Chapter 1 - Wind Elephant Tusk Pendant
My name is Cassius, and I'm about to die…
It was June 3 of the 156th year of the Hongli Federation—the twenty-fifth year since I had arrived in this foreign world. Having just graduated from the University of Jersey, I was participating in an archaeological operation for the first time. It was located at a steep mountainous area about twenty kilometers north of Fengnan City.
The operation was led by the municipal government, in collaboration with the Archaeology Department from the University of Jersey and the company Huolu Antiques. Together, they dispatched a ten-person team that arrived at the Camorra Mountains at noon.
The archaeological operation progressed extremely smoothly, and the team quickly entered the inner part of the ruins to explore. Inside, there were architectural styles and decorations from the Kalenka era, along with damaged murals and some parts of ancient documents.
Just as everyone was fully immersed in the archaeological work, an unexpected incident occurred.
The three antique specialists from Huolu Antiques suddenly took out guns and started shooting! One after another, the teacher, a senior brother, and a senior sister died. The remaining four resisted and barely managed to kill one of the shooters. However, only one survivor remained.
And this survivor was also facing certain death.
As the flashback faded, Cassius trembled while taking a deep breath.
Click.
The pitch-black muzzle of the gun was pressed against his head.
"Trying to run?! Try running again!" The expression of the man wearing a red and black antique commissioner uniform became increasingly ferocious.
With the pistol pressed heavily against Cassius's forehead, the man took several steps forward.
In the dark and narrow rectangular passageway, Cassius slowly retreated one step at a time, his boots creaking every time they came into contact with the gravel beneath.
Cassius leaned against a pillar behind him, but the weathered pillar suddenly collapsed.
Crash!
Cassius stumbled awkwardly and fell backward.
He grunted and glanced at his right hand. The ivory pendant left behind by his senior brother had pierced his skin, leaving a trail of fresh blood in his palm.
All he could feel was his mouth going dry and a bitter taste on his tongue.
He feared that all seven members of the University of Jersey Archaeology Department might perish here. As for him… It had been twenty-five years since his reincarnation, and yet he hadn't accomplished anything significant. And now, he was about to be reincarnated all over again.
Crack!
A black boot stepped on his chest.
The pistol in the man's hand never stopped aiming at Cassius's head.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the passageway, signaling the arrival of another Huolu Antiques employee. He also had a handgun, just like his colleague.
Might as well fight back. At least I'll die with some dignity.
As this thought crossed Cassius's mind, he suddenly noticed that the bitter taste in his mouth was growing stronger. After a moment, he realized that the bitter sensation wasn't originating from his mouth.
Instead, it came from the bleeding wound in his right hand.
In the next moment, Cassius's entire arm went numb and painful. A rush of cold air began to pour out of the ivory pendant, swirling like a fish swimming around on his hand.
The icy sensation spread from his arm and enveloped his entire body in an instant.
Cassius trembled uncontrollably.
"Haha, look at you! Weren't you brave when you were with your brothers just now? Now you're scared like this?"
The man stomped hard on Cassius's chest.
Cassius didn't say anything. He simply clenched his right fist.
The man sneered and mocked him, "What's wrong? Are you so scared that you wet your pants?"
The other commissioner walked over. "Stop talking nonsense and just kill him, William. We don't have time to waste here…"
"I know, I'll send him to see Grand Duke Hongli right now."[1]
The man named William slightly adjusted the muzzle of the gun.
"Farewell, pitiful one from the ivory tower—" His voice halted abruptly, as if the entire world had been paused.
Cassius's gaze darted around. The dim passage, the crumbling murals, and the two men holding guns all blurred at once. It was like seeing the world through frosted glass, even the turbid and foul air seemed filtered.
He plunged into the inevitable void.
The entire world spun around. In the silence and blur, changes were happening quietly. The air surged, the earth trembled, the dome rose, and Cassius's brain trembled wildly.
Bang!
The boy's head ruthlessly hit against the wall.
"Fuck!" He couldn't help but curse in pain.
"Li Wei, are you having nightmares again?" A tired voice came from the side. "Sleep early, we have to train tomorrow…"
Li Wei? Training? What in the world?
