Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

"Cough, cough, cough."

A strong, earthy smell assaulted his nostrils, causing Xu Lingguang to cough incessantly. He struggled to sit up and patted his aching chest, only to be surprised to find himself wearing a strange purple robe.

The wide sleeves of his purple robe dangled from his arms, heavy and damp from being soaked somewhere, and emitted a foul, fishy odor.

Xu Lingguang stared blankly at the strange clothes on his body, then looked around. When he belatedly realized that he was sitting in a dilapidated coffin covered with mud, his already sluggish brain immediately went on strike.

He slapped his face hard, trying to wake himself up—just minutes ago, he was drinking and venting with his friends.

For the past two months, he'd been working tirelessly on a project, getting up earlier than the rooster and going to bed later than the dog, practically living and eating at the company. He practically begged and pleaded with everyone to ensure the project was completed on time. His boss had promised him a 50% bonus upon completion. But after he worked himself to the bone to finish the project, the boss never mentioned the bonus again. When he pressed for details, the boss told him young people should have a long-term vision, that bonuses were more important than future prospects, and then offered him another empty promise. Xu Lingguang was fed up with these empty promises and, in a fit of anger, resigned.

After completing his resignation procedures, he was in a bad mood, so he went out drinking with his friends.

He drank quite a bit at the time and complained to his friends that he was working like a beast of burden and that he might as well go back to his hometown to farm for such a small amount of money. After that, he didn't remember anything.

Could it be that he was drunk and his friends took him home, and he's dreaming right now?

Must be dreaming.

Xu Lingguang, his eyes glazed over, staggered as he got up, trying to get out of the coffin. But as soon as he moved, he felt his internal organs being torn apart and then pieced back together in pain. He couldn't help but curl up into a ball, hissing and gasping for breath.

The intense pain felt so real, it didn't feel like a dream.

Can it hurt this much even in your dreams?

Xu Lingguang, feeling dizzy, took a while to recover before struggling to sit up again and carefully crawling out, holding onto the edge of the coffin. Fortunately, the excruciating pain didn't return, and Xu Lingguang breathed a sigh of relief, turning his head to observe his surroundings.

Surrounded by desolate wilderness on three sides, the coffin he had just lain on was carelessly tossed into a shallow pit, with the coffin lid lying on a loose mound of earth beside it, as if it had been half-buried but not completely.

Fortunately, they weren't completely buried, otherwise I probably wouldn't have been able to climb out.

Xu Lingguang patted his chest in lingering fear and surveyed his surroundings.

The grave appears to have been chosen hastily, with no other burial mounds or tombstones visible around it. Further east of the grave lies a range of rolling mountains, while to the north is a cluster of ancient buildings nestled among the trees.

It looks a lot like the ancient buildings in TV dramas, with octagonal eaves and multi-story pavilions.

Xu Lingguang hesitated for a moment, then dragged his heavy body slowly toward the building complex.

As he got closer, he discovered a huge stone tablet standing in front of the gate of the complex, with three large characters written on it: "Qingyu Sect".

Xu Lingguang stood under the stone tablet, staring blankly at the unfamiliar building before him. Finally, he belatedly realized that it all felt too real, too real... like a dream.

crossed?

Xu Lingguang was reluctant to admit this fact. He peeked at the gate of Qingyu Sect with a faint hope, thinking that maybe it was just some kind of costume prank variety show.

Just as he was peeking around, he suddenly heard a strange hissing sound in his ear, and at the same time, a cold breath sprayed on the back of his neck, as if something was quickly passing by the back of his neck.

Xu Lingguang shrugged, turned his body somewhat awkwardly, and met a pair of dark red vertical pupils with his bewildered eyes.

The crimson vertical pupils stared intently at him, their long, cold eyes filled with wariness and scrutiny. But Xu Lingguang had no time to discern any of this; his entire attention was consumed by the enormous black python before him—

It was a black python nearly three meters tall, with a waist thicker than Xu Lingguang's. Its incredibly long tail snaked out into the distance, while its body was arched high and its head lowered, assuming an extremely aggressive posture as it looked down at Xu Lingguang. Its scarlet tongue flicked in and out, emitting a chilling hissing sound.

Xu Lingguang's eyes widened slowly.

Fainted.

Song Nanchu: ?

He stared blankly at the person lying on the ground, then scoffed disdainfully. With a flick of his snake tail, he roughly dragged the person into the Qingyu Sect.

His body was so enormous that when he rushed into the Qingyu Sect, his snake tail inadvertently swept across the eaves, causing a shower of rubble to fly up.

