Chapter One: On That Thunderous Night

“…At 9:15 a.m. on January 1st, outside a breakfast shop on Xiangshan Street in Rongcheng, a sudden bolt of lightning struck a young man. Fortunately, there were no casualties. For details, see the video report…”

In a pitch-dark room, a computer screen was playing the video.

On the screen, a young man was struck by lightning, convulsing on the ground for a moment as passersby watched from a distance, none daring to approach.

Yet after a brief spasm, the young man rose to his feet as if nothing had happened, dusted himself off, and walked away.

The video was shot from a nearby surveillance camera, so the face of the fallen man was unclear.

Before the computer sat another young man, who watched the video with a peculiar expression.

“Did I just see something?” he muttered, then rewound the video.

The clip paused at the moment the lightning struck the young man.

“That white smoke… Is it just the camera’s low resolution?” he wondered aloud.

Ding…

His phone chimed suddenly.

He picked it up and checked.

A text message, from his sister.

“Chen Jin, come pick me up. I’m at the school gate.”

“This brat, can’t she just call a ride home? Why does she need me? Ugh, in the dead of winter, it’s exhausting.” Though he complained, Chen Jin swiftly put on his coat and headed out.

“Dad, why doesn’t that brat call you instead of texting me?” As he stepped out, he ran into his father, whose face was square and stern, and he grumbled noisily.

“I scolded her good and hard—she’s much better behaved now. If you want peace, scold her too,” his father replied, face severe as ever, his words merciless.

“Forget it. If I scold her, she’ll complain to Mom, and then I’ll get my share of trouble,” Chen Jin said, shaking his head with a bitter smile.

“I can’t even smoke downstairs anymore. Now I have to go to the rooftop balcony… cough, cough…” His father’s stern face drooped in resignation.

“Take care of yourself, Dad. The wind’s strong up there. Anyway, I’ll be going now,” Chen Jin said sympathetically.

“Hurry back, or your mother will scold you again,” his father called loudly, then muttered the last words barely above a whisper.

“Got it. Dad, where’s your car key?” Chen Jin called from the stairway.

“It’s the first of the month—lots of traffic police around. Take your electric scooter. Once you get your license, then you can drive my car,” his father replied.

“Are you really my dad? Trying to freeze me to death? Trying to freeze Mom’s precious daughter?” Chen Jin shouted from below.

“Your mom and your aunt are at the Lao Jun Temple today and I’ll need to pick them up later. Are you trying to freeze your father and mother as well?” came the booming retort, leaving Chen Jin speechless.

Then came the sound of the automatic door rising and the car engine starting.

“That rascal!” His father rushed downstairs, but the car was already gone, its taillights fading into the street, leaving only the open rolling door for the cold wind to howl through.

…

“Brat, I’m almost there. Wait… ten minutes or so…”

“What? Old Town Square? Why’d you go there? …Fine, I’ll head over now.”

Chen Jin grumbled as he hung up, then started the car and turned it toward the Old Town Square as his sister had said.

Very soon, Chen Jin made his way through the bustling streets and leisurely parked the car in a space.

Once parked, he got out and slipped into the crowd.

Today was January 1st—New Year’s Day, a holiday—and the Old Town Square was hosting a New Year’s gala. Nearby residents, whether paired up or single, had gathered to stroll about. Chen Jin, a lone bachelor, felt helpless among them; coming here was nothing but torture for the single.

He didn’t squeeze into the lively throngs but bought a corn cob at the square and found a bench to sit.

There, he played with his phone, munching on corn, radiating bachelor vibes so strongly that loving couples would pass by and shower him with displays of affection.

Yet Chen Jin ignored all that, finding his corn far tastier than any heartbreak.

“Hey! Bro!”

Suddenly, he felt the bench—his refuge—disturbed by some “evil” presence and looked up.

A young man with a buzz cut, looking like a high schooler.

“What’s up?” Chen Jin’s gaze was probing for a second, then softened.

“…Let me ask you something…” The buzz-cut boy glanced around nervously and whispered.

