The Jianghu of Feng Qingcheng and Mo Xibei

Volume One: Ten Years in the Martial World, A Wine-Drinking Journey (Prologue) - Time Travel

People who know him often use Mo Xibei to discipline their own children, because in everyone's eyes, Mo Xibei has always been a well-behaved child since childhood.

When I was in elementary school, my mother said I couldn't watch TV at night, otherwise it would affect my studies. So, while other kids watched TV, Mo Xibei refused to. Back then, there was no cable TV, and signals were transmitted without a signal. Every night after dinner, I would go back to my room, turn on my FM radio, and carefully, little by little, tune to the same frequency as the TV program my parents were watching next door. I would listen to it without fail all night long.

In middle school, the teacher said not to talk to your deskmate in class. So while everyone else whispered among themselves, Mo Xibei remained silent. She liked to sit by the window, and there was always a circle drawn on her desk. During class, she would hold a pen upright in the center of the circle, calling it a simple sundial. Leaning against the sundial, even without a watch, she knew how many minutes were left before get out of class ended. By repeatedly calculating the time, she passed countless classes she disliked.

Fortunately, Mo Xibei inherited his parents' good brains and was able to get into a not-so-good school and a not-so-good major when he took the college entrance exam.

From childhood to adulthood, many people have asked her, "Beibei, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Northwest always says, "When I grow up, I want to retire and then eat all the delicious food in the world."

Many people dismiss such a child's "strange" ideal as mere childish naiveté. Only her close friends know that Mo Xibei possesses a stubborn innocence deep within her, a naiveté she can earnestly plan and prepare to carry out. She's unemployed, but the relentless competition of her childhood has worn her down. Why can't she be herself? Sleep when she wants to sleep, eat when she wants to eat, watch TV when she wants to watch TV, and of course, play when she wants to play. What a wonderful life!

Time travel was definitely an element Mo Xibei hadn't considered in her life plan. Although she always believed that the world was composed of many parallel timelines, the question of why ancient sites existed in these parallel timelines had always troubled her. Without a clear explanation, many other questions were impossible to answer. Nevertheless, she still insisted on memorizing the ancient and modern place names of all the rare metal producing areas in China from her geography book, just in case, even though it seemed a bit funny to her.

Many things are just waiting for an opportunity. Later, Mo Xibei often thought that everything started when she and her classmates went on a trip to another city during the summer vacation and drew a strange fortune slip at the famous Yue Lao Temple.

The words on the fortune slip were in classical Chinese poetry, but she didn't pay attention to what it said. She only saw the words "medium" on the slip before being pulled into a small room by a young girl who was interpreting fortune slips and promoting them. What else did the girl say? Northwest forgot. She only remembered leaving with a talisman that was said to be able to ward off bad luck.

That night, she and her classmates stayed at a supposedly old-fashioned inn with an antique feel. That night, she repeatedly heard someone sighing in her ear. That night, her dreams were complicated and chaotic, with many figures appearing clearly in her dreams, dressed in clothing from before the Qing Dynasty, one fragment after another, with laughter and tears.

When she woke up again, Mo Xibei found that she was no longer herself. She chose to remain silent and quietly looked at everything around her.

She became a little girl of about 3 years old, living in a high-walled compound. No one noticed her transformation, and Mo Xibei then realized that she was no longer welcomed by others.

Unlike the indifference of those around her, a little boy who was about her age, or even slightly shorter, would often come to play with her. Gradually, Northwest learned her current name: Jingjia, the daughter of the Prince of Xing. At that time, the princess was pregnant for ten months and gave birth to twins. The boy was named Houcong according to the family genealogy, and he was the one who often played with her. As for herself, she was the other girl.

The birth of twins, a dragon and a phoenix, should have been the happiest event. However, a fortune teller said that the two babies born in the Prince of Xing's mansion were destined to fight for their lives. Twins could not both live, and one had to be sacrificed to save the other.

At first, the prince and princess did not believe such rumors. However, over the course of three years, the heir Hou Cong fell seriously ill several times. The last time was just a few days before he arrived from the Northwest. The best doctors had already given up. However, each time, as long as the little girl Jing Jia also fell ill at the same time, Hou Cong's illness would always be miraculously cured.

Northwest remained silent amidst the rumors and gossip around her. She thought she probably understood why Jingjia had disappeared and why she had come here.

Northwest rarely saw the princess. She had no feelings for her current mother, but whenever she saw the princess's gloomy eyes, Northwest instinctively felt afraid. Fortunately, Hou Cong suited her heart well. He was small and chubby, like a meatball that could run and jump on its own.

Speaking of meatballs, Northwest swallowed hard. Her meals at the Prince's mansion were terrible, almost no different from those of her maid, Xiao Tao, who served her. Meat was a rare treat.

I'm not afraid of time travel, but could I at least have meat to eat every meal? Northwest asked this question in his sleep, and when he woke up, he felt even hungrier.

Actually, hunger isn't the scariest thing. The scariest thing is Hou Cong's body. It's said that his round and chubby body is prone to illness every three days and minor illness every two days. Having a meatball to amuse himself is a good thing, but who would be willing to risk their life for a meatball?

However, what was bound to happen could not be avoided in the end. Hou Cong, who would secretly bring Xiang Rou to see him every day, did not appear for several days in a row. Everyone in the Prince's mansion was in a panic. Doctors were called in one after another, and then sent away in batches. Northwest knew that Hou Cong was sick again, and very seriously.

That night, the princess, for the first time ever, came to the room of the Northwest—no, now the Northwest called Jingjia. Her gentle voice was heavenly music to Xiao Tao's ears, but to the Northwest's ears, it was a death knell.

“Jia’er, your mother doesn’t want this either, but your brother’s condition is really bad, even worse than last time…”

"I know you don't understand yet, but I still have to tell you. When I gave birth to you, the doctor said I couldn't have any more children, so I only have your brother. This palace is too big, and it's so hard to find a place for everyone. So, don't blame me. In your next life, you must be a boy. I will pray to heaven for you..."

Northwest remained silent and watched the princess's every move warily. When the princess took out the white silk from her bosom, he suddenly spoke, saying, "This will leave a trace. It would be better for me to throw myself into the river. We can then say to the outside world that I drowned."

The princess took a few steps back in alarm, her eyes filled with disbelief.

That afternoon, rumors circulated that Princess Jingjia of the Xing Prince's Mansion had accidentally drowned in Mochou L

……