Chapter 1: The Mythic Treasure Mirror, Westward Out of Hangu Pass

“Old Lu, your package.”

The door of Room 302 swung open.

Li Fei casually tossed the package into Lu Ge’s arms.

“My package?”

“I didn’t order anything either.”

Lu Ge looked at the package in his arms with some confusion.

Li Fei shrugged. “Then I have no idea.”

“I went to pick up the packages earlier, and saw one with your name on it, so I just brought it back for you.”

After saying that, he headed straight for the bathroom—the newly arrived holy grail needed a wash before use.

Lu Ge stared at the package, pondering for a moment. What the heck, he thought, might as well open it first.

With a small knife, he carefully sliced through the tape and peeled open the cardboard box.

Inside, there was only an ancient mirror.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Lu Ge raised an eyebrow.

Hey, not bad—you're quite handsome.

Almost as good-looking as the readers, just a little behind.

Lu Ge reached out to take the mirror, but suddenly, something strange happened.

The moment his fingers touched the mirror, a blinding light burst forth, nearly dazzling him.

“What the hell is this thing?”

[Mythical Treasure Mirror binding successful.]

[Current instance: Westward Beyond Hangu Pass.]

[Mission: Gain the sage’s approval and journey westward beyond Hangu Pass with the sage.]

[Reward: @#%￥@.]

“What kind of instance is this?”

“Westward? Eastward?”

Rubbing his eyes, Lu Ge finally regained his vision.

Fortunately, he hadn’t gone blind.

The mountains and rivers before him were crystal clear.

Wait a minute.

This isn’t right.

Wasn’t I just in the dorm room?

How did I end up here?

Lu Ge gazed around in a daze.

Tall mountains towered overhead; waterfalls cascaded down.

He was sitting on a mossy stone by a pool.

“Did I travel through time or space?”

Lu Ge muttered to himself.

“No, I think I just heard someone speaking.”

“Something about binding success, and some weird words.”

Coming back to his senses, he turned his eyes and whispered, “System?”

“Are you there?”

No reply came from the system, but a glowing screen unfurled before Lu Ge’s eyes.

The screen’s shape mirrored that of the ancient mirror in the package.

Across its surface were several lines of bold text.

[Current instance: Westward Beyond Hangu Pass.]

[Difficulty: F-SSS.]

[Mission: Gain the sage’s approval and journey westward beyond Hangu Pass with the sage.]

[Reward: @#%￥@.]

Lu Ge felt a bit let down; he was expecting something a little more exciting.

“So I’ve been transported into some kind of instance?”

“Westward beyond Hangu Pass—that name isn’t unfamiliar.”

“But why is the reward just gibberish?”

No matter how puzzled he was, the ancient mirror only showed that much information.

Lu Ge sat motionless, staring at the waterfall, lost in thought.

“The situation is becoming clearer.”

“The package I received must be some kind of system.”

“I’m supposed to be sent into these instances to complete tasks and earn rewards.”

“But this instance’s reward is just nonsense.”

“This lousy mirror isn’t much help.”

Westward beyond Hangu Pass was a well-known story in Chinese culture.

It was the tale of Laozi, the Taoist sage, riding his ox westward.

In mythology, it was said that Laozi’s departure transformed the Hu people into Buddhists.

Whatever the truth, the protagonist was this Taoist founder.

Historically, he was a sage.

In mythology, he was also a sage.

“I just don’t know whether this instance is based on historical events or mythology,” Lu Ge muttered, feeling a headache coming on.

The mission was to gain the sage’s approval.

So the first thing to do was to find him.

This godforsaken place had neither village nor town.

Where was he supposed to find anyone?

Carefully, Lu Ge rose and moved away from the pool’s edge.

The mossy stone he had been sitting on was right by the water; one misstep could send him plunging in.

“A gentleman never stands beneath a crumbling wall.”

Better to avoid drowning before even finding the sage.

Kids, summer’s here—remember to stay away from water sources.

“Step one: find someone, ask where I am, then ask where the sage is.”

Lu Ge set a small goal for himself.

Looking all around, he saw nothing but trees.

The waterfall and pool were completely encircled by forest.

There was no path at all.

Lu Ge had no choice but to pick a direction at random.

As Lu Xun once said, “There is no path in the world; but when many walk it, a path appears.”

Well then, he would be the first to blaze a trail.

He picked up a straight branch from the ground.

He pushed through bushes to the left and brushed leaves to the right.

This trick was called “Startling the Snake.”

Lu Ge’s luck held—he had arrived at noon, and even by nightfall, he had not encountered any wild beasts or poisonous insects.

But one problem remained.

He was lost.

Well, to be precise, not really lost.

After all, he never knew the way to begin with.

“Damn, where am I?”

“I’ve been walking forever, but why do I feel like I’m going in circles?”

“What kind of crappy place is this? Crap, crap, crap.”

Lu Ge’s patience was wearing thin.

He was just an ordinary high school student with no wilderness survival skills.

At this rate, he might starve to death before finding the sage.

“Looks like my first challenge isn’t finding the sage.”

“It’s figuring out how to survive.”

The forest did have plenty of wild fruits.

But Lu Ge didn’t dare eat any.

Who knew if they were poisonous?

He rubbed his growling stomach.

“Stop complaining. I’m hungry too.”

“Just hold on.”

He tore a vine and tied it around his waist, having heard that this might help ease hunger.

Night soon fell.

Afraid to keep walking, Lu Ge found a small clearing.

He stomped down the grass and prepared to camp out.

He was terrified of snakes.

Sleeping under a tree meant risk of snakebite.

Sleeping in the branches meant risking a fall, as well as snakebite.

This way, at least he felt a little safer.

He plopped down, exhausted and hungry after a whole afternoon’s trek.

Unconsciously, he drifted off to sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Ge suddenly felt a stinging pain on his face.

He groggily opened his eyes and saw someone raising a hand to slap him.

“Hey, hey, hey!”

“What are you doing?”

Startled, Lu Ge kicked back and scrambled away.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

The man smiled when he saw Lu Ge stirring.

Only then did Lu Ge get a good look at him.

A middle-aged man dressed in coarse linen, with an axe hanging at his waist.

“Who are you?”

Lu Ge felt both relieved and scared.

Relieved to see a person—proof he wasn’t in some primeval forest and could survive.

Scared that this stranger might suddenly attack and turn him into a meal.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry.”

“I live down the mountain, and make a living by gathering firewood.”

“I came up today and found you lying here, couldn’t wake you no matter how I shouted.”

“I was afraid something bad had happened, so I had to take action.”

The woodcutter hurriedly explained.

His speech wasn’t standard Mandarin.

Lu Ge couldn’t even tell which dialect it was.

Yet somehow, he understood every word.

This must be one of the mirror’s functions—automatically translating speech into a language its user can comprehend.

Lu Ge touched his cheek, unsure how many hard slaps he had just received.