Shanghai Coastal Forest Park, located on the south-facing coast of Nanhui District, Shanghai, incorporates modern science technology and culture. It's a park that stimulates the beauty of natural forests and creates a green atmosphere for the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. Visitors completely immerse themselves in the natural beauty, engaging in various outdoor activities, sight-seeing, relaxation, and entertainment. It offers an ideal natural environment.
During the day, the park buzzes with lively activities, but the evenings become a realm of tranquility, interrupted only by occasional chirping from birds and insects. The third scenic spot, rich with dense forests, sinks into an even deeper quietude at nightfall, a silence that might be unnerving to some.
Deep within this thick forest, broken branches suggest signs of recent battles. Speckled traces of blood on the ground stir an unsettling feeling. Near the base of a large tree, the loamy soil suddenly begins to move, and a head surprisingly emerges. Thankfully, it's a park, largely deserted at night, else the sight would probably scare any mortal soul away.
The newly surfaced individual shakes his head, then speaks in a masculine voice, "Damn it, nearly suffocated!" He takes in big gulps of air, the earthy aroma of the soil refreshingly hitting his senses. He then starts to survey his surroundings, filled with astonishment yet mostly confused.
He distinctly remembers that he's supposed to be dead, unsure of how he ended up in this unfamiliar environment. As he ponders his situation, a slight buzz echoes in his mind, followed by a momentary blanking out of his brain. Then, four images flash quickly through his mind, presenting to a man named Wang Lin.
Upon seeing these images, Wang Lin is visibly taken aback, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
The four images are quite simple - the first shows an unfamiliar man talking in a luxury room, the second involves him collecting some items from a foreign place. The third image portrays a man fighting some people while the last image, remarkably familiar to his current surroundings, depicts a man dying and being buried.
"What on earth is happening?" Wang Lin is taken aback once again, puzzled about these inexplicable images cropping up in his mind. He clearly remembers undertaking a mysterious mission as a renowned thief, involving a theft of a jade pendant from a famous shrine on the mainland.
Regret seeps in as he recalls what went wrong - after accomplishing the theft, he had accidentally exposed his hiding place to a woman taking her bath there. As a result of his curiosity leading him to observe her for a while, his cloaking skill ended as his internal energy depleted and he was discovered by the woman. Quite awkwardly, this woman turned out to be a saintess from the shrine he had robbed.
Coincidentally, he had quite an interesting past with this woman. They had met when he accidentally bumped into her one day when he was out for a stroll after a meal. She had injuries all over her body and fainted right when she collided with him. Out of kindness, he had saved her. But to his frustration, rather than being grateful, she ended up bringing a string of deadly hunts on him.
Wang Lin was somewhat helpless, he admitted, wasn't it just curiosity that made him unveil Nizi's veil and catch a glimpse of her? And wasn't it just while treating her wounds that he saw something he shouldn't have? However, he couldn’t really be blamed, after all, who would've thought that Nizi’s wound was in such a peculiar location?
Thankfully, he had a unique concealment technique, leaving Nizi powerless against him.
Thinking of this, Wang Lin couldn't help but smirk, a nostalgic look gleamed in his eyes as he murmured, “But Nizi’s lips were quite soft and sweet… and her chest… ah..." Thinking about this, Wang Lin was almost drooling. This wasn’t his fault either; who can blame him when Nizi's way of seeking revenge was so unexpectedly gracious?
He still remembered when he was exposed by Nizi, thinking at that time, if everyone was going to die anyway, why not make a move on the holy maiden himself? So he rushed towards her and forcefully kissed her. But what he didn't expect was that the jade pendant that he stole and placed on his chest suddenly transformed and caused a massive spatial disturbance. His own soul was directly drawn out from his body, and in that moment, he seemed to have dragged the holy maiden along with him!
While reminiscing, a solemn expression appeared on Wang Lin’s face. Wasn’t he dead then? How was he suddenly alive and buried in the dirt?
