Chapter 2

"Chirp chirp... chirp chirp..."

When Fang Luoya began to regain consciousness, he heard the clear and cheerful chirping of birds not far from his ear. He struggled to open his eyes and looked up at the thatched roof above him, a hint of confusion flashing through his mind. Then he slowly turned his head to look in the direction from which the chirping was coming.

What he saw was a window, and not far outside the window, green branches and leaves bathed in rays of sunlight. A few yellow-feathered birds were hopping and chirping merrily on the branches. Several warm and brilliant rays of sunlight slanted through the rough wooden window, casting a cozy glow on the bed, making him feel warm all over. A faint, fresh breeze, unlike anything he had ever experienced, gently blew into the room through the window.

"It's not a cave..." Fang Luoya looked around with a mix of surprise and doubt, then looked at the animal skin beneath him. Recalling the primitive-looking man from before he fainted, he quickly felt all over his body to make sure everything was fine. Only then did he heave a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, thank goodness..."

He struggled to get out of bed, a bit of tension in his heart, and walked to the window to look outside. His pupils couldn't help but narrow slightly.

The wooden house seemed to be built on a high cliff, with a stone platform about five to six meters wide outside. At the edge of the platform stood a peculiar tree about as thick as a bowl. Beyond the platform, there was an endless expanse of vast mountains...

Although he had seen many mountains before, Fang Luoya had never seen such a vast and boundless scene...

"This seems... really not my world... Where am I? Could I really have traveled through time?"

Just as Fang Luoya was staring at the vast mountains in a daze, a clear and slightly childish voice suddenly reached his ears...

Hearing the strange and unfamiliar words, Fang Luoya turned his head and saw a pretty little girl, about eleven or twelve years old, carrying a wooden bucket and walking into the stone platform from around the corner. She was looking at him with surprise.

Seeing Fang Luoya's stunned expression and lack of response, the little girl paused in confusion, then chirped a few more words at him.

Fang Luoya was indeed stunned. Looking at the little girl, who was wearing a short animal skin coat and boots, with her legs exposed and no modern adornments, and her slightly messy hair, he was at a loss...

After a while, he tried to understand the strange words the little girl was saying. Suddenly, it felt as if something was about to burst out of his mind. Countless images and sounds exploded in his head, making his brain feel like it was about to explode with pain.

"Ah..." Fang Luoya clutched his head tightly, letting out a pained cry. His vision went black, and he fainted again.

The little girl stood there, staring in shock as Fang Luoya fell straight down from the window. She let out a scream, dropped her bucket, and ran into the room...

In a daze, Fang Luoya felt as if he had experienced countless scenes, heard countless sounds, and gone through countless events in the moment he fainted...

It seemed as if he had returned to the moment he was startled by a snake and fell off a cliff; the next moment, he found himself soaring in the air, looking down at the magnificent and wondrous mountains from a great height; then he was back in the classroom, listening to the professor explain traditional Chinese medicine formulas, and after class, he rushed back to the dorm to play League of Legends with his roommates...

At one point, he was fighting a fierce bird in the air; at another, he seemed to be back in his childhood, with his old man leading him up the mountain to gather herbs and identify various plants...

Then, countless people with strange appearances and speaking strange languages appeared in his mind.

Various images and messages flashed through his mind.

Finally, when Fang Luoya felt something warm and pulsating in his chest, emitting a wave of heat, he gradually regained some consciousness. The fragments of images slowly faded away, and although he still felt a dull ache in his head, he could tell that it was either a dream or something else.

In a daze, he heard the clear voice again, which now seemed familiar, and this time, he could understand what it meant...

"Shaman... Is the big brother okay?"

Another slightly hoarse voice followed: "Yunling... Don't worry, he just fainted... He'll be fine..."

"Oh... That's good, that's good... I was really scared just now, I thought the big brother had died again..."

The little girl's clear voice rang out again, the joy in her words making anyone who heard it feel better.

"Naive child... Don't worry, let the shaman check him again..." The hoarse voice sounded kind again, and Fang Luoya felt a rough finger touch his eyelid, gently pushing it up to examine his eyes.

The feeling of someone pushing his eyelid was unpleasant, and Fang Luoya frowned, forcing himself to open his eyes...

"Oh... You're awake..."

Fang Luoya's eyes, still a bit unfocused, turned to the direction of the voice and saw a pair of wise, yellowish eyes smiling at him.

The owner of these eyes had an ancient face, with white hair tied up with a grayish-white hairpin in a peculiar style.

Under a rough, gray robe that seemed to be made of hemp, a thin, not very tall body was revealed.

Seeing this old man, Fang Luoya felt a bit relieved. It seemed that this place he had suddenly arrived at was not a completely primitive land, at least there were still some man-made textiles...

"Can you understand me?"

The old man's voice was slightly low and hoarse, but it sounded quite comfortable to Fang Luoya's ears.

"Yes..." Fang Luoya nodded subconsciously, uttering a word. But he was surprised to find that his subconscious words were the same as the old man's.

"Oh... That's good, that's good!" The old man's eyes showed a hint of surprise, then he smiled and said, "Young man, what's your name? Where are you from?"

Hearing the old man's question, Fang Luoya subconsciously frowned, looked around, then at his T-shirt and jeans, and then at the little girl's animal skin coat and boots, and the old man's rough hemp robe. He blinked and shook his head decisively, "I don't remember, I don't remember anything... I only remember my name is Fang Luoya!"

"You don't remember..." The old man, known as the shaman, smiled with a hint of amusement in his wise eyes, "It's okay, you might have hit your head... Maybe you'll remember later!"

