Chapter 1: The Second Year of Linde in the Great Tang Dynasty

  Chen Yi's sleep quality has always been good, and he doesn't usually dream much. However, today he felt like he was constantly dreaming, as if a film reel was playing in his mind, with many fragmented scenes flashing by non-stop, alternating and repeating.

  A young nobleman from ancient times appeared in my dream, seemingly him, riding a horse with several followers, coming from the northwest and heading southeast. When passing through a more rugged mountain cliff, he suddenly encountered a strange celestial phenomenon, the entire sky turned crimson, like a fire burning, the horse under him was frightened and ran wildly, no matter how hard he tried to stop it, in the end, both the man and the horse rushed down the cliff, after intense pain, everything went blank...

  Then Chen Yi dreamed that someone fed him food and water, bandaged his wounds, and called out to him in a low voice, but he couldn't react at all. Later, two people took turns carrying him down the mountain and put him on an ancient horse-drawn carriage. At this time, an old man with white hair and beard appeared, examined his injuries, fed him some water, and whispered a few words in his ear, asking him some questions, but he had no reaction, as if his mind and body were separated. The horse-drawn carriage then drove away to a place Chen Yi didn't know.

  Dreams were jumping, and then some very strange scenes floated in front of Chen Yi's eyes, as well as the faces of many people. However, whether it was the scene or the image of the characters, they were all things he had never seen before, but there was a very familiar feeling.

  After many fragmented scenes flashed by, a very beautiful girl appeared in front of him, gave him a sweet smile, and just as Chen Yi was stunned and amazed by the girl's beauty, she picked up her skirt and ran away. She ran for two steps and then stopped, turned around and smiled at Chen Yi again. Chen Yi, who was attracted to her, naturally followed her, but in the blink of an eye, he couldn't see the beautiful girl's shadow anywhere. A very beautiful and large garden landscape appeared around him, with no one in sight. He wanted to call out loudly, but somehow he couldn't make a sound. Just as he was wandering helplessly, a small woman who seemed even more beautiful appeared in his line of sight, waving at him and calling out softly. Chen Yi didn't think twice before walking towards her. But when he reached the front of this small woman, everything changed again - the beautiful young woman turned into a noble lady wearing extremely luxurious palace attire, resembling an empress or imperial concubine from TV or movies. This noble lady glanced at Chen Yi and smiled slyly, then suddenly swung her sleeve and walked away proudly, leaving Chen Yi standing there in confusion, looking around in all directions.

  Chen Yi was walking aimlessly in a daze, and after a while, a vast expanse of darkness suddenly appeared before his eyes. His feet then gave way beneath him, as if he had fallen into something, and his body continued to sink downward. Chen Yi struggled frantically, flailing his limbs wildly, trying to escape, but soon the darkness consumed everything in front of him, leaving him unable to move or even think, as if the entire world had been reduced to nothing but darkness.

  It wasn't long before the light reappeared in front of him, and a young girl with an indistinct face stared at him. The little girl was gently stroking his forehead with her soft hands. Although Chen Yi couldn't see the girl's face clearly, he could feel her warm smile, which was very sweet and gentle. His anxiety immediately subsided, but his mouth felt dry and cracked, and he couldn't help but swallow his saliva. Suddenly, a warm liquid flowed into his throat, with a sweet and slightly salty taste that was extremely good. Chen Yi's hunger and thirst instantly disappeared. Soon, boundless fatigue surged up, and after letting out a long yawn, he fell fast asleep, his dreams also ceasing.

  He didn't know how long he had slept, it felt like several days or even years. He woke up after receiving an inexplicable shock.

  She opened her eyes, but was met with a piercing glare, and her eyes stung. Chen Yi quickly closed them again, rolling her eyeballs a few times before slowly opening her eyelids once more, trying to adjust to the light. The sunlight poured into the room; why didn't they just pull the curtains?!

  Suddenly the brightness dimmed, and his eyes felt much more comfortable. Chen Yi blinked hard a few times before opening his eyes wide. What entered his vision was a blurry shadow, which was the outline of a person's face. It should be this person who blocked the dazzling light that made him feel uncomfortable, so he could open his eyes. But Chen Yi's half-opened eyes couldn't focus, and he couldn't see the person in front of him clearly.

