Crack.
A streak of violet-blue lightning flashed past the window and washed the night sky in harsh white.
Wang Yiyang sat upright inside the training hall. His eyes, which had been shut, snapped open.
He still wore the crisp suit from work. Both hands gripped the wooden chair arms. Sweat beaded on his forehead while his lips were cracked and dry.
His black hair had grown long enough to brush his brows, yet he lowered his head and drew in deep breaths, forcing his lungs to gulp down air.
"W-where am I?" He looked around.
The hall was familiar.
It was the old training hall back in his hometown.
Training hall?
Wang Yiyang's heart lurched.
He had been an ordinary office worker, nine to five.
Then a sudden car crash killed him on the spot.
Now he woke up at Grandfather's home.
"What is going on? Did I die and come back?!"
He could still recall the tires rolling over his body.
He never wanted to taste that pain again.
"I haven't married, haven't had kids. If I die like that the Wang family ends with me."
He ran his fingers through his hair and frowned.
"Is this a dream or what...?"
He sat there for a long time before standing.
After pacing around he confirmed that this really was Grandfather's training hall.
His grandfather, Wang Xinlong, had once been a top fighter. When he was young he opened this dojo in their hometown to revive the family name and spread martial skills.
But things never went as planned.
The dojo kept running, yet few people in the modern era had the patience to learn martial arts.
Even Wang Yiyang lost interest.
He had tried training as a child, but the dull practice bored him and he quit despite Grandfather's lessons.
Later he followed the usual path—school, exams, a good university, then a decent job at an internet firm thanks to his skills.
He had only worked two years, hadn't even started dating, when a call came from home.
The dojo had burned down. Grandfather died in the blaze along with thirteen others.
He rushed home at once.
After a hard investigation he found the truth.
The killer was the dojo's strongest disciple, Senior Brother Zhong Can.
Zhong Can blamed Grandfather for hiding a key breakthrough. In rage he lashed out during an argument.
Grandfather died on the spot and the others were dragged into the disaster.
Still, Wang Yiyang doubted this version.
While he cared little for fighting, he had basic knowledge.
Even with Zhong Can's strength, killing Grandfather and wiping out the dojo in such a short time made no sense.
Working with the police, he uncovered a startling clue.
Behind Zhong Can stood a secretive group.
Their goal was unclear, their methods cruel. Grandfather's death and the others' may have been their doing.
Wang Yiyang used a hacker friend to dig into the police files and found a trail.
The group was called the Mantis Organization.
Just as he got close to the truth, a sudden car crash erased his consciousness.
When he awoke, he sat in the family training hall again.
The air was damp and cold.
He patted the right pocket of his suit. His familiar mobile phone and car keys rested there.
The plastic case and raised buttons calmed him a little.
He pulled out his ROL smartphone and checked the time.
"4471-03-11, 7:42 p.m."
"This time...!!" His pupils tightened.
It was the evening two months earlier when he had visited Grandfather.
He had taken a three-day holiday to go home.
He bought fruit and supplements and visited his eighty-nine-year-old grandfather.
Despite his age, Wang Xinlong looked no more than seventy.
Seeing his eldest grandson made him beam. He dragged Wang Yiyang into a heavy drinking bout.
They both got drunk.
Wang Yiyang staggered into the training hall and slept on a chair until morning.
In the dim light his face was grim and his eyes flickered.
"Who would think that two months later Grandfather and the whole dojo die for no reason."
He did not believe Grandfather would just perish in a fire.
Grandfather had even finished an ultra-marathon recently, taking second place.
A man who could run ten thousand meters would not fail to escape a blaze.
Wang Yiyang did not buy it.
"And then I had that 'accidental' crash."
He studied his hands.
His fingers were short and sturdy, palm lines clear. A faint scar marked his right thumb.
He had earned it while uncorking a bottle during that visit.
He slowly walked to the window and stared at the quiet courtyard.
Only Grandfather, himself, Senior Brother Zhong Can, and a hired housekeeper lived here. Other disciples went home at night.
"Did I really come back? Back to two months ago?" He still found it hard to believe.
He pushed open the door and stepped into the yard.
A large tree stood in the courtyard. He did not know its name, only that its leaves turned purple-red every year.
In autumn the leaves drifted down day after day; it was a beautiful sight.
Under the tree he took out his phone again and opened the FeiChat app.
He tapped the company group announcement.
The newest notice was posted three minutes earlier, time-stamped in full.
"4471-03-11, 7:45 p.m."
Still in disbelief, he checked every app that displayed time.
Ten minutes later.
Wang Yiyang confirmed it. He had experienced rebirth.
He was back two months earlier.
"Yiyang, sobered up already?"
A deep voice sounded behind him.
He jumped inside but turned calmly.
Behind him stood a burly man, at least two meters tall.
Even in the dark the man's eyes gleamed like a hungry wolf.
"Zhong Can?" Wang Yiyang's heart skipped. He recognized the man at once.
Zhong Can had appeared at the dojo when Wang Yiyang was a teen. No one knew his origin or age. He had stayed with Grandfather ever since.
He was quiet, honest, and kept his word. His strength was frightening.
Although Wang Yiyang was never close to him, he respected him.
He respected anyone who honored promises.
Keeping one's word was hard.
"I slept a bit. Needed air." Wang Yiyang forced a smile.
"You're underdressed. You'll catch a cold. Go back to bed." Zhong Can's voice was low.
"Got it. You turn in early too. Long day today."
"No problem." Zhong Can walked past the tree toward his room.
His silhouette in the gloom felt cold, raising goosebumps on Wang Yiyang's arms.
Only after the man entered his room did Wang Yiyang lower his gaze.
Grandfather had treated him well. Two months later the old man died in a blaze. Then he himself died in a crash.
Too many coincidences.
"If there are too many coincidences, it's not chance. It's fate..." he thought.
He did not know why he had been reborn, but since he was back he would find the truth behind Grandfather's death.
"How do I start?"
He was a weak office worker. The bravest thing he ever did was slaughter a chicken.
Even then the bird scratched him.
"Should I go to the police?" He frowned.
What could he report? "I think Grandfather will be killed by Zhong Can in two months, please investigate?"
They would call him mad.
Digging on his own was risky as well.
The fire at the dojo and his "accident" implied a hidden mastermind.
"If only Mom and Dad were here... but even they couldn't fix this." Frustration rose inside him.
He pressed his palm to the tree's cold bark. The rough surface steadied him.
"Maybe warn Grandfather?" he muttered.
But Grandfather would laugh it off as a dream.
Restless, he paced around with no answer.
He could not tell whether this was just a nightmare, but the memories were too vivid to dismiss.
"Even a hallucination wouldn't feel this real, right?"
After ten minutes of indecision he resolved to talk to Grandfather first.
He turned toward Grandfather's room.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a pair of glowing eyes at Zhong Can's window watching him.
He had no idea how long the man had been staring. His skin crawled and gooseflesh rolled across his arms.
It reminded him of the time two mad dogs had gaped at him in the city, only this pressure was far worse.
His heart felt crushed in a giant fist.
He could barely breathe.
Spots danced in his vision and cold spread across his back.
Yet he could not tear his gaze away.
"What is happening to me?" He struggled but failed.
It felt as though his blood flow slowed to a crawl.
Creak.
A door opened elsewhere, snapping him out of the trance.
He sucked in air and snapped his head away. The window was empty.