February 28, 2017. The last day of February. Xingde Mountain, a small suburban area in a southern province of China.

Xingde Mountain is not a large mountain range. Its altitude is not high, around 1,200 meters. Recently, it has been a new development for a city hiking route.

There are not many people, and the weather is good. They are all here for climbing.

Xingde Mountain is steep, climbing can be dangerous, and some of the facilities are not yet complete. The view from the top of the mountain is good. There's a huge rock that directly juts out from the cliff, hanging in the air. Next to this overhanging rock is a Taoist temple. There are some incense burners, but there aren't many people or Taoist priests, just a gatekeeper and a sweeper.

"Friend of the Tao, I greet you." A young man greets the sweeping Taoist priest.

The sweeping Taoist priest is quite old, his specific age unknown, but with his white beard and spirited demeanor, he seems to have a touch of the immortal. He looks at the young man and nods, saying, "Are you also a practitioner of Taoism?"

The young man is dressed in leisure clothes, wearing mountain climbing boots and carrying a backpack. Though a little thin, he doesn't seem to feel the cold. He looks quite spirited as well, with a robust build. At least compared to the old Taoist priest, he is considered tall. But no matter how you look at him, he doesn't look like a Taoist priest.

"I have been practicing Taoism for many years now. I was adopted by my master when I was one year old, and have been taught the classics of Taoism since I was little, practicing in the mountains with my master. Now it has been more than twenty years. Last year, my master passed away due to illness, and he specifically instructed me to come here, saying that he wanted to retrieve something from his past. I don't know what it is, but if my master asked me to come, it must be for a good reason."

"Your master was..."

"My master's Taoist name is Yunyangzi, grandmaster of Pure Yang. He practiced Huashan Pure Yang." The young man, Jason, said, "Before my master passed away, he left me a token." He then took out a piece of jade from his hand, which was a carved dragon-shaped jadeite. The jadeite is not big, only about half the size of a child's palm, but its quality is very good.

However, this piece of jadeite is only half of what it should be.

The sweeping Taoist priest took the jade pendant and rubbed it in his hand, then he laughed, "The old friend's successor has finally come. Now this complete jade carving can be reunited at last."

Jason looked at him with some confusion. The sweeping Taoist priest explained, "This half piece of jade is a token. When it combines with the other half, it will produce a Pure Yang sage. This sage, who will become the new ancestor of Pure Yang, will achieve a status second only to the Daoist Patriarch."

"This jade pendant..." Jason pointed at the jade pendant.

The sweeping Taoist priest continued, "This jade pendant was originally brought over by a Western missionary. It was originally salvaged from the seabed of Monterey, California, and was known as the king of jade. However, even though it weighed more than a ton, the core of it was nothing more than this piece of jade."

"Jade salvaged from the seabed in the United States?" This was a shock to the young man, Jason.

"Yes, but the missionary got the best piece of the entire jade, and had a Chinese carving artist carve it into its present shape, and brought it to China," the sweeping Taoist priest continued, "The missionary arrived in China, and due to some coincidences, he became friends with your master."

Jason listened quietly, not asking the questions in his heart.

"However, due to a mishap, the jade pendant was broken into two pieces, one piece was kept by the missionary, and the other was left with your master. Because of that incident, they parted ways. The missionary came to the south, continued preaching, and also met my master. He even financed my master to build this Taoist temple here."

"Oh!" Jason nodded, looking around, indeed there were traces of history. This Taoist temple had been here for some time.

"What happened to the missionary in the end?"

"The missionary died of illness here. He was buried behind the mountain. But he left his half of the jade pendant to my master, who in turn left it to me. He only told me that if someone came looking for the other half, let this jade stone reunite and restore its original glory," the sweeping Taoist priest said as he turned and walked into the temple. Beyond the temple, there was a stone house built in the back. It had three entrances and could accommodate several people.

"The original glory?" Jason looked at him, then chuckled and followed the sweeping Taoist priest towards the back of the temple. They passed through the temple and reached the stone house, but instead of entering, the sweeping Taoist priest asked him to wait outside. After a while, he came out with half of the jade carving in his hand. He handed it over to Jason, along with the half that Jason had.

Jason took the two halves of the jade carving. Slowly, he began to fit the two halves together. But just as they were about to fit together, the sweeping Taoist priest suddenly said, "Wait."

"What?" Jason was startled, looking at the sweeping Taoist priest.

"Go west to seek the Tao, there the divine dragon will be seen. Get rid of the mysteries, the door to all wonders."

