Chapter 1: Travel to the World of Liaozhai
My brain is drowsy and I can't use any force on my body. It feels like I'm swimming in the water for a few hours, and I'm completely exhausted after I get ashore.
I was hit by a car... not dead!
Although his eyes cannot be opened and his limbs are weak, Zhang Hao still has a few traces of awakening in his mind. In modern medical conditions, he is so dazed that as long as his brain can think, he should be able to pull him back from the brink of death.
As soon as I thought about it, my head hurts violently again, and suddenly there are many messy memories inside. The owner of this body in my memory is Chang Jin, a weak scholar. Not long ago, I returned from a study trip and fell seriously ill when I got home.
"No... Why is this dream so clear? Could it be that I am possessed by a ghost?"
Having been awake for half a day, Zhang Hao still felt like he was dreaming. It must be a dream. As long as you open your eyes, everything in the dream will disappear.
Thinking of this, he moved his head with difficulty, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Brother, brother, you're awake!!" At this moment, a crisp girl's voice sounded at the head of the bed.
Looking in the sound, I saw a girl in a shabby long gown looking at her excitedly, and then a few tears appeared in her eyes.
It's not a dream!! Seeing the girl clearly, Zhang Hao's heart completely sinks. According to the memory of the dreamer, the girl is named Chang Xiaoxiao, and she is Chang Jin's sister.
Chang's father and mother died of illness two years ago, and the only two of them were left to depend on each other.
"Brother, you were in a coma for half a month and finally woke up. I'm scared to death..." In the past half month, the girl was under tremendous pressure, afraid that her brother would be like her parents, and would not get up again once she was sick. Now seeing him wake up, the girl lay on the head of the bed and cried loudly, venting the pressure in her heart. But she didn't know that the body on the bed had already changed its soul.
Zhang Hao opened his mouth to explain, but he didn't know what to say. He probably couldn't go back, so how should he face his family and how to live?
In the chaos, he fell asleep again.
...I don’t know how long I slept, but Zhang Hao finally woke up from his dream again. This time he felt a little strength in his body, and subconsciously opened his eyes and saw a few rays of sunlight coming in from the broken wooden window frame.
Next to it, a 14 or 15-year-old girl was sitting on a wooden pier, sleeping soundly against the bed.
Has he really traveled through time? Looking back on some novels he had read when he was bored in his previous life, Zhang Hao was still panicked and expected that he was dreaming.
He subconsciously sniffed...the room was filled with a faint smell of wood ash.
He is very familiar with this smell. When he was a child in his previous life, he lived in his grandmother's house in the countryside. The villagers cooked with firewood. Every time it was time to eat, there were smoke rippling over the entire village, which was very beautiful.
Zhang Hao tried hard to turn his head and look for things that made him familiar in the room. The room was very small, and the rough walls were made of yellow adobe, with no decoration on them. When he touched them with his hands, it was covered in dust.
As for the ceiling... there is no ceiling, you can see the beams and rafters when you look up, and there is even a hole in the roof, and you can barely see a thread of the sky through the gap.
After carefully examining the place where he lives, Zhang Hao couldn't help but smile bitterly and confirmed that he had indeed traveled through time.
Since he came, he would be at ease. Although he was still panicked and confused, he had already begun to think about how to survive.
Even in modern society, Chang Jin has a firm side in his personality, facing difficulties and high fighting spirit.
The memory of the original owner of this body was completely preserved. The parents died early and there was only a sister in the family... Scenes swaying in my mind, just like watching a movie.
The Great Yan Dynasty? Zhang Hao was stunned again, as if there was no such dynasty in the history of the earth.
I only remember that Yan State was a vassal state during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. It was one of the seven heroes and was later destroyed by Qin State.
Another thing is that during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Xianbei Murong clan was called emperor and the country was named "Yan", which were divided into "Fore Yan", "Last Yan", "West Yan", and "Southern Yan".
However, when he met the memories in his mind, he was surprised to find that there was no overlap with the history he had learned in his previous life, and he was completely unfamiliar with the dynasty to the characters.
The great cause of Qin Shaobao, the Taizu of Yan, took the three-foot sword and created a great cause nearly five hundred years ago. Like all dynasties, after 200 years of prosperity, the Great Yan Dynasty gradually began to decline.
Now that Zi Daquan is gone, the princes from all over the country have gained their own troops. Although no one rebelled publicly, the current situation is just a calm before the storm comes.
What surprised him even more was that in this world, not only demons and ghosts appeared, but also Taoist masters appeared. Correspondingly, Confucianism fell instead.
When I recall the specific events again, I remembered nothing, only those eight-legged essays that were left.
He is such a nerd. He couldn't find useful information, so Zhang Hao could only smile bitterly. Even on earth, the ancients knew that "reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles". How could he get something by staying at home and working behind closed doors?
However, this world is much more exciting than the history of the earth that I know. Since I am here, let’s get to know it carefully... Zhang Hao took a deep breath and jumped off the bed quietly. However, he had been in bed for too long and his blood had already frozen. When he got out of bed, his feet stagnated and almost fell to the ground.
