"Little Brother, can I exchange seats with you…?"
When Yan Liqiang opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on a ship. A woman who held a swaddled infant in her arms turned around in her seat in front and looked at Yan Liqiang with a pleading gaze. It seemed like this woman was the one who had given him two pats on his shoulder just now, rousing Yan Liqiang from his dreams.
The passenger ship was traveling along the river, shrouded by the mist because it was raining. Raindrops were pounding against the canopy of the ship, and the pitter and patter of the rain sounded like beans being stir-fried. The woman was sitting in front of Yan Liqiang, next to the window. However, the window's bolt was already damaged so the window could only be half-shut. Since it was pouring outside, the wind and drizzle on the river's surface got tangled up with the wave of cold air that flew in through the small crack of the window, hitting the face of the swaddled infant.
This ship, this scene, this woman… Was he dreaming?
Yan Liqiang zoned out for a moment there.
"WAAA… WAA…. WAA…!!" The swaddled infant in the woman's arms started crying loudly. The woman hurriedly rocked the infant to coax him, and then gave Yan Liqiang a difficult look. "Look, Little Brother, the wind is coming through here and my young child here…"
"No worries at all, let's exchange seats, Big Sister." Yan Liqiang agreed. When he stood up, he secretly pinched himself hard on his thigh. The pain was piercing and very real.
"Thank you, thank you very much!" The woman in front gratefully stood up with her child in her arms and exchanged seats with Yan Liqiang who was holding his luggage.
The cold wind and drizzle flew onto Yan Liqiang's face through the window. This sensation was unforgettable in Yan Liqiang's entire life. His face suddenly flushed red as he clenched his fists tightly and turned around. "Big Sister, I was sleeping just now and got a little muddle-headed. What day is it today?"
"Today is 27th of the eighth lunar month in the 12th year of the Yuanping reign!" An answer immediately came out from the woman's mouth.
That was right, today was...
Yan Liqiang's head was buzzing as he secretly swallowed hard. He slung his leather sack on top of his legs and placed it against the window, instantly reducing the amount of wind and drizzle blowing in from the window. However, his emotional state was in a spectacular mess.
What is going on? Just what is going on?
Yan Liqiang calmed down and tried to jog his memory— he clenched his jaw, stamped his foot, and barged through the first light screen headfirst. The inside of the light screen was like an endless tunnel. Rivers of stars were flowing on either side of the tunnel. Countless smaller light screens appeared before him like meteors, spinning around him. In those smaller light screens were still pictures from the fragments of his previous life.
He realized that one of the light screens which flew before him was showing the parting moment between him and his father before he went off to Hu Provincial City for the first time by ship. Without any second thoughts, he barged head first into that light screen. Before he could even react, he felt as though he was falling rapidly from the highest point of a rollercoaster ride...
Little did he expect to be woken up by someone soon after that as he really was on that ship!
Had he returned to the past? Had he returned to Gan Province before the tragedy had struck?
Although this answer seemed outrageous, when he looked at the group of people riding on the same ship and the river outside, the reality before his eyes was silently telling Yan Liqiang that this was the true answer. He had indeed returned to the past...
If everything before his eyes was real, then what about just now? What about his other self in the Divine Sword Sect? What happened to him?
Yan Liqiang's mind was all jumbled up. He shut his eyes and focused his attention on his sea of consciousness. After a long while, he realized that it was pitch-black in his sea of consciousness; he couldn't feel anything at all.
Yan Liqiang thought for a moment and understood the reason why. Although his consciousness and soul had traveled to the past, this body was no different than it was before. It was still the very same body that had yet to progress into Martial Warrior status. Hence, he still couldn't sense that mysterious rock in his sea of consciousness. Based on his past experience, he could only sense that mysterious object in his sea of consciousness after his death or after he progressed as a Martial Warrior.
In the past, Yan Liqiang wouldn't be able to predict how long it would take before he could progress into a Martial Warrior as everything was unknown to him. However, at this point in time, he was aware that reaching the Martial Warrior realm was completely within his reach. As long as he diligently cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, it would take him at most half a year to consecutively pass through the two stages and easily advance as a Martial Warrior.
