Qin Li desperately wanted to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt incredibly heavy, as if weighted with lead. His mind was a chaotic mess as countless memories, both familiar and strange, surged forth, making him feel as if his head was about to burst. He couldn't help but groan aloud.
At that moment, Qin Li felt a warm hand on his forehead, stroking his cheek. The touch was light and gentle, conveying a sense of pity and cherishment... Simultaneously, through the haze, he heard the sound of faint, intermittent sobs. Then, a single drop, cool like rain, landed on his face. It traced a path down his cheek, slid past the corner of his mouth... and tasted of salt.
Qin Li's heart trembled violently. A wave of inexplicable grief and indignation washed over him. His mind felt as if it had been struck by lightning, momentarily losing its ability to think as it descended into extreme chaos once more. Countless memory fragments rushed in again like a tidal wave. Qin Li felt like a wretched creature swept into the Great Sea by a furious wave, with no way to resist. The worst part was that even the thought of passing out had become an impossible luxury.
His perception of the outside world was once again completely cut off.
After an unknown amount of time, he finally integrated all the memories in his mind. The painful sensation gradually faded. In the darkness, Qin Li felt lost. His chaotic thoughts made one thing clear: he was no longer that dominant, all-powerful Qin Li... and he was no longer on the familiar planet Earth...
His current identity left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry. 'I've actually become the illegitimate son of a great family!'
He had grown up amidst mockery, sarcasm, and disdain. Unable to enter the academy to study, he had been practicing a manual called the Basic Techniques. From the age of three until thirteen, after ten whole years of arduous training, he had actually coughed up blood and died after being provoked by the Qin Family's Second Young Master... 'What rotten luck!'
To think he would encounter something so bizarre. He had been certain of his death, yet he had managed to live again, albeit in a different way!
At this moment, Qin Li's perception of the outside world slowly returned to normal. A voice, somewhat cool but tinged with pleading, reached his ears: "Physician Wu, I beg you, please save him. As long as you can cure him, I... I will certainly reward you handsomely!"
"Reward me handsomely? First Miss, what could you possibly have now to reward me with? Do you have any idea? Your son is barely clinging to life thanks to expensive medicine. He could die at any moment!"
In the darkness, Qin Li's brow furrowed. The grief-and-indignation-filled memories in his mind told him that he loathed the owner of this voice.
For the sake of this body's previous owner, his mother had sold everything of value. Training all day inevitably led to some injuries, and because she couldn't afford a famous doctor, she could only call upon this Physician, who held a low status in the Qin Family.
But this Physician Wu was an out-and-out bastard and a lecher! He always used the opportunity of treating Qin Li to leer at his mother with those lecherous eyes. Although she had fallen from grace, her noble temperament, elegant speech, and vast knowledge all drove Physician Wu wild with attraction. But how could a woman like her ever be interested in a man like him? If not for her son, she wouldn't even deign to spare him a glance.
The original Qin Li had always hated this Physician Wu to the bone. If his mother hadn't stopped him, who knows how many conflicts would have erupted!
In the past, although Qin Hanyue had to ask for Physician Wu's help every time, she had never begged him with such humility. Physician Wu, having his own ulterior motives, had naturally granted her every request. But this time was different. Qin Li had coughed up blood and fainted from extreme shock, and his life was now in danger. His mother had lost her composure. She had just gone to beg her Fourth Brother, who had doted on her most when they were children, to speak to their father. But not only did she fail to see her brother, she was instead verbally abused with a torrent of mockery by his newly-wedded eighth concubine and sent away...
Physician Wu peeked at Qin Hanyue. Her exquisitely beautiful face was stained with tears, having long lost its usual nobility and composure. The despair in her eyes suddenly gave Physician Wu an impulse. 'If I could just touch her hand,' he thought, 'I could die without regrets. If I could hold this woman just once, even death would be worth it!'
Qin Hanyue's heart struggled and hesitated. Finally, she gritted her teeth and said, "Physician Wu, I'm begging you. In the future, in the future... when Li grows up, I'll make sure he repays your great kindness. I... I'll kneel for you!"
Qin Li felt a sharp sting in his heart. Although this woman was a complete stranger to him, the fusion of memories made him feel her pain as if it were his own. Hearing her words, he was filled with a violent sense of grief and indignation!
