How long has it been since the Emperor last came here? The young prince William Norton fell into deep thought. It must have been more than three months. The last time he came, it was just passing by, and he left after sitting for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. No wonder—who would want to spend time in the quarters of a sickly prince? Even his mother consort was the same. Ever since his younger brother grew up and was predicted by a certain fortune-teller to have an extremely noble fate, she, who used to occasionally visit Fenghua Palace, rarely came anymore. Even if she did, her expression was distant, as if he was not her son at all. Born into the imperial family—if this is what it means to be of royal blood, he would rather not have it. All he wished for was loving parents and family. But he couldn’t achieve that. No one could help him achieve it. No one...

Henry Linton braced himself and stepped into his home. Every time he returned, seeing his mother force a smile made his heart feel as heavy as iron. “I’m back,” he called softly, but no one answered from inside the house. That had never happened before. Ever since his father broke his leg, his mother had never left his side, afraid he might do something foolish. A hunter who can no longer walk loses his ability to make a living, and the young Henry Linton had no way to take his father’s place and support the family. This already struggling household had now fallen into dire straits.

“Father, Mother, where are you?” The terrified Henry Linton shouted loudly, a flood of dreadful thoughts rushing into his mind, making him tremble with fear.

He rushed into the inner room and found a small note. The handwriting was even more childish than a child’s, but in a small village like this, it was already rare. This was thanks to Henry Linton often sneaking to the private school of the village’s wealthy family to listen in, then teaching his father how to write. “Son, Mother has taken your father to Zhao Village outside the village. I heard there’s someone there who can treat his leg.” The hastily written words made his eyes sting with tears. Zhao Village was more than ten li away, and the poor Lian family couldn’t afford a donkey. Walking all that way, the person who could treat his father’s leg might have already left by the time they arrived.

Leaning alone against the wall, though he had nothing to eat, he gradually drifted into sleep. In his dreams, he was no longer the child of a poor family. He dreamed of himself wearing splendid clothes, surrounded by many beautiful girls, living in a huge house. Sometimes, he even saw a woman as beautiful as a fairy, and an old man more dignified than any county official... Ever since he could remember, he had dreamed of such scenes every day. Sometimes, he even had the illusion that his suffering was fake, that he was meant to live in that grand house. Yet every time he woke up, all he saw was the empty house and his weather-beaten parents.

Leaning on the railing at the door, William Norton gazed at the clouds in the sky, and in a daze, slipped once again into that familiar dream. The first time he experienced that almost-real dream at the age of six, he was shocked by the weathered faces of the old couple. In that home, he was just an ordinary poor child—no silks and satins, no grand house or fine food, only bare walls and a shabby room, his aged parents, and himself. Life was unimaginably hard, but there was always a chance to laugh freely.

Immersed in the poverty yet joy of the dream, he wished he could never wake up, forever enjoying those rare moments of happiness. Nothing broke his heart more than the lack of parental affection. He didn’t want to wake up each time to face the cold palace, the insincere eunuchs and maids, and parents who always seemed to forget him. Maybe it would be better if he had never appeared in this world at all...

The spirits of the two young boys became tightly intertwined. In a flash, it was as if they had become each other. In two separate realities, a dazzling bolt of lightning flashed across the distant sky, followed by a deafening crash. People hiding indoors covered their ears in terror as the thunder roared. At the same time, in the dreams of the two boys, a thick bolt of lightning suddenly struck straight down at them, hitting their insignificant spiritual worlds. Everything shattered into points of light, and they felt themselves being pulled into an incomparably dark abyss, sinking deeper and deeper...

Chapter One: Rebirth

A faint, acrid smell of burning lingered in his nose and mouth. Thinking of that sudden lightning strike, William Norton could only give a bitter, helpless smile. Unfortunately, he couldn’t move at all now—there was nothing but darkness, no other sensation. Was he really going to die? Instinctively, he felt a strange anticipation for the fate that awaited him. A cripple bedridden for years, even his own parents looked down on him—maybe it was better to die. Though he seemed to hear anxious voices faintly in his ears, he felt as if the road to the underworld was right before his eyes, and his obsession drove him to sink deeper and deeper.

Suddenly, William Norton felt a cool sensation on his face, followed by an icy liquid being poured into his mouth. In an instant, he felt as if all his internal organs were about to freeze. Who was it? Knowing full well how frail he had always been, who dared use ice on him? Did even the palace servants wish so eagerly for his death? A surge of anger instantly scattered his death wish, and he moved slightly.