CH 1

There is an old saying that goes like this—to lay eyes upon something auspicious is an ill omen. Nan Feng was greatly pained; he had a deep realization of this saying, as he was really having a streak of bad fortune after a certain incident.

The problem dated back to the previous day. When Nan Feng returned to his house on a day gone by, he chanced upon his cousin, who was disrobing and showering her body. Though the sight was tempting, it proved to be an unfortunate occurrence.

Nan Feng was a soldier, originally surnamed Nan Guo, but due to his uncommon surname, many referred to him as Nan Feng. To be exact, he was a specially selected student of the military academy, hailing from an ancient family steeped in martial arts. He excelled in hand-to-hand combat and was specially recruited for the military academy in his adolescent years. At present, he was but seventeen summers old and was well liked by his peers. And according to the leadership of the military academy, his skills in killing were developing well, and because of his good-looking appearance and promising future, he was the military academy’s heartthrob.

During his three years at the military academy, Nan Feng accomplished numerous missions, and his future appeared to be bright and promising, having earned several military awards at such a young age. Yet, upon beholding the beauty of his cousin as she emerged from her bath, everything changed.

The instructor tasked Nan Feng with assisting in the laboratory, yet he struggled to grasp the assignment. It wasn’t due to a lack of comprehension, but rather because his mind was clouded by thoughts of his alluring cousin. Consequently, his focus strayed to the instructor’s behind, and he indulged in a fantasy. This caused a blunder in the originally familiar explosive formula.

Was there an issue with the explosives? The answer was a resounding no. Nonethless, thinking there’d be a crisis, Nan Feng’s exceptional abilities came in handy as he swiftly flew down, knocking down his instructor trying to take cover.

The instructor, known for her meticulous focus on both training and upkeep, was surprisingly slender, and her body putting pressure against Nan Feng’s body instantly caused him to feel a peculiar sensation below.

“Nan Feng, what are you thinking? What are you going to do?” The gorgeous instructor, Chen Luo, who was clad in just an upskirt and no trousers, flushed before quickly obstructing the spot where Nan Feng’s emotions were in turmoil due to his restiveness while at the same time trying to steer clear of physical contact with him.

“I’m sorry; I’m really sorry. I involuntarily shook my hand and caused a stir. There seems to be an issue with the alignment of the explosives, and I became worried about a potential blast…” Nan Feng stammered a bit while speaking.

“You still have shaking hands?” Nan Feng was pressing his hand against a sensitive area of Chen Luo’s body, and she immediately glared at him with furious eyes that wanted to spew fire.

Nan Feng quickly stood up and propped himself up with his hands as he savored the sensation. However, accompanied by Chen Luó’s coquetish panting voice, she involuntarily kicked her leg out in anger and hit the leg of the table. The explosives and chemicals on the table toppled over together.

Following a loud, explosive roar, Nan Feng’s consciousness faded away.

When he woke up again, Nan Feng found that his field of sight was entirely pitch black—a haze of darkness.

Was I blinded by the explosion? Nan Feng was confused and quickly stood up in alarm.

With a muffled bang, he laid down again, clutching his head in pain.

Reaching out, Nan Feng found that he was surrounded by wooden planks from all sides, and his head had just made its first contact with the wooden planks.

What the hell, am in coffin?! Nan Feng cursed inwardly as he found himself lying in a coffin, disoriented and unsure of what was happening.

Bending his knees, Nan Feng began to attack the coffin’s wooden walls.

After several blows, he managed to smash open one side of the coffin.

“The quality of the coffin is not that great.” In his current powerless state, Nan Feng grumbled as he bled from his knee and elbow. Following the cracks from the impact, he slowly extended his arm to widen the gap and crawled out.

A pile of tombs!

Under the evening sun, a pile of isolated tombs appeared before him.

With confusion clouding his mind, Nan Feng patted the back of his head vigorously. As a member of an ancient martial arts family, he had paid his respects at the ancestral grave many times. Even if he was buried alive, to actually end up as a solitary tombstone, never to be remembered or honored, was beyond his comprehension.

After touching the back of his head, Nan Feng felt a spell of dizziness wash over him. Blood stained his hands, and the back of his head was covered in a crimson hue. is it like this because of the explosion?

Looking back, Nan Feng found that this was the cemetery where he was buried alive.

