Chapter 2: Situation
A pale shaft of morning light slipped through the half-opened window, casting intricate shadows on the walls of a small but elegantly furnished room. In the center, a twelve-year-old boy sat cross-legged on his bed, his eyes fixed on the clear sky beyond. His mind churned with a storm of thoughts.
"It's been ten days," he mused, his fingers unconsciously tracing the creases on the silk bedsheet beneath him. "I am really in the past. I've gone outside countless times, testing my surroundings, hoping for a sign that this is some kind of inner demon tribulation. But no... it feels too real. Too vivid. This is no mere illusion of the heart."
Wang Ming's gaze hardened, his eyes reflecting the bright morning sun. He had endured countless tribulations over his three thousand years of cultivation, each more intense than the last, yet none of them had ever felt this genuine. The crispness of the air, the distant cries of training disciples in the courtyard, the warm pulse of life all around him-it was too perfect.
"But that hand... what was it? How did it drag me back to this time? And for what purpose?" His thoughts spiraled in frustration, unable to grasp the meaning behind his unexpected rebirth.
A gentle knock at his door pulled him from his contemplation. His eyes flickered with a trace of impatience. "Come in," he said, his cold voice.
The door creaked open, and a mature middle aged maid stepped inside, her head bowed in respect. She was perhaps thirty or forty, with a soft, earnest face that spoke of a life spent in humble service.
"Young Master Wang Ming," she said, her tone laced with the cautious respect of someone addressing a young noble, "the Awakening Ceremony is about to begin. I have been ordered to bring you there."
Wang Ming's expression remained impassive. "You may leave. I will come shortly." His voice carried a hint of his past self, the cold command of a figure used to being obeyed without question.
The maid quickly bowed, retreating from the room without another word. As the door clicked shut, Wang Ming's eyes returned to the clear sky beyond his window, a trace of ancient solemnity settling in their depths.