Chapter 885: Breaking Ground

Sun Bumin instinctively stepped back half a pace to avoid being struck by the person who had been flung out.

Once the dust settled, Sun Bumin looked down and clearly saw the person's face. For some reason, a sense of familiarity slowly welled up within him.

"I told you to wash my feet! Can't you even adjust the water temperature in advance? When your father served our Yan family, he was far more discerning than you! Useless!"

A figure resembling a butler strode out from the doorway, cursing arrogantly.

The dishevelled figure at Sun Bumin's feet struggled to rise from the ground, then cautiously and repeatedly apologised:

"I'm sorry... The water was very hot when I prepared it, but it's been so cold lately, and you arrived a little late, so it cooled down..."

"What are you explaining?!" The butler flared up in anger. "Your father's debt is endless. It was our Yan family who took him in, and a son must pay his father's debts! If you can't even manage this simple task, neither you nor your father will ever amount to anything in this life!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, truly sorry..."

Xiao Jian, not knowing how to make amends, could only frantically bow his head and apologise. His back was deeply hunched, and a vivid red slap mark marred his cheek.

The butler noticed Sun Bumin behind him and frowned.

"Who are you? What are you doing at the Yan family's gate?!"

Sun Bumin paused, then instinctively shook his head.

"Oh... I'm just passing by."

Having said that, he glanced at Xiao Jian, who continued to apologise, then turned and walked away.

Sun Bumin didn't know why he was there, nor who the other person was, but his instinct to seek fortune and avoid calamity told him not to get involved in such troublesome matters. By pretending not to see, he wouldn't invite disaster, and disaster wouldn't befall him, just as in all the years past.

Xiao Jian's apologies and the butler's furious curses gradually receded. Sun Bumin continued along the street, putting everything behind him and no longer dwelling on it.

Just as he was about to leave the street, a figure appeared before him.

It was a white-haired figure, wrapped in bandages. He looked at Sun Bumin, his lips slightly pursed, his eyes filled with a complex expression.

"Who are you?" Sun Bumin couldn't help but ask, seeing him stare.

"My name is Jiang Xiaohua."

"I don't know you."

"Oh... that's alright," Jiang Xiaohua said, pointing towards the distant Yan family residence. "But you can't just leave like this..."

"Why not?"

"Aren't you companions?"

"Companions?" Sun Bumin was taken aback. "No, I don't know him at all..."

"You do know him, and you should help him. Companions ought to help each other," Jiang Xiaohua replied earnestly. "Besides... he's quite pathetic, isn't he?"

Sun Bumin opened his mouth, unsure what to say.

He was silent for a long time, then glanced back towards the Yan family residence. Xiao Jian's constant bowing and apologies still echoed in his ears, and that vivid red handprint seemed branded in his heart, an uncomfortable knot.

Sun Bumin felt he had indeed forgotten something, but this was commonplace for him. Each time he experienced a reincarnation, the events of previous ones would become a little more blurred.

Yet, this particular instance of forgetting seemed different.

Sun Bumin hesitated for a moment, then let out a long sigh and turned to walk towards the Yan family's gate.

"Alright then... I'll trust you this time."

In the darkness,

Jian Changsheng's eyelashes trembled slightly.

After a long while, he finally opened his eyes, which were filled with bewilderment and dullness, as if he had been unconscious for a long time.

"My head hurts so much..."

Jian Changsheng scratched his head, and only after the headache subsided did he slowly sit up in the darkness.

Deng-deng-deng-deng—

Blinding spotlights flared on above him, their sudden glare making him instinctively shield his eyes, his features contorted.

After a few seconds, he finally adapted to the harsh light, opening a small gap between his fingers.

He was momentarily stunned by the sight before him,

then his pupils contracted sharply!

"This... this is..."

A large red opera robe sat withered upon the desolate ground.

He sat like an empty husk, cross-legged on Sun Bumin's grave. Time flowed silently around him: the sun rose, night fell, withered trees came alive in spring, and the seasons turned.

Perhaps due to the memory's owner, Chen Ling's perception of time became dull and blurred; in the blink of an eye, more than half a year had quietly passed.

Then one day, an army of unknown origin invaded the city.

They burned, killed, and plundered, filling the city with wails and leaving corpses strewn everywhere. Another army had arrived as reinforcement, but after a great battle, they were utterly routed.

Ultimately, the city was completely occupied. Innumerable citizens perished or were wounded, and the piles of corpses bred plague, causing the remaining survivors to flee in a desperate scramble.

Combined with climate change and wind erosion, this city, bustling and vibrant just over half a year prior, swiftly became a ghost town, eventually even vanishing from maps.

A year passed. The city was devoid of any festive clamor, replaced only by endless solitude and the mournful whimpering of the wind.

Sun Bumin still did not awaken.

The second year, the third year passed...

In the fourth year, Chen Ling saw the old man return, leaning on his cane. He looked at the desolate scene before him and sighed helplessly. He coughed weakly, murmured something to Sun Bumin's grave, then turned and departed.

Chen Ling did not reveal himself, but before the old man left, he cast a complex and profound gaze towards the withered tree where Chen Ling was concealed.

The fifth year, the sixth year, the seventh year passed...

Ten years later.

A wedding palanquin procession, accompanied by the beating of drums and gongs, slowly approached from afar.

This was a wedding party from a neighbouring city, traversing the wilderness to escort the newlywed woman in the palanquin back to her husband's home. Perhaps due to their prosperous family, the procession was grand and solemn; even from a considerable distance, Chen Ling could hear the boisterous sounds of their gongs and drums.

Inside the palanquin, a woman, veiled in red, held a trace of joy mixed with unease about the future. She silently clasped her hands and began to pray in her heart...

"Heaven bless... In this life, I don't seek great wealth or status. I only wish that after I marry, my husband and I will live in harmony and be blessed with children."

"And I pray that my parents at home will remain safe, healthy, and live long, prosperous lives..."

Clang—!

The resonant clang of a gong, like a peal of thunder, echoed across the barren land.

As the wedding procession gradually moved away, Chen Ling, who had witnessed the entire scene, seemed to sense something and looked down beneath himself.

Astonishment flashed in his eyes. He stood up and took a few steps back. Upon closer inspection, one could see the solid, flat ground was gradually loosening, as if something were about to break through the earth!

"Finally..." A sharp glint shone in Chen Ling's eyes.

Thump—

With a soft sound, a hand emerged from the earth, like a long-imprisoned captive finally reaching for the freedom of the sky.

Chen Ling hesitated for a moment, then reached out and grasped the hand emerging from the ground, pulling it out with force!

The instant their hands met, a surge of memories began to pour into Chen Ling's mind!