Chapter 2: A World Within an Inch |
“I’m back…”
The searing agony of being consumed by flames seemed to linger in his body. Li Shun lay flat on the bed for a long while before the pain gradually receded.
Once his mind settled, he abruptly sat up. His expression turned solemn as he intoned in a low voice,
“I examine myself thrice each day.”
As the words fell, a translucent, illusory high crown condensed above his head. At the same time, his coarse linen clothes transformed into a wide, flowing robe.
The events of the “previous day” flashed rapidly through his mind like a revolving lantern, finally freezing at the moment he was mercilessly engulfed by towering flames.
Only after the “daily self-examination” concluded did the illusory crown and robe dissolve like ripples in water.
Li Shun let out a long breath, as though a heavy burden had been lifted.
“The world is growing more chaotic by the day. Especially here in Lengshan County, a remote frontier with weak defenses.”
He sighed inwardly, then silently called out within his mind:
“Fangcun.”[1]
At once, the world before his eyes blurred. His consciousness seemed to race through a vast expanse of white mist. In the blink of an eye, it descended into a strange and mysterious space.
This space was evenly divided into three identical regions.
In the first and second regions stood stone statues.
The difference was stark. The first statue was completely intact, while the second had been severed at the waist, leaving only its upper half.
As for the third region…
A small figure identical to Li Shun stood there, its expression wooden and tireless as it continuously performed a farmer’s technique known as [Spirit Division and Life Transformation].
Before it, the Lengshan Grass that had reduced Feng Guan to tears and snot after consumption grew in dense clusters. There were over a hundred stalks in total.
“Lengshan Grass, a unique product of Lengshan County. Normally, it requires ten years of absorbing the essence of the cold moon to produce a single stalk.”
“Yet the Great Qian Dynasty uses this [Spirit Division and Life Transformation] technique to forcibly increase its yield.”
“So-called Spirit Division and Life Transformation means splitting the essence of living beings to nourish rare treasures of heaven and earth. It consumes one’s blood and vitality, day and night without rest.”
“A healthy adult man, even if he pours in an entire year of effort, can barely produce a single stalk of Lengshan Grass.”
“Everyone here, including myself and nearly all the common folk of Lengshan County, are nothing more than flesh-and-blood fuel for cultivating this grass.”
The original owner of this body Li Shun now inhabited had not been from Lengshan County. He had merely been conscripted here for labor duty.
He entered this land of despair at eighteen, and from that day on, never left.
“The Spirit Division technique drains blood and vitality to a terrifying degree. Most laborers don’t live past fifty. Feng Guan is only in his forties, yet he already has a full head of white hair and looks like a dying old man.”
“As for me, relying on this Fangcun puppet, not only have I avoided any decline in vitality, I’ve even managed to withhold over a hundred stalks of Lengshan Grass without handing them in.”
“The puppet neither lives nor dies, so there’s no need to worry about exhausting blood essence. It also works without rest, making it nearly five times as efficient as an ordinary person.”
Li Shun’s thoughts shifted as his gaze slowly moved past the field of faintly glowing blue grass, settling on the half-broken statue in the distance.
“Even though it’s also a Fangcun puppet, this one is far harder to maintain…”
With a flicker of intent, more than a dozen stalks of Lengshan Grass were uprooted and drifted over, landing before the broken statue.
The statue wore a high crown and flowing robes, yet its face was blurred and indistinct. Its body appeared weathered by endless ages, pale and mottled, carrying a fragile air as though it might crumble at any moment.
However, as the Lengshan Grass disintegrated into countless specks of blue light and enveloped it, the ruined statue began to show signs of renewal, like a withered tree encountering spring.
Only after the light of the grass completely faded did the statue’s crumbling state finally stabilize.
“The restorative effect of Lengshan Grass is getting weaker…”
Li Shun studied it carefully, a trace of heaviness rising in his heart.
Both the stone statues and the tirelessly working ‘Li Shun’ within were nothing more than puppets captured by this mysterious space.
This space, which had existed within him since the moment of his transmigration, was named by him:
“Fangcun.”
“Though it spans but a square inch, it contains infinite mysteries.”
“Whether you are a powerless mortal or a mighty being with heaven-shaking abilities, once you enter this Fangcun, you will become a puppet…”
When Li Shun first entered the Fangcun space, the one-and-a-half stone statues and the puppet ''Li Shun'' were already present.
The puppet Li Shun was easy to understand. It reflected the body he had possessed upon first transmigrating.
As for the one-and-a-half statues…
To this day, Li Shun had yet to uncover their true origins.
