Chapter 1: The Age of Despair

  A cold and fierce west wind, rolling up waves of crazy sand, on the ancient road, a dozen war horses protected a horse-drawn carriage, speeding by, the hooves kicked up yellow dust, filling the sky.

  "Hey, stop and take a break, running like this will exhaust you, and it's no good for the horse either."

  The leader looked around and then nodded: "Alright, let's take a temporary rest."

  A dozen war horses stopped beside a grove, and the crowd dismounted and sat down to rest. The war horses also grazed on the grass at will. The leader came to the front of the carriage and smiled: "Sixth Uncle, you should come out for a walk too. It's bumpy in the carriage, it's suffering for you."

  The car curtain was lifted, and a rich old man also stuck out his head, sighing: "Lu Yong, to be honest, this old bone of mine almost fell apart."

  "Sixth Uncle, don't mention you, even we can't take it anymore. But who would have thought that the bandits would actually reach Ningwu, we almost got trapped and couldn't escape!"

  The old man jumped down from the horse cart and sat on a bluestone, sighing: "In these years, the bandits and the Tartars outside the pass have been performing like a play, you finish singing and I take the stage, without a moment's rest. The court is being emptied. I think Zhou Zongding of Ningwu Pass is brave, but he may also be unable to make a sound with one hand."

  Lu Yong also sighed: "Alas, I've been in the army too. If Ningwu can't be kept safe, Shanxi is finished. If Shanxi can't be defended, Li Zicheng's troops will be able to... kill all the way to the capital. Who knows if the Emperor has any strategy, or else this dynasty will be doomed!"

  "The common people are suffering, this time when I return to the capital, I will resign and retire to my hometown." The old man said here, also lowering his voice, told Lu Yong: "You should also find a way out, we do things as officials, but don't get your head chopped off!"

  Lu Yong also nodded frequently, and while speaking, the guard Sun Cheng suddenly shouted loudly: "Who is it?"

  This shout frightened everyone. Lu Yong hastily stood up: "Old Sun, what's going on? Are the bandits coming to kill us?"

  As soon as they heard the two words "bandits", everyone in the scene was frightened, stood up one after another, drew out their swords and looked around in a state of panic.

  "It's not a bandit. Look over there, it seems like something is moving."

  Lu Yong followed the direction of Lao Sun's pointing finger, and saw a dark patch in the thicket. Lu Yong also plucked up his courage, gripped his iron spear tightly, took a few steps forward, and observed carefully, while the others followed behind him.

  The old man also curiously asked: "Luyu, what is it after all?"

  "Sixth Uncle, it seems like there's someone here." As they spoke, the others also gathered around. In a thicket just a few steps away, someone was lying down, with burn marks all over their body, as if even their hair had been burned off.

  "Let's go, this year is full of deaths, let's just hurry on our way and don't bother with it."

  Lu Yong listened to his subordinate's words and also thought it was reasonable. He turned around and looked at the old man, wanting to ask for his opinion.

  The old man also walked over, his gaze was immediately attracted, and he took a few quick steps, without hesitation, to pick up the person on the ground. Although their faces were covered in black dust, they could still vaguely make out their features - young, with sharp facial features, tall and strong build. When picked up, one could clearly feel the prominent muscle mass all over his body, very robust.

  The old man's face suddenly flashed a complex expression, his eyes reddened, and his hands involuntarily hugged tighter. Suddenly the young man's lips moved slightly, and a weak voice came out: "Water... water..."

  "Lu Yong, quickly bring over the water bag."

  Lu Yong hastily nodded, the old man took over the water bag, and the sweet spring water slowly flowed into the young man's mouth. He drank more than half of the water bag before the painful expression on his face disappeared, and his breathing also stabilized.

  The old man finally let out a sigh of relief: "Lu Yong, hurry up and send him to my car."

  "Sixth Uncle, I think we should head back to the capital as soon as possible. With this person in tow, I'm afraid they'll only slow us down!" Old Sun said from the side.

  The old man didn't pay attention to him, but pointed at the young man and said in a trembling voice: "Lu Yong, take a look, who does he resemble?"

  Lu Yong took a look and was also stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized and couldn't help but say: "It's him, it really is! Don't worry, this person must be saved!"

  As he spoke, he suddenly bent down and took the young man from the old man's hands. He shouted loudly: "You guys, lend a hand, first send him to the car."

  No one dared to disobey, and with a flurry of activity, the young man was lifted onto the carriage. After settling him in, the old man personally sat down beside him to care for him, and they continued along the official road at a rapid pace.

  ……

  Gu Zhenhua only felt his whole body was weak and soft, without any strength, his eyelids were like iron gates, no matter how hard he tried, they didn't move at all.

  However, his thoughts gradually recovered, and he clearly remembered that he was originally dating his girlfriend for three years, going to the suburbs together to watch the meteor shower, preparing to propose under the witness of the meteors, ending his golden bachelor days.

  But who would have thought that just as his sports car was heading to the suburbs, a huge meteor suddenly streaked across the sky. Although it had been severely burned by the atmosphere, there was still a piece the size of a watermelon that fell right on Gu Zhenhua's car.

  Gu Zhenhua only remembered a scorching red light in front of him, and then he didn't know anything. Being hit by a meteorite was almost fatal, but somehow, after who knows how long, Gu Zhenhua felt like he had regained some consciousness.

