Chapter 1 - Wind Elephant Tusk Pendant

Chapter 1 - Wind Elephant Tusk Pendant

My name is Cassius, and I'm about to die...

It was June 3 of the 156th year of the Hongli Federation—the twenty-fifth year since I had arrived in this foreign world. Having just graduated from the University of Jersey, I was participating in an archaeological operation for the first time. It was located at a steep mountainous area about twenty kilometers north of Fengnan City.

The operation was led by the municipal government, in collaboration with the Archaeology Department from the University of Jersey and the company Huolu Antiques. Together, they dispatched a ten-person team that arrived at the Camorra Mountains at noon.

The archaeological operation progressed extremely smoothly, and the team quickly entered the inner part of the ruins to explore. Inside, there were architectural styles and decorations from the Kalenka era, along with damaged murals and some parts of ancient documents.

Just as everyone was fully immersed in the archaeological work, an unexpected incident occurred.

The three antique specialists from Huolu Antiques suddenly took out guns and started shooting! One after another, the teacher, a senior brother, and a senior sister died. The remaining four resisted and barely managed to kill one of the shooters. However, only one survivor remained.

And this survivor was also facing certain death.

As the flashback faded, Cassius trembled while taking a deep breath.

Click.

The pitch-black muzzle of the gun was pressed against his head.

"Trying to run?! Try running again!" The expression of the man wearing a red and black antique commissioner uniform became increasingly ferocious.

With the pistol pressed heavily against Cassius's forehead, the man took several steps forward.

In the dark and narrow rectangular passageway, Cassius slowly retreated one step at a time, his boots creaking every time they came into contact with the gravel beneath.

Cassius leaned against a pillar behind him, but the weathered pillar suddenly collapsed.

Crash!

Cassius stumbled awkwardly and fell backward.

He grunted and glanced at his right hand. The ivory pendant left behind by his senior brother had pierced his skin, leaving a trail of fresh blood in his palm.

All he could feel was his mouth going dry and a bitter taste on his tongue.

He feared that all seven members of the University of Jersey Archaeology Department might perish here. As for him... It had been twenty-five years since his reincarnation, and yet he hadn't accomplished anything significant. And now, he was about to be reincarnated all over again.

Crack!

A black boot stepped on his chest.

The pistol in the man's hand never stopped aiming at Cassius's head.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the passageway, signaling the arrival of another Huolu Antiques employee. He also had a handgun, just like his colleague.

Might as well fight back. At least I'll die with some dignity.

As this thought crossed Cassius's mind, he suddenly noticed that the bitter taste in his mouth was growing stronger. After a moment, he realized that the bitter sensation wasn't originating from his mouth.

Instead, it came from the bleeding wound in his right hand.

In the next moment, Cassius's entire arm went numb and painful. A rush of cold air began to pour out of the ivory pendant, swirling like a fish swimming around on his hand.

The icy sensation spread from his arm and enveloped his entire body in an instant.

Of course, most lingering attachments are fueled by hatred and regret, or other negative emotions like sorrow.

Cassius's role was to resolve the source of the original owner's lingering attachment, and this was what allowed him to exist in that period of time. During this time, everything he learnt and experienced could be brought back to his reality. If he failed, he would gain nothing.

Taking a deep breath, he looked forward.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the strange symbol was actually a simplified pattern of the ivory pendant. Cassius had absorbed the energy of the previous owner's lingering attachment from the pendant and activated his ability at a critical moment.

The long bar scale next to the pendant symbol represented time.

Currently, Cassius was witnessing the first unforgettable experience of the pendant's owner, Li Wei. It was also Li Wei's first lingering attachment.

With a single thought from Cassius, the strange symbol instantly unfolded.

Lightning that streaked across the sky, a damp rainy night, screams of a maiden, and a cowardly boy that hid and shivered in the corner.

This was a tragic story of a boy and his older sister who were selected to attend the youth training camp for martial arts from the Wind Elephant Sect. One night, his sister was on the way to the toilet when three delinquent students who had secretly been drinking blocked her way and started tearing off her clothes.

His sister's screams for help had reached the ears of the boy but he could only look on by the window as he was too cowardly to step forward.

The incident only ended when the other students were startled awake.

The incident quickly spread throughout the entire youth training camp. In this era where women were relatively conservative, the boy's sister soon became the subject of criticism, and no one cared that she was the victim.

A few days later, news of his mother's unexpected death had arrived from the boy's hometown. His sister was already under great stress, and after this final blow, she committed suicide. This became Li Wei's lingering regret.

Why did you hide in the corner like a coward on that rainy night?

Why did you not dare to rush out and beat up those assholes?

Why did you not even think of comforting your sister after the incident?

These were the thoughts that lingered in his mind.

Was it weakness? Was it fear? Was it a young man's strange and disgusting pride? Perhaps it was all of it...

Li Wei wanted to make amends, but it was too late. He comforted himself time and time again but realized even he could not forgive himself for being cowardly. And so this became his lingering attachment.

"So that's what happened, huh..." Cassius murmured to himself as he opened his eyes once again.

Rumble...

Thunder reverberated from the clouds in the sky.

Cassius looked out the window, unaware of when the night rain had begun to fall. The raindrops turned the air hazy.

"Ah! Help...mmmph..."

Amidst the sound of the rain, a girl's screams faintly echoed.

"Fuck! Don't tell me it's happening now?!"

Cassius stood up and rushed out barefoot.

1. Hongli was the fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty in the 1700s. ☜

2. Lingering attachment: The original term is "执念" which describes a feeling of longing and attachment towards something. Cassius is able to absorb the emotional energy of these lingering attachments to activate his transmigration powers. ☜