Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation

Jin Shu couldn't feel his body. He wasn't even sure if he still had one.

The last thing he remembered was being struck by heavenly punishment lightning—both Yin and Yang extremes—enduring a pain so unimaginable it felt like being devoured alive by billions of ants. It was excruciating… but brief.

When it ended, he found himself drifting in a bleak, silent whiteness that stretched endlessly in all directions.

"..."

He tried to call out for his otherselves—for anyone—but no sound escaped his lips. If he even had lips anymore.

He reached out with his mind, but even thoughts refused to form. Inside and out, there was nothing. As if he had ceased to exist.

Time passed—whether a fleeting moment or an eternity, he couldn't tell—before the endless white suddenly shimmered with flickering colors.

Scenes began unfolding before him—memories of his life… but seen through someone else's eyes.

The first was from when he was a newborn. He assumed it was his mother gazing down at him. Though he heard no sound, he felt the rush of love and warmth pouring from her heart. That simple emotion stirred something within him, letting him feel again.

The second scene showed another figure—perhaps his stepmother—watching him as a baby. This time, his mother was holding him in her arms as he reached out and wrapped his tiny fingers around the observer's hand. Another surge of emotion flooded him, stronger this time.

The third scene struck him at once—Yin'er. The day she first clung to him. Only now, he saw it through her eyes as she crawled onto his chest, nestled against him, and fell asleep. She had felt safe—cherished, as if resting in a mother's embrace.

That memory grounded him, anchoring his awareness in the void. He turned toward the other scenes, each carrying its own weight.

He saw the long nights tending to Biyu's wounds—the quiet moments, the shy glances—and realized those nights had woven their bond together.

Li Xue's scene, unsurprisingly, showed her tossing him into the capital's dungeons. She felt no regret. He'd always known that… which was why he teased her so mercilessly. He didn't hate her, but forgiving her wouldn't come so easily—not when Yin'er or he could have been seriously harmed over baseless accusations.

Then came Tian Li. He recognized her moment just as quickly. They'd been trapped together in that hidden realm, after all. Feeling her emotions now, he was glad fate—or his mistake—had stranded them together. She was falling for him. She only needed one last push… and if he ever got back, he'd make sure to give it.

The last two visions, however, were strange.

One flashed by in a chaotic blur—scenes he didn't recognize and could hardly grasp. All he felt from them was a mix of dread, joy… and power.

The final vision drew him in.

A gathering of dragons—and dragon-like beasts—encircled a single figure at their center. His heart clenched. He knew her instantly: his aunt Zui. He stared at the image, an aching longing rising in his chest. Then, as if aware of his gaze, Long Zui lifted her head toward the sky… and met his eyes.

Her lips moved.

"See you soon," she mouthed.

And just like that, the scenes vanished as suddenly as they had appeared.

Jin Shu remained standing in the now vibrant void, surrounded by ribbons—no, threads—of shimmering color that danced in a wind that did not exist. He stared after them, still stunned by the last vision. His aunt… speaking to him through time and space? Even for someone as enigmatic as Long Zui, that was bizarre beyond belief.

He shook his head—and froze.

He could shake his head. He had a head. A body.

The realization sent a ripple of awareness through him. Slowly, he turned his attention back to his surroundings. The dancing threads seemed to twist and weave in a pattern, subtly guiding him deeper into the endless void. With no other choice—and nothing better to do—he followed.

Time lost all meaning. It could have been a heartbeat or a million years before the threads gathered ahead of him, weaving together in a shape he didn't recognize at first. Then, it struck him.

The threads had formed the Unity Rune—the very rune seared over his heart.

A five-pointed star made of tangled, crisscrossing lines, encircled by jagged, chaotic marks he'd never been able to decipher no matter how long he'd stared at them. It looked more like a child's scribble of a starry night—with only one oversized star—than any rune of power.

Compelled by instinct, he reached out and pressed his hand to the center of the star.

Something surged into him.

It wasn't power, not exactly. Nor was it energy in any way he understood. It was… a connection. A tether to something vast. Ancient. Eternal. Like he had brushed against the force that governed existence itself.

