Chapter 3: Awakening

Inside an antique-style room, white jade paved the floor. Several arrays etched around the pool walls carried a faint aura of restoration, and a light medicinal fragrance drifted through the air. A handsome young man wrapped in bandages lay quietly in the pale green medicinal pool, his eyes closed as if unconscious. Beside the pool, a stunning, full-bodied woman was leaning over the edge, her soft brows slightly furrowed, a pair of peach-blossom eyes fixed anxiously on the young man in the water. Tear tracks still glistened at the corners of her eyes, leaving her looking haggard.

"Uh...!"

Xu Pingan slowly opened his eyes and raised a hand to rub his brow. Wasn't he playing a game just now?

Then... where was this?

He looked around in confusion. All he saw was the green water of the pool, the heavy scent of medicine, gray-black stone walls, and rows upon rows of neatly arranged wooden shelves packed with bottles and jars. Many of the lids had already been removed; some bottles stood open and tilted over, some had been knocked to the floor, and medicinal herbs were scattered everywhere. It was easy to imagine the panic of whoever had been treating him earlier.

"Ping'er! Ping'er! You're awake?" the beautiful woman cried in delight. She hurriedly sat up straight and reached out her pale, delicate hands, scrambling to help him, making the generous curves of her chest sway enticingly.

"You are..."

Xu Pingan looked at her in a daze, but his eyes were still drawn to the two huge, swollen mounds on her chest. The blue qipao embroidered with white lotus patterns clung tightly to her richly curved body. Several buttons at the neckline had come undone from discomfort, exposing a broad expanse of snowy skin and white flesh, enough to glimpse the dark green lace of the bandeau underneath. The ties of her undergarment had loosened as well, and the bandeau had slipped down a little, hanging carelessly over a pair of magnificent breasts and revealing the creamy mounds beneath in clear detail. Her enormous bust strained the qipao so tightly it formed an exaggerated curve, while the deep valley forced out between them seemed like it could swallow a person's soul.

Without meaning to, Xu Pingan found himself wanting to knead and suck those two drowningly voluptuous breasts. Thinking of that, his breathing turned slightly rough and heat stirred through his body.

But on the surface, he kept his expression unchanged. He took her offered slender jade hand, and the smooth, cool feel of it made his heart tighten. He gave her a barely noticeable squeeze.

Using that support, he slowly sat up and leaned against the jade cushion behind him, straightening himself a little while his mind kept turning over the woman's identity and the information about himself.

His body was wrapped in thick cloth, and any movement sent a stabbing pain through him, making him frown. Even though he knew nothing about what he saw before him, he didn't feel the slightest sense of unfamiliarity, as if he had lived here for many years already.

"Slowly, Ping'er..." the beautiful woman said with evident heartache. Her gentle oval face leaned close to him, and her moist, luminous eyes looked at him with tenderness like water. "Your injuries haven't healed yet."

"Injuries? How did I get hurt?" Xu Pingan froze. A strange set of memories surfaced, and after sorting through them for a moment, he gradually understood his situation.

The instant he cleared the game called Tianyuan, he had died from sudden overexertion and crossed into that game world, into this cannon-fodder body called Xu Pingan!

Yes, cannon fodder. The Marquis of Zhen State's residence, where the original owner of this body came from, was one of the big bosses in a branch route of this game, and Xu Pingan himself was the early-game expendable character who got hacked to death by the protagonist.

Xu Pingan thought this was a little unreal, but he still accepted the fact of transmigration quickly enough. He just felt like cursing under his breath. Taking a deep breath, he forcibly suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his head.

After all, no matter what happened later, he wasn't dead yet. And since he knew the plot, who was to say he couldn't turn the tables and kill the protagonist instead?

Only then did Xu Pingan slowly lift his eyes to look at the beautiful woman before him.

Her round, fair face was dignified and graceful, her skin so delicate it seemed you could pinch water from it. Her nose was straight and elegant, her lips red and full, her brows gently arched, and her peach-blossom eyes were misty with tears, making her look utterly pitiful.

