Reboot Volume, Chapter 202: Another World

"Yizai! Where are you?" Mo Xing shouted into the darkness, but the only answer was the patter of rain and the rustle of leaves.

No matter how many times he called, he heard no reply from Yizai, only found himself sneezing again and again. Mo Xing thought that shouting in the rain would achieve nothing. Better to find somewhere to take shelter first. He only hoped Yizai was safe for now.

Rumble—

Thunder rolled once more, as though the Lord of Thunder himself were mocking Mo Xing’s sorry state.

Tap, tap—

From the thicket in the distance came a sound. Mo Xing turned around, and a plump figure slowly emerged through the rain.

"Yizai!" Mo Xing cried joyfully and ran toward it, but stopped at once.

It was not Yizai.

Standing within the bushes was a blue monster with white hair, bull-like horns, and huge staring eyes, with saliva dripping from its mouth.

Mo Xing had heard countless ghost stories and tales of strange creatures since childhood, and had always been rather timid. Now, seeing such a huge monster, he was terrified beyond reason. He turned and bolted, but the rainy ground was slippery, and he soon took a hard tumble.

The blue monster advanced slowly, letting out a chattering laugh, as if the prey were already in its grasp. Mo Xing tried to scramble up, but his whole leg felt numb, utterly refusing to obey him.

Suddenly, the blue monster lunged. Its sharp claws sliced through the rain toward him. Mo Xing rolled desperately on the ground, but one claw still raked his shoulder, and a searing pain shot through his nerves.

The blue monster watched with satisfaction, then slashed again. In Mo Xing’s cries of agony, bright red blood scattered into the rain.

Rumble—

Thunder sounded again. In the flash of lightning, Mo Xing saw the blue monster bare its gleaming white fangs as it lunged for his throat.

At that critical instant, a gust of wind swept by. The blue monster froze in midair, then crashed to the side and lay motionless, staring blankly at Mo Xing. Its eyes were bloodshot, foam spilled from its mouth, and it did not move.

Footsteps sounded behind him. Mo Xing forced himself to lift his head and saw an elderly man in a raincoat standing before him. The old man kicked the blue monster aside, then crouched down and looked at Mo Xing.

"Who are you..." Mo Xing asked shakily. Lying in the rain was cold enough already, and with his wounds torturing him, simply making a sound was difficult.

"Just call me Mr. Shen."

The old man’s voice was unexpectedly young. Mo Xing was stunned. Before he could say another word, Mr. Shen slipped a small capsule into his mouth. A sharp pain pricked through his brain, and the world before his eyes instantly blurred.

"Get some sleep first," Mr. Shen said with a smile.

Mo Xing lost consciousness again.

...

A beam of light stabbed into Mo Xing’s eyes. His body would not move, but he was conscious, because he could faintly hear a conversation.

"This should not be a problem, right?"

"Mm. Everything is under control."

"Is this child part of the plan too?"

"Yes. A very important piece."

Something about a water dragon, something about an imperial city, murmured back and forth in his ears. The more Mo Xing listened, the more indistinct it became, like a swarm of bees buzzing beside his head. He only wanted to see who was speaking in front of him, but his body simply would not move, as though he had been given anesthesia. He could only make out a child standing behind the man in white. The child seemed about his own age and was rather plump.

Why did that look so familiar? He wanted to lean closer and see. It seemed so familiar, as if it were—

"Yizai!"

Mo Xing shouted and lunged forward.

A young face appeared before him, carrying the faint fragrance of lilacs. A pair of bright, clear eyes met his gaze.

A girl!

Mo Xing’s face turned bright red at once.

He and the girl were only the width of two fingers apart, almost touching. In all his life, this was the first time he had ever been so close to a girl!

What was he supposed to do? So... embarrassing!

"Beast! Let go of my little sister!"

A curly-haired young man in a white hoodie burst through the door, brandishing a thick book as he rushed at Mo Xing, about to smash it down on him.

"All right, enough fooling around."

At that moment, the girl in front of him spoke, raising a hand to signal the curly-haired young man to put down his "weapon."

"No way. I said this guy wasn’t reliable. We only just saved him two days ago, and now that he’s awake he’s already putting his hands on my little sister. This is the real-life farmer and the snake!" The curly-haired young man shook his head, his furious glare practically ready to devour Mo Xing alive.

"Was it... you who saved me before?" Mo Xing paused, then looked at the curly-haired young man and said, "Thank you."

"Damn it, that thank-you was so half-hearted. I told you, this kind of guy isn’t reliable at all!" The curly-haired young man raised an eyebrow at Mo Xing.

"Enough, enough, Cousin Mianhua. Keep this up and you won’t be playing with me anymore." The girl in front of him sounded a little annoyed. "I was only taking his temperature. Don’t make such a fuss."

"All right, all right, my mistake. I won’t do it again." Mianhua scratched the back of his head.

