《Going Back Into A Distant Past》 Prologue Some people say ¡°Life is actually beautiful; people don¡¯t just realize that fact.¡± Chu Yan has the urge to punch the person who says these words. Life might be beautiful for some people but for some, it is just a boring and dull life. Chu Yan was born into an ordinary family in China and he was the only child in his family. His parents got into an accident and passed away when he was in primary school. His paternal grandma took custody of him since then. He only vividly remembers the so-called parental love. Even though he received affections from his grandma, it would be quite different from the love from his parents. Whenever Chinese New Year arrives, he would be envious of his friends who are spending their time with their own families.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. When he was in High School, his grandma also passed away due to her advanced age. Even though he received some inheritance from his parents and grandma, it is not enough to support himself. So, he had to take on some part-time jobs. During the days of his high school and university, he worked at restaurants, delivered foods and many other odd jobs. After he graduated from university, he got a normal 9-5 job. He was just leading an ordinary life. One day, he received a spam message which says ¡°Do you want to go back to the Era of Ancient China?¡± He just thought that it was just a prank message and tried to remove it. But it does not disappear! So, he tried to reboot his phone but it did not work either. Finally, he just clicked the ¡°Yes¡± button and he felt like his consciousness is fading¡­¡­.. Ch1. Transmigration When Chu Yan woke up, he saw a girl wearing hanfu clothes looking at him worriedly. He thought that the girl was filming a movie so he asked ¡°Hey, are you filming a wuxia movie?¡± The girl looked confused and replied back ¡°What is a movie? Young Master Chu?¡± ¡°Young Master Chu? Who are you? And where am I?¡± At this time, Chu Yan took a careful look at the surroundings and he noticed that the room decorations are quite different from modern times. He found out that he was lying on a wooden couch and the pillow was made of bamboo. It is not very comfortable to use a bamboo pillow. The girl looked surprised and answered his question. ¡°Me? I¡¯m A Xin and I¡¯m a maid assigned to look after Young Master. You are currently at the Dong Family Manor.¡± ¡®Did I actually return back to ancient China?¡¯ Chu Yan was doubtful. Then Chu Yan asked the maid again. ¡°What year is this year?¡± ¡°Young Master, did you lose your memories? It is the first year of Yuanshou (Yu¨¢nsh¨°u)¡± ¡°Yuanshou? Who is the current Emperor?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Emperor Ai¡±¡¯ ¡°Oh, that¡¯s the legendary cut-sleeve Emperor!¡± ¡°What do you mean by cut-sleeve, young master?¡± ¡°You¡¯re still young. Some things do better not know¡± The maid looked concerned and asked Chu Yan. ¡°After being drowned in the water, Young Master is behaving quite different from the usual demeanour. Should I ask the Physician to come over?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. How was I drowned? I don¡¯t seem to remember anything at all.¡± ¡°Young Master slipped near the river and was drowned. Luckily, someone rescued the young master.¡± Chu Yan was deep in thoughts due to her words. ¡®It seemed like the original body was drowned and died? And my soul went into this body. I asked a few more questions to A Xin and I found out that this original body is also called Chu Yan. What a coincidence! Is it a novel? And this Dong Family Manor is the manor of Dong Xian, who was in a homosexual relationship with the Emperor (according to History). Oh, and it seems that I am a study-mate of Dong Xian¡¯s younger cousin, Dong Ming.¡¯Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! During ancient China, some rich and influential families sent their sons to schools to study. However, some families would just invite some renowned scholars to their mansion and looked for study-mates for their sons to study together. According to A Xin, Chu Yan was an orphan and the Dong family took me in since he was young. The age of his current body is around 16. Then Chu Yan asked her how long the Emperor has been ruling the country. She told him that it has been four years since the Emperor ascended the throne. Even though he does not remember much about this age¡¯s history, he knew a bit that the Emperor only ruled for a short six years before he fell ill and passed away. After the death of Emperor, Dong Xian and his wife would be forced to commit suicide. Then the Dong family will also be exiled and the assets were forfeited to the imperial treasury. Such a tragic ending! He would not be able to change what is going to happen and it is better not to be implicated in this mess. That is why he should leave the Dong Manor as soon as possible. A Xin told Chu Yan that the original body and Dong Ming were good friends and they grew up together. So he should say goodbye to Dong Ming before he leaves. He asked A Xin about Dong Ming. ¡°Where is Dong Ming?