He was an avid fan of web novels

Jian Shi looked at the ceiling of his bedroom. The ceiling fan was off. He was feeling a bit warm and wanted to turn it on, but he lacked the energy to stand from his bed. His wrinkled hand pushed the thin sheet covering him to the side. He looked to the right as the sunlight shone into his room. The sun's rays bounced off the leaves on the tree outside the window. The chirping of birds was occasionally interrupted by the honking of car horns.

Jian Shi kept looking at the tree, trying to get a glimpse of the noisy birds, yet the sun grew dimmer. The rays disappeared from the leaves. The chirps and honks slowly grew quieter. The sunlight no longer shone, and all that remained was darkness. And then, one last chirp. Just like that, he died.

Or did he? Almost immediately after he heard that last bird's chirp, a vertical line of light appeared in front of him. He stared at that light, but it grew instantly larger. It blinded him like a flashbang, but his eyes were not given time to adjust.

"How the hell did you get in here?!" A loud female voice pierced Jian Shi's ears. He looked at the blurry silhouette that was becoming clearer by the second, but he felt a strong arm grab him while he was focusing on it. He was instantly thrown out of the darkness.

"Damn sneaky beggar." Jian Shi looked at the man that had spoken. He was muscular, but his thinning hair and small facial wrinkles showed that he was middle-aged. "What do with him?" He asked the lady that had spoken first.

Jian Shi sat up from the dirt ground he was tossed on. He looked and saw that an old lady was currently standing behind the middle-aged man. She stood at the doorway of a wooden cabin, with a ring of keys in her hand.

"Forget it." She told the man. Seeing the dazed and confused look on Jian Shi's face, a thread of pity had arisen in her heart. "This is just an empty cabin. He probably just needed somewhere to spend the cold night." The old lady ordered the man to search Jian Shi's body to see if he stole anything. The man searched and found nothing, so he just told Jian Shi to scram.

Throughout the process of searching, Jian Shi kept his dazed expression. No doubt, it allowed him to be treated less harshly. After being told to leave, he stood and walked away. He looked down at his bare feet as they stepped on the dirt road. Though dirty, they were smooth without any of the expected wrinkles. He raised his hands and they too lacked any of the wrinkles that came with age. He raised his head and looked at his surroundings. This was obviously an ancient city.

As a teenager, Jian Shi's grandfather had left his home country to work on railroads. He built his life, had a child, and considered it to be his new home. However, he would not abandon his culture. He raised Jian Shi's father in a very traditional manner. Eventually, Jian Shi would be born as the youngest child of a third generation of immigrants. His father's traditional values were instilled in him as well. However, as the times changed, so did he. Eventually, he lived long enough to be able to board a plane and visit the Forbidden City as a tourist while taking plenty of pictures with his smartphone. That was the last real moment of joy in his life before his age caught up to him and made him bedridden.

Jian Shi looked around at the courtyards he walked past. Everything he saw was in the style of the Forbidden City. He walked and walked until his feet hurt. He sat down on the ground and continued to muddle through the day. Eventually, a man in armor with a sword at his waist not-so-gently ushered him towards an area where a crowd of dirty and unkempt people were huddled together under a large tent. As he found a secluded corner to sit down, Jian Shi finally regained his thoughts. No longer on autopilot, a fantastic idea crept into his mind. Had he reincarnated?

He was an avid fan of web novels during his final days. It was one of the few joys he had while laying on that god-forsaken bed all day and night. One of his grandchildren had introduced a novel website to him so that he could alleviate his boredom. Reincarnation was a common thing in those novels. Was he now one of those main characters?

He was a little sad when he thought of his children and grandchildren, but that was all there was to it. After all, he was an old man that had almost celebrated his one hundredth birthday. While his family may be sad at first, his death was nothing that they were unprepared for. Instead, they would be freer now. He always felt that he had become a burden in the end, and now, that burden would be lifted.

Jian Shi was a little more lighthearted now. Although it took a whole day and the sun was now setting, he finally managed to accept his new situation. He had died and reincarnated. The ancient architecture he saw, the dress style of the people on the road that avoided him, and the armored man with a sword confirmed that this was the past. How far in the past? He did not know.

His thinking was interrupted when a group of men walked over with bowls of what looked like porridge. The crowd of unkempt people around him stood up and formed a line in front. Jian Shi guessed that he may be in a group of beggars as he saw every person be given a bowl with porridge. He followed along and managed to collect his own porridge. He went back to his former spot and ate.

He had not realized how hungry he had been, but now he could not stop. He all but inhaled his food. He was not fully satiated. He went to return his bowl and considered whether he should ask for more but decided against it upon noticing the disdain and contempt in the eyes of the guards at the front. He peacefully and quietly returned his bowl and went back to his corner. The sun set soon after and he closed his eyes to sleep.