Chapter 02 - Arrival at a Strange World

Chapter 2 - Arrival at a Strange World

As Gu Hai opened his eyes, his brain felt wave after wave of dizziness; he felt somewhat heavy-headed, as if his head was filled with lead. After a while, Gu Hai slowly recovered, and his head slightly cleared up.

Gu Hai didn’t wait for a complete recovery, and started to look at his surroundings when a hint of surprise suddenly appeared on his face!

The forest here was quite lush, and no matter which direction he looked, all he could see was a sea of trees. Gu Hai, half leaning under a tall tree, was suddenly a bit puzzled. Wasn't he looking at the Weiqi endgames in the cellar below the library? How did he suddenly appear inside a jungle, because not to mention Vast Ocean Villa, nowhere in the entire Capital City had such tall trees!

"Have I been kidnapped by someone? Even though I’ve been acting low-key, it is not an absolute secret, and there is always someone who knows the ins and outs of my mansion." Gu Hai slightly shook his head. Given his present condition, he most likely had not been kidnapped, but rather it was as if someone was playing a big joke on him!

Gu Hai tried to stand up, but in the next moment his body slightly swayed, and like a ball of mud, he softly landed against the tree trunk as if his body had been hollowed out. He simply could not muster even a bit of strength.

A wrinkle appeared on Gu Hai’s forehead. This was not a good thing. Gu Hai closed his eyes, as he wanted to carefully sort out and understand what happened. Why was he not in the cellar below the library, but instead inside this jungle?

Gu Hai shut his eyes, but instead of recalling what had happened, Gu Hai 'saw' a very strange scene in his mind.

A vast space appeared within his mind which had 100,000 Weiqi boards at the bottom, all placed next to each other, with an endgame setup on each one of them. These 100,000 endgames also seemed to be operating on their own; the pieces were constantly changing. A bizarre black piece was suspended over the 100,000 endgames like a king, overlooking the 100,000 incomplete Weiqi boards!

"Ah! You’re awake?" Gu Hai heard a slightly tender voice. This voice interrupted Gu Hai's thoughts as his consciousness withdrew from his mind. He tried to listen carefully, and understand where this voice came from. Suddenly, a youth carrying a backpack appeared before Gu Hai.

That youth was about 14 to 15 years old with a somewhat immature face, and wore a very simple coarse linen robe covered in patches.

Gu Hai looked at the innocent youth’s clothes and his own surroundings, and once again thought of the scene he had just witnessed within his own mind. How could he have possibly thought that he had been transported to another world? Moreover, it was due to that black piece!

Gu Hai was only surprised for a moment, and then he returned to normal right away. Although he was confused, now was simply not the time to contemplate about this issue!

Whether it be playing Weiqi or doing business, anxiousness was the most unwanted factor. Gu Hai had long been accustomed to maintaining a peace of mind in the face of difficulty, so that he could solve the problem at hand better.

"Were you attacked? Otherwise, how could a man just collapse in the Black Fiend Mountain Range? Fortunately, you ran into me first. If I had not gotten you to this fairly safe place, you absolutely would not have woken up safely!" The youth spoke with curiosity. "You might have encountered bandits who would have robbed you of all of your valuables. Even worse, if the wild animals in the mountains had seen you, then you absolutely would have been killed!"

Gu Hai looked at the youth with extreme attention to detail, and discovered that the youth's eyes were extremely pure. Obviously, he was still somewhat innocent. Gu Hai lowered the vigilance in his heart, and asked back: "What about you? How can a person come alone to this Black Fiend Mountain Range, or is it that you are unafraid of the wild animals in these mountains?"

Gu Hai didn't mention to the youth how he would repay this kindness shown to him. In his mind this grace would be forever engraved; he was just waiting for an appropriate time to repay him. Gu Hai would naturally repay this kindness!

"Hehe, I've come to pick herbs. Oh, I thought you might be hungry, so I went out to pick some berries for you to eat!" The youth grinned and took out his backpack. When he put it down and opened it there really were many medicinal herbs and berries. He took out some fist-sized berries and handed them to Gu Hai and said: “As for the wild animals, I don't fear them! I know the location of every fierce wild animal’s domain in the outer ring of the Black Fiend Mountain Range. As long as I bypass the domains of the wild animals, they simply won’t be able to find me."

