SWNOVELXO Chapter 1: Revisiting Old Places
A heavy storm was approaching. In front of the narrow, long official road, many hurried traveling merchants were walking, either in small groups or as a crowd.
The donkey carts, loaded with heavy cargo, left deep or shallow ruts in the ground.
This official road was called the Muyan Road, named after the unique climate phenomenon in the area. Travelers needed to be particularly cautious of sudden downpours. The rain was strange; although the clouds often looked ready to burst, it might take hours for them to finally release their downpour.
Gu Ning'an had never developed the habit of carrying rain gear. He preferred traveling light, finding cumbersome rain equipment inconvenient.
Additionally, when it rained, he enjoyed finding a shelter, listening to the rain, and watching the way it nourished the world—it was a significant pleasure of his.
"Young man! A storm is coming; don't just stand there on the road!"
"Move along quickly!"
"If you catch a cold, you won't have it easy!"
As a donkey cart passed by Gu Ning'an, the middle-aged man driving it wielded his whip, urging the donkey forward, and called out to Gu Ning'an.
Gu Ning'an glanced at the man driving the cart, who appeared to be just over forty. Being called "young man" by someone of that age made his expression a bit strange.
After all, although he now appeared to be around twenty, thirty-three years ago when he first arrived in this world filled with immortals, demons, and mythical beasts, he looked the same. Thirty-three years had left no trace on him.
"Thanks for the reminder!"
The man's words were rough, but they were a kind warning. Gu Ning'an cupped his hands in thanks as he watched the cart move away, then adjusted his slightly slipping satchel and continued walking forward.
Years ago, when Gu Ning'an first arrived in this world, he found himself in a cave atop a desolate mountain. The cave bore traces of previous inhabitants, including dried, blackened blood and tufts of hair left by large insects.
The previous occupants of the cave had likely been devoured by the wild beasts of the mountain.
The last resident left behind a rusty machete and a book titled The Path of Dao.
With the machete, he hunted wild fruits and small animals; with the book, he learned some peculiar techniques.
After five years of training on the mountain, one day, a giant tiger, three meters long and with a foul, miasmal breath, broke through the trap Gu Ning'an had set outside the cave and cornered him while he was sleeping.
Thinking his end had come, Gu Ning'an instinctively manipulated the stones in the cave and pointed casually, piercing the tiger's forehead and killing it instantly.
Realizing he had some power to protect himself, Gu Ning'an set out the next day, traveling down the mountain.
He spent five years exploring many places, hearing countless stories, and learning more about the dangers of this world.
One day, while browsing through the books at a street vendor, he came across a book that looked exactly like The Path of Dao he had been practicing.
The vendor said: "This book has been widely circulated. It was once practiced by someone long ago, but after finding it useless, it became a kind of storybook or novel."
Skeptical, Gu Ning'an spent a small sum of money and bought all three copies of The Path of Dao the vendor had.
After flipping through them, he realized that the techniques he had learned were just ancient, fake methods that could be seen as a sort of fictional novel.
The realization that something was wrong drove him back to the desolate mountain cave to study the inconsistencies in the four copies of The Path of Dao.
The more he delved into the fakes, the more his expression grew forlorn... From the moment he sat down to contemplate The Path of Dao until he awoke again, twenty years had passed!
Sitting for twenty years, he felt as if he had wandered through the heavens and earth, sensing a profound desolation... In the moment before he woke, his form was nearly transparent, as if it could dissipate into smoke at any moment.
In his final moments, memories of the people, beasts, and spirits he had encountered over five years of traveling through the martial world emerged in Gu Ning'an's mind. Those "people" transformed into red threads that intertwined across his ethereal form, making it solid once more.
After awakening, Gu Ning'an, perplexed about how he had fallen into the "state of returning to silence," decided not to dwell on it any longer.
He named the red threads that had saved him "red dust essence"—an allusion to the "fires of the human world" embedded within them...
Thus, after descending the mountain once more, he planned to "visit the familiar places."
One reason was to see old friends, and another was to explore the sudden appearance of the "red dust essence" and its significance, as well as its connection to the "Dao"...
After walking a few miles, Gu Ning'an saw a row of connected single-story houses set up on the grass to the right of the official road. Their eaves were curved upward, and a large, red wooden board was hung over the entrance.
On the wooden board, the word "tea" was inscribed in a strong and bold script.
Staring at the word, Gu Ning'an was reminded of a young man he had met many years ago and the events that followed...
In the early days, this tea house was not as "prosperous" as it was now. At that time, it was just a simple tea shed made of straw and mud walls.
The owner of the tea shed was a sincere young man and a pregnant woman who was eight months along.
The couple was in their mid-twenties.
When Gu Ning'an had walked by this road before, he had also come seeking shelter from the rain.
The tea shed, though rudimentary, was full of the warmth of simplicity.
The young man would always be sweating from making tea, and his wife, though heavy with child, worried for him and would help out, even when it was difficult for her to move.
Back then, the atmosphere inside the tea shed was not as lively as it was now, where one could feel the bustle even from outside; instead, it was calm and tranquil.
Seeing Gu Ning'an alone, the young man insisted on not accepting any payment for tea, saying, "It's rare for a scholar to come here for tea. You're the first, and I'd like to offer you a cup, hoping to bring a touch of literary spirit to my child."
A sincere husband, a considerate wife, and an unborn child.
This family should have lived a simple, happy life.
But fate was unkind that day.
As the sudden downpour struck the Muyan Road, the pregnant woman went into premature labor...
No matter the era, a premature birth was always a perilous situation that could lead to a double death if not handled carefully!
The young man held his wife's weakening form, his eyes full of despair as the rain curtains cut off all sight of the outside world.
Gu Ning'an, who had some knowledge of techniques, realized that he could only save one—either the woman or the child—by infusing the mother's vital energy and true essence into the unborn child's body, and vice versa.
Hearing this, the young man prostrated himself to Gu Ning'an, begging him to save the mother. However, Gu Ning'an never expected that, after thanking him, the pregnant woman would relax and let go of her life.
This woman was an ordinary mortal, yet, at the end of her life, she had used a technique akin to a spell to "save" her child...
In the end, the child survived—a girl, nicknamed "Little Sanhua(Three Flowers)," after her mother's beloved calico cat...
"Sir, the sudden rain is about to fall. You should come inside... it's difficult to find a doctor here, and a cold could be quite unpleasant," a gentle voice broke Gu Ning'an's train of thought.
Slowly, the figure of the determined mother in his memories merged with the person before him...