Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Rescued

The strange young man, rescued by the old man and Qing Yao, had been in a deep sleep, motionless. However, under Qing Yao's meticulous care, his vital signs were gradually reviving, and his consciousness was slowly returning.

On this day, he finally discovered that he was no longer dreaming, and his consciousness began to awaken. As his memories trickled back into his mind, he slowly confirmed that he was indeed Qin Yang—Qin Yang was himself—and that the bizarre dreams that had been haunting him were actually his real experiences.

"Ah—!!" Suddenly, Qin Yang opened his eyes and let out a cry, his heart still racing with lingering fear.

Driven by the instinct of a special forces soldier, the newly awakened Qin Yang instantly gained a general impression of his surroundings. He found himself lying on a wooden bed that looked somewhat dilapidated, covered with a mat woven from an unknown material. The room he was in was very low, built of earthen bricks with wooden beam supports, and the roof was covered in bark and thatch; slivers of sunlight leaked through the imperfect gaps in the roof. There was no proper furniture in the room, let alone any appliances.

"Where am I? Does my country, Huaxia, still have places this poor and backward?" Qin Yang's heart was filled with doubt.

Just then, a girl entered from outside the door carrying a large bowl of rice water. Seeing Qin Yang sitting on the bed with a look of confusion, she cried out in pleasant surprise, "Big brother, big brother, you're finally awake! You've been unconscious for three days and three nights, neither eating nor drinking. Big brother, where did you come from? Why were you sleeping on that mountain ten miles away? Why are you dressed like this? And are you injured? Also..."

"Qing Yao, why are you asking so many questions at once? This little brother has just woken up; let him rest for a while first," came the voice of an old man who entered shortly after.

Following the sound, Qin Yang looked over to see an old man and a young girl standing before his bed. The old man was about sixty years old, his face etched with the hardships of life; he wore a gray robe cinched at the waist with an old cloth strip, and his left sleeve hung empty. The young girl was about fifteen or sixteen, wearing a light yellow robe. She had a pretty face, a cherry-like mouth, dark eyes, and a small braid hanging over her chest, and she was looking at him timidly.

"Excuse me, elder, where is this?" Qin Yang knew that all three of them had many questions. To clear up the confusion before him as quickly as possible, he felt he had to take the initiative.

"Little brother, this is Zhao Family Village, outside Wu'an City in Handan Commandery. My name is Zhao Yun, and this is my granddaughter, Qing Yao. She is fifteen this year. Her father, Zhao Bi, was conscripted to build the Great Wall in Yunzhong Commandery six years ago and has had no news since. Her mother died of illness a few years back, so it's just been the two of us relying on each other. And you? Where are you from? Who else is in your family?"

"Heavens, I really traveled to ancient times through a time machine." Qin Yang nearly shouted.

Qin Yang remembered that the time he was supposed to be transmitted to via the time machine should have been the eve of the Emperor's fourth great inspection in 215 BC, at the location of Xianyang, the capital of the Great Qin Empire. It seemed the time machine had suffered some final malfunction, causing him to arrive at this place inexplicably, fall into a coma, and eventually be rescued by this grandfather and granddaughter.

*I can't tell them I come from the future, more than two thousand years from now. If I do, will they think I'm a madman? They might even frighten these two kind saviors,* Qin Yang thought to himself.

Qin Yang had long since mastered how to respond to various emergency situations during his pre-transmigration training. Thus, after a moment of deliberation, he spoke slowly: "I am a person from Taolin in Neishi Commandery. My name is Qin Yang. That day, I was heading up the mountain to gather firewood when, inexplicably, heavy rain and strong winds began to blow. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck me, and I knew nothing more. When I woke up, I was here. Elder, thank you for saving me. I grew up with my eldest paternal uncle, but he passed away the year before last..."

Although a flicker of unease crossed his mind from lying to his saviors, Qin Yang couldn't afford to care about that in order to maintain secrecy. Thinking again of his origins two thousand years in the future, Qin Yang's heart couldn't help but feel a wave of melancholy.

"Oh, I see." Although Zhao Yun didn't quite believe him, there were too many things that couldn't be explained at that time, and he had seen many strange occurrences—such as a youth from a neighboring village being swept away by a great wind to a hundred miles away, only to walk home completely unscathed. To him, such things were not unusual. With continuous wars occurring, it was even more common for families to have no kin left.

"However, this attire doesn't look like that of someone from the Interior (the area west of the Hangu Pass during the Qin Dynasty)," Zhao Yun said, staring at Qin Yang's tight-fitting clothes.