A trace of astonishment appeared on Physician Wu's face, quickly replaced by ecstatic joy. He watched as the woman he once had to look up to slowly... bent her knees before him.
'Finally, has the proud swan come to beg this toad?'
Although he knew he couldn't afford to provoke this woman if she were to erupt, Physician Wu was a textbook lecherous devil. He planned to use Qin Li's situation to force her to submit. 'After all,' he schemed, 'even if she refuses, my life isn't in danger. Among all the physicians, I'm the only one she can afford... I'm the only one who can save her son's life.' And so, Physician Wu gambled that Qin Hanyue wouldn't dare to refuse him!
Physician Wu's greedy eyes were fixed on Qin Hanyue's face. He tremblingly reached out, wanting to touch her cheek.
A cold glint flashed in Qin Hanyue's eyes. She suddenly said in an icy voice, "Physician Wu, watch yourself!" A biting killing intent suddenly erupted from her, as if she were forcefully restraining something.
Physician Wu snatched his trembling hand back. He was instantly enraged, and he sneered, "First Miss, don't you want your son to live?"
Hearing this, Qin Li felt his chest was about to explode with rage. 'In my past life, I was always the one in charge. When have I ever been humiliated like this? To think someone would dare bully my mother right in front of me!'
An overwhelming sense of indignation suddenly pressed down on Qin Li's chest. His eyes flew open. He didn't know where the strength came from, but he abruptly sat up in bed. BLAARGH! A mouthful of hot blood sprayed from his mouth, splattering all over the bed and floor.
"You're courting death!"
Two cold beams of light shot from Qin Li's eyes as he stared daggers at Physician Wu. He leaped from the bed, swung his fist with a whistle, and smashed it into Physician Wu's sleazy face. Immediately after, he followed with a flying kick, viciously slamming his foot into Physician Wu's chest with a sickening THUD. The force sent Physician Wu flying out of the room, and the already aging wooden door was smashed to splinters by his body.
It all happened in the blink of an eye, so fast that no one could react.
His mother cried out in alarm and caught the swaying Qin Li. She fumbled to wipe the blood from his mouth while asking with a trembling voice, "Son, you... what's wrong? Please don't scare your mother!"
'This person... is my mother?' Was it an illusion? After spitting up that mouthful of blood, Qin Li actually felt much more relaxed. Looking at the beautiful young woman before him, her face stained with tears and her eyes filled with sorrow, Qin Li felt a momentary sense of confusion. The fusion of memories didn't equate to spiritual acceptance. His outburst just now had stemmed entirely from the immense grief and indignation deep within his soul, and from his inability to stand by and watch someone coerce a woman like that.
After viciously kicking that scum away, Qin Li came back to his senses. His body was now that of a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy, but he looked quite sturdy. His arms and legs were much stronger than those of a normal boy his age. Recalling the memories in his mind, Qin Li couldn't help but feel a surge of ecstasy in his eyes. 'The foundation of this body is too good! If I hadn't started my own foundation-building so late in my past life, how could I have ever ended up in this world?'
'It must be fate!' Qin Li thought. He thought of the woman beside him who was willing to pay any price for his sake. Even though he was no longer that Qin Li, the fusion of souls and the inheritance of memories caused the words to tumble out of him—the him who had always craved familial affection and a mother's love deep in his bones.
"...Mother, I... I'm fine."
After speaking, Qin Li himself was stunned for a moment. He then took a deep breath. 'Family is family,' he thought. 'Even with the soul of a man in his twenties, I can't reject this kind of affection. But... this feeling... isn't half bad.'
Qin Hanyue didn't believe her son's words at all. He had been so provoked that he coughed up blood and was unconscious for three days. After waking up, he had coughed up more blood and gotten into a violent fight. How could he possibly be fine?
Meanwhile, Physician Wu, now outside, was in a frenzy. He had only intended to take a small advantage, but not only had he failed, he'd also had two of his front teeth knocked out and taken a vicious kick to the chest from Qin Li that had nearly killed him.
Although he had always been deeply afraid of Qin Hanyue, he had suffered a huge loss today. Servants of the Qin Family were already gathering outside to watch. If he didn't regain his dignity now, how could he ever hold his head up in the Qin Family again?