As his gaze scanned around, a more profound look of confusion appeared in his eyes. Could it be that he was saved by an expert? Thinking of this, Wang Lin felt increasingly suffocated under the dirt, taking a deep breath, he mustered all his strength to struggle out from the earth.
He habitually brushed the dirt off his body only to be surprised that his clothing had undergone an enormous change.
“Eh, who changed my clothes?” Wang Lin's eyes widened. At that moment, the fourth image came to mind - the scene of a strange man being buried.
“No way.” Wang Lin cried out in disbelief once again. He now realized what might have happened. That image couldn’t have been a coincidence, could it? Could his soul have adhered to someone else's body? A possibility flashed across his mind, and an incredulous look appeared in his eyes.
After a while, Wang Lin swallowed hard and quickly explored his own body. It was indeed different from his previous body. He knew that his previous body was not as robust and definitely not as dark as his current one!
“It’s over, it’s over, it's really over.” Wang Lin plopped down, his expression slightly dazed. He used to be a virgin, and he died in such a way? And more importantly, who was this person? He had no idea. Those scenes were so vague, so one-sided, that they explained nothing at all. And of much importance was, if he went out with this body, who would recognize him? They would probably curse him for being insane, right?
“It's all Nizi’s fault.” After a long time, a dazed Wang Lin couldn’t help but yell, his eyes filled with rage. But it soon faded because, in his memory, when the elder of the temple killed him, he seemed to have heard the holy maiden's voice refusing to do so.
“At least she has some conscience.” Wang Lin murmured, sighing deeply, a bitter smile appeared on his face. He then lay down on the ground, closing his eyes. All night, he didn’t know how many times he opened and closed his eyes, but every time, the quiet surrounding was the same as before, without any change.
“Hu hu!” A chill wind blew, the faint coolness made him understand, he was not dreaming.
The sky was getting brighter, when the first light shone down, the air gradually became warm, and then hot. At this moment, Wang Lin again opened his eyes. Breathing the relatively fresh air while looking at the dazzling sunlight, Wang Lin felt much more comfortable.
Taking a deep breath, Wang Lin sat upright and began to inspect his surroundings once again.
At this moment, he discovered evident signs of a previous fight in his surroundings, further confirming his suspicion that his spirit had attached itself onto this person's body.
"However, this guy seems to have some talent, if not for the surprise attack, he might have persisted, right? And why does their fight seem so simple?" Something peculiar reflected in Wang Lin's eyes.
Just as he had finished speaking, he suddenly realized something. He sat down on the ground and after a little while, he opened his eyes, his face filled with an expression of pessimism, "My cultivation method is really gone, my stealth techniques!" After talking, Wang Lin laid back down on the ground. His survival had always depended on that, he didn't anticipate it would just disappear like that.
After a long time, he finally stood up from the ground, the look of gloom receding. He wasn't the type to mope around; even though his stealth techniques were gone, he could still train to regain them. Though it might be arduous, it was ultimately his life-saving method!
Speaking of this set of tactics, it had a bit of a history. His grandfather was a pharmacist, and he too had followed his grandfather to become a skilled pharmacist. He clearly remembered the day he went to pick herbs on the mountain as his grandfather commanded him, only to encounter a beast. He sought refuge in a hidden cave, where he found those tactics.
He surveyed his surroundings again; Wang Lin knew he couldn't stay here for too long. He must leave, or it'd be disastrous if those who killed this body's previous host came back.
However, as he prepared to leave, he unearthed a silver dagger from the soil that he was buried beneath. He paused for a moment, then directly unearthed it.
The dagger was delicate, and he could see at a glance that it was coated with a potent poison. But this poison meant little to him, being a pharmacist in his past life.
He inspected the dagger once again, noticing a symbol on the tail-end of it. The symbol was complex, and Wang Lin considered ditching it initially. However, he eventually kept it, as he realized it was a dagger of one of the attackers. Why did they want to kill him? It was all a mystery! The owner of this dagger could perhaps provide some answers. Furthermore, he should at least have some form of self-defense, in case he encounters a beast?
