Reunion?

The tattered page looked old, and who knows how ancient it was? The writing on it was barely legible.

Quan Jiang read the contents slowly.

[Time will always exist. Even in destruction, t'will resurface.]

"?"

Quan Jiang was full of confusion. He shakily stood up and looked around him. He pocketed the tattered page. He was on an empty beach with a forest further inland.

"Where is this?" Quan Jiang asked himself nervously.

No one would feel safe arriving in a new place. The silence beside the crashing waves around him was very eerie. Nevertheless, he was feeling hungry, so he decided to enter the forest to find some fruits.

The trees around him were lush green with numerous fruits hanging on them. It looked like a fairyland from a starving man's perspective.

Quan Jiang plucked a low-hanging fruit and bit into it. It was sweet, and he quickly finished it. After eating more, he was satisfied.

He looked up at the tallest tree near him and climbed it. He scrutinized the area around him and found nothing but green and blue with some dashes of white.

"Is this the afterlife?" Quan Jiang couldn't help but ask himself.

It made him wonder since he had tried to drown himself earlier. He also remembered the dream he had before waking up. It was quite weird but remembering it fueled Quan Jiang's desire to become strong.

But if this was the afterlife, how would he get his revenge?

"Wait, no… There must be a way. It was a prophecy of the future. The heavens are showing me signs," Quan Jiang silently murmured.

He jumped down from the tree and decided to head east inland. There must be a civilization here.

Not even a few minutes later, he heard some rustling in front of him.

"Who!?"

(Bak bak?)

A tall bird that resembled an enlargened chicken peeked out of the shrubbery.

"Phew."

Quan Jiang relaxed and continued on while ignoring the bird. He saw various wildlife along the way. It further reassured him that he wasn't dead yet.

*Rustle rustle*

Quan Jiang calmly glanced at the rustling leaves and ignored them. It happened to him so many times as he traveled through this forest. Most of the wildlife here was quite peaceful, and he didn't feel any danger ignoring it.

"There's a person!" a voice shouted.

Quan Jiang immediately swiveled his head and saw a middle-aged man pointing at him. Quan Jiang's eyes lit up in happiness. He was finally saved!

As he was feeling happy, a young lady wearing a fitted blue dress with a short skirt peeked out of the shrubbery. Her skin was as white as snow. Her oval face screamed the word 'beauty'.

Even Lin Fengfang paled in comparison to her.

Not to mention, she was well endowed in her chest and her curves. Quan Jiang's eyes were attracted by her smooth and thicc legs.

"*Cough* Young Noble, why did you run away from the clan? If I made any mistakes, please tell this little Xue," the young lady said bashfully with a bow.

A team of four more middle-aged men followed behind her. Each of them exuded a suffocating aura that caused Quan Jiang's face to fall.

"Cultivators!" Quan Jiang exclaimed.

In this world, there are beings that aren't satisfied with living a mortal life. That's what cultivators are. They are mortals that embarked on the path of cultivation– To live a long life and to control their own fate.

The Lin and Quan Village were so afraid of the Zeng Clan because they were a prominent cultivator clan in the Soaring Swan Country. None could even match any of their guards in their poor villages.

"Young Noble?" the young lady called out with a confused expression on her face.

"Who are you?" Quan Jiang asked with narrowed eyes.

A mortal meeting a cultivator meant powerlessness. He won't be able to resist if they want to beat him up.

"Young Noble, please stop joking. We had to ask a favor from the Duan Clan to divine your location. I'm willing to be punished if I made a mistake!" the young lady bowed to him again. It was a bow so perfect and humble that it was hard for Quan Jiang's heart not to feel soft.

"I don't remember knowing you," Quan Jiang answered with confusion.

"Young Noble! Did you forget… the moment we spent under the Cherry Tree that night? Why… Is it because I'm too ugly to your liking?" the young lady stood straight and looked at him as if he had wronged her.

Her eyes were teary. Her genuine emotions shocked and made Quan Jiang's heart ache.

"I'm not lying. I don't know you. I also don't remember what happened under the Cherry Tree," Quan Jiang answered truthfully.

She walked towards him and cupped his face with her slender hand. Quan Jiang's heart went cold seeing her so close to him. He was traumatized by these kinds of eyes.

"N-No! Don't touch me!" Quan Jiang shouted and slapped her hand away before taking a step back.

"Young Noble!"

The middle-aged man in the lead took a step forward and pushed the young lady behind him.

"Young Noble hates me…"

Tears started falling from the young lady's eyes. She ran and hugged the back of the middle-aged man.

"It's alright, Young Lady. I will protect you even if it's meaningless," the middle-aged man said grimly.

"No! Uncle Yuan, Young Noble is a powerful External-Energy Activation cultivator! You're not his match!" the young lady pulled him back.

"Even so, I swore to the Master that I would protect his daughter. Young Lady, if the Young Noble wants to hurt you, I won't stand by!" Uncle Yuan shouted with a voice full of determination like a soldier ready to die.

"Wait! I can't sense the Young Noble's cultivation realm!" one of the middle-aged men behind them exclaimed in horror.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The young lady and the rest stared at Quan Jiang speechlessly.

"No wonder Young Noble wants to forget me. He is already beyond our reach," the young lady said with a dejected and heart broken expression.

"Huh? But I'm a mortal," Quan Jiang answered with some rejection in his eyes. He was starting to think that something was wrong with their heads.