Peach Blossom Land On Longyin Island Chapter 1
byAn Le
“In the depths of the ocean, there lives a beautiful creature. They can swim freely in the sea and walk on land… In the middle of the vast ocean, there is a beautiful island where a group of kind humans live. They fish the sea and gather wood from the mountains, leading a peaceful and wonderful secluded life… One day, a storm arose on the sea. After the storm passed, a fisherman found a beautiful, injured woman by the shore. The fisherman was kind-hearted and took the woman home to care for her meticulously. Afterward, strange things began happening in the fisherman’s house… It turned out that the girl was the embodiment of a mermaid. The mermaid, saved by the fisherman, offered herself to him in marriage to repay his life-saving kindness, and they became husband and wife… This is the story of the mermaid’s gratitude.”
Under a lush, leafy ginkgo tree with a trunk so thick it would take two people to embrace it, a group of half-grown children squatted, resting their chins in their hands, their ears perked, and their eyes shining as they gazed at the white-bearded old man telling the story from a bamboo chair beneath the tree.
“Wow~ I want to marry a mermaid too.” As soon as the white-bearded old man finished speaking, a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted. Five or six children clamored all at once, “Grandpa An, are there really mermaids?”
The white-bearded old man’s hair was silver like snow, his eyes were bright, and his face held a kind and benevolent smile. He chuckled, “Yes, there are. They live with the Dragon King in the Dragon Palace deep in the sea.”
“What do mermaids look like?”
“Mermaids have skin as delicate and white as pearls, hair as beautiful as seaweed, and lips as vibrant as coral.”
“Isn’t that Brother An Le?”
“It is, it is.” The children surrounding the white-bearded old man laughed and turned in unison to look at the smiling young man sitting cross-legged among them. The youth’s skin was whiter than snow, his lips were like painted cinnabar, and his eyes resembled bright stars. A single tear mole was perfectly placed beneath his left eyelid, making him exceptionally beautiful.
“So Brother is a mermaid,” a little girl about five or six years old, with her hair tied in double buns, said in a tender voice while leaning against the young man’s chest.
“Haha~” The white-bearded old man stroked his beard and laughed heartily a few times, saying, “That’s all for today’s story. Hurry home for dinner.”
As he spoke, several shouts could be heard from not far away: “Da Zhuang, Ying Ying, time to come home for dinner!” Hearing the calls, the children scattered instantly, running along the country path toward the voices.
Smoke curled from the chimneys, mist lingered, mountains layered one upon the other, and fields were crisscrossed by paths. A refreshing autumn breeze stirred up layers of golden wheat waves in the fields. The white-bearded old man leaned back in his bamboo chair, narrowed his eyes, and took a sip from a coarse blue ceramic teacup. He smiled warmly at the young man and the little girl with double buns who were still sitting under the tree. “An Le, Su Su, why aren’t you going home for dinner?”
The little girl’s voice was sweet as she replied, “Father went up the mountain to gather herbs, and Mother went to help Aunt Li deliver a baby. They haven’t come home yet.”
“Then you two eat with Grandpa An. Tell me what you want, and Grandpa An will make it for you,” the white-bearded old man said, lovingly stroking the little girl’s head.
“No need, Grandpa An,” the young man said with a smile, “We just ate breakfast, so we’re not hungry yet.”
“That’s right,” the little girl said, curving her eyes, “Brother and I just ate. Brother made it.”
“An Le is so capable.” The white-bearded old man looked at the handsome youth, his eyes full of affection. “Thanks to the Dragon King’s blessing, you recovered. Now your father and mother can finally rest easy.”
“It’s just that I don’t remember anything from before,” the young man said. “Grandpa An, I heard Father and Mother say that Longyin Village moved here to escape war and has not interacted with outsiders for two hundred years. So much time has passed now, the war must surely be over. Why do we still live in seclusion here?”
The white-bearded old man smiled and countered, “Isn’t it good here? The mountains are beautiful, the water is clear, and resources are abundant. There are no corvée labor or taxes; we work with our own hands and are self-sufficient. We live here in peace and tranquility. Why should we go out? The outside world may not necessarily be better than this place.”
