Murmurs buzzed softly in the background. Children whispered. The chalk screeched against the blackboard in rhythmic strokes. Lin Feng's eyes flew open as if he had been drowning and finally surfaced. His chest rose and fell in painful, jagged breaths. It felt like he had come back from the dead.
He sat still for a moment, gasping. Cold sweat clung to his body. His lungs burned. His throat ached like he had been screaming for hours. Every part of him screamed confusion.
Sunlight streamed through wide windows. Dust floated in golden beams. Wooden desks lined the room. Children in navy-blue uniforms chatted casually like nothing was wrong. At the front, a woman calmly scribbled equations on the board.
Lin Feng looked around, dazed. "Wh… what is this?" he muttered. His voice sounded strange in his own ears. Thin. Small. Powerless. His heart raced as he scanned the room again.
This wasn't his mansion. There was no marble floor beneath him. No velvet curtains. No cold air of wealth and fear. Only linoleum tiles, scratched desks, and the faint scent of chalk and paper. It felt... painfully normal.
Panic stabbed through his chest. His hands shook as he stood. His textbook crashed to the ground with a loud thud. He looked down, eyes wide. Grey schoolboy shorts. Small knees. Feet barely touching the floor.
His hands were tiny. Soft. Weak. This wasn't just a strange room—it wasn't even his own body. His breath grew fast and shallow as he stared in horror at his fingers. Too short. Too young.
"Lin Feng!" the teacher snapped. Her voice was firm, like a blade cutting through fog. He jerked his head up and met her gaze.
She had long dark hair, pale skin, and calm, commanding eyes. Her dress was of light blue colour, like spring skies. His throat tightened the moment he saw that woman's face. His mind screamed in disbelief.
It was her. It was his mother Lin Meng Qi
Tears rushed to his eyes before he could stop them. His lips quivered. Every muscle in his body wanted to run to her. To cling to her like he used to. To say he was sorry.
But something deep inside stopped him. An instinct. A heavy ache that dragged him down. He stayed frozen in place. His fists clenched so tight his nails dug into his palms.
"I thought… I'd never see you again, mom," he whispered. The words scraped their way out of his throat. His tears fell silently, warm against his skin.
The bell rang. Loud. Sharp. Children jumped up, laughing and shouting. Chairs scraped the floor. She picked up her books, turned, and walked out. She didn't look back.
Lin Feng remained seated. His chest was tight. His breath hitched. He felt like something had just slipped through his fingers again.
A sharp elbow jabbed his ribs. He turned in shock. A boy grinned at him. "Yo! Crybaby? See a ghost?"
Laughter echoed nearby. Lin Feng wiped his face roughly with his sleeve. The pain of shame mixed with the burning sting of memory.
His jaw tightened. His gaze turned cold. "Shut up. Dust. Idiot," he muttered. He grabbed the boy's wrist before the kid could react.
"Date. Now," he demanded. His grip was strong—too strong for a child.
The boy blinked in confusion. "Ow! Uh… March 14th, 2016… why?"
Lin Feng's entire body froze. His pulse stopped for a beat. He stared at the desk in front of him, as realization flooded his mind.
He bit his lip to stop it from trembling. "I'm... back in my seven year old self. It's be.. before ?" he whispered, as if speaking it aloud might make it vanish. But the classroom didn't blur. The light didn't fade. The tick of the clock kept going.
The bell rang. Children burst out of their seats, voices loud with joy, chairs scraping against the floor. But Lin Feng didn't move. He sat frozen, his hands tight around the desk, eyes fixed on the floor. His chest felt heavy, like something was pressing down on him.
Then he heard it—soft, warm. "Lin Feng, aren't you going home?"
He looked up slowly. His breath caught. There she was. His mother. Alive. Standing there like nothing had ever happened. Her soft brown eyes, her familiar smile—it shattered him inside.
Lin Feng suddenly clung to his mother, his body trembling as sobs broke free.
"M-Mother... I'll... I'll always protect you... always..." His voice was choked and broken.
Lin Meng Qi froze, startled, then stroked his back gently."Feng'er... why are you crying like this? It's alright... mother's here."
Slowly, his tears quieted, his breath unsteady, until at last Lin Feng stopped crying, still holding on to her warmth.
Then she offered her hand, and
He agreed obediently.
---
EVENING – LIN FENG'S ROOM
Candlelight flickered on the tatami mats. Shadows stretched and danced along the paper walls. Lin Feng sat cross-legged, fists resting on his knees. His face was still, but his eyes burned.
