“Bang bang”
“Bang bang”
“No, cough cough, don't hit me anymore, I, I'm awake, ugh!” a weak voice said, coughing as he spoke, and a large mouthful of water spewed from his mouth.
“He's awake, he really was saved,” in a daze, Zhang Tie heard a childish voice. He opened his eyes and saw a pair of thick thighs and a small boy in front of him, with inverted trees and the sky in the distance.
He seemed to be hanging upside down somewhere, completely drenched, his entire oral and nasal cavities filled with a sour sensation.
Zhang Tie strained his neck to look up and saw a sturdy man standing in front of him; those thick, long legs belonged to him.
Zhang Tie was now completely confused. Wasn't he just practicing the Elephant Armor Skill in a medicinal vat? His Master had even used the secret art of golden needle acupuncture to help him better absorb the medicinal power, but after a golden needle was inserted into his Baihui acupoint, he lost consciousness. How did he end up hanging here after waking up?
Where was this? Before Zhang Tie could figure it out, a large wave of jumbled memories suddenly flooded his mind, and a tearing pain made Zhang Tie faint again.
When he woke up again, Zhang Tie found himself lying on an old wooden bed. The blackened roof made it impossible to see the original color of the wood, and the entire room was filled with a faint musty smell.
Just then, Zhang Tie suddenly discovered many previously unheld memories surging into his mind.
In his memories, there was a young man also named Zhang Tie. He was the son of a blacksmith. Although his family was not wealthy, they managed to get by because they owned a family-inherited blacksmith shop.
From the age of six, his family scrimped and saved to send him to school. However, Zhang Tie never studied hard, often secretly skipping school with a few rich kids to secretly listen to storytellers.
Soon, he became fascinated by the Jianghu stories told by the storyteller, always wondering when he could also be like the characters in the books, a sword in hand, venturing bravely across the world, upholding justice, eliminating evil, and becoming a renowned Great Hero.
Later, after his parents discovered he was skipping classes, he was confined to the woodshed for reflection. But this could not stop him from achieving his dream of becoming a Great Hero, so he escaped through the window, intending to go into the mountains to find reclusive Masters, apprentice himself to them, and learn martial arts.
As a result, he was chased by a wild boar in the mountains, and when he hastily crossed a river, he accidentally fell into it, choking on a large mouthful of water while shouting for help, and then lost consciousness.
Zhang Tie lay on the bed for a long time, gradually understanding his current situation.
He himself was originally in another world, Cultivating in a Martial Forest Gang.
Because he encountered a Bottleneck in his Cultivation, during one Cultivation session, his Master used the secret art of golden needle acupuncture to help him Cultivate, thereby achieving a Breakthrough.
As a result, after this golden needle pierced his Baihui acupoint, he lost consciousness, and when he woke up, he inexplicably occupied the body of this young man who had run away from home and drowned in the river.
If he wasn't mistaken, he should have been killed by his Master, and his soul after death occupied the body of this young man also named Zhang Tie.
Although he didn't know why this happened, it did. But why did Master kill him?! And why did his soul occupy this young man's body?!
A sudden opening of the door interrupted Zhang Tie's thoughts. He saw a person walk into the room. He turned his head and saw a middle-aged man dressed as a hunter. Beside him stood a seven or eight-year-old boy.
The man looked at him and said, “You're awake, get up and eat something.”
Zhang Tie got up from the bed, saw that it was already evening, and then followed the man to eat something in the small courtyard outside.
During the meal, through conversation, Zhang Tie learned that the man's name was Li Tiezhu, a hunter from the mountains. His family lived in the village at the foot of the mountain.
Yesterday, he encountered him while hunting in the mountains and rescued him from the river.
After the meal, Li Tiezhu inquired about Zhang Tie's situation and learned that he was the son of the great blacksmith at the county town's blacksmith shop. Li Tiezhu told Zhang Tie not to worry, he could rest well tonight, and he would send him back first thing in the morning.
The night passed uneventfully. The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Li Tiezhu got up and sent Zhang Tie down the mountain, telling him that if he followed the main road, he would reach the county town.
Zhang Tie slowly walked along the road, sitting by the roadside to rest when he felt tired. After about half an hour, he saw the county town's city gate in the distance. He walked through the city gate and soon arrived at his own blacksmith shop, but the shop door was closed, so he went around to the alley behind, found the back door, and then pushed it open to enter the courtyard.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw his mother working. His mother looked up and saw Zhang Tie, too excited to speak, unsure whether it was joy or Life Qi.
“Where have you been these past two days? Your father and brothers went looking for you and even reported it to the yamen. You're really going to worry people to death.” As his mother spoke, her eyes reddened, and tears began to fall drop by drop. Zhang Tie looked at the woman in front of him, somewhat at a loss.
It wasn't until evening that Zhang Tie's father, Zhang Fugui, and his two elder brothers, Zhang Jin and Zhang Tie, returned one after another.
Seeing Zhang Tie return, they were naturally overjoyed and completely relieved.
During dinner that night, Zhang Tie told everyone about his experience, and everyone sighed, saying that Zhang Tie was truly lucky to be alive and that they must prepare some gifts to thank the hunter named Li Tiezhu.
His parents told Zhang Tie to rest well and that if he didn't want to go to school, that was fine. In a few days, he could follow his father to learn blacksmithing, just like his two elder brothers. At least it was a skill, and when he grew up, he could make a living.
Deep into the night, Zhang Tie lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep at all.
He kept thinking about what had happened to him. Although he didn't know why he could live another life, he didn't want to spend his life aimlessly blacksmithing. The unease deep in his heart grew stronger under the cover of night.
In his previous life, he was inexplicably killed before he even had a chance to Cultivate his skills.
In this life, he didn't want to spend his days with a furnace and a hammer.
Zhang Tie urgently wanted to join a renowned Gang, then learn profound martial arts Secret Manuals, quickly become a Martial Forest expert, then travel the Jianghu, inquire about the Seven Mysteries Sect, find his Master, and ask him what he had done wrong, and why he had killed him!