Vol 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)
DEATH FROM BOILING WATER
Dawn. Silver rays of light were peeking through the horizon. The wind that was carrying the scent of wet morning dew gently blew by a sleepy village.
The village itself seemed unable to withstand the cold morning air and whimpered. Gradually, signs of life appeared.
A farmer who had just woken up pushed his wooden door open and raised his voice to greet his neighbours. Everyone began to work on their own breakfast while preparing for the day that was about to start. This was an extremely ordinary morning at an ordinary village.
Unfortunately, a certain event interrupted this otherwise calm day.
“AH– –”
A farmer who had gone to the well to retrieve water suddenly released an alarming scream, breaking apart the quiet atmosphere. Immediately, the villagers crowded around this place.
The cause of all of this was lying on top of a boulder near the well. A teenager, one who was wearing strange and unfamiliar clothing, was curled up upon the rock, his face blue from frost.
“Who is this? Why is he sleeping here? Is he frozen to death?”
“Black hair? He probably came from outside the village.”
“Ah, what a pitiful soul. I hope he can safely return to the Light G.o.d. There is never any cold there, only warmth.”
All villagers who have gathered silently motioned a sign across their chest. Towards this strange youth who was seemingly frozen to death, they could only offer their blessings.
“Scary!” A little boy standing next to a peasant woman suddenly retreated in fright, “Mom! This big brother just moved.”
The little boy was short, that was why he was the first to notice the “dead” big brother’s nose twitching.
Ah? All the villagers were startled and simultaneously took a step back. They glanced at each other, a chill running up their spines.
Finally, an old farmer wearing a big black dome hat walked forward and leaned down to probe the young man’s breath for signs of vitality. He breathed out a sigh of relief: “This child is still breathing, he didn’t die.”
“Ha, the Light G.o.d is watching over us.”
“Praise G.o.d.”
The old farmer gently slapped the young man’s cheeks: “Child, wake up, come on, wake up…”
“Hrrmm…” The teenage boy shuddered and let out a soft grunt, his eyes slowly opening.
Maybe due to being frozen for so long, the teenage boy didn’t say a single word after waking up. He only kept staring at the surrounding with a surprised look, his body occasionally s.h.i.+vering.
“Could it be that that he had been frozen stupid?” a quick-mouthed housewife spoke.
Not waiting for a reply, a peaceful voice travelled across the crowd towards the people standing at the front: “What happened here?”
“Oh, good morning Father York.”
This person who was called Father York seemed to be respected by everyone, wherever he went the people parted to allow him a path. A middle-aged man carrying a lunch box appeared, his demeanor calm while friendly replying to all the greetings.
Finished listening to the old farmer’s recounting of what happened, Father York looked at the young man up and down: “Hm, it seems like he was not affected mildly by the cold, luckily he was blessed by our G.o.d.”
Father York put down his lunch box, his hands drawing a strange symbol pattern in the air. A halo of light appeared and s.h.i.+ned down upon the youth.
The farmers were all excitedly watching this warm halo of light. No small amount of people began to draw their own signs, their mouths softly whispering praises and prayers.
The youth who was enveloped by the light was shocked, his jaw ajar. His eyes were wide opened, staring at the strange phenomenon in front of him. What is this, a portable heating lamp? And what about all these people, why are they all blonde? What kind of situation is this?
Dozens of seconds later, the halo of light disappeared. Father York smiled and said: “Young man, how are you feeling?”
“Warm…” The young man replied subconsciously.
“That is good, stand up and move a little, soon you will fully recover.” Finished speaking, Father York took out a piece of rye bread from inside his wooden box and pressed it into Tang En’s hands.
Once he was done, Father York bid farewell to the surrounding villagers and left.
“Praise G.o.d, Father York is such a kind messenger of Light.”
“That’s right, right now… He’s heading west, probably to give the elderly people who lack any support some food.”
The villagers raced each other to praise the Father’s good deeds and kind personality. Soon, they began to scatter, since there was still much to do in the morning.
The young man wearing the strange clothes pulled on the sleeves of the old farmer: “May I ask where this is? Are we in Europe?”
The old farmer gave him a strange look: “Europe? What’s that? This place is Little Stone Village of the t.i.tus Kingdom.”
“t.i.tus Kingdom?” The youth was surprised. He cautiously asked, “Is this Earth?”
“Earth? What kind of orb is that?”
“It can’t be, I really was transported?” The young man hugged his head and mumbled.
The young man was Tang En, he had just graduated from college a month ago. As a modern day college student he obviously had read web novels, and was no stranger to world travelling stories. But…
“Isn’t it just fiction? How did I really travel to another world? Wait, how DID I cross over?”
Tang En knocked on his own head and quickly immersed himself in his memories. After graduating, he had no luck at all with finding a job. Currently, the market was overflowing with new graduates and there was a serious devaluations of skills. Even the people from famous and well known colleges would have a tough time finding jobs, don’t even mention his backwater mountain college.
After a month of laboriously applying for work, Tang En had increasingly grown jaded. He sent applications to countless places, but rarely do they even get a second look. He decided to put his applications online. The chances were even slimmer there, but at least it doesn’t cost him anything to try.