The prison gate opened. As he stepped out, the sunlight shone on Peter Brown. He shaded the light with his hand and squinted, gradually adjusting to the warm, spring sun.
Freedom!
Peter felt an urge to cry.
Three years!
Having spent three years behind bars, Peter felt as if a century had passed. Over that time, he had gained many insights.
"Brother!"
A timid voice of a young girl called out.
"Peter!"
The soul-stirring voice resounded at the same time.
As blinked, Peter cried out, "Mom!" After the words left his mouth, Peter was already kneeling before a middle-aged woman with a weathered face standing in front of him.
"Pete..." Sister Kate Brown held Peter's hand.
"It's good that you're out, it's good that you're finally out!" Liza Smith said, with tears streaming down her face, while clutching Peter's hand.
"Peter Brown, be a new person after your release. I don't want to see you here again!"
The prison guard looked at Peter while saying those words, then turned and walked away.
The prison door closed once more.
Lost in thought, Peter stood in front of the now-closed door. Scenes from his time in prison flashed through his mind.
Peter was filled with emotion, as his life had changed completely since that incident occurred.
The various prisoners he had encountered in prison had taught him a great deal of knowledge, which gave Peter confidence about his life after release.
Of course, these were not the key factors. The ancient cultivation inheritance he had received at that time was crucial. All that knowledge was stored in his brain, impossible to forget even if he had wanted to. Although he couldn't verify the accuracy of those teachings in prison, they remained embedded in his mind.
After three years of secret cultivation, Peter noticed significant changes in his body.
Where was Fiona?
Peter glanced around, with a beautiful girl appearing in his mind's eye.
"Pete, don't look for her. Fiona Jackson has already moved on. Mom has never let me tell you." Kate said with a humph.
"Son, let's go home." Liza wiped her tears with her clothes.
Looking at Kate, Peter heard her say, "Pete, so much has happened in these three years that you don't know about. Fiona and that guy are living together now!"
Clenching his fists, quickly adjusted his emotions, Peter forced a smile and tenderly said, "Everything had gone. Let's go. Let's go home…"
"Son, we don't care about that kind of woman. Just live a good life from now on."
"I know, Mom."
Peter Brown was not a city boy but an impoverished rural youth. Yet, he had always been smart and his academics were top of the class. From junior high to senior high, he attended school in the county town. During his senior year, he got into a group fight with his classmates, including Zachary Owen, while hanging out. As it turned out, the cause of the brawl was a street thug who had harassed Fiona. The situation escalated, and Zachary accidentally stabbed and killed one of the thugs.
Peter could still remember the situation at the time. He wouldn't have been in any serious trouble, maybe just given an educational warning at most to be released. However, Zachary's father had used his connections to blame Peter for the killing.
At that time, an accident had befallen Peter's family. His father had been hit by a car and urgently needed surgery. However, their family couldn't afford the high medical expenses.
When all seemed lost, Zachary's father had appeared with a proposition—if Peter agreed to shoulder the blame, he would pay for all of Peter's father's medical expenses. Upon considering his father's situation, 17-year-old Peter, still in his senior year, decided to accept the blame.
As a result, Peter had been sentenced to ten years in prison and his life changed forever.
Fortunately, Peter had been well-behaved in prison, and his sentence was reduced to three years after some influential prisoners whom he had befriended while inside helped him out. Finally, he was released.
Contemplating the past, Peter did not care about taking the blame; it had been a trade-off from the start. What upset him, however, was Fiona. She had not visited him once in the three years he had spent in prison, and inexplicably left him for another man.
"Dad, are you feeling better?" Peter's heart tightened as he saw his father, who stood excitedly next to the carriage.
"Peter, I owe you so much!" Raven Brown grabbed his son's hand, his voice choked with emotion.
"No, as long as you recover, everything will be fine."
"Husband, let's go. Drive the carriage, we need to go home," Liza glared at Raven.
"Yes, let's go home."
Raven whipped the horses, driving the carriage toward the countryside.
Peter deduced from the fact that his parents drove a carriage for several hours to pick him up that things were not good back home. At the same time, his heart was touched by his parents' intentions.
As they rode the carriage, his sister filled him in on all the events of recent years. Peter felt a sense of loss when he learned that his classmates had all moved on to college, business, or become civil servants.
However, Peter quickly brushed off that feeling. He knew his life had changed ever since the fight.
Actually, Peter had been keeping a secret—one he had never told anyone and never would. That day of the fight, they were outside a scrap collection site. Peter had been stabbed and fell back, knocking open the door to the site. He had ended up landing on a pile of scraps. Somehow, his blood had soaked the scraps, and a massive amount of information was transmitted from a seemingly ancient wooden card.
By the time the information transfer was over, the wooden card had turned into ashes, leaving everything feeling quite strange.
The knowledge Peter had been exposed to was mind-blowing and covered many subjects. He was both surprised and astonished by its vastness.
Three hours later, the carriage finally arrived at a small mountain village.
Gazing at the village, once familiar yet now so foreign, and then at his own dilapidated house, Peter realized that from now on, he would truly embark on an extraordinary path…