Chapter 1

People are always forgetful, so after traveling a certain distance in life, they inevitably stop to sort out their gains and losses from the recent past. If the gains outweigh the losses, it proves that the time was not wasted, and they will joyfully prepare for the next journey. If the losses outweigh the gains, it proves that the time was wasted, and they will wish they could turn back time and live it over again. There is no medicine for regret, so what is lost cannot be reclaimed, no matter how fast you run, even if you run faster than Liu Xiang. This is a universal rule of life. Are there really no exceptions? In an era where even Newton's laws can be overturned, it is understandable that there might be one or two things that defy science.

Yun Ye had just taken the regret pill, but the effect was a bit too strong. When he found himself standing naked in the wilderness, all he could do was stare blankly.

The wilderness was beautiful, with a green carpet of grass stretching from his feet to the horizon. Occasional wildflowers poking out from the grass added a touch of color.

"Flap, flap," a pheasant suddenly darted out from the grass, startling Yun Ye and snapping him out of his daze. His eyes regained their sparkle, and his mind cleared. "Where am I?" Yun Ye asked himself. Ten minutes ago, he was searching for two missing foreigners in the Gobi Desert with his backpack. Now, he was standing naked on the grassland. This was beyond his comprehension. Looking up at the scorching sun, it still looked familiar.

Yun Ye confirmed he was still on Earth. The low willow trees and scattered locust trees quietly mingled with the knee-high wormwood, which calmed his nerves. Since he was in the northwest, it wasn't a big deal; he just needed to walk a bit further. Yun Ye guessed he had encountered a wormhole, like walking from the front to the back of a piece of paper, but he was lucky not to have left the paper. He had lived in the northwest wilderness for fifteen years, experienced sandstorms, mudslides, quicksand, and wolf packs, and been bitten by giant ants. His nerves were already tough, so encountering a wormhole was no big deal. The wind blew, and he felt a chill.

It wasn't warm enough in the northwest in May for him to run around naked. He remembered that before he left, he was refilling his water at the sixth water station when he saw a flash of gold at the bottom of the pond, thinking it was a gold nugget. When he reached out to grab it, he was sucked into this place. No wonder greed is a mortal sin. Yun Ye slapped his right hand hard, blaming his greed for causing this trouble. He covered his private parts and searched for the pond. On the fourth lap, he finally heard the sound of running water. Overjoyed, he hopped to the water's edge and saw a clear stream flowing through the grass. Following the stream upstream, he soon reached its source, where a pile of clothes was floating at the outlet. Yun Ye retrieved all his clothes, including his shoes and socks, and even a frying pan he used to cook instant noodles. He wrung out his clothes and spread them to dry on a nearby tree, sighing with relief. At least he wouldn't have to run around naked anymore. If he could get his backpack back, he would have no more desires.

Yun Ye spread his hands and looked at his white, tender hands, which were a full circle smaller than his usual hands. These were not the hands of an adult. He had noticed this problem but tried not to think about it. He grabbed a strand of hair hanging over his shoulder and pulled it hard. It hurt; this wasn't a dream. Turning to look at the familiar, young face in the water, Yun Ye sensed that things were not as simple as he thought.

Survival was the top priority. In the wilderness, you could go without clothes, but not without shoes. Running, an instinct inherited from our ancestors, was clumsy but the most effective way to escape. Yun Ye knew that a water source in the wilderness was not a safe place to camp. With a faint hope, he endured the fear in his heart and stared at the spring, hoping the heavens would return his backpack. This was a pristine land that no one had ever visited, with a primeval atmosphere. Yun Ye knew he was just a mechanical technician, and to survive here, he needed equipment. Only with equipment could he get food and use tools to keep his fourteen-year-old body alive.

Yun Ye shook his heavy fur boots, which were wet and uncomfortable, making a "squelching" sound with each step. He held a thick wooden stick in his hand, occasionally poking the grass to boost his courage. The gods seemed to hear his plea, and a green canvas strap floated out from the water outlet. Yun Ye's eyes lit up, and he grabbed the strap, pulling hard. With a splash, a backpack taller than a person emerged from the water. Yun Ye clung to the backpack, feeling that this was his fate. He pulled out a spade, feeling much more at ease.

Not far from the stream was a red sandstone area, barren and lifeless. Yun Ye moved his camp there, carefully clearing a flat spot. The red sandstone, heated by the sun, was scorching. He spread his wet clothes on the stones, confident they would dry in less than an hour. He set up his tent, leaving gaps on all sides to let the hot air dry it out. After checking that all his equipment was intact, Yun Ye sighed with relief. He had long given up hope for the GPS, knowing that the more precise something was, the easier it was to break. The compass still stubbornly pointed north, even though it was full of water. After using the intersection method on the map to determine his position, he was surprised to find that he was in the same place as before. How was this possible? Was the compass broken? After observing the plants, Yun Ye ruled out the possibility of a broken compass, but he was still puzzled. His powerful counterfeit phone had no signal, and the distant mountains looked the same as the barren Gobi Desert, covered in trees.

The wormhole hadn't changed his location, but had it changed time?

