Li Wei woke up to the sound of birds chirping and a strange, earthy scent filling his nostrils. Blinking against the harsh sunlight filtering through leaves, he sat up abruptly—only to topple over into a shallow stream.
"What the…?!" he shouted, spluttering as cold water soaked his clothes. He scrambled to his feet, only to realize he was no longer in his tiny apartment from the previous life. The modern city skyline, the hum of traffic, the convenience of online shopping—all gone.
Instead, he was in a dense forest, with mist curling around the trunks of ancient trees, and birdsong echoing like some overly dramatic nature documentary. He glanced down at himself. Gone were his casual jeans and hoodie. In their place: a simple robe tied awkwardly at the waist, smelling faintly of something unidentifiable.
Li Wei groaned. "This has to be a dream. Yeah… I must've eaten too much instant noodles again. That's it. Just… a weird, weird dream."
He took a cautious step forward—only to trip over a protruding root. He flailed his arms, hitting a tree, and muttered under his breath, "Yep… definitely dreaming."
After a few more minutes of clumsy exploration, Li Wei finally noticed something strange: his body felt different. Not weak like the last time he stayed up three nights in a row binge-watching dramas, but alert, tense, and… capable. He bounced a few experimental punches at the air and barely managed a swing before realizing the weight behind them was uncanny.
"Well, I'm either in the dream of a lifetime or my gym membership from past life finally paid off in some weird cosmic way," he muttered.
Li Wei's wandering didn't last long. From the treeline, a band of three thugs suddenly appeared, clad in ragged martial arts garb. Their eyes narrowed when they saw him. "Stranger," one growled, "hand over your valuables—or pay with your life!"
Li Wei froze. "Valuables? Uh… I left my wallet… and my debit card… and my credit card… oh no, I don't even know if banks exist here."
The leader snarled, stepping forward, and Li Wei instinctively stepped back. "Alright, think, Wei… think! What would a modern guy do?" His hand darted to his pocket, realizing he had nothing.
Then inspiration struck. "Ah! Survival hacks!" he whispered. He grabbed a nearby stick, waving it awkwardly. "Hey! I have… uh… martial stick powers! Don't test me!"
The thugs laughed. "Martial… stick? Fool!"
Li Wei gritted his teeth. "Okay, Plan B!" He kicked a small rock at one thug's feet, tripped, spun awkwardly, and somehow—miraculously—sent the rock flying into the leader's face. The thug yelped and staggered back.
"What the hell?!" Li Wei muttered. "I didn't even aim! Okay, this counts as a successful strike!"
The other two thugs hesitated, giving him just enough time to grab another stick from the ground. "Listen," he said, puffing up his chest like he had seen in one of those old kung fu movies, "I'm not an ordinary man! I—wait, what am I even saying?"
Before he could finish, the leader lunged. Li Wei panicked, swinging the stick wildly, tripping over his own feet—and somehow connected with the thug's knee. The bandits yelped in surprise and retreated, leaving Li Wei panting and wide-eyed.
"Holy… that actually worked?" he whispered, staring at the forest floor. He couldn't believe it. Not just the thugs, but his body—it was like he had inherited a martial artist's reflexes overnight. And yet, he had no idea how to control them properly.
As he caught his breath, Li Wei noticed something glinting nearby. Picking it up, he found a small wooden sword, light but perfectly balanced. "Huh. Well, I guess that's my… sword now. Not sure how this works, but hey—beggars can't be choosers!"
Li Wei spent the rest of the day wandering through the forest, discovering more about his new body. He could leap higher than any human should, his senses felt sharper, and every movement—no matter how clumsy—had more power behind it than he had ever possessed before.
By nightfall, he found a small cave to rest in, arranging twigs for a fire. "Okay, Wei," he said aloud, speaking to no one in particular, "new life, new world, new rules. Step one: survive. Step two: learn martial arts. Step three… figure out a way to save money in a place that probably doesn't even have coins. Oh, modern me, you've got your work cut out for you."
He chuckled softly, exhaustion tugging at him. Despite the confusion, despite the danger, despite the utter absurdity of his situation, Li Wei felt a thrill he hadn't felt in years. A chance to start fresh. To fight, to grow stronger, to use his wits in ways no one in this world had ever imagined.
And maybe… just maybe… to become a legendary figure in Murim—if he could stop tripping over his own feet first.