Under the qipao, her lush, high breasts looked ready to burst free at any moment, swaying faintly with each breath of their owner. Below that, her figure suddenly widened; her broad, childbearing hips seemed almost ready to tear through the dress, forming a true gourd-shaped silhouette. Her round, fair thighs were wrapped in a circle of silk stockings that squeezed out a ring of plush flesh. Her plump and alluring legs rested by the pool, shimmering with a moist white luster, lovely beyond words. Her tender white feet wore a pair of embroidered floral shoes, and anyone who saw her could only describe her as plump, round, and lustrous.

Unlike the 2D character portrait from the game, seeing this real woman before him made Xu Pingan's body heat up, and all sorts of thoughts he shouldn't have had began bubbling up.

This was Xu Pingan's stepmother, and also his birth mother, Liu Yuxian. She was the foremost healer of the Great Yan realm, and also the daughter of the Dao master of Tianmen Mountain, one of the eight great powers of this world.

Xu Pingan felt a little dry-mouthed. The cock beneath him stirred faintly. Breathing in the mature woman's scent of age-warmed fragrance mixed with a faint medicinal aroma made it hard for him to keep himself under control.

The warm steam rising from the medicinal liquid, mixed with all kinds of herbal scents, seemed to make a person feel safe.

Her rounded oval face, paired with those pitiful peach-blossom eyes, turned toward him with her whole heart focused on him, something he had never experienced in either of his lives.

Xu Pingan suppressed the tremor in his chest, trembling slightly as he reached out and wrapped his arms around her mature body, burying his face in the soft, fragrant swell of her chest. His nose sank into the deep valley between her breasts, and a sweet, intoxicating scent of milk filled his senses, leaving him refreshed. In a low voice, he said, "Mother, I'm fine."

"It's good that you're fine... as long as you're fine..." Liu Yuxian repeated it over and over, as if that were the only way to calm her heart. But the tears at the corners of her eyes still kept falling, as if she were pouring out all the fear and anxiety of the past few days.

Xu Pingan felt her slightly warm tears slide onto his face. His feelings were complicated. He raised his head and gently reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes, speaking softly. "There, there. I'm perfectly fine, aren't I..."

Before he could finish, he felt a warm, soft body burrow into his arms. Two slender arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders, and Liu Yuxian buried her face in his chest. A muffled sob came from her throat, and she lightly struck him from behind. "You bad boy, if something had happened to you... what would I have done? What would I have done?!"

Xu Pingan fell silent. From the original owner's memories, this mother of his had never once spoken harshly to him no matter what he did. She didn't even know how to scold people. For her to be this frantic now only showed how worried she was.

He sighed. Lifting her face with both hands, he felt the smooth skin as delicate as cream and as fine as jade, her cheek flesh pushing inward with a slight baby-fat roundness. With the corners of his mouth lifting, he teased, "Mother really is adorable."

The moment Liu Yuxian heard that, she was like a rabbit caught by the tail, instantly blushing scarlet as she protested, "You bad boy, don't talk nonsense!"

At the same time, amid her panic, a trace of confusion surfaced. Her son seemed different somehow. In the past, he would only complain that she was annoying; he had never spoken to her in such an affectionate way.

But she didn't resist. She let him hold her face like that, and a touch of relief appeared in her eyes. No matter what he became, she would still love him.

Xu Pingan wore a smile and used a little more force with his fingers, pinching her baby-soft cheek and kneading it back and forth. The wonderful feel of it made it hard to let go.

In his previous life, his background had been miserable. Besides losing his relatives and lacking affection, his poverty had made life difficult as well. Now he had transmigrated, and into a top-tier noble family's young master no less. What reason was there not to enjoy himself properly?

However, he had just been beaten to the brink of death by Qin Mengrou. What came next again?

His hands paused as he kept thinking through the related plot points in his mind.

"Ping'er..."

Liu Yuxian noticed his hands had stopped, and that his gaze had gone slightly blank as though he were thinking about something. She couldn't help but speak up.

"Nothing..." Xu Pingan drew back from his thoughts and shook his head. He had probably figured out part of the plot, but it still felt like something was missing.

