The bed in the woodshed was too small. Shen Meng felt awkward and insecure squeezing into it with Bai Jinxin, so she went home with Shang Hong instead.
But in this world, one second was equivalent to twenty-four hours in Shang Hong’s home.
Bai Jinxin had told Shen Meng to get up at the Mao hour, which was 6:00 a.m. By the time they turned off the lights and went to bed, it was only a little after 9:00 p.m. That meant nearly nine hours would pass before 6:00 a.m.—a total of 3,600 seconds.
In other words, Shen Meng would have to stay at Shang Hong’s house for 3,600 days.
Nine years and eight months.
Once Shen Meng finished doing the math, she was stunned.
“So you’re telling me I have to stay here for almost ten years? A sixteen-year-old girl goes to sleep and wakes up the next day twenty-six years old. That’s basically the reverse version of ‘one day in Heaven, one year on Earth.'” Shen Meng said, “No way. I’d better go sleep on the floor in the woodshed.”
Shang Hong stopped her. “Just stay here. That won’t happen.”
“What? Did I calculate it wrong?” Shen Meng stopped and looked at Shang Hong in confusion.
“Your calculations are correct. You really will have to stay here for nine years and eight months. It’s just that time is stagnant here, so you won’t age at all.”
Shang Hong pulled Shen Meng back down onto the small couch.
“My house is located at the intersection of several parallel spaces. It doesn’t belong to any one space, yet it’s connected to all of them. So as long as you stay inside this house, you’ll still see the sun rise and set and the stars shift across the sky, but time itself is stagnant here.”
“You mean I’ve basically stolen nine years and eight months of time?” Shen Meng’s eyes lit up.
“Does this place have internet? I want to take some online courses and learn the written language of Great Xia. I don’t want to be illiterate. I wouldn’t even know if someone sold me off. And I also want to learn Sanda or some kind of fighting technique…”
Shang Hong couldn’t listen to any more of it and interrupted Shen Meng’s rambling. “You really are a top student! You never forget about studying, no matter what!”
“Maintaining a lifelong habit of learning is the only way to prepare for the challenges of an unknown future.”
Shen Meng had already begun planning how she would spend the next nine years and eight months.
“Learning is about mastering survival skills! It’s so I can live better in Great Xia. When you arrive somewhere new, if you don’t even know how to listen, speak, read, and write the local language, you’ll inevitably be at the mercy of others to the greatest extent.”
Shang Hong sighed. “You had such a hard life in your original world. Now that you finally don’t have to go to school or work, rushing around and exhausting yourself every day, wouldn’t it be nice to just eat, sleep, and get some rest?”
“Wouldn’t it get boring if I spent nine years doing nothing but eating and sleeping?” Shen Meng’s eyes were full of longing for knowledge. “So, does this place have internet or not? If I have to spend nine years here without internet, it’ll be no different from being in prison!”
“There is no internet here.”
Shang Hong’s answer struck Shen Meng like a bolt from the blue.
“But if you want to learn Great Xia’s written language or martial arts, I can teach you.”
“Ah… What?”
Shen Meng’s emotions went through a roller coaster ride—anticipation, disappointment, and then delight.
Seeing Shen Meng’s expression, Shang Hong deliberately teased her. “But if you want me to teach you, you’ll have to formally become my disciple.”
“Of course.”
Shen Meng had thought Shang Hong was going to demand some difficult condition. It turned out she only wanted her to perform a formal apprenticeship ceremony. In ancient times, that was simply a necessary ritual for someone seeking to study under a master.
“I thought you were going to ask for something difficult. If you wanted me to pay tuition, you’d really be putting me in a difficult position. I’m completely broke right now. I don’t have a single penny.”
As she spoke, Shen Meng walked over to the tea table by the large floor-to-ceiling window in the living room. She rummaged around and found a red gaiwan. She remembered that in historical dramas, people always used a gaiwan to serve tea to their masters.
Red was festive yet dignified, making it perfect for an apprenticeship ceremony.
There was an electric kettle on the tea table that had been set to maintain a constant temperature of 75°C.