Yun Ye buried his head in his knees, feeling overwhelmed and confused. "Time travel" was a term he always thought was created by novelists, but now it was happening to him. Yun Ye always thought he was a family man, with his mother, wife, and son forming the strongest fortress in his heart. If it were just a matter of distance, he wouldn't consider it a problem. Even on Mars, he would kidnap some green aliens to send him home. But now, it was over a thousand years. The northwest, or more precisely, the disappearance of the Longzhong forest, happened after the Tang Dynasty. The drastic climate change and population explosion caused an ecological disaster. As a native of Longzhong, Yun Ye knew what this green landscape represented.

"Is it the Tang Dynasty? Or the Han? Or even the Qin? Please, not the Northern and Southern Dynasties. I'm just a small person, I can't bear too much responsibility."

Yun Ye muttered incoherently to himself.

The air was pure, the scenery beautiful, and even the rabbits were kind, hiding in the shadows to comfort him.

The gurgling stream washed away the blood, and Yun Ye's eyes gleamed as he looked at the plump rabbit. His stomach was already growling.

Yun Ye chewed on the delicious rabbit meat, grease dripping from the corners of his mouth. The campfire was still burning, and the sun had set, casting a red glow over the mountains. Birds of all sizes flew toward the distant forest, and Yun Ye felt a deep sorrow, hugging half a roasted rabbit and sobbing loudly. The cold night air woke him from his sleep. Last night, he felt as if he had returned to the noisy world, with his wife's tenderness, his son's rebellion, and his mother's nagging all present again. He wiped his face, dispelling the last bit of nostalgia.

Survival was the most important thing now. Only by living could he think about anything else. Today, he would face his new life head-on. He rekindled the campfire, heated the leftover rabbit meat, and ate it slowly with boiling water. Food was precious, and after savoring the last bit of grease on the bone, Yun Ye's resolve hardened. He couldn't live like a wild man in the wilderness forever. Humans are social animals with various emotional needs. Living alone would lead to regression, with language and cognitive functions deteriorating while physical strength increased. Yun Ye didn't want to be a wild man in the wilderness.

Where was the path? As Lu Xun said, where many people walk, a path is formed. But Yun Ye was the first to step into the wilderness, so he had to make his own path. After walking less than a mile, he was already out of breath. A fourteen-year-old boy couldn't have much stamina, especially with a thirty-pound backpack. Regardless, Yun Ye decided to follow the stream, which would eventually lead to the Yellow River. The cold water made his feet numb, the sun scorched his scalp, and the tall grass along the stream cut his face like knives, leaving red marks. The sudden changes in temperature could cause a cold. Yun Ye saw a large sandy area ahead, about two acres in size. He hurried over, but as soon as he stepped onto the red sand, a black shadow lunged at him. In a panic, he swung his spade at the shadow. A "baa" of pain echoed as a gray wild goat fell into the stream, splashing water all over him. The goat struggled to stand, but its leg was probably broken. It fell back into the water as soon as it tried to get up. Seeing its pain, Yun Ye raised his spade again.

The rabbit leg he had eaten in the morning was long digested, and his stomach growled. At this awkward age, a young man could eat his father poor. Yun Ye sighed, took out his Yengishe knife, and began to butcher the poor goat. He kept only the heart and kidneys, burying the other organs deep in the sand. Thanks to his wife's efforts, his cooking skills had improved significantly. After a hearty meal of roasted goat, the spicy aftertaste lingered in his mouth. He smoked the remaining meat with lemongrass, never imagining that the common green grass in the northwest was perfect for smoking meat.

Yun Ye felt proud of his strong social skills. The first time he tasted the old Uighur man's roasted goat, he almost swallowed his tongue. It took a set of Yengishe knives and a week of hard work to get the secret recipe from the old man, who almost refused to share it. Although using it to smoke meat seemed a bit degrading, it was the best way to preserve the meat in the early summer heat, which would otherwise attract flies within hours.

After sincerely thanking the goat, Yun Ye put on his dried clothes and set off again in search of people.

The stream turned at the foot of the mountain and flowed east, like 99.9% of the world's rivers. Yun Ye followed the stream for three days, and the trees and grass gradually thinned out, but the cities on the map were nowhere to be seen.

Looking around, the entire basin was devoid of human presence. The green grass covered the land, and occasionally, a bird would dart into the sky. Herds of wild horses galloped and played on the grassland, their manes shimmering like golden and silver threads in the sunlight. Yellow sheep grazed in the grass, occasionally lifting their heads to look into the distance. Even the pheasants flapped their wings low to the ground and then ran through the grass. The wind carried the scent of fresh grass.

The air was filled with the scent of various life forms, and nature was so beautiful.

Yun Ye was completely overwhelmed. What kind of scenery was this? Where were his concrete forests, the roar of cars, the acid fumes from factories, the towering chimneys of heavy industry, the much-maligned but era-defining municipal buildings, the beloved flying plastic bags, the hated crowds, the city noise that drove him crazy, and the mountains of rotting, stinking garbage?

Where were his loved ones?

Don't leave me alone!

Yun Ye lay on the soft grass, tears streaming down his face like a flood. In just a dream, the sea had turned into mulberry fields.

{Piaotian Literature}