  A crisp voice rang out, one that Chen Yi had never heard before. It was a bit strange, as if intentionally biting the tongue, but extremely gentle in tone: "You're finally awake? You've been asleep for a whole day and night!"

  This is a woman's voice, with a hint of excitement and an obvious sense of relief.

  At the sound, which seemed to come from a distance but was unclear, Chen Yi shuddered, closed his eyes wearily, rolled his eyeballs many times, opened them again, blinked hard several times, and finally saw the outline of the person in front of him vaguely.

  This is a woman's face, but because of the backlight, her features can't be seen clearly, only two eyes with light are visible, very big and attractive, long eyelashes fluttering, pointed chin, high nose, the skin on her face has a crystal clear feeling under the light, however, after this woman saw Chen Yi open his eyes, she said a few words that couldn't be understood very well, then immediately turned around and walked to the side, leaving Chen Yi who hadn't seen her face clearly but felt she was a beautiful woman somewhat disappointed.

  He was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly something touched him, his body trembled, and his mind began to turn. Chen Yi, who still felt dizzy after a long time of drowsiness, blinked hard several times and tried to think about what had happened.

  A wave of boundless astonishment surged up: what on earth had happened? Where was he?

  Chen Yi's just had an accident while playing at Qianling in Xi'an, how could this happen in such a place?

  Furrowing his brow to confirm, no mistake, it was when he was touring Qianling that something happened and he lost consciousness. Today, while touring the Qianling scenic area, climbing to the top of Liangshan Mountain where the mausoleum is located, because he was thinking about Qianling, thinking about the female emperor buried inside and her era, with an evil mind, he indulged in a little fantasy, pondering what this woman who had served Emperor Taizong of Tang, then became the empress of his son Emperor Gaozong of Tang, and finally became the only female emperor in Chinese history, looked like. How beautiful and charming was she? How did she attract men? Was her figure as voluptuous as the actress in the documentary "Palace of Ming"?... His mind wandered and he didn't pay much attention to his footing, resulting in him tripping over something while walking on the mountain top, stumbling a few steps before falling. Something he never expected happened just as he was about to fall to the ground - the originally not-so-steep cliff beside him turned into an infinitely deep precipice, and as he rolled down along the terrain, it felt like he fell into a "black hole", continuously falling until pain arrived and then lost consciousness.

  Was he rescued after falling off the cliff and getting injured? But this doesn't look like a hospital, it's a house made entirely of wood, with a view that stretches far and wide, but there's nothing familiar in sight, where is this place?

  Chen Yi moved his stiff body, wanting to take a look at the situation on the side, and then asked the girl inside the house again. At this time, the woman walked back, still holding a bowl of steaming hot things in her hand, a tempting aroma rushed straight into Chen Yi's nose, making him swallow several mouthfuls of saliva.

  "Are you hungry?! Come, I'll feed you something, you haven't eaten for a whole day and night!" The woman with the nice voice sat down in front of Chen Yi's bed with a bowl, using a spoon-like thing to scoop up some food from the bowl and blowing on it.

  Chen Yi didn't quite catch what the woman in front of him was saying, but the food in the bowl was visible and the aroma was also detectable. Under natural reaction, his throat moved a few times, swallowing saliva. He really wanted to eat something, he also wanted to drink some tea to quench his thirst, and even more so, he wanted to ask about the situation out loud. But the words seemed to be stuck in his throat, unable to come out. However, he did get a clear look at what this woman in front of him looked like!

  She is a very young girl, looking very beautiful, with a lovely face that exceeds Chen Yi's expectations. Her skin is white and her cheeks are slightly tender, which makes her look extremely pure and innocent, unlike any ordinary woman, giving people a stunning feeling.

  But what was astonishing was that the woman in front of him wore ancient clothes and her hairstyle was not the kind commonly seen on girls familiar to Chen Yi.

  Still dreaming, dreaming of a fairy? Or have you died and gone to heaven?

  Instinctively moved his body, a sharp pain came. There was a real feeling, not dead... but what's going on here?

  Nor did he know if it was because the little girl in front of him was too attractive, or if she was stunned, Chen Yi's eyes were fixed on her, staring at her until her face turned red, with a hint of annoyance and shyness appearing before finally withdrawing his gaze, but his heart was in turmoil!

  What on earth happened? Why is there such a beautiful little girl beside him, wearing ancient clothes, and the decorations around him are also things he has never seen before, very classical and elegant! Also, the feeling brought to him by his body is obviously different from before, very inharmonious!

