Chapter 133: A Millennium in a Dream

After staying at Ziyi’s house for a few more days, I reached a consensus with everyone: it was time for me to return. Fatty, my buddy, also got his wish; he had managed to secure a few bronze artifacts and Dushan jade pieces. In the State of Ju two thousand years ago, these were nothing special—anyone with a bit of status owned them. But once brought back to our era, after two millennia of accumulation, they were national-treasure-level relics.

Once we decided to leave, the problem arose. When I first arrived, I had accidentally slashed the Flying Dragon with my sword, and amid the blinding golden light, we traveled through time. As the saying goes, it is easier to enter than to exit. How were we supposed to go back?

Recalling our arrival, it had happened at the Luoshui Temple in Black Dragon Pool. While the Black Dragon Pool was gone, the Luoshui Temple still stood. It seemed I had to go there to find the answer. I decided to scout the path first before attempting the formal crossing.

When I told Ziyi my plan, he agreed. We traveled together to the Luoshui Station where I had first arrived. On the way, Ziyu sat beside me the whole time, murmuring and begging me to take her to the future to see what it was like. I told her we would see once we found the exit; after all, there would be plenty of opportunities, and next time would work just as well.

Ziyu stopped questioning, sitting close to me, acting so affectionately that she felt just like my own younger sister.

Upon reaching the Luoshui Station, we found Wang Liang and headed into the Luoshui Temple together to meet Master Zhenyi. When Fatty saw Master Zhenyi, he was stunned, whispering to me that the old guy looked exactly like him. I laughed and said, "Perhaps he is you."

Master Zhenyi had a flair for the dramatic; he had actually taken the four characters "Buddha’s Light Illuminates All" that I had written and turned them into a plaque, which now hung in the main hall. Seeing us, the Master was delighted and invited us for tea. When we explained our purpose, he smiled and shook his head, claiming he didn't believe in such things. He insisted that all things in the world follow their own laws, and he had never heard of anyone traveling through time.

I was preoccupied with the road home and had no heart for tea, but the high monk was very hospitable. Plus, Ziyu, Wan’er, and the others were thirsty, so we sat down to drink. As we drank, Ziyi, Wan’er, and the others began to sway before slumping over onto the table. I was shocked; I drew the Fengchi Sword in a flash and pointed it at Zhenyi. "Who are you?"

Master Zhenyi smiled and gestured for me to sit down. "They are sons and daughters of noble families. Even if I were given a thousand guts, I wouldn't dare harm them. This is 'Forget-Me-Not Tea.' They have drunk to forget, while you two have drunk to clear your hearts."

"What does that mean?" I didn't understand the monk’s words; it all felt too mystical.

"It means exactly that," Master Zhenyi said. "Your sudden visit will inevitably change their lives. They will forget all memories of you two; only then will it conform to the laws of historical development."

Hearing him say this, I understood a little. This was the right way; otherwise, everything would change. No wonder the Wan’er I knew 2,000 years later remembered Ziyi but had no trace of memory regarding my time-traveling visit—she had drunk the Forget-Me-Not Tea.

"Ah! What if I want to come back again?" Fatty spoke up from the side. This guy was a sharp accountant; traveling back and forth to trade antiques sounded like a good deal!

Master Zhenyi glanced at Fatty and shook his head. "In the fleeting world of red dust, only glory and wealth cannot be kept. Do not covet these things; be a person of conscience." With that, he stood up.

Fatty and I followed him. Master Zhenyi walked out of the Meditation Room and pointed toward the distance. "There is 'Heart-Cultivating Bamboo' over there. Each of you, go break off a stalk and bring it here."

Fatty curled his lip and muttered, "Why break off Heart-Cultivating Bamboo? Better to give me a wooden fish!" But he walked over anyway.

Ahead lay a bamboo grove. Fatty pushed the door open and walked in, and I followed. As we stepped through the threshold, clouds and mist rose up. In the blink of an eye, I couldn't see anything. I felt my body floating, just like being on an airplane. After drifting for a while, I lost consciousness.

