Chengguang Temple, located outside the city, is the largest temple in the capital area, situated on a mountain about ten miles outside the city.
Although the mountain is not very high, it is quite steep. Chengen Temple is built on a flat area halfway up the mountain. The building area is quite large. After all, Chengen Temple was the royal temple of the previous dynasty. After the establishment of the new dynasty, Ganlu Temple was built on the mountain on the other side of the capital as the royal temple. The incense of Chengen Temple was not as good as before, but many people still come here to burn incense and make vows.
After exiting the south gate of the capital, walk west along a road. Not far ahead are several small hills. Although the mountain road has been repaired and some parts are paved with bluestone slabs, fewer people come here after the Ganlu Temple was built, so the road cannot be repaired frequently. In rainy or snowy weather, the mountain road is difficult to travel.
The mountain road was carved out along the mountainside; if you fell off the road, you would fall into a deep ravine at the foot of the mountain.
When Xu Rao woke up, she felt like she was lying in a patch of grass, her body wet and feeling like she had been run over by a boulder. She felt uncomfortable all over. She propped herself up on her arms and sat up. She saw a horse-drawn carriage that she had only ever seen on television not far away. The carriage wheels were made of wood.
Xu Rao lay down again and sighed deeply. His memory was still stuck on the moment the disaster struck.
Xu Rao was already in his forties and was a professor at a provincial party school. He had been doing academic research for many years. His wife, Chen Zhaoci, was a surgeon at the provincial hospital and was a well-known surgeon in the province. Their son, Xu Di, had never caused his wife or him any worry about his studies since he was a child. He was always the model child, self-disciplined and hardworking. After the college entrance examination, he continued his studies and eventually became a doctor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The family of three felt that they had been busy with their own things for many years. Before the peak tourist season, they took a road trip to the nearby mountains. However, they encountered a landslide on the way, and all three of them, along with their car, were crushed by rocks and fell to the bottom of the mountain.
Xu Rao didn't know why he was there. He lay there for a while, then thought of his wife and children who had been swept down the mountain road with him. He endured the soreness in his body and got up. He looked around blankly and found that there was no sign of a landslide.
Xu Rao staggered to the carriage and found a woman dressed in ancient clothing lying on her side near the carriage. Xu Rao was surprised and went over to take a look. It turned out to be his wife, Chen Zhaoci, but she looked like she was when she was young.
Xu Rao quickly stepped forward, gently nudged the woman's shoulder, and whispered, "Zhao Ci, Zhao Ci, is that you?"
The woman gently opened her eyes, paused for a moment, looked at Xu Rao, and said in surprise, "Old Xu, why are you dressed like this? What happened?"
Xu Rao gave a bitter smile and said, "I woke up to find myself like this. I don't know what happened, or how Xu Di is doing."
The two looked at each other, unsure of what to say, when they heard the voice of a child, about ten years old, not far away: "I'm here."
Xu Rao helped Chen Zhaoci stand up, and they saw a little boy dressed in ancient clothes coming from behind the carriage, his fair face covered with mud stains.
Upon seeing the little boy's face, Chen Zhaoci exclaimed in surprise, "Xu Di? You're Xu Di? How did you turn into a child?"
Xu Di frowned and said, "How would I know what happened? Didn't we encounter a landslide when we had the accident? I opened my eyes and found myself lying in the grass here. Fortunately, the grass under me was thick enough, and I also have other people's memories in my mind. I guess we probably time-traveled."
Xu Rao glanced at Chen Zhaoci. Xu Rao was a materialist and naturally didn't believe in such supernatural things. Chen Zhaoci, on the other hand, looked at Xu Di in surprise and said, "Time travel? Is it the kind of time travel you see in novels?"
Xu Di frowned and said, "You'd better think about this quickly. We're in a rather tricky situation right now. Someone is trying to harm this family. Otherwise, how could the carriage have overturned into this ditch? Dad, Mom, if you're alright, let's leave here quickly. Someone will come and eliminate them soon."
Xu Rao and Chen Zhaoci were both startled. Xu Rao said, "What kind of thing is this? We just went on a road trip, and we ran into something like this. Zhaoci, are you alright? Do you need me to help you?"
Chen Zhaoci waved his hand and said, "Xu Di, what memories have you received? Tell us about them properly."
There was a horse that had fallen to its death next to the carriage. It had stopped raining, but the area was still damp. The family of three was lucky; they had fallen onto a small platform at the bottom of the ravine.
Xu Di looked up and saw that the mountain road was more than ten meters away from the platform. The platform was covered with weeds. Because of this, the Xu family was lucky. When they fell, they were thrown out of the carriage and landed on the dense weeds. If they had been hit under the carriage, they would probably have been either killed or injured.
Below the platform was a river with a rather rapid current. Xu Di looked at the horse and tried to lift the carriage. Xu Rao and Chen Zhaoci saw this and came over to help. Fortunately, the carriage was not very big. The three of them worked very hard and finally managed to lift the carriage up.
Xu Rao asked breathlessly, "Xu Di, what are you doing?"
Xu Di found two thick, dry branches and said, "Push the carriage into the river and get to work quickly. We'll find a hiding place later, and I'll explain everything to you slowly."
Fortunately, the Xu family hadn't arranged a good carriage. The heaviest part of the carriage was its two wheels. The three of them pushed and pulled, finally managing to get the carriage to the edge of the platform. With all their might, they pushed the carriage into the ditch, followed by a loud crash. The carriage had fallen into the river.
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