Chapter 1 A Secret Realm Beyond the Mortal World

This was the legendary Peach Blossom Spring.

A thin, alert young man cautiously emerged from behind the rocks. His clothes were slightly torn, and he used a torn sleeve as a mask to cover his mouth. He leaped over several stones, then turned back to look at a somewhat frail girl behind him.

He reached out and pulled the girl's wrist, helping the visibly sickly girl to jump over. He carefully supported her, and only after ensuring she was steady did the young man look up ahead. Nestled between the rugged rocks were rows of wooden houses, and he could vaguely make out several buildings.

But more than that, his eyes were filled with peach blossoms.

It was already winter outside, but the peach blossoms were still in full bloom here, gathered together in large swathes, like an ocean. This kind of scenery, which would delight many people outside, had a hint of strange eeriness in this dim environment and amongst the rocks.

The young man gritted his teeth, trying to maintain his composure and emotions.

He had stumbled into this place by accident.

Abandoned at birth, he was fortunate enough to be adopted by foster parents and grew up safe and sound. Then, when the spiritual energy revived, he, who had always loved to run around, and had a good physique, successfully entered the door of cultivation. In his spare time, like those of his age, he wanted to try his luck with immortal opportunities.

And he certainly found one.

When he arrived at this Wuling Peach Blossom Spring, he also thought he had encountered an immortal opportunity.

What he saw and felt led him to believe that this was a secluded cultivation sect. His natural endowments were also extremely compatible with the sect's cultivation methods. Overjoyed, he informed his foster parents and began cultivating here, making rapid progress, improving day by day.

But all of this was just a dream.

He was awakened by a low Buddhist chant.

Then came a seemingly angry, yet still calm, young voice:

"What kind of demon dares to use such illusions to惑人 (bewitch people) here?!"

At the same time, there was a sound like thunder or a lion's roar.

The young man was instantly awakened. When he looked up, he vaguely saw a young monk in black robes, his face full of anger, striding forward. Further ahead, he seemed to see a stone tablet at the deepest point. The young monk pressed his hand on the ground, and the Buddhist light shook, awakening many of those who had fallen into slumber.

The young man himself was one of them.

Unfortunately, most were caught and taken back.

Only he and the girl beside him remained, hiding here and there for the past few days, unable to find a way out, and unable to find the black-robed youth with unparalleled cultivation. They could only hide here, avoiding those masked cultivators.

When thirsty, they drank spring water; when hungry, they searched for fruits to eat.

Fortunately, he wasn't alone.

The young man felt that if he were alone, he would probably have gone mad long ago.

The girl in the cotton-padded dress behind him seemed to sense his worry and gently squeezed his hand. The warmth from her palm and the strength from another person gave the young man some courage. He considered the possible directions they could take in his mind, turned back to look at the girl, and said:

"Let's try going north this time."

The girl nodded vigorously, "Okay."

They left marks along the way to help them identify the direction, and by taking turns resting, with one person sleeping while the other listened for movement, they barely managed to survive for seven or eight days in this Peach Blossom Spring. This time, their luck seemed to be good. As they moved forward, they found a new path.

Along the way, they saw people who had been trapped.

Many people, mostly tourists and young people seeking immortal opportunities.

There were also some who had entered unintentionally.

They were all bound by strange vines hanging down from the peach trees. The barbs on those vines would pierce into the skin, making the person look like a silkworm cocoon. Even more bizarrely, those bound in this way seemed to feel no pain, their eyes tightly closed, as if they were in a beautiful dream, their faces filled with intoxication.

The young man had tried to wake some of them up, but he couldn't.

One by one, men and women, young and old, were suspended there.

Their bodies were wrapped in vines.

Their faces wore intoxicated expressions.

And around them, peach blossoms bloomed in profusion, like a sea of flowers.

This reminded the young man of the parasitic nature of Cordyceps sinensis. His stomach churned with nausea, especially when he thought about how he had once been treated the same way. His scalp tingled, and he felt like his goosebumps were about to explode.