And then—

It vanished. Leaving him hollow. Aimless.

Stolen story; please report.

But in the emptiness, another sensation surged up to fill the void—one he knew all too well.

Rage.

Endless, consuming rage.

The same fury he'd felt in the instant before the heavenly punishment struck him down. But this time, it burned hotter, more focused. It gave him a single, crystal-clear purpose.

Tear down the thing known as the heavens.

And just as quickly… it too faded.

No third sensation came.

Instead, a vision took its place.

Nine figures stood before him. Eight women, a tiger-eared toddler, and a dragon-horned man.

His loved ones in this life. Himself, from his first life. And three women he shared recent and fleeting ties with.

They stood together—his past, his present… and perhaps his future—etched into his heart as clearly as if they stood before him in the flesh.

He blinked and when his eyes opened a rush of sensations crashed into him.

The crisp scent of mountain air.
The caress of wind against his skin.
The murmur of distant voices and faint footsteps.

He was there. No vision. No dream.

The same gathering of women stood before him—only this time, he was truly present.

He glanced down… and froze. He was hovering in midair—completely naked. His skin bare of all the runes he'd once seared into it… except for one.

The Unity Rune still burned over his heart.

A sharp sting flared in his right ear. When he touched it, his fingers brushed against something familiar.

The space earring survived the heavenly punishment? he wondered absently.

Under the stunned gazes of the gathered women, his body descended slowly until his feet touched the ground. He reached up and scratched the back of his neck.

"Um… does anyone have a spare robe I could borrow?" he asked, voice low with awkwardness.

His mother was the first to break the silence. "Wow! Impressive!" She gave him a hearty thumbs-up, eyes openly trailing up and down his frame.

"Really?" he asked, incredulous.

She just shrugged.

"Why is Daddy naked?" Yin'er asked, tilting her head. "Are you going to take a bath? But… there's no water…"

It was Yin'er's innocent question that finally snapped everyone out of their daze.

Chen Ai Yun hastily produced a set of clean robes and handed them over. Most of the women turned bright red, whipping their heads to the side. All except Li Xue—who watched him expectantly—Zhu Ren, who merely arched a brow, and his mother, whose eyes gleamed with open mischief.

Jin Shu dressed quickly, then cleared his throat. "You can look now."

Once all eyes were back on him, he opened his mouth—only for a surge of bitter memory to choke the words back. The heavenly punishment… the rage… Liu Hua…

Without thinking, he dropped into a deep kowtow before Feng Lian, slamming his forehead into the mountain rock with enough force to rattle the ground.

"I'm sorry. It was all my fault…"

A heavy silence answered him—until his mother's dry voice broke it.

"What… exactly are you doing?"

He looked up, confusion clouding his face. Shouldn't Feng Lian be furious? Liu Hua had died because of him… or so he believed.

"I… I caused the heavenly punishment. I killed Liu Hua… And yet… I was given another chance at life… but she's gone forever…"

Feng Lian shook her head gently, giving him an unexpectedly soft look.

"Liu Hua isn't dead. Though, I can see why you thought so."

With a wave of her hand, Liu Hua's unconscious body appeared, floating gently in the air. Her chest rose and fell—shallow, but steady.

"She's… alive?" Jin Shu whispered.

"I displaced the space around her at the last moment," Feng Lian explained. "And put her in suspended stasis to fool the heavenly punishment into believing she'd died." She gave a faint smile. "Seems I fooled you too."

The storm of rage and grief that had been tearing at his heart vanished in an instant. Though… he could still feel it—rage—like a slumbering serpent coiled deep in his soul, waiting.

But right now, none of that mattered. Liu Hua was alive.

"Let me w—" Feng Lian started—only to be silenced by Sun Mei'er slapping a hand over her mouth.

"Jin Shu, do you know the story of Sleeping Beauty?" his mother asked with a grin.

He tilted his head. "And… the seven dwarfs?"

The words left his mouth before he even understood why.

She tilted her head in return. "I don't know about any dwarves. I just know there's a sleeping beauty here waiting for your kiss."

She gestured toward Liu Hua, urging him forward.