CHAPTER 5

Beep. Beep. Beep.

You can hear the beeping sound of the device that monitors the vital signs of the patient.

'I am back. Uhg! She really did cast a spell on me. Aside from my memories in the Mystic Realm, I can't remember anything way back before my current memories. Oh! Did she call me Raynier? Annoying! It's better to start opening my dantian and start my cultivation.'

He closed his eyes again to meditate while feeling the qi in his surroundings. While he is in this state, he will be unconscious in his surroundings.

The nurse who came to check on the patient saw that he regained consciousness for a while, then he went back in a "coma state". The nurse immediately reported to her superior the situation. The doctor who supervised the hospital at that time contacted the Zheng household to relay the news.

After hearing the news, Mrs. Zheng rushed to the hospital to ask for more details about her son's situation. She then called her husband who was still having a shareholder meeting.

"... your son will be able to wake up soon."

Everything seemed to be faded to Mrs. Zheng. The only thing that went through to her was that the news of her son would be waking up soon from his coma. It's written all over Mrs. Zheng's face, how relieved she is.

"Honey, did you hear that? Did you hear it? He said our-"

"Yes, I heard it and you heard it right. Our son will wake up soon." Mr. Zheng interrupted his wife as he reassured her that their son would be able to wake up soon. The news pertaining to Raynier Zheng spread out around the Zheng household. 

***

Inside the dark lit room of a huge mansion, a man in his mid-fifties was sitting on a coffee-coloured ergonomic chair. On top of the large Mahogany table, a retro-style telephone seats near the right edge of the table accompanied by a fountain pen, and a small pile of documents on the left side.

Ring. Ring. Ring

He picked up and answered the phone with a low raspy voice. He talked as he walked towards the large window facing the wide garden with large palm trees. The aura of the man changes as the conversation goes on. His eyes glinted.

"Well... you should know what to do." He said in a calm manner, as if everything was within the scope of his plan.

"Yes boss. I will arrange someone to do it."

***

It's late at night already. The people within the place are getting less and less. There's a man wearing a baseball cap, dark waterproof ski jacket, faux leather gloves, black pants and laced-up tactical boots. He was walking in the corridor, the walls were painted white and the smell of disinfectant lingered throughout the place. He stopped outside the room near the corner and looked through the window of the door. The man made it inside the door and took out his rondel dagger.

Raynier Zheng finished the first stage of his body cultivation as it took him a while to open his meridians because of the thin aura of the Earth. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted with a sharp dagger.

'What the-?! Way to see after opening my eyes!'

The man was startled to see Raynier Zheng wake up. It took a few seconds to compose himself and that's all Raynier needed to take action. Raynier grabbed the man's hand and is trying to change the trajectory of the dagger. The man put more strength into pushing down the dagger even though it is quite unbelievable for a person who had been in a coma for a year to be this strong. The dagger launched at the left side of Raynier and grazed his arm. Blood streamed down, leaving stains on his sheets. The dagger launched at the left side of Raynier and grazed his arm. Blood streamed down, leaving stains on his sheets. The man tried to attempt another strike but it was futile. Raynier counterattacks the man wanting to detain him to ask for some information, but the guy gets on his feet and flees. Without a second thought, Raynier ran after the man. By the time he realizes that he is outside with unfamiliar surroundings, he looks at the towering skyscrapers and the well-lit streets.

'Where the heck am I?! And it's freezing out here, at least better than the snowy mountains where they throw me. Uhg! Let's stop reminiscing about that time. It's bad for my mental health.'

The people around him had indifferent looks; some glanced at him with pitiful eyes. He walked around in his hospital gown without any shoes. Suddenly, he was approached by a teen girl wearing a white knitted scarf and bonnet. She took off her scarf and gave it to him.

"Wait for a moment here." She told him in her sweet voice. Then she rushed inside the building. It took a while before she came back to him carrying some shopping bags. She handed everything she bought to him, asking him to wear it. Raynier stared at her with mixed emotions. Most of all, he is glad to meet a kind-hearted person.

"The weather forecast announced that the temperature would drop tonight. You need to stay warm." She told him. Before she went, she handed out some cash, enough to buy some food that would last for three days.

"Thank you"

"No worries."

Raynier stared in the direction where the young woman went as her figure faded out from the crowd.