Several bamboo houses nestled at the foot of a hillside, devoid of any modern touch, yet they also lacked the aesthetic charm of antiquity. They were simply shabby houses with bamboo walls and thatched roofs. Deep in Zhou Li's memory, his kindergarten had looked somewhat similar; it was converted from a clan hall of a Lan family in the village. Such houses were drafty, making them uncomfortable to live in.
Faint noises emanated from inside.
The language was obscure, delivered in a long, drawn-out chant with fluctuating pitches and rhythmic pauses. Zhou Li couldn't understand it at all, recognizing only the calm voice of an old man, with several children's voices copying him.
"Jiangnan may harvest lotuses; how expansive are the lotus leaves..."
"Jiangnan may harvest lotuses; how expansive are the lotus leaves..."
"The fish play..."
The sound suddenly stopped.
Driven by curiosity, Zhou Li walked towards the bamboo house, but before he could get close, an old man appeared at the doorway.
The old man had a kind face and opened his mouth to speak to him.
His voice was as calm as before.
But Zhou Li still couldn't understand the old man's words, which were too far removed from Mandarin. He could only guess that the old man might be asking who he was, but even if he responded, would the old man understand him?
"My name is Zhou Li."
Zhou Li responded anyway.
Upon hearing this, the old man simply smiled without speaking, his face crinkling into a network of wrinkles as his eyes sized him up.
He probably didn't understand, did he? Zhou Li thought.
The old man's eyes, murky like those of most elderly people, seemed to see right through him. Meanwhile, the world around them began to ripple with a very subtle tremor.
The old man's smile grew even more radiant and kind, and he spoke another sentence.
As soon as he finished speaking, the ripples in the world intensified. Suddenly, with a loud BOOM, the sky began to tremble, the earth shook, and a group of panicked children ran out from the bamboo house behind him.
"CRACK!"
The scene shattered and fell away like a mirror.
The old man remained standing there, calm and composed. He seemed to feel nothing as he continued to speak with a smile, even ignoring the children running and shouting around him.
One more sentence from him, and all the scenery of the world vanished completely. Only his blurry form remained, existing with Zhou Li in the void.
The next sentence was almost inaudible to Zhou Li before the world completely disappeared.
When Zhou Li woke up, he let out a deep breath. His eyes widened instinctively, his breathing rapid.
Huai Xu's deliberately lowered voice came from beside him, "You're awake again?"
"...Yes."
Zhou Li was still somewhat dazed. As he tried to calm himself and sort out the jumble in his mind, he casually asked, "Haven't you slept?"
"I woke up," Huai Xu replied.
"Woke up?" Zhou Li repeated.
"Yes."
"What did you dream of?" Zhou Li asked.
"I dreamed of Master Ming."
"What happened?"
"The Mirror Zone created a complete him, a complete Master Ming. He knew at once that I came from the future. He said to me..." Huai Xu's voice grew softer, "he said I must have suffered a lot. Then I woke up."
"Me too."
"You too?!"
"..." Zhou Li, while the memory was still fresh, mimicked a sentence spoken by Master Ming and asked Huai Xu, "What does this sentence mean?"
"That's an old way of speaking. He was asking your name."
"...And this one?" Zhou Li repeated.
"He asked, 'Are you from the Mirror Zone?'" Huai Xu paused, then explained, "He discerned the level of your Spiritual Power, so you must be from the next era. He realized he was a fake, a creation of the Mirror Zone. He was too powerful. In that situation, the Mirror Zone would collapse quickly, which is why you woke up so soon."
"...This one," Zhou Li continued mimicking.
"I can't quite make it out; your imitation isn't perfect. Let me think..." After a moment of silence, Huai Xu said uncertainly, "It sounds like he was asking what the future world is like."
"..." Zhou Li continued.
"He said," Huai Xu paused, "he looks forward to a true meeting next time."
"I see..."
Zhou Li murmured, almost to himself, his emotions still in turmoil.
This was like a conversation spanning a vast expanse of time and space—wonderfully incredible. Its heavy, dreamlike quality and a strange, romantic hue made his heart pound violently for a moment.
"Why doesn't he come to find me?" Huai Xu asked.
"I don't know."
