Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 5: Supernatural

Perhaps in the past, when reading certain stories, many people would wish they could replace the protagonist. Many yearn for an adventure of their own, and Ji Yuan was no exception.

But at the moment, Ji Yuan was a bit like the story of Duke Ye and his love for dragons,¹ and he felt very uneasy.

Watching stories in literature, film, or television works from a third-person perspective was full of challenges and fun. But when that perspective changed to the real world, Ji Yuan was not fantasizing about luck or adventure… instead, his mind was full of the unknown dangers, diseases, natural disasters, man-made disasters, and bad luck he could potentially encounter…

This could be a world with undeveloped legal systems and only rudimentary medical care. His resulting tension and anxiety were so strong that Ji Yuan’s mental state was deeply agitated.

Upon coming to a world that he didn’t understand at all, he might even encounter some extraordinary threats. The beasts were still normal enough, but the idea of monsters was simply too terrifying…

After having had the experience of looking at a chessboard in the woods for a few minutes, only to discover that he had been there for more than half a month, Ji Yuan didn’t dare assume that the world he found himself in was truly really free of monsters and ghosts.

What was worse was that Ji Yuan was completely helpless at the moment. At least for now, his physical condition was not as good as that of ordinary people, and he had no means of self-protection whatsoever. A mouse could kill him.

The only thing that brought Ji Yuan some comfort was that, although he was currently completely immobile from head to toe, he could still feel the sensation of touch throughout his whole body; medical paralysis usually included a loss of tactile sense in that part of the body, which meant that he was probably not permanently paralyzed.

Ji Yuan was nonetheless panicking now. These strangers don’t seem to have bad intentions. But I don’t know if they will take me when they leave. I need to find a doctor to help me!

Let alone in a state of immobility, Ji Yuan wouldn’t dare stay alone in the deep mountains and forests, even if he were healthy and strong.

This was not China in 2019. There would definitely be a lot of dangerous animals in the mountains. And with the mystical encounter of the chessboard, it was impossible to tell whether there were truly monsters in this world.

Reality wasn’t like Japanese anime, and monsters weren’t stupid or cute. Most monsters in folktales ate people.²

If it weren’t for the fact that he couldn’t move, Ji Yuan would definitely have already asked for help.

. . .

Zhang Shilin helped the beggar in front of him drink a bowl of warm water. Although the corners of his mouth twitched a few times, he was still unconscious, so he could only shake his head and gently helped the beggar lay back down, before returning to his companions.

“Brother Shilin, what should we do about that beggar? Do you want to take him with us when we go down the mountain?”

Zhang Shilin sighed and shook his head.

“He’s very weak, he probably won’t live long, and he wouldn’t withstand the trip…”

Zhang Shilin didn’t say any more, but everyone understood the implications of his words.

A little thump!³

Behind the statue, not too far away, Ji Yuan’s heart froze!

The rain was still falling, and the merchants continued chatting and resting. The topics when chatting with friends were actually quite similar to those of the 21st century. It was nothing more than gossip and strange happenings, whether this or that girl was pretty, the occasional good-natured but slightly vulgar joke mixed in.

Of course, from his eavesdropping, Ji Yuan also roughly understood what this group of people did for a living. Although he wasn’t entirely sure, this kind of merchant seemed to be similar to the peddlers he had seen in his childhood, though they were slightly different. In essence, a person who traveled long distances to make money by transporting goods.

Ji Yuan idly listened to the chatter in his sad state of mind. He also listened to the world outside the temple through the beating of the rain, and let it calm his heart.

When these people called him a beggar, did that mean his soul had possessed the body of a beggar in this world?

As for his self who had been found by the search and rescue team on Niu Tou Mountain, was that self dead?

He hadn’t eaten or drank anything for over half a month, so that self must have died…

Mom and Dad will be very sad when they hear the news. Grandpa and grandma are so old, if they knew…

As Ji Yuan’s thoughts raced, two lines of tears flowed from the corners of his eyes down his dirty face.

Perhaps being paralyzed meant that he didn’t consume much energy, but Ji Yuan didn’t feel any obvious hunger.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but the rain outside gradually stopped, and Ji Yuan’s heart skipped a beat. He remembered that the merchants wanted to depart as soon as the rain stopped.

“Brother Shilin, the rain seems to have stopped!”

Came the voice of the young man named Wang Dong.

“Yes, but it’s getting dark soon. It’s too dangerous to walk at night in the mountains after the rain. Let’s spend the night in the mountain temple.”

Zhang Shilin’s voice followed.

Ji Yuan was stunned for a moment. It turned out that it was getting dark. At this time, he felt quite fortunate that the rain had stopped late enough that these people would not leave him just yet, at least for tonight.

After the rain stopped, some of the merchants went out to collect some more wood and placed it next the fire to dry, to ensure that there would be enough firewood to burn that night.

Ji Yuan seemed to have been forgotten. No one came to check on his condition after dark.

He was actually looking forward to having Zhang Shilin or someone else replace the cloth on his forehead and help him drink some water. It wasn’t that he really needed it, but it was at the very least a small indication that the merchants wouldn’t leave him behind.

But reality was a bit cruel. He wasn’t a family member or a friend, he was just a sick beggar who seemed to be slowly dying.

Ji Yuan couldn’t help but lament that if If he were in the 21st century, he probably would have been saved long ago.

“Woah, there are so many people in this barren mountain temple, now I don’t have to be afraid!”

A strange and surprising voice suddenly sounded at the entrance of the temple, making Zhang Shilin and the others turn their heads to look at the door. Some of the merchants stood up in alarm.

At the door was a man who looked like a scholar, with the characteristic long robe. He seemed very happy to see the people in the temple.

“It’s so good to see you! I went into the mountains to play during the day and got separated from my friends. I ended up getting lost in the mountains. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily, so I had to find a place to shelter from the rain. After the rain stopped, it became dark. I was so scared, but fortunately I saw the fire here!”

The visitor walked inside while talking.

“Even if you are bandits, even if I lose some money, I hope you can take me with you when you go down the mountain. I don’t dare stay on the mountain alone!”

Seeing how nervous and surprised the visitor was, Zhang Shilin and the others smiled and breathed sighs of relief. He really was just an unlucky scholar.

“Come sit by the fire, we’re not bandits!”

“Hahahaha, you scholars are so relaxed, running into the mountains to play! Don’t you have a reputation to uphold?”

“Never have I ever… Laughed so hard…”

The scholar was somewhat reserved, but everyone could see the state of embarrassment in his heart, which made these merchants chuckle.

In the entire mountain temple, only one person felt that something was wrong.

Ji Yuan’s back was cold, his scalp was numb, and goose bumps appeared all over his body.

Ji Yuan hadn’t noticed that there was another person in the temple until Zhang Shilin and the others had spoken with the scholar.

Just now, he didn’t sense the so-called scholar arriving at the mountain temple, and couldn’t hear the scholar’s footsteps from beginning to end!

There was something very wrong with this scholar!

1. Another historical legend from Ancient China, starring the eponymous Duke of Ye. As legend has it, the man loved dragons so much that he decorated the walls of his house with dragons, but when the real dragons in heaven heard and came to visit he fled in terror. This is the source of the idiom “葉公好龍” which means, more or less, to pretend to like something despite fearing it. ↩︎
2. T/n: Imagine you wake up one day and you’re in the middle of the Brothers Grimm version of the fairy tales, where the fey are eldritch tricksters and people don’t flinch at cutting off parts of their bodies to get their happy endings… Yeah I’d be terrified too. ↩︎
3. As in a heart skipping a beat ↩︎