On a tranquil early morning, within a forest, a figure lay sprawled across a lush, dewy patch of grass.
"Ah..." A long yawn escaped a teenager, about sixteen years old, as he began to sit up on the grass.
"Whoa!"
A startled cry escaped him as he sat up and realized he was in the forest, with no idea how he had gotten there. With a dazed and bewildered expression, he began to look around, his face betraying utter disbelief at his presence here, a place he certainly shouldn't be.
"This... Where is this?"
The forest's silence was enough to confirm he was utterly alone. With his quick wit, he likely understood that shouting would be futile; if he wanted to discover his whereabouts, it was best to conserve his strength for searching rather than screaming in vain.
"Who am I, really?"
He looked down at the clothes he was wearing, and the bewilderment in his eyes deepened. Even now, he couldn't grasp why he was here, and more importantly, who he was?! He didn't know, no one knew, and this filled him with a profound, terrifying fear. It was as if, amidst the vast expanse of mountains and forests, between heaven and earth, he was utterly alone. This pervasive sense of solitude gradually intensified, giving rise to an overwhelming feeling of despair.
"But this isn't the time for fear. I need to get out of here and figure out where this place is, and more importantly, who I am."
With a goal now in mind, the despair in his eyes lessened somewhat, though a condensed residue stubbornly refused to dissipate. In this vast forest, his gaze met only trees, endless trees. There wasn't a single human footprint, only those of a few wild animals. He walked on without a single break, yet ahead of him, the boundless forest still stretched on.
By midday, he finally found a stream.
"Though this isn't getting me out of here yet, having water to drink means I can keep going. And with wild berries picked along the way, I won't have to worry about food or drink anymore. The goal is clear; I need to act immediately."
As he thought this, his determination reached its peak: a resolve to leave this place, a resolve to discover who he was. And so, he walked by day and slept on tree branches at night to avoid wild beasts, a crackling fire below providing a little warmth in the cold night. But this was merely superficial; the fire could not dispel the chill in his heart, the loneliness intertwined with fear. The feeling of not even remembering who he was – that feeling was truly terrifying, utterly terrifying.
Three days had passed since he woke up on that patch of grass. He had walked straight through the forest, yet he still couldn't find his way out. Gradually, he could no longer endure the physical and mental exhaustion pressing down on a teenager like him. But what did that matter? He needed to know who he was. Where did he come from? Why was he in this place?
By the fifth day, his feet could barely drag anymore. He was so tired, truly exhausted, feeling as if his body was about to collapse. Only lying down would help him feel better, but he couldn't do that; he had to keep going, to get out of here. But he was utterly spent. After finding an open spot, he leaned against a tree trunk, intending to continue once he felt better, but as he sat down, he couldn't resist and fell asleep. This sleep was very long, very long...
After a long and exhausting journey, a deep sleep was inevitable for anyone, and the young man was no exception. In his sleep, he dreamed he was in a beautiful place, seemingly a very tidy house. He found himself in a room, next to a bed, and to his surprise, on it was a very familiar figure – a young man! What startled him even more was that when he got closer, he saw the young man was unexpectedly identical to himself, even the clothes on his body were the same as his own at that moment. Amidst his fascination, a glimmer of understanding appeared in his eyes, yet it was very vague, lingering and elusive. It was as if a curtain of mist lay before him, but no matter what he did, he couldn't dispel it; the more he thought, the more indistinct it became.
"Click!" A sudden sound echoed in his mind, and at that moment, the dream ended. Even after waking, the dizzying sensation still lingered persistently in his head, refusing to dissipate.
But before he could shake off the haziness, the scene before his eyes startled him:
"This, this is..."
Before his eyes was a simple bamboo ceiling, and where he was leaning back was a bamboo bed, not the base of a giant tree in a vast forest as he remembered before falling asleep. This scene truly startled him!
"Big brother, are you awake?!"
A clear voice, like a brass bell, rang out. This pleasant voice, falling upon the young man's ears, soothed his agitated mood, even though he was startled to find an unknown person beside him. He slowly turned his head towards the side of the bed, where a little girl had appeared at some unknown point, her eyes wide as she stared intently at him. Her face held an innocent and naive expression, and though still young, her features already hinted at the beauty of a future peerless woman.
"You... who are you? Where, where is this?"
Seeing the little girl and hearing her voice further eased his tension. She was clearly younger than him, but not by much, perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, giving her the appearance of a young maiden just coming of age.
"Me?" Hearing his question, she immediately smiled, a bright smile like flowers blooming in spring. Seeing her smile, even in his confusion, he was momentarily stunned and just stared. Seeing him stare so blankly, her pretty face flushed. She was about to speak when, at that very moment, a dignified voice echoed from outside the room:
"You're awake?" From outside the doorway, a middle-aged man with a dignified appearance emerged. His build wasn't burly, yet he possessed an indescribable aura, as if he were a long-reigning mortal emperor, standing at the pinnacle, commanding thousands, capable of exuding such an imposing presence.
After entering the room, the middle-aged man walked to the bedside and cast his eyes upon the youth sitting on the bed. These eyes were very bright, full of spirit, as if they contained the heavens and earth, encompassing everything. An involuntary wave of pressure emanated from him, conveyed through his gaze, directly enveloping the youth, causing him to tremble. This sensation was so powerful it almost became unbearable. Fortunately, the middle-aged man's gaze merely swept past him before shifting to the young woman beside the bed. His expression softened, revealing a benevolent look as he regarded the young woman. Upon seeing her flushed face, he cleared his throat and spoke:
"Nhu nhi, please step outside. I wish to speak with him."
The young woman, called Nhu nhi, bowed her head and softly assented. Before leaving the room, she turned back to glance at the youth on the bed before finally departing.
"Who are you? Why did you faint in this forest at the foot of Mount Phong Son? Moreover, your clothes are very strange. Where exactly do you come from?"
After the young woman left the room, the middle-aged man didn't even wait for him to collect himself before barraging him with a series of questions. This left him stunned, but very quickly he fell back into silence, a dazed look on his face. After a long moment, he let out a bitter laugh and spoke in a low voice:
"I... I truly don't remember anything. I can't even remember who I am, or where I came from..."
This answer, when spoken, also left the middle-aged man stunned. After a long silence, he motioned for the youth to get off the bed, then stepped outside.
Outside the room was a bamboo forest. The morning sunlight still lingered on the bamboo leaves, making them appear sharper and more elegant. From here, one could clearly see the back of a tall, cloud-shrouded mountain. The dwellings here were not just the one room he had been in, but many, arranged in long, dense rows all around. The paths leading through the various rooms were paved with stone, pleasing to the eye. If even the paths were so well-made, then the houses themselves were undoubtedly magnificent, exuding an invisible majesty that made one feel compelled to bow their head upon arrival. He was no exception; as soon as he stepped out the door and saw the surrounding scenery, he couldn't help but take a deep breath, overwhelmed by the sight.
"Do you find it strange?"
The young woman who had been called out earlier had been standing somewhere in the distance in the bamboo forest. Now, seeing the middle-aged man emerge, she walked over. Just as she saw his expression, she widened her eyes and asked.
"Nothing... Ah!"
Before he could finish his sentence, he witnessed a sight he would likely never forget in his entire life. Before his eyes, from a distant direction, a streak of light was tearing through the air, hurtling towards them. The speed of that light streak was incredibly fast; in the blink of an eye, it had flown from afar and stopped right in front of the middle-aged man.