The night was still. The moon hung half-full, casting its light over the small village huts nestled among the fields. The scent of dew-soaked earth mingled with the chirping of summer crickets, weaving a serene tableau as if from another world.
In a humble hut, a young man sat, his hands covered in dirt. Lin Hao… he had lived in this village for ten years, a simple farmer, nothing more.
At first, when he woke in this strange body, he believed that heaven had granted him a chance to walk the path of immortality. He tried. He spent long hours meditating, breathing, imagining the flow of chi within him. But… nothing. His body was rootless. The heavens had closed the door from the very start.
Years passed, and he married Li Xiao a girl with the kindness of springs and the warmth of the sun. He no longer thought of cultivating ambition; he simply plowed the land, waited for rain, and hoped for a harvest that would sustain them.
But that night… everything changed.
A sharp cry pierced the silence of the hut. Lin Hao's heart froze for a moment, then he rushed inside. There, on the bed, Li Xiao was exhausted, her arms cradling a tiny body crying in a weak voice.
Tears fell from him without warning. He stepped forward with trembling legs, sat beside her, and saw his son's face for the first time. Pink skin, closed eyes, breaths weak but steady.
Li Xiao spoke in a hoarse voice, but she smiled:
"It's your son… Hao."
Lin Hao reached out, holding the child carefully, as if cradling a priceless treasure. When the baby opened his eyes for a moment, a silver light shimmered within them—faint, yet profound…
Suddenly, a strange echo resounded deep within his consciousness:
[Divine Child System Activated.]
[Congratulations on the birth of your first child.]
[Reward: +100 years of lifespan.]
[Reward: "Parental Protection Fist" Technique (Temporary Power: Innate Warrior – Grade Two).]
Lin Hao trembled. His eyes widened.
"A system…? After all these years…!"
Ten years of helplessness and failure, ten years as worthless as waste unable to farm… and in the end, the opportunity had not come from his own body, but from this tiny being in his arms.
The child's tiny hand wrapped around his father's finger. A fleeting moment, yet it made Lin Hao's heart surge with feelings he had never known.
He whispered, holding his child close to his chest:
"So… my path to immortality begins with you… my child."
That night, a son was born. And that night, a father awoke.