stonecrandall Chapter 1 The Bronze Compass and Crimson Rebirth
Chapter 1 The Bronze Compass and Crimson Rebirth
"Cough cough... cough..."
A violent cough roused Lin Yan from the boundless darkness. He felt as if a boulder was pressing on his chest, each breath accompanied by a tearing pain, and his whole body was weak and powerless, as if all his strength had been drained away.
Where am I? Aren't I in the study?
He struggled to open his heavy eyelids, but instead of the familiar French windows and dazzling night view, what greeted his eyes was... earthen-yellow walls covered with old newspapers, a simple wooden beam and tile roof, and even cobwebs in the corners. A faint musty and soot smell filled the air.
Beneath him was a hard earthen bed, and covering him was a coarse cloth quilt with several patches that exuded an old smell.
Lin Yan's mind was in chaos, a strong sense of unfamiliarity and unreality assaulting his nerves. He tried to move, but found his body unusually weak; the slightest movement caused his heart to pound wildly, accompanied by palpitations and sharp pains.
heart disease?!
This thought flashed through Lin Yan's mind, and then, fragments of memories that did not belong to him surged into his consciousness like a flood breaking through a dam!
Fifteen years old... physically weak... congenital heart disease... lives at No. 95, Nanluoguxiang, Beijing... his mother died in childbirth... his father was a retired worker at a state-owned food factory; three days ago, he tragically died in the line of duty while protecting state property during an emergency equipment repair... leaving him, a lonely and destitute boy... and... two private houses, two thousand yuan in bank savings, and eight hundred yuan in compensation just delivered by his work unit...
"I...transmigrated?" Lin Yan, no, perhaps now he should be called the original owner of this body, spent a full half hour barely digesting the complex information in his mind and the unfamiliar sensations coming from his body.
He time-traveled back to... 1958! Moreover, he transmigrated into the body of a fifteen-year-old boy who had just lost both his parents and suffered from congenital heart disease!
This era… Lin Yan’s heart clenched again. He had a deep understanding of history, and 1958 was an era of passionate fervor but also full of challenges.
Even more coincidentally, the original owner of this body was also named... Lin Yan!
Just as he was feeling a little lost about the frailty of his body and the hardships of the times, he suddenly realized that something seemed to have appeared deep in his consciousness!
It was a faint, almost imperceptible bronze-colored phantom of a compass! Its design was exactly the same as the ancestral bronze compass on his desk in his study!
'This is… the antique compass passed down in my family? Is this why I time-traveled?'
The intense astonishment made him temporarily forget the pain in his body. He tried to concentrate and touch the mysterious phantom of the compass.
The instant his thoughts touched that illusory image—
hum!
He felt his consciousness being suddenly sucked into it!
The next moment, he "saw" an indescribable space!
His first impression of this space was one of emptiness and silence; it was an untouched virgin land. As far as the eye could see, there was an endless expanse of deep purple earth, the soil emitting an extremely faint luster, giving it a feeling of exceptional fertility and vitality.
In the center of this vast land, the only thing that exists is a large lake.
The lake is vast, covering approximately a hundred acres, with its jade-green waters flowing gently. A thin layer of mist, as if time itself has stood still, hangs on the surface. A small area of land surrounding the lake transitions from purple to black, as if constantly nourished by spring water.
Apart from this lake and this land, there is nothing else in the space—no grass, no trees, no buildings, only the most pristine fertility.
Just as Lin Yan was puzzled by this simple scene, a piece of information flowed from the illusory bronze compass floating above this space and entered his consciousness:
'The Heaven and Earth Stabilizing Plate contains a hidden paradise. A drop of blood is used to recognize its master, thus opening its gates. This land, nourished by spiritual veins, is exceptionally fertile and can nurture all things. The central spiritual spring has a subtle effect of nourishing the physical body, alleviating pain, and promoting the growth of vegetation.'
The flow of time here differs from the outside world; currently, one day outside is equivalent to one month in this grotto-heaven. Only by thoroughly refining the compass's physical form with divine sense can one truly control this realm, storing and retrieving information at will, planting crops, and unlocking time, space, spiritual veins, and many other wondrous uses as cultivation increases. At its peak, one day outside can be equivalent to one year in this grotto-heaven.
So that lake was actually a spiritual spring, such a large one? Lin Yanfu had a sudden realization and immediately concentrated all his mental energy, carefully probing the illusory compass image that served as the core of the space, attempting to make a preliminary connection according to the profound methods contained in the information.
The process went unexpectedly smoothly, as if his blood had already laid the foundation for it. After a moment, he felt a faint yet incredibly real connection between himself and the compass, and between himself and this space.
A sacred spring! Fertile soil! Accelerate time!
Lin Yan's heart began to pound violently again, but this time, it was not just because of the pain, but also because of extreme shock and a kind of ecstatic joy at escaping from a desperate situation!
He, Lin Yan, a businessman who stood at the pinnacle of wealth in 2026 and returned to China from Wall Street to serve the country through industry, accidentally cut his finger on a piece of A4 paper and dripped blood onto a family heirloom compass. He was transported to the special era of 1958 and became a lonely, seriously ill teenager.
Despair? A little.
But more than anything, it was an indescribable excitement and boundless imagination for the future!
This dilapidated body, this peculiar era, and this mysterious, magical treasure in my mind that has just begun to recognize its master and exists only as a spring and a patch of land...
Lin Yan clenched his thin fists tightly. Although his body was still weak, his eyes had regained a more fervent light than when he was on Wall Street.
"God, are you playing a cruel joke on me, or giving me a second chance?" he muttered to himself, a smile playing on his lips. "Anyway, since I'm here..."
His first priority is to survive and cure this damned heart condition! He must use his advanced knowledge and vision to find his place in this turbulent era! He also needs to explore this mysterious bronze compass cave, which contains far more than just wealth; there must be other secrets within!
Outside the window, the faint sounds of neighbors talking and the distant hum of a factory could be heard; the morning of 1958 had arrived.
He tried to draw upon the waters of the spiritual spring to nourish his broken body. Once he recovered, he could slowly adapt to this world. His gaze fell upon the miraculous spring in the space. That was his first step in changing his fate.