Bang—
On the eighth day of being trapped in the desert, another person suddenly collapsed in front of Zhu Mingyue.
He crouched down and checked the man’s breathing. Then he forced a weak smile. He wanted to cry, but his eyes were so dry that not a single tear would come out.
He clearly realized that, besides himself, there were no survivors left. Whether he could stay alive was also uncertain.
He was exhausted—truly exhausted. But he did not want to die. Even though people in the group had become angry and broken down one after another because of the lack of water, he still stared firmly ahead.
The guide had said there was a patch of green land ahead, and on that land was a spring of water…
Zhu Mingyue swallowed, though there was no saliva left in his mouth. He looked up slightly. The sun seemed close enough to touch, burning every inch of his skin, drying out every drop of water in his body, and mocking his foolish determination.
He looked forward again and struggled to keep walking.
Just a few more kilometers. Just a few more kilometers and he would see the green land.
When he got there, he would lie beside the spring and drink as much water as he wanted. He would finally comfort his body, which had been tortured by thirst.
As he thought this, his vision became blurry.
The moment he fell to the ground, he thought he saw the green land he had dreamed about. Countless tentacles seemed to grow from it, reaching out and waving at him.
I’m so thirsty!
He was so close, yet he would never reach it.
That final thought flashed through his mind like a shooting star.
Then he slowly closed his eyes.
…
“Kid? Kid? How are you feeling? Can you still hear me?”
Zhu Mingyue felt a rough hand repeatedly patting his face.
“Why bother with him?” a man nearby grumbled after spitting out a piece of grass. “Life is hard for everyone these days. It would be easier if he just died.”
“How can you say something so heartless? The boy is still alive! If it were someone from your own family lying here, would you say that?”
Suddenly, cool, sweet water flowed into his mouth and down his throat.
His dry body seemed to come back to life.
He no longer cared about the noisy conversation around him. His instinct to survive made him eagerly open his cracked lips and desperately drink the precious water.
The cuts on his lips stung with pain, reminding him that he was still alive.
Slowly opening his eyes, he saw a group of poorly dressed, thin-looking men and women gathered around him.
Some looked happy.
Some looked disgusted.
Some looked curious.
Others looked completely numb.
For a moment, Zhu Mingyue was stunned.
He looked up.
Above him was a large tree blocking the sunlight. A breeze blew through the leaves, making a pleasant rustling sound.
He looked down.
The ground was rich, dark soil full of moisture.
Overjoyed, he grabbed a handful of dirt.
It was real.
Actually real.
So he was still alive.
Had he been saved by a group of… refugees?
Looking down at himself, he saw that he was still wearing the short-sleeved shirt from before the accident. It was covered in dirt now, but it wasn’t much better than the torn clothes worn by everyone else.
“Where am I?” Zhu Mingyue muttered.
His excitement slowly turned into unease.
The woman who had given him water thought he was confused from the difficult journey.
She kindly explained, “Child, we all fled from Jiuhuang City together. When we found you, you were lying with the group. Everyone else had woken up, but you were still unconscious. You kept calling out about being hungry. Since I had no food, I could only give you some water. I didn’t expect you to be so lucky—you actually woke up! Just hold on a little longer. Better days are ahead.”
Zhu Mingyue immediately understood.
She must have heard him wrong.
He had probably been calling out that he was thirsty, not hungry. His voice had been too weak to hear clearly.
But that didn’t matter anymore.
He was just grateful she had given him water instead of food.
He would never forget collapsing in that endless desert, where the heat had squeezed the last drop of moisture from his body.
Little did he know that the bowl of water she gave him had truly saved his life.
…
The kind aunt gently brushed the hair from his forehead.
Because his hair was so short, she could not smooth it back properly.
After trying several times, she spat into her hand, seemingly preparing to fight his stubborn hair with saliva.
Seeing this, Zhu Mingyue quickly leaned away.
He was extremely grateful that she had saved him.
But that didn’t mean he wanted saliva rubbed into his hair.
Noticing his reaction, she awkwardly wiped her hand on her clothes.
“Auntie just thinks you’re unusually handsome,” she said. “But I really can’t understand this hairstyle.”
After all, who cut their hair like this?
Zhu Mingyue gave her a weak smile.
But inside, he felt even more uneasy.
His fears seemed to be correct.
Things were moving in a direction he had never imagined.
Looking around carefully, he finally noticed something.
His appearance was completely different from everyone else’s.
Although the others looked poor and worn out, every one of them had long hair tied up or hanging down.
He had only seen hairstyles and clothing like these in historical dramas.
But the idea that he had been rescued by a movie set…
That possibility was too ridiculous.
He immediately rejected it.
The exhausted expressions on these people’s faces looked completely real.
What director could find so many actors this talented?
Zhu Mingyue looked at the coin-sized red birthmark on the inside of his wrist.
An even more unbelievable thought appeared.
He had probably triggered some kind of time-travel event.
And he had traveled here with his physical body.
He calmed himself.
