Chapter Five Return

  "Oh, so he's a barbarian, no wonder he's so unrefined and wears such an outrageous outfit!" The tone of Zhang Shangjun relaxed a bit. If it were his subjects who dared to dress like this, they would have been beaten half to death and paraded through the streets by now. But a barbarian? Thinking about those Khitan people who don't bathe all year round, he understood. He didn't take it too seriously."

  "Let him go!" With a single order from Zhang, the military officer, Wen Fei was finally able to stand up. He looked at Zhang, who appeared to be in his twenties or thirties, wearing a green official robe with an air of familiarity about him. His face was gaunt and pale, with a look of having been weathered by wind and rain, but his eyes were bright and piercing, like cold electricity.

  Wen Fei knew he had met an official of this era, and was even more servile. He wondered in his heart, "Is Zhang Shangjun listening to the meaning inside the army? Why is he meddling in other people's business?" But he didn't dare say it out loud.

  However, the jade pendant was still in someone's hand, and Wen Fei could only force himself to say: "That sir..."

  "Sir... this title is also interesting. However, I am not your elder relative, nor do I need to be addressed as such." Zhang said with a shake of his head and a sigh, seemingly truly lamenting the barbarian's lack of etiquette. A sense of superiority that came from deep within him unintentionally spread out, just like many foreigners when they saw people from later generations.

  "Uh..." Wen Fei had already cursed the person's ancestors eighteen generations deep in his heart. The smile he put on was about to freeze on his face, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say!

  Little did he know that Zhang Shangjun was secretly sizing up Wen Fei and nodding in amazement. He had seen many people, but never anyone like Wen Fei, who was plump and spotlessly clean from head to toe. If it were in Bianjing City, it would be understandable to see a rich young master with such an appearance. But in this poor and remote countryside, seeing someone dressed so strangely made him believe eight or nine out of ten words that Wen Fei said.

  "Where is your great mad country overseas? Is it close to Tianzhu or closer to the heavenly square? What are its customs and human feelings?" At this time, the scholars based on their civilized advantages, had an open-minded and curious attitude towards the outside world. This was vastly different from later generations who were first rigid and ossified, and then feared like a tiger.

  "That... my country is much better than this broken place. There are cars everywhere, you know what I mean by cars... they're made of iron, four-wheeled vehicles that don't need horses to pull them, they can run on their own. And then there are airplanes, also made of iron, flying in the sky, some big ones can seat hundreds of people..."

  The words flowed endlessly, and the listener, Zhang Shangjun, looked as if he was watching an idiot. Even those bailiffs were stunned, and someone couldn't help but interrupt: "What kind of barbarian small country is that? It's clearly a heavenly place where gods reside..."

  "These machines are powerful, but our food is terrible. The meat doesn't even taste like meat, it's as bland as wood. And to make matters worse, there's this rotten meat, and every now and then there's mad cow disease, bird flu... nothing is safe to eat..."

  The official then said: "You're talking nonsense, the people in heaven can fly, are you still worried about not having enough meat to eat? It's probably because they've had their fill of meat and want to eat dragon liver and phoenix marrow..."

  Wen Fei was speechless, thinking to himself, "This world is indeed like that. They can go to heaven and earth, even the moon, but they can't even get a bite of clean meat. It's really frustrating!"

  "What a madman!" Zhang Shangjun, who was originally interested in listening to Wen Fei's stories about the customs and people of Da Fengguo, suddenly stood up and brushed off his sleeves, saying: "Nonsense! Take back your jade pendant. This is the land of China, where etiquette and education are most valued. You'd better change your attire as soon as possible!"

  As he spoke, he tossed the jade pendant over. Wen Fei hastily caught it, his heart racing wildly, and managed to retrieve the jade pendant. As soon as the jade pendant was back in his hand, a strange phenomenon occurred, ripples appeared in the air, and Wen Fei suddenly disappeared from where he stood!

  That Zhang Canjun and several yamen runners looked at each other in dismay, their faces filled with shock, as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight. One of the yamen runners even stuttered: "It's true, it's true... this man is indeed a god descended from heaven..."

  "...in the town, I met a strange person with short hair and bare arms, wearing shabby clothes, very unrefined. I ordered the bailiffs to lock him up and interrogate him, but he only said: 'I am from the Great Foolish Country overseas, where there are iron vehicles that don't use oxen or horses, they just drink oil and can run as fast as lightning.' He also talked about flying machines made of iron, which can carry hundreds of people in and out of the sky. I thought he was a madman, so I waved my hand to dismiss him, but then he threw back the jade pendant that had fallen earlier. When I saw him again, he had flown away into the distance, without leaving any trace... Was it an immortal coming down to earth to play in the mortal world? Or what did he mean by 'Great Foolish Country'? It must be a joke..."

  This is a private note that has been passed down to later generations and studied countless times by later people. This is a subsequent event and has nothing to do with this book, so let's put it aside for now!

  Wen Fei returned to his own home, still feeling a bit dazed, thinking that the strange experience he had just had was like a dream. Although he was an avid practitioner of Taoist magic and could even release his spirit from his body, it didn't mean he easily accepted things like time-space travel.

  Back home, she calmed down for a long time. The jade pendant was placed on the table by him, and she didn't dare to hold it in her hand again, fearing that another uncontrollable journey through time would be triggered.

  Went online, Baidu. Wen Fei subconsciously typed "crossing over" and a large number of web novels and TV dramas popped up. Wen Fei suddenly smiled wryly: "Alright, it seems that crossing over has become fashionable, my first-time crossing over is really out!"

  The feeling of shock slowly faded away, and Wen Fei's mind began to clear up again. What if I went back to ancient times once more? He had no ambitions whatsoever, such as becoming an emperor, a wealthy merchant, or a literary giant... All he could think about was the mouth-watering chicken and duck, mutton, and other delicacies in the market. Even the vegetables seemed incredibly lovely!

  Should I go back to ancient times and buy some good dishes again?

  Thinking of this, I got excited again, but there's one thing that's worrying me. What should I use as money to pay with?

  RMB? Don't be silly, take out that thing, who would recognize it. What if someone recognizes it and it's even worse, in a certain Chinese dynasty, what if you pass through to a real historical era, wouldn't they consider you a rebel?

  Silver? Wen flew online to check, more than 50 yuan... per gram. This rip-off price, one kilogram of silver is 500 grams, and two taels are 50 grams. So it's 250?

  By the way, who knows what this Zhang Shangjun is? No prize for correct answer...