Two decades' worth of memories slammed into Su Yan as he jolted awake on a straw-filled bed.
"God damn it," he groaned internally. "ROB, I was just thinking to myself. Is there no privacy nowadays?"
The shock faded slowly, his thoughts settling as memories—this life's memories—fell into place.
He had been born to a relatively well-off family. Simple merchants, nothing special, but they'd done well enough for themselves. Well enough to attract attention.
Greedy attention.
Without a Spirit Master in the family, they'd stood no chance when rogue Spirit Masters came. He still remembered it with horrifying clarity—the cramped hiding place his mother shoved him into, her trembling hands, the way her eyes lingered on him just a moment too long.
Then the screaming.
The slaughter.
He would have died too if the local Spirit Hall hadn't arrived in time. They killed most of the attackers, but the leader—a man with a two-headed bat Martial Soul—escaped. Took everything of value with him.
That was how Su Yan ended up here, in a village so far from any major city that survival came cheap. He simply couldn't afford to stay anywhere else.
An orphan. No money. No backing.
ROB really had started him on hard mode.
"…Damn it all," he muttered.
A sharp knock at the door yanked him out of his thoughts.
"Su Yan! Wake up already!" a familiar voice called. "It's almost time for Martial Soul Awakening. The Spirit Master will be here soon!"
Liu Fenglin—Maple Leaf Village's chief.
Three years ago, he'd found Su Yan squatting in a half-collapsed house on the village's edge. He hadn't asked questions. Hadn't pried. Just brought him home, fed him, clothed him, and gave him a place to belong.
A truly kind man.
"I'm awake!" Su Yan called back. "I'll be out in a moment!"
"You'd better be," Liu Fenglin shot back. "If you miss this, you'll have to wait another year!"
Su Yan scrambled to dress and rushed out of the room.
"There you are," Liu Fenglin said, already turning toward the door. "Come on, let's go!"
Su Yan chuckled as he followed. "You sound more excited about this than I am. Am I the one getting my Martial Soul awakened, or are you?"
He glanced sideways at Su Yan, grinning. "Of course I'm excited. This is your chance to rise up in the world—to become a Spirit Master."
"And," he added smugly, "if you do, I can finally brag and shut old Jack up over in Holy Soul Village."
Su Yan's smile faded just a little.
Holy Soul Village.
Tang San…
Knowing his luck—and those damn ROBs—it was almost guaranteed they were from the same generation. Tang San would be awakening his Martial Soul too, if he hadn't already.
Sensing the shift, Liu Fenglin slowed and placed a reassuring hand on Su Yan's shoulder.
"Hey," he said gently. "Even if you don't awaken with innate Spirit Power, it'll be fine. No one in this village has so far, and we're still living just fine. So don't put too much pressure on yourself, alright?"
The tension eased.
Su Yan smiled again.
"Thanks… Dad," he said lightly. "Though if I don't awaken Spirit Power, you'll have to take care of me until you're old and gray."
Liu Fenglin froze.
"…What did you just call me?"
A second passed.
Then it clicked.
"What do you mean I take care of you, you unfilial brat?!" he barked. "It should be the other way around! You're supposed to take care of me!"
Su Yan was already running, laughter echoing as he bolted toward the village hall.