"Ping'er, are you still thinking about that brothel woman?" Liu Yuxian said softly, her expression somewhat complicated. She knew her son was obsessed with sex and beauty, but she hadn't expected that even after dying once, he would still be hung up on that woman.

"She's already been taken back by your father."

Taken back...

Xu Pingan's heart stirred, and he suddenly remembered that the original owner had teased Qin Mengrou in the dungeon, only to be killed by the protagonist who stormed the prison.

So that meant he was about to die?!

No. He already knew what would happen next. How could he be foolish enough to go and die again?

A ruthless look flashed through his mind. His fingernails dug into his palm as he braced against the pool wall and tried to stand. But the moment he exerted himself, the wound in his chest was pulled taut, and the pain made him bare his teeth.

Liu Yuxian was distressed beyond words. She thought he was impatient to go find that woman, so she hurried forward to support him and said reproachfully, "Your injuries haven't healed. If you want a woman, it doesn't have to be right this instant."

"No..."

Xu Pingan felt utterly wronged. The womanizing scoundrel from his former life was the one whose sins he was now being forced to pay for, and his own mother didn't even believe him anymore.

But this body was way too useless. In a world where people could cultivate immortality, he had gone off to eat, drink, and chase pleasure, and a little injury almost killed him.

"Here, take this. It can help suppress your injuries." Because her lips had been squeezed into an o-shape, Liu Yuxian's words came out a little muffled as she removed the jade token from her waist and handed it to Xu Pingan.

The jade token was plain and old-fashioned, rough and deep black without the slightest shine. But the moment he held it in his hand, a cool sensation instantly spread from his palm through his entire body, and the stabbing pain from his injuries eased considerably.

Xu Pingan recognized it at a glance.

The Evergreen Token, made from the most precious root of the Everlasting Green Tree, the treasure of the East Sea dragon clan. It contained an overwhelming force of vitality, and a ninth-rank array master had personally etched multiple spirit-gathering arrays into it to seal that vitality tightly inside. Even in the game, Xu Pingan had never obtained this thing.

Yet now it had been handed to him so easily.

Warmth surged through Xu Pingan's heart. He gripped the Evergreen Token tightly, straightened his body, slipped his arms around her waist, and pulled her firmly into his embrace, resting his head against her shoulder as he said softly, "Mother, you're so good to me."

"I'm your mother, of course I'm good to you," Liu Yuxian said with a gentle smile. Her face rested against the prominent line of his chest bones, her soft brows arcing as she breathed in the damp medicinal heat and sweat on his body. Her voice came out muffled and tender. "As long as you're well in the future and keep me company more, that'll be enough."

Seeing the tiny, translucent, crystal-clear earlobe before him, Xu Pingan's heart moved. Possessed by some ghostly impulse, he licked it once.

"Ah!" Liu Yuxian cried out, shuddering all over from the stimulation. She nearly jumped up like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on, her pale face turning red enough to drip blood. Her heart was pounding wildly as she blurted out, "You bad boy, what... what are you doing?!"

She thought: Has this brat gone dizzy in the head and started having thoughts he shouldn't have about me?

The more she thought about it, the redder her face became. She bit her lip lightly, her beautiful eyes widening as a strange emotion bubbled up from deep within her like a spring suddenly surging forth.

Xu Pingan had been worried at first, but hearing her soft voice, the tension in his nerves gradually eased. He pressed his cheek against her elegant, smooth swan-like neck and rubbed it gently in an ingratiating way, smoothly making an excuse. "Nothing... Mother, I just missed you too much."

"Really?"

Liu Yuxian looked suspicious. Her neck was ticklish from his rubbing, but her innocent nature still led her to believe him without any real guard.

"Of course it's true."

Seeing that she believed him, Xu Pingan secretly delighted. On the surface, he quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Mother, how is that woman now?"

"In the dungeon. Why?" Liu Yuxian asked, feeling a bit wronged inside. He had just said he missed her, and now he was already worrying about another woman.

"Nothing, I was just asking."

Xu Pingan moved his limbs around, trying to stand up. Finding that he was only a little weak in the legs and feet, with no real problem otherwise, he lowered his head and said, "Mother, I want to go out for a walk."