Falling Star City, Jue Clan
In a simple residence, an old man walked through the door holding a baby in his arms. Entering the house, he went to the bedroom and placed the baby on the wooden bed, atop a thin mattress.
Looking at the cute little boy, the old man smiled with his yellowed teeth. Not long ago, he had found this baby while exploring the mountains in search of medicinal herbs. Unwilling to abandon him and let him be eaten by beasts, he decided to adopt him, bringing light into his lonely life.
"What name should I give this baby?" The old man placed a hand on his chin and began pondering, pacing back and forth inside the small room. After ten minutes of thinking, he had an epiphany.
"Since I found him out in the open, beneath the sky, I'll name him Hao! And with the surname Jue. Jue Hao! The One Awakened by the Vast Heavens!" The name left the old man quite satisfied.
"I need to find a servant to feed little Hao'er." With his mind made up, Old Jue left the house, trying to return as quickly as possible.
After the old man left, the baby opened his eyelids, revealing black eyes, dark as ink.
"I've reincarnated."
Jue Hao was not a newborn soul, but a young man who had died after jumping into a river to save a child—a heroic act that led to his death.
'I have no regrets. Unlike me, whom no one would miss, that child had a mother worried sick about her.'
Letting out a childish giggle, Jue Hao looked upward, seeing a wooden ceiling with peeling carvings. Other than that, he saw nothing else.
Bored, he yawned. His eyelids grew heavy. Before he could blink, he lost consciousness.
Glup!
Jue Hao woke up with his stomach cramping in hunger.
'I hope that old man found a wet nurse. Otherwise, I'll die.'
Hoping for the best, he began crying for food.
Minutes later, he felt his mouth pressed against something rough. Opening his eyes, he saw a robust woman, her body packed with muscles.
'My god…' Jue Hao was stunned by her appearance, completely different from what he had imagined.
"Drink up, little one, so you can grow strong." The maid said gently, stroking the baby's head resting in her arms.
Having no other choice, Jue Hao began drinking the milk from her breasts, without a single improper thought.
He simply wanted to kill his hunger. Once satiated, he slept. And when he woke, he repeated the routine.
…
A year later, Jue Hao was wobbling across the old floor decorated with stone slabs, occasionally tripping. But before he could fall face-first, a wrinkled hand grabbed his waist and set him upright again.
"G-gwampa…" Jue Hao thanked him with a single word; he still could hardly speak. Without looking back, he continued rehabilitating his attempt to walk again.
Hearing the gratitude, Old Jue felt a warm sensation in his heart. He did not regret saving that child at all. If he regretted anything, it was that he might not live long enough to see him grow up. Thinking of this, his eyes grew melancholic, and silent tears slid down his cheeks.
Two years later…
During these years, Jue Hao had learned many things. The first was that this world was not ordinary—it was a world of immortal cultivation.
Here, people could crush mountains with their fists, slice clouds with a sword, and cast spells of mass destruction. And best of all: they could extend their lifespan!
Having learned all of this, Jue Hao always asked his grandfather to teach him, but received a firm "No." To begin cultivating, one needed fully developed bones capable of withstanding the opening of meridians. The ideal age was ten.
"Seven more years!" Now three years old, he could hardly wait to reach the proper age. His ambition was to live forever.
Was that good? He didn't know, but he was determined to try!
With that goal, Jue Hao waited.
The waiting became difficult once he turned five. His grandfather was old and had a very weak immune system. Even as a cultivator, he was at the bottom of the food chain and could not resist the shackles of life.
…
In the final winter season of Year 1206 of the Martial Era, Old Jue lay on his bed with his head resting on the pillow. His face was like a dried grape, flushed red, and the thin cloth covering his frail body bore faint traces of bright crimson.
Cough! Cough!
Old Jue coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Beside the bed, Jue Hao shed tears that streamed from his pupils, flooding his delicate face with salty drops.
"Why are you crying, brat? Human life is like dust; sooner or later, we are carried away by the wind. Grandpa is simply following that path, leaving no regrets behind. Adopting you was the best thing I ever did." The old man comforted him with a smile.
Old Jue looked fine, but his eyes were as deep as a well. Within that depth lay bitterness—not from wicked deeds, but a sentimental reproach toward himself.
In the end, he understood how foolish he had been, blindly chasing immortality without talent and neglecting human relationships. Raising Jue Hao made him wish he had taken a wife, that he had felt the warmth of love.
"Jue Hao, if you have no talent for cultivation, don't waste your whole life on it. Try to live. That way, when you're at death's door, you'll be able to leave in peace."
"Yes, Grandpa." Jue Hao nodded. Then silence. He had no comforting words, nor did he want to feign ignorance about death. "Old man, do you have any last wish?"
"You're a smart child." Old Jue smiled. In these nearly six years, he understood that Jue Hao was different from other children. This had been true since the moment he was found.
Had he not cried to be breastfed, the old man believed he might never have cried at all.
'A reincarnation? Perhaps some higher being experiencing mortal life?' Old Jue didn't know. Looking at that small, tear-soaked face, he chose not to think further.
No matter who Jue Hao really was—he would still be his grandson.
"I have no desires, brat. But if I could wish for something, I'd like to see you roaming freely across the skies. And that you may find your true family. I don't think they abandoned you for no reason." Old Jue had reached this conclusion after witnessing how unusual Jue Hao was.
If he retained memories after reincarnation, then he was either too powerful or had a monstrously large destiny. The first seemed possible, but he dismissed it since Jue Hao had begged to learn cultivation. So the second felt more plausible.
"Did I adopt a monster?" Old Jue smiled, his consciousness fading. In his final moments, he let go of his bitterness as well. Compared to having a wife, it was far more exciting to be part of the story of a freak capable of defying the heavens.
…
Seeing the old man die, Jue Hao wiped the tears from his eyes.
"Thank you for showing me what family is, old man. But it seems that's not for me. Find my real parents? Why would I waste my time like I did on Earth? I won't look for anyone. I'll live for myself!"