George Smith said coldly, “You deserve to die.” Glancing at the sky, he sat down and stared at the oasis, like a hungry wolf waiting patiently for its prey.

The sun slowly set, the evening breeze blew, and I collapsed into the puddle, exhausted and a little panicked. According to Edward Foster’s prophecy, in a little while, I was supposed to die. And this bastard beside me didn’t seem to care whether I lived or died.

George Smith suddenly stood up.

Strings of bubbles gurgled up from the oasis, like a pot of boiling porridge, churning violently. The beautiful oasis turned into a filthy black mire, and the jewels all sank down.

A gigantic head slowly emerged from the mire—green horns, eyes like bronze bells, thick limbs covered in long, sharp barbs. The monster arched its body and roared at the sky, spewing out the two large characters “北境” from its bloody maw.

“北境! It really is 北境!” George Smith cried out in a trembling voice, throwing away the sheepskin map, his face wild with joy.

The two characters “北境” slowly transformed into two sharp swords. A man and a woman in Daoist robes leapt out, swords flashing with white light, slicing the monster into a dazzling rain of blood.

Before I could figure out what was happening, George Smith had already grabbed me and rushed forward.

The Daoist-robed man and woman shouted fiercely, swinging their long swords, slashing at us with deadly force.

The sword light was as brilliant as the blazing sun.

George Smith lifted me up, holding me firmly in front of him as a shield.

Fuck your ancestors for eighteen generations! George Smith, may you never have a son with an asshole! Watching the sharp swords approach, the cold biting into my skin, I cursed at the top of my lungs. So after all this, George Smith brought me here just to die!

What a fucking joke. I followed George Smith to save my life, but in the end, I dug my own grave. Edward Foster, your damned prophecy was spot on!

Just as the sword touched me, it instantly melted away like candle wax. The Daoist-robed man and woman cried out in shock, stared at me, and suddenly vanished.

I… didn’t die?

I couldn’t believe it. Were those two gleaming swords made of malt syrup or something?

Boom! An ancient tomb slowly rose up, the tombstone cracked open, crumbling into fine sand that rolled away, revealing a pitch-black cave below, unfathomably deep.

In my ear, I heard George Smith’s sinister laughter. Suddenly, a powerful force grabbed me, and he dragged me toward the depths of the tomb.

At that moment, the setting sun disappeared over the horizon.

That day, I, just seventeen years old, vanished from the lands of the Tang Dynasty.

Chapter 004: Me and My Past Life (Part 2)

The wind howled past my ears, darkness all around, as I plummeted at high speed into the deep pit.

With a thud, my butt hit solid ground. Stars danced before my eyes, I spat out a mouthful of blood, and passed out.

When I woke up, it was a brand new world.

A yellow sea.

A vast desert sea, undulating endlessly, stretching all the way to the edge of the world.

The raft sped across the yellow sand, light as a leaf. George Smith crouched at the front, his wide robe fluttering, brushing over the sand sea like a rowing oar.

“Where is this place?” I opened my eyes, looking around in confusion. The blazing sun overhead was blindingly white, not a breath of wind, the air thick like solidified steam.

All around was empty and desolate, so quiet it was frightening.

“The Sea of Reincarnation Sands.” George Smith turned his head, his expression strange.

“The Sea of Reincarnation Sands?” I repeated blankly. My aching bones and the bloodstains on my clothes reminded me this wasn’t a dream.

I’m not dead! I’m still alive! I really am alive! Overjoyed, I flailed my arms and legs in excitement. I survived the disaster! Damn it, George Smith, this bastard really does have some tricks!

George Smith stared at me, then suddenly plunged his hand into the sand sea and pulled it out. With a flick in front of my eyes, the flesh on his palm had vanished, leaving only bare white bone. As I screamed, George Smith plunged his hand into the sand again, pulled it back, and the flesh had regrown.

“This is reincarnation—death, rebirth, renewal.” George Smith squinted, grinning like a demon.

I shuddered. “Where are we going?”

“北境.”

“北境?” Images of the ferocious monster and the sword-wielding Daoist couple flashed through my mind. What kind of place was 北境? Why had I never heard anyone mention it?

George Smith said in a sinister voice, “Don’t worry. As long as you follow me, whatever you want, you can have.”

I looked up in confusion. The endless sand sea stretched on, and the sixteen years of my past drifted away with the moving raft.

So far away, it felt like a dream from another life.

In the vast desert, a few wavering shadows appeared. The raft sped forward, brushing past them.

A bird with dull feathers flapped its wings, struggling out of a sand dune, then collapsed into the sand sea, turning into a skeleton.

A hand suddenly reached out from the desert, then quickly withdrew. In that instant, I saw thick black hair covering the palm.

I cried out in surprise, “What was that?”

“Those are people who tried to enter here.” George Smith sneered. “They were all extremely clever, and accidentally discovered the secret of 北境. Unfortunately, now they can only be trapped in this vast sea of sand, turned into beasts, suffering endless cycles of reincarnation.”

I was deeply shaken. “What kind of place is 北境, really?”