¡± ¡°The young master should be in the study.¡± So he went to the study and he found a 15 or 16 years old youth looking at the books. That youth noticed him and inquired. ¡°Chu Yan, have you recovered?¡± ¡°Yes, more or less.¡± ¡°Why did you come here?¡± ¡°I would like to leave the Dong Manor and I just came to say goodbye to you.¡± ¡°Why so sudden? This is the place where you grew up. Why are you going to leave?¡± So, He explained to him that he lost his memories and gave some excuse that he wanted to go around the country and try to recall his memories. The youth tried to stop Chu Yan but at last, he relented. ¡°Okay. If you wish to go, that¡¯s fine. But remember that this is always your house and I¡¯m your friend. Come back whenever you feel tired from your journey.¡± Then he gave Chu Yan some money for expenses. Chu Yan felt quite touched by his generosity. Even though Dong Ming and the original body are childhood friends, he is just a stranger to Chu Yan from the future. But Chu felt the warmth from his words and said ¡°Thank you for your care. By the way, do you trust me?¡± ¡°Of course! Why do you ask me this question?¡± ¡°Would you believe me if I said that the Emperor is going to pass away a year later and the Dong family would be in deep trouble?¡± ¡°Huh? Why are you saying this? The Emperor is young and is in good health. He would not leave the world yet.¡± Chu Yan thought. ¡®It was recorded in actual history that the Emperor passed away due to his old disease. But it seems like the truth is not that simple.¡¯ Chu Yan said to Dong Ming. ¡°Alright. If you believe me, you should try to persuade your cousin not to be too close to the Emperor. Or he might be in trouble later.¡± Dong Ming hesitated. ¡°It¡­It might not be easy¡­¡­¡± ¡°Okay. Just remember one thing. When you hear that the Emperor passes away, you should run away from the capital. The farther you can go, the better it is for you.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll remember your words. Take care of yourself. Let us meet again someday.¡± ¡°Yes, let us meet again.¡± Ch2. Changan, the Capital of Han Chu Yan came out of the manor and strolled around the capital. The capital is rectangular in structure and the Dong Manor is located in the northern part of the capital. It is divided into five parts; east, west, south, north, and central districts respectively. In the north, there are government halls for civil and military examinations. So, anyone who wants to become a government official has to take exams in these halls. There is also an Imperial Ancestral Shrine in the northern part. It is said that the Emperor would come and pay respects to his ancestors every year. There is also an inn in the north region. After looking around the north area, he went to the eastern part. There are some ancestral shrines in this area. There is a large water pond in the middle of the district and there are some lotus flowers in the pond. There is a graveyard located at the corner of the city. There are some businesses that rent equipment for the funeral. You can hire some ritual exorcists from that place as well. And the south of the capital is mostly made up of residential areas. There are some shrines and several Daoist abbeys as well. The western part is the busiest part of the city. There is a West Market where you could find all the merchants from many countries including Persia, Rome, and Goguryeo. You can find all kinds of beverages, pastries, and other products from western countries. There are also high-quality ginsengs from Goguryeo. Cang¡¯an is the eastern terminal of the Silk Road, so there is no surprise that you could find many merchants from different countries. There are several inns in this district. Finally, he went to the central part. The central part is where the Imperial Palace is located. The high ranking officials are allowed to stay in the central part as well. There are also schools and academies in the central part. They teach law, politics, war, mathematics, calligraphy, Confucianism, Daoism, etc. He saw many young scholars coming in and out of these academies. Then he went to take a look at the Imperial Palace. The two main palaces are called Weiyang Palace and Changle Palace. Weiyang means that ¡°something has not reached the middle¡± and the meaning of Changle is ¡°Perpetual happiness¡±. So when you combine the two meanings, it becomes ¡°The perpetual happiness has not even reached the midpoint yet¡±. Changle Palace is also called East Palace and it is the place where the Empress Dowager resides. Weiyang Palace is the West Palace where the Emperor meets up with his ministers and generals. There is also Gui Palace where the harem of the Emperor resides. Nevertheless, the palace is off-limits to the commoners. In his previous life, Chu Yan read some facts about the Weiyang Palace that it is 11 times larger than the size of Vatican City.