As soon as Lau Ying reached the mountain, she encountered the mysterious man from her dream. He turned, took her hand, and exclaimed excitedly, “Follow me! Let's go home together!” The man headed toward the time tunnel. Little did she know he was merely an illusion. The tunnel's entrance lay at the cliff's edge. Lau Ying lost her footing and tumbled down the mountain. Inside the tunnel, she heard a voice: “Our hero, do not panic. We are with you.” The voice clearly belonged to a middle-aged man. Who was it? No one knew.
Though the time tunnel opened in a place resembling that mountain, this mountain wasn't in Hong Kong at all. This place was Xinye. When Ying fell from the tunnel, luckily a pile of yellow withered leaves cushioned her fall. Otherwise, she would have truly been crushed to pieces. Two men were conversing nearby. Both were tall. One wore long hair, a black robe, dark blue trousers, and brown boots. His eyes glowed like liquid blood. The other man had shoulder-length hair, a small braid on his left side, and wore beige traditional attire with a dark blue overcoat, gray trousers, and black boots. His eyes shone like emeralds. The dark-clad man said, “It's getting dark. I'll head back first.” The man beside him waved apologetically and decided to take a stroll.
After the two men left, Ying stood up, intending to call for help. But no matter how many times she tried, there was no response. She thought, “There should be signal on Mount Parker. How could there not be?” Her phone map displayed nothing but a blank screen. The GPS signal couldn't be found, making it impossible to pinpoint her location. This was truly troublesome. Just then, two men with menacing expressions rushed towards Ying. Oh no! It was clear at a glance that these two weren't decent folk. Examining their attire, they were bandits! The two bandits shouted, “Who goes there? Hand over your money!” Ying screamed for help, but no one responded. This only enraged the bandits further. One of them even tried to rape Ying. After all, these were lawless mountain bandits—the sight of a lone woman had stirred their depraved desires. Ying tried to flee, but the bandits viciously seized her neck.
Just as one bandit prepared to tear off her clothes, a crimson-black dagger pierced straight through his heart, blood spilling everywhere. The other bandit, seeing this, tried to fight back. The man who had thrown the dagger appeared. The bandit, panicked, screamed, “Boss Hu! You're not dead! Spare me!” But the man could not forgive the bandit's betrayal. With a swift swing of his blade, the dagger flashed coldly, ending the bandit's life. When Ying came to her senses, both bandits lay dead in pools of blood. The man called “Boss Hu” bent down calmly and asked, “Are you all right, young lady? Bandits are growing in number in these mountains. Shall we return first?” Ying studied Boss Hu's features. He looked exactly like the mysterious man from her dream—it was undoubtedly the same person. She stood up and said, “Thank you, Boss Hu, for saving my life.” But upon hearing this, Boss Hu reacted with utter astonishment. He replied, "‘Boss Hu’ was the name my father used when he roamed the martial world years ago. He’s been missing for over a decade. My name is Hu Chengyan. That is my courtesy name.“ Though somewhat bewildered, Ying introduced herself first. Chengyan explained, ”I detest those bandits most of all. If we don't deal with them soon, my lord will surely punish me for dereliction of duty. The security situation around Xinye is deteriorating..."
Ying noticed Chengyan using terms unimaginable in modern times—words like “lord” and “Xinye.” These phrases clearly belonged to an earlier era. Chengyan's appearance hinted at mixed heritage, his handsomeness beyond description. They arrived at a place whose layout resembled those seen in period dramas, yet every brick and beam exuded rustic solidity, permeated with the aura of authentic life—a stark contrast to the artificial sets of film studios. Chengyan led Ying to an empty room. Though its structure felt somewhat aged, it was essentially no different from an ordinary dwelling. Chengyan said, “This is your room. Mine is just to the left. If you need anything, feel free to come find me. Wait! You can't wear those clothes like that. You'll be mistaken for a foreigner. I'll go to my room and find you something to wear.”
After Chengyan left, Ying's phone suddenly buzzed. The message was from someone named Professor Timing. Ying wondered, “Do I know this person? I'll check it out first, then block them.” The message popped up: "Hello, I'm Professor Timing. I'm an investigator with the Timing Police looking into temporal turbulence. I observed you being sucked into the time tunnel at my lab entrance. Due to the extreme instability of this turbulence, the entry and exit points have no corresponding relationship. We've confirmed you're currently in the 12th year of the Jian'an era of the Eastern Han Dynasty, AD 207. At this time, Cao Cao has unified the north, and Liu Bei is residing in Xinye, Jingzhou. There's no need to worry. As a member of the Timing Police, it is my duty to help resolve your situation." Ying vaguely recalled hearing the term “Timing Police” in online urban legends, never imagining they actually existed. That their agents would seek her out... To verify if this was a scam, she fired off some tricky questions at the Professor Timing. Realizing time was running out, he sent her photos of his shoulder insignia and work ID to prove his legitimacy.
Another message arrived from Professor Timing: “I'll periodically send you historical data. Under no circumstances alter history—doing so would plunge us into utter chaos. Keep your phone hidden; no one believes you're a time traveler. Proceed with extreme caution—this era is a dystopian prototype.” Ying ultimately chose to trust Professor Timing. She asked, “When exactly can I go back?” Professor replied helplessly, “I don't know. Your fate lies in your own hands. Whether you return or not is your decision.”
Ying began to worry. If she couldn't return, how would those around her feel upon discovering her disappearance? She thought, “My parents probably won't even notice. They only care about that straight-A sister of mine. They won't give a damn about me.” Just then, Chengyan knocked on the door and handed Ying some clothes. He added that if they didn't fit, she could alter them slightly since he had a sewing kit and scissors. With that, he left the room. Ying picked up the garments. Sure enough, they were too large. Just then, she heard voices outside. A crisp, masculine voice declared, “I told you not to buy clothes recklessly! You just handed them to that vagrant woman you brought along!”
Ying had neither the interest nor the patience to pay attention to the quarrel outside. Fortunately, she knew how to make clothes. In her modern life, she was a cosplayer who crafted all her own outfits. Unfortunately, sewing machines didn't exist in ancient times, so she had to alter the clothes by hand to make them smaller. That gray robe was truly too long. She eventually altered it into a dress, shortening it slightly to make it wearable. The outer coat looked genuinely odd when worn, so she cut off both sleeves and reduced the size. Though the top now fit, the matching trousers were utterly mismatched, leaving her no choice but to discard them. This experience of altering clothes truly brought Ying back to the days of cosplay. However, her parents strongly opposed such activities, even secretly discarding all her costumes. Since her parents only saw her academically gifted younger sister, they completely disregarded her older sister's feelings. Not returning home might actually be a relief.
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and then Add to home screen.