Chapter 1: Awakening after Rebirth

"Glug..."

Early in the morning, Lu Qing woke up to the growling of his stomach.

Feeling the hunger in his belly, he sighed and rubbed his stomach.

"All your noise is in vain, where am I supposed to find food now?"

He looked around at his surroundings, a shabby house that could barely be called a home, and gave a bitter smile.

Others might have transmigrated smoothly, yet here he was, unable to even fill his stomach; what kind of situation was this?

He had been lying in bed for two days now.

Two days ago, when Lu Qing opened his eyes, he found himself in this unknown world.

Dressed in rags, skin and bones, he had even become a teenage boy.

Later, after some time, Lu Qing figured out his predicament.

He had transmigrated.

Reborn into a young man who had just lost both parents, and after selling his family possessions for their burial, he was unable to make it through a cold night due to a weak body and excessive grief.

Perhaps, for the original host, this was somewhat of a relief.

This was Lu Qing's first thought after accessing the memories in his mind.

Surviving in this world as a teenager was too difficult.

Death might not necessarily be a bad thing.

However...

"Brother, you're awake!"

Suddenly, Lu Qing's thoughts were interrupted by an excited shout.

He turned his head and saw a little girl about five or six years old, holding a gray object in her hands and standing at the door, looking at him with joy on her face.

The little girl ran up to Lu Qing, "Brother, are you feeling better?"

"Yes, I'm better now, Little Yan. You don't need to worry anymore," Lu Qing replied with a smile.

"That's great, brother, you're finally better!" Hearing Lu Qing say he was alright, the little girl's eyes turned red, tears rolling down her cheeks, "These past two days your face has been really red and hot, and you kept saying you were cold. I didn't know what to do, you wouldn't respond however loudly I called you, I thought you were going to leave me behind just like Dad and Mom!"

Watching the little girl cry made Lu Qing feel a surge of heartache.

He had been merging with the memories in his mind for the past two days and appeared to be in a coma, although he could barely sense the outside noise, his consciousness couldn't stay clear.

Except for briefly waking up a few times, he quickly fell back into unconsciousness again.

He vaguely heard the little girl's crying and yelling, but couldn't respond.

Lu Qing reached out and ruffled the little girl's dry yellow hair: "It's my fault, Little Yan. I promise you, I won't get sick anymore. Will that stop you from worrying?"

"Yes," Little Yan broke into a smile and extended her little hand, "Then, let's make a pinkie promise."

Lu Qing extended his pinkie, and they hooked their fingers together.

"Hooked fingers, a hundred years no change, whoever changes is a puppy!"

After making the promise, Little Yan instantly felt happier.

In her little mind, since they had made a pinkie promise, nothing would change anymore, and her brother would never get sick again.

"Little Yan, what are you holding in your hand?"

That's when Lu Qing noticed the object in the little girl's hand.

"It's a steamed bun, brother, don't you recognize it?" Little Yan held up the gray object in both hands and handed it to Lu Qing, excitedly saying, "It's from Grandpa Zhang next door. Little Yan didn't want to eat it alone, so I thought I'd bring it back to share with you. I just got back and saw that you were better."

"A steamed bun?"

Lu Qing looked at the drab object, which differed significantly from the buns he remembered.

However, knowing he was now in another world, he felt at ease again.

If even the world had changed, it was no surprise the buns looked different.

As he pondered this, his gaze lingered on the gray bun for a few seconds, when suddenly, a line of text appeared.

"Coarse grain bun: Made of rice bran, wheat flour, and wild vegetables, with limited nutrition."

At the same time, the bun emanated a gray light.

What was this?

Lu Qing blinked, realizing the text still floated above the gray bun and hadn't disappeared.

It seemed it wasn't an illusion...

Before Lu Qing could delve deeper, Little Yan held the gray bun and offered it to his lips.

"Brother, eat this. You've just recovered, and Grandpa Chen said people need to eat something nourishing after being sick."

Feeling the starving hunger sweeping his body as he smelled the grainy scent of the bun, Lu Qing, who was ravenous, didn't make a fuss. He took the bun, tore off half, and handed it back to Little Yan.

"Hmm, let's eat together."

He hadn't forgotten that the little one had mentioned earlier that the bun was given to her, and she wanted to share it with him.

Unexpectedly, Little Yan shook her head and pushed the half back into Lu Qing's hand, "Brother eat, Little Yan is not hungry. You need to eat more so your body can recover faster."

Though she said this, Lu Qing distinctly saw her involuntary swallowing when she handed the bun back.

Looking at her pale-yellow hair, he felt a wave of pity and once again placed the half back in her hand.

"Brother just recovered and shouldn't eat too much at once; it will upset the stomach. So, you eat this half."

"Is that so?" Little Yan, holding the half bun, tilted her head and asked, "But it seems different from what Grandpa Chen said."

"People recovering from serious illness should avoid overeating. If you don't believe, you can ask Grandpa Chen next time if it's true," Lu Qing said.

"Okay." Little Yan nodded, not fully understanding.

Yet, she didn't realize that a coarse grain bun was far from excessive eating.

Lu Qing took the opportunity to coax, "Since I can't finish it, let's eat together, Little Yan. If it gets cold, it won't taste good."

"Okay!" Little Yan nodded firmly, "Since brother can't finish, Little Yan will help."

The siblings thus joyfully nibbled at their halves of the bun.

Soon, Lu Qing finished his half. The empty feeling in his stomach finally alleviated with a bit of sustenance, and a warmth spread from his belly, rejuvenating him.

To be fair, the bun didn't taste that great, but it was substantial and not small in size.

Even with just half, it slightly eased Lu Qing's hunger, not leaving him dizzy and weak as before.

Seeing Little Yan still nibbling diligently, Lu Qing didn't disturb her and turned his attention to another matter.

He remembered the line of text that had appeared on the bun.

Thinking it over, Lu Qing stood up, walked to the table, and picked up a chipped bowl.

He placed it before his eyes and watched quietly.

Then, after a few seconds, he saw a layer of gray light emerge on the bowl with a line of text.

"Broken pottery bowl: A chipped pottery bowl that seems a bit unclean."

It was just as he suspected, and a smile crossed Lu Qing's face.