Su Ziyu was awakened by hunger.
Then he smelled the aroma of food wafting in from outside. He had no idea what was being cooked, but he could discern the scent of mushrooms, and his stomach started to rumble with hunger.
"You're awake."
"Have something to eat." The young girl pushed open the door and entered, placing a wooden bowl by Su Ziyu's bedside.
Although Su Ziyu couldn't understand what she said, it didn't hinder him from grasping her intent. He sat up and took a sip from the bowl, instantly feeling a warm flow spread from his stomach to his entire body. At last, something resembling real food—unlike the food given by the snake people, which was like pig slop. Though he couldn't tell what the meal was made from, he tasted wheat porridge, mushrooms, and meat. The food seemed to have been cooked for a long time. Anyway, it tasted delicious, or maybe he was just incredibly hungry. In no time, he'd finished a whole bowl and awkwardly gestured for more to the young girl, who promptly brought another bowl over.
"Su." Su Ziyu pointed to himself.
"Lina." The young girl pronounced something similar to 'Lina'.
For a moment, they exchanged awkward glances; the language barrier indeed posed a challenge. Soon, she turned around and left, and Su Ziyu heard the sound of a lock clicking shut.
"Whew."
"I finally survived." Su Ziyu felt he had lost quite a bit of weight, touching his stomach to find the small belly gone and his six-pack abs showing. He was in good spirits and concentrated his mind on the odd golden hourglass, probably his only hope of returning home.
During his captivity in the snake people's cage, he spent his idle time focusing on studying the golden hourglass in the conscious space. It was a glass golden hourglass with supports resembling oak at both ends, a gleaming gold-brown surface inscribed with many incomprehensible diagrams and symbols, incredibly intricate. Looking at it for a while made him mentally exhausted. The strangest part was the glowing sands inside; Su Ziyu had never seen sand that emitted light, but these grains consistently radiated a layer of golden shimmer, their glow filled with dreamlike hues.
The result of Su Ziyu's research was almost nonexistent, but he discovered that after entering a second world, he seemed to have acquired a remarkable ability.
When he snatched the knife and counter-slew the alien leader, Su Ziyu felt time seemingly slowed to an incredibly languid pace at that moment, the surroundings all appeared to turn into a slow-motion film, leaving him unaffected. Hence, his moves outpaced the snake people leader's, completing the snatch and counter-slay in an instant.
"For going home, he had to rely on it."
This golden hourglass appeared to have the power of traversing space and time, but this ability wasn't under Su Ziyu's control. Whenever the golden sands ran out, he'd be forcibly sent to another world, and the duration of stay in the subsequent world seemed to increase considerably.
"I wonder if this thing records coordinates. If only it had Earth's coordinates."
Su Ziyu indulged in such fanciful thoughts for a while before quickly succumbing to sleep.
The next day.
Upon awakening, he heard the clash and clatter outside. Beside his bed lay a set of freshly cleaned clothes, slightly resembling linen, a bit cold to wear, so he donned his animal hide coat over them. Today, the room wasn't locked. As he stepped outside, he saw the girl named Lina sparring with someone. He didn't know much about swordsmanship, but they both seemed very skilled. Their quick reflexes made it hard for him to follow their moves, yet they could block and parry attacks as if in a film.
Lina seemed to notice Su Ziyu, halted her actions, grabbed a wooden sword, and tossed it to him, then posed invitingly.
"I don't know…"
Su Ziyu instinctively reached out and caught the sword, somehow managing it, though it tugged at an old wound on his back, causing a slight sting. He felt his agility had improved and was eager to say, "Let me give it a try."
He hadn't formally studied swordsmanship but knew how to swing and chop a sword.
In his youth, he occasionally engaged in fights, knowing somewhat that power and speed were key to victory. Su Ziyu sensed his physical condition seemed stronger, finding his back injury not too painful, prompting him to test any changes in his combat prowess. Recently, his bizarre inter-dimensional experience told him that survival hinged on enhancing one's skills, even a slight improvement could boost the chances of living on.
Clang.
The girl watched Su Ziyu's sword-holding posture with keen interest—it wasn't standard, yet appeared stylish. She circled him a few times. As he couldn't hold back from making a move, she casually parried, then proceeded with a slip advance, the wooden sword poised at Su Ziyu's neck.
