Chapter 228: A Time Out of Place |
…So noisy.
The cacophony of voices and whispers was overwhelming, making Chen Yin’s head spin.
He slowly opened his eyes.
He was in the middle of a bustling street, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, their curious gazes fixed on him, their whispers and murmurs reaching his ears.
“Whose child is this, sitting alone in the street?”
“He’s quite handsome.”
“Don’t get too close. Judging by his clothes, he might be related to those cultivators. Don’t cause trouble.”
“A cultivator? Is he here for the gathering?”
Chen Yin blinked, overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information.
…His once form-fitting Daoist robes were now loose and baggy, like a cloak draped over his small frame.
He looked at his hands, his thin arms, their appearance youthful and almost childlike.
“Ah…” A young, almost childish voice escaped his lips.
He stood up, the robes dragging along the ground, and stumbled towards a nearby water bucket.
His reflection stared back at him, a thin and frail boy with delicate features.
He recognized this appearance.
When he was ten, when Master had first brought him to Mount Yu, he had looked like this, a dirty stray, before she had scrubbed him clean and dressed him in new robes.
He stared at his reflection for a long time, his mind slowly processing this new reality.
Finally,
He accepted it.
“My body… has reverted to that of a ten-year-old?” he murmured.
Fortunately, the scroll in his chest was still there.
His cultivation had regressed to the Cloud Ascending Realm, but his comprehension of the Sword Dao remained.
He looked around, his eyes filled with confusion.
“Where… am I?”
The buildings, the clothes people were wearing, even their accents…
…everything felt strange and unfamiliar, slightly out of place.
He was about to ask someone for directions when a clear, bright voice called out to him:
“Hey, you.”
Chen Yin turned around and saw a young girl, about fifteen or sixteen, with rosy lips, bright eyes, and a budding figure, her hands on her hips as she looked at him.
Several other teenagers stood beside her, their gazes curious.
“Judging by your robes, you’re a cultivator, right?”
Chen Yin looked at her blankly, saying nothing.
“Why are you sitting alone in the street? Where are your parents?”
He still didn’t answer.
“…Are you deaf and mute?” The girl frowned and turned to a slightly chubby boy beside her. “Xiao Luo, do you know any spells for communicating with deaf-mutes?”
The boy, Xiao Luo, shook his head vigorously.
The girl rolled her eyes. “Useless.”
Chen Yin finally spoke. “I’m not deaf. Or mute.”
“Then why didn’t you answer me?”
“I didn’t know how to.”
“So you’re an idiot.” The girl’s frown deepened. “Worse than a deaf-mute.”
Chen Yin didn’t know how to respond to her.
The crowd of onlookers had dispersed after seeing the teenagers, leaving Chen Yin alone with them in the middle of the street.
“Whatever, anyone wearing Daoist robes in a remote place like Ziqing Province must be here for the Tianxuan Gathering.”
The girl turned to the boys beside her. “Xiao Luo, A-Li, take him with us. We’ll take him to Big Sister.”
“What?!”
Xiao Luo looked alarmed and waved his hands frantically.
“Qingqing, we can’t! Don’t you remember what Big Sister said?”
“Yeah, yeah,” A-Li, a tanned and wiry boy, chimed in. “We snuck out without telling our parents. If Big Sister finds out, she’ll kill us! And this kid, although he looks weak and frail, he’s at the Cloud Ascending Realm! A Cloud Ascending Realm cultivator wouldn’t just collapse in the street.”
“What’s the big deal?!”
The girl, Qingqing, stomped her foot. “He’s just a little boy! Maybe he got separated from his family or his sect. We’re just being kind, helping him out. Even Big Sister wouldn’t just leave him alone in the street.”
The boys exchanged glances and fell silent.
While they were talking, Chen Yin observed them discreetly.
They were all dressed in fine clothes, clearly from wealthy families.
He could sense their cultivation levels. The girl, Qingqing, was at the Entering Gate Realm, while the boys were mostly at the Cloud Ascending or Gathering Qi Realm.
They were all young, in their early teens, their words and actions still carrying a childish impulsiveness and stubbornness.
But Chen Yin, in his current ten-year-old body, wasn’t in a position to judge.
“We’re taking him back to Big Sister. She’ll decide what to do with him.”
The girl’s tone was firm and final.
“Qingqing, are you so insistent on taking him back because he’s handsome?” Xiao Luo mumbled jealously.
Before he could finish his sentence, the girl smacked him on the head.
“You idiot, Xiao Luo!”
Qingqing glared at him. “I’m just being kind! And stop being so jealous! You’re only like this because you’re too lazy to cultivate and spend all your time eating snacks!”
Xiao Luo shrank back, not daring to say another word.
Chen Yin watched their banter, a small smile playing on his lips.
“Let’s go, you little idiot. I’ll take you to our Big Sister.”
Qingqing grabbed his hand, much to the envy of the two boys, who were practically drooling.
Chen Yin didn’t react, just let her lead him away.
“By the way,” she added, “I’m Si Qing. This is Luo Xiaoxiao, and this is Hu Li.”
“What’s your name?”
Chen Yin thought for a moment, then decided not to hide his identity. “Chen Yin.”
“Chen Yin…”
Si Qing glanced at him, then continued walking, her hand still in his.
Chen Yin paid close attention to their surroundings.
The bustling streets felt familiar yet strange, slightly out of place.
“Sister, you mentioned earlier… is this Ziqing Province?” he asked as they walked.
“Yes.”
Si Qing seemed pleased that he had called her “Sister.” “Didn’t your parents tell you where we are?”
Chen Yin didn’t answer, his eyes scanning the streets.
…He had been to Ziqing Province before.
It was Xiang’er’s hometown. Her parents’ sect, the Changli Palace, had been located there.
But Ziqing Province wasn’t as remote as they had described. It was closer to the east, not far from Mount Yu.
And its customs and culture weren’t this different from the rest of the continent.
“You’re a cultivator, how can you be so clueless?”
Si Qing couldn’t help but ask, “Did your parents and your sect only teach you how to cultivate and not about the world outside?”
Chen Yin didn’t know how to answer, so he continued to play dumb.
“Even if you don’t know about Ziqing Province, you must have heard of the place where the Immortal Venerable fell, right?”
Chen Yin knew that place.
It was the Azure Cicada Ancient Domain.
The place where the Immortal Venerable had fallen and his cave mansion was located, a place every cultivator dreamed of exploring.
He was all too familiar with it.
So familiar that he never wanted to go back.
“It’s only about five hundred miles from here,” Si Qing continued. “Although it’s remote, many cultivators pass through here, especially now, with the Tianxuan Gathering.”
“What’s the Tianxuan Gathering?” Chen Yin asked innocently.
Si Qing facepalmed.
“…You really don’t know anything, do you?”
“The Tianxuan Gathering is a meeting of all the major sects and powerful cultivators to discuss the opportunities within the Immortal Venerable’s ruins. It’s been almost a thousand years since his fall, and the exploration of his ruins is still ongoing. Many new and unknown treasures have been discovered recently, and every sect wants a piece of the pie.”
Chen Yin nodded thoughtfully.
Then he suddenly looked up.
“What did you say?”
Si Qing was annoyed. “Weren’t you listening?”
“No, I mean… you said it’s been almost a thousand years since the Immortal Venerable’s fall?”
“Yes. Why?” She blinked at him.
Chen Yin froze.
…That wasn’t right.
In his memory,
It had been two thousand years.
He suddenly realized.
It wasn’t the place that had changed.
It was the time.
…He was in the past, a thousand years ago.