Walking in the cycle of reincarnation

Chapter 1 The Reincarnated One

The room was dimly lit, filled with the rich aroma of medicine.

Zhang Nanfeng once again fell into that unbearable old dream.

It was still the scene of sudden death from the previous life—

At three in the morning, the glaring screen stared at him as he worked on his graduation thesis. That was his last moment as a "human being".

Until a cool, soft hand gently lifted him up, the coolness of the palm shattering his dream.

"woke up?"

A gentle whisper reached my ears, clear and melodious, like the sound of wind whistling through the eaves.

Zhang Nanfeng looked up and met a pair of familiar, discerning eyes.

It is Su Chan.

Confined to this alchemy room for a month, he saw her almost every day. He also learned her name from overhearing conversations outside the door.

At this moment, this ethereal woman was looking down at a small mouse.

Zhang Nanfeng was this rat.

A smile appeared in Su Chan's eyes as she gently massaged his back with her fingertips.

Zhang Nanfeng's fingers were rubbed raw, and he couldn't help but bite her fingertip. His teeth didn't break, but the bitter taste of the cinnabar on his finger made him cough uncontrollably.

Su Chan was not annoyed when he saw this; instead, his smile deepened.

"You seem to be in good spirits today."

She carefully put Zhang Nanfeng back into the grass nest, and then started playing with his "brothers and sisters" beside him.

Zhang Nanfeng stumbled into the soft haystack. Besides him, there were eleven brown mice huddled together, fast asleep, completely unresponsive to Su Chan's prodding.

He looked down at his own pink little paws, then glanced at his stupid, clumsy brethren beside him who only knew how to eat and sleep soundly, and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

January has passed.

He has been reincarnated as a rat for a full month.

In his past life, he died suddenly in his university dormitory, his soul drifting aimlessly to a chaotic and desolate realm. There was no gate to hell, no platform for longing for home, and no Meng Po soup. There was only a solitary stone platform, on which the six realms of reincarnation—heavenly beings, asuras, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings—endlessly cycled through birth and death.

He was then thrown directly into the animal realm, becoming the "brother" of these eleven rat cubs, born into this unfamiliar world where one could seek immortality and enlightenment.

For the past month, as an ordinary rat, he has spent his days eating, drinking, defecating, and sleeping, occasionally being taken out and played with by Su Chan, living a completely animalistic life.

Zhang Nanfeng huddled in the grass, staring blankly at the beams of the alchemy room, utterly despondent.

Su Chan took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve and muttered to himself:

"January is just around the corner. Whether it succeeds or not, we'll see tomorrow."

tomorrow?

Zhang Nanfeng's mouse-like ears twitched slightly, causing a ripple in his otherwise still heart.

He knew what "tomorrow" referred to. Tomorrow was the day to test the medicine, the "Spirit Awakening Pill" she had mentioned countless times.

So be it. Let's try it. If things go wrong and I die, it'll all be over. He's already tired of this rat-like body.

Su Chan uncorked the bottle, and as the liquid dripped out, a unique fragrance filled the room.

Zhang Nanfeng stood frozen in place, while the baby rats swarmed around him, vying to lick the clear liquid. Two of them even started tearing at each other in the struggle.

He was initially somewhat disdainful, but the smell of the clear liquid was completely different from what he had eaten in the past month, and when it entered his nostrils, he felt a tremor between his eyebrows.

He finally succumbed to the temptation and joined in.

The moment it entered my mouth, a gentle warmth flowed through my limbs and bones. In particular, a meridian at my tailbone was being stretched open little by little by the warmth, causing a slight tingling and itching sensation, as if something that had been dormant for a long time was being awakened.

Zhang Nanfeng, no longer concerned with fighting with the rats, shrank deep into the grass and closed his eyes to pretend to sleep, but his mind was sinking wildly.

In the darkness, a scene slowly unfolds—

A figure stood atop the peak, its body flashing with golden light, transforming into a golden-haired demon rat.