"Whoa! Is she that incredible?" Su Ziyu hadn't even caught sight of her strike, merely felt the wooden sword deflected and the next instant had it leveled at his throat.
Was that a one-hit knockout?
Unconvinced, he retreated a few steps, wielding the sword again, but his wrist suddenly throbbed painfully, causing him to drop the wooden sword onto the ground.
Could this girl be that amazing?
Why do I feel like I have no ability to resist in front of her?
In a room not far away, a tall man named Ken was also observing Su Ziyu's actions. After watching for a while, he shook his head and said, "He doesn't know how to fight at all. Tell my sister she doesn't need to test him anymore."
Almost any man in the village is more formidable than him. After all, most of the people here are hunters.
Ken turned around and picked up a black short blade, frowning in contemplation. A young man nearby asked curiously, "Is there something wrong with this knife?"
The black metal was something he had never seen before, with its handle engraved with strange serpent patterns. This type of weapon was rare in the north; Ken had only seen similar knives and swords during his adventures in his youth. Typically, those who used such weapons struck quickly, and only some assassins would use such short blades as weapons.
Clang.
Ken took the black short blade and clashed it against the longsword beside him, then handed it to the young man in front of him.
"This..." The young man showed a look of surprise and desire. After the clash, the black short blade was almost unscathed, whereas the longsword had a significant notch. With force, the black short blade could probably cut the longsword in half. Ken's longsword was the kind used by the army, with fairly good quality, yet it was easily shattered by this black short blade, indicating its considerable value.
"I've never seen this kind of black metal before," Ken said, frowning. "It does resemble the legendary black iron."
"In any case."
"This outsider's identity is not simple!"
Su Ziyu's injuries healed quickly, and by the third day, he was almost fully recovered.
It's unclear whether some change in his physique occurred or the medicine the girl applied worked exceptionally well. However, this suffering experience indeed made him feel he had grown a lot. Having grown up in peaceful times, he rarely faced life-and-death choices, but in these few days, he had already escaped death several times, experiencing substantial changes.
He even learned swordsmanship, though only the most basic moves could likely pass less than five rounds against Lina.
In the past couple of days, Ken and the others no longer restricted Su Ziyu's movements, allowing him to meet other people in the village.
What can be said about the people of this era?
They look nothing like what appears on TV, even makeup couldn't recreate their weathered faces. The closest resemblance would be the pirates in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, with most men having scraggly beards, a body odor similar to sweat, and a mouthful of yellow teeth. In the entire village, only Lina has teeth as white as Su Ziyu's. She's also the only one who frequently bathes, which is considered an unusual behavior in the village. However, the people living here are quite fierce, with hunters making up the majority. Perhaps it's Su Ziyu's illusion, but he feels there's something strange about this village.
Every day, he would practice swordsmanship with Lina for a while, mostly enjoying the process of getting beaten.
The days are relatively peaceful.
The grains of sand in the golden hourglass are also depleting bit by bit. Su Ziyu roughly calculated that in about six or seven days, the sands would run out, and he would be sent to the next world.
He wanted to take this time to improve his survival ability.
With many people idle in the winter, and with Lina not having to go out hunting, she had time every day to teach him swordsmanship knowledge. Unfortunately, due to the language barrier between the two, he probably could have learned faster otherwise.
"Lina is teaching that outsider the 'White Crow Swordsmanship.'"
"Aren't you going to do anything about it?" The young man's voice carried a hint of discontent.
Ken looked up at the young man before him, casually wiping his longsword as he said, "That's her business. If you have a problem, go tell her yourself."
The young man's face turned red upon hearing this. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Lina, but he simply couldn't beat her.
Feeling a bit dissatisfied, he slammed the door and walked out. Before leaving, he couldn't help but glance at Su Ziyu, who was sparring with the girl, his expression slightly dark. In times like these, with sparse populations, young people had limited choices for partners. Lina was the most beautiful girl in the village, and it was impossible not to have some thoughts. But now she was clearly getting closer to this outsider. Although the outsider's skills were lacking, his good looks were undeniable. Not even many women in the village were as attractive as he was, and Lina's attitude towards this outsider made people feel uneasy.
As he watched the girl's attitude towards the outsider growing increasingly close, he deeply regretted agreeing to let her bring the man back to the village in the first place.
.........