"What?" Jason looked at the sweeping Taoist priest in surprise. These seemingly nonsensical lines from the Tao Te Ching left Jason in a daze. Just then, the two shattered pieces of jade carving in his hand suddenly began to attract each other. Before Jason had a chance to think, they suddenly came together.

Suddenly, a ray of light shot out from the two pieces of jade pendant, like a sky full of rosy clouds, instantly blinding his eyes. Then, he felt as if his entire body was rising in this rosy cloud. The excruciating headache was the first thing he experienced, followed by a whirlwind of runes in his mind. Some were taught to him by his master, while many were unknown, constantly churning in his mind. Finally, a thunderous sound rang out, and he was plunged into darkness, as if waiting to hatch in the dark.

"Hey," someone seemed to be whispering in his ear, as if talking to him. The voice was fuzzy but very real, like being underwater.

Opening his eyes, he saw two unfamiliar faces, both blonde and blue-eyed strangers. However, their faces were somewhat filthy. It seemed like they had just finished a strenuous labor, their faces weary.

Yet when they saw Jason opening his eyes, they couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, followed by a string of words Jason couldn't understand. Yes, he couldn't understand, even though Jason could make out a word or two, confirming that they were speaking English. But for Jason, who had grown up in the mountains and had received little education, understanding English was a tough task.

A crowd was gathering, but they seemed harmless. Some were indifferent, but most were enthusiastic and delighted. They were happy that Jason was awake.

This was a quarry, and next to it was a dense forest.

"Where am I?" Jason realized he was lying on the grass, tried to stand up but was held back, and stuttered, "Where am I?"

Everyone around him was bewildered. Yes, no one could understand Jason's words. They just curiously looked at him. A slightly plump middle-aged woman with a headscarf came over, touched Jason's head, and took out a piece of bread from her basket.

It was hard and somewhat black bread.

Jason awkwardly accepted it and took a bite. He reached out to touch his jade carving, but it was gone. But as soon as he thought about the jade carving, its image immediately appeared in his mind, flawless and perfect. It was as if it was suspended in the middle of his brain, glowing like the sun, illuminating his mind.

"Westward journey? Was it to this western world?" Jason suddenly remembered the Daoist's words and couldn't help but smile. But why him?

He never knew his origins, but why his master had only adopted him, he never asked. The master never mentioned it, not even on his deathbed. What was the purpose of the jade carving? What was its connection to the missionary? Where was this place... so many questions.

Three months later.

Ding... ding... ding...

The sound of hammers striking stone and the constant explosions echoed from the quarry. Then someone shouted, "Explosion!" A loud bang was heard, and stones were sent flying. Everyone was dodging, with the ones closest to the action crawling out from under the large rocks, dusting themselves off.

"Damn - I was almost hit!" A middle-aged man spat a few times on the ground, his face already covered in dust. He then laughed at the young man with black hair walking towards him, "You should have stayed further away, Huan. Don't come over now, it's lunchtime."

"Yes, Mr. Lester." The young man was Jason. In three months, he had managed to communicate with these people, albeit not fluently. At least he could interact with them.

This was Alberta, Canada in 1867.

"Relax, kid, don't always be like this. Samantha - darling, my baby, you finally came. I almost went to see the Lord just now." The middle-aged man suddenly let go of Jason and opened his arms towards the woman approaching.

A plump middle-aged woman with a basket approached, smiling at the open-armed man. She lifted her basket and gestured to Jason, saying, "Come, Huan, let's - don't let him drink all the soup. There's also your favorite toasted bread, with butter."

Jason smiled and walked over. Ever since he woke up, he had been living with this middle-aged couple. They didn't have children, but they treated Jason very well, like their own son. Jason was the only Chinese here, but they didn't care about race. They treated Jason like a local.

Just as Jason was about to eat his bread, a shout came out: "Hey, someone's stealing our dynamite!"

Instantly, the quarry was in an uproar. Many people looked in the direction of the shout, seeing a figure quickly climbing up the mountain, pursued by a crowd.

The importance of dynamite to the quarry was self-evident, and it was rare, making it very precious. It was like everyone's lifeline, especially this high-performance explosive.

"Damned thief, I'm going..." The middle-aged man suddenly threw down his bread and chased after the thief up the mountain. Jason, after a moment of shock, also followed.

"Hey, Matt, don't be a hero..." Samantha, the middle-aged woman, shouted loudly at the middle-aged man, "Damn, you should have finished my soup..."