“But aren’t you curious what the outside world is like?” the young man asked.
The white-bearded old man shook his head and smiled, “An Le, you are very special. Ever since you recovered from your illness half a year ago, I often have the feeling that you are not a person of Longyin Village.”
The young man paused, asking, “Why do you say that?”
“People of Longyin Village never ask what the outside world is like.” The white-bearded old man leaned back against the chair, gazing slowly at the clear blue sky. “For them, this is their home. Longyin villagers would never want to leave their home.”
Hearing this, the young man fell silent.
He truly did not belong here. He came from an era of highly developed technology, civilization, and information. Half a year ago, he died. When he woke up again, he had become An Le of Longyin Village—a seventeen-year-old simple-minded youth who looked exactly like him.
He had transmigrated, but he had landed on an isolated island—Longyin Island. He had regained life and a healthy body. He thought he could live vibrantly once more, but he discovered he couldn’t leave this place.
Longyin Village strictly forbade its residents from leaving Longyin Island.
“Father, Mother, in all these years, have you never thought about leaving the island to go outside?” An Le asked the middle-aged couple across from him during dinner. The two people before him were dressed simply in coarse cloth, both under forty years old. The man was lean, slightly dark-skinned, and amiable, smiling warmly as he put food on the plate of the little girl, An Su Su. The woman had her hair tied up with a single wooden hairpin, her features were delicate, and her smile was kind. These were the original owner’s parents, and also the village doctors of Longyin Village. After An Le woke up, his mind was naturally normal. The original owner’s parents and the villagers simply thought that the original owner’s simple-mindedness had been cured, and they didn’t realize that the body now housed a different person.
Over the past six months, he had asked many questions about Longyin Village and the world outside. Initially, the original owner’s parents and the villagers would show puzzled expressions, but they gradually got used to it.
Hearing his question, Father An asked, “Why would we go?”
“To see the outside world. Perhaps outside, humans no longer need flint to start a fire, perhaps humans can travel a thousand miles in a day, perhaps…”
“An Le, eat first,” Mother An interrupted An Le gently, handing him a chicken drumstick. She smiled and said, “Aunt Li safely delivered a boy. This chicken is the thank-you gift she gave us.”
An Le stared at the chicken drumstick in his bowl, speechless for a moment. After a pause, he whispered, “Thank you, Mother.”
“Brother,” his sister An Su Su smiled sweetly at An Le while gripping her chicken drumstick, “Let’s go catch fireflies tonight too.”
Night fell early in the mountains, and there weren’t many activities to pass the time. After dark, An Le often accompanied his sister Su Su to catch fireflies.
The village lacked lighting, but fortunately, the moonlight was bright. Using the moonlight, An Le took Su Su to the water source behind the village. The water originated from the mountain, flowed through Longyin Village, and finally merged into the sea.
The moonlight was bright and clear, and the sound of insects chirped endlessly. Fireflies flickered and danced in the grass. An Su Su darted through the lush grass that came up to her waist, waving her net happily, capturing fireflies. Every time she caught one, she giggled and ran to An Le, carefully placing the firefly into a small, tightly woven cage made of rattan by Father An.
“Brother,” An Su Su caught another one, ran to An Le, who was sitting on a rock, and carefully put the firefly into the small cage.
Perhaps tired from playing, Su Su stopped catching fireflies and leaned against An Le, tilting her head up to ask, “Brother, are there really mermaids?”
An Le hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided not to shatter the child’s innocent fantasy. He nodded and said, “Yes, there are.”
An Su Su’s eyes lit up. “Really? Then I want to go find a mermaid!”
“Does Su Su want to marry a mermaid as a wife?”
“Not for Su Su to be my wife,” An Su Su shook her head seriously. “Su Su will find a mermaid for Brother to be his wife!”
“For Brother?” An Le couldn’t help but laugh. “Why should she be Brother’s wife?”
“The villagers say Brother can’t find a wife, so Su Su will go find a mermaid for Brother to be his wife.”