Seeing Zhao Yun's gaze, Qin Yang understood instantly. *Crap, the clothes are a problem.* However, Qin Yang did not panic and said, "Elder, you must find my clothes strange. I had these made; they were sewn from several pieces of crocodile skin through several processes. They are waterproof, convenient for working, and warm in winter and cool in summer. I'm the only one in my village who has such a piece. I only wear it when there's no one around; when going out, I still wear robes and headgear. It was just that I arrived here inexplicably, and I've made a fool of myself before you."

*I don't know how much high technology and the hard work of Dr. Meng are contained in these clothes, yet here I am lying that they are made of crocodile skin. I believe if Dr. Meng knew, he would be furious to death.* Thinking of this, Qin Yang couldn't help but blush slightly.

"Big brother, your clothes are really nice. Here, you should drink this rice water first. You haven't eaten anything for six days; it will get cold soon." Qing Yao's face was full of concern.

In recent years, the empire's heavy labor conscription had left the village with very few able-bodied men; most of the villagers were the elderly, the weak, women, and children. Such a man, standing eight feet tall (a Qin foot was approximately 23.1 cm) like a mountain, could not help but cause a strange, hazy flutter in the heart of a girl who had just reached the age of adulthood. Her mother's early death meant she did not know what kind of emotion this was; she only felt that the masculine aura radiating from this big brother attracted her like a magnet—a feeling she had never experienced while with her grandfather.

"Yes, little brother, drink up quickly," Zhao Yun echoed from the side. Their words happened to cover Qin Yang's embarrassment. Qin Yang hurriedly took the rice water and gulped it down in a few swallows. Only then did Qin Yang realize he was truly hungry; a large bowl of warm rice water felt more comfortable than any mountain delicacy.

"Thank you, little sister, and thank you, elder." Qin Yang handed the bowl back to Qing Yao and looked at her naturally. *What a beauty!* Qin Yang's eyes brightened. Although her development might not have been perfect due to the hardships of life, her bright purity made her look like a budding flower, adding much color to this crude room.

Seeing Qin Yang's stunned gaze, Qing Yao couldn't help but smile shyly.

Zhao Yun also smiled and said, "Young Master Qin, Qing Yao has reached the age of *jiqi* this year (in ancient times, a girl was considered an adult at fifteen and could marry, requiring the *jiqi* ceremony). She should have had her hair tied and worn hairpins, but our family is poor and we couldn't afford a decent hairpin, so it was delayed. Please excuse the oversight. Since you have no living family anyway, treat this as your home from now on. It is only a pity that the house is so coarse and simple, which is a grievance to you, Young Master."

Since he now knew Qin Yang's surname, Zhao Yun no longer felt it was appropriate to call him "little brother" and quickly changed his manner of address.

"A home?" Qin Yang's heart warmed; a sense of home he had never felt before spread warmly through his entire body. "Elder, please don't be so formal. You are my saviors; I don't even know how to thank you. Your hand?..."

"Oh, it was from fighting wars in my younger years; it's been fine for a long time. I still have my right hand, don't I?" Zhao Yun said nonchalantly.

An old man with only one hand, and a young girl who had managed to rescue him from a mountain ten miles away—he truly didn't know how they had done it. Seeing that the old man's hand was identical to that of Chief of General Staff Yu, Qin Yang, feeling a sense of kinship, became even more moved.

Thinking of this, Qin Yang's eyes reddened, and unable to restrain himself, he blurted out

"If you do not mind, elder, I am willing to take you as my eldest paternal uncle."

"Ah?... Really?" Zhao Yun was utterly surprised.

"Truly." Qin Yang's eyes were full of sincerity.

"Haha... Heaven has not treated me poorly! To think that I, Zhao Yun, at over sixty years of age, would pick up a grandson. Qing Yao, come, come quickly and greet your big brother!" Zhao Yun was so excited he became somewhat incoherent.

Seeing the old man's consent, Qin Yang struggled to climb out of bed and bowed to Zhao Yun: "Grandson pays respects to Eldest Paternal Uncle."

On the other side, Qing Yao was also coming over to pay her respects. "Qing Yao pays respects to Big Brother..."

In her haste, Qing Yao's head actually bumped into Qin Yang's. Qin Yang hurriedly supported her and said, "Sister Qing Yao, don't, don't..."

Watching this heartwarming scene, tears shimmered in Zhao Yun's eyes. "Good, good, both good children, stand up."

Once the two had stood, Zhao Yun said, "Qing Yao, help your brother lie down properly; his body is weak. If you have nothing to do, chat with him. Looking at the time, it should be the hour of the Monkey. I'll go to the city to sell the medicine, then buy some meat and a bit of wine. We'll have a proper celebration in our house tonight."

Having said that, he ignored Qin Yang's protests and went off laughing heartily.