Chapter 1: Reincarnation in the Tang Dynasty.
"Go." A middle-aged man in a white robe patted the trembling shoulder of a dejected young man and said gently, "Even if you're reluctant, you still have to go. Wouldn't it be better to be reborn as a human than to wander this world as a lost soul? Go!"
"I don't want to be reborn," the young man shook his head sadly. He raised his tearful eyes and said painfully to the middle-aged man in the white robe, "No! This isn't fair! I wasn't destined for that! Why? Why? Why am I the one who has to die? I just couldn't stand by and do what was right, is that wrong? Am I supposed to just watch that thief kill that child? Why should a good person die while the bad guy goes unpunished? With this kind of chaos, who will dare to do good deeds?"
"You did nothing wrong." The middle-aged man in white robes nodded firmly. "What you did was right. Doing good deeds is never wrong. It turned out that the child was going to die, and you shielded him from harm. That bad guy couldn't be caught because there were accomplices and others protecting him in the mortal world, but he will definitely face a heavier retribution in the future. But you can't expect me to show up in broad daylight and kill him, can you? I can't do things that disrupt the mortal world. He will be caught and judged in the future, don't worry... Although you died protecting someone, you can still receive compensation. I can reincarnate you into a wealthy family..."
"No!" the young man roared. He shook his head desperately, and two lines of tears rolled down his cheeks, but before they could fall, they turned into white light and disappeared. The young man roared at the middle-aged man in white robes, "I don't want to be reincarnated! If you want to make amends, then resurrect me!"
"Impossible," the middle-aged man in white robes shook his head. "You've been dead for almost ten days. If I resurrect you now, it would be too shocking! You might be surrounded by the media all day long; or you might be secretly arrested and studied, even dissected. You don't want to be sliced up and examined under a microscope, do you? You don't want your internal organs and testicles preserved in formalin for others to study? Besides, I'm just a lowly White Impermanence, a minor soul guide. How could I possibly resurrect a corpse that's been dead for ten days? Even if I could, I wouldn't dare do something that violates the rules!"
"Then what about my parents?" the young man cried sadly. "Did they raise me for nothing? They were ordinary people their whole lives, so kind that they wouldn't even step on an ant when they walked, but in their old age, they didn't even have a son to see them off..."
"They can also receive compensation." The middle-aged man in white robes gently patted the young man's shoulder. "Although their biological son is dead, they will definitely have someone to take care of them in the future, and they will live a happier life than before. Don't worry! Although you, as their son, cannot be resurrected to serve them, you can still compensate them in other ways. It's getting late, so go. If you linger in this world any longer, you will soon vanish."
"Then... where will I be reincarnated?" the young man asked, wiping away his tears.
"Besides this world." The middle-aged man in white robes glanced at the young man and said slowly, "You can go to any world, like any other world that reflects the phenomena of this world."
"I don't understand." The young man was completely confused.
"According to regulations, I can't say it directly," the middle-aged man in white robes said with a slight smile. "But for you, it's fine. You can go to any world you want! That's one of the compensations. It depends on what kind of other world you prefer, like one teeming with minotaurs and filled with flying elves; or one where Li Xunhuan's flying dagger is invincible and Dugu's Nine Swords are unmatched. Don't you young people always dream of becoming kings and conquerors in other worlds? You can choose one!"
"What other compensation?" the young man asked about compensation before even mentioning which world he wanted to go to.
"If you wish, you can choose to retain your consciousness and memories," the middle-aged man in white robes said slowly after a moment of contemplation.
"Anything else?" the young man asked again after waiting for a while without any further explanation.
"If you don't choose to retain your consciousness and memories, then you can be compensated with some special abilities," the middle-aged man in white robes said, letting the young man make his own choice.
"If I don't retain my consciousness and memories, am I still me?" the young man exclaimed frantically. "I don't want to be reincarnated as an idiot or a baby! I don't want to be someone else who can't retain their consciousness and memories just because
they want abilities. What kind of ridiculous rule is this? What kind of garbage compensation is this? I want to retain my consciousness and memories, and I want special abilities too!" "Both are not possible." The white-robed middle-aged man shook his head. "If you don't want abilities and don't want to be a baby, how about I directly merge you into a character you have in mind? This is already the biggest concession."
"Then give me some treasures." The young man said dejectedly. "I wouldn't mind if you gave me the Xuanyuan Sword, though."
"No treasures." The white-robed middle-aged man waved his hand. "I'm just a penniless soul guide. How could I have the Xuanyuan Sword?"