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. It was already noon when he finished looking around the capital. He just went to the western part of the city and then rented a room at an inn. After that, he began to think about what he needed to do next. When he was having his dinner, he heard some people in the inn are talking. ¡°I heard that Wang Mang has come back to the capital.¡± ¡°Oh, really? How come?¡± ¡°I heard that Wang Mang has many connections so, the Emperor is under pressure. He had no choice but to call Wang Mang back.¡± Then the two men spoke quietly. But Chu Yan was near them, so he could hear what they were speaking about. ¡°The court might be in turmoil again.¡± ¡°Yeah, Emperor Wang was indecisive, previous Emperor Cheng is prodigal and the current Emperor is too much in love that he doesn¡¯t really care about the state affairs.¡± Chu Yan pondered about it. ¡®I remembered that Wang Mang would usurp the throne later on. His rule lasted for like 10 years or so. I¡¯m not really sure and I don¡¯t remember much about this era. Anyway, I don¡¯t want to get involved in these politics. I want to take a look at how the ancient Chinese people live. I want to go to Suzhou and look at the condition of my hometown 2000 years ago.¡¯ Chu Yan was born and raised in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province of modern China. Even though he did lead a boring life before, he still had some feelings for his hometown and he wanted to go there and see it. So, he went to the Inn Owner and inquired him. ¡°Are there any transports from the capital to Suzhou¡­.oh, I mean Wu in Yangzhou?¡± ¡°If you ride a fast horse, it might take you 15 to 20 days to reach there but if you travel with the carriage, it might take twice the time of riding a horse.¡± Chu Yan does not really know how to ride a horse so; he had to travel with a carriage. Then he inquired. ¡°Where can I rent a carriage?¡± ¡°At the end of this street, there is a place where you could rent carriages.¡± ¡°Thank you¡± At that time, Chu Yan got a stomach ache so he asked the boss. ¡°Boss, where is the toilet?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s at the back of the inn, near the pigsty.¡± When Chu Yan went there and opened the toilet door, his face became dark. He went back to the boss and asked again. ¡°There is only a wooden bucket in there. And it¡¯s very smelly!¡± ¡°You just need to excrete into there. Why do I need to explain this basic stuff?¡± ¡°Huh? So, how should I wipe my butt after I finish my business?¡± ¡°Just use this.¡± Then the boss handed him a stick. It was a shit stick made of bamboo! In ancient times, people either took the excretion to feed the pig or threw them away into the river. When they go to the toilet, they use these shit sticks to clean themselves! Chu Yan wanted to cry but had no tears. He suddenly missed the toilet bowl and toilet paper of the modern age! Ch3. Travelling to Luoyang Chu Yan spent at the inn for one night. The next day, he went out to hire a carriage driver for his travel. The carriage driver is a young man at the age of 17 called Xiao Gao. He planned to go to Luoyang first, then to Xiapi. After that, he would take a boat to Wu. Apart from not knowing how to ride a horse, he has another problem at this age. He does not know how to wear the hanfu. The ancient people wear too many layers of clothes. It is really hard for him and the sleeves of the clothes are really wide. Anyway, after hiring a carriage, they went out of the city through the east door. The roads of ancient China are quite harsh. Chu Yan feels uncomfortable because he is not really used to travelling with a horse carriage. After going for three days, they finally reached Luoyang. Luoyang is a bustling city. You can see many people coming in and out of the city. There are many shops and restaurants in Luoyang. Even though Luoyang is not as big as the capital, Chu Yan thinks that it would probably the second largest city in this day and age. Chu Yan also saw the gathering of poets who were reciting their own poems. So, he remembered that Luoyang is also regarded as the ¡°Capital of Poets¡±. After having his meal at the inn, he went out to stroll around the city. Then, in the bazaar, he saw an interesting scene. There was a young girl asking for money to bury her mom by selling herself. There was a crowd around her. She is quite a beauty. She has a calm and cool demeanour even though she is in this terrible situation. She is like a beautiful lotus flower on the top of the clear water surface. Chu Yan saw her and felt some pity so he gave her some money received from Dong Ming. The girl looked at him and said. ¡°Young Master, my name is Qin Ruo. May I know your name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Chu Yan. You don¡¯t need to repay me for this.