"He must have killed someone and gone into hiding!" the butcher muttered.

He casually tossed a rag, freshly used to wipe the butcher block, into the grimy wooden barrel beneath the stove.

"Pah!"

The rag landed in the barrel, stirring up two dark red splatters of oil.

"You know, he's done a lot of bad things," the butcher's wife added.

"Someone saw him drooling over Aunt Wang's hen, and within a few days, the hen disappeared. I heard someone found gnawed chicken bones in the woods behind his house."

"When Aunt Wang found out, she chased him around the village, cursing him for three days and two nights."

"You can ask around."

"Everyone in the village knows about it, but without evidence, the authorities can't do anything to him!"

"He also spied on Widow Wang next door taking a bath. Although he wasn't caught red-handed, Widow Wang said it was definitely him."

"Do you know where he might be hiding, perhaps if he has any close friends?" the yamen runner Chen Qiang pressed. "Good friend?"

The butcher rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment before waving his hands. "No, he can't have any friends. He's such a loner, so obsessed, no one wants anything to do with him!"

—

At this moment, the "obsessed" Zhang Yuan, as the butcher had called him, lay alone on the stone slab in the cave, covered in blood.

"Is he going to die?"

A gray shadow floated faintly beside Zhang Yuan.

The shadow flickered, like a reflection dancing in candlelight.

"It's my turn, it's my turn! Come out! Come out! You greedy creature! Don't suck him to death! Leave some for me!!!" The floating shadow muttered anxiously. As the urging continued, another eerie, gray figure emerged from Zhang Yuan's body. "Hey, don't rush him! Don't rush him!"

"This kid's vitality is incredibly strong; he won't die anytime soon! Thank heavens for this gift. Delicious! This fresh blood, absolutely delicious..."

Before the gray figure could finish its sigh,

it was quickly pushed aside by another gray figure, eagerly diving into the wounded and bleeding body.

"Someone, help me!" Zhang Yuan's heart rang with alarm. The pain of his mind being torn apart caused his body to twitch constantly, and his limbs felt like they were filled with lead, completely uncontrollable.

"What can you do?" Zhang Yuan shouted with his remaining consciousness, repeatedly addressing a small black shadow in a dark corner of his consciousness.

"Quiet! Quiet! Let me think about it. I've never encountered something like this before. Let me think again!"

Qin Feng was also extremely panicked, even beginning to regret his recklessness.

His immature risk had not only harmed himself, but also the innocent Zhang Yuan. "Woohoo! I haven't even married yet!" Zhang Yuan fretted, feeling the remnant of his soul gradually dissipate.

"Quiet! Quiet! There must be a way!" Qin Feng tried to soothe Zhang Yuan.

The small spirit within Zhang Yuan's consciousness was named Qin Feng.

In his previous life, as a firefighter, he was killed in a firefighting operation when an explosion occurred, incinerating him.

As a result, his soul traveled through time and space into this current body.

However, unlike other time travelers, the original owner of this body, Zhang Yuan, remained alive and well, while Qin Feng had become another consciousness within it!

At first, Zhang Yuan was terrified by the inexplicable presence of another consciousness within his body. But after a period of familiarity, he realized it held no ill will towards him, and reluctantly accepted the reality.

This consciousness, Qin Feng, claimed to be from a place called Blue Star, a world completely different from this one, inhabited by an advanced civilization that Zhang Yuan could not fathom. Upon learning that this was an alien continent where cultivation could take place, Qin Feng was equally astonished.

He felt both excited and terrified.

"This is all a dream," he kept telling himself.

Sometimes, he felt as if everything was illusory, a mere fantasy of a dying person.

And yet, everything felt so real.

With Zhang Yuan's permission, he could temporarily take over this body. When his consciousness took over, he could feel everything he could, including heat, cold, and pain, as if this body were his original one.

But he wasn't greedy. He knew he couldn't occupy this body for too long. To prevent the original owner from feeling anxious, he would return control of the body to Zhang Yuan after a brief experience.

After a period of interaction, Qin Feng came to understand that Zhang Yuan was a very kind person. He had no grand ambitions, simply striving to survive. His days were routine, relying on farming for a living, tending to his family's small plot of land. His routine was a routine:

Wake up, eat—go out to farm—come home, eat—go out to farm—come home, eat again, sleep again.

Qin Feng believed that without his arrival, Zhang Yuan would likely have lived out his life in peace, like most people.

But Qin Feng refused to live in such a peaceful state.

So, Qin Feng took the initiative to assume the role of "future leader."

However, without the golden finger, he and Zhang Yuan would become the muck of this world. To avoid being held back by Zhang Yuan, he would become the fertilizer for the crops of this land decades from now.