"Your temperature is almost normal now. Drink this bowl of herbal soup." The girl brought over the small bowl from the table beside her and handed it to Mo Xing. It was still warm to the touch, so it must have been freshly simmered not long ago. "It was brewed from special ingredients. Drink it, and you’ll be fine."

Mo Xing took a small sip. The soup was only mildly warm, and it was not nearly as bitter as he had expected, so he drank it all at once.

He was sitting in bed now, tucked beneath a blanket. Beside him were a stool, a desk, and some small plants and ornaments. It looked like a cozy little room. Aside from Mianhua staring at him with the gaze of someone sworn to destroy evil, everything else seemed perfectly normal.

"Hello, my name is Shiyan. This is my cousin Mianhua." The girl smiled and pointed to the cousin beside her. "May I ask what your name is?"

"Uh... my name is Mo Xing." Mo Xing’s face reddened again. He was not very good at talking to girls, so his words came in halting pieces. "Um... this is your home, right? How did I get here?"

"Mm-hm. That night it was pouring rain, and someone knocked on our door. When I opened it, I found you lying unconscious at the entrance, completely soaked." Shiyan said.

Mo Xing lowered his head and looked at himself, only then realizing that his clothes had been changed. There was also a faint lilac scent left on them, the same as Shiyan’s. The heat in his face had just begun to fade, and now it returned all at once.

"Don’t get any ideas. It was yours truly who changed your clothes!" Mianhua suddenly cut in from the side, thumping his chest as if warning Mo Xing not to let his imagination run wild.

"So I called my cousin and grandmother to help bring you inside. After he changed your clothes and gave you the medicine, he settled you into this room to rest," Shiyan continued.

"Then... did you see an old man? I remember that before I fainted, it was he who saved me." Mo Xing suddenly remembered the elderly man who had appeared in the rain.

"No. When I opened the door, I looked around, and aside from the torrential rain, I couldn’t see anyone else." Shiyan shook her head, frowning slightly. "Besides, there aren’t many elderly people in the village."

Mo Xing was stunned. In his understanding, villages and small towns usually had more old people than young ones. Their village was a typical one, full of empty-nest elders and left-behind children, often reported on in the news. It was only in the past two years that more young and middle-aged people had gradually returned, beginning to value family ties again.

"Apart from little Shiyan’s grandmother and the village chief, there really aren’t many old folks here. If someone’s looking for a retirement place, they go next door. Our village has plenty of labor, and our textile industry is very strong. We produce scarves by the ton. We’re proud to be Aslant’s number one scarf town!" Mianhua thumped his chest again. It was obvious this was something he found truly worthy of pride.

"Hold on, what did you just say? What kind of Aslan-what?" Mo Xing had been listening normally at first, but then an unfamiliar term suddenly popped up. It sounded like a place name in English, and he nearly thought he had been transported to some European city.

"Aslant! You don’t know it? Did you travel here from ancient times?" Mianhua laughed loudly.

"Bad news! Something’s happened!"

Mo Xing was about to ask more when a burst of hurried footsteps and shouting interrupted him. At the doorway appeared an elderly grandmother and several middle-aged villagers.

"Grandma, what’s wrong?" Shiyan walked over and clasped the old woman’s trembling hands.

"The village chief and the others... they went to the Lante Highlands to gather herbs and ran into a band of robbers," the grandmother said urgently. "They’re trapped now!"

"The young men the village sent to help have all been beaten back," another villager added.

"So brazen?!" Mianhua drew out the words on purpose, confidence spilling from him. "With me here, sweeping away a thousand troops is no dream."

"Mo Xing, rest here a while. We’ll deal with it and be right back," Shiyan said, and immediately took down the coat hanging by the door.

"But... it’s dangerous..." Mo Xing said in shock, but before he could finish, Shiyan had already run out. "You’re a girl..."

"Mm, our little Shiyan is very capable." Mianhua said proudly as he also headed out, tossing back a final remark. "And it’s not your place to worry about it!"

"People inside, get out here now! Surrender and spare yourselves!"

A voice boomed from outside through a loudspeaker. Mo Xing’s bed was right beside the window, and he could see a group of people below with wild, punk-like haircuts shouting and making a scene. They must have been the robbers. They had tied several villagers with rope, and the older man in the middle should have been the village chief.

"Hand over the goods—"

Before the robber with the loudspeaker could finish, a sudden shadow kicked him hard to the ground.

Amid the cries of shock, Mianhua appeared in the middle of the road with a silver-white longsword in hand. All the robbers raised their daggers and glared at him.

"Ah, y-you stay back. I’m... I’m a brute," said one robber with a blue headscarf, waving a dagger before the village chief’s throat with a sneer. "Heh. One little move from me, and your village chief dies!"

I’m back!

After waiting so long, I still haven’t come up with ideas for new material, so I’m planning to revise everything from the beginning to find inspiration again. Mostly because I had training classes during summer break and no time to write.

I’ll be restoring the parts I hadn’t filled in before, adding a lot of detail and refining the whole story. There may be some repetition, and I hope everyone will understand and continue to support it.