Noises could be heard from a distance. Different sounds of different people. Old. young and even new.
It filled his ears, creating an unpleasant sound for him.
Xue Lian opened his eyes faintly and gazed upon his surroundings. It was dark, but the light from a far end was penetrating through.
"Urgh!"
He raised himself up to a seated position, and rested his back on the wall.
His hand found itself on his head, as he could feel a short of electric waves pouring.
"W…what is this? Where am I?"
The question lung in his lips as he couldn't figure out where he was.
He took a look at his surroundings, and saw that he was in an alley. A dark one filled with a stench. The odor danced through his nose, almost giving him a nose burn.
"Hm…what a nasty smell."
Xue Lian tried to get up, however his body wouldn't lift him. He tried again but had the same result.
Just when he dumped back on the ground, he felt a burst of energy coursing through his head.
The pain was so tense that he had to hold his head with both hands.
"What is this…?"
"Memories."
Memories of a certain event coursed through his head. He was witnessing a sense of someone. Someone that was exactly at the same place he was… currently.
"This memories," he mumbled. "They aren't my own. Memories of this body perhaps?"
Gazing deep into the memories, he could see that the previous inhabitant of his current body was beaten by a couple of people.
He couldn't see their faces, since some parts of the memory were blurry. However, the kick and heavy beating that he took, felt so real that he could still feel the pain.
Soon after the memory finished coursing through his head, and Xue Lian finally came to a calm.
"That… just now. It was someone else's memories. Not mine."
He looked down at his hands.
They were covered in blood. Not his blood, but the blood of his previous self.
Gazing at his hands, his eyes diverted to his clothes. They were also covered in blood.
Seeing all this blood, made him wonder where they came from since he couldn't feel any part of his body in pain or bleeding.
"The previous owner of this body was properly beaten to death. And paved a way for me to enter? Looks like we both had it rough in our past lives."
Knowing that he couldn't stay in this alley anymore as the stench grew stronger in him, he gazed at the way out of the alley.
It was shimmering a bright light.
Xue Lian got up using all the strength he could muster. His body was still weak from all that his body suffered.
However his mind wasn't weak. He was another person now. Not the same that was beaten to death.
But another.
Xue Lian gazed at his exit slightly, he noticed he couldn't walk out of this place with all that blood on him.
He might look strange.
Knowing this, he cleansed his hands on the upper robe and afterwards took it off leaving him with only his inner white garment.
Xue Lian walked towards his exit as the light got brighter. He had already been in the dark for too long. As the light struck him while outside, it was as though he was going to get blind, but was infact not the case.
The street was buzzing with people of different sizes and nature. All wearing the same style of clothes.
These instantly caught the attention of Xue Lian as he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Is this an Eastern world? I have read about this back at the library when I was still the sprinting ace. The images there match exactly what's before me."
The people moved elegantly. Their hands held together in a composed manner. Most tucked their robes while others out.
They were all dazzling with the ray of light from the sun.
"Am I in another world?"
Xue Lian mumbled.
He could tell these wasn't how the people in his previous world dressed like. And with the memories he had before, he was so sure about it.
"I think I am in another world."
Just as these words left his mouth, he began to feel pain in his head again. However, this time wasn't a past memory, it was…
Then rise, Disciple… Welcome to the Dream Echo Pavilion
Memories from after his death.
"Dream Echo Pavilion?"
These words lingered in his head, as he saw the mid age lady who spoke to him.
He couldn't tell if it was a dream or reality. But one thing was for sure.
The blue translucent window hovering above him was indeed real.
Xue Lian stared at his left and right, and noticed no one was making a fuse about the translucent floating window.
He couldn't tell if they were just ignoring him and minding their own business. Or if they couldn't actually see it.
He stared at the translucent window intensely, as though was something written on it. Which there was indeed.
It read.
[Welcome, Wielder]
The translucent window stood there displaying only three words and nothing else.
This made Xue Lian think that was all there was too it, making him his attention from it.
"Maybe it will go away if I am not looking." he muttered underneath his breath.
'Now considering what that lady said about joining her path. I don't really understand. And the Dream Echo Pavilion? What does that mean?"
Xue Lian was still standing outside the alley, his hand on his chin, which made people beginning to stare at him with puzzled expression.
Every single one of them that passed stared as he talked to himself.
"Who is that?"
A female voice spoke, while she passed with the person she was speaking with.
This instantly caught Xue Lian's attention, and immediately he knew that was his cue to move.
"I need to get more information." He mumbled with a steady and determined expression, as he walked away.
...
Xue Lian walked for a while, and afterwards found himself standing at the front of a wooden building.
It was designed with bright colours that followed what was written at the top.
"A Brothel?"
A smile played on his face as he knew instantly this was the right place for him.
It was a place that he had long to be, even back in his previous life. But that wasn't all. This was also a place where he could actually get the information he needed.
"Let's see what this brings."
Xue Lian entered the building, passing through a pink and purple curtain.
In his view, he was graced with beautiful busty and sexy ladies. They were all half dressed with gorgeous smiles on their faces, as they did what they do best.
The heat in this building could be felt, as every action they took was recorded by the walls.
Xue Lian's eyes widened as he saw two beautiful ladies walking towards him. They both wore similar dresses but different colors.
They had lustful expressions that gave out a tempting vibe. It was sexy and at the same time lewd.
The slim chain tied around their neck made them look even more alluring, their massive boobs were half naked from the bra they wore, as well as their laps, which were fully visible from the robe they wore.
Xue Lian couldn't believe his eyes, and before he could make a move.
"Hello… handsome."
One of the ladies addressed him with a sexy and lewd tone, as they both wrapped one of their hands around his, while the other found his chest and began to caress it.