There was no point being afraid.
Being alive was already the best outcome.
Maybe he could build a good life in this strange world.
At the very least, it couldn’t be worse than dying of thirst in the desert.
Pretending to remain calm, he asked, “Auntie, where are we heading now?”
She replied, “Not much farther. Two more days of travel. We’ve already entered Ganzhou. Ahead is Kangyang County. I have a relative from my hometown in Ningjiang whose daughter is married there. They say life is prosperous in that area and very few people starve.”
Someone in the crowd sighed.
“It’s already winter. The border war continues. If the Hu people attack from the south now, Ningjiang may really fall.”
War?
Zhu Mingyue’s eyes flickered.
So the country he was in was at war.
No wonder there were so many refugees.
Still, from their words, Ganzhou seemed relatively safe for now.
After thinking for a while, he decided to observe the situation once he reached the city.
Ideally, he could settle down there.
…
The group hurried along and entered Kangyang County around mid-afternoon.
Many groups of refugees had arrived in recent days.
The city guards were used to it.
After questioning the group leader and searching everyone, they allowed them to enter.
When it was Zhu Mingyue’s turn, one guard stared at him in surprise.
Zhu Mingyue smiled politely.
The guard seemed embarrassed and quickly looked away.
There was no helping it.
He had received those kinds of looks all along the journey.
His short hair and strange clothing stood out too much.
But he had no money and nowhere to stay.
Changing clothes was the last thing he could worry about.
A cold wind blew past, making him shiver.
“Auntie, now that we’ve arrived in Kangyang County, do we have a place to stay?”
It was the middle of winter here.
The season was the complete opposite of what he had left behind.
He only wore a T-shirt and a cheap outdoor jacket.
It was nowhere near warm enough.
If it was already this cold during the day, the night would be much worse.
His health had never been strong.
He could endure the cold for a short time.
But spending an entire night outside would be impossible.
“Wait here,” the aunt said.
She pushed through the crowd and left.
After a while, she returned carrying a rough shirt and a pair of pants.
“Auntie, I…”
Zhu Mingyue looked confused as she stuffed the clothes into his arms.
“Put them on first!” she insisted. “My son has been helping lead the younger men. I borrowed these from him. You’re wearing far too little. You’ll never survive the cold. Just return them when you get your own clothes.”
Zhu Mingyue felt embarrassed.
She wasn’t dressed well herself.
But he was freezing.
This was not the time to refuse kindness.
“Thank you, Auntie. As soon as I get some clothes, I’ll return them.”
Even as he said it, he worried.
Where would he get clothes?
…
The local government accepted refugees but made no plans to support them.
Everyone had to find their own way to survive.
Some of the elderly and weak begged on the streets.
The stronger people found labor jobs. The work was hard, but at least they could eat.
Others sold themselves into slavery.
As for Zhu Mingyue, he had no idea what to do.
He could not bring himself to beg.
He lacked the strength for hard labor.
And becoming a slave was completely out of the question.
In his previous world, everyone was free.
As long as he had any pride left, he could never choose that path.
A freezing wind cut across his face like a knife.
Clutching the clothes tightly, he hurried into a quiet alley to change.
He was currently wearing a T-shirt and a red jacket he had bought cheaply online.
It wasn’t warm, but it blocked the wind reasonably well.
He decided to wear the rough linen clothes underneath it.
As soon as he took off the jacket, goosebumps covered his exposed skin.
His teeth chattered from the cold.
While hurriedly tying the linen shirt, he suddenly felt someone staring at him.
“Wow! Look at that skin. It’s even whiter than the women in the city!”
“Haha, you’re right!”
The malicious intent in their voices was obvious.
Zhu Mingyue’s face darkened.
He knew people like this.
The more attention you gave them, the worse they became.
So he quickly finished dressing and walked past the two vulgar young men without expression.
Of course he was angry.
He had always been very attractive.
Ever since middle school, people had constantly pursued him.
Besides receiving love letters, he had also been harassed by inappropriate men.
He never expected that even in another world, he would still have to deal with disgusting stares.
He wanted nothing more than to beat the two men senseless.
But his situation would not allow it.
They were locals.
He was a newcomer who knew nothing about them.
If they had friends or family nearby, things could turn very badly.
Fortunately, the men seemed to be in the alley only to relieve themselves.
They merely teased him and watched him leave.
They did not follow him.
Zhu Mingyue finally relaxed.
…
The aunt waved at him from the crowd.
When he joined them, he found everyone gathered together with smiles on their faces.
The aunt pulled up his sleeve to check that he was wearing the linen shirt underneath.
Satisfied, she patted his hand.
“We’ve found a place to stay tonight.”
There was an abandoned Earth God Temple in the western part of the city.
It was old and broken, but it could at least block the wind and rain.
With dozens of people staying together, nobody would freeze to death.
Zhu Mingyue nodded.
As long as it was a shelter, it would do.
For now, he only needed to survive this night.
Tomorrow, he would look around the city and see if he could find some kind of work.