically moved his hands to check his body. Only after making sure he had no injuries and that he was still in his room did he finally stop.
"All a dream..." Yun Qiang's voice trembled. "Then why did I feel pain...?"
It felt so real... Yun Qiang's hands were still trembling as his heartbeat slowly steadied.
After some time, Yun Qiang finally managed to calm down. It was strange. In his dreams, he was usually just an observer, unable to move or feel what dream Yun Qiang experienced. But this time, he had clearly felt everything—the sorrow, the cold, the pain.
But why now? Why I didn't feel anything in the other dreams? Questions like these bogged down Yun Qiang's mind.
A cold breeze drifted through the room, interrupting his thoughts.
"Yes…" Yun Qiang sighed. "It's just a dream. I should get on with my day."
After washing himself Yun Qiang picked up his spear and walked out of his home; it was still early in the morning, and the light of the sun barely illuminated the forest and the crop fields that surrounded his small home. The air was fresh and cool. Yun Qiang took a deep breath cleared his mind and started his daily training with the spear.
His training wasn't something very difficult since it consisted only of some basic moves like trusts, retreat and some swings. He didn't have to put a lot of effort into it, but when training he always tried to be serious as a form of respect for the Old Qian that taught him those moves.
Thinking of Old Qian his mood improved greatly; the old man was universally regarded as the nannie of the village, since the people of the village had the habit of leaving their kids with him while they went to work on the fields. And Old Qian lived up to his role.
Yun Qiang still remembered the days spent listening to the fantastic stories told by Old Qian. The old man would use a different voice for every character and narrate the fights while mimicking them with his spear or sword. But that didn't mean he only knew how to tell stories. In fact, it would have been impossible to keep a bunch of hyperactive kids calm with stories alone. So, whenever he sensed the children growing restless, he would switch to his so-called "training mode," where he would "teach" them the basics of spear and sword fighting.
The parents didn't mind. The world was a dangerous place, and knowing a few basic moves could only be a good thing. The kids loved it too—they enjoyed dueling while pretending to be the heroes and villains from Old Qian's stories. Everyone was satisfied with Old Qian's arrangement.
Yun Qiang especially remembered the fake duels with his brother.Yun Qiang could proudly say that he had never lost against his brother. Most of the other kids had forgotten those moves as they grew up, but Yun Qiang still liked to practice them every morning to awaken his body and to clear his mind.
A young female voice called out from behind him.
"Someone's in a good mood today."
Yun Qiang replied without turning around,
"Mei, instead of watching me, you should go and help Mother. You know how much she works."
Mei teased him, "So you get to stay here waving your spear around all day, but I have to help our mum?" She put on a mocking smile. "Besides, Dad and Nian are waiting for you."
Yun Qiang was about to respond, but he froze when he noticed the sun was already high in the sky.
"Ah…"
"What? Just go already! I want to eat meat tonight. You'd better catch something good!"
Yun Qiang didn't wait for her to finish. He was already running toward the house.
Damn today is hunting day! Dad will kill me if i'm late again! he screamed in his mind as he dashed toward his home. He hurriedly changed his clothes and ran straight to the entrance of the forest, where his father and brother were waiting for him.
When Yun Qiang arrived at the entrance of the forest, two men, one old, one young, were waiting for him. The older man was Yun Qiang's father, and he was the first to speak."Look who has arrived. Did you eat something, or did you skip breakfast?"Yun Qiang: "...Yes."Wein knew his son was lying to try and appease him, so he just threw a small pack at him while saying,"This is your breakfast. Eat it and get ready."
Yun Qiang thanked his father and started devouring the food. After that, he cleaned his hands on his clothes and threw a glance at his brother, who was looking at him with puppy eyes.
Qiang noticed the huge backpack his brother was carrying and immediately understood. Nian had always had a fragile build, and now he was strugling under the weight of their hunting gear. He looked at him again and smiled. He had to admit that seeing his brother struggling to carry a backpack made for an entertaining sight. His physique was gracile like a kid's, and his long brown hair was constantly swayed by the wind, sometimes covering his eyes and sometimes entering his semi-open mouth. All in all, he looked like a child struggling against the wind.