At first, both statues were riddled with cracks, nearly reduced to useless fragments. It was only later, on a whim, that Li Shun attempted to transplant Lengshan Grass into their vicinity.
After absorbing the grass, the half-broken statue showed signs of recovery, its cracks visibly improving.
With continued nourishment from the Lengshan Grass, its condition eventually stabilized completely.
And from that, it awakened its divine ability:
“Threefold Self-Reflection.”
“I Examine Myself Thrice Each Day. As the name implies, once activated, this ability allows the same day to be experienced three times in a loop. The first two iterations are illusory, no matter what occurs. Only the final, third iteration determines reality.”
“It can be activated at will, or triggered passively upon accidental death through the stone statue.”
“It is precisely because of this ability that I have managed to survive until now in this fragile body.”
“However, each use damages the statue through backlash. It takes over ten stalks of Lengshan Grass just to barely repair it. And the effectiveness of that nourishment is steadily declining…”
“The cost is far too great. Unless absolutely necessary, I will not use it lightly.”
“Like today… this disaster leaves me no choice.”
“What a pity. If only the other, complete statue could be awakened…”
“Even the half statue possesses such a heaven-defying power over time. Who knows what the complete one is capable of?”
Li Shun’s thoughts drifted as his gaze unconsciously fell upon the silent figure standing in the distance.
Its surface was covered in fine, web-like cracks, evidence of severe damage in the past.
Yet it showed no response whatsoever to the Lengshan Grass, remaining dormant all this time.
“Perhaps it requires a higher-grade spiritual substance.”
Li Shun shook his head slightly, pulling his wandering thoughts back to the events of “yesterday.”
“The remnants of the Xiang Kingdom suddenly launched an attack on Lengshan County…”
“In truth, preserving my life would have been easy. I only needed to remain in the underground shelter and wait for those fiends to leave. If I hadn’t urged Feng Kuan to spy on them with his Wind-Listening, Skimming Shadow technique, we wouldn’t have been discovered.”
“But… each activation of Threefold Self-Reflection comes at a heavy cost. If I only hide and fail to make use of this rare chance to reset time for my own gain, wouldn’t that be a complete waste?”
His consciousness receded like a tide from the Fangcun space.
Li Shun slowly opened his eyes, examining his body under the cover of night.
“All these years, I have relied on the Fangcun puppet to bear the burden of labor in my stead, sparing me from the depletion of my vital essence. Yet this mortal body cannot escape the erosion of time.”
“The original Li Shun left home at eighteen to serve here. After eleven years of muddling through harsh labor in Lengshan County, he was replaced by me.”
“And I… have now been trapped in this cage for twenty-six years.”
“Strictly speaking, life as a laborer in Great Qian isn’t unbearable. We are free to move within the county, receive wages each month, and only need to submit one stalk of Lengshan Grass annually. So long as we never leave Lengshan County, we can live without worry. Any surplus grass can even be kept, whether for personal consumption or trade.”
“Most laborers have long since grown accustomed to this life.”
“But…”
“I am now fifty-four years old. Among the Lengshan laborers, whose average age is barely forty, I have already begun to stand out.”
“In a few more years, it’s hard to say whether I’ll draw unwanted attention.”
“And more importantly… I refuse to accept this!”
In the heavy darkness, a strange and burning light flickered in Li Shun’s eyes.
“Great Qian possesses methods to restore youth and prolong life. But such secrets are far beyond the reach of lowly laborers.”
“The Fangcun space within me may be miraculous, but it cannot halt my aging.”
“The laws of Great Qian are strict, its hierarchy absolute. For someone of my status to defy fate is nearly impossible under normal circumstances.”
“But now, with unrest rising across the land… this may well be my opportunity.”
“Fortune favors the bold!”
“With Fangcun in my possession, I will neither accept nor deserve a lifetime trapped in this remote Lengshan County!”
At present, there were only three plots of land within Fangcun. Yet beyond them, through the rolling expanse of pale mist, he could faintly glimpse vast, uncharted territory.
Li Shun had a growing intuition. If he could open new areas, he might be able to house more and more puppets.
“To cultivate the path of immortality, expand the land of Fangcun, and gather heroes under heaven…”
After more than twenty years of silent endurance at the very bottom of Great Qian’s hierarchy, the fire of ambition within Li Shun had finally erupted into an unstoppable blaze.
[1]:- [Fangcu] (方寸) literally translates to "a square inch" and is a traditional Chinese metaphor for the human inner heart-mind. It represents the idea that the entire universe and the path to spiritual immortality are contained within that small, internal space.
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