"We have to get out of here, we have to get out quickly."

At this moment, heavy footsteps sounded, and masked people staggered past. The young man quickly pulled the girl, and they hid together under a rock, holding their breath and widening their eyes. They finally breathed a sigh of relief, and when they looked up, they saw that the people had stopped in the clearing ahead.

Then the young man discovered that there were people in the clearing.

"Someone else came in?!"

The young man was anxious, and then suddenly realized that one of the two people was a young man sitting in a wheelchair, and the other was a woman wearing ancient armor and a mask. Their eyes were tightly closed, and they had not yet been entangled and parasitized by the vines. Did this mean that these two people could still be awakened?

An idea flashed through his mind, and he gritted his teeth and picked up a stone, watching the masked people.

……………………

At this moment, Wei Yuan faced his trial.

He seemed to have forgotten something…

Or perhaps, it was just an illusion, like the strange familiarity one often has in life, suddenly feeling extremely familiar with a certain scene, as if one had experienced it before. The girl calling him "husband" seemed perfectly natural.

As they sat down, the girl gently pointed to the table in front of them and smiled:

"It's my turn to make breakfast today. You can try it."

Wei Yuan nodded and sat down. The breakfast was simple, but for some reason, Wei Yuan felt it tasted very good. When the girl turned on the TV, the screen showed a beautiful woman in elegant clothes, a white shirt and a red skirt, with a clear voice.

She was singing an ancient-sounding ballad.

The elegant girl hummed softly, and after the song, she smiled and applauded:

"Qi Niang's singing is even better."

"I really have to ask her to teach me again next time."

"You're still planning to learn?"

"Yes, you're never too old to learn. I asked Uncle Niu how to make today's breakfast, isn't it your favorite?"

The girl looked at the empty plates and the corners of her mouth slightly curved, seeming quite satisfied.

"Oh right, Qi Niang's wedding invitation has been sent."

She placed an invitation card beside Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan opened it and saw the woman in red smiling like a flower, beside her was a heroic young man. They were a perfect match. Wei Yuan looked at the invitation while drinking soy milk.

He remembered clearly that Wan Qi Niang was terrible at playing games, but very good at trash talk.

They got to know each other gradually, but he didn't know at the time that she was a popular female celebrity.

He was bombarded with so much trash talk that he had nightmares for days.

But he didn't expect that she would marry Fu Pengyi.

This would probably cause a stir online.

But Fu Pengyi was also good, young and promising, and joined the army directly after graduating from college to defend the country.

"Let's go and see, I don't know what gift to bring."

"Another wedding gift."

Wei Yuan sighed, stood up. He remembered that he had to go to work. Although he had learned medicine from his teacher, no one expected that the life of a corporate slave after graduating from college would be so difficult. He had wanted to freeload at his teacher's place.

But the young and famous doctor kicked him out the door without any politeness.

His teacher seemed to have found a new apprentice now.

He was happy to treat patients in the hospital and teach students at the same time.

His medical skills were enough to make a lot of money.

But speaking of which, he had taken his wife to his teacher's house, and both his teacher Zhang Jiao and Uncle Niu were very happy to see Jue. On his wedding day, his teacher got drunk, and Uncle Niu held him, laughing and crying.

'I'm finally seeing you get married, that's great.'

'What's there to cry about?'

He remembered patting his chest to comfort Uncle Niu, Zhang Jiao, and many other familiar faces.

'You'll see more.'

'Teacher, Uncle Niu, won't you cry to death when my child is born?'

For some reason.

Everyone in his memory just smiled, but didn't answer anymore.

They were clearly smiling.

Why did this scene make his nose feel a little sore?

Wei Yuan came back to his senses and stood up. The elegant girl sent him to the door.

Standing half a step in front of Wei Yuan, she reached out and straightened his collar for him, then smoothed out the wrinkles, and slightly raised her heels. At this moment, Wei Yuan's heart suddenly beat strangely twice faster, and the girl just reached out to straighten his hair, then stepped back two steps and smiled:

"That's about right."

