Meng Fei heard the distant chirping of birds. Strange, hardly any birds came up to the roof, he thought as he slowly opened his eyes. He soon realized something was wrong. This was not his room. He was on a low bed, protected by a thick blanket. Light streamed in through the window, flooding the room with sunlight, and a wind chime swayed in the morning breeze.

Meng Fei stood up too quickly and felt a twinge in his ribs and aching shoulder.

Oh! It's truth. I did a bunch of stupid things, one after another. I had too much to drink at karaoke, I was transported through a matrix to a parallel world, and now I'm all broke from unsuccessfully chasing myself from that place...

He first ascertained his status. He was wearing white cotton underwear and his wounds were well bandaged, the abrasions medicated and there was a large purplish bruise on his chest. He actually managed to break a rib in the fall. Meng Fei leaned back against the headboard in frustration. That damn! Couldn't you have just sent me back?!

He scanned the room, recognizing the traditional style of a Chinese bedroom. He then got up and went to wash his face, getting some water from a pitcher that was full and at his disposal. It was a simple room but it lacked nothing and was comfortable. He didn't expect to be treated with such consideration by whoever it was since there was a lunatic villain out there getting his name dirty.

What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't just wait for that bastard to be captured! Meng Fei decided to change the other's name to bastard from now on.

He heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind, someone had just entered the room. A familiar voice called out to him.

"Meng Fei? Are you awake?"

"I went to wash my face." Meng Fei came out from behind the bamboo screen that separated the bathroom from the bedroom.

"What is this place?" He asked Li Jiong.

"This is the residence where I live, it's on the mountain of the Heavenly Path Taoist Sect. They call it the Imperial Crane Residence." He smiled softly, analyzing it carefully. "Do you feel okay? Does it hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine. Dr. Deng Ruan treated me well, I forgot to thank her, by the way, I ended up falling asleep." He still scratched one of his eyes, feeling still a little tired.

"You should get some more rest, you have a blood deficiency." Li Jiong really wanted to lecture him for being so reckless, the cuts had been too deep and he had broken a rib. However, he didn't want to upset a convalescent patient. He guided him determinedly back to bed.

"I'll have them bring you something to eat."

"Ah, thank you! I was already starving! You know me, right, hehe..." Meng Fei chuckled, although he didn't feel very comfortable asking for anything. He just wanted to soften the strange atmosphere he felt there, as if he were an intruder. Curious how their situation was reversed. It was he now who needed shelter and care.

Li Jiong nodded with a brief smile, as deep down he knew that Meng Fei's appetite was due to his childhood starvation. That wasn't funny to him though.

"Actually I thought that because of my resemblance to that bastard, I would be in a prison cell, interrogated and tortured, haha. After all, who would believe that we are not the same person? But I think I was too hasty."

Li Jiong "..............."

Meng Fei noticed this silence and narrowed his eyes, staring at him while the other quickly looked away.

"Oh!" He laughed. "So you spared me that too..." It was better to put this situation bluntly, without beating around the bush.

"Meng Fei..." Li Jiong cleared his throat. "I... pledged to be responsible for you. Of course, the testimony of all cultivators helped a lot, but even so, the Elders would like to ask you a few questions."

"Fine by me. When will that be?"

"I asked for some time for you to recover, it will be the day after tomorrow."

Meng Fei nodded. He sincerely held Li Jiong's hand and thanked him: "Thank you."

"There's nothing to be thankful for! You're only in this situation to help me!" Li Jiong was pale just saying that. It was one thing for him to end up in another world, it was another to drag someone with him into his.

"Wrong!" Meng Fei corrected him. "I'm only in this situation because I wasn't attentive and I made a mistake. You didn't bring me here. Let's just say you're just paying me back."

The cultivator sighed. This person had a straight heart and a quick mouth![1] How could anyone think he was dangerous? Li Jiong then went out to get some rice porridge, feeling anxious. The Elders were afraid that this Meng Fei was just as much of a threat as the other one.

Furthermore, many people had hatred towards the demonic cultivator and were willing to take their anger out on this man who had done nothing wrong!! Li Jiong didn't comment but the fact was that Meng Fei was under house arrest in his custody and he was bitter at having to keep as a prisoner someone who left him free to do whatever he wanted even though he had threatened his life before.

If something happened to him under his care, Li Jiong would never forgive himself!

He remembered that Deng Ruan would come to see him again in the afternoon. He recommended that she not mention this detail to him for the time being, though he would soon find out.

After all, this was not a man who stood idly by and watched others act. He wanted to go back to his own home, of course.

Thinking about it a little more, his situation was worse than his. He was in a world where it was more difficult to adapt, where everyone hated him and without the tools that could help him return to his old life.

Li Jiong took the porridge he had asked to be prepared in the kitchen and went back to his room. He took three deep breaths before entering.

Meng Fei was still awake, looking far away and thoughtful. Li Jiong placed the tray with the hot bowl on the bed, cooled a portion with a breath, and held out the spoon to help Meng Fei eat. Meng Fei blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, I can eat by myself."

"It's true, hehe, I'm a little inattentive." Li Jiong retracted his hand with the spoon, dropping it awkwardly into the bowl. "Meng Fei, just in case, don't leave the house for now. Some people might mistake you for the other one."

Meng Fei had already understood what that meant a long time ago. Li Jiong said that he was taking responsibility for him, so it was easy to see that he was under some kind of surveillance. Anyway, he didn't want to cause trouble.

"Don't worry, I won't leave here. You saw for yourself that I didn't leave the place where you asked me to stay. It was that scoundrel who went looking for me and still ran away."

Li Jiong felt even worse at these words. It was like keeping a caged bird that had lived a lifetime free.

"Well, I'll show you the house later, there's a big pond at the back, with an ancient tree next to it. Sometimes a heron comes to fish here, that's why this house is named. I think you'll like to see it. I also have some books, one of them is Study of Matrices, maybe you'll be interested."

"Can I see him? I've been thinking that if we can't catch the evil Meng Fei, I'll have to make an array myself to get back home!"

Li Jiong's expression froze for an instant without Meng Fei noticing, amused that he was with his thoughts. He let his eyelids droop slowly and he thought to himself. He's really determined... to...

A bitter sense of loss slowly spread through his chest.

Author's Note:

[1] Expression what does it mean be upfront, blunt; say all you know; say what you think; be honest and frank.

Poor Li Jiong! He's already starting to worry about Meng Fei leaving and he can't even have the pleasure of feeding him yet 😝. Meng Fei, don't be a party pooper, was it hard to accept that simple spoonful?