Cassius sat up in confusion and saw that he was in a narrow, gray stone room. Beside him, there was a window from which faint moonlight seeped in. Inside the room, there was only a table, a chair, and two extremely wide beds that took up most of the space.
On each bed were three teenagers.
The bed he was laying on was close to the window. Beside him was a chubby boy, the one who had just muttered those words. Cassius stared blankly at his youthful hands, momentarily lost in confusion.
Amidst his chaotic thoughts, he suddenly noticed something.
Above his field of vision, a strange symbol hovered in midair, accompanied by a long bar scale resembling a thermometer.
Cassius's heart pounded as he stretched his hand to grab it.
Is no one else seeing this? Could this be the legendary system that I’ve only read about in novels?
Suddenly, a tidal wave of information flooded his mind.
Ten minutes later, Cassius abruptly opened his eyes.
Although it was twenty-five years late, he finally understood the real principle behind his transmigration, as well as the function it was supposed to fulfill—Collect Legendary Antiques and time travel back to that mysterious era.
Each antique was associated with a story of the past, and these antiques that harbored the strong lingering attachment of the owners were called Legendary Antiques. Cassius was able to absorb a certain kind of energy from these lingering attachments, substitute their previous owners, and return to the most memorable moments of their lives.[2]
These unforgettable moments could be filled with joy, hatred, sorrow, or regret. Any emotion worked as long as it was intense enough.
Of course, most lingering attachments are fueled by hatred and regret, or other negative emotions like sorrow.
Cassius's role was to resolve the source of the original owner's lingering attachment, and this was what allowed him to exist in that period of time. During this time, everything he learnt and experienced could be brought back to his reality. If he failed, he would gain nothing.
Taking a deep breath, he looked forward.
Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the strange symbol was actually a simplified pattern of the ivory pendant. Cassius had absorbed the energy of the previous owner's lingering attachment from the pendant and activated his ability at a critical moment.
The long bar scale next to the pendant symbol represented time.
Currently, Cassius was witnessing the first unforgettable experience of the pendant's owner, Li Wei. It was also Li Wei's first lingering attachment.
With a single thought from Cassius, the strange symbol instantly unfolded.
Lightning that streaked across the sky, a damp rainy night, screams of a maiden, and a cowardly boy that hid and shivered in the corner.
This was a tragic story of a boy and his older sister who were selected to attend the youth training camp for martial arts from the Wind Elephant Sect. One night, his sister was on the way to the toilet when three delinquent students who had secretly been drinking blocked her way and started tearing off her clothes.
His sister's screams for help had reached the ears of the boy but he could only look on by the window as he was too cowardly to step forward.
The incident only ended when the other students were startled awake.
The incident quickly spread throughout the entire youth training camp. In this era where women were relatively conservative, the boy's sister soon became the subject of criticism, and no one cared that she was the victim.
A few days later, news of his mother's unexpected death had arrived from the boy's hometown. His sister was already under great stress, and after this final blow, she committed suicide. This became Li Wei's lingering regret.
Why did you hide in the corner like a coward on that rainy night?
Why did you not dare to rush out and beat up those assholes?
Why did you not even think of comforting your sister after the incident?
These were the thoughts that lingered in his mind.
Was it weakness? Was it fear? Was it a young man's strange and disgusting pride? Perhaps it was all of it…
Li Wei wanted to make amends, but it was too late. He comforted himself time and time again but realized even he could not forgive himself for being cowardly. And so this became his lingering attachment.
"So that's what happened, huh…" Cassius murmured to himself as he opened his eyes once again.
Rumble…
Thunder reverberated from the clouds in the sky.
Cassius looked out the window, unaware of when the night rain had begun to fall. The raindrops turned the air hazy.
"Ah! Help…mmmph…"
Amidst the sound of the rain, a girl's screams faintly echoed.
"Fuck! Don't tell me it's happening now?!"
Cassius stood up and rushed out barefoot.
1. Hongli was the fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty in the 1700s. ☜
2. Lingering attachment: The original term is "执念" which describes a feeling of longing and attachment towards something. Cassius is able to absorb the emotional energy of these lingering attachments to activate his transmigration powers. ☜
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