Chapter 2: I Am Zhang Ping'an

"Mother, I think I just saw Ping'an open his eyes," Zhang Xiaohua said.

At this time, Zhang Ping'an had already been lying in bed for over a month, and the New Year had already passed.

"Really?"

"Yes, let's go call the doctor quickly."

"Doctor, doctor, come quickly, my younger brother just opened his eyes!"

"Alright, alright, alright, let's go over and take a look."

The doctor fiddled with Zhang Ping'an for a while, listening here and looking there, then pondered for a moment and said:

"It might be an unconscious awakening of the patient; this also indicates that he should not be far from truly waking up."

"Mother, that's wonderful!" The mother and daughter wept with joy.

"Hmm."

At this moment, Zhang Ping'an's "soul body" was standing in a space, looking completely bewildered.

"I only went three years without a job, didn't I? My crime shouldn't be punishable by death."

"I still have to inherit the treasures of our Chinese nation, Traditional Chinese Medicine; I still shoulder the mission of revitalizing Traditional Chinese Medicine. No, no, I cannot die."

"Where is this place? I want to get out."

"Whoosh!" Zhang Ping'an opened his eyes and saw two faces looking at him with concern.

"Little brother, you're finally awake."

"Ping'an, my child!"

"I..."

Just as Zhang Ping'an was about to speak, everything went black before his eyes again, and following that, a stream of unfamiliar memories flooded into his brain—it was precisely the memories of Xiao Ping'an.

Subsequently, Zhang Ping'an appeared in the space from before once more. Having calmed down, Zhang Ping'an realized that he had transmigrated, and furthermore, he had transmigrated into the world of the Siheyuan, becoming the younger brother of the necromancer Jia Zhangshi.

Zhang Ping'an surveyed this gray, misty space and only then discovered that he had been standing on the ear of a Three-Legged Tripod the whole time. Goodness, how big must this tripod be? If only it could be smaller.

No sooner had Zhang Ping'an finished speaking than the Three-Legged Tripod shrank by a circle.

"Eh?"

"Smaller?"

"Smaller?"

Not until it was the size of an ordinary small car did Zhang Ping'an jump down, only then discovering that there were three Thatched Cottages in this space.

Zhang Ping'an walked in to take a look; inside there were only two books and something resembling a jade slip. As soon as Zhang Ping'an touched it, the jade slip turned into a stream of light and drilled into his mind.

Only then did Zhang Ping'an know that this Three-Legged Tripod was left behind by the Zhang family ancestors during the Qin and Han dynasties, a magical treasure that integrated spatial storage and alchemy, which had only been activated by chance when it came into contact with Xiao Ping'an's blood.

And it was because Xiao Ping'an had fallen headfirst from a roof beam and died that he had the opportunity to take his place. *Sigh*, you can go in peace; from now on, I am Zhang Ping'an, and I will fulfill your filial duties and provide for the two elders in their old age.

This place was a self-contained space with three Thatched Cottages: one bedroom, and the other two were Sumeru Mustard Seed Spaces where items placed inside could be preserved permanently.

Behind the Cottage was a lush mountain nearly a hundred meters high, a waterfall, and a pond, as well as about ten mu of Herb Garden and ten mu of black soil for Spirit Rice.

Compared to the outside world, the time ratio was twelve to one; the flow of time in the space had no effect on him, and anything within a twelve-meter radius of Zhang Ping'an could be drawn into the space.

Zhang Ping'an picked up the book on the table and took a look; it was a Body Refining Technique, and Zhang Ping'an subconsciously began to mimic the movements.

It was a set of eighty-one movements, but he couldn't persist past the second movement, so he hurriedly ran behind the Thatched Cottage and gulped down some Space Water, instantly sweeping away the exhaustion from his body.

Returning to the room to look, the other book recorded pill formulas, wine formulas, and alchemy methods. Aside from the wine formulas, the rest were almost useless; even though he had studied the Compendium of Materia Medica, he had barely heard of any of the herbs recorded inside.

Zhang Ping'an opened his eyes again, and there was another person by his side—it was the original body's biological father, Zhang Laohan, also known as Zhang Laizhong. Despite his face being full of exhaustion, he was still looking at him with concern.

"Dad, Mom, San Jie." After Zhang Ping'an finished calling out to his father and mother, he felt his whole body relax.

"Ping'an, my child, you're finally awake."

