"Ughh..."
Pain bloomed in his chest as he groaned, knees digging into the stone road.
'Why does my cheek hurt so much…?' he thought, blinking open his eyes. Sunlight stung, and a group of robed figures stood around him, smirking like they were watching a circus act.
"An Outer Sect Disciple dares to bump into me? Hmph, I'm feeling generous today, so I'll let you go after you apologize," said the man towering in front of him.
He wore ornate golden robes that shimmered faintly in the light. His long dark brown hair framed his sharp face, and his jet-black eyes brimmed with arrogance, a strange aura of power radiating from him.
"What…?" he muttered, barely getting the word out, when suddenly, his mind exploded with memories.
A flood of thoughts, emotions, and experiences that weren't his own surged through him.
Xiao Tuheng
An Outer Sect Disciple of the Golden Mountain Sect.
Born with four-elemental spiritual roots, not exactly a ticket to immortality, but enough to cultivate. Before joining the sect, he'd been helping in his family's restaurant, living a quiet life. That changed when cultivators came to his village and tested everyone below the age of twenty. He was fifteen at the time, and it was then that his talent for cultivation was discovered.
He'd been thrilled. Dreaming of soaring through the skies, defying the heavens.
But reality hit harder than a spirit beast in heat. Five years in the sect, and he was still stuck in the 5th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm. Mediocre roots. Sluggish progress. Dreams buried under chores.
And now, standing before him, was none other than Li Feng, an arrogant bastard who liked to bully Outer Sect Disciples. But he was also the disciple of a sect elder and had pure Earth Spiritual Roots.
And apparently, the guy he'd just bumped into with a broom.
"You dare!?" Li Feng snapped, eyes flaring. Before he could react, a boot slammed into his gut.
"Urk-"
Blood splattered onto the dusty stone street as he doubled over, wheezing.
"I'll let you go for now," Li Feng sneered. "But you'd better learn how to treat your betters, trash." He walked away laughing, his golden robes fluttering in the wind.
"Ughh..."
He moaned again, kneeling on the dusty street.
'Why the hell am I here...?' Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. 'I should be handing out combo meals right now...'
Then the final piece clicked into place.
His last memory, working at the fast food counter, handing a customer their order. Chicken wings. Except the guy had asked for chicken nuggets. The man snapped. Reached into his pocket.
A gun.
He shot me.
"Why..." he whispered, almost crying.
Footsteps approached. He flinched instinctively. 'What now?'
He looked up and recognized the face of the approaching person "Bao Liang?"
The chubby-yet-muscular disciple smiled faintly. "You sure got roughed up, Brother Xiao."
Clad in simple white sect robes with the embroidered mountain crest on the back, Bao Liang had long black hair, a kind face, and enough bulk to make you wonder if he'd been cultivating or bench pressing.
"Yeah… Can you help me up?" Xiao Tuheng asked, grimacing.
Bao offered a hand and pulled him to his feet with surprising gentleness.
"Why are you at the market? Weren't you on a herb gathering mission?"
"It ended early," Bao said, brushing dirt from Tuheng's shoulder. "Found the herbs right near the forest's edge. Lucky break. But seriously, what'd you do to piss off Li Feng?"
"I was sweeping the street... got lost in thought... and bumped into him," Tuheng muttered.
"Sounds like him to overreact like that," Bao snorted. "That guy walks around like the sect was built just to showcase his robes."
Despite himself, Tuheng cracked a small smile. Then it faded.
"Thanks for the help, Brother Bao. But I need to finish sweeping the streets." He wasn't ready for long conversations, not with the chaos still swirling in his mind.
"Alright. Don't die." Bao raised two fingers in a casual wave and walked off, whistling.
Tuheng bent down to retrieve the broom, now resting a few feet away from where he was slapped. He began sweeping the street slowly, lost in thought, but this time, careful not to bump into anyone.
'So I reincarnated,' he thought. But there was no excitement. No awe. Just a dull ache where wonder should've been.
'I reincarnated as someone without talent... in a world where only strength matters.'
He sighed and stared at the worn street tiles beneath his feet.
'Can I leave the sect? I learned the sect's cultivation method, so I don't think they would just let me go. But living as a mortal would be better than suffering humiliation in the sect every day. Maybe I could take over Xiao Tuheng's parents' restaurant someday... Guess they're my parents now too...'
He hadn't lived those memories, but he remembered their warmth. Laughter by the stove, the smell of stir-fried noodles, the sense of belonging. A thousand times more comforting than this cold, stone sect filled with cruelty.
By the time he finished sweeping, the sun was melting behind the peaks, casting golden-orange hues across the sect grounds.
'That's enough for today,' he thought, brushing dust from his robes.
He made his way toward the outer sect housing. His hut was far, tucked near the edge of the sect's grounds, but he knew all the shortcuts thanks to the memories of his predecessor.
When he finally arrived, he pushed open the creaky door and collapsed onto the wooden bed. The straw-stuffed mattress felt like clouds after a day like this.
"So... what do I do now?" he mumbled to himself, staring at the ceiling. The quiet was almost too loud.
But his body was already shutting down, exhaustion overtaking thought.