Chapter 1: Strange World
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Faint smoke and a thin layer of mist enveloped a small mountain town made from stone at the foot of the Cang Ling Mountain. As dawn broke, a light golden ray of light shone on the ground. It shone on a small courtyard in the village, almost as if it was wrapping it up in a thin golden fabric...
"God damn it... which damned idiot stole my Fire Plume Chicken!"
An untimely scream broke the silence at dawn in this courtyard. It frightened a few of the lush green feathered, golden crowned birds.
Fire Plume Chicken?
It was still a chicken!
‘Fang Zhengzhi’ curled his lips and shook the Fire Plume Chicken roasting on the rack. He glanced at the clear river water next to him, then slowly retrieved a few rough yellow bags. He opened them, revealing red, white, grey... powders of various colors.
These were all good stuff. The village was not particular about food and didn’t have much in terms of seasoning. Other than oil and salt, they did not have anything else. As such, Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to risk his life to try seasoning made from various plants.
Eating...
Was one of the joys of life! However, ever since he came to this godforsaken place, other than buns, he only had vegetables and steamed rolls. He couldn’t even find a dumpling.
In order to ensure that he continues growing, Fang Zhengzhi decided to eat something more substantial. Even though he was only six, he had the maturity of a 20 year old, and this made things rather unbearable for him.
"Splash!"
Fang Zhengzhi smelt the aroma wafting from the meat and forcefully swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Then, he raised his head to look at the rising sun light up the sky, his youthful face sinking deep into thought.
Being an ancient historian was a good profession. One could study the ancient annals, be adept in the ancient language, understand astronomy, geography, constellations, fate. Occasionally, when looking through some books, one could even learn about medicine in the ancient times.
Yet...
It wasn’t of much use.
The previous Fang Zhengzhi was still struggling after losing his job. Having been through hundreds of trials and tribulations, he had managed to travel to an ancient world. He thought that he could rise to fame here. Without considering anything else, just with his research into the ancient culture, he should have a chance to enter the imperial exam and become a scholar right?
Who would have thought...
Having been here for more than a month, he realized that there was no imperial examination. They had no eight-legged essay, no classics! It was a completely different world where even animals looked different.
Fire Plume Chicken? Didn’t it just have an especially long red feather on its tail? Even if it laid red eggs, it is still just a chicken!
Fang Zhengzhi greedily sniffed in all the aroma of the roasted meat, then began seasoning the Fire Plume Chicke. He put some ‘chili’ and some ‘cumin’ and ‘honey’...
"I found you, you chicken thief!"
A feminine voice scared Fang Zhengzhi so much he dared not straighten up. He remained hunched, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. Getting caught was not a good situation to be in.
What now?
With such small arms and short legs, there was no way he could run. When he realized this, Fang Zhengzhi turned his neck in despair.
He wanted to see who had caught him.
After suffering a beating, at least he can find a chance to exact revenge. For example, he could use a stone to smash her window, or throw a few eggs at her...
After seeing who it was, Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes lit up.
The person was a stranger, someone he had never seen before. The important point here was that she was about his age, probably about five plus, her white and tender face was adorned with features as exquisite as a doll. She wore a skirt with three white flowers on it. She had a jade green flower in her hair and golden thread shoes on her feet.
At such a young age, one could already sense her perfection and aura transcended society. She was bound to become a beauty capable of wrecking an entire nation.
Except...
What was with her smile, her arms akimbo and her condescending expression?
Fang Zhengzhi was extremely unhappy, where did this little bugger come from? What was she doing dressing up this way in such a poor, desolate location?
The more important thing was that she dared to look down on him?
Even though he was also a little kid, his mental age was over 20! Notwithstanding anything else, he could easily beat anyone in knowledge.
"Where did you come from little brat, scram! This is my chicken!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the roasted chicken exasperatingly.
"Little thief, who are you calling a little brat?" Lolita’s smile stiffened and her tiny fists were clenched.
Fang Zhengzhi saw Lolita clench her fists tightly.
Oh... is she looking for a fight?
Fang Zhengzhi laughed coldly. Even though he did not have much experience in this area, it would be a huge joke if he couldn’t defeat a five year old girl.
"If you still don’t scram, I will whack you!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that he needed to show this little girl the stern side of him, thus, he grit his teeth and glared at her.
It was a pity that with his infant like features, he looked like he was simply making a funny face.
"Whack me?! Okay... ‘Chi Guyan’ accepts your challenge, I would like to see what you have to offer!" Upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi’s statement, she stiffened, an expression of excitement breaking out over her face.
"Oh?" Fang Zhengzhi didn’t manage to react. Shouldn’t Lolita be scared to tears and run away?
What did she mean by what I had to offer.
Ugh...
Before Fang Zhengzhi could clear his thoughts, he felt a figure lunge at him. Shortly after, he felt a gust of wind next to him which blew his hair in all directions.
What the heck? Almost subconciously, Fang Zhengzhi moved away from the rock he was sitting on and rolled to the side...
"Boom!"
A loud sound echoed out from behind him.
When Fang Zhengzhi looked behind, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
The green rock that he was sitting on was the size of a bucket. Now, there was a huge cavity in the middle of the rock, just above it was Lolita’s fist, still in mid air.
"F*ck... me!"
Fang Zhengzhi was completely stunned.
What could possibly be more shocking than a five year old girl splitting a bucket sized rock with her bare hands? Furthermore, more importantly, Lolita still looked fresh, her palms not even red.
Reckless girl? The reincarnation of God?