¡± Chu Yan just turned around and left. After walking for some time, he realized that someone is following him. When he turned back, he saw that young girl. ¡°Why are you still following me? You don¡¯t need to do this. Just use the money to bury your mom properly.¡± ¡°T-then, where does young master live? Is young master a local here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a local here. I¡¯m going to Wu.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Chu Yan walked away. Qin Ruo was just standing there looking at Chu Yan without blinking an eye. Perhaps, she was trying to memorize the face of the young man who did a favour to her.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Chu Yan planned to stay for two days in Luoyang. He wanted to buy a dagger for himself because from Luoyang onwards, the terrain would be rough and there might be lots of bandits and thieves in places where the power of government could not reach. So, the next day, he went to the weaponsmith and bought a dagger. Even though he is not very proficient in martial arts, he learnt a few martial arts when he was young. So, even if he encounters some danger, he believes that he could protect himself. The next day, he went to Luo River. Luoyang is actually named after the Luo River because the city is located at the northern bank of the river. He then took a boat ride and enjoyed the scenery of the river. He saw a large number of gulls in the sky. He was on the boat till the dusk arrives. The sunset on Luo River is a beautiful scene that he would never forget in his life. He went back to his inn and Xiao Gao asked him. ¡°Young Master, did you enjoy riding the boat?¡± ¡°Yeah, it was an awesome experience. Let¡¯s continue our journey tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, young master.¡± The next day, they got up at the hour of Mao (5 to 7 am) and bought some baozi. Then Chu Yan rid the carriage and continued his journey. They got out of the city and travelled for three hours. At that time, they heard crying of a baby. Chu Yan looked around and he saw a wrapped cloth underneath a big tree. The cry is coming from there. So, he went to take a look. There he found a baby wrapped in a cloth. The baby is a boy and maybe about a couple of months old. For some reason, the parents cruelly abandoned their child here. There is also a wooden plate in the cloth. There are two characters on wooden plate, which are ¡°Deng Yu¡±. It is probably the name of the baby, Chu Yan pondered. ¡°Young Master, are you going to take the baby?¡± ¡°Yes, he might die if we just leave him like this. Please drive to the nearest village.¡± They then went to the closest village to buy some milk for the baby. Chu Yan took the child and then went around the village to ask where he could get the milk. Then, he went to the house of a lady who owns a cow. There was a middle-aged lady at the front of the house, so he asked, ¡°Excuse me, can I get some cow milk?¡± The lady looked at the child and smiled. ¡°Is it your child? He is such a cute baby.¡± Chu Yan tried to explain. ¡°No, I just found a baby on the road and took him with me. I¡¯m not his real father. I¡­..¡± The lady gave a all-knowing smile and said, ¡°It¡¯s ok, you don¡¯t need to explain. I understand.¡± Chu Yan smiled bitterly and complained in his heart. ¡®She obviously misunderstood. I¡¯m not married yet and now people think that I¡¯m a father. Can I still return the baby under 30-day return policy?¡¯ After that, Chu Yan resumed his journey to Xiapi. Ch4. Encountering with the robbers There is a horse-drawn carriage on the road to Xiapi. A young man was at the front of the carriage steering the horse. Inside the carriage, there is a youth and a baby. That youth is naturally Chu Yan. ¡°Waa¡­.waahh¡± ¡°Okay, okay! Don¡¯t cry. I¡¯m going to feed you some milk now¡± ¡°Wahhhh¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been crying for like seven days and seven nights now. Should I give you a new name called Qiye?¡± In his past life, he was the only son of the family so he did not have any experience in taking care of babies. After experiencing himself, he realized how troublesome it is for the parents to look after the children. It has been seven days since he left Luoyang. He should be able to get to Xiapi tomorrow. Currently, they are passing through a forest. Suddenly, Xiao Gao noticed a rope barring the road and tried to stop the horse. However, it was already too late. The legs of the horse were hurt due to that rope and it collapsed. The carriage also fell down. Luckily, Chu Yan was holding the baby so the baby did not get hurt. Chu Yan only suffered some bruises. He then went out of the carriage. