Chapter 5 - Fang Yan And Lu An

A young, attractive, thin eighteen-year-old boy with his long black hair tied was cleaning the dishes in the backyard of an eatery in a distant village of the Green Heaven Empire. He wore a simple white robe with a red pendant hanging from his neck.

His expression changed suddenly as he rushed into the store because of a sudden commotion.

A strange sight greeted his eyes as he entered the store. An old man was lying in the middle of the store with his chest crumpled and blood pouring from his mouth.

The look on his face changed as he rushed towards the old man.

"Father!" he cried weakly. Tears filled his eyes as he supported the old man's body.

When Fang Yan took the body of the old man into his arms, he noticed that the man's breathing was becoming slower and slower as blood was dripping from his mouth.

As his mind struggled to comprehend what had just happened, he suddenly heard the whispers of the surrounding crowd.

"He should not have asked for the money"

"Who knew they were cultivators?"

With a lost look in his eyes, he muttered, "Cultivators?". It was not long before his eyes were drawn to the old man struggling to open his eyes.

"YAN'ER, LIVE!" that old man insisted as he gazed affectionately at Fang Yan.

With a slight smile on his face as his breathing ceased, the old man closed his eyes, taking one last look at Fang Yan.

"Father", Fang Yan muttered as he shook the old man's breathless body. A tear slipped from his eye as he stared at the old man's smiling face.

He was flooded with memories of the old man.

He always had the support of the old man when he needed it. He always considered the older man as his father, despite knowing he was an abandoned child. The old man's encouraging words came back to mind when he realized that he could not cultivate.

"Brother Yan"

A shrill shout abruptly interrupted his thoughts. He turned his head to see a beautiful young girl sprinting towards him.

..............

Andy looked in the mirror again as he got ready.

The mirror reflected a good-looking young man wearing an expensive purple-colored silk robe with silver hair tied up and had slightly sunken eyes.

Andy still found it strange to see a different person in the mirror.

While looking into the mirror, he muttered to himself, "You are Lu An now, aren't you?"

While he tried to accept the fact that he was living in another person's body, it was still difficult for him to deal with it.

There were times when he was unsure about his identity; is he Lu An or Andy?

When the memories of Lu An merged with him, he had a moment of identity crisis and sometimes felt he himself was Lu An,

Inhaling deeply, he slapped himself twice to clear his head.

His gaze was drawn towards a pouch and feather fan on the table.

From the memories of Lu An, he knew that the pouch held gold coins, which were the common currency in this world.

Copper, silver, and gold coins are used as currency in this world. Having been born into the Lu family, he was never in need of money.

Every time he went out, Lu An would carry his feather fan with him.

At that moment, a strange feeling rose inside him. To carry all these fancy things while going out was really not acceptable.

To ensure no one would suspect him, he had to carry all the things he needed.

From memory, people always recognized Lu An with his purple robe and feather fan. Every time when the girls saw Lu An approaching, they would hide in their homes.

An arrogant dandy cannot become a new person overnight.

Sighing, he tied the pouch to his robe and held the fan in one hand as he opened the door

As he looked out upon an empty courtyard, he recalled that this courtyard belonged to him.

His heart seemed empty as he shook his head and left the courtyard.

From the memories, he knew that the Lu family lived in an enormous estate, with everyone having their own courtyard to live in.

Like all large families, this one also has a lot of internal politics, with everyone competing for resources.

As Lu An could not cultivate, he was not involved in family politics. Other than a few gold pieces, he had no other cultivation requirements.

After stepping out of his courtyard, he was impressed by the sight of many ancient-style structures and the presence of many people engaged in their own jobs.

Several youngsters practiced martial arts in full view of the crowd. A lot of people were entering and leaving the main building.

It was expected that there would be a regular morning meeting held by the Patriarch of the Lu clan.

Many people gazed at him for a moment but never took an interest in him. Some even looked at him with scorn.

He didn't mind. These people will soon have nothing to do with him.

After taking a last look around, he made his way to the exit.

"Young Master." He halted in his tracks when a sudden call came from behind him.

After turning around, he saw a servant running towards him. The servant stopped in front of him and began panting.

In front of him stood a little plump middle-aged man wearing a yellow robe.

"Young Master, your father wants you to attend the morning meeting," that servant pleaded heavily.

When Andy heard the word father from the servant's mouth, he was filled with disgust.

Is that man worthy of being his father?

When he was told he could not cultivate, where was he when he needed his words of encouragement? Was he there when he needed love? They abandoned him in his own home.

He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed heavily before making his way to meet his "Father".