The world that Joshua was currently in was much more rural than the one he remembered.
Roads weren't paved, the people wore clothes that were old-fashioned, and most people looked at Joshua and immediately thought that he was a cultivator. Though he was still unsure why so many people were jumping at him because they thought he could fly on a sword.
Every woman who saw him came up to Joshua, and every man who saw him left, before dressing up like a woman and going back to him.
Joshua was pretty sure the reason people thought he was a cultivator was because of his clothes and his sudden appearance. So, the first thing that he wanted to do was go to get some new clothes.
He still had his wallet, and while there was a very small chance that his money would mean anything, he was sure that he could convince the worker that it was worth something.
Unfortunately for Joshua, he did not know where he could go to buy his clothes, and all of the women gathering around him weren't very helpful.
Though, a large amount of the women were just men dressed as women.
'Is knowing a cultivator that important?'
"I'm not a cultivator I swear! I just look weird!" Joshua yelled out while trying to move around.
As he yelled more and more, some people began to believe him and so left. But there were simply too many people begging to be 'part of his cultivation journey,' though
"Oh, great cultivator, I am no fool," one of the girls around him begged, "Yes, you are most obviously a cultivator," another piped in.
Joshua was very annoyed as he pushed through several different people while looking at the store signs above.
Eventually, Joshua did find a shop that looked to sell clothes that everyone else seemed to be wearing.
Though if Joshua ran into the store without distracting the crowd of people, then they would just follow him into the store and make buying something impossible.
He needed a distraction, an ingenious distraction that would get the attention of all of the people around him.
'They're looking for a cultivator, right? And what did Zhiyi say they do?'
"Look, a flying cultivator!" Joshua yelled out while pointed.
Most of the people looked up to where Joshua pointed, and the ones who didn't lost track of Joshua when he ran to the clothing shop.
Joshua flew into the clothing shop as fast as he could, looking for whoever worked there.
Unfortunately for Joshua, there was no one in the store, for the person who worked the store had gone outside to look for the cultivator.
So, Joshua had to do something that was not within the law, but if the store owner didn't press charges did a crime really happen?
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Joshua walked out of the clothes store with a shirt, overshirt, and pants that were very similar to all the other people he had seen.
To pay for this, Joshua left his old clothes, a twenty-dollar bill, and a five-dollar coupon for a sandwich place that was near his apartment.
The streets around him were baren, it seemed that all of the people had gone somewhere else, they probably left to find the great cultivator.
Joshua had many questions, and he only knew the name of one person in the town.
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"Zhiyi!" Joshua called out while walking into the library.
"One moment!" Zhiyi yelled back.
Zhiyi made his way from the back of the store to the entrance. He had a scroll that he was reading while walking, as a consequence, he knocked into a few shelves on his way to the front.
He was focusing hard on the scroll in his hand, but he didn't seem to get anywhere. Zhiyi repeatedly read the same few lines.
His hair was back in a bun, but there was still some makeup on his face from when he talked to Joshua a hour or so beforehand.
"Welcome to-" Zhiyi began say while welcoming the new customer, "Oh it's you, come here to translate some scrolls?" he asked.
'Scrolls?'
"Where are we?" Joshua questioned as he put his hands on the desk in front of him.
"Didn't I tell you we're in Meiliao?" Zhiyi responded, confused.
"Not what I asked, where are we?" Joshua asked again.
"The country of Shibai? Is that what you're looking for?" Zhiyi asked in response.
"Shibai?" Joshua mutters.
'I was never good at geology, but I've never heard of Shibai'
"What do you want me to say? Oh yeah, we're on Gaia; does that narrow it down?" Zhiyi told Joshua, annoyed.
"Wait, Gaia?" Joshua responded, "Like another name for Earth?" he asked.
"Earth?" Zhiyi asked, "What's an Earth?" he questioned.
'I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore'
"So, you've never heard of Earth, what about America?" Joshua then asked.
"America? Is that a famous cultivator or something?" Zhiyi questioned.
"Why are so many people obsessed with cultivators?" Joshua asked.
Everyone thought he was a cultivator, Zhiyi thought that America was a cultivator, and it was getting to him.
"You don't know?" Zhiyi responded, surprised.
"Don't know what?" Joshua asked.
"Cultivating increases your lifespan," Zhiyi explained.
"Still, why would so many people run around for the chance of being able to increase their lifespans by a year or two," Joshua responded.
"Not two years, on hundred and fifty years," Zhiyi said.
"A hundred fifty years," Joshua responded, "I get why everyone's running around now," he muttered.
"Right?" Zhiyi replied, "The only reason why I not out there right now is because I know the cultivator their looking for is you," he explained.
"I mean there's always the chance that there's another cultivator out there and that's who they others are chasing," Joshua wondered.
For a moment Zhiyi looked at Joshua and Joshua looked back at Zhiyi.
Quickly, Zhiyi put his arm up and quickly undid the bun in his hand and put his hair down.
"I'll be back," Zhiyi said raising his voice.
"What about the scrolls you wanted me to translate?" Joshua asked.
"On the table!" he yelled.
Looking at the table in front of him, Joshua noticed that Zhiyi had placed the scroll that he was reading on the way to the front of the store on the table.
Grabbing the scroll off the table, Joshua opened it up to see what was so confusing.
As soon as he did so he understood why Zhiyi asked Joshua for his time.
[ These notes are for those who are as strong as the western dragon is long, and as smart as the eastern fox. The practitioners who wish to know of the art of basic cultivation must have bamboo in their chest to do so. However, to truly reach the peaks one must separately possess one style.]
For one to go through basic cultivation you must first find a peach spring beyond the world; then you must gather qi within oneself to flush Siwdui Blood from the body. But remember you cannot be so pleased as to forget one's form.]
(Translated: If you want to cultivate, are there specific steps you need to follow.)
There are not words throughout his world, and the one he was in, that could get across how absolutely befuzzled Joshua was at that moment. He was unable to get any meaning out of whatever he just read.
Joshua understood most of the words separate from the text he had read. But whoever had put this together was either a fool who had no idea how to write, or whoever had written the scroll was attempting to hide the secret of cultivation.
But whoever wrote it was of no concern to Joshua, he was going to read it and figure out how to cultivate. Because what else was he going to do?
Home was so far away, and unless Joshua had ended up in a remote part of the world and a rescue helicopter could bring him back, he was pretty sure he was stuck where he was.
So why not do a little translating and see if he could get an extra hundred and fifty years on his lifespan.
Is it fake, probably, but why not?
And on the off chance it worked, lucky him!