Multiple people gasped just as Tao Hua nearly fell back. 

Fortunately, he saved the fall by spreading out his arms and balancing himself safely. Unfortunately, whatever thing he ran into had him disoriented, and the enveloping landscape spun in rapid circles. 

Not fun.

At each street edge stood the villagers, and were they ever watching closely. They were anticipating Tao Hua's next move, and to them, it was as if witnessing a play being written out in real time. 

So, to solve this, Tao Hua clamped his eyes shut. This remedied both the issue of feeling dizzy and having to deal with more of Siyue Town's lovely crowd. 

And as the saying goes: see no evil, therefore…hear no evil? 

No, that didn't work. Siyue Town didn't know how to shut their mouths…but now they somehow did? 

How on earth did it apply to this situation? 

It wasn't often that the people of this small town knew how to hold back their commentary, which made it all the more odd. Everything had fallen into an unusual, almost eerie quiet—the type that had most people hiding behind whatever item they could find. 

A fan, their hand, their friend, you name it! Anything to save them from whatever it was that had them up and arms; fearfully hidden. 

Rubbing his face, enough to nearly redden the area of impact more than it already had, Tao Hua paused. He finally noticed two particular things, long overdue. 

The first was that no one was speaking; not even whispering. 

The second was that he wasn't holding anything. 

"W-Wh…" 

Tao Hua's eyes sprang open, and he glanced down to find his book fallen on the ground, flipped open to a particular page. This was expected with how often he left that page open on his bed, end table, or even his study—therefore the book was trained.

On the page was a half-decent drawing, partially smudged. It revealed a woman, elegantly dressed, with an appearance more graceful than the birds that flew around her. 

Ahead of her was a man on a horse—he was charming in looks, but not nearly as stunning as the woman. In all honesty, the horse added to his charisma.

Tao Hua, not registering anything else or even the pair of black boots that stood next to the book, dove for his most prized possession. However, the moment he did, a gust of wind came rushing in, causing him to recoil and hold back both his hair and robe. 

To his utter luck! What a day this was turning out to be! 

The wind blew hundreds of pages in a matter of seconds until it finally ceased on a particular illustration. What had stopped the book from flying away wasn't the wind—that continued obnoxiously. It was a thumb, pressed against the spine of the book, with long and slender fingers gently slipping under it. 

Tao Hua caught a glimpse of the illustration before the hand lifted the book. It was the same two people as in the earlier picture, except this time the man was entering a tower. Tao Hua knew this one well—in fact, he loved it. 

In this picture, the man was saving the princess from her confinement and pitiful life. 

But all for naught, Tao Hua gasped loudly and shot his head up to see who it was that grabbed his book. That's when he finally snapped back to reality. 

The thing he ran into wasn't a thing at all, but a who. 

A man! 

A man more handsome than the half-decent looking prince in the book. Scratch that! A man better looking than any man Tao Hua had ever met in his life and with a smile more charming than any illustrated in his book. 

He gawked in awe, still half-bent and awkwardly tilting his head. For whatever reason, Tao Hua couldn't utter a word; he could only study him. 

From his robe that faded from night to daylight, to the golden patterns that crawled around his torso as if hugging his tall and slender frame. This man was a caricature best designed for a story! 

And to match that expensive outfit was a similarly coloured outer robe, dressed neatly around his broad shoulders. It was sheer and draped just enough to almost conceal the sword strapped to the side of his hip.

Which stood out as odd to Tao Hua. Not many in Siyue Town had a sword except those who stood at the town's gate, guarding it. In fact, it was easier to say no citizen even knew how to wield a sword, let alone look at one. 

Which meant this one wasn't from Siyue Town. 

The mysterious man straightened himself tall, holding the book in his hand and flipping from one page to another. With each page, he became more and more amused, the corners of his lips curling with each turn. 

What stood out most to Tao Hua wasn't just how amazingly tall this man was, nor was it how natural his smile was. 

It was his abnormally coloured eyes. 

They were pale; as if two ghosts had kissed them and sucked whatever life remained. 

Tao Hua didn't know how to feel. He just stiffly straightened himself and glanced away for a moment, contemplating. Granted, he should have taken the book back given its importance, but like many of those on the street, he was too anxious. 

Intimidated, really. 

Pressing his thumbs together, and twiddling them, Tao Hua contemplated a few things—what to say and how to say it. But when he turned to look at the man once more, his eyes didn't quite fall on him, nor his clear entertainment. In fact, it had nothing to do with this anomaly of a person. 

What caught Tao Hua's eyes was what stood past him. 

His destination. 

Thus, here today, gone tomorrow. Tao Hua stiffened and narrowed his eyes with determination. Whoever this man was…it didn't matter! 

What mattered was why Tao Hua was on that street in the first place, and where he needed to go! 

So, he did what any self-respecting busybody would do.
 
He grabbed the man's arm, stood on the tips of his toes, and snatched his book straight out of the man's warm grasp without a single word. 

No sorry. No excuse me. Nothing. 

Just four simple words, a body that leant laterally, and eyes excitedly peeking past and reflecting a sign. 

It read: The Bookstore. 

Yes, the lonely and often empty bookstore of Siyue Town. That's it, nothing special, it was just called The Bookstore. 

But Tao Hua had his own name, and one he curated carefully. One so foolishly naive and held dear, he wouldn't change it for the world. Thus, he whispered that very name aloud and with tremendous intensity. 

"Land Lost in Time!" 

Without even a moment to respond, Tao Hua leveraged that man's strong and firm arm, using it to push himself sideways with a hop. Only for a second did he register just how blunt his actions were. Therefore, he took a quick step back and inhaled sharply.

He fell into a clumsy bow while also trying to rummage through his robe's sleeves. When he finally found what he was looking for, he gripped it firmly and shoved it towards the handsome man and into his hands. 

Granted, this was easy given his fingers were still twitching from having the book taken so carelessly from them. 

"My deepest and most profound apologies!" Tao Hua exclaimed, darting past and nearly sending the man's long, black hair flying in the opposite direction. He yelled a quick "bye!" 

Left behind was the confused expression of a man. He was staring at a small piece of fabric in his hands, slightly amused yet utterly lost. And just as Tao Hua skidded toward the doors of that small shop, he heard the remnants of a half-amused statement, yet curious all the same. 

"Land Lost in Time…?" 

Chapter end. 

Author Note

I'm doing maaaaaaaaany revisions to the beginning. This chapter hasn't gone through the first edit yet, so it's still rough. But I'm coming to terms with my perfectionism, so I think that's a good thing! I think. 

Thank you for the patience while I handle this. It means a lot.