The boy, who was resting under the eaves, was awakened by the noise. He immediately lashed out with his sword at the snake's tail and said coldly, "Song Nanchu, what's wrong with you now?"

Song Nan nimbly dodged the boy's sword, his tail wagging high: "Look who this is?" Perhaps because his original form was a snake, his voice sounded cold and sinister: "Our good master died half a month ago and has crawled out of his coffin again."

The young man paused his sword swing, frowned, and sheathed it. He floated closer, his upper and lower body coiled around the youth with a snake's tail. The other man was unconscious, and his features didn't appear as sinister as usual, but even if he were burned to ashes, he would still recognize him. This was indeed his good uncle and master, Xu Lingguang, the sect leader of the Qingyu Sect.

He gritted his teeth and chuckled, "It's true what they say, 'Evil lives on for a thousand years.'"

He glanced at Song Nan again: "Where did you catch him?"

Their master was cunning and treacherous, yet also cautious and afraid of death. The three of them had been plotting for a long time before finally finding an opportunity to personally send him off at his funeral.

It was unexpected that Xu Lingguang was so resilient; even with his internal organs shattered and his soul gone, he still managed to crawl out of the coffin. If Song Nan hadn't captured him, and he had escaped, the consequences would have been dire.

Song Nanchu said expressionlessly, "I caught him in front of the mountain gate. He fainted when he saw me." As he spoke, he picked up Xu Lingguang and shook him, with a hint of doubt, "He looked... like he was scared unconscious."

The boy wore the same incredulous expression. He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes a few times: "Is he trying to trick us?"

Song Nan shook his head: "I don't know. Lock him up first, and then we'll discuss it further."

Seeing him lead Xu Lingguang deeper into the sect, the young man stroked the hilt of his sword with a look of great interest, and said to Song Nanchu from afar, "I'll go inform Yu Yun."

*

Yu Yun is practicing her martial arts.

After receiving Zhou Fuying's message, she calmly washed her hands, adjusted her hairpins in front of the mirror, and then went out.

She was slender and graceful, her delicate figure encased in a light blue flowing dress that accentuated her slender waist. As she walked under the eaves in the wind, she resembled a tender willow branch rustling in the spring breeze, possessing a beauty that evoked pity.

Zhou Fuying, however, had long seen through the facade of the rosy-haired skeleton. His gaze passed by her and went to the door behind her, which was not closed. Beside the embroidered bed with its blue curtains hanging down, lay two emaciated corpses.

Noticing his gaze, Yu Yun waved her hand, and two stiff puppets entered the room to carry the corpse out for cleaning.

"What brings you here, Junior Brother?" Since Zhou Fuying didn't speak, Yu Yun had no choice but to ask.

Her voice, like the willow branches in spring, was light and gentle, with a melodious tone that swirled like willow branches tickling the heart.

Zhou Fuying said briefly, "Xu Lingguang is not dead."

Yu Yun's expression changed, and a cold, thoughtful look appeared in her sorrowful, misty eyes. She shook her head and said, "Impossible. I personally checked and made sure the person was completely dead before I disposed of the body."

The eldest brother, Song Nanchu, was indifferent to everything, and the youngest brother, Zhou Fuying, was unruly. After confirming that Xu Lingguang was completely dead, neither of them both bothered to care about his body. They just left it bloodied and gruesome in front of the mountain gate, where it was drenched by heavy rain for a day and a night.

Back then, she thought it looked too ugly to leave it like that, so she had the puppet collect Xu Lingguang's body.

Yu Yun asked, "Where is he?"

Zhou Fuying shrugged, a slow smile playing on his lips: "He fainted and was caught by Senior Brother. He should be locked up in Fushengjin."

The name "Floating Life" sounds romantic and poetic, but it is actually a magical artifact used by Xu Lingguang to imprison people and use torture. It is a piece of jade no bigger than a fist, but it contains a hidden world inside. It can set up the most intricate illusions, trapping people in them and subjecting them to torture.

Yu Yun smiled and said, "It's a good place for him. Let's go and take a look."

*

Xu Lingguang had a nightmare in which he was chased for ten miles by a giant black python. Just when he thought he was safe after finally escaping, he found himself standing on the body of the black python. The cold touch of the snake's scales startled him awake, and he gasped for breath.

Someone handed him a glass of water, which Xu Lingguang took and gulped down before remembering to say thank you: "Thank you."

However, the smile that had just appeared on his face froze instantly when he saw the three handsome young men and women dressed in ancient costumes in front of him.

