[Master of gooners, please suggest some harem books]
Ash looked at the new comment on his screen. A smile bloomed on his face seeing the comment.
'I guess it's more interesting than acting in a relationship of being interested.' His hands moved with lightning speed, writing names of his personal favourite reads.
[Are you coming to the star hotel]
He saw another message flashing, which instantly turned his mood off. It was his girlfriend asking for a date.
He was bored as fuck, but life was so average that he didn't even care to tell her.
It was not that the girl was bad. She was damn beautiful, but where was the thrill? After reading so much fantasy, normal life had become boring.
He stood up from his table, barely putting on some decent clothes. Coming out of his large villa that sprawled over a hundred meters, he sat on his 1050 CC bike.
'You are one of the things that still makes me feel alive,' he thought, his leg on the gear and hands on the accelerator.
Soon he was riding at 150 kph. The adrenaline rush was intoxicating. He changed to the last, sixth gear, giving full throttle.
He no longer looked at the speedometer; his control of the bike was surprising.
But things don't always go as you want, and today, when he was flying and enjoying the rush, a truck suddenly came out of the street without warning.
Ash pushed the brakes with all his might, but the next thing he saw was a white light. Then he felt his senses returning.
Ash's last memory was the blinding headlights of a truck, the screech of his brakes, and then—nothing.
When his eyes fluttered open again, it wasn't hospital white walls that greeted him. It was a dim, ancient chamber with stone pillars and wooden beams. A girl in a maid's outfit knelt beside the bed, her shoulders trembling as tears streaked down her face.
"Master… you're alive!" she sobbed, her delicate hands clutching the sheets.
Ash blinked, sitting up. His body felt weak, alien—like he had been emptied and stuffed into another skin. Memories not his own flooded in. A genius who had reached Qi Condensation at ten. A sect's shining hope. Then, betrayal. His meridians shattered, his future crippled, left to rot in obscurity.
Ash stumbled to a mirror. A tall youth with sharp, almost inhumanly perfect features stared back at him. Six feet tall, sculpted jawline, eyes burning with both fragility and arrogance.
'Holy shit,' Ash muttered inwardly. 'Truck-kun really did it this time. At least he gave me an upgrade.'
Ding!
A crisp, mechanical chime echoed in his mind. A box of glowing letters unfurled before his eyes.
Host: [Unbound Soul – Link Unstable]
Status: Crippled (Meridians Severed)
Cultivation Realm: None
Bloodline: Human (Dormant)
Special Attributes:
Charm: 5
Libido: 10
Luck: 1
Bond Potential: SSS
Active Quest:
[First Conquest]
Condition: Stablish a bond with a pure woman.
Reward: Gets Meridian healed
Bonus: Unlock First Bond Skill
Penalty: Soul collapse
"…Eh???" Ash blinked.
'Conquer a virgin? Is this a cultivation world or some shameless dating sim?'
And yet, despite the absurdity, his lips curled into a grin. He clenched his trembling fist.
"Better than being bored to death in my old life," he muttered.
His mind drifted back to reality, and he realized how he was totally naked and standing before the mirror.
"Oh shit!" He ran back to the bed, covering his balls with his hands.
His eyes avoided Lyria.
Lyria, his maid, looked at him in confusion, her eyes still red. It was the first time he had acted strange in front of her.
Ash was in the bed, covered in a quilt that hid his toned body.
His memories were still hazy, but he was able to recall everything if he put some thought into it.
In the maid outfit, it was Lyria. As a young talent in the clan, he had been benefited in many ways.
He had a big accommodation with house staff to maintain.
This girl had been there before that, to help him with anything he wanted. Though all other facilities were stripped from him after his inability to cultivate, this girl never left his side.
"Master... I thought I would never see you again," the girl sobbed, gasping for air.
Ash looked at her pretty face, long hair tied in a bun. Her beautiful black eyes were currently red, but her cute, plump face was still adorable. The maid outfit had many layers, so her intricate and voluptuous body was hidden beneath it.
She was too mature for her age. She was 19, but her voluptuous body didn't match her age.
"I am well, just feeling hungry," Ash said, trying to comfort her.
She looked at him with curious gazes. The confidence in his voice, as it had been before being crippled, was back.
"Let me heal you first so you won't get dozed off again because of weakness." She came forward, grabbing his soft hands between hers. Then, a soothing feeling spread across his body.
His hands brushed against her body by mistake while she was sitting beside him, trying to use healing that she had always been doing.
This was one of the main reasons she was allowed to stay with him. The clan leader was still interested in him, so he wanted Ash to get back up. He didn't ask her to leave, praying that her healing could help him in any way.
She flinched, then looked at him with a flat face. She knew Master had never paid any attention to her; she was just a maid for him.
As she completed her healing, Ash felt his mind calm, almost out of this world. His body was brimming with energy.
"Master, I will bring some food for you," she said with a smile, leaving the room.
Ash climbed out of the bed again, noticing his body. Then he looked for some clothes in the room.
But he only found two pairs—plain grey or light-blue robes, simple cotton or linen, tied with a cloth sash.
Loose sleeves, practical for training.
He remembered them as part of clan wear.
His mind searched for anything important about the previous owner so he wouldn't miss out on much.
The body's previous owner was ignorant towards Lyria, busy in his own grief. He wasn't malevolent but a very nice, straight guy who didn't know anything about scheming.
Ash, from his memories, could already think of so many ways he would have evaded mockery or accidents if he had been in his place.
Then a memory came to him, and a face flashed before his eyes—revealing the culprit behind his illness and the fact that his cultivation wasn't nullified. He was just unable to use the energy inside.
So currently, he was still at Qi Condensation Stage 1, but he was unable to use it.