"Fine, you can give me the equipment, but you should start training. You are already fifteen; you shouldn't be that weak."He had just finished these words when Nian threw the backpack at him with excitement."Thank you."Yun Qiang: "..."
Were you acting or what? Yun Qiang complained in his mind. How can you throw me this boulder so easily!?
He still took the backpack silently and looked at his father, expecting him to say something. To Nian's delight, their father just smiled at his sons and didn't say anything.With this, the trio started walking into the forest.
1 hours later in the depths of the forest
The Yun brothers followed closely behind their father, moving quietly through the forest. They were headed toward a small lake where animals often gathered.Over the years, under their father's guidance, the two had developed a routine for hunting. First, they would wander together in the forest looking for tracks. Then, when they arrived at the lake, they would split up into two groups: one group would stay at the lake waiting for prey, while the second group would look for traces of animals in the surroundings.This time, it was Yun Qiang's turn to stay and wait at the lake.
Yun Qiang wasn't exactly thrilled about it. In Yun Qiang's opinion, lying in a bush and waiting for something to show up wasn't a real hunt. A real hunt should be filled with the excitement of tracking, attacking, and pursuing the prey again and again until it was either caught or killed. That was a real hunt.
"Stop sulking, we are almost there"
Yun Qiang was about to respond when a small noise came from the direction of the lake.
Their faces suddenly turned serious, and their father signaled them to stop. After stopping, they heard the noise again. This time, the noise was clearer, but they were still too far away to deduce what kind of animal had made it. They looked at each other for a second, then, with a tacit understanding, the trio moved silently toward the lake.
When they arrived close to the lake, Yun Qiang finally saw what had produced the strange noise: it was a boar.However, while looking at the boar, he noticed some strange details.
The boar was larger than usual, and its chest bore strange red patterns arranged in the shape of a rose.While looking at these patterns, Yun Qiang's head started to hurt, and a stream of information appeared in his mind.
"Rosen Boar;
Cultivation: Qi gathering 1 stage;
Description: A boar blessed by the sacred rose.
"
A wave of dizziness assaulted Yun Qiang, making him unable to act for a few seconds. However, the meaning of this information couldn't escape him.T his beast was a cultivator. They were in danger.
Yun Qiang tried to prevent Nian from shooting the boar, but just as he was about to speak, another wave of information hit him. This time, the information was about the boar's habits, food preferences, and some famous cultivators that started as boars. Yun Qiang panicked.
He tried to stop this surge of useless information, but he couldn't, it was just too much information, and his brain was too slow. When his brain had finished processing the information Nian's arrow was about to hit the boar.
When the arrow hit the boar, it was a perfect hit; the arrow penetrated the boar, seriously injuring his heart. Nian let out a small scream of excitement and turned toward his brother with a face full of joy.
Yun Qiang was panicking. When the arrow struck the boar, he didn't even spare it a glance. He knew that even a perfect hit wouldn't kill it in one shot. As he watched his brother's joyful expression, his mind went blank.
"No, what are you doing the boar is not dead move away!!"
He wanted to scream those words at Nian, but he couldn't. His body was trembling uncontrollably, and his mouth was dry. He was paralyzed by fear.
Suddenly, the injured boar stood on its feet and charged at Yun Nian. Its speed was comparable to that of a charging horse, and it was constantly increasing as the distance to its target decreased at an alarming rate. Yun Qiang was still watching from the side, while his mind subconsciously calculated the time of impact.
4 seconds,Nian noticed his brother's expression and put on a confused face.
3 seconds,The boar was closer than ever, and it was about to hit Yun Nian.
2 seconds,Yun Qiang's mind was in disarray. His brother was about to die.
"Nooo!!"
With this scream, he finally managed to overcome his fear; he couldn't let his brother die like this. He made his move and pushed Nian out of the way.
1 second,The boar was about to hit him. There was no way to dodge, no way to resist.
As it drew closer and closer, Yun Qiang's life flashed before his eyes.He remembered old man Qian's stories, his evenings spent running around the village with his brother, and the nights spent under the stars while dreaming about the future.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
0 seconds.
The boar hit him, and only darkness remained.