Brian Clark noticed that the burly man was wearing a pair of hemp sandals, with hemp cloth pants tied with leg wraps. Further up, he wore a short jacket with toggle buttons, and on his head was a bun about the size of a peach, fastened with a wooden hairpin and covered with a mesh scarf. It was a complete ancient outfit, especially the simple, rustic longbow, which looked even more like an unearthed relic.

This guy was definitely not some Hanfu enthusiast who only liked the idea of ancient clothing, nor was he one of those shoddily costumed actors from low-budget TV dramas... The dense forest, the crude shelter, the broken spear, and the burly man before him!

A terrifying thought suddenly surged in Brian Clark's mind—could he have ended up in another time and space?

A great fire had burned him through time?

Brian Clark was stunned. The burly man walked right up to him, but he didn’t react at all, just stood there dumbfounded, as if he’d been hit by a freezing spell. The man looked him over—the little guy was bare-chested, even bald, with a shiny head, looking quite odd. But the man didn’t care about that. He coughed and said, “Kid, are you a mountain dweller? Got anything to eat?”

Brian Clark still couldn’t respond. The man shook his head helplessly, tightened his belt, and prepared to leave. Suddenly, Brian Clark looked up. “I do!”

He handed over his only two rabbit legs to the man.

“Uncle... can you tell me, what year is it now?”

The man devoured the rabbit legs, finishing one in just a few bites, and was gnawing on the second when he heard Brian Clark's question. He paused. “Kid, are you from these mountains?”

“Yeah, I’ve always lived here. A few days ago, there was a forest fire, and now I’m the only one left!” Brian Clark didn’t even have to act—his voice was already on the verge of tears.

“No wonder your hair’s all burned off. Surviving is pure luck! Good luck!”

The man thought to himself, then quickly finished the two rabbit legs, tossed the bones aside, wiped the grease from his chest, and sighed, “Kid, you look pretty pitiful, but Third Master has things to do and can’t help you.” He paused, then added, “It’s the twentieth year of Hongwu now. You can’t survive in these mountains alone. If you can get out, then get out! If you can’t—well, there’s nothing I can do!”

Not wanting to waste any more time, the man stomped his foot and hurried away.

...

“The twentieth year of Hongwu!”

Brian Clark came out of the shelter and found the pond. After washing up in the clear water, his mind became clearer.

Time travel wasn’t something he couldn’t accept.

The twentieth year of Hongwu wasn’t a terrifying era, either!

On the contrary, under Zhu Yuanzhang’s diligent rule, the Ming dynasty already had the makings of a prosperous age.

What was especially rare was that, among the three or four hundred emperors, Zhu Yuanzhang was the one who cared most for the common people—no exceptions! The Jingnan Rebellion was still far off; this was a very comfortable time.

The premise was that he could get out of the deep mountains, and that he needed to obtain a suitable identity. During the Hongwu years, the strictest thing was the household registration. Without being entered in the yellow register, and without a travel permit, you couldn’t go anywhere!

Brian Clark pondered. He didn’t think getting out of the mountains would be that hard. Even without a compass, he still knew how to find his way. As long as he headed south, he couldn’t go wrong!

With a kip-up, Brian Clark stood up again.

“Ming Dynasty, here I come!”

Brian Clark shouted loudly, sweeping away all the frustration in his chest. It was already evening, so he planned to return to the shelter, make some plans, and set out after sunrise.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from the woods by the pond.

“That burly man again?”

Brian Clark looked toward the sound, and what he saw nearly scared the soul out of him!

From the undergrowth, a huge head poked out, with a long snout, sharp tusks, brown-black bristly fur, and drool hanging from its mouth as it grunted its way toward the pond!

“A wild boar!”

Brian Clark was about to lose it—he definitely didn’t want to become a wild boar’s dinner. He still wanted to experience the wonders of the Ming Dynasty! At that moment, his body’s potential exploded to 120 percent. Without hesitation, Brian Clark turned and dashed to a locust tree, climbed the rough branches with agility surpassing a monkey, and quickly reached a height of about ten meters, hugging a branch as thick as a bowl, gasping for breath.

Just then, the massive wild boar charged over! Weighing more than five hundred jin, it was like a powerful tank, rampaging without restraint. Its tusks, over ten centimeters long, were sharper than daggers. Brian Clark could easily imagine what would happen if they pierced his body!

The wild boar seemed to go mad, using its huge body to ram the tree again and again. Brian Clark felt like a tiny boat on a stormy sea, tossed by the waves and in danger of being swallowed at any moment. His heart pounded wildly; all he could do was cling to the branch with both hands and feet, hoping the boar would tire itself out soon. Otherwise, his fate would be grim! Even with half a broken spear in hand, his thin body was no match for the wild boar!

Suddenly, the boar stopped ramming, lifted its huge head, and looked in a certain direction. At that moment, an arrow shot through the weeds and struck the wild boar right in its left eye!

The arrow went in deep, nearly halfway. But the wild boar’s vitality was no joke—it went berserk and charged at the archer twenty meters away!

“It’s him!”