The Traveller - Chapter 1
Xiu
He opened the leather bag, and inside, there was nothing but a piece of dried meat the size of a palm and a bottle of wine. Xiu closed his eyes and leaned against the tree. The last time he left the village, it was still the sweltering summer, but now it had become quite cold. He opened the wine bottle and took a sip; the sweet aroma of dried grapes and ripe berries melted in his mouth, bringing a little warmth to his body.
According to his father, there was a large lake behind this forest, and the path to another world lay at the bottom of the lake. What was on the other side, his father didn’t know, as he had stopped at the entrance. He only said that the uncle who went in disappeared!
Every time Xiu heard this, he would wonder if his uncle had encountered danger, prompting his father to concoct another world to make himself feel better. However, Xiu would soon learn the truth, as his journey was to find the entrance to that other world.
The current world was actually not bad. As the strongest hunter in the village, Xiu was not only young and handsome but also had excellent physical abilities and quick reactions. Coupled with his intelligence, he was well-respected and popular among women, akin to an SS-level character in a game. Yet, Xiu often felt that something was missing, and that insatiable thirst felt like overflowing black water, tormenting him continuously.
The Cave
After passing through the narrow path obscured by aquatic plants at the lake's bottom, Xiu surfaced to find a cave on the right, just as his father had described. It didn’t shimmer with the wondrous light he had imagined, which disappointed him a bit! It was just an ordinary cave about 2 meters deep. No wonder his father said the uncle had disappeared; it was impossible not to see if someone was there.
Taking a deep breath, Xiu stepped into the cave...
Before him was a pitch-black void, yet despite it being just a 2-meter cave, Xiu could feel the cave's edge with his hands as he moved forward. He didn’t look back to see if the entrance was still there; he felt no nostalgia for that world. As long as he could move forward, he was willing to embrace any world.
After advancing for some time, just as Xiu was about to go mad and run back, his hand touched a cold slab. Instinctively, he began to explore it with his palm. Suddenly, the slab emitted a ringing sound, and he heard a voice say, “Xiu, welcome! Please choose your next destination!” He felt as if hundreds of codes appeared before him, such as FC011741PP37923 and SP081495CC23792! Xiu cursed inwardly, wondering what these were and how to choose.
As he briefly considered the first code before him, the voice asked, “Do you want to choose FC011741PP37923?” He thought, "Fine, I’ll choose that one… uh, whatever!"
A Mirror
Xiu found himself in a dazzling space filled with intricate and beautiful patterns! Fresh flowers adorned the table. Before him stood a woman, dressed in an outfit made of an unknown material; her upper body was tightly fitted, making it seems uncomfortable to wear, while her lower body resembled lush branches, making Xiu doubt if such a woman could do anything in such form.
The woman was very pale, not the kind who would be popular in the village. However, her eyes sparkled with a captivating light. She stared directly at Xiu and began to pose and move her body in different angles, fixating on him. Xiu found it strange; normally, one would at least ask who he was and why he was there! So he asked her, “Who are you? What are you doing?” The woman suddenly stepped back in shock, looking at Xiu with disbelief!
Once she settled down, she touched Xiu’s face and said, “Are you talking to me? Am I going crazy? Why is the mirror talking to me?” “Mirror? What is a mirror? Why are you touching my face? I don’t like that! My name is Xiu. Who are you? Why am I here? By the way, why can’t I move?”
The woman tilted her head, then had a look of realization. “You must be the spirit trapped in the mirror, here to find me, right? Do you need to complete some task to break a curse or something?”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Aren’t you the one trapped? Don’t you need to break a curse? I’m just a traveler visiting this world!” The woman laughed, “Clearly, you’re the one who can’t move; why would I be the one trapped? Have you finished looking around? Are you leaving?”
Xiu silently wished to return, but nothing happened. It seemed the woman was right; he was the one who was trapped. So what was he supposed to do? In this other world, was he just supposed to wait, unable to move?
