On the somewhat dilapidated temple gate hung a plaque with three large characters written in neat regular script: “Dust Temple.” On both sides were a pair of couplets:
Upper line: All dharmas are empty, revealing the clarity of Buddha-nature.
Lower line: Untouched by a single speck of dust, one realizes the Zen mind.
Qi Bai had struggled up the mountain road for half the day before finally finding the place. It was said to be a temple with a long history.
Because it had never attracted the interest of investors, it had always survived in a state of self-sufficiency.
Although the path up the mountain was remote and steep, the number of visitors was not small. It was considered a rather famous little temple among the locals.
Walking through the temple gate, the atmosphere inside felt completely different. The front courtyard was ancient and dignified, and a towering old tree stood before the Buddha hall.
Despite the open beauty of the place, Qi Bai could still tell from many details that the temple probably didn’t receive much donation money. Many areas had fallen into disrepair from age, and some even gave off a faint musty smell.
Before leaving home she had checked the weather forecast it said there would be no rain during the day. Yet now the update showed a sudden heavy downpour expected in half an hour.
Qi Bai couldn’t help sighing at her bad luck. But since she had already come all this way, she might as well finish what she came for before leaving.
She followed the other visitors, paying respects along the way, then headed straight for the target of her visit Master Wangchen.
After asking a nearby monk who was lighting candles, she guessed the master was probably in the back courtyard.
Qi Bai was an impatient person. The moment she heard that, she hurried straight toward the rear courtyard.
The instant she stepped out of the back door of the Buddha hall the torrential rain suddenly poured down.
“Even in a movie the rain wouldn’t fall this perfectly on cue!”
Soaked by the downpour, Qi Bai became so angry she laughed instead. Oddly enough, the commotion eased some of the heaviness and anxiety in her heart.
After waiting a while, the rain showed no signs of letting up. There was no way she could just stand here waiting for Master Wangchen to come out.
Gritting her teeth, Qi Bai lifted her bag over her head as cover and dashed straight into the rain.
“Hey, benefactor !” A young monk nearby tried to stop her, but he was a step too late.
Tap tap tap.
Her running footsteps splashed crisply through the puddles scattered across the ground.
But before Qi Bai could run more than a few steps a blinding flash of light suddenly split the dark sky.
Boom ! Thunder roared overhead.
Whoosh whoosh Violent winds shook the towering tree, making it rustle like a wailing cry.
“Help… why does this feel exactly like the opening scene of a horror movie?! Did I offend the God of Misfortune or something?”
Boom !
Boom !
The repeated thunderclaps made Qi Bai’s steps grow increasingly frantic.
She glanced around desperately. There were only rocks and trees. The small path in the back courtyard had nowhere to shelter.
She couldn’t help regretting it. Thunderstorms were already dangerous in the mountains, and this temple wasn’t exactly built at a low altitude.
But there was no turning back now. She could only lower her head and keep running forward. She quickened her pace, trying to dash straight into the back courtyard.
She could vaguely see the courtyard gate now.
A burst of joy rose in her heart. She stepped quickly through the entrance and one foot splashed into a pool of water.
But suddenly she noticed something in the water a broken electric wire.
Startled, she tried to stop immediately, but it was too late. Momentum carried her forward, and one foot stepped straight into the puddle.
“Holy ”
Before she could finish speaking
Zzzzt !
An intense pain surged through her entire body. Her originally delicate face twisted uncontrollably.
Qi Bai tried to pull her leg out of the water, but she couldn’t. Every nerve in her body had stiffened. She couldn’t even bend.
Before long, the smell of burning spread through the air.
A rigid female corpse lay stiffly on the ground.
Another thunderbolt struck from the sky. Lightning split the heavens in two, illuminating a small patch of open space. On the uneven cement ground, a pale face flickered in and out of the white light.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Qi Bai felt as if hundreds of years had gone by. She drifted in a hazy, muddled state.
Everything around her was chaos untouchable, impossible to perceive.
Carried by some unknown force, she was brought somewhere, then suddenly dropped onto solid ground and lost consciousness.
