Ye Qian's life is like a machine with a set program, following a routine yet dull and monotonous.
He holds an ordinary staff position in a small company. Every morning, he is always awakened by the monotonous and shrill ringtone of the alarm clock. Groggily, he gets up from that somewhat worn-out bed. In the cramped rental room, the furniture is simple. The walls are somewhat mottled due to years of disrepair. The faint sunlight shines on the ground through that small window, and dust dances in the air.
After washing up, he will have a simple instant breakfast and then rush out. The crowded bus is his daily nightmare. The crowd is packed together like sardines. Various odors are mixed in the sweltering air. In the swaying carriage, he can only hold on tightly to the handrail and look out of the window at the constantly flashing street scenes with empty eyes, his heart full of helplessness towards this unchanging life.
When he arrives at the company, he sits in front of the desk piled high with documents and begins a long day of work. Facing the dense data and documents on the computer screen, his eyes often feel sore. The communication between colleagues is also limited only to work content, cold and formulaic. During lunch break, he always eats his own bento alone in a corner of the company. The surrounding laughter and joy seem to have nothing to do with him.
After work, most of the time he has to work overtime. Colleagues around him leave one after another. The office gradually becomes quiet. Only the sound of him typing on the keyboard and the somewhat dim lamp above his head remain. When he finally finishes work and leaves the company, the city at night is brightly lit, but he has no heart to appreciate it. Walking on the way home and looking at the busy people in the shops on the street, he often has a deep sense of loneliness and confusion. He doesn't know where his future is, and he doesn't know when this kind of life will end. Occasionally, he will also fantasize that one day his life will change, but that is just a fleeting thought, quickly drowned by the exhaustion of reality.
Ye Qian's life is ordinary and monotonous. He repeats the same work every day and faces the same faces until that fateful night. That night, the rain poured down like a burst of the Milky Way. The strong wind howled and swept through the streets, making the roadside trees rustle as if they were groaning in pain. As usual, he worked overtime until late at night and walked home alone. The street lamps on both sides of the street flickered on and off. The bulbs swayed in the strong wind. In the flickering light, the shadows danced eerily on the ground as if foreshadowing something about to happen.
His footsteps were extraordinarily heavy in the rain. Every step splashed large patches of water. The cold rain quickly soaked his shoes and socks, and the chill spread up along his feet. His mood was like this gloomy weather,压抑 and confused. The pressure of work and the trivialities of life were like mountains weighing on his heart, making it hard for him to breathe. He lowered his head and didn't notice the abnormality ahead until a flash of lightning like a silver snake split the night sky. In an instant, the night sky was as bright as day, illuminating the scene ahead.
Under the illumination of the lightning, he saw an old man. Ragged and with white hair, he appeared extremely calm in the violent storm. The old man was sitting on a bench by the roadside. The rainwater slid down his wrinkled face and soaked his tattered clothes. His eyes were deep and mysterious, as if containing endless stories. He was quietly looking ahead as if waiting for something. Ye Qian originally wanted to quicken his pace and leave. After all, on such a stormy night, a strange old man appearing on the side of the road would make anyone a little afraid. But his inner kindness drove him towards the old man. That kindness was like a glimmer of light in the darkness, dispelling the fear in his heart.
"Old man, why are you still sitting here in such heavy rain? Let me take you home." Ye Qian asked with concern. His voice trembled a little in the wind and rain, but there was sincerity in his eyes.
The old man slowly raised his head. A glint flashed in his eyes. That gaze was like a sharp sword, piercing Ye Qian's soul directly. He smiled faintly, revealing a kind smile. There seemed to be a soothing power in that smile, making Ye Qian feel inexplicably at ease. "Young man, you are kind-hearted. I have a gift for you." The old man's voice was low and hoarse but carried an irresistible majesty, clearly reaching Ye Qian's ears amid the wind and rain.
Ye Qian was stunned. He didn't understand what the old man meant. On such a stormy night, a strange old man suddenly said he wanted to give him a gift. This was too incredible. The old man stretched out his hand. That hand was bony but very steady. In the palm was a simple and ancient jade pendant. The jade pendant emitted a soft light that was clearly visible even on this thunderstorm night. The jade pendant was engraved with complex patterns. Those patterns seemed to be alive. The lines meandered and twisted, seemingly containing some mysterious power, like ancient runes or a map of a mysterious world.
"This jade pendant is the inheritance of an immortal that I obtained when I was young. It possesses astonishing medical skills and supreme martial power. Now, I pass it on to you. I hope you can use it to help the world." The old man's voice carried a sense of mission, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. This was a cross-temporal inheritance, a handover of fate.
Ye Qian hesitantly took the jade pendant. The moment his fingers touched the jade pendant, a warm current surged out from the jade pendant. That warm current was like the warm sun in winter, instantly dispelling the chill on his body. The warm current flowed into his body along his arm. Wherever it passed, his muscles seemed to be reactivated, filled with strength. He felt a wave of dizziness. The world around him seemed to be spinning. Then an unprecedented power awakened within him, like a sleeping giant being awakened and roaring inside his body.
The old man's figure gradually blurred in the rain. The rain passed through his body as if he were an illusory image. His outline gradually disappeared and finally vanished completely, as if he had never appeared.