The thief climbed fast, but Matt climbed faster, and soon he was close to the thief. He was the first to get close to the thief. The thief was a skinny boy, only sixteen or seventeen years old, still looking quite young. His childish face was filled with terror, but he raised the stolen bag of dynamite, threatening the pursuers.

"Don't come any closer, I'll light them, I swear..." The boy's voice was trembling. He took out a match and suddenly lit one, holding it in front of the dynamite, almost touching the fuse.

"My God!" Matt yelled, shouting at the boy, "Don't do this, I know you, you're from the nearby town, I know you. Listen, if you give us back the dynamite, I'll let you go, okay?"

"No, I need these..." The boy shook his head, suddenly turned around to continue climbing, but his foot slipped, and the fuse of the dynamite in the bag was lit by the unburnt match.

The sudden change of events left the boy stunned. His hand shook, and the whole bag of dynamite fell to the ground. Matt shouted, "Get down," and rushed forward, pushing the still-standing boy hard. The boy fell to the ground and rolled away. When Matt tried to get down, there was a loud bang.

"God -" The people who had gathered from all around, their first thought when they fell to the ground was, Matt was gone.

"Matt - Damn, why, why did this happen?" Samantha covered her mouth tightly, her tears pouring like a spring. She couldn't contain her grief. A doctor hurried over, and after a while of examination, he shook his head at Samantha, let out a sigh, "I'm sorry, ma'am, may God be with him."

"Wait..." As people were about to carry Matt's body onto the cart that hauled rocks, a voice came. Everyone looked over and saw the speaker, it was Jason. He looked at Samantha and said, "If you trust me, take Matt back, I'll treat him."

"He's crazy - this is a madman!" The doctor frowned, glanced at Jason, "I strongly oppose this, it's a desecration of the dead." Jason did not pay him any heed, instead he focused his unwavering gaze on Samantha and said, "I've never done anything to you, please let me try..."

Samantha was taken aback. Matt was already declared dead, but Jason's serious demeanor didn't seem like he was lying. She pursed her lips and eventually gave a slight nod. She turned to the coachman and said, "Take Matt home. Don't ask me why, I trust Huan—"

A sharp blade lay on the living room floor of the small cabin, next to Matt's lifeless body. His upper body was already exposed. Jason knelt beside him, slowly picking up the blade.

"My God, what are you trying to do?" Despite choosing to trust Jason, Samantha was still frightened by his actions.

"Don't ask why, but I know this might save Matt's life." Jason spoke solemnly, "He needs a heart. A heart for a heart, only then can he survive. Samantha, can you give your heart to save Matt?" He asked seriously.

"What are you talking about?" Samantha found it unbelievable, but still nodded subconsciously, "Of course, why not?"

"That's best!" Jason nodded at her, suddenly lifted the blade in his hand, and stabbed Samantha's chest without warning. Samantha's eyes widened, looking at Jason in disbelief. Yes, she had never thought that Jason would do this, but the knife had already pierced her chest, and she felt her body trembling, her vision started to darken, and she collapsed.

Three days later.

Sunlight bathed the two people sitting in front of the cabin. They sat side by side, watching the distant sunset. Samantha rested her head gently on Matt's shoulder, her breathing steady and soft.

"I thought I was a goner, and I thought you were too." Samantha spoke to Matt with some melancholy, "I still don't know what kind of person Huan is, it's just a pity... he's left."

Matt sighed, "Yes, he had to leave. If people knew about this... it's unimaginable, my God, it's all like a dream. But... he's a good man, isn't he? God blesses the good."

"Of course, he definitely is. No matter who he is, a quarry worker, a wizard... or our family, he is a good man, God bless him!" Matt nodded, looking towards the direction Jason had left.

Jason left. Yes, he felt he was no longer fit to live here. Matt's death was the first time he used those strange mystical arts in his mind. Despite being a bit rusty, he succeeded. This world seemed a bit different from the original.

Yes, it was indeed different, although on the surface it looked the same as that world, the mystical arts he used were real and effective.

He didn't know where his future path would lead, but he had to leave, to leave this familiar place, and then go to a place where he felt he could live in peace.

However, he didn't expect his departure would take such a long, long time. He traveled from Canada to the United States, a journey that spanned over a hundred years.

Yes, over a hundred years, time seemed to have stopped for him. He remained the way he was when he came into this world, not aging, not dying, a hundred years passed as if in the blink of an eye.