The night came swiftly and met Chen Zhiyu still laying in his bed, exhausted to the core. He hadn't slept that long since a couple of years now, irregardless of the fact that he fell asleep in chronic pains.
He had a dream which he considered crazy but for other MCs, it could be considered as awakening a path to acquiring strength and finally becoming an icon for years to come.
In this dream, he was a powerful being, capable of overturning the heavens with a casual gesture. He could even summon lightning from the tip of his fingers to descend on his enemies as he wished, just like the incarnation of heaven's will.
He wasn't the trashy young master of the Chen clan as he always knew. Rather, the whole world trembled to its knees at the mention of his name and they worshipped him like a sovereign being.
Chen Zhiyu was very happy and had a lot of acquaintances accompanying him in the dream. He was no longer lonely and he lacked nothing –mother, father, aunt, sister, brother and servants –they were all present with him. He was full of happy energy that even revealed in reality when he smiled in his sleep.
Eventually, when he woke up, he felt rejuvenated somewhat. It had been years since he had such an enjoyable rest.
He staggered to his feet with visible shaking from time to time as he struggled to maintain his footing and balance properly. He dragged his body with the strength he accumulated from his hourly marathon of sleep and reached out for a medicinal bottle on the table not too far away from his bed.
"Thankfully, these poisons clashed amongst themselves, almost completely eradicating their companions while I was asleep. So now they don't have too heavy an effect anymore" Chen Zhiyu muttered inwardly and his eyes flashed with a strange light.
Chen Zhiyu made it to the table and retrieved the medicinal bottle. He gulped down some of its content for a while before stopping.
After taking the medicine, he sat back for some time again. Earlier on, Chen Xizi had ripped off a majority of his skeletal frame but the medicinal liquid just now could slowly relieve the pain of the dislocation. It was one of a few treasured items his father had used in the past that he came to know of in the period of his growth.
The alchemist who concocted the medicinal syrup made it out of extracts of very minimal spiritual plants. The goal was to help treat the fragile mortal body with spiritual energy but in a diluted form to be ingested without complications such as getting bloated out of the extraordinary medicinal power that typical medicinal plants offer.
Surely, not long after, just an incense stick's time, he could get a feeling that the criticality of his injuries internally had eased up and he could now take proper strides for a while. Right then, he considered taking a walk for two reasons.
Firstly, he wanted to relax his body and mind so that he could be fine by the next day. Secondly, on a unique path he discovered over the years, somewhere behind his pavilion, there was a medicinal patch that was cultivated by a stranger– or it was just naturally occurring weed.
Chen Zhiyu himself didn't know but he had always resorted to the herbs from there during situations like this when he was out of Chen Xizi's den for good.
Not long after, he composed himself and garnered the resolve and courage to walk it out despite the fact that it was late.
"Besides, no one really cares about my whereabouts, I could be gone for months and probably only Chen Xizi would wreck my pavilion in search of his play toy hmph" Chen Zhiyu could not help scoffing inwardly as he began trotting underneath the moonlight.
The guards were indeed fast asleep and without concern for anything, he slipped out of sight before anyone of them could tell what was going on.
"Did that kid just walk pass, hais, such a pity no one saw him leave" minutes after, one of the guards eyes fluttered and he opened a topic for discussion among the fellow guards.
The topic was of course the trendiest, day in-day out and it was none other than the trashy Young Master of the Chen clan. A loner who was loathed by his own blood and suffered the peak of ostracization.
They were clearly putting on a feint just now because they did not want to exchange words with someone like Chen Zhiyu. If anyone found out, they could actually lose their posts as guards which naturally came with tough consequences too.
It would be stupid to think a crippled mortal would escape their senses. This wasn't a drama verse in the first place, so him slipping out was just laxness on their path.
Meanwhile, being completely oblivious to what was going on back in the Chen Clan, Chen Zhiyu was bothered with discovering the patch of herbs which grew on this path.
Unfortunately, it was like he had run out of luck and he just couldn't find the medicine patch after following the route he knew he followed normally.
"Maybe I can't find it here because it's getting really late already…" Chen Zhiyu analyzed in his heart.
It was almost time. He had a moment of hesitation in his heart about venturing further or just returning.
"Let's just go, I can't wait to satisfy my curiosity so I have to go deeper. As long as I go missing from home, it will be a great relief to Uncle Yao and Chen Xizi" Chen Zhiyu said while gritting his teeth and clawing his hand.
CRACK!
As his injuries had yet to fully heal, this reckless handling of his hand already caused a feeling of dislocation. His finger bones made an unusual but completely normal bone snap, and the catalyst happened to be his hidden injuries.
Next, following his heart's desire, Chen Zhiyu decided to tread the path ahead even though he knew nothing about what he was going to get himself into by parading recklessly within a secluded path like the one he was routing on .