The night crept in slowly, wrapping the small village in a deep, hushed stillness. The wind blew gently, carrying the scent of damp leaves and earth freshly kissed by dew.
Inside the little house at the edge of the village, Li Yuan slept in silence. His breathing was calm, his small body tucked under a thin blanket, while the oil lamp in the corner of the room flickered faintly, its flame slowly fading.
Yet behind his closed eyelids… another world began to unfold.
Li Yuan stood.
But not in his home.
And not in the village he knew.
He stood in the middle of an endless expanse—dark ground beneath him, a deep violet sky above, and massive stars slowly spinning like eyes watching him from afar. The air felt strange… as if silence itself had a voice.
“What is this…?”
The words didn’t come from his mouth. But he knew—his mind was asking.
In front of him, something appeared—not a human… not a creature, but a swirling mist, gray in color—just like his eyes. The mist drifted closer, slowly forming a circle in the air, carving complex symbols as if inscribing laws into the void.
Then, a voice was heard.
“Understanding begins not with learning… but with feeling.”
The voice was soft, formless—neither male nor female. Yet its words echoed straight into Li Yuan’s heart.
“The river flows… because it knows its path. And you too shall flow… toward your own.”
Suddenly, the violet sky collapsed. The mist shattered into tiny lights that poured into Li Yuan’s body—flowing into his blood, his bones, his mind…
He screamed—not from pain, but from a sudden surge of awareness.
Something had awakened.
Li Yuan jolted awake, gasping for air.
Cold sweat clung to his forehead, and his gray eyes stared at the ceiling in confusion.
He was still in his room. The oil lamp had gone out. Outside, the sound of crickets still echoed… as if nothing had happened.
But Li Yuan knew—something had changed.
His hands felt warm. And as he looked at them, a faint gray light shimmered—just for a moment—before vanishing.
“Was that… a dream?” he whispered softly.
But deep within, he knew—it was no mere dream.
It was a calling.
And he had just opened the first door on a path no one had ever walked before.