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Young Master, the horse fell due to this stupid rope¡± ¡°It looks like someone put the rope here intentionally. It looks like a trap to me¡± At that time, some people appeared out of nowhere. These people do not look like good people and seem to be robbers. There are five of them in total and they have axes and swords in their hands. Among these people, a big guy with a bald head seemed to be the leader of this group. He came out and said in a threatening tone. ¡°Hey, give all of your possessions to us if you value your life¡± Chu Yan is thinking about how to resolve the problem. ¡®What should I do? There are five people encircling us. I don¡¯t think I would be able to take them on. Should I just give up on my money?¡¯ Just in that moment, Xiao Gao was chickened out and fled into the forest. ¡°Help me! There are robbers robbing us!¡± ¡®This idiot¡¯ Two of the robbers went after Xiao Gao. Chu Yan smiled at the remaining robbers and said, ¡°My money is in the carriage. Let me go and take it¡± ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t try to do anything funny¡± Chu Yan went into the carriage and put down the baby into the carriage. Then he came out of the carriage. The leader asked. ¡°Have you taken your money?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Chu Yan could not take on five people at once. But if there are three people, it might be possible. Even if he gave the money to the robbers, it is not guaranteed that they would let him off. So, he decided to risk himself for this. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.¡°Oh, big brother, come and take it¡± While he was getting closer to the leader, he was pretending to take the money underneath his clothes. But in actuality, he was trying to take out his dagger. ¡°Here is my money.¡± He took out his dagger and aimed to stab at the heart of the enemy. The leader of the robbers did not expect that a young and fragile looking youth would stab him. His eyes were widened. ¡°Y-you!!¡± Then, the big guy fell down. The two of the companions were also astonished. They did not expect that their boss would meet his end in the hands of a youth. They held their swords and tried to slash at Chu Yan. Meanwhile, Chu Yan was in a daze. Even though he killed someone in order to save himself, he still felt terrible. He could feel that his hands were shaking. After all, it was his first time killing someone. He saw that the remaining two were going to harm him, so he tried to dodge. He got a cut on his left arm. He planned to attack the two robbers back and at the time, an arrow came into the heart of the robber. The other one was panicked. ¡°Who? Who is this?¡± Then another arrow came and passed through his throat. Both of them are dead. Chu Yan looked at the direction of the arrow and saw a young beautiful lady. Her beauty is comparable to Qin Ruo whom he had seen in Luoyang. However, her beauty is different from Qin Ruo. The young lady is wearing a dark red robe. She has a perfect figure. Her complexion is pale and she has seductive phoenix eyes. You could sense a dangerous aura coming from her. She is like a wild rose covered with thorns. Chu Yan thought. ¡®During the time of Imperial China, women do not have the same rights as men. It is really rare to see a girl who excelled at martial arts. By the way, shouldn¡¯t the hero be saving the damsel in distress? Why is it the other way around for me?¡¯ He came back to his mind and thanked the lady. ¡°Thank you for saving me. My name is Chu Yan and I¡¯m a scholar travelling to Xiapi¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. My name is Li Ying¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s a bit too much but can Miss Li assist me in helping my friend? He is being chased by the other two robbers¡± ¡°Okay¡± Luckily, that Xiao Gao is not dead yet. The two men are still chasing after him. So, I went and took care of one guy whereas the other person became another victim of the arrow of the beauty. ¡°Young Master!! Thank you! Who is this young miss?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the one who rescued us¡± ¡°Thank you, beautiful miss!¡± ¡°No need¡± She then turned around to leave. But Chu Yan called her. ¡°Excuse me, Miss Li. May I know where you live? I might visit you and thank you for today¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. You don¡¯t need to. I don¡¯t have a stable home. I¡¯m just travelling around¡± Then she left.