《Reform: Xianxia》 A not so fresh start The sharp pain jolted through me, I could feel dried blood all over my face, how do I know its blood? Because that¡¯s what I was tasting. Head pounding, I struggled to sit up, barely managing to get halfway before collapsing, groaning out in pain. My thoughts were all over the place What¡¯s going on? Where am i? what happened to me?! I thought indignantly. After another agonising struggle, I manage to sit myself up against the wall of the dark alley I found myself in. I felt something sticky there but at this point, I really did not care. I know keeping calm is best, physically I was a mess, and mentally maybe even more so. What on earth happened!? I glanced over myself thinking how am I in this situation? Ignoring why I was in this condition for a moment, I took a look at my very unfamiliar clothing, which was certainly not anything I owned, let alone wore. Nothing made sense right now, I really needed to sort things out. Where am I, and why am I like this, and most of all am I safe right now? I noticed a shard of glass beside me, from what looked like a broken bottle, I glanced past it but then I had to do a double take, my head snapping back to it. Ignoring the now extra pain in the neck, which was like a drop in the ocean compared to the rest of me, I looked in the shard and saw my reflection, was this my reflection? Because that was certainly NOT me. I saw a bruised face, some dried blood around the nose and mouth that I tried to wipe away to get a better look at my features. The face was relatively average looking, just like mine. However, this face was surely not mine. Distinctly a different person. Different hair. Different eyes. Different physique. Suddenly a wild thought came to my mind, one so shocking it trumped anything I felt before, the pain, the confusion, it was nothing to this. Surely not¡­ it can¡¯t be. No no. it can¡¯t be right? I mean that¡¯s just in stories¡­ I got up. Strength coming from who knows where, I powered through and stumbled out the dark alley I was in, coming out, I saw I was in¡­ Another dark alley. After listening for a moment, I heard faint sounds, so I followed them. After a few more turns I saw light ahead. I started walking faster and faster and glimpsed a street, I started to smell something that set off my stomach, good food, maybe a street vendor? I saw some people pass by the alley, most not even giving me a glace, some looked for a moment but quickly moved on. I noted that their clothing was odd, almost like this was some sort of ancient drama¡­ Not what I wanted to see, I could feel my anxiety increasing. I almost burst onto the street, looking around anxiously at my surroundings, things were slightly blurry for me but I could see well enough. What I saw was exactly what I feared. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! My life is not a book, it is not a film, it is not any sort of story, so why, WHY has this happened to me? I started to laugh, at first a light one, which soon turned into a crazed one. Transmigration. I¡¯m in another damned world. People stared at me, which was reasonable, I looked like a crazy man just laughing there all beaten up¡­ Which at this point, could be an accurate description. People talked, just loudly enough for me to hear. ¡°is that young master Song? What¡¯s wrong with him¡± a woman asked her husband, who looked at her and said ¡°Young master? Ha that was a thing of the past, look at him now. I do feel sorry for what happened to his family, however it seems he has now gone mad. Let''s leave before any trouble comes.¡± My family? What happened to them? I heard another talk about an attack, from what I could piece together, my family was attacked somehow, and it seems I¡¯m alone in this strange place, great, just great. I saw different emotions from the gazes on me, some frightened, some mocking and a few rare looks of pity. Just then a young man and woman came running towards me, the young man stunned me for a moment, he was dazzling to say the least. He was dressed in an immaculate white robe, with a sword hanging by his waist, but what caught his attention was his model like features and piercing emerald eyes. He looked like a perfect main character for some novel. I froze for a moment, choosing between running away or staying, I for sure did not want any trouble and really needed to get a stable understanding of my situation, yet I had no choice, before I could react, they were upon me. I flinched as the young man grabbed me shouting ¡°Duyi!! We have been looking for you all over, where have you been, what happened to you!?¡± Surprisingly he seemed to know me, and quite well at that. There was a very concerned look on his face, and he seemed genuinely worried about me. Internally sighing in relief I tried to answer him, albeit a bit awkwardly. ¡°Hey,¡± I paused. What can I even say? I don¡¯t even know if I can bluff my way out of this. Well! Honesty is the best policy after all! ¡°Actually I don¡¯t know, my memory is fuzzy at the moment.¡± I continued, managing an awkward laugh after. The young man gulped, clearly nervous, he turned to the girl and said ¡°Quick, go get Uncle Liu, I¡¯ll take him back with me.¡± For the first time I looked at the girl, and if the young man was shocking, she was even more so. Now that I¡¯m in a so called a ¡®xianxia¡¯ the correct term would be jade beauty, this would describe her perfectly, she had those same emerald eyes as the young man, I noted that they must be siblings. The young woman simply nodded with a serious look, and turned around and, I kid you not, jumped straight over a building and out of sight. My eyes nearly popped out seeing this. The young man must¡¯ve misunderstood because his traces of worry intensified at that moment. He gently cursed under his breath and glanced away, clearly thinking. After a moment he looked at me with a slightly sheepish look and muttered ¡°sorry about this.¡± He then grabbed and lifted me on his shoulders, which made me grunt embarrassingly loud. Before I could say anything, he too jumped, and I felt the world spin. Fuck! These guys are crazy! I thought, resisting the urge to shout out. I spent the next couple minutes being tossed around as this man defied gravity as if it was normal. We finally stopped at a big gate, a few guards were standing outside, adorned with armour and both carrying spears that looked scarily sharp. The young man only stopped for a moment to speak to them, and they let him in almost instantly. The doors opened to reveal an incredible sight, it seemed as if those doors opened to new world, a beautiful garden with a clear lake dividing it, behind stood buildings built in ancient Chinese style, looming over these grand buildings was a humongous tree with golden leaves. We quickly went over the bridge that stood above the river as I thought to myself. Well, this will be interesting¡­ I thought, still surprised yet the shock of everything has dulled my shock at this point. Loss I was taken through a few hallways and into a nice smelling building, inside there were beds lined up with white curtains separating each of them. I was finally placed down onto one of them and took a moment to get my thoughts straight, before I could speak up, the young man in front of me beat me to it. ¡°You¡¯re really messed up man, what happened to you?