This body is really weak. No wonder people on earth often say that it is a scholar who is useless. Zhang Hao looked at his small body depressedly and made a secret decision in his heart that he should exercise more if he had the chance in the future.
"Brother..." Unexpectedly, such a small action woke the girl up. Chang Xiaoxiao rubbed her eyes, and then shouted excitedly: "Brother, you are cured of illness and can go downstairs and leave!!"
Seeing him walking slowly while holding the wall, the girl shouted considerately: "Brother, don't come down and leave, hurry up and lie on the bed to keep it for a few days."
Looking at the other party's concerned eyes, Zhang Hao felt a little touched in his heart, and subconsciously spoke: "Xiaoxiao, I'm fine, I'll go and recover faster."
Since I can't go back, the name Zhang Hao no longer exists. From today on, I am Chang Jin, and the girl in front of me is my relative! The two must live well.
"Okay, okay, are you hungry? I'll make you some egg soup." Xiaoxiao asked, turned around and was about to leave.
"I'm not hungry, don't be busy, I'll go out for a walk." Chang Jin hurriedly stopped her. Although he had already integrated the original body's memory and was very familiar with the things inside and outside the village, he still wanted to see with his own eyes what kind of world he was in.
As soon as you walk out of the house, Xiaoxiao is hurriedly reminding him: "Brother, don't talk nonsense when you go out!"
That expression seemed to be like her being the elder. Chang Jin was just an ignorant child.
***
Although Chang Jin had already had a clear understanding of the home environment in his original body memory, he still had a tendency to be stunned when he stood in the yard.
The yard is so dilapidated that it is not even as good as the countryside of the 1980s on Earth! The ground is bumpy and dirty chicken manure is everywhere, which makes people have almost no place to stay. Further away, a reed chicken leads the chicken to eat in the pile of bamboo poles, and there is a pair of just-scraped bamboo strips on the ground next to it.
This should be the masterpiece of my younger sister. Chang Jin's predecessor was a useless scholar. Since his parents passed away, all the burdens of the family fell on my sister's shoulders.
From my memory, I learned that bamboo poles were planted behind every house in Changjiagou, and the villagers would weave some baskets to sell in the town during the slack season.
Thinking of his sister's scarred hands, Chang Jin couldn't help but curse himself in his heart: What a bastard, the brother not only did not take on the burden of the family, but instead let his sister support him in vain!
The courtyard wall is a fence made of thin bamboo poles, and the courtyard gate is a fence made of wooden sticks. This kind of door cannot be guarded against thieves at all, and it can be pushed down with a slight push. Fortunately, there is a skinny dog at the door. When he saw him walking to the door, the thing immediately shook his tail and came up to him.
Seeing the dirty dog, Chang Jin would not let it get close to him. He stomped his feet and scared the other party away, then walked out of the door.
Only then did he realize that not only his home was dilapidated, but also other families around him.
Several men carrying water came towards him and greeted him from afar: "Siucai, is healed?"
"Okay, thank you for your concern." Chang Jin bowed and turned around and passed by. In my memory, Chang Jin had never passed the scholar exam. This title is just a respectful title for the ignorant people in the countryside.
"Young Master Xiucai is so polite." The men were a little flattered and hurriedly retreated aside.
Chang Jin sighed in his heart. Although Confucianism has begun to decline, the status of scholars in this small village of Changjiagou is still very noble.
After walking a distance, the discussions of the villagers behind him gradually came to his ears.
"Poor scholar, such a knowledgeable person, why can't he get along with Goddess Guo..."
"What is knowledgeable? I think I am stupid in studying and actually dare to provoke Guo Shen Po. Who is Guo Shen Po? Who dares to provoke him? I see that Master Liu in the town is also respectful to others... He said that scholars do not believe in ghosts and gods, but they ended up being very good. He fell ill after he finished speaking and spent all his money. Several acres of good land in the family were also given to Wang Mazi by Xiao Xiaodian. How can they live with the brother and sister in the future? Xiao Xiao is really in a miserable life, and he has such an older brother."
"Scholars are also for our own good. Every time Guo Shenpo sacrifices to the river god, he has to pay fifty cents for each family. He can use so much, and she has greedy for the remaining money..."
"Shh, you can't say this, don't be heard by the River God!" A timid man hurriedly let everyone stop.
It seems that it is inevitable that you will be able to bite people behind your back and talk about gossip. Although Chang Jin does not have the same knowledge as these villagers, from their discussions, he finally remembers the general experience of getting sick.
He was considered a disaster because of his words... There is a river god temple in Qingshan Town, where a witch named Guo was there. The old woman pretended to be a god and fooled the foolish villagers around her all day long, and every year she collected money from house to house under the name of sacrificing river gods. If the villagers disobeyed, Guo would threaten, saying that she would not listen to the advice of the temple's blessings, and sooner or later there would be disaster.
Chapter completed!