All three eyes fell on him. Xu Lingguang blinked slowly, recalling the huge black python he had seen before he lost consciousness. He had to temporarily accept the reality that he was no longer in his original world, and cautiously asked, "You saved me? Where is the black python?"

Song Nanchu's smile suddenly became meaningful. Yu Yun and Zhou Fuying exchanged a glance, then naturally stepped forward and leaned down to look at Xu Lingguang with some concern: "Master, don't you remember us?"

He reached out and touched Xu Lingguang's forehead again: "Did you hurt your head?"

She was so close, and her beauty was so striking. Xu Lingguang had never been so close to a girl before, and he felt a little awkward, taking a step back. His face flushed slightly, and he racked his brains, stammering as he continued her story: "Um, it seems my head does hurt a little... After I crawled out of the coffin, I don't remember a lot of things..."

Yu Yun and Song Nan exchanged a glance, then subtly probed his meridians, but said with a sorrowful expression, "When our enemies came looking for us, Master was severely injured and died. Several of us were also seriously injured. Some of the disciples in the sect died or fled. We thought that Qingyu Sect would be destroyed. But I never expected... I never expected... Fortunately, Master is still alive."

Her eyes reddened as she spoke, and she turned her face away, sobbing softly.

Xu Lingguang opened his mouth, not knowing how to comfort her, so he looked to the other two for help, but they also turned their heads away, looking very sad.

Xu Lingguang was at his wit's end. After looking around, he finally spotted a handkerchief by the bedside and quickly picked it up and handed it to Yu Yun: "You, you don't need to cry." He scratched his head and said somewhat guiltily, "I'm just lucky I didn't die..." Then he added even more quietly, "Although I don't remember anything."

Yu Yun wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, then smiled through her tears: "Yes, Master is truly... lucky."

Xu Lingguang could only give vague replies, while cautiously trying to extract some information from their words.

According to Yu Yun, this body originally belonged to the sect leader of the Qingyu Sect, who had three disciples: the eldest disciple Song Nanchu, the second disciple Yu Yun, and the third disciple Zhou Fuying. About half a month ago, Xu Lingguang's enemies attacked the Qingyu Sect, and Xu Lingguang was killed by the shattered internal organs.

When the sect leader died, the disciples were leaderless and fled for their lives. Only three disciples stayed behind because they were reluctant to leave their homeland.

Xu Lingguang felt a pang of sorrow. No wonder he had felt a churning pain in his internal organs before; it wasn't an illusion, it was real.

When others transmigrate, they always have powerful backers or cheat codes, so why did I end up transmigrating into the body of the leader of such a dilapidated little sect? Not only do I have enemies everywhere, but I'm also seriously injured, and I don't even know how much longer I have to live.

Xu Lingguang sighed, his head, which hadn't hurt before, started to ache.

Seeing his gloomy expression, Yu Yun comforted him, "Master, don't worry. Although those enemies are still guarding down the mountain, they were also seriously injured when they tried to seize the treasure, so they won't dare to go up the mountain easily for a while."

Xu Lingguang: "..."

His head was starting to hurt more, so he pulled the blanket over his head and his muffled voice came through the blanket: "Then let's not go down the mountain for a while, and you all be careful."

Yu Yun stared at the quilt with an inscrutable expression, and said gently, "Okay, then Master, please rest first. We won't disturb you any longer."

Emerging from the brink of death, the three men displayed different expressions.

Yu Yun spoke first: "I examined his meridians, and indeed, his five internal organs were completely shattered, his meridians were reversed, and he had lost all his cultivation."

Logically speaking, he should have died long ago, but he somehow came back to life, which is very strange.

"You say he has amnesia, is it true or is he faking it?" Zhou Fuying's eyes flashed with a wicked light: "Before, we were afraid of his counterattack, so we could only deal with it quickly. This time, regardless of whether it's true or not, we can have some fun with him."

Song Nanchu agreed, his snake tail thrashing violently on the ground, but his face wore an extremely gentle smile. He suggested, "How about we release the person from the Floating Life Abyss?"

Yu Yun frowned: "That old thief has many trump cards up his sleeve. If we rashly release him, and he seizes the opportunity to retaliate..."

Zhou Fuying stroked his sword and raised an eyebrow: "Are you scared?"

Yu Yun smiled gently: "If you're going to go crazy, I'm too lazy to play along. But if you want to kill Xu Lingguang again, I'd be interested." She played with a pair of exquisite gold bells in her hand and glanced at Zhou Fuying: "Last time I was a step behind you, but this time I won't be."

This time, she intends to skin Xu Lingguang alive and use him as a puppet.