NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: The Wisest Decision Of His Life...? Ahem!
"Good Heavens, what have I gotten myself into?"
A very distressed Han Xuhan was sprawled on a bed inside his newly acquired hut, which had just undergone a thorough cleaning.
It was rather cozy and warm inside the room, with only the small bed and a low table nearby that took up half the space. The other two rooms contained a few necessities, food reserves, and cooking utensils for a single person to live by themselves.
At this moment, however, the single occupant of the hut, namely Han Xuhan, didn't look very motivated to live on.
He was absorbed deeply in the task of pulling on his own hair and moaning in an anguished manner every now and then while reading a thick book he had found on the bedside table.
The plain cover of the book showed a very impressive title-
[ The glorious history of the world of cultivation: The advent of the new millennium ]
Han Xuhan had initially been very excited after reading the title and realizing that he could get a free, simple introduction to this world so soon! This would be of great help to him if he wanted to avoid potential disasters in the future that usually befall small fries like himself.
However, he was wrong; terribly, terribly wrong. Free and simple?!
No such concept could exist in his current world.
As he turned each page of the book, his hands shook, his fingers shivered, and his eyelids twitched uncontrollably. The more he read, the worse his symptoms got.
In the end, he threw the book aside and lay lifelessly on his bed while clutching his head.
"Finished, it's all finished. So many things make sense now. No wonder the elders of the sect have such unfavorable view of reincarnators like me. How is this even possible...."
Half the historical figures known for incredible feats rivaling the celestials are known to be reincarnated beings with odd characters.
Many of their achievements literally mirror the protagonists of the cultivation novels he had read on earth. Some of their biographies even feel like a rip-off of famous webnovels in that genre...
There was also the well-known fact that many of these historical figures operated in a close-knit group and are rumored to have shared secrets.
Even more alarmingly, the number of apocalyptic events and horrifying dangers that popped up was too high!
Apocalyptic disasters happened every few years! And almost every time, the disasters seemed to be tailor-made for the heroic cultivator who comes to the rescue of the mortals and cultivators alike!
No wonder the development of the civilization of the mortals is so slow! It was a miracle that normal people still existed on this planet.
Is this really an actual world and not a
reflection of all those xianxia novels from his past life in one big clusterfuck?
How can a world like this exist?
What mysteries hid behind this world?
"Or am I really an insane man sitting inside a cold asylum, imagining all of this inside my head?"
Han Xuhan immediately pushed that notion aside. Even if he had gone insane, the real world would have to have some physical effect on his body. But here, everything worked perfectly as a reality, logically and physically.
The biggest clue was that he had no cheating devices, which were always the core theme of the stories he was so obsessed with. If this entire life was a hallucination of a madman, why would such an important factor be absent?
This forced him back to square one.
After going through the history book, which was pretty much a compilation of generic cultivation stories, Han Xuhan had discovered the existence of many protagonist-level characters.
And there was he himself.
"Did any celestial maiden fall in love with my previous incarnation and the guy in charge of the whole reincarnation process became jealous?" he couldn't help but wonder.
I must've been too outstanding an existence on earth, spending a lifetime in simplicity, peace, and the warmth of one's roots.
What did they call such lives in cultivation novels...?
Right, returning to the origin realm! Simple, yet true; brief, yet timeless; common, yet in touch with the heavenly way...
Ahem!
Wallowing in misery and narcissism, Han Xuhan finally managed to convince himself that being too saintly and outstanding in his previous life must have attracted the wrath of the heavens.
Why else would he be punished like this?
"Nevertheless, now I need to consider my options at hand. What is the biggest bargaining chip in a xianxia world that can allow me to live peacefully?
"Cultivation, a really high level of cultivation!
"Then how do I proceed to attain high cultivation without any cheating?"
Han Xuhan wracked his brain and came to a conclusion.
Impossible.
Attaining high levels of cultivation without some sort of cheating method was impossible. He had never seen anyone do it in the novels. Those awesome, ruthless, hardworking, visionary, heroic, wise, scheming, men of superior characters, ALL cheated on their way to the top, in one way or another.
If their origins were humble, they cheated. If their origins were incredible, they cheated. If they weren't walking around with cheats, reality bent itself for their convenience and let them trot to the top of the world.
These were novels, wish-fulfilling sagas. Of course such a flow of plot had to be present!
But what about now? What about him?
Is this life...even worth living?
For a long time, Han Xuhan pondered the answer to this question. If he wanted to keep things simple, he could just swing a knife past his throat and bleed to death, all alone in this dark hut. After all, if reincarnation is real, he'd be reborn once more, right?
But suicide...Han Xuhan had nothing but contempt towards this concept. Oftentimes, in situations he could only imagine, suicide may seem like a tempting option. Those who suffer in the darkest corners of the world, those who bear the burden and pain they never deserved, they may think of suicide as the ultimate escape route, the only way to stop the flow of never-ending pain.
Han Xuhan had never found himself in such a situation, not on earth, not even now. And even if he found himself in a situation so painful, he would never take this easy way out. The worse his circumstances became, the more deeply he felt the truth of his reality, the more he got to experience where his own limits lay.
It was as if he was experiencing a virtual world, where the depth of the danger he was in increased his immersion. He believed that there existed no such burden, no such pain which could drive a person to terminate their existence.
There were limits to physical pain, limits to mental trauma. Once the limit is crossed, a person may break physically and mentally, but to kill themselves was a decision entirely up to them.
Thus, Han Xuhan, the ordinary mortal who had found himself in a chaotic world of extraordinary powers, chose to wait and see what the world had in store for him.
In retrospect, this might not have been the wisest decision of his life.