Matthew Bolton took the carving knife, stood outside the large sphere, and reached the knife inside. Gazing at the symbols projected on the wall, he wielded the knife as if dancing, quickly finishing the engraving. Next, he switched to an extremely tiny, slender welding torch, carefully reaching in to weld the densely packed white-striped pulse signal wires.

　　One.

　　Two.

　　Three.

　　……

　　The final wire was at last welded. Matthew Bolton let out a long sigh of relief and stretched lazily. Just as he was about to turn around, the large sphere beside him suddenly began to spin violently and rapidly. Brilliant laser beams crisscrossed like fireworks, and a powerful suction force came from within the sphere, pulling him inside.

　　In an instant, dazzling light erupted. By the time Professor Carter reacted, he could only watch helplessly as several years of his hard work turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished into the ground.

　　Faintly, Matthew Bolton's hysterical curses echoed in his ears: You bastard surnamed Zhou, you won't die a good death, you'll go to hell!

Volume One: A World in a Pot

Chapter 1: Young Master Clark

　　He actually transmigrated?!

　　A house with carved beams and painted rafters, antique furnishings, people in strange ancient clothes... All of this told Matthew Bolton that he had crossed over. The former Matthew Bolton was dead; now, reborn, he was a wealthy young master named Ethan Clark in Yanshen Town, Yidu County, Qingzhou Prefecture, at the end of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1395). But for some reason, his mind seemed to hold only his own memories, while those of this rich young master were extremely vague.

　　There was nothing he could do. He had to pretend to have "amnesia" and only then managed to learn his current basic situation from the servant Henry Clark—Thomas ClarkEthan Clark, 18 years old, parents died of illness two years ago, and he had a newlywed wife at home, though apparently they had not consummated the marriage yet, for reasons unknown. There were four servants: Henry Clark and his father, the old steward Old Clark, both long-time family retainers, and two young maids named Liam Young and Lucy Young, who had come as part of his wife Liu Ruomei's dowry.

　　Was this luck or misfortune? He gave a bitter smile, twitching the corner of his mouth, and slowly opened his eyes. Sooner or later, he would have to face it; lying in bed forever was not a solution. He had already lain on the bed with his eyes closed, "contemplating," for a whole day and night.

　　"Young master! You're awake?" A young, smiling face leaned in, eyes squinting into slits, and a strong smell of garlic wafted from his mouth.

　　He frowned, moved the limbs of this body that did not originally belong to him, and slowly sat up. Looking at the short, chubby young man in ancient dress before him—The Clark Estate's servant Henry Clark—he sighed deeply, " Henry Clark, pour me a cup of water."

　　"Yes, young master, just wait a moment, Henry Clark will make tea for you right away." Henry Clark scampered out.

　　"Ethan Clark" composed himself, got out of bed, and, facing a bronze mirror in the room, examined himself while muttering: Not bad, much more handsome than the 'me' of my previous life. Also, this long blue robe looks even more dashing than the jacket and jeans I wore before crossing over.

　　He waited a long time, but Henry Clark still hadn't brought the tea. Ethan Clark coughed twice, his throat itching and uncomfortable.

　　After a while, a clatter of footsteps sounded, and four people entered the spacious, lavishly decorated bedroom. One was Henry Clark, carrying a cup of tea; another was a kindly-faced old man; and the other two were young girls of similar age, both wearing light green short skirts.

　　"Young master!" the four called out in unison.

　　"Ethan Clark" slowly raised his head, tugged awkwardly at the long robe he was not used to, turned around, and forced a faint smile.

　　……

　　Old Clark said respectfully, "Young master, you should rest first. This old servant will go find a doctor to take a look at you, see if you hurt yourself from drinking—how could you forget who you are?"

　　"No need, maybe I'll be fine in a few days, you don't have to worry." Ethan Clark smiled slightly and shook his head gently. "You may go now. I—this young master wants to be alone for a while."

　　Old Clark, Henry Clark, Liam Young, and Lucy Young exchanged glances and withdrew. As she walked, Liam Young muttered softly, "Uncle Clark, how could someone wake up with amnesia just from drinking? So strange!"

　　"Yeah, Henry Clark, don't you think the young master not only lost his memory, but his temperament is completely different? He speaks gently now, doesn't curse, and even the way he looks at people has changed... It's like he's a different person." That was Lucy Young's voice.

　　"Enough, be quiet. We're just servants, don't gossip about the young master behind his back," Old Clark scolded softly.

　　Ethan Clark listened to their conversation from inside the room and thought to himself, it seems the soul that has possessed and been reborn in this body wasn't a good person. Just from the way the two maids looked at him with both disdain and fear when they first came in, he could guess as much.

　　But for now, he couldn't worry about that. What mattered was how to survive in the Ming Dynasty with this identity and body. He sighed deeply. Fortunately, it was the Ming Dynasty—a period he was very familiar with and fond of. Not only had he read several historical novels, but he had also studied Ming history in his spare time. At least he wouldn't be a "blind man with his eyes open"!