Chapter One: The Pain and the Truth
Pain.
That was the first thing Lin Xuán felt.
It came suddenly—violently.
His brows knitted tightly as a low groan escaped his lips.
"What… is this…?"
His voice was hoarse, barely audible.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed faintly in the distance, but before he could focus on it, something else caught his attention.
A baby.
A crying baby… lying right beside him.
Confusion filled his mind.
"What's going on…?"
Then—
A sharp, unbearable pain tore through his body.
"AAHHH!!"
His scream rang out as his body arched violently. It felt as though something deep within him was being ripped out—his bones, his veins… his very essence.
"Young Master?!"
The door burst open as servants rushed in.
They froze at the sight before them.
Lin Xuán lay on the bed, coughing out blood, his face pale as death, his body drenched in sweat.
But what terrified them most—
A faint stream of energy was flowing out of him…
…and into the baby beside him.
"Quick! Inform the Clan Leader!"
Tang Rui shouted.
A maid ran out immediately.
"Young Master!"
Tang Rui stepped forward—
"Stop."
A cold voice halted him instantly.
"Do you have a death wish?"
"Greetings, Fifth Miss!"
Everyone bowed.
Lin Qingyue stood calmly at the doorway, her expression indifferent as her gaze swept across the room.
"What happened?"
"No one knows, Miss. The Clan Leader has been informed."
Her eyes shifted to the bed—
To Lin Xuán.
To the child.
The baby's cries echoed louder, yet its tiny body continued to absorb the flowing energy without pause.
Then—
A powerful presence filled the room.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Greetings, Clan Leader!"
Lin Zhentian stepped forward, his gaze sharp and overbearing.
"…Core transfer."
His voice was low.
"Fool."
Cold. Dismissive.
"Explain."
Tang Rui fell to his knees, his voice trembling as he recounted everything—
The disgrace of Lin Xuán's mother.
The exile to the East Manor.
The betrayal by Fei Yanli.
The child.
The desperate attempt…
Silence followed.
"Useless."
Lin Zhentian waved his hand.
"Take care of them both."
Darkness swallowed everything.
A loud clap of thunder echoed.
Lin Xuán's eyes snapped open.
He sat upright abruptly, breathing heavily.
"I'm… alive?"
The storm raged outside, lightning flashing across the sky.
He held his head, his thoughts in chaos.
"So… this world…"
He let out a dry chuckle.
"…is nothing but a book."
Memories—foreign yet familiar—flooded his mind.
If not for the agonizing pain he had just endured, he would have remained trapped in that illusion forever.
In his previous life…
He was just an ordinary college student in his twenties, studying to become a teacher.
Until an earthquake buried him alive.
And now—
He had awakened inside a novel.
A novel his own friend had written.
"When the Lights Dim."
A popular martial arts story—later adapted into one of the top historical dramas of the year.
He had read it before.
He knew this world.
And yet…
Out of all the characters he could have become—
He became Lin Xuán.
A minor character.
A pitiful one.
A man destined to die early… forgotten by the story.
"…Sixteen years."
He laughed bitterly.
"I've been living here for sixteen years… without even knowing."
If not for the pain of the core transfer shattering his mind—
He would have continued living and dying as nothing more than a background character.
A disposable existence.
He closed his eyes.
Memories surfaced once more—
His mother…
A Ji Ya.
A woman forced into marriage at sixteen. A mere tool to bear children for the main wife, Lin Mi—a powerful martial artist who could not conceive.
A Ji Ya gave birth.
One child. Then another.
Both taken away.
She was left empty. Broken.
Then came Lin Xuán.
Weak. Frail.
The only child she managed to keep—because she threatened to die if he was taken.
She loved him fiercely.
Clung to him like her last reason to live.
But even that love could not save her.
Depression consumed her.
Rumors surrounded her.
Until one day…
She met a monk.
And for the first time—
She smiled.
Then she left.
On his twelfth birthday.
Leaving behind only a letter.
And shame for the entire clan.
Lin Xuán exhaled slowly.
"…And I was cast aside."
Banished. Forgotten.
But he hadn't cared much.
He was never truly part of that family anyway.
Silence filled the room.
Then his gaze slowly shifted…
To the baby lying beside him.
His son.
Lin Mo.
"…In the novel, Lin Xuán died while transferring his core to his son."
He placed a hand on his chest, feeling the faint remnants of energy within him.
"I did the same…"
He paused.
"Then why am I still alive?"
A thought crossed his mind.
"…Because I awakened?"
A slow smile formed on his lips.
"If that's the case…"
"…then I'm truly lucky."
He looked at the child again, his expression complicated.
In his previous life, he avoided children.
Yet now—
At sixteen—
He had a son.
Lin Xuán let out a quiet laugh.
"…What a ridiculous fate."
But this time—
His eyes sharpened.
This was no longer just a story.
And he…
Was no longer just a character.
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