Chapter 1: Return to the Great Tang

　　Yonghe Ward was a well-known slum in Chang'an City. The people living here came from all walks of life, chaotic and complicated, with constant disputes of all kinds. However, generally speaking, if the people did not report it, the officials would not investigate.

　　In the middle of the ward stood a dilapidated little courtyard, its walls made of mud mixed with wheat straw, and inside the yard were three crooked, ramshackle rooms.

　　The battered courtyard gate was even more tattered than a beggar's clothes, yet hanging above it was an imposing signboard: 'One Patch Cure'. It turned out this was a medical clinic.

　　This morning, a woman hurried over carrying a bamboo basket, with an iron hammer in her other hand—yes, an iron hammer, weighing at least twenty jin. Who knows which general had left this weapon behind on the battlefield.

　　The woman was just over thirty, dressed in a cloth skirt, her jet-black hair tightly tied and wrapped in cloth, with a bronze hairpin slanted through it. The years had not washed away her delicate and pretty features, though a hint of murderous intent lingered in her eyes and brows.

　　Her looks were absolutely goddess-like in this slum. Many ruffians and loafers coveted her beauty, but they also feared the iron hammer in her hand.

　　The woman was named Sarah Parker, the owner of the 'One Patch Cure' clinic mentioned earlier. Relying on her sometimes-effective, sometimes-not medical skills, she managed to scrape by in this poor neighborhood.

　　As she reached the door, a neighbor called out, "Sanniang, your Xiao Lizi is sitting on the well platform again. It's dangerous, you should go check!"

　　"Thank you, Aunt Ge!"

　　Sarah Parker quickened her pace, gripping the iron hammer even tighter.

　　At this moment, a boy of about fourteen or fifteen was sitting by the well in the yard. Though young, he was tall and sturdy, at least half a head taller than Sarah Parker. He sat on the well platform, his legs dangling into the well, eyes fixed intently on the bottom, as if there was a secret path to another world down there.

　　"Adam Carter!"

　　Seeing her son sitting by the well in thin clothes, Sarah Parker felt both distressed and angry. "Why aren't you lying in bed? What are you doing out here again?"

　　She tossed aside the iron hammer and strode over in three quick steps, grabbing her son's arm with surprising strength and dragging him off the well platform.

　　The boy angrily shook off her hand. "Don't touch me!"

　　"Who wants to touch you? If you have the guts, jump in. I promise I won't stop you!"

　　"Mu Niang! Mu Niang!"

　　Sarah Parker called out twice, and an old woman emerged from the easternmost room. "Eh! Adam Carter came out again?"

　　"Hurry and help this brat inside. Stop chanting scriptures all day—he ran out and you didn't even notice."

　　"It's all my fault!"

　　The old woman hurried over to help the boy up and led him inside. The boy's irritable mood finally calmed, and he regained his composure.

　　"Thank you, Auntie!"

　　He lay down on his small bed, hands behind his head, and let out a deep sigh.

　　Adam Thompson still couldn't face reality. After failing the civil service exam, he had gone alone to Mount Li to relax. On his way down, he slipped and fell into a pond, and when he woke up, he was in the Tang Dynasty.

　　Adam Thompson was at a complete loss.

　　……

　　"Adam Carter, hurry and drink your medicine while it's hot."

　　Aunt Mu brought over a steaming bowl of herbal medicine. Her smile was full of kindness, reminding Adam Thompson of his grandmother who had long since passed away. When he was little, he often caught colds, and his grandmother would always coax him to drink a cup of medicine.

　　But this medicine was just too bitter. He had never tasted anything so bitter—it was like a thick soup made from coptis root.

　　"Auntie, I really don't want to drink this. It's too bitter!"

　　"Medicine is a bit bitter, but you should appreciate your mother's hard work. She went outside the city to gather herbs, stayed up for days and nights to brew this for you, and barely managed to pull you back from the gates of hell. Without your mother, you'd be dead by now."

　　"Mu Niang, that's enough. This brat doesn't appreciate it!" Sarah Parker said angrily from the doorway.

　　"Drink up! Good medicine tastes bitter but is good for your illness. Once you drink it, you'll slowly get better!" Aunt Mu patiently urged him.

　　Adam Thompson had no choice but to take the bowl and gulp it down, his brows furrowing from the bitterness. He quickly grabbed the cup of water from Aunt Mu and took several gulps to wash away the taste, then flopped back down heavily.

　　The old woman secretly winked at Sarah Parker, and a faint smile finally appeared on Sarah Parker's tense face.

　　……

　　In the blink of an eye, another ten days passed. Adam Thompson had no choice but to accept reality—there was no going back.

　　He began to play his role in the Tang Dynasty, treating it as if he were acting in a play. When the play ended and the people dispersed, maybe he would be able to return.

　　Once he accepted reality, all sorts of questions flooded in.

　　What period of the Tang Dynasty was it now? Which year?

　　Who was his father?

　　Aunt Mu said he had almost been killed—what was that about?

　　……

　　That morning, he was awakened by a commotion in the yard.

　　"Wang the Cripple, leave the money for the plaster and get lost!"

　　"Sanniang, give me a chance…"

　　"Chance my ass! If you dare lay a hand on me again, I'll smash your head in with my hammer!"

　　A man muttered resentfully, "How much for the medicine?"

　　"Twenty wen!"

　　There was the sound of copper coins clinking. The man, still unwilling, said, "I'll come for treatment again next time!"

　　"Get lost!"