Back in the Human Realm, Zhang Chi had already performed a divination on his own fate. But since it involved the Spirit Realm and its powerful experts, the reading was far from precise. He had only foreseen that he wouldn’t perish and would successfully make the passage.
However, the process proved to be far more difficult than he had anticipated.
Had he not made a series of correct decisions, possessed powerful enough Spiritual Treasures and Combat Power, and had the Substitute Death Technique, he would have been killed long ago.
Though he was still alive, the preceding escape had taken a massive toll on him.
The enemy was a Void Refining Powerhouse, so the damage inflicted had long surpassed what Zhang Chi could endure. Even after using the Substitute Death Technique, his injuries were more severe than any he had ever sustained.
Even after Zhang Chi took a Nine Revolutions Soul Reviving Pill, the effect was surprisingly limited.
Worse still, Zhang Chi didn’t dare to linger, as his enemy would likely search the vast surrounding area.
That was why he let himself fall into the great river. This way, even if he fell unconscious, he would be carried downstream and eventually escape this calamity.
—
「Thirty years passed in a flash.」
Zhang Chi sank into the great river, hovering just above the riverbed as the current carried him forward. During this time, countless fish, shrimp, and even Demon Beasts approached, wanting to devour him. Unfortunately for them, they were utterly unable to breach his defenses.
Furthermore, some powerful Demon Beasts could even sense the faint, oppressive aura emanating from Zhang Chi, and thus didn’t dare to make a move.
Only fish, shrimp, and Low Tier Demon Beasts with little to no intelligence failed to sense the threat, but they lacked the strength to do him any harm.
Drifting along with the current like this, Zhang Chi had no idea how far he had traveled. One day, he was finally caught in a fishing net and hauled up from the depths of the great river.
"Master, Master, something terrible has happened! We’ve hauled up a corpse."
A large boat was sailing on the great river. On its deck lay a tall young man, but he was motionless with his eyes closed. It was none other than Zhang Chi.
The ones who had hauled him up were several men who looked like servants.
They had thought they’d caught a big fish, but when they discovered they’d pulled up a corpse instead, they were immediately terrified.
Then, one of them hurriedly reported the news to their master.
"Making such a fuss over a trivial matter. Where’s your decorum? Be quiet and take me to see it at once."
The master was a portly, richly dressed man of about fifty. He immediately reprimanded the servant but then hurried to the deck himself.
Evidently, he too was startled by the news.
With him were several other servants and maids.
Several maids were clustered around a graceful, elegant woman who appeared to be in her forties.
"It really is a dead body. What bad luck. Throw him back into the river at once. We’ll pretend we never saw anything. Do you all understand?" The Master glanced at Zhang Chi on the deck, his brow furrowing.
"Yes, Master!"
All the servants nodded in unison.
"Wait, I think he’s still breathing. Look," the Madam said suddenly as she came over for a closer look.
"Huh? He really is breathing!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked closer and was quite surprised.
When they first found Zhang Chi, they had already checked him. He had no pulse or breath, and his body was ice-cold, without a trace of warmth.
But now, things were clearly different.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Chi had started breathing at some point, as if he weren’t dead, just asleep.
"He has a pulse now! Could it be that he just fell in the water a short while ago, and we pulled him out just in time, so he came back to life?"
A servant stepped forward, grabbed Zhang Chi’s arm to check, and immediately discovered that Zhang Chi indeed had a heartbeat, and his body had even regained some warmth.
"What are you standing around for? Save him, now!" the Madam urged immediately.
"Master..."
The servants all looked to the Master.
"Do as the Madam says. Save him. And get the ship’s doctor over here."
The Master didn’t hesitate for a moment, immediately backing his wife’s decision.
"Yes, Master!"
Upon hearing his command, the servants sprang into action, with a few of the maids pitching in to help.
They tried things like applying pressure to his abdomen, hoping to make him cough up any water he’d swallowed.
But to their surprise, they found they could barely make an impression on his body, and it didn’t seem like he had swallowed any water at all.
However, all this commotion did cause Zhang Chi’s fingers to twitch slightly. He then slowly opened his eyes, looking at the crowd with a blank expression.
"Where is this? Who are you? I... who am I? Ah, my head hurts so much."
Everyone was overjoyed, but Zhang Chi couldn’t help but ask these confused questions.
The attack from the Void Refining Realm powerhouse had been so strong that it had severely damaged his Divine Soul. As a direct result, even though he was now awake, he had forgotten many things. He couldn’t even remember his own name.
Moreover, whenever he tried to think hard, his head would start to throb with pain.
"What is he saying?"
The crowd, however, was just as confused. The language Zhang Chi spoke was foreign to them; they couldn’t understand a word.
"I don’t know. Maybe he’s a foreigner?"
"He’s probably asking who we are and where this is, right?"