  He felt as if he was lying on something, constantly tossing and turning, like a boat in the waves. After a long time, the tossing finally stopped, and he heard voices again.

  "Sixth Uncle, the town's doctor has already fled, now we can only tough it out."

  "Ah, let's talk about it when we get back to the capital. It's been eight years already, and yet I still remember everything clearly. But seeing this young man lying there with his whole body charred black, I thought of He Fang who was burned to death. Those damn Tartar soldiers killed the old man's only son too!" The old man said gritting his teeth.

  "Sixth Uncle, if it weren't for He Da Ge, I would have died at the hands of the Tartars. This life was given to me by He Da Ge, so you can consider me as your son. If this young man were to wake up, he looks just like He Da Ge, perhaps he could be considered as your adopted son."

  "Alas, I've met countless people in my life, this young man is more impressive than He Fang. He'll definitely achieve great things in the future. It would be a waste for him to become my adopted son."

  ……

  "Sixth Uncle, do you think this person could be from the bandit's side?"

  "We'll see about that when he wakes up."

  ……

  Tartar? Bandit?? Gu Zhenhua heard these two words, and was utterly shocked, his three souls and seven spirits were all scared away in an instant!

  This is a vocabulary that only appears in history books. If it weren't for filming a TV series, there would be only one possibility: the legendary crossing! As soon as he thought that he might have arrived in another time and space, Gu Zhenhua's whole body broke out in cold sweat, and he couldn't believe it. He didn't know where he got the strength from, but he finally opened his eyes.

  Before his eyes was an old-fashioned small house, he was lying on the wooden bed, not far away from the Eight Immortals table sat an old man and a middle-aged man, the old man wore a long gown, wearing a square scarf on his head, that middle-aged man wore a strong suit, with a treasure sword hanging around his waist.

  Looking at their attire, and then at the surroundings, Gu Zhenhua couldn't help but let out a long sigh. It seemed that he had indeed traveled through time! Thinking of his career, loved ones, and beloved girlfriend, Gu Zhenhua was on the verge of tears, feeling suffocated to death. How could fate be so cruel as to throw him into an unknown era just when things were starting to look up?

  Gu Zhenhua looked around in a daze, and Lu Yong happened to see him. He was suddenly delighted and laughed: "Sixth Uncle, this kid is really lucky, he woke up so quickly."

  The old man also hastily got up and walked to the bedside. He asked anxiously, "Young man, how are you feeling? Is there anything uncomfortable?"

  Gu Zhenhua's mental quality was still quite good, although he still found it hard to accept the fact of crossing over, but he also knew that these two people had saved him. He hurriedly said: "Thank you for saving me, I'm Gu Zhenhua, what are your honorable names?"

  The old man smiled and said, "My surname is He, my name is Zhonghou, I am the accountant of the Chengguo Gong Mansion. This one is called Lu Yong, he is a guard in the mansion. We happened to meet on our way back to Beijing, what exactly did you encounter?"

  Cheng Guogong! It seems to be a high-ranking official, and being able to get involved with such a person may also be a good thing. Gu Zhenhua secretly calculated in his heart.

  "Mr. He, Brother Lu, our village was raided by bandits, they took away all the grain and set a big fire before leaving, I barely escaped, after that I didn't know what happened."

  Gu Zhenhua gave a vague answer, and He Zhonghou and Lu Yong didn't think much of it either. In those chaotic years, such things were too common.

  He Zhonghou sighed and said: "Don't be sad anymore, I've asked the people ahead to prepare some chicken soup for you. Have a drink first, you must be hungry."

  The waiter at the inn brought over a large bowl of chicken soup, and Gu Zhenhua was indeed hungry, taking the big bowl with both hands and drinking it in big gulps.

  No pollution, the chicken soup is delicious and refreshing, and more than half of the bowl was gone in no time. Gu Zhenhua's mind also became clearer and clearer, it seemed that he had indeed traveled through time. Now the most important thing was to figure out what era this was, after all, the Tartars and bandits made Gu Zhenhua feel uneasy, but hopefully not in that tragic era!

  "Mr. He, what time is it now? How long have I been asleep?"

  "It's been just one afternoon since we found you on February 27th. You're still young and your body is strong, so it's no wonder you woke up so quickly."

  "Excuse me, sir, what year is it this year?"

  He Zhonghou was taken aback, how could someone not even know what year it was! Lu Yong, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but laugh and say: "Brother Gu, have you been burned to a crisp or do you think you can sleep for several months? This is the 17th year of Chongzhen, we just returned from Shanxi, and on the way back, we almost ran into the rebel army's main force, they're probably attacking Ningwu Pass right now."

  Crash! The big bowl fell to the ground and shattered into pieces!

  Chongzhen 17 years! A few words are like the Five Great Mountains, suddenly hitting Gu Zhenhua's head, dizzy and dazzling. People who are slightly familiar with history know that it was this year that the Ming Dynasty was destroyed, Li Zicheng's army entered the capital, and a month later, Wu Sangui led the Qing army into the pass, the Jia Shen change, the divine state fell into the darkest time.

  "Heavens, you're too cruel! Sending me here, do you want me to drag my pigtail and become a slave for the Qing court?!" The despairing roar echoed deep within Gu Zhenhua's soul.