Fang Zhengzhi’s brain exploded in an instant. He could not wrap his head around many things, was this world really that ridiculous? There weren’t any extraordinary people in the village. They were hard working, working from sunrise to sunset, but there was nothing special? At most there were a few groups of men who went hunting.
The only difference between this world and the previous world was that everyone here was stronger and the beasts have morphed into various species. However, wasn’t this rather normal for a low technology society?
All this while, Fang Zhengzhi had thought that he was living in a peaceful generation...
In the blink of an eye, he felt that his world had been turned upside down, yet, this was not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing was that Lolita turned her sights on him again. Her eyes glimmered as if she had just found a new toy.
Again? No way...
What do I do if I can’t beat her?
Run!
Even though the five year old girl may not be very smart, however, this was also the age where they did not know how to control their strength. Explaining to her the importance of using the appropriate force for the appropriate occasion didn’t seem like a smart choice.
There was no need to say anything else. He turned and ran, disregarding his Fire Plume Chicken, all he hoped for was that his short legs could run a little faster...
"Humph, useless chicken thief!" Lolita miraculously didn’t chase Fang Zhengzhi. Instead, she turned back to look at the aromatic roasted Fire Plume Chicken.
"The mountains will not change, the rivers will not stop flowing, I will be back!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that he could not give up his stature completely.
Even if he ran, he had to do so openly, and he had to leave sufficient reason to keep the person waiting in the same area for him.
Lolita did not even look at Fang Zhengzhi, her big eyes staring at the succulent roasted Fire Plume Chicken.
Then, she could not resist but bend over and sniff the chicken. Then, she opened her mouth and took a bite off the chicken wing. A surprised expression broke out on her face. She savored every bite of that delicious chicken.
Then...
Fang Zhengzhi returned.
He appeared behind Lolita like a gust of wind, a snicker curling on the edges of his lips as he raised a foot!
He aimed it right at the girl’s butt.
Then he viciously...
Kicked her!
How could Lolita, still obsessed with her chicken, be able to react in time?
"Plonk!" Lolita lurched forward and then fell into the clear river head first.
"The weather is great today, the sun is bright, birds are chirping and the aroma of flowers fill the air. More importantly... it’s great for a bath!" Fang Zhengzhi took the chicken in his hand, turned and sprinted away.
"Thief, that’s my chicken!" Lolita’s voice could be heard from the river.
"You think too much, this is my chicken!" Fang Zhengzhi corrected her, not turning back.
"Damn!" Lolita leapt from the river, her agility like a snow leopard, however, she was still misty eyes. One could not tell if it was water or tears...
"Kaboom!"
"Chia!"
A loud but cohesive sound could be heard from afar.
"Ah! Oh my god! Miss... missus, what happened to you!" A lady, about 35 years old and wearing a traditional dress, screamed in horror as she ran over.
Behind the lady was a cloud of smoke. That was a group of soldiers in shining armor. THeir armor had a crimson triangle emblazoned on it, signifying their standing. They were 300 strong and all rode black snow-able dragon stallions.
These animals looked like horses, and they had the ferocity of a wild beast. However, they were larger than horses and grew jet black fur. They were enveloped by white scales and it was said that they were the descendants of the dragons.
The leader of the troop was someone wearing a black armor decorated with clouds. He was bulky, had dark skin and looked to be in his forties.
Looking at him gave people the shivers, the smell of fresh blood radiating from him.
"I deserve to die!" The hulking man dismounted and kneeled on the ground. He was uncharacteristically respectful as he scanned the roasting rack and the few seasoning bags like a hawk.
"What... is in that direction?" Lolita did not pay anymore attention to the lady or the man, instead pointing her tiny finger in the direction that Fang Zhengzhi had ran off in.
"Replying missus, that is the Southern Mountain Village!" The hulking man replied without hesitation.
"Southern Mountain Village? Okay then, we will go to the Southern Mountain Village." Lolita replied then walked towards the sedan adorned with jewels just behind the man.
"Missus, we still have to go to a few more cities on this trip? For a small village like the Southern Mountain Village..." The lady immediately reminded Lolita of this. However, upon seeing the expression on the missus’s face, she shut up immediately.
"Each village has its own uniqueness, we should not discriminate this way!" Lolita glanced at the lady and leapt into the sedan.
In the instant that Lolita leapt into the sedan, the water on her body seemed to be frozen in the air, falling to the ground only after the girl entered the sedan.
"Missus is wise, I am ashamed not to have thought of that!" Seeing the puddle of water she left behind, the hulking man knelt on the floor, the respect on his face growing every minute.
However, the lady was still confused, she murmured to herself, "Big Dao road, small Dao road... how does that link to the existence of countless lifeforms? And what link has this to going to the Southern Mountain Village?"
Even though she was confused, she still knew what to say as a servant.
"Missus is wiser than us, you were able to read since three and understand the workings of the world. Now, I believe that no one will dare to bully you!" As she spoke, she grew prouder and prouder.
Yet, Lolita who had entered the sedan shivered.
No one dares to bully me?
"Yue Er, you don’t have to come on board, walk!"
"Ah? Walk!" The lady’s face became bitter. She looked at the winding mountainous road to the Southern Mountain Village and her expression quickly morphed to one of pain.
"May I ask what special set up missus would like on this trip?" When the hulking man stood up, he glanced again at the wooden rack by the river bank.
"Add another preliminary exam!" Lolita’s voice could be heard from inside.
"Preliminary exam? What is the age restriction?"
"Mm... six to eight."
"Yes ma’am!"
...