The next day.

In a valley filled with the fragrance of spiritual herbs.

An elderly man with white hair and beard sat under the eaves of a thatched hut. On the stove in front of him, a clay pot was simmering with succulent fish meat. The soup bubbled and rolled, emitting an enticing aroma.

Seeing a figure appearing at the entrance of the valley from afar, the old man’s face broke into a smile.

Not until the young man approached did the old man greet him, “Yuan Ming, your timing is impeccable. I just started cooking this pot of fish, and before I could even pick up my chopsticks, you arrived.”

“Isn’t it because I was afraid that Elder Fish would eat fish without wine, so I brought some for you.” Yuan Ming replied with a smile, not being modest.

As he spoke, he raised the two small deep-red wine jars in his hand.

“Heh, you really brought wine?” Elder Fish’s eyes lit up at the sight of the wine.

He quickly got up to welcome him.

“How could I forget what I promised you?” Yuan Ming handed over the wine with a smile.

“Good, good, just in time to accompany me for a couple of drinks.” Elder Fish led Yuan Ming to sit down, laughing heartily.

“This fish smells so good, it seems especially fresh today.” Yuan Ming couldn’t help but praise as he smelled the aroma.

“Heh, of course, this pot of fish is cooked with at least three types of spiritual herbs that are over thirty years old. It’s both nourishing and flavorful. I wouldn’t let just anyone taste it.” Elder Fish said with a grin.

“Elder, are you sure it’s okay to use the spiritual herbs from the medicine garden like this?” Yuan Ming asked.

“If you don’t tell, and I don’t tell, who would know? Come by more often in the future, I’ll make sure to nourish you until you’re as strong as a dragon or a tiger.” Elder Fish chuckled.

“I appreciate your kindness, Elder. However, I will need to focus on my cultivation for a while. After I finish my seclusion, I will bring wine to visit you again.” Yuan Ming said.

“Diligent cultivation is a good thing.” Elder Fish nodded in approval upon hearing this.

……

At night.

The bright moonlight seeping through the window bathed Yuan Ming.

He held an incense burner in his hands, his body bathed in a glossy sheen.

At that moment, Yuan Ming felt something and slowly opened his eyes.

“Another full moon night, I wonder when I can return to my hometown in the Central Plains?” He sighed softly.

His gaze fell on the green incense burner in his hand, and his eyes flickered.

The Great Ultimate pattern on the incense burner was already more than half lit, but it was still a bit short of being fully lit.

“It’s been several months, and it’s still not fully lit…” Yuan Ming thought to himself.

Then, he suddenly had an idea, “Since this incense burner is also a kind of magical artifact, I wonder if trying to stimulate it with my magic power will cause any changes.”

With that thought, he held the incense burner in both hands and began to channel his magic power into it.

As soon as his magic power entered, Yuan Ming realized something was wrong.

Unlike when he used magic artifacts in the past, his magic power was being absorbed by the incense burner, as if it was being swallowed.

But the incense burner showed no obvious changes.

“Not enough?” Yuan Ming thought, and began to pour all his magic power into it.

“It’s lit…”

After a while, when Yuan Ming had channeled most of his magic power into the incense burner, a soft light finally shone from the Great Ultimate pattern on the burner.

“It really worked! Does this mean I can light the incense again?” Yuan Ming was overjoyed.

With that thought, he immediately stopped his cultivation, closed the window, locked the door, and returned to his bed.

The last time he lit the black incense, he successfully possessed the body of a young emperor, thereby obtaining the cultivation method of the Nine Elements Formula, which completely changed his fate.

Therefore, Yuan Ming had always wanted to try lighting the incense again.

Unfortunately, his several attempts afterwards all ended in failure, and he was never able to light the black incense.

This time, the Great Ultimate pattern on the incense burner lit up, which might be a new opportunity to light the incense.

Thinking this, Yuan Ming didn’t hesitate and immediately took a match, lighting the black incense stick in the burner.

The flame on the match approached the incense, and the flickering flame soon licked it.

Before long, a wisp of blue smoke rose, and the second black incense stick was indeed lit.

The scent, somewhere between sandalwood and pine, quickly filled the room.

The moment Yuan Ming smelled this fragrance, his consciousness began to blur, and his vision became fuzzy.

Facing this familiar sensation again, he didn’t panic like the first time. Instead, he tried to keep his eyes wide open, trying to stay awake to resist the drowsiness.

Unfortunately, his struggle didn’t last long, and he soon fell into darkness, losing all consciousness.

Not long after, a cacophony of noise came from all around.

Yuan Ming felt a push on his shoulder, and he groggily opened his eyes.

“Wang Shun, have you lost your mind? What day is it today, and you dare to slack off and sleep?” He rubbed his eyes and saw that the speaker was a round-faced man dressed in a brown short robe, looking like a menial worker.

“Why are you looking at me?” The round-faced man subconsciously touched his own cheek.

Yuan Ming didn’t rush to answer, but looked down at his own attire. He was dressed similarly to the round-faced man, apparently also a menial worker of some sort.

“The gap is quite big…” Yuan Ming sighed inwardly.

The last time he possessed a young emperor, and this time he became a lowly menial worker.

“I just took a nap, why are you making a fuss?” Yuan Ming mimicked the round-faced man’s tone.

