Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Awakening from Rebirth
Gurgle…
The morning began with the growl of an empty stomach.
Lu Qing stirred awake, his body aching with hunger. He sighed, pressing a hand against his hollow belly.
“You’re just going to keep rumbling. What good will that do? Where am I supposed to get food now?”
He glanced around the room—bare walls, floorboards cracked, nothing but dust and decay. A true home with nothing in it. A bitter smile tugged at his lips.
Others got to be reborn into rich families, powerful realms, or noble bloodlines. But him? He’d been dumped into a world where even a meal was a luxury. What kind of joke was this?
He’d been lying in bed for two days now.
Two days ago, he’d opened his eyes—only to find himself in a completely unfamiliar world. His body was thin, his clothes ragged, and his form had changed—now that of a scrawny teenage boy, barely ten years old.
After some time, Lu Qing pieced together the truth.
He’d died… and then been reborn.
He was now the reincarnated soul of a boy who’d just lost both parents. After selling off the last of their belongings to bury them, the boy had succumbed to illness and grief during a freezing night.
Perhaps, for the original boy, this was a mercy.
After absorbing the memories flooding his mind, this was Lu Qing’s first thought:
Survival in this world would be nearly impossible for a child. Death… maybe wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
But then—
“Brother! You’re awake!”
His thoughts were shattered by a voice—high-pitched, full of pure joy.
Lu Qing turned his head. At the doorway stood a little girl, no more than five or six, clutching something gray in her small hands. Her eyes sparkled with hope.
She dashed forward, breathless. “Brother, are you really better now?”
“Yeah,” Lu Qing smiled gently. “I’m fine, Xiao Yan. No need to worry anymore.”
“Really?!” Her eyes instantly welled up. Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I was so scared… your face was burning hot, and you kept shivering. I called you over and over, but you wouldn’t answer. I thought… I thought you’d leave me too, just like Father and Mother!”
Seeing her cry, Lu Qing’s heart ached.
For two days, he’d been slowly integrating the memories of this body—drifting in and out of consciousness. Though he could sense things around him, his mind had been too weak to fully awaken.
He had heard her cries, faint and desperate. But he couldn’t respond.
Gently, he reached out and brushed her dry, brittle hair. “It’s my fault, Xiao Yan. I promised I’d never let you worry again. I’ll never get sick like this again, okay?”
“Okay!” she sniffled, then grinned through tears. She extended her tiny hand. “Then we make a promise!”
Lu Qing held up his little finger. They locked pinkies.
“Pinky promise—forever, no going back. If you break it, you’re a dog!”
With that, her mood lifted instantly. In her young mind, a promise was a bond. Once made, it could never be undone. Her brother would never fall ill again.
“Xiao Yan,” Lu Qing asked, noticing the gray object in her hands. “What’s that?”
“It’s a steamed bun, Brother!” she said, holding it out proudly. “Zhang Ye Ye gave it to me. I didn’t want to eat it alone. I wanted to save it for you. I just got back, and—look! You’re awake!”
“A steamed bun?”
Lu Qing stared at the pale, gray lump. It looked nothing like the soft, fluffy buns he remembered. But then he reminded himself—he was in another world now.
If the world itself had changed, why not a bun?
As he studied it, a line of text suddenly appeared in his mind.
> Mixed Grain Steamed Bun: Made from rice bran, wheat flour, and wild greens. Nutritional value is minimal.
At the same time, the bun glowed faintly with a dull gray light.
What… was this?
Lu Qing blinked, then stared again. The text remained.
It wasn’t a hallucination.
Before he could process it further, Xiao Yan pressed the bun into his hands. “Here, Brother! You’re just getting better. Chen Ye Ye said sick people need food to heal.”
Lu Qing inhaled. The smell of stale grain filled his nose. His stomach twisted with hunger. He hadn’t eaten in days.
No hesitation. He tore off half the bun and handed it back to her.
“Here. You eat too, Xiao Yan.”
He hadn’t forgotten—she’d said this was a gift. She’d saved it for him.
But she shook her head, pushing the half back into his hands. “You eat it, Brother. I’m not hungry. You just got better—need to eat more so you can get strong again.”
Even as she spoke, Lu Qing saw her throat move—her lips parting slightly, a tiny gulp betraying her own hunger.
He looked at her thin frame, her hair dull and brittle. His chest tightened.
“Brother’s just getting better,” he said softly. “Can’t eat too much too fast, or it’ll hurt my stomach. So this half… it’s yours.”
“Really?” she asked, tilting her head. “But Chen Ye Ye said sick people should eat plenty right after.”
“Try asking him next time. See what he says.”
“Okay,” she said, still uncertain.
She had no idea—this Mixed Grain Steamed Bun was nothing like a “large meal.” It wasn’t even close to being dangerous.
Taking advantage of her confusion, Lu Qing smiled. “Since you can’t finish it, why don’t we share it? Then it won’t get cold and taste worse.”
“Okay!” she nodded eagerly. “If you can’t eat it all, I’ll help you!”
And so, the two of them sat on the floor, each holding half a gray, grainy bun, happily chewing.
Within minutes, Lu Qing finished his portion. His stomach, once hollow and trembling with hunger, now felt… full. A warm, comforting sensation spread through his core. His head cleared.
To be honest, the bun tasted awful—dry, bitter, with the faint aftertaste of dirt. But it was substantial, dense, and large enough that even half a piece was enough to fill the void.
He watched Xiao Yan, still slowly gnawing away at her half, and didn’t disturb her.
Instead, his mind turned to the strange phenomenon earlier—the text that appeared on the bun.
He stood up, walked to the small table, and picked up a cracked clay bowl—one with a missing corner, its surface stained and grimy.
He held it up, staring at it.
After a few seconds, a soft gray glow appeared. A line of text formed in his mind.
> Cracked Clay Bowl: A broken clay bowl. Looks… not very clean.
Lu Qing’s lips curled into a small smile.
So it’s real.
(End of Chapter)
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