"Then give me a peerless martial arts manual!" The young man immediately bargained down when he saw that the exorbitant price was unacceptable. "Just let me learn all four great martial arts. Of course, if you're willing to give me ten thousand years of internal energy, I won't object!"
"I don't know martial arts." The white-robed middle-aged man laughed. "I haven't even heard of what the four great martial arts are. How can I give them to you?"
"You should read more novels online," the young man suggested. "Mr. Bai Wuchang, no offense, but even as a lowly soul guide, you need to keep up with the times! Look at you, still dressed in ancient costume. The Black and White Impermanence in TV dramas are always in police uniforms or suits. You look so dowdy and out of place. If people saw you like this, how conspicuous would it be? How much of an impact would that have? I initially thought you'd been in saltwater for a few years, but I never expected... It seems you still have a lot to learn!"
"Yes, yes," the white-robed middle-aged man nodded. "Next time I'll definitely read more novels online, next time I'll definitely wear a suit, next time I'll definitely pay attention. But getting back to the point, you should decide where you want to reincarnate as soon as possible! I need to go back and report back sooner!"
"If you don't have the Four Great Skills, then give me a Void-Storing Sumeru Ring! You must have one, right?" the young man lowered his demands further. "If you don't have one with tens of thousands of cubic meters, a one with a hundred or so cubic meters will do."
"The jade slips I use for storage only have about ten cubic meters," the white-robed middle-aged man smiled slightly. "I don't have what you're looking for here."
"Give me that storage jade slip," the young man said with a look of utter disappointment. "It's not exactly perfect, but it'll do."
"This is something I use for work," the white-robed middle-aged man said. "So I can't give it to you."
"Others can squeeze a lot out of the Black and White Impermanence after they die, how come you're so stingy?" The young man shook his head helplessly and sighed. "I guess I'm just unlucky... I died for nothing and didn't even get any decent compensation... Fine, send me to the world of Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty! Even though there are many powerful people there, even though there's nothing there, I'll only be bullied, but who can blame me for liking the Tang Dynasty!"
"Alright," the white-robed middle-aged man extended a hand to the young man. "But if you don't want to be an infant in that world, you have to merge with someone's body. Whose body do you want to merge with?"
"After merging, who will be the main body?" the young man asked, his voice trembling with unease. "This... please... be... clear..."
"You've merged." The white-robed man nodded. "You are him now. Because that world isn't as strict as this human world, once your soul enters, you become him. His soul becomes part of yours, and his consciousness is one with yours. But your original memories will definitely disappear because it's based on you. That's called fusion. By the way, if you're killed in the future, you can only be reincarnated in that world. Do you understand? That world is different from this world. It's just a world reflected in a book! You might be very powerful there, perhaps even invincible. You can do anything in that world, but you'll never be able to come back! Because you've become a part of that world. You need to think this through! For example, even if you live forever, you can only spend your life in that world. So if you don't want to, I can reincarnate you in this world, but you can only be reincarnated as an infant and can't merge with someone else's body..."
"Never mind." The young man shook his head sadly. "Meeting you is really my bad luck. It's better not to say anything at all."
"Although it's cruel, I have to explain clearly." The white-robed man said solemnly, "So, do you still decide to go to that world of Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty?"
"Go." The young man nodded heavily. He looked at the man in white robes for a long time before slowly saying, "My favorite character in the book is Xu Ziling. Although I'm sorry to replace him like this, I'm willing to live well for him and make up for some of his regrets! I want to save the women in the Tang Dynasty who are so pitiful and heartbreaking. Although no one can save me, I'm willing to save others, especially those women in the Tang Dynasty who I've always wanted to save!"
"Understood." The middle-aged man in white robes nodded gently and said to the young man, "Now I will send you to the Tang Dynasty…"
With a flick of his finger, he sent a tiny point of light into the young man's body, muttering strangely, "Strange, where did my jade slip go? Did I lose it on the way? This is a treasure! How can I work without it? I have to go back and look for it... Never mind, I'll send you to the world of Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty first!"
"Thank you...you..." The young man, of course, understood what was happening, and tears welled up in his eyes. He bowed deeply to the white-robed middle-aged man. When he straightened up, he saw the white-robed man's smiling face. He smiled slightly and nodded gently. A seven-colored light emanated from his hand, enveloping the young man. The young man didn't have time to say anything more; he only felt a warmth throughout his body, and his consciousness suddenly blurred...
(End of this Chapter)