Dazed and confused, I eventually woke up. It was dark before me, and I was lying on the ground. I touched it; it was soft, dusty earth. What happened? Was I dreaming?

Yes, it seemed like a dream—incredibly vivid. Ziyi, Wan’er, Ziyu, Tianxing. I stood up clumsily and walked forward in the dark, only to trip and fall to the ground. A plump figure was lying there.

I reached out, and the guy let out a yelp before sitting up. It was Fatty.

"Buddy, h-how did you get here?" Seeing me, Fatty hugged me tight.

"I came to find you!" Setting aside the dream, I had indeed come looking for him. He had sneaked into the Black Water Pool to steal antiques, and his aunt, fearing he would drown, had sent me to save him.

"You scared the life out of me! After I got in, it felt like a snake bit me and dragged me along. I lost consciousness, and I thought I was dead! Turns out I'm still alive!" Fatty stood up, dusting himself off.

"As long as you're alive, let's get out of here," I said, pulling him up.

Fatty suddenly stopped. "Wait, I had a strange dream. It felt so real."

"What dream?"

Fatty recounted the dream, and it was exactly the same as mine. It seemed we hadn't just dreamed; we had actually traveled.

"It’s so frustrating. I asked Ziyi for so many bronze and jade pieces, but I couldn't bring them with me," he said dejectedly, though he quickly brushed it off. "Heh, it was just a dream, not reality anyway!"

"Since it was a dream, let’s go," I urged, pulling him toward the exit. As we reached the door, I tripped over something and nearly fell again. When I turned to look, I was stunned.

There lay a plaque, carved with four characters. The wood was weathered and aged, but I recognized it instantly. It was my own handwriting—the very characters I had written for Master Zhenyi: "Buddha’s Light Illuminates All."

It wasn't a dream. It was real. I stood at the doorway, feeling an indescribable ache in my heart. To me, it was only the duration of a dream, yet it had spanned 2,000 years. Subconsciously, I looked at my finger. On my ring finger, a ring was clearly visible: the Luoshui Ring.

Looking at it, I thought of Ziyi, Wan’er, Ziyu, and all those colorful people. There was no denying they had truly existed. I remembered Master Zhenyi’s words: they had drunk the Forget-Me-Not Tea, so they would not remember my time there.

The question then arose: Who was Master Zhenyi? What role had he played during the time Fatty and I were traveling?

"Ah!" Just as I was lost in these unanswerable thoughts, Fatty let out a shout, snapping me back to reality.

"What’s wrong? You’re jumping out of your skin—in a place like this, you'll scare someone to death!" I smacked his shoulder.

"Dachuan, I... I don't think this was a dream. Look, look!" Fatty pointed at his clothes. It was Hanfu—tattered and worn, but definitely Hanfu.

I smiled. "And what does that prove?"

"How can you be so dense? It means we weren't dreaming! We really traveled through time! We actually did it!" Fatty was overjoyed.

"I doubt it! Why don't I feel anything?" I feigned ignorance.

"Such a pity, a real shame. Master Zhenyi told us to enter the bamboo grove, and we just traveled back without any mental preparation. All those bronze and jade artifacts of mine! What a waste," Fatty lamented.

"Stop dwelling on it. Take this as a souvenir." I reached over and picked up the wooden fish that had weathered two thousand years of wind and rain, handing it to Fatty.

Fatty took it. "Not bad, better than nothing." Then he grinned. "Dachuan, that sister of yours was so pretty. She wanted to come along—why didn't you let her?"

"Stop spouting nonsense. Let's get out of here; I don't remember a thing!" I dragged Fatty toward the exit. As we walked, he kept muttering, "If you don't remember, I'll tell you! You were amazing, defeating the Lu assassins with your 'Palm Thunder.' And the Ju nobility's home was so luxurious! I didn't want to come back, but you insisted on dragging me."

I listened, but I wasn't really hearing his words. Two people occupied my mind: Wan’er—I had to compare her to the Wan’er of 2,000 years ago—and Wang Ying. I had to go to the Dinglin Temple alone to save her. Thinking of her, I realized we hadn't met in a long time. Come to think of it, traveling through a thousand years—did that count as a journey through space and time?