"..."
That night, Huai Xu didn't speak again. Zhou Li didn't know when he fell asleep again. This time, he indeed got his wish. He returned to a time when his grandfather was still alive, startling the old man. After spending a great deal of effort to persuade him, they began talking. They had only chatted for a short while about national affairs and the global situation when he heard a rooster crow.
At first, he thought it was a chicken raised by a neighbor. But after it crowed a few more times, he woke from his dream. It was already past nine in the morning. This place actually had chickens, which surprised Zhou Li somewhat.
He sat up, feeling very drained. Turning his head, he saw Brother Nan sitting on the bed beside him, combing her hair.
"You're awake?" Brother Nan said.
"Yeah."
"What did you dream about?" she asked.
"I dreamed of Master Ming."
"Didn't dream about me?"
"Dreamed about you too."
"What did you dream about me?"
"Dreamed about you when you were a kid."
"And then?"
"Then I was woken up by Tuanzi." Zhou Li turned his head and looked around. "Where's Tuanzi? I heard she didn't dream about the Demon King all night."
"She and Huai Xu went out. That little thing... I don't know who provoked her, but she started squawking at me first thing this morning," Brother Nan complained a little.
"What about you?"
"What? Oh, I also dreamt about you," Brother Nan grinned. "You were quite cute as a kid."
"Did you hit me?"
"Of course not. Am I that kind of person?"
"Then what did you do with me?"
"I took you out to play for the day."
"What specifically?"
"I'm not telling you the specifics!" Brother Nan thought for a moment, then asked, "By the way, did you have any close friends or anything when you were a kid?"
"Not really, why?"
"Oh, no reason, no reason. It's good that you didn't. I beat up all the kids in your village! That'll teach them to bully you!" Brother Nan leaned her head back and let out a hearty laugh. "Brother Nan has avenged you!"
"..." Zhou Li's expression turned a bit unpleasant.
"What's wrong?" Brother Nan asked with concern.
"...Why would you hit other people? Didn't you say you were going to hit me?" Zhou Li frowned. "You're not very trustworthy, are you?"
"I was just kidding... Honestly, you're unbelievable! Isn't it good that I helped you by hitting them? Or are you only happy if I hit you?"
"What's so great about bullying a bunch of kids!"
"...None of your business."
"..."
Given Zhou Li's temper in the dream, he would have already pinned Brother Nan on the bed and forcibly smoothed down her stubborn cowlick by now.
Time to get up!
Zhou Li threw off the blankets, stood up, put on his shoes, and neatly folded the blankets. He glanced at Brother Nan, helped her fold hers too, and then took her to find Huai Xu and Tuanzi.
Apparently, Huai Xu hadn't slept since that incident the previous night, while Tuanzi had been tormented by Brother Nan all night long.
Lord Dumpling was furious!
「It was noon.」
They thanked Tao Zhi and the elders, then left the Mirror Zone.
Brother Nan stuck close to Zhou Li, somewhat reluctant to leave. It was as if she had stumbled into a fairy tale world and now had to depart. To her, this place was not just magical but also thrillingly new.
Novelty was paramount. Brother Nan loved new experiences.
As they walked along a small path in the Wangtian Tree Scenic Area, Zhou Li casually chatted with Huai Xu. "The Mirror Zone has been around for many years, hasn't it?"
"Probably. I'm not sure of the specifics."
"So, Tao Zhi and the others have been here for a long time?"
"At least a thousand years, I'd imagine."
"I see."
Zhou Li pondered.
After leaving the scenic area, they drove straight back to Banna, arriving almost at dusk.
They didn't stay in the urban district again but lodged in Gaozhuang.
Brother Nan said that since they had come all this way, it would be too much of a loss not to spend a night in Gaozhuang, and fortunately, accommodation there wasn't much more expensive.
Afterward, they discussed whether to make a trip to the border to "check in." Brother Nan was keen to go, but Zhou Li wasn't. It was very close to Chinese New Year, and Zhou Li felt Brother Nan needed to go home for the New Year visits. Given her large family, she would typically start accompanying her elders on visits to relatives and friends after the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month.
And he also needed to go and bum a ride on Zheng Zhilan's horse.