Shang Hong had recently brought back a box of Biluochun tea. She had explained that green tea should be brewed with water no cooler than 70°C and no hotter than 90°C. For delicate teas made from tender buds and leaves, such as Biluochun, the water temperature shouldn’t exceed 80°C.
Below 70°C, it was difficult to bring out the tea’s aroma. Above 90°C, the tea would become bitter and astringent, and the leaves would turn yellow.
So she had set the electric health kettle on the tea table to maintain a constant temperature of 75°C, making it convenient to brew Biluochun at any time.
Following Shang Hong’s example, Shen Meng took a small pinch of tea leaves and put them into the gaiwan. She poured in enough 75°C water to fill it roughly seven or eight-tenths full, covered it with the lid, and let it steep for a while.
Then, holding the gaiwan respectfully in both hands, she walked over to Shang Hong.
“This student pays respects to Master and offers you tea.”
As Shen Meng spoke, she was about to kneel.
Shang Hong, who had been sitting on the small couch swirling a glass of red wine, was so startled that the sip she had just taken sprayed straight onto the white carpet decorated with colorful flowers.
She tossed aside her wineglass and hurriedly grabbed both of Shen Meng’s hands, which were holding the gaiwan. At the same time, she slid off the couch and knelt down in front of Shen Meng first.
“Absolutely not!” Shang Hong said urgently. “I was only joking with you. How did you actually take me seriously?”
Shang Hong thought to herself, How could I possibly let the Lord take me as her master? If she ever regains her memories, I’ll be dead without a burial place!
Seeing Shang Hong suddenly drop to her knees in front of her, Shen Meng was completely dumbfounded. She didn’t even get a chance to kneel herself.
“Joking? Then you’re not going to teach me how to read or teach me martial arts?”
Shen Meng had been happily looking forward to becoming a disciple and learning new skills, but one joking remark from Shang Hong had doused her enthusiasm like a bucket of cold water.
The disappointment on Shen Meng’s face was obvious.
Seeing her expression, Shang Hong hurriedly said, “No, no, no. The part about you becoming my disciple was a joke, but I’m serious about teaching you how to read and teaching you martial arts. I mean it!”
Shen Meng’s eyes immediately lit up. “Really? You really mean it this time?”
“Really, really! Absolutely! I couldn’t be more serious!”
Shang Hong was still kneeling in front of Shen Meng, looking up at her with such a pitiful expression that she looked as though she were the one begging to become someone’s disciple.
It was the first time Shen Meng had ever seen Shang Hong like this. Shang Hong had always carried herself with a cocky air before. Shen Meng felt that something was off, but she couldn’t quite figure out what.
She quickly freed one hand and pulled Shang Hong to her feet.
“I’m the one becoming your disciple. Why are you kneeling? What on earth are you doing?”
Even after standing up, Shang Hong was still shaken. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her hand.
“Apprenticeship ceremonies are just feudal nonsense. Nobody does that anymore.”
“That’s not entirely true. Respecting one’s teacher and valuing the path of learning should be upheld in every era.” Shen Meng disagreed with Shang Hong. “Besides, you won’t let me become your disciple, and I don’t have any money to pay you tuition. If I eat, live, and learn here for free, I’d actually feel guilty.”
Shang Hong hurriedly waved her hands. “How is it for free? You’re the one cooking all the meals. Besides, you’ve become stronger, and you can clear stages in the Life Game. As the Guide, I benefit from that too. I gain experience points. Helping you is the same as helping myself!”
Hearing Shang Hong put it that way, Shen Meng became cheerful again.
“All right, then. From now on, I’ll take care of all the housework and cooking. That’ll cover my food and lodging!”
Looking at Shen Meng, whose emotions were written plainly across her face, Shang Hong couldn’t help thinking to herself:
A Lord this innocent and carefree is much more adorable than the reserved, unreadable, deep-thinking person she used to be.
In the days that followed, Shen Meng began her studies at Shang Hong’s home.
Worried that Shen Meng’s body wouldn’t be able to handle too much, Shang Hong initially arranged for her to practice martial arts for one hour each morning and evening. She spent the mornings learning to read and took the afternoons off to rest.
Inside this house where time stood still, Shen Meng devoted herself completely to learning, as though she had forgotten everything else in the outside world.