  "Come on, have some porridge, you haven't eaten for a long time. This is the nourishing porridge that Master uses to cultivate his health, it's very good for your body..." Seeing Chen Yi's stunned expression, the little girl looked puzzled for a moment, then picked up the bowl in front of her again!

  Chen Yi still didn't fully understand the little girl's words, but from her actions of holding out a bowl, he could tell she wanted to feed him. He also saw that the little girl was holding a full bowl of porridge, and a delicious aroma wafted into his nostrils, making his mouth water uncontrollably. However, he couldn't distinguish whether this enticing aroma came from the girl's body or the food, or something else.

  The little girl noticed Chen Yi's subtle movement and smiled slightly, then scooped a spoonful of something from the bowl and held it in front of Chen Yi's mouth, saying something softly that Chen Yi could probably understand. Extremely hungry, Chen Yi subconsciously opened his mouth and sucked the food into his mouth.

  A very sweet and delicious porridge, it seemed that some medicinal ingredients were added inside. Chen Yi took a sip, couldn't tell what it was, his stomach was very hungry, and he immediately swallowed the porridge down. The hot food went down, with an indescribable comfort!

  Seeing Chen Yi like this, the little girl struggled to hold back her laughter and didn't say another word, carefully feeding him.

  Chen Yi was also hungry and quickly finished the porridge in his bowl, still looking like he wanted more. He crudely licked the corners of his mouth. The little girl who had fed him couldn't help but burst out laughing at the sight, revealing two shallow dimples and a radiant smile that showed a kind of natural and pure beauty Chen Yi had never seen before, like a clear spring that had never been polluted, causing his heart to beat rapidly for a few moments!

  With a full stomach and improved spirits, Chen Yi's thoughts began to stir, and he grew increasingly astonished at everything before his eyes.

  "Who... are you? What is this place?" Chen Yi mumbled out this vague sentence.

  The little girl in front of him put down the bowl and said something, but Chen Yi didn't quite catch it. He continued to ask similar questions as before, while the little girl obviously hadn't heard what he was saying, her bewildered eyes asking Chen Yi something.

  It seems like neither of them could hear or understand each other clearly, but they kept talking to each other, with a bit of a "lost in translation" feel.

  After they each said their piece, the lovely little girl smiled and then spoke in a very slow voice, saying something that Chen Yi could basically understand: "You... are you asking who I am, what this place is?"

  "Yes... right! Who are you?" Chen Yi hastily nodded and asked in a moderate tone, "Excuse me, miss, little sister, what is this place? Why am I here? Why are you wearing such clothes..."

  The little girl seemed to have heard the two sentences Chen Yi said earlier, and smiled as she replied in a softer tone: "My name is Ning Qing, this is the Zhongnan Mountain Zong Sheng Palace! You fell from Liangshan and got hurt, it was me and my two senior brothers and master who rescued you from Liangshan..."

  "Ah! Is this Mount Zhongnan?! And your master and two senior brothers saved me?" Chen Yi was shocked, his mouth agape. How did he fall from Liangshan in the northwest of Xi'an to Mount Zhongnan in the south? Looking at the young girl in front of him with a pure and innocent look, as if she had never been tainted by worldly affairs, and the room he was lying in which was completely different from any ordinary household, a very absurd thought came to mind - could it be that he had arrived in another world, just like those described in some novels? This made his heart's fear rise to an extreme. Suppressing the panic in his heart, he slowly asked: "Excuse me... what year is it now? Ah, what... I mean... what reign?"

  Chen Yi's surprised expression and questioning made the little girl stunned for a moment, revealing a puzzled look on her face. She stared at Chen Yi steadily, as if looking at an alien from outer space. However, she still replied: "You won't have forgotten everything after getting injured, will you? It's now Lin De Second Year, today is February 2nd..."

  "Lin De second year? Is it the Great Tang... Lin De second year?"

  "Is it already the second year of Linde in the Great Tang Dynasty? You can't have forgotten all this?"

  "Ah!!! Heaven... it's really... the Great Tang... Linde 2nd year%&*&*......" Chen Yi was dumbfounded!

  Heavens! I was just having a stroll at the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang when I tripped and fell on top of the tomb, never expecting to "travel through time" all the way back to the Tang Dynasty...