Its sharp teeth resemble jade pestles, its claws are like golden hooks, and its pair of fiery eyes shine brightly, illuminating the sand and stones for thirty miles around.

The demon rat howled to the sky and blew a strange wind towards the immortals gathered below the mountain.

The wind was like a yellow dragon stirring up the sea, turning the bright sky into a chaotic universe.

The ancient green rocks at the foot of the mountain, formed over millions of years, were swept away by the wind, and a layer of green powder fell to the ground, turning into a honeycomb-like pattern.

How could the immortals possibly withstand such an attack?

His clothes were torn to shreds, his skin was ripped open, and his bones and tendons were blown away by the wind.

After three rounds of wind, the demon rat withdrew its supernatural powers.

The land was a vast, barren wasteland, devoid of any human presence. Even the few thousand-year-old poplars were reduced to mere three-foot-tall stumps, still emitting wisps of smoke.

At this point, the image freezes on that wisp of smoke, and a vague whisper lingers in the mind, like a mantra or a sigh.

...Three...Yellow Wind...Hiding in the Tail Hole...Rat...Also...Howling...

Zhang Nanfeng suddenly opened his eyes. His first reaction was to look up and see that Su Chan had already left. He breathed a sigh of relief, but his body was trembling uncontrollably.

That demonic rat was his ancestor, and his bloodline contained a legacy of supernatural powers.

Although it was incomplete and even the names of the supernatural powers were unknown, the bloodline connection was incredibly real.

Following the unseen guidance, he condensed the remaining warmth into a wisp of wind as thin as a hair, locking it tightly within the crevice of his tailbone. Then, with a slight clench of his teeth and a thought, the wind surged upwards, exiting through his throat.

A gentle breeze swept by, and the fur of a baby mouse in front of me billowed and rolled against the wind, revealing its tender pink skin underneath.

Startled, the cub hurriedly shrank back into its nest, trembling, its little eyes timidly looking at Zhang Nanfeng, as if it had sensed his difference.

Zhang Nanfeng looked at the scene before him, overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

That gust of wind just now not only ruffled his downy feathers, but also his heart, which had long since resigned itself to its fate.

So it turns out... I'm not just a dead rat to be manipulated by others.

A spark of hope ignited in his beady eyes. But the thought of tomorrow caused that light to dim abruptly.

If something goes wrong with that elixir...

He dared not think any further, and only wanted to condense the wind breath again, but the warm current in his body had run out, and there was no more to refine. Helpless, he had no choice but to give up, and reluctantly crawled back to his nest and curled up into a ball, waiting anxiously for the next day to arrive.

......

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of hushed conversations outside the door woke Zhang Nanfeng, who was a light sleeper.

"Su Chan... that fire burns everything, it shouldn't be trapped in the furnace."

A hoarse female voice came through the door, slightly muffled.

"...When did it become your business to interfere in my affairs?"

Another soft and pleasant voice rang out, though it contained anger, it was not hard to tell that it was Su Chan.

Listening to the conversation between the two, Zhang Nanfeng became suspicious and glanced at the dusty alchemy furnace in the center of the alchemy room.

fire? What fire?

Before he could think it through, the door opened slightly, and Su Chan entered, his brow furrowed, clearly troubled.

Zhang Nanfeng hurriedly buried his face in the grass, not daring to look her in the eye, for fear of offending her and incurring her wrath.

But he was overthinking it.

Su Chan walked straight to the alchemy furnace, stood silently for a moment, and waited for the slight anger on his face to fade, returning to his usual calm and aloof demeanor.

Having sorted out her thoughts, she turned and walked towards the grassy nest, holding a bluish-white jade bottle in her hand.

Upon seeing the jade bottle, Zhang Nanfeng became nervous.

We're about to start drug trials.

He secretly raised his eyes, trying to find some clues in Su Chan's expression. But her face remained silent, her brows and eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

Su Chan walked slowly to the edge of the nest, her slender fingers reaching straight towards Zhang Nanfeng.

Zhang Nanfeng's fur bristled.

So many mice... why did they pick me first?