Qin Feng's first priority was to develop Zhang Yuan's "intelligence." He wanted to crack open Zhang Yuan's tightly locked "gate of desire"! If he couldn't eliminate it, then he would assimilate it!

Qin Feng, still relying on the "knowledge" and "strategies" he remembered from his past life, took the first step in his great undertaking: "Eagle Training!"

After days and nights of incessant lectures, Qin Feng finally instilled in Zhang Yuan the plots of several immortal cultivation novels and action-packed anime he had accumulated in his past life.

Though it was a bit arduous, the results were encouraging. Zhang Yuan was finally impressed by Qin Feng's "extensive knowledge" and decided to explore the world with him, seeking his own destiny.

First, they set their sights on the hen at Aunt Zhang's house, which hadn't laid eggs in a while.

After several days of observation, the two came to a unanimous conclusion: "This chicken is something special!"

This was a unique hen!

It was a hen, but it didn't lay eggs. Its feathers were exceptionally bright, and it walked with a majestic and energetic demeanor.

The main difference was that its call didn't sound like a chicken's. It was more like the cry of a phoenix from movies and TV dramas. Its crows made both roosters and hens bow their heads respectfully and make way for it!

Qin Feng saw it as a path to becoming a phoenix.

Perhaps phoenix blood flowed within its body, and consuming it would grant him his own golden finger.

They heated up the wok, ate a hearty meal, and then lay in bed, carefully observing the changes in their bodies.

In the end, they felt nothing! That night, apart from an exceptionally sound sleep, nothing else!

They remained undaunted. Opportunities don't just come naturally.

They had resolved to rely on 99.99% effort to find that elusive opportunity, and with that one chance, they would ascend to the pinnacle of this world, battle the heavens, and gaze down upon all living things!

Soon, their attention was drawn to the young widow.

This woman had a graceful figure, a charming and alluring figure, a true enchanting young woman.

Every day, she would sit in the yard, basking in the sun, reading a book, tending to flowers and plants, and going out to buy things at the market with a small basket. She gave him none of the signs of loneliness and desolation she might otherwise have possessed. In this world, a widow living such a comfortable life was the ultimate anomaly.

A hard worker like Zhang Yuanzhuo, toiling away daily, still lived from one meal to the next.

After Qin Feng's advice, Zhang Yuan's mind suddenly opened.

A demon! It was a demon.

The two who learned the "truth" were horrified.

It was a demon, but first they had to rule out the possibility of a harmful demon!

The young widow had lived in the village for many years, and the village had always been peaceful, without any signs of ghosts or demons.

But just to be safe, they still sought out a wandering Taoist priest, who painted several life-saving and exorcism talismans and carried them with them.

That night! Under a dark and windy moon, a figure climbed over the low wall and quietly slipped into the young widow's courtyard. Soon, a series of rustling sounds emanated from the room, accompanied by the creaking of the low bed, interspersed with a few women's plaintive cries.

…

The time it took to elapse quickly as a sturdy figure pushed open the door and, with familiarity, leaped over the low wall and dashed off into the distance.

The sound of someone landing on the wall startled Qin Feng from his deep sleep. He concluded the noise came from the young widow's house next door and urged Zhang Yuan to go investigate.

Zhang Yuan expressed fear and reluctance to go, but Qin Feng refused to give in and seized control of his body—a situation where both risk and opportunity coexisted.

That sound just now was like something leaving the widow's yard? It must be a demon, and he was determined to find out what was going on in her lair!

He touched the talisman in his arms, then retrieved a hatchet from the firewood pile, carefully scaling the low wall.

Zhang Yuan was incredibly agile, landing without making a sound, and stealthily reached the widow's door. Hearing the sound of running water, the two men cautiously peered through the crack in the door.

Candlelight flickered. In the middle of the room stood a large bathtub. A woman sat in it, scooping water over herself. Her arms were as white as silk, and looking down, a sea of white…

This scene sent a surge of blood rushing through Zhang Yuan's body, his mouth dry.

One body, two young souls inexperienced in the world, both awed by the scene before them.

I've never seen anything like this before!

Qin Feng seemed to have forgotten the purpose of his visit, and didn't bother to ponder why this enchantress was still home.

He only regretted that Zhang Yuan hadn't opened his eyes more, completely absorbed in the scenery, afraid of missing a single detail.

He shifted slightly, preparing to change his angle.

"Snap!" A crisp sound shattered the hot and tranquil moment. Looking at the broken bowl at his feet, Zhang Yuan's reaction was still faster. Like a frightened cat, he leaped out of the hole and ran towards home, leaping over the low wall with the agility of a cat.

His movements were smooth and fluid, without a single hesitation.

"Who!"

The moment he scaled the wall, a woman's frightened voice echoed from within the house.

What awaited her was only the silent night. Outside, there was no sound except the wind.