"Hurry up and go."

Wei Yuan felt a sense of loss and a strange feeling that this was normal, and walked out the door.

The neighbor next door was a single man named Zhang Yue, who was about to send his daughter to kindergarten.

When he went out, he greeted Wei Yuan.

Zhang Xiaoyu was very lively and cheerful, bouncing and waving her hand:

"Uncle Wei, good luck at work!"

"Okay…"

Wei Yuan helplessly waved his hand, thinking silently.

So I'm already an uncle?

I entered the uncle circle directly after graduating from college. The generation leap came too fast.

Wei Yuan's daily life record –

"Strange feeling, the president is a handsome man in his thirties. I don't know why, but he has a very strong aura. I feel like being the president of a company is too demeaning for him. With this aura, he should conquer the world."

"Okay, he really pulled me to discuss dreams, and wanted to occupy the world's market share."

"I'm not going to thank the president for his pie, but I don't know why, his bodyguard always feels like a special forces king, his eyes are scary."

"The department head next door is an old man, who seems to be over a hundred years old and still working."

"Really? He's over a hundred years old and still single. How can there be such a miserable person in the world? He seems to have been a scumbag when he was young and caused a lot of romantic debts. There's also a thirteen-year-old brother. This family must have something wrong with them."

"And that old man is a cat slave and has a good relationship with me."

"It is said that he has bought a lot of rapid heart-saving pills recently. Is his health not good?"

"I'll bring something to see him next time."

"The gatekeeper of the company is a retired special forces soldier who participated in the battle to conquer Sakura Island and made great contributions. His current hobby is potted flower art. I really can't tell. The supermarket owner across the street is different. There may not be many instant noodles, but you can buy all the happy water in the world there."

"The two seem to have a good relationship and often play games together."

"I have to go back to my hometown this month. My sister and brother-in-law have called me many times."

"I'll go back early this time and block that kid Qi's door. But this sister doesn't have a good relationship with her mother-in-law's family. Alas, I don't know when it will get better."

After a whole day of being a corporate slave, the handsome boss pulled him to discuss the conquest of the world for two hours. When he got home, it was completely dark, and the last bus was gone. He had to scan a shared bicycle and ride home.

When he got home, it was pitch black, but there was a light on.

Wei Yuan felt a warmth in his heart. When he got home, he chatted with the elegant girl who ran a flower shop while cooking, talking about trivial things in life, and what they would do and buy in the future. He could hear the sound of footsteps next door, and Zhang Yue's annoyed voice as he angrily taught Zhang Xiaoyu how to do homework.

Life was trivial, but it was the fireworks of the world, the red dust of the world, and only firewood, rice, oil, and salt.

Wei Yuan cut the vegetables, "This is so good."

"Yes, it's so good."

The girl smiled and replied: "It's like we can grow old together."

"It would be great if we could grow old together."

"Is that so…"

Wei Yuan whispered with a smile, his eyes had returned to clarity.

Jue curiously raised her eyes.

Wei Yuan closed his eyes, unable to bear to look, and said to himself –

Is it an illusion or something?

A supernatural power that reads people's superficial desires and then provides feedback.

It really is amazing.

The Taoist experience of the Three Kingdoms era immediately made a judgment, and the best way to break the situation at this moment was to kill the girl in front of him, Jue, who was the core of what he sought, but Wei Yuan couldn't do that. He slowly breathed out and chose another path.

Do you want to read my past?

Wei Yuan pursed his lips.

As you wish.

He relaxed his mind.

It was as if something appeared in his heart, wanting to arbitrarily read Wei Yuan's past.

Then, the whole world suddenly froze.

Wei Yuan's eyes were quiet.

The ancient mountains and seas, the bright moon of the Qin Dynasty, the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty, the strife of the Three Kingdoms.

It doesn't matter.

Eat slowly…

ps: Today's third update… 4000 words.

I'm finished, completely finished, sigh, sleep sleep, it'll be a victory if I can get up before twelve o'clock tomorrow morning.