Seeing the shaman's smile, Fang Luoya's face turned slightly red. He quickly changed the subject, "Elder... Do you know how I got here?"

"How did you get here?" The shaman looked deeply at Fang Luoya, a hint of unusual expression in his eyes, then said, "You encountered a leopard in the mountains and were saved by Yunling's father, who carried you back..."

"Oh... I see..."

At that moment, heavy footsteps were heard from outside the door.

Hearing the footsteps, the little girl, Yunling, immediately ran out happily, "Dad is back!"

In the outer room, the sound of something heavy being dropped was heard, followed by a deep voice, "Cough... Yunling... How is that boy?"

"The big brother is awake, the shaman is checking him..." Yunling called out happily, "We caught a big wild boar... Dad, I picked some leopard mushrooms today, I can cook fresh mushroom soup for the big brother..."

"Oh? The shaman is here?"

Then a tall, muscular figure quickly entered the inner room, blocking the light from the window and making the room darker.

"Shaman... You're here!"

The muscular man greeted the thin shaman respectfully, looked at Fang Luoya, who was sitting up in bed, with a smile, and then turned to the shaman, "Shaman... How is he?"

"He's doing well, no serious problems... His internal injuries haven't fully healed, and his head is a bit injured, so he doesn't remember much," the shaman said, looking up at the tall man and smiling, "You came back early today, looks like you had a good harvest!"

"Yes... Cough... Cough..." The muscular man covered his mouth and coughed a few times, then smiled, "Following your directions this morning, we found a group of wild boars on the hillside..."

The sudden darkness took a while for Fang Luoya to adjust to. The man, like Yunling, was wearing an animal skin coat, with muscular arms and legs exposed, and was about 1.9 meters tall. His rugged face was now filled with a cheerful smile, but his complexion was slightly pale, with a hint of red from the coughing.

Fang Luoya felt relieved, realizing that the man's face must have been smeared with mud or something, which had scared him earlier...

"Good... Good!" The shaman nodded in satisfaction and smiled, "It looks like our tribe will have enough meat for the next few days!"

After a few more words, the shaman turned to look at Fang Luoya in bed, "Aya, your internal injuries haven't fully healed, so you shouldn't engage in strenuous activities for the next two days. Take your medicine on time..."

"Okay, thank you!" Feeling the concern in the shaman's eyes, Fang Luoya nodded quickly.

"Good... Good..." The shaman nodded in satisfaction, then waved to the muscular man and walked out slowly.

Seeing the shaman and the muscular man leave, Fang Luoya, still a bit confused, closed his eyes and began to try to analyze his current situation.

However, before he could think much, he heard voices from outside...

Although he was surprised that he could hear the shaman and the muscular man's conversation through two walls, the content of their conversation quickly caught his attention.

Because their conversation seemed to be about him!

"Mu Yong... Have you really decided to keep him?" The shaman's old voice sounded low.

"Yes, Shaman... We only have Yunling, cough... Having another man in the family is good!" The muscular man's voice was filled with joy.

The shaman spoke slowly to Mu Yong, "But you should know... Aya's origins are unknown, and he doesn't seem to be from our tribe. He's already quite old, and his bones and muscles are very weak, far inferior to the children in the tribe... Even if he stays, it will be hard for him to become a good hunter. The tribe's food supply is already tight, so this will be a heavy burden for you!"

Mu Yong was silent for a moment, then laughed loudly, "Shaman... I met Yunling's mother in the same way... Cough... Now I've met this child, so I've decided to keep him. Cough... If I don't, he might not survive in the forest. Even if he can't become a good hunter, I'll share my food with him!"

Hearing Mu Yong's words, the shaman seemed to smile, "Alright, I just had to remind you as the shaman of the tribe. Since you've made your decision, you should give Aya more meat for the next two days to help him recover. Once he's better, if he's willing, I'll initiate him into the tribe!"

"However, you should know that the initiation ritual requires sacrifices, which your family will have to provide. The 15th is the day after tomorrow, so you need to hurry if you want to do it this month."

"Understood, Shaman, I'll make sure he eats more to help him recover and add another strong man to our family and the tribe!" Mu Yong raised his arm, showing his muscular bicep, and laughed heartily, "As for the sacrifices, that's not a problem! Cough..."

The shaman laughed and patted Mu Yong's muscular arm, then called out to the room, "Yunling... Come, let's get the medicine. You must take good care of your brother..."

"Okay, I will!" Yunling, who was packing up, looked at Fang Luoya, nodded firmly, and her gentle face showed determination before she turned and walked out.

Fang Luoya, with his eyes closed, listened to their conversation and recalled his experiences after falling off the cliff. His hands clenched slightly, and he came to a conclusion: it seemed he had really traveled through time, and it was unlikely he could return...

Moreover, it seemed that surviving in this world would not be easy...

"Hey... Kid! You're called Aya?" The deep voice from beside him quickly interrupted Fang Luoya's thoughts.

"Ah... Yes, my name is Fang Luoya... Uncle, hello!" He slowly opened his eyes, seeing the man looking at him kindly. Recalling the conversation he had just heard, although his head still ached from the earlier blow, Fang Luoya felt a warm feeling in his heart.

"Fang Luoya? Alright... It sounds a bit like a human name!" Mu Yong shrugged, then looked at Fang Luoya, "The shaman said your head was injured. Do you remember where you're from?"

"I don't remember!" Fang Luoya shook his head firmly, "I don't remember anything now!"

"That's fine... Ha ha... It's better not to remember!" Mu Yong seemed very pleased with Fang Luoya's answer, patted his shoulder hard, and laughed loudly, "Since I found you, you're part of my family now..."