Chapter 1: He Must Survive! He Must Live! And He Must Find His Father!
In December 1952 in the capital, Nanluoguxiang / South Luogu Lane was swept by a biting cold wind, and large snowflakes drifted freely across the sky.
At this moment, Huang Weiguo lay in bed, his body so weak that it seemed he might pass away at any moment, his hands instinctively scratching and adjusting his clothes.
In the Rear Courtyard of the Siheyuan, Huang Liying sat by the bed, continuously wiping away her tears with a handkerchief.
"Huahua, Qing Qing, come over here and look at your brother one last time."
"Brother!"
A pair of frail twin girls walked to the bedside, looked at the severely ill Huang Weiguo, and, unable to control themselves any longer, burst into bitter tears.
Watching Huahua and Qing Qing, the memory of being picked up by the two young sisters and brought home three years ago surfaced in Huang Weiguo's mind.
That year, just like today, it was a winter of heavy snowfall, and Huahua and Qing Qing were only four years old.
While they were playing in the Siheyuan alley, they suddenly discovered:
Next to a snowdrift by the road, there was a snowman that looked just like a real person.
The twins, wearing thin, patched cotton jackets, ran up to the snowman and happily started playing.
"This snowman is so tall!"
"Sister, should we move it home? Then we can play with the snowman in the courtyard every day!"
"Okay!"
At the time, the hands of the twin girls were red from the cold and covered in chilblains.
They tried hard to move the snowman home, but unexpectedly, as the snow fell away, the already frozen Huang Weiguo was revealed.
Huahua and Qing Qing were so frightened that they burst into tears, and their mother, Huang Liying, heard the crying and ran out.
Looking at the frozen Huang Weiguo, even though the mother and two daughters were about to run out of food, Huang Liying still brought him home and took meticulous care of him.
Later, they learned that Huang Weiguo was an orphan separated from his parents due to the chaos of war.
Huang Liying then had an idea.
Now, as a single woman with two twin daughters, she was helpless in this Siheyuan, often being schemed against and bullied.
If only there was a man in the family to maintain appearances.
Moreover, Huang Weiguo also shared the surname Huang, and Huang Liying felt this was a path to survival pointed out by heaven for the Huang Family!
Just like that, Huang Weiguo became the adopted son of the Huang Family.
Huang Liying treated Huang Weiguo like her own son; whatever Huahua and Qing Qing had, Huang Weiguo received the same amount.
She always made sure Huang Weiguo ate first.
Watching Huang Weiguo grow to twenty years old, Huang Liying went to great lengths to arrange a marriage for him; the woman was Qin Huairu from Qin Family Village.
Unexpectedly, Qin Huairu was so outstandingly beautiful that Jia Dongxu noticed her immediately.
Yi Zhonghai, wanting his apprentice Jia Dongxu to get married, didn't hesitate to steal the engagement.
Huang Weiguo suffered a massive blow and was sick for over a year.
The family spent all their savings just to pull Huang Weiguo back from the brink of death.
Three years later, Huang Liying arranged another marriage for Huang Weiguo; the other party was Bai Ling, a police officer from the police station.
Originally, the two families were not well-matched, but Huang Weiguo had saved Bai Ling's life while hunting, so they could be considered to be in a relationship based on free choice.
But who could have foreseen?
Bai Ling had only been in the Siheyuan for half a day, and just as the two were preparing to go register for their marriage certificate, someone said something to her.
Bai Ling immediately broke off the engagement with Huang Weiguo, and afterward went alone to Moscow to study, never to be heard from again.
Consequently, Huang Weiguo fell seriously ill again, leading to the opening scene of him lying in bed displaying those symptoms of being near death.
Huang Liying looked at the extremely weak Huang Weiguo and cried uncontrollably.
Xu Fugui and Liu Haizhong in the Rear Courtyard saw this scene and both shook their heads and sighed.
Xu Fugui said, "This Huang Weiguo just doesn't have the good fortune! With his hunting skills, he could certainly lead Huang Liying's family to a good life, but he insists on obsessing over marriage!"
Liu Haizhong continued, "Exactly. But if Huang Weiguo really passes away, his room can't possibly still belong to the Huang Family, can it?"
Xu Fugui's eyes shifted slightly, and he whispered, "Old Yi, and the Lao Yan Family in the Front Courtyard, they are all watching!
This room was bought by Huang Weiguo with money earned from hunting. Although Huang Liying took Huang Weiguo in, she doesn't have a household registration. Logically, the houses in this courtyard must be allocated by the Three respected elders of the courtyard.
I heard that Deaf Old Lady / Grandma Long has her eye on this room, saying it's spacious, has large windows, and would be perfect if connected to hers."
Xu Fugui and Liu Haizhong spoke these words with selfish motives.
After all, Xu Fugui's son, Xu Damao, was fast approaching the age for marriage arrangements, and his family also needed a house.
Liu Haizhong's family has three sons, so they need this house even more.
Yan Bugui's eldest son was also reaching the age for marriage arrangements.
If Xu Fugui didn't stir up the situation in this Siheyuan, how would his family ever get a chance to acquire the house?
Liu Haizhong sneered upon hearing this: "The Old Lady is just one person; how big of a room does she need? If you ask me, we should find the most deserving family in our Rear Courtyard to move in!"
Liu Haizhong had already planned everything: as soon as Huang Weiguo died, he would use his authority to coerce and tempt Huang Liying, and then wouldn't the room be his family's?
"Brother..."
Huahua and Qing Qing's cries grew louder, and Huang Liying also began to weep loudly.
Huang Weiguo, slowly closing his eyes, suddenly saw flashes of his past and present lives in his mind.
It turned out he was a transmigrator, having transmigrated while still in the womb.
His biological father had been fighting for the country back then and had no choice but to place him with a farm family.
His adoptive parents passed away when he was eighteen, telling him that once he arrived in Sijiucheng / Beijing, he would be able to find his biological father.
That was why, three years ago, Huang Weiguo had almost frozen to death in Sijiucheng / Beijing.
And now, he had been adopted by Huang Liying.
The courtyard he was living in turned out to be the infamous qin man courtyard.
As Huang Weiguo sorted through the memories of the past three years, the thought of Yan Bugui, Deaf Old Lady / Grandma Long, Xu Fugui, and Liu Haizhong staring at his room while he was sick made his heart ache.
If he really died, how could his adoptive mother Huang Liying and his sisters Huahua and Qing Qing survive in this man-eating Siheyuan?
Thinking of this, a fierce desire to survive surged within Huang Weiguo.
He must survive! He must live! And he must find his father!
Suddenly, Huang Weiguo felt his consciousness drift into the air, and everything around him was a vast, white expanse.
Huang Weiguo could only give a helpless smile. It seemed the objective world wouldn't change based on human wishes. Had he failed to survive after all?
Wait!
Huang Weiguo's eyes suddenly widened, his face full of shock—he hadn't died!
What appeared before him was a pure white space, and clearly written directly above were the four large characters: "counterattack space."
The space was pristine white, with only a spring constantly gushing water, the water emanating Spiritual Qi, and next to it lay a manual titled "Spring Return Skill."
Huang Weiguo was filled with shock; he wouldn't have to die.
With this "Spring Return Skill," not only could he survive, but if he managed to cultivate it to the highest realm, he might even gain the ability to achieve eternal life.