Chapter 3 - Four Months
"Ah…"
The second he woke up, Cassius’s hands flew up to clutch at his pounding head. His face felt numb and swollen. It wasn't just his head; his whole body was throbbing with pain.
Teeth gritted, he dropped his bandage-wrapped hands and lifted his head.
He was in an empty, spacious white room. It was extraordinarily simple with plain walls devoid of any decorations. On his right, a yellowish-brown bedside table with a vase atop—one red and one yellow wildflower in it. On his left, there was a half-open window with embroidered curtains pulled to one side. Rectangular rays of golden sunlight streamed in and landed on the bed.
His gaze wandered to the window where he saw a sea of green pine trees swaying in the breeze like waves in an ocean. Cassius caught a whiff of a pleasant fragrance when he sniffed it. Their delicate green leaves glistened in the sunlight.
He shook his head vigorously, his bewilderment clearing.
I didn't beat anyone to death, did I?
When Cassius recalled that rainy night, all he could remember was the rage in his heart flooding his mind and his fists meeting Finn's head with a relentless viciousness.
It was entirely possible that he had beaten someone to death!
Heh. Here I am, about to die myself, and the only thing I'm worried about is whether I've killed someone or not. Ridiculous. Upon remembering that his real body was on the brink of death, Cassius cursed himself silently.
He took in a deep breath in an effort to suppress the pain coursing through his body.
Cassius glanced at the pendant symbol floating above and noticed that it looked completely different from before. It had turned a light gold.
Does this mean Li Wei's lingering attachment has been resolved? Cassius wondered.
His gaze shifted to the right, where his eyes instantly honed in on a long scale resembling a thermometer. There were actually four of them, all rather large, with twenty-nine smaller markings on each.
At present, one of the small markings had disappeared.
"Is this supposed to mean a day has passed?" Cassius muttered to himself. "Then do these 120 small markings represent 120 days?" Little by little, his eyes lit up.
He had Li Wei's memories in his mind so he knew that the Wind Elephant Sect was a martial arts sect that focused on surpassing the limits of the human body. If he could become proficient enough in martial arts, he might even win against small firearms.
One hundred and twenty days… Four months. It was unlikely he could reach the level of mastery he desired in that period of time, but learning some quick explosive or evasive techniques should still be within his grasp. Not to mention, if he could somehow bring Li Wei's physical prowess back to his reality… His predicament might just be resolved.
While he was lost in thought, the door suddenly opened.
A pretty girl wearing grayish-white training attire walked in. Although she was modestly clothed, one could still see that she was a well-developed teenage girl. She had soft, fair skin, a straight nose, and her black hair was draped over her shoulder in a ponytail.
The moment she locked eyes with Cassius, tears welled up in her eyes. She walked over, sobs overcoming her.
"Little Wei, I'm sorry..."
Seeing Li Chu's apologetic expression, Cassius realized she felt guilty seeing him looking halfway to being a mummy.
"Why are you saying sorry? The ones who should be apologizing are those three bastards. Oh right, what happened to them?" Cassius casually threw out the question, intending to change the subject.
"That Finn guy’s been crying all day because of how swollen his face is from the beating. In fact, that wailing just now was him," Li Chu said. She stole a glance at her brother and inexplicably felt a sense of pride.
Li Chu originally felt a bit of schadenfreude after the incident, but upon seeing Li Wei's injuries, her mood plummeted again.
After all, she had been too slow to call for help.
Not dead yet, huh? Guess this body's too weak…
Cassius raised his slender hands. Li Wei's originally weak personality was due in large part to his frail physique. Even in one-on-one fights, he couldn’t win against girls whose bodies had matured early.
Finn, who had taken a beating last night, was at least half a head taller than Li Wei and much stronger. Him getting pummeled to the ground could be boiled down to two reasons. Firstly, he had been thrown off-kilter right from the get-go because he had been taken by surprise. Secondly, and more importantly, Li Wei had seemingly been possessed by a ruthless madman, sending Finn’s heart quivering in fear!
When picking a fight, it’s crucial to appear imposing to your enemy, especially when fighting against opponents that outnumber you or are stronger than you. If you charge straight for the gang leader and beat the hell out of him, anyone who sees that will think twice about messing with you.
Even if someone else punches me, it won’t stop me from hitting you! was a kind of mentality that would make anyone’s blood freeze.
Soon after, Li Chu sat on the chair next to the sickbed. As she chatted with Cassius, her hands busily peeled some fruit. She couldn’t help feeling a bit sentimental. In the past, she had to take care of her naive younger brother. Now, the roles were reversed and it was her brother protecting her.
Relief, gratitude, warmth, and a myriad of other emotions flooded through her.
Thanks to Li Chu's descriptions and Li Wei's memories, Cassius was able to gain a rough understanding of this era.
Cassius lived around the time of World War II, where airplanes, cannons and tanks were the norm but missiles and nuclear bombs had not yet been developed. People’s living standards were roughly those of the mid-twentieth century.
The world that Cassius was visiting through the ivory pendant was about seventy years back, during the 1880s, when cold weapons and firearms coexisted at the start of the Second Industrial Revolution.
In this era, martial arts could still be found in various areas like assassinations, hand-to-hand combat, and deadly duels. Even sharpshooters had to surrender to close-range attacks launched by martial artists.
Of course, this was only possible because of the poor development of guns in this era.
Cassius could count the number of martial arts gyms left in his world on one hand. Moreover, calling them "martial arts gyms" was probably a stretch as most of them only touted slogans of physical fitness.
When faced with the rise of modern firearms, the decline of martial arts was inevitable.
And the Wind Elephant Sect was one such martial arts sect that was staring demise right in the face. Its headquarters was located in the suburbs of Oak City and they also had several martial arts academies set up all over the city.
In addition, they ran a youth training camp on the outskirts of Oak City, where they hand-picked young talents from the entire Beiliu County. Li Wei and Li Chu were two such apprentices.
Knock, knock, knock. A series of knocks echoed from the outside the door.
A female instructor wearing beige training robes strolled in. She had long, attractive legs and a sensual figure that could turn heads. Her facial features were also not too bad, but a scar on the left side of her face marred her overall beauty.
There was a rectangular brass badge on the instructor's chest, inscribed with a single word: Lisa.
"Li Chu, step out for a moment." Instructor Lisa's voice was somewhat hoarse but not unpleasant.
Li Chu glanced at her brother and then at the instructor. A moment’s hesitation later, she said, "Alright, I’ll be waiting outside."
The door closed with a gentle click.
Instructor Lisa moved closer to Cassius, her eyes roving over him as if assessing his injuries. She nodded.
"The injuries aren’t too serious. Apply some medicinal wine and you should be fine in a few days. Perfect timing too. I’ll make an example out of you for the others. You’ll be training double for a week. If you have anything to say, now's the time." Lisa crossed her arms in front of her chest.
A faint fragrance lingered around the edge of the bed.
Cassius was momentarily stunned, but he immediately understood Instructor Lisa's meaning. According to the rules of the youth training camp, in the case of a fight or something similar, both parties involved received "special care," typically being forced to train at double the intensity for seven days, regardless of the reason.
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