The original owner was a simple-minded youth. Although he was very handsome, his intelligence was only that of a five-year-old. Naturally, the villagers wouldn’t want to marry a simpleton. While he could understand this, Su Su probably didn’t grasp the implications and had quietly taken the adults’ careless words to heart.
Just as An Le was about to explain, he saw Su Su take a step forward, excitedly shouting, “I’m going to find a mermaid!” and running toward the seaside.
It wasn’t far from the sea. An Su Su skipped along the coast, looking around eagerly, while An Le followed leisurely behind her.
Suddenly, An Su Su stopped. A moment later, she turned and waved at him, shouting joyfully, “Brother, hurry! I found a mermaid!”
To be precise, it wasn’t a mermaid; it was a beautiful young man.
The handsome youth was soaked through, his hair plastered to his face, which was deathly pale. He lay on the shore, breathing weakly, barely clinging to life. An Le immediately told Su Su to go back and call for help, while he began emergency first aid.
After pressing his chest for a while, the handsome youth finally reacted, coughing a few times and spitting out some water before slowly opening his eyes.
Seeing that the person had woken up, An Le felt relieved, but his excitement grew even stronger, because this person was not from Longyin Village! Even if he hadn’t memorized every Longyin villager, he could tell from the youth’s attire alone that this person was not a local.
Longyin villagers all wore coarse cloth, but the fabric of this youth’s clothes was fine, and he wore a jade pendant at his waist. Such a wealthy appearance definitely did not belong to a Longyin villager.
He was an outsider! He could finally get information about the outside world from this person!
An Le was thrilled. He remained straddling the handsome youth and immediately began bombarding him with questions: “What dynasty is it now? How did you get here…”
However, the handsome youth merely stared at him for a moment, then rolled his eyes and closed them, seemingly having passed out again.
“……”
Although he had fainted, his chest was still rising and falling, so he wouldn’t die anytime soon. An Le wasn’t a doctor and knew nothing beyond basic first aid. He had no choice but to get off the handsome youth, squat down, and poke the youth’s face with his index finger, calling out dryly, “Hey, hey, wake up. Don’t die, don’t die.”
He couldn’t wake him up by calling.
Fortunately, Su Su arrived with Father An and Mother An at that moment. Father An and Mother An also recognized that the youth was not from Longyin Village. Although surprised, their medical ethics dictated that saving lives came first, so they quickly examined the youth’s body.
“His life is not in danger, he is just unconscious,” Mother An said after checking his pulse.
Father An also said, “Let’s take him back first.”
Father An carried the person home and settled him in An Le’s bedroom. An Le found a set of clean clothes for the handsome youth to change into. The family gathered around the bed, all looking at the youth lying there.
The youth looked about eighteen or nineteen, with a tall, straight posture and handsome features.
“Brother,” Su Su tugged on An Le’s hand, her eyes shining as she pointed at the youth. “Mermaid.”
“Yes, Su Su is so clever,” An Le smiled down at her. “Let the mermaid rest. It’s very late, Su Su should go to sleep too.”
“Then where will Brother sleep?” An Su Su asked. An Le’s home only had three bedrooms: one for Father An and Mother An, one for Su Su, and one for An Le.
Hearing this, An Le said to Father An and Mother An, “Father, Mother, this bed can fit two people. I’ll watch over him tonight. If anything happens, I’ll call you. You two go rest first.”
Mother An nodded and said, “It’s cold at night, I’ll get you another blanket. No outsiders have ever come to the village, so your father and I need to go see the village chief. You two go to sleep first.”
An Le couldn’t possibly sleep. His current excitement was comparable to when he first arrived here. His curiosity about this person was just as intense as his initial curiosity about Longyin Village.
This person’s appearance meant that all the questions he had harbored for the past six months could finally be answered! He urgently wanted to know about the outside world, and he wanted the answers immediately. Therefore, he had no intention of sleeping. He would wait for the person to wake up, and he would resolve his doubts at the first opportunity! And the question he cared about most was: Was this world the same as his original world?