"Oh, looking at you, you only seem about 14 to 15 years old. How can a child like you come to these mountains and pick herbs by yourself? Don’t you have a family would be worried about you?" Gu Hai asked as he received the berries. Now that he had arrived in this world, Gu Hai needed to collect all the information he could, but there were some things which he could not just openly ask.

The youth became somewhat dispirited as some sadness appeared on his face. After a long moment of silence, the youth continued speaking. "My father was also a herbalist, but he died young, leaving me and my mother behind. Mother is constantly ill, and has a weak constitution who has a weak constitution and is constantly ill. She is currently bedridden. As for me, I cannot do heavy labor, so I can only come to the mountains and pick some herbs. I sell these herbs to the pharmacies to earn a little for my mother's treatments. Moreover, my mother’s treatment requires precious herbs which I cannot afford, so I can only try my luck in the mountains."

The youth was only sad for a moment, but then he became cheerful as he happily said: "But today I had a pretty good day. I picked up a fairly good number of herbs. Many of them can be exchanged for a bit of money which should be enough to buy a tonic for my mother to nourish her body!"

This was one very optimistic and filial child, and Gu Hai believed that this youth could be trusted.

Gu Hai shifted the topic, and started to chat about other things!

The youth was still inexperienced in the ways of the world; he was like a blank canvas. Gu Hai didn’t need to resort to clever tricks, as just casually asking allowed him to get everything he wanted to know from the youth's mouth!

The youth’s name was Tang Chu. He had just turned 15 this year, and lived in a small town located on the border of the Chen Kingdom. This small town relied on the resources of the Black Fiend Mountain Range for their development; however because the location was too remote, the population was very small as a result.

The Chen Kingdom was one of eight empires, but excluding the Chen Kingdom, Tang Chu didn't know the name of the other seven empires, not to mention other important things!

In the Chen Kingdom, other than the King, Chen Wuji, the Crown Prince, Chen Taiji, and the Chen Kingdom’s number one beauty, Chen Xian, Tang Chu knew nothing else about the kingdom. After all, Tang Chu's town was too remote, and Tang Chu had only heard these names from the people who had visited his remote town from time to time!

However, what made Gu Hai really surprised was the presence of cultivators in this world who were not just those imagined fantasies like in his previous world. Moreover, in this world, there were many Cultivation Sects. These Cultivation Sects were cut off from the rest of the world; it was near impossible for a mortal to even get in touch with them.

The eight empires belonged to mortal countries. Although mortals could cultivate, the most they would reach was only the Houtian Stage. Only the Cultivation Sects would have cultivators with higher stages. According to legends, the higher the cultivation level was, the longer their lifespan would be. They also possessed peerless, mysterious and powerful spiritual powers. They had the power to call upon the wind and rain, move mountains and fill seas; they could do things which were out of humanity’s reach!

In storybooks, it was mentioned that there were some lucky mortals who were selected by powerful cultivators, and could inherit their duty. These were not at all empty words. Such things did exist; though such a situation was uncommon, it was still a possibility.

After learning this, inside the tranquil heart of Gu Hai, some mighty waves were surging. "I can cultivate to become immortal, and live forever!" Gu Hai yearned in his heart.

Gu Hai knew that now was not the time to think about cultivation, as the most crucial thing for the moment was to get out of the Black Fiend Mountain Range. After all, it was the home of wild beasts and bandits; it was not safe!

After talking for so long and eating some berries, Gu Hai seemed to have regained his strength. Gu Hai, who was leaning on the tree trunk, slowly stood up and revealed to Tang Chu his intentions to leave the mountains!

Tang Chu looked at Gu Hai, and said with a smile: "Uncle Gu, since it’s getting late, how about staying the rest of the night at my house. There is an extra bed at my house, and though it is a little broken, sleeping on it shouldn’t be a problem."

Gu Hai had already told him to call him by his own name, but Tang Chu insisted on calling Gu Hai as Uncle Gu; Gu Hai could only comply with him!

Gu Hai looked at Tang Chu who with an eager expression slightly nodded. "Good, I hope your mother won’t think I'm disturbing you!"

"How could she? Mother will absolutely be happy!" Tang Chu had an excited look on his face as he happily walked towards the outside of the mountain. "Uncle Gu, follow me slowly, and be careful on the mountain roads!"

Gu Hai slightly smiled, and slowly followed Tang Chu as he walked down the hill!