¡± Well, I¡¯d love to get those answers myself. I hesitated for a moment, trying to think of something appropriate to say, I can¡¯t just tell him I just took over this random guy, who seems to be his friend. Not a good idea. At all. Thankfully he gave me a perfect lifeline during my silence. ¡°It was the gang again, right? I told you not to deal with those guys. They are ruthless.¡± He sighed and shook his head, scratching the back of his head he continued. ¡°Listen, I understand. What happened was tragic, I miss auntie and uncle too. But just wallowing in sadness just isn¡¯t what they would want for you, and drugs are not a way out, it¡¯s a temporary relief and it can¡¯t help you.¡±. Ah, now things make sense, it looks like this guy- no, I turned to substances after losing my family, and who I acquired them from were¡­ not so nice people. I looked him dead in the eyes, ¡°I agree. I¡¯m past that now, I want to change for the better, no more. I promise.¡±. He gave a genuine smile and patted my shoulder, ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡± he told me. Just then, he turned to a stern looking man that briskly walked in the room, ¡°Ah, uncle! Thank you for coming, Duyi needs some medical attention.¡±. The man was an imposing figure, draped in green and white robes that couldn¡¯t quite hide his muscular physique. He had short black hair with greying strands within them, while his short well-kept beard had much greyer. ¡°tsk, what happened to you boy?¡± he asked me, thankfully my friend answered for me, ¡°the gang again.¡±. The older many sighed, looking like he wanted to say something, but refrained. ¡°Lay down for a moment.¡± he told me while sitting beside me. After I complied, he took a hold of my wrist, facing it up and held my pulse with two fingers. A shiver went down my spine, no it felt more like my soul itself shivered. A cold yet eerily warm feeling spread through my entire body, spreading in an intricate pattern which eventually covered my entire body. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. I let out a sharp breath, both the other men in the room looked at me quizzically, but luckily said nothing. A few moments passed and he dropped my wrist, his brows furrowed and started speaking, yet no words came out his mouth. He did this for almost half a minute. After he looked me in the eyes and said, ¡°boy, it¡¯s a miracle you are alive. Lots of internal bleeding and loss of blood, the heavens must have plans for you.¡± He paused for a moment, eyebrows narrowing with a dangerous glint in his eye, ¡°This is the last time I treat you. Stay away from scum.¡±. He got up with crisp movement and turned his back and started walking away, but not before my friend had an amused look and muttered ¡°didn¡¯t you say that the last few times?¡±. Turning around he glared at the young man with a fierce gaze, ¡°speak up Tian, I didn¡¯t quite hear you.¡±. He coughed and said ¡°oh, I was just saying thank you for your help, uncle Jian!¡± and he bowed slightly. I noted their names in the back of my mind. ¡°Tsk, whatever, don¡¯t call me again for such trivial things.¡± He said before walking out. Following in after him came a young boy dressed in pure white, he approached me and handed me 4 different pills with varying sizes, ¡°Here sir, please take these, the little red pill must be taken last.¡±. He then bowed slightly and left briskly. My young friend nodded and said ¡°well, I¡¯ll let you rest up, I¡¯ll come see you later.¡± I looked to him, if I knew him or not, this guy had helped me a lot, ¡°Thank you. I appreciate it¡±. He snorted slightly, ¡°Don¡¯t even mention it, just remember your promise.¡± I nodded, ¡°of course.¡±. And with that he left, I felt awkward about just leaving it like that, so I waved before he was out of sight To which he just gave me a weird look. Ah, maybe they don¡¯t wave here, oops¡­ Swiftly moving on from making myself look like a weirdo, again. I picked up the glass of water that was standing on the side table beside the bed and took the three pills of varying sizes. I was struggling with the big one a little, to which I was happy there were no spectators. Each pill gave me a weird feeling, almost like a mint flavour spreading through my body. I took the last red pill, it gave a different feeling to the others, it was a warm feeling that seemed to gather the affects of the previous pills and apply them all together, it felt very odd, but it definitely had a good effect. I felt much better already. I let out a long breath, this whole thing has been so chaotic, having some time alone with peace was well needed. It was about time I processed this all. I laid down and closed my eyes, thinking of everything that had happened. Many things were apparent, this isn¡¯t my home world, this isn¡¯t my original body, and I have no idea what the fuck is going on. I know I have some good friends at least, the young man, Tian I believe was his name, and the girl who seemed to be his sister. The man who diagnosed me was their uncle, so it seems this place is theirs. However, I also know that I¡¯m in deep shit, my family is gone, I gather something tragic happened, need those details as soon as I can get them. And this apparent gang, they probably did this to me. Many things need to be done. Most of which is figuring out how the hell they seemed to be using superpowers. Can I get them too? I¡¯ll have to find out. While trying to sort out my mind, I had thought about the thing I feared most. My home is gone, the world I lived in is gone, and so was everything I once knew. Sure, I didn¡¯t have much family left to miss, however that didn¡¯t mean I had nothing there. I thought of my old neighbours I would help out on the weekends, how they gave me freshly baked cookies whenever they made them. I thought of my friend, he had a rough life and had finally got back up on his feet, recently getting a new job that he cherished. I thought of many things. It filled me with sadness, a deep sense of loss welled up within me as I realised it was all gone.