He wasn't going to cry again. He wasn't going to sit and wait for death to come back. He had seen the end once, and now he was here again. This time, he would change it.
He thought "I want revenge. I need power. Real power. I can't ever be that useless again."
Then—something stirred. A memory. Sharp. Out of nowhere.
"Yes..Yess!…How could I forget about him?"
I was just sixteen, I wandering in the market. Market was loud, too bright. And there he was—an old man in rags, sitting like time had forgotten him. Skin like stone. Eyes… ancient. Unshaken by the chaos around him.
He didn't speak at first. Just stared at me, then held something out. A book. Old. Leather-bound. No title.
"Cultivate," he said, in a voice like dry wind. "From your heart."
I didn't know why, but I took it. The moment I did—I just blinked, and he was gone. Swallowed by the crowd. Like he was never there.
Since that day… I never saw him again.
I read the book. Memorized it. I waited for something to happen. But nothing happened. No magic. No power.
So I left it behind. Called it useless.
But now... I think it's all real-magic exists, people cultivate, and maybe this path was never empty, never useless after all.
Maybe it wasn't just a book.
I remember it ,and might
be the only thing that could save them.
He stood. His muscles felt light, unfamiliar. But he remembered the stances. The drawings. The rigid lines and breathing patterns.
He began with short, fast punches. At fifty, his shoulders throbbed. At seventy, they burned. He pushed to a hundred. He didn't stop.
He moved to kicks. Snap, thrust, pull back. At thirty, his legs shook. At forty, they nearly gave out. He forced them to fifty.
Then he dropped low and tightened his core. He held it. Sweat dripped from his chin. His stomach cramped, but he kept still. He refused to fall.
"A-Ah… hurts… Ngh… more…!" he groaned through clenched teeth. Every muscle screamed. But so did his resolve.
"Phantom. I'll break you. I'll bury you."
Suddenly a blue light bloomed under his skin. It raced through his veins. His body twisted in pain.
He shouted,
"Ahhh-! M-My chest-!" He clutched his ribs, gasping, voice cracking. "It... it hurts...!"
He collapsed, convulsing. Foam bubbled at his lips. He couldn't breathe. Couldn't speak. The pain ripped everything apart.
"I… I'll… protect…" he whispered. Then everything faded.
---
Lin Feng was lying in the center of an ancient temple, the thick walls were covered with dust.
The cold stung his face. Stone pressed against his cheek. Wind howled softly through the darkness.
Lin Feng opened his eyes slowly. His limbs were numb. He pushed himself up with shaking arms. He was lying on a stone floor—smooth, ancient, and freezing.
Pillars loomed above him. Massive. Each one carved with glowing blue symbols. The air pulsed with quiet, humming power. It wasn't like anything he'd ever known.
He stood, staggering slightly. His legs were weak, but his instincts kicked in. This place wasn't safe. It wasn't even real.
A sound echoed. Clank. Clank. Metal scraping stone.
Chains.
He turned slowly. Something stirred in the darkness. His breath caught in his throat.
Blood-red eyes gleamed from the far end of the temple. A creature stepped forward. Its body was massive, lion-like. Its mane was thick, tangled, and white.
Fangs hung from its mouth like knives. Shadows wrapped around its limbs. Black chains pulsed with energy.
Lin Feng's lips trembled."N-No way… That… that's..."
"T-TAO TIE?! NO—NO NO—!",he whispered. His voice cracked.
The beast snarled without sound. But a voice echoed in his skull—deep, inhuman, and ancient.
"F̶͚l̸̥e̵͙s̸̗ẖ̵…̶̰ ̸̝Y̵̗o̷̰u̸̟ ̷̤s̷͓h̸̞a̷̞l̵͔l̷͚ ̶̳b̸̳e̸̻ ̵̤m̵̬i̵͍n̵̝e̶̥.̶̙"
Lin Feng staggered back. Every cell in his body screamed. He understood those words. The creature spoke to his soul.
With a thunderous crack, the chains snapped. The Tao Tie roared and lunged forward.
Its claws slashed the air. Its jaws opened wide—wide enough to swallow his head whole. The stench of rot filled the room.
Lin Feng's eyes widened in pure, blinding terror. His feet moved before he could think.
"N-NO—! DON'T EAT ME!!" he screamed, stumbling backward.