When she woke again, an auntie in a pink short-sleeved T-shirt was urging her to get off a vehicle.
Before Qi Bai could even ask what was going on, she and her belongings were shoved out.
In the swirling dust, only she and the admission letter in her hand remained.
Though confused, Qi Bai strangely didn’t feel too bad.
“How weird… Was I treated like this often before?”
She muttered to herself.
She tried to recall her past, but her brain was like a browser without internet completely blank.
“Imperial Capital University admission notice?”
Only then did Qi Bai notice the folder in her hand.
The writing looked somewhat obscure, but when she looked carefully she could still understand it.
Huh? Is there such a university?
It felt completely unfamiliar.
At that moment she looked around in confusion. It felt as if she had stumbled into someone else’s dream there wasn’t a single thing she recognized.
Where should she originally be?
Who was she?
What was she supposed to do?
Whenever she tried to think about it, her head throbbed painfully, and the images in her mind were chaotic.
Only two scenes remained relatively clear.
One was of a girl being chased by a man.
The other was herself desperately clocking in to work under extreme pressure.
For the moment she couldn’t sort it out.
Qi Bai looked around.
This was a somewhat run-down bus station. People were coming and going, so she didn’t feel too panicked at least with people around, she wouldn’t get lost.
But…
Why were the station signs covered with advertisements for tutoring classes?
Has society become this competitive already?
Qi Bai couldn’t help crying out inwardly. Even though her memory was incomplete, she felt she must deeply hate this kind of intense competition it was suffocating even to think about.
She observed more carefully and realized that not only the signboards, but even street poles and trash bins were plastered with tutoring ads.
Suddenly the whole scene felt strange. In her memories, this kind of sight wasn’t common.
“If these ads were for real estate or tourist attractions, that would make more sense!”
Qi Bai muttered to herself.
Her memories must still exist only the retrieval system had malfunctioned.
She walked to the station entrance.
At the southwest corner hung the station name openly: “Kun County.”
But no matter how she tried to recall, she couldn’t understand why she had gotten off here.
Perhaps because Qi Bai had been standing there alone for quite some time, an elderly woman selling flatbread nearby walked over, holding a freshly baked pancake.
“Little girl, going to school by yourself? Did something happen?”
The old woman had a kindly face and wore a warm, accepting smile.
The dialect sounded difficult to recognize at first, but when it reached Qi Bai’s ears, it was as if there were simultaneous translation. She understood it smoothly.
That alone helped her relax.
She softly asked, “Is Imperial Capital University far from Kun County?”
A surprised expression appeared on the old woman’s face.
Her eyes widened as if she were looking at some rare species.
“You’re going to study at Imperial Capital University? Little girl, your ancestors must have blessed your family! Your household is about to produce a Blue-Rank noble!”
Qi Bai was completely baffled. She had countless questions but didn’t dare ask them outright.
Perhaps the old woman had spoken too loudly or perhaps “Imperial Capital University” was some kind of sensitive term.
Qi Bai suddenly realized that everyone around the station was staring at her in astonishment. Their expressions were strange.
Looking more closely, there was even a trace of fear.
Could Imperial Capital University be some kind of military or political academy? Why were people reacting so seriously?
After learning where Qi Bai was heading, the crowd almost eagerly helped her buy another ticket to the nearest airport.
Only after getting off the vehicle did she realize something.
She hadn’t paid the fare.
She had heard of people paying with facial recognition. She had heard of people riding free with exam admission cards.
But she had never heard of riding free just by showing an admission letter!
Qi Bai suddenly realized she knew almost nothing about this world.
The only breakthrough point she had was her destination Imperial Capital University.
Surely the school must have a student records office, right?
Just as Qi Bai developed a strong desire to enroll, she suddenly discovered that her body itself seemed to resist the school.
The most obvious sign was “she” was trying to throw the admission letter into a trash can.
Qi Bai could swear that the direction she had intended to walk was definitely not toward that remote trash bin.
Who was “she”?
Where was this place?
What had happened to “her”?