With this in mind, Wang Lin dusted off the dirt on his body and walked towards the outside.
"Wow, such white legs." Upon reaching the outside world, Wang Lin noticed that there were lots of people moving around. What surprised him the most was that the women outside were all showing their legs, wearing particularly scanty clothes. The sight made him, a virgin, feel somewhat dizzy.
The women who saw Wang Lin, looking like a mess, hummed lightly and exhibited looks of disgust and contempt. Although he had tidied up his clothes, he still gave off a sense of sloppiness.
Wang Lin wasn't bothered by their looks. He had already gotten used to such glances in his previous life. However, what made Wang Lin feel relieved was that their language was the same as his.
Grinning, Wang Lin threw glances around, a sense of joy in his eyes. He almost forgot the fact that his spirit had been attached to someone else's body.
"There's someone drowning over there!" All of a sudden, someone cried out in alarm, and everyone turned their gaze toward the direction of the sound.
Wang Lin was slightly taken aback, he looked in the direction of the shocked exclamation, discovering a vast lake in the distance, and a girl struggling in it, clearly indicating she couldn't swim.
Above the lake, there was an arch bridge, where numerous spectators gathered, among them, three girls looking particularly anxious and decently attractive. However, Wang Lin didn’t stare too long. He quickly dashed towards the water, not bothering to undress. He dived in, prioritizing rescue over decorum.
Mid-August weather was usually hot, so diving into the water provided a refreshing relief. However, Wang Lin didn't have the luxury to bask in the sensation right now. He swiftly swam towards the drowning girl, with a speed akin to a nimble fish. Other male onlookers who were familiar with swimming jumped in, but none could match Wang Lin’s speed.
Wang Lin reached the girl in two breaths. As he held onto her, he was taken aback for a moment, "A girl?" He noted her unusually soft body.
Lifting his head to see her face, he was struck by her beauty. Her bright eyes and curved eyebrows were exceptionally refreshing to behold, illuminating the surroundings like a precious gem. Her skin was as fair and translucent as white jade. Her exquisite countenance slightly muddled him.
At this point, the girl’s face was tinged with red, her wonderfully bright eyes full of anger, rimmed with a touch of redness. Teardrops perched in her eyes, threatening to fall at any moment - a sight that pulled at Wang Lin’s heartstrings.
"Hehe, sorry, just saving you," Wang Lin sheepishly chuckled, after coming back to his senses, quickly holding onto the girl, swimming back to the shore.
During this process, the girl struggled slightly, but luckily, Wang Lin had a firm grip on her, making her unable to wriggle free.
Reaching the shore, Wang Lin let out a sigh of relief. He turned towards the still-struggling girl and said, "Stop struggling, or I'll toss you back in."
At Wang Lin's words, the girl immediately stopped struggling, looking at him with a hint of fear in her eyes.
Wang Lin paused slightly, then looked at the shore and frowned due to its considerable height from the water. Seeing the helpless circumstance, he took a deep breath, lifted the girl entirely into his arms, and raised her onto the shore. Looking up again at the girl's angry eyes, he felt as though he was being scorched by the fury in her gaze.
"Yingying, are you alright?" Several girls rushed to the one known as Yingying. A compassionate girl draped a piece of clothing over Yingying, hiding her figure from view.
Yingying didn't respond, her gaze remained fixed on Wang Lin in the water.
"Cough-cough," Wang Lin, seeing this, gave a mischievous grin. He knew he had overstayed his welcome and quickly dived under the water, disappearing from view.
"Yingying, why are you crying?" As Wang Lin vanished, Yingying's held-back tears finally flowed freely. The way she bit her lip was so heart-wrenching that many boys were left swooning.
Meanwhile, after diving underwater, Wang Lin swam in the opposite direction, emerging far away from the spot where Yingying had fallen into the water.
After climbing out to the shore, he took a deep breath and glanced at his hands, saliva unconsciously dribbling down, "That chick has a good figure!"
Just as he thought this, he suddenly noticed a few strange looks from nearby pedestrians.