“Go on, what is it?” Chen Jin, with nothing better to do, thought he might as well indulge the kid.

“Bro, want some ‘Liu Bei’?” The boy leaned in, opening his baggy sleeve.

“….” Chen Jin was speechless.

Was this guy an idiot? Selling ‘Liu Bei’ in this day and age? Was he from the last century?

“There are pictures inside, high-definition, real photos,” the boy insisted, pulling a black-covered book from his sleeve.

“Uh…” Chen Jin stared at him, even more speechless.

“Come on, bro, buy one. We bachelors gotta look out for each other,” the buzz-cut boy pleaded.

Failing to persuade, he resorted to pity.

“How much?” Chen Jin sighed, thinking it was like buying a newspaper from a disabled street vendor—if it was cheap, he’d buy it; if overpriced, he’d call the police.

“Ten… No, just one. One coin, one book. Bro, this price ruins me, doesn’t even cover printing,” the boy whined.

“Fine, I’ll buy one—this one in your hand.” Chen Jin fished out a coin and handed it over.

The boy quickly stuffed the black book into Chen Jin’s hands.

He hurried away, vanishing into the crowd, but after a few steps, he stopped, standing there bewildered.

“What am I doing here?” The boy scratched his head and wandered off, leaving Old Town Square.

Chen Jin watched him leave, thinking nothing of it—perhaps the kid feared the police. He wasn’t even sure if selling ‘Liu Bei’ was against the law.

“Ah, must’ve lost my mind. Why’d I buy it? Well, it wasn’t expensive, just doing a good deed,” Chen Jin placed the black book on the bench.

As for its contents, he was hardly curious. A few illustrations and stories weren’t worth his time; his own life was probably richer than anything inside.

Thump, thump, thump… thump… thump, thump…

Suddenly, a deep, drum-like sound echoed across the lively square. Chen Jin looked up.

Others around the square did the same, confirming he wasn’t imagining things.

“Maybe it’s part of a performance?” Chen Jin thought.

No one knew where the drumbeats came from, but the rhythm seemed part of the gala, so everyone continued with their own business.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning cut across the sky, followed by a heavy rumble of thunder.

“Ah?!”

Cries of alarm rippled through the crowd.

On the rooftop of the square’s tall building, a figure appeared, standing atop the lightning rod.

No one knew how he got up there.

Colorful bolts of lightning streaked through the night, striking the figure’s raised right arm.

Everyone below stared, stunned, then unanimously pulled out their phones to record.

“Could that be Rongcheng’s Thunder God?” someone wondered aloud.

“What Thunder God?” another replied from somewhere else, though no one knew how they found each other.

“There’s a video online—some guy in Rongcheng got struck by lightning several times, dusted himself off and walked away. Netizens dubbed him the Thunder God of Rongcheng,” someone else chimed in.

There’s no place in life without netizens.

Chen Jin too was filming the scene—such a spectacle deserved to be captured.

Boom…

Just as Chen Jin was engrossed in filming, a bolt of lightning crashed down right beside him, striking the bench he’d been sitting on.

Puff…

The bench was instantly charred, reduced to a pile of ash.

Seeing lightning strike the square, people panicked and scrambled, the square becoming more chaotic than the storm itself.

The crowd scattered.

Chen Jin froze for a moment, then bolted from the square like a startled monkey.

He dashed back to the parking lot and climbed into his car, but didn’t drive away—he remembered his sister was still here. He reached for his phone to call her, but suddenly thought the phone might attract lightning. If he called her, they could both end up struck. Having just narrowly escaped, Chen Jin decided not to use his phone, hoping she’d be safe.

As his gaze wandered, he suddenly noticed a black book sitting on the passenger seat.

“This… this…”

As Chen Jin stared in surprise, the black cover of the book began to move restlessly, and the world before him abruptly changed.

Clouds gathered, winds swirled. The sky was clear, the earth vibrant.

Amid lush grass, a massive white tiger, as tall as a man, stood atop a moss-covered gray stone.

…