Tomb Raider: The man is in the Nine Gates, but the system insists it's the Primordial Era.

The Republic of China era, springtime.

Changsha, south of the city, somewhere in a slum.

The boy on the wooden bed had a yellowish-white complexion due to years of illness, leaving only the delicate facial features inherited from his parents in this life.

The young man, Su Mu, on the sickbed glanced sideways at the "Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill" that had been delivered by the Huo family of the Nine Gates and placed in a broken bowl on the bedside table, his expression filled with surprise and doubt.

Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill

[Efficacy: Upon ingestion, one will achieve immortality, turn white hair black, attain an indestructible body, feel as light as a crane, be free from all diseases, be immune to all poisons, be unaffected by heat or cold, calm the mind and spirit, maintain undiminished vitality, perceive good and bad fortune, and endure hunger and thirst.]

[Pill Type: Longevity Pill, Foundation Pill for Ascension]

[The Mysticism panel is now open and has been successfully bound to the unique host 'Su Mu'.]

"Is it because I'm too weak to see clearly? Or is it simply time for my death?"

Su Mu picked up the pill from the broken bowl. Without even needing to sniff it carefully, he could smell the strong, pungent odor emanating from it.

This elixir was a gift to him from the Huo family, one of the nine gates of Changsha.

It is said to have an extraordinary origin, coming from a large burial pit.

The future head of the Huo family of the Nine Gates, Huo Xian'er, who was still a young girl who had just fallen into the water and had not yet left her boudoir, was deceived into believing it without a doubt.

However, for Su Mu, a future person who transmigrated into the Tomb Raider universe more than ten years ago, the meaning of the Huo family giving him this medicine was clearly different.

As everyone knows, most of the elixirs concocted by alchemists throughout Chinese history contained highly poisonous ingredients.

Not only will it not allow people to achieve immortality after taking it, but it will also cause them to die from chronic poisoning.

The main ingredients of the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill left by alchemists in history should be: lead in water, mercury in black water, cinnabar, sulfur, and realgar.

Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill

[Efficacy: Upon ingestion, one will achieve immortality, turn white hair black, attain an indestructible body, feel as light as a crane, be free from all diseases, be immune to all poisons, be unaffected by heat or cold, calm the mind and spirit, maintain undiminished vitality, perceive good and bad fortune, and endure hunger and thirst.]

[Pill Type: Longevity Pill, Foundation Pill for Ascension]

However, no matter how much Su Mu rubbed his eyelids, opened and closed his eyes, and looked at the pill that should have contained deadly poison, the same information panel kept floating up.

"Let's go all in! Let's take a gamble!"

Su Mu opened his mouth, closed his eyes, and swallowed the pill that the Huo family had dug out of a tomb.

next moment.

A mysterious and ethereal voice slowly and deliberately rang in his ears.

"Having cultivated a form resembling a crane, with two volumes of scriptures beneath a thousand pines, I came to inquire about the Dao, but there was nothing more to say; the clouds are in the blue sky, and the water is in the bottle..."

……

……

North of Changsha city.

The second floor of the Huo family mansion in the Nine Gates.

"How many times have I warned you! Don't associate with that sickly guy from the Su family again!"

Huo Jinxi looked at her niece Huo Xian'er, who was lying on the hospital bed with a fever, and smashed the teacup in her hand on the ground in anger.

Huo Xian'er, her lips pale, had a clean silk scarf covering her head. "But Aunt, didn't you say that without his father stepping forward to protect the Huo family from disaster back then, the Huo family wouldn't be where we are today?"

Huo Jinxi's eyes were icy: "You yourself said it was back then. Besides, haven't we had enough of protecting the Su family all these years?"

"Yes, young lady, his grandparents and mother were buried, and there's medicine to treat his illness. Everything he needs in life, wasn't provided by my Huo family? My Huo family has done nothing to wrong the Su family."

"Besides, how much longer can he live? He's barely able to get out of bed now. Sending away this only son of the Su family and giving him a proper burial is more than enough."

Aunt Mei, who was serving Huo Xian'er beside her, chimed in.

Lying on the hospital bed, Huo Xian'er closed her eyes, and two lines of clear tears streamed down her beautiful face.

Images of the harmonious and beautiful times the two of them had spent together since childhood flooded her mind.

"Brother Su Mu, this arithmetic is so hard! My aunt and the others always force me to learn these boring and tedious subjects."

"Silly girl, it's just arithmetic, how hard can it be? You don't need an abacus. Come on, I'll show you. Watch carefully."

"Brother Su Mu, watch me demonstrate my family's secret bone-shrinking technique!"

"Does it hurt? You'll have to be used to dislocating your joints to use this, right?"

"Brother Su Mu, you're too weak to carry water, let me help you carry it."

"Don't forget that your Huo family has to practice bone-strengthening techniques since childhood. You can't do heavy work or touch these rough things."

"Brother Su Mu, do you think the adult world is really that interesting?"

"Hahaha, you've come to the right person. It's not that fun at all. The adult world is much more boring and dull, full of calculations and scheming."

"Brother, aunt and the others, they beat my pet baby, Little White, to death today, waaaaah!"

"Don't cry. If you like it, I'll raise one for you here. You can come and visit whenever you have time. They're just testing your mentality and helping you grow up faster."

"..."

This "Fairy Huo," who would soon become a powerful figure but was still just a little girl at this moment, trembled with pain and sobbed as she recalled the time she spent with the boy.