The first sensation Li Xuejian felt after he regained his consciousness was a drop of water that fell on his face. 

Plop, plop, plop!

Li Xuejian tried to move his hand to wipe his face but failed. It was simply because of a lack of strength in his body. This kind of weakness Li Xuejian hadn’t feel since the zombie apocalypse happened. 

His head was buzzing, leaving him dizzy and nauseous. 

Li Xuejian opened his eyes and bit his lips to keep them from quivering. He blinked several times to get rid of the blur and found himself lying in a wooden bed, covered with a musty quilt. He wore only a tattered garment with patches of various sizes. 

Then he looked up and saw the broken roof. The rain that just woke him was leaking through the hole.

Where was he? Was he not dead?

Li Xuejian was in a daze. He was certain of his death, maybe because he was the last one to die while defending the border in the bloody hand-to-hand battle with the zombies. 

He instinctively hugged himself and trembled as if the pain of tearing the flesh could be still felt by his body. 

Li Xuejian didn’t have much time to be overwhelmed by bad memories, because the front wooden door suddenly squeaked in the house. Although the sound was muffled, it still fell into Li Xuejian’s ears. 

This place didn't seem like other people could also live in it at the first glance. 

So why is someone here? And does this person have good intentions or is malicious towards him? 

There were too many uncertain factors. Li Xuejian could only gather the leftovers of the strength in his body and pick up the piece of firewood that was next to him. Then he moved a little to the side, barely supporting himself.

Holding a firewood stick tightly in his hand made him feel a little crude but at least this was the only way to protect himself if necessary.

The clothes he was wearing were already completely wet, but Li Xuejian couldn’t care at all about this discomfort. He was listening if someone was coming and stared at the door in readiness to throw the… let's call it a weapon.

The visitor opened the door with a pot of hot water and a rough bowl filled with porridge in his hands and saw Li Xuejian sitting on the bed. He said with a hint of surprise in the voice: "Aiyo! You are awake! You were burning with fever so badly that I was worried that you wouldn't wake up.”

Uncle Chen was a short and thin old man, because he had not been able to eat enough during the year and was working hard on the field, his back was a little bent down.

Because of poverty, Uncle Chen couldn't afford the bride price since he was off age and didn’t get married throughout his life. Of course, he also didn’t have any children.

bride price - money paid by the groom to the bride's family, different from the drowsy (some call it tradition, some call it paying to buy a wife)

Spending alone all year round, the only people close to him were his neighbors living next to his house. When the late Li Xuejian's father was alive, they helped each other out from time to time when the other wasn't able to make ends meet. Now it was only the boy by himself whom Uncle Chen regarded as a relative.

What he didn't expect was that Li Xuejian had been bitten by a snake while wandering the deep mountain alone. Uncle Chen was worried that the son would follow in his father's footsteps...

In the noon when Uncle Chen was digging sweet potatoes to take them home and fill his stomach, he saw Li Xuejian coming back from the mountain forest and collapsing in the middle of the road.

Uncle Chen took him back to the Li House and placed him on the bed. Li Xuejian had some new wounds on his body, like the bite marks left by a snake. Then Uncle Chen hurried out, looking for some herbs nearby, and by the way, he boiled some hot water and sweet potatoes porridge with a bit of rice and came back to give it to him to eat.

But when Uncle Chen opened the door and saw that the boy woke up on his own, it felt like there's a weight off his old shoulders. He had been living a lonely life and had already loved this younger generation a little. 

At this time, seeing Li Xuejian holding a wooden stick in his hand and don't know what he was going to do with it, Uncle Chen couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Is Li Xuejian hallucinating after being bitten? Or the fever burned the child's brain and he became a fool?

He took a step forward and coaxed: "Xuejian, come and give this stick to Uncle, OK? It's very dangerous. Uncle will give you some snacks to eat."     

Li Xuejian couldn't help but put out an expression full of question marks: "???"     

Perhaps his expression was too obvious, and Uncle Fang found something wrong.     

This look that Li Xuejian gave him... Is he truly alright?

Uncle Fang tentatively asked: "Xuejian?"

Li Xuejian heard the slightly familiar voice and quickly replied: "Uncle?” After speaking, Li Xuejian was dumbfounded by his own reaction.

How could he know who this old man is? Is this a reflex left by the original owner?

He was already analyzing his situation, even if Li Xuejian didn’t read novels very often, he still know the idea of transmigration. He was probably reborn in this body, like in some stories, after being killed by a zombie. 

No matter what Li Xuejian thought at this time, Uncle Chen was excited. This is really the ancestor blessing the Li family that Li Xuejian recovered so quickly without any side effects! 

Uncle Chen burst into tears, and couldn't help holding Li Xuejian with a little excitement, saying: "Xuejian, were you bitten by a snake? Do you remember how this happened?"

"Alas! Why did you go further deep in the mountains today? You really dare to gamble on your life!"

Uncle Chen reached out to pat Li Xuejian on the shoulder and his hand touched the drenched clothes and felt the feverish body underneath, then he realized that he had forgotten something. Uncle Chen quickly picked up the hot towel and said: "Xuejian, wipe your body with hot water first. You still have a fever. Lie down and rest and then eat some porridge. I will find some clean clothes for you to change."     

"Okay." Li Xuejian obediently agreed. Although the old man in front of him was behaving in a way he didn't understand well, he could feel that he was not malicious, but was full of the love of the elders for the younger generation.   

Li Xuejian thanked the old man from the bottom of his heart. If it weren't for him, in this new place, he may not be able to survive alone. 

And then, a small memory of the original owner suddenly flashed in Li Xuejian's mind.