Reaching into his pants pocket, he searched for a cigarette, intending to bask in tranquil solitude while savoring a smoke.

Hower, surprisingly his hand came up empty, he was wearing neither jeans nor military pants, but instead a long robe, which left Nan Feng momentarily bewildered.

At that moment, two youths appeared in his field of vision, wearing filial hats and carrying a basket filled with offerings.

When they saw Nanfeng sitting at the grave, the two guys were stunned.

“Ghost…” Almost simultaneously, the two guys turned around and ran away.

“What the hell? your sister is the ghost!” Nanfeng lunged forward and grabbed one of the youths.

The young man turned around and punched Nan Feng right in the forehead. The punch was quick, and Nan Feng, who was not anticipating it, had no time to dodge.

With his head ringing with stars, Nan Feng squatted down, but he did not release his grip, maintaining a strong hold on the young man’s sleeve.

“Hmm? Blood? Young Master, you are alive?” The young man looked at the blood on his hand, sniffed it, and gazed at Nan Feng with some surprise.

“Young Master… can you explain what’s going on here? Who the hell buried me alive? Thank the heavens it wasn’t a cremation.” Nan Feng’s head throbbed with pain, and he lacked the strength to even open his eyes.

“Young Master, you cannot blame me. It was the work of several other young masters,” the young man stammered.

“What young masters? Take your time and explain,” Nan Feng rubbed the back of his head and looked at the blood in his hand with anger. Young masters? My cousins? This is far from over.

“Several of the young masters have coveted your title for quite some time. They used the excuse of your peeping on Miss Qi while she was bathing to beat you to death and report to the elders that you fled in guilt,” the young man whispered.

“Peeping while bathing… fleeing in guilt, title?” Nan Feng was completely confused, not comprehending the situation at hand.

“Young Master, you can’t blame me. The young lady is not home, so everything in the manor is decided by Lord Liang.” The young man whispered.

“Don’t worry; I won’t blame you; it’s not your fault. Can you then please tell me more about what’s going on inside the manor, in detail?” Nan Feng’s head was about to explode, and everything that was happening felt unusual.

As the little guy named Mu Mu recounted out the details, Nan Feng eventually understood that he had entered a parallel dimension that his instructor, Chen Luo, often talked about—a parallel world that was separate from the world he originally inhabited.

The body that Nan Feng was currently inhabiting belonged to a peculiar young master from the Tang marquisate of the Bauhinia Kingdom.

The reason he was deemed peculiar is because he lacked the Tang surname. The Tang house was from the part of Nan Feng’s mother, and no one within the family dared mention his father’s background, as it was strictly prohibited inside the Tang marquisate.

Nan Feng’s mother was a master alchemist in the Bauhinia kingdom, and because of her outstanding achievements, she was awarded a hereditary title specially bestowed by the Bauhinia King.

The Bauhinia Kingdom has a strict hierarchy consisting of five ranks: King, Duke, Marquis, Earl, and Count, which were the only five noble titles with no mention of a barony. Nan Feng had only a vague understanding of this system.

The arrival of a new noble title in the Tang marquisate has brought about a dilemma. As the Tang family was a vast clan, many cousins of Nan Feng have set their sights on the title of Tang Yun. Were Nan Feng to bear the Tang surname, no one would dare contend with him. However, the crucial point is that Nan Feng does not bear the Tang surname, and thus the legitimate heirs of the Tang marquisate must engage in a competition for the title.

Nan Feng’s mother was learning alchemy at the Kingdom’s Alchemists Workshop and was not within the manor. In her absence, his cousins staged a scene in which they caught Nan Feng peeking at a young lady while she was bathing, then beat him to death with sticks and disposed of his body at a random burial ground. They claimed to others that Nan Feng had run away from guilt. And according to Mu Mu, he did actually peek at the young lady while she was bathing.

“All sorts of drama have happened; let’s go back,” said Nan Feng, brushing off the dirt on his body.

“Young master, don’t go back; you’ll just get beat up and killed again.” Mu Mu said anxiously, pulling on Nan Feng’s sleeve.

****

TN: “唐侯府” (táng hóu fǔ) is in the literal sense Tang Marquis residence/estate

That’s why I chose to call it the “Tang marquisate”. If I’m wrong about anything, please leave a message.