Chapter 1: Transmigration to a Sacrifice Site
Li Ran vaguely remembered that he had died.
The last image he saw in his previous life was a truck rushing towards him, and a clear, azure sky. His body and soul floated up together, as if merging with the thin clouds in the sky, gradually dissipating.
So, what's happening now? Did I transmigrate?
He turned his eyes, and the surrounding scene came into view.
He seemed to be in a dim room, with doors and windows tightly shut, and heavy curtains. Only a few candles emitted a faint glow.
And what the candlelight illuminated was—
Li Ran's pupils suddenly constricted.
Carved candle holders, a large cauldron burning herbs, and around the cauldron, piled up... large amounts of flesh and blood.
He was lying in this pile of flesh and blood.
The choking herbal smoke and the strong smell of blood intensely stimulated his nasal cavity.
What the hell is this, an altar? Have I become a sacrifice?
He thought with a belated realization.
Strange, frenzied chanting entered his ears. Li Ran followed the sound and a fanatical, distorted face immediately jumped into his sight.
The owner of the face was an old man. He had sparse hair, messy eyebrows, and a sinister glint in his gray-blue eyes. He was wildly waving a blood-stained dagger in his hand, clearly in an extremely abnormal state.
Li Ran looked at this face, and for some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity.
Siris Arrephis.
This person's name automatically popped into his mind.
What's going on?
He had never seen him before, so why did he know his name?
Familiarity and strangeness surged into his heart simultaneously. This bizarre sense of disorientation left Li Ran deeply confused.
The old man was engrossed in his own world and didn't notice Li Ran observing him. He prayed loudly, swaying back and forth, using a language Li Ran couldn't understand at all, devoutly and madly calling out to something unknown.
Over his shoulder, Li Ran saw the deeper part of the room.
Further back on the floor, lay a beautiful, pitiable young girl. Her hands and feet were bound with ropes, her mouth was gagged, her eyes were tightly shut, and her delicate eyebrows were slightly furrowed, seemingly unconscious.
Li Ran looked at the girl's haggard face, and a natural feeling of pity and anger welled up in his heart. Subconsciously, he called out her name.
"Cecilia."
Boom!
A sudden loud noise echoed in his mind. The girl's face was like a key, unlocking the memories deep within his brain, and countless images flooded in.
"Brother!"
The little girl smiled, holding his hand, walking with him on the street;
"Brother."
At the funeral, the girl threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably, her frail, slender shoulders trembling incessantly;
"Brother."
By the hospital bed, the girl gently wiped the face of him, who was wearing a straitjacket.
The flood of memories gave Li Ran a splitting headache, but it also let him know his current situation.
First, he had indeed transmigrated. This world he transmigrated to was roughly equivalent to Europe around the 18th century, with multiple countries on the continent, coexisting in opposition. As for the Loen Kingdom where he currently was, it was similar to the Great Empire of the Victorian era.
Luze Longdaoer was the name of the original owner of this body. He had just turned eighteen today and lived in Tingen City, Loen Kingdom.
Compared to ordinary citizens, Luze Longdaoer had a small difference.
What difference?
He was sick.
That's right, Lu Ze suffered from severe mental illness.
Since childhood, Lu Ze often experienced terrifying hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, seeing inverted giants and hearing mad whispers. He was constantly tormented by these hallucinations, his mind collapsing several times.
Fortunately, his family did not give up on him, but kept him by their side and took meticulous care of him. It was a pity that two years ago, Lu Ze's father, a small clerk, died due to a company accident. His Mother, overly worried and haggard, followed her husband a few months later, leaving only him and his sister, two years younger than him, to depend on each other.
—Which was the girl lying on the ground at this moment, Cecilia Longdaoer.
So, what's the situation now?
After their parents passed away, his sister took care of Lu Ze alone. The siblings barely lived for a while on the meager company pension. Just as their savings ran out and their lives became increasingly difficult, Siris Arrephis came knocking.
—Which was the old man currently acting mad in front of him.
Siris claimed to be an old friend of their father, wanting to repay their father's past kindness, and offered to provide them with living support. However, for convenience of care, the Longdaoer siblings needed to move to his place and live with him.
This was simply too suspicious!
Li Ran thought to himself.
But the two siblings were truly in such a difficult situation that they had no choice but to agree.
Sure enough, after living there for a while, the strange old man Siris revealed his fangs. On Lu Ze's eighteenth birthday, he suddenly attacked the siblings, tied up his sister, and placed Luze Longdaoer on the altar, stabbing his heart with a dagger.
Recalling this, Li Ran finally felt the abnormality in his chest.
Looking down, he found that the collar of his shirt had been violently torn open, and a terrifying wound lay across his chest. Through the wound, he could even see the damaged heart deep inside.
Am I going to die again?
As this thought just emerged in his mind, Li Ran saw an incredible scene.
At the site of the heart damage, muscle fibers began to wriggle, spontaneously connecting and fusing. In an instant, his heart was completely repaired and began to pump powerfully. The shallower wounds also healed rapidly, muscles reconnected, tissues adhered, and skin closed, finally becoming smooth and flat.
The fatal injury healed just like that!
Li Ran was shocked beyond measure, but then he thought that if even transmigration could happen, healing wounds didn't seem so incredible anymore.
He was lost in thought when he suddenly felt the light dim before his eyes. It turned out that Siris had suddenly approached the altar!
He jumped in fright and immediately held his breath.
Fortunately, Siris was only changing his prayer posture. His attention was entirely on the void behind Li Ran, and he didn't notice Li Ran's abnormality. Li Ran then breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he became alert.
Stop thinking about all that nonsense. The most important thing right now is to subdue this strange old man. If I don't take him down, I'll definitely not end well!
In his chest, his heart was beating strongly, sending blood to all parts of his body. His originally weak body gradually regained sensation.
Li Ran knew he had to act.
Taking a deep breath, he suddenly reached out and grabbed the metal candle holder in front of him.
Siris Arrephis was still praying passionately, calling out to his unknown deity. Just then, he suddenly heard a violent whooshing sound, and then saw the base of a metal candle holder enlarge infinitely before him!
"Clang!"
A crisp clang echoed through the room. The impact reverberated through the candle holder to Li Ran's hand, making him almost drop it. Having landed a hit, he quickly climbed off the altar, while gripping the candle holder tightly, watching Siris warily.
"Uh…"
Siris Arrephis's expression was somewhat bewildered, as if he hadn't yet understood what had happened. He swayed for a moment but didn't fall. Li Ran gritted his teeth, jumped down, and continued to swing the candle holder, hitting his head several more times!
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
His arm was numb from the vibrations, and the edge of the candle holder was stained with blood. Siris took several blows and finally fell backward.
Li Ran cautiously approached, kicked the dagger from his hand. After observing for more than ten seconds, confirming that Siris was no longer moving, he picked up the dagger, walked to Cecilia's side, bent down, cut the ropes binding the girl, and removed the cloth from her mouth.
"Cecilia, Cecilia!"
He shook the beautiful girl's slender shoulders and called out.
The girl was shaken awake, opening her eyes in confusion, her pupils slowly focusing on him.
She suddenly became terrified.
"Watch out!"
Cecilia shouted, staring behind Li Ran.
Almost simultaneously, Li Ran heard heavy footsteps coming from behind!
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