Yan Dechang's face flashed across Yan Liqiang's mind. Emotions suddenly welled up in his heart and tears silently fell from his closed eyes. He clenched his fists tightly as he secretly swore in his heart. This time, he wouldn't allow the tragedy to repeat itself again no matter what...
Yan Liqiang's thoughts and emotions surged while he was on the passenger ship. He only regained his composure when the passenger ship reached Xi River Wharf in the evening.
"Everyone, get off the boat, get off the boat. Check if you have all your belongings and luggage with you. Don't leave them onboard…" In response to the shout of the boatmen outside, Yan Liqiang followed the other passengers off the boat. The husband of the woman whom he had given up his seat to was waiting for her at the dock. Everything still seemed to be the same.
Upon the woman and her husband's courteous insistence, Yan Liqiang accepted the warm oil-paper umbrella and then watched the family of three vanish from his sight.
Holding the oil-paper umbrella, Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and gazed at Pingxi City's northern gate tower which towered like a gigantic beast in the midst of the hazy rain at more than 1,000 meters away. A few thoughts rapidly flashed across his mind before he quickly made his way toward Pingxi City's northern gate tower.
By the time he reached Pingxi City's northern gate tower, the rain had subsided significantly. Yan Liqiang saw a naked child of eight or nine years old who didn't fear the drizzle, fishing by the river outside the city with a small fishing rod. Yan Liqiang fished out a handful of copper coins from his chest and approached him.
"Little Brother, do you want to earn some money?" Yan Liqiang asked and weighed the copper coins in his hand noisily.
The little boy's gaze instantly fell on the copper coins in Yan Liqiang's hand and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. However, he was still quite wary of him. "What do you want me to do? Let me get this straight first, I'm not doing anything bad!"
"It's nothing bad. I have a friend who will be coming over in a while. I need your help in relaying a message to him!"
"That easy?"
"Yes, it's just that easy. Just wait for my signal later…"
Taking another look at the few copper coins crashing against each other noisily in Yan Liqiang's hand, the little boy immediately gave him a nod.
Seven or eight minutes later, a Chinese youth in his twenties emerged from the small road on the left of the city gate. Yan Liqiang spotted him when he was about a hundred meters away from the city entrance. At the appearance of this Chinese youth, Yan Liqiang immediately signaled the little boy with his eyes, whom instantly dashed towards that Chinese youth.
"Excuse me, are you Lin Hua?"
That youth was taken aback for a moment. "I am. How can I help you?"
"A friend of yours asked you to wait for him for at Three-Arch Bridge, he has something he wishes to pass to you…" The little boy pointed towards a small bridge about two hundred meters away and told the youth in a serious manner.
"Who is it that asked me to wait for him there?"
"I'm not too sure, he only told me he's a friend of yours and that you will instantly recognize him the moment you see him. He said he had a big surprise for you!"
"Alright then, thanks!"
In just the blink of an eye, the little boy vanished from his sight like a wisp of smoke.
The youth by the name of Lin Hua glanced at the Three-Arch Bridge nearby and pondered for a moment before he turned around and made his way to the bridge. That place wasn't that far anyway, and curiosity filled his heart. A few of his friends' names popped into his mind. He wondered who was the one who wanted to give him a big surprise at Three-Arch Bridge Bridge.
Right after Lin Hua made his way towards the Three-Arch Bridge, a caravan of Shatu people, made up of a few dozen camels and rhinodrake steeds, appeared. Under the complicated gazes of everyone gathered at the city entrance, the caravan of Shatu people charged through the city gate haughtily and entered the city...
Although that youth by the name of Lin Hua was a few hundred meters away on the bridge, he saw the caravan of Shatu people too and angrily spat at them.
"Ptooey…!"
With that, the caravan of Shatu people entered the city without any incidents or conflicts.
Yan Liqiang stood beneath a willow tree by the river near the city entrance. He slightly squinted his eyes and watched those Shatu people enter the city with a cold gaze that did not have a single trace of warmth in it.
After those Shatu people entered the city, Yan Liqiang didn't go in. He instead turned the other way and moved west from Pingxi City...