“Dare to talk back? Stop wasting time, hurry up and bring the horse. The carriage is ready up front. The lady is preparing to go to the City God Temple for worship. If you delay, you’ll suffer.” The round-faced man urged.

Only then did Yuan Ming take the opportunity to observe his surroundings.

He found himself seemingly in a large mansion, behind him was a stable the size of four or five rooms, housing seven or eight majestic horses.

These horses were all either black or white, red or yellow-brown, without a single mixed color, all looking very spirited.

“What day is it today?” Yuan Ming asked.

The round-faced man looked at him strangely and asked suspiciously, “Wang Shun, are you possessed?”

“I’m not possessed, I just had some drinks last night and I’m a bit groggy today.” Yuan Ming said.

“If it weren’t for your knack for horse care and the master’s favor, could you have entered our general’s mansion with your attitude? Hurry up, or I’ll be punished with you.” The round-faced man said anxiously.

The general’s mansion? Had he become a servant in the general’s mansion?

“You still haven’t said, what day is it today?” Yuan Ming continued to ask.

“My ancestors, today is the day of the temple fair at the City God Temple in the south of the city. Our lady spent a lot of money to get the chance to offer the first incense. If you don’t hurry up, I’ll really get angry.” The round-faced man said angrily.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming finally got up and went into the stable.

He instinctively picked out three white horses in the stable, grabbed the reins and walked out.

According to the etiquette, the general’s wife could only ride in a carriage pulled by a maximum of three horses.

Since they were pulling a carriage and didn’t need to be saddled, Yuan Ming followed the round-faced man out of the stable, leading the three horses to the front yard.

When they arrived at a spacious courtyard in the front yard, a beautifully decorated luxurious carriage was already parked there.

Yuan Ming led the three horses forward and harnessed them to the carriage.

After everything was settled, he waited for the arrival of the general’s wife.

Taking advantage of this time, Yuan Ming looked around and saw tall tree shadows standing outside the courtyard, seemingly a garden.

Further away, there was a five-story high tower with a green-gray octagonal spire.

“Huh…”

For some reason, Yuan Ming found the side view of the tower somewhat familiar.

Just then, a group of people carrying a beautiful sedan chair came this way.

Beside the sedan chair were several young and beautiful maids, followed by two rows of soldiers in armor, each with a murderous look, obviously having been on the battlefield.

“Wang Shun, lower your head, do you want to die?” At this moment, the round-faced man’s reminder came from beside him.

He turned his head and saw that the other party had already retreated to the side, his hands hanging at his knees, his head lowered, only daring to look at his own feet.

Although Yuan Ming didn’t have the awe of a servant, he didn’t want to cause any trouble for the original owner of this body, so he also lowered his head like him.

When the sedan chair stopped in front of them, a maid immediately helped the dignified and luxurious general’s wife to switch to the carriage.

After the lady and her personal maid got on the carriage, the others lined up on both sides.

Yuan Ming was responsible for driving the carriage to the south of the city.

Fortunately, there were several cavalrymen leading the way at the front of the team, otherwise Yuan Ming was really worried that he would take the wrong road and be found out.

The carriage procession passed through several courtyards before finally leaving the mansion and coming outside.

The road outside the general’s mansion was so wide that it surprised Yuan Ming. The ground was paved with neat bricks and was very clean.

The mansions on both sides of the road were quite sparse, but just by looking at the gates, you could tell they all belonged to high-ranking officials, each displaying luxury and nobility within the regulations.

The carriage procession leisurely headed south.

Yuan Ming looked at the street scenes along the way, feeling a bit dazed.

He didn’t know if it was because his memory had merged with the memory of this body, but he felt that the street scenes on both sides were becoming more and more familiar.

Especially the two rows of thick pine trees on both sides of the road, each of which required two adults to hug together.

“How strange…”

With a belly full of doubts, Yuan Ming slowly drove the carriage to another area.

Unlike the spacious and quiet residential area of the high-ranking officials, the streets here were noticeably narrower, and the ground was no longer paved with large bluestone bricks, but densely packed fired bricks.

And there were a lot of buildings along the road, densely packed.

These buildings hung all kinds of plaques and banners, some even set up bamboo or wooden sheds outside, decorated in various ways to distinguish themselves from others.

Yuan Ming had been in the south for a long time, and his memory of the Central Plains was only vague and fragmented images, but many images sleeping in his memory corresponded with the current scene.

The bustling streets, the crowded shops, the thronging pedestrians, and the enthusiastic cries of vendors…

Suddenly, Yuan Ming felt as if he was not possessing someone else’s body, but had come here himself.

At a glance, he saw a signboard of a small vendor by the roadside, which read “Rice Wine Glutinous Rice Balls”. He couldn’t help but lick his lips.

Even though he hadn’t seen the rice wine glutinous rice balls, and couldn’t even recall what they specifically looked like, a warm, sweet, and soft taste had already emerged in Yuan Ming’s memory.

Not far away, the rich aroma of wine wafted from a tavern, mixed with the scent of food. It was a taste completely different from the liquor of the Southern Border, incredibly mellow.

Everything in front of him, what he saw, heard, and smelled, all exuded an indescribable sense of familiarity.

(End of Chapter)