"Ping'an..." The mother and daughter cried together, and Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but shed tears as well; Zhang Laizhong also had tears in his eyes.

"Dad, Mom, San Jie, I'm already fine, I feel much better."

"Alright, alright, alright, I'll go call the doctor to come and take a look right now."

"Okay."

The doctor came over and performed a thorough examination on Zhang Ping'an.

"A miracle, it's simply a miracle. Looking at your condition, the blood stasis in your brain is basically gone, but I still suggest staying in the Hospital for a few more days for observation."

"No, no, I'm already better."

"Ping'an, you should still listen to the doctor."

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll take responsibility and waive your medical fees for this month. Stay a few more days so I can observe the changes in your body; keeping more medical records can help save more people in the future."

"Fine, Ping'an doesn't mind these few days."

"Alright."

Zhang Ping'an felt helpless; he had spent quite a bit of money during this hospitalization, and the doctor was also acting out of kindness, but his situation had no comparison.

Zhang Ping'an spent these few days recovering in the Hospital, exercising in the space whenever he was free. The doctor only checked on him three times a day, and the rest of the time Zhang Ping'an wandered around the Hospital as he pleased.

Zhang Ping'an also took advantage of this time to exercise up to the ninth movement in the space. His appetite had also grown quite a bit; luckily he had the Space Water to assist him, otherwise he really would have starved to death.

Zhang Ping'an had also gone out a few times, buying some seeds at a grain store and a Pharmacy respectively. Through experiments, he found that anything watered with Space Water not only accelerated in growth, but the taste was also surprisingly good. In just a few days, Zhang Ping'an had harvested nearly a thousand catties of sweet potatoes.

The ginseng seeds in the Herb Garden had also aged under Zhang Ping'an's constant watering, and the other medicinal herbs were the same.

During this period, Zhang Ping'an even went to the outside market and bought two old hens and two roosters, a pair of Black-skinned Pigs, a pair of lambs, a pair of rabbits, and a pair of ducks.

A week later, Zhang Ping'an had harvested ten chicks, seven ducks, ten rabbits, two Black-skinned Pigs that were already nearly two hundred catties, two sheep, five hundred catties of wheat, and over seven hundred catties of potatoes.

Zhang Ping'an had spent all the hospitalization money, and he could finally be discharged.

"Dad, Mom, my appetite has grown recently, and the hospitalization fees have all been spent."

"It's fine, you're in the middle of growing. If you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have noticed; your clothes and pants have all become too small."

"Wait, let your father buy you a set of clothes to wear for now. When we get back, Mom will buy cloth and cotton to make you a padded jacket and padded trousers myself."

"Alright, Mother."

"Little Mother, why not let Ping'an come stay at my place for a while? Lao Jia has already partitioned the room, so Ping'an can sleep with Dongxu."

"This... let's wait until your father returns to discuss it."

"That works too."

Half an hour later, Zhang Laizhong returned carrying a bag of clothes and a pair of shoes.

"Father..." Zhang Xiaohua repeated what had just been said.

"That's fine. I'll come to pick him up in two months."

"Ping'an, you cannot be as mischievous at your brother-in-law's house as you are in the village."

"Alright, Mother."

"Xiaohua, here is a little money; consider it Ping'an's food expenses."

"Mother, aren't you slapping me in the face? There is no reason for a younger brother to pay for meals at his own sister's house. Keep it for yourself; the money Lao Jia earns is enough for us to spend."

This was only the case now; once the three-year special period arrived, visiting relatives and friends would require bringing one's own rations.

"This..."

"That's enough, Da Ni, just take it. We are all one family. In a few days, I will carry a bag of flour over to Xiaohua."

"Father, there's really no need..."

"Enough, stop arguing. It's settled."

Zhang Ping'an, still a thirteen-year-old child, had no say in the matter and could only listen quietly.

"Let's go, I'll see you all over there."

Zhang Ping'an would finally be able to witness the beasts of the Siheyuan; the root of all evil in the Siheyuan unfolded because of the accidental death of his San Jie Fu, Lao Jia, and the schemes of Yi Zhonghai for the sake of his own retirement.

His San Jie Fu, Lao Jia, was very good to him, so he must find a way to keep him alive; furthermore, he must also change the fate of his nephew, Xiao Jia, Jia Dongxu, who died young.

Just like that, the group of four left the Hospital and began heading toward the famous Heavens Courtyard.