"How do we tell him? Can he even understand us?"
The crowd quickly began to chatter among themselves.
Some tried to communicate with him, telling him their location and who they were, but Zhang Chi couldn’t understand a thing.
’Have I come to a strange place? And we can’t understand each other’s language? Well, at least I’m still alive. And from the looks of it, it seems I fell into this big river and they rescued me.’
’I must have lost my memory because I almost died, or because something happened before I fell into the water. Once I rest for a while, I’m sure I’ll recover. The priority right now is to survive.’
Although Zhang Chi had lost his memory, he found that his mind was still sharp. He quickly deduced the general situation from the scene and the gestures the people around him made while they spoke.
"My lord, what should we do?"
The Madam found this turn of events unexpected and couldn’t help but look to the Master.
"Both banks of the river are nothing but wilderness. Let’s give him a ride for now. If we put him ashore here, he’ll just get killed by some wild animal. However, we’re not his family and we don’t know where he comes from, so we can’t just keep him with us. The best thing to do is let him off at the next port."
"If you’re still worried, my dear, we can give him some money for his travels when the time comes. That way, we’ll have performed a good deed and seen it through to the end!" The Master added, glancing at the riverbanks and pondering for a moment.
"Of course, my lord. That’s perfect. We just came from burning incense and praying at the Three Elements Temple, and we encountered him on our way back. This must be a test from the heavens. By saving him, we’ve passed the test, and our wishes will surely be granted!" the Madam nodded, delighted.
"Yes, it must be so."
The Master immediately agreed.
After that, the Master called over an elderly man who looked like a steward and explained his arrangements.
The steward then took some men and led Zhang Chi to a cabin, gesturing to explain the situation as they went, intending to get him settled.
Originally, the steward and the others were worried that Zhang Chi wouldn’t understand and wouldn’t cooperate, but fortunately, the process went smoothly. Although Zhang Chi couldn’t understand their words, he easily guessed their general meaning.
And so, Zhang Chi was quickly settled into his new quarters.
The steward had originally sent someone to prepare dry, thick clothes for Zhang Chi, but they discovered that the clothes on his body were already dry. Even his skin and hair had dried quickly.
Or rather, it was as if the river water couldn’t stay on Zhang Chi’s body and clothes. The moment he stood up, the water immediately flowed onto the deck, and afterward, it was as if he had never been in the water at all.
The steward and the others marveled at this, and even Zhang Chi was surprised by it.
’Am I some kind of extraordinary person? And are these clothes I’m wearing special too?’ Zhang Chi wondered.
Next, the steward still had someone prepare ginger soup for Zhang Chi, as if afraid he would catch a cold.
Zhang Chi couldn’t understand their words, but looking at the somewhat familiar ginger soup, he immediately understood their meaning. He smiled his thanks and even took a sip of the soup.
However, after the person left, he secretly spat out the soup, afraid it might be poisoned.
He also secretly opened a window and poured the rest of the soup into the river.
Though he felt bad for wasting their kindness, it was undoubtedly the safer option.
After a while, the steward had a clever-looking young maid, about thirteen or fourteen years old, bring a meal to Zhang Chi.
The meal was simple: just a large bowl of lean meat congee, a side of pickled radish, and two small bowls with two spoons.
Seeing that Zhang Chi didn’t eat immediately, the young maid used a spoon to take a little of the congee and ate it herself. Then she spoke while making some gestures at Zhang Chi.
Zhang Chi still couldn’t understand her words, but he immediately understood her meaning: she was showing him that the congee was fine.
As for the extra bowl and spoon, they were clearly there specifically for her to taste-test it on the spot and prove it was safe.
’This must be a young maid, right? Was this her idea, or that old steward’s? They’re quite clever and considerate.’
Seeing this, Zhang Chi couldn’t help but smile slightly. He immediately started eating and quickly finished the large bowl of congee.
In truth, he wasn’t hungry, but he still felt a comfortable warmth spreading through his stomach.
Moreover, he discovered that the food seemed to digest very quickly; soon after, he didn’t feel bloated at all.
It was just that after he digested the food, he still wasn’t the least bit hungry, and instead seemed to be filled with energy.
’My body really is something special. Even my digestion is this powerful!’
Zhang Chi felt increasingly certain that his body held secrets.
After that, the young maid, now satisfied, took the dishes and left.
The following days were very peaceful and routine.
Every day, this young maid would bring meals to Zhang Chi and try to talk with him.
The meals also went from simple to more lavish, as they had apparently been worried about his digestion at first.
Meanwhile, Zhang Chi’s freedom wasn’t restricted, so he would wander around the ship every day. The people on board were curious about him, and most were quite friendly.
Thanks to his extremely sharp mind, Zhang Chi quickly mastered the local language through these interactions, and he also managed to learn a few things about his situation.