In a picturesque, isolated small village surrounded by lush green hills, clear waters, and towering ancient trees, a genius youth was born. At eighteen years of age, he was dashing and graceful, standing seven feet tall with a face as flawless as jade. Truly, he was adored by all and a rare sight in this world. Whether it was the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, astronomy, geography, or the mystic arts of the esoteric schools, he mastered them all without a teacher.
The local customs here were simple and honest. Families lived by the sunrise and rested by the sunset, their days filled with laughter and joy. Free from the hustle and bustle of the city, the village retained the rustic, elegant atmosphere of traditional rural life. It bore a deeply poetic name: Luyuan Village.
At the eastern end of the village stood an antique, traditional old residence. The owner of this estate was a wealthy squire, a rarity in these parts, possessing tens of thousands of taels in gold and silver, along with a thousand mu of fertile farmland. Counting all the family members and dependents, the household numbered over two thousand souls, holding immense influence within the village. Steeped in a profound cultural heritage, the family wore an air of noble mystery.
The young master of this household was Jiang Yan. Aside from helping his father manage the family business every day, he also assisted in mediating disputes among the villagers. Blessed with intelligence and capability, Jiang Yan was also in charge of the village's security patrols—a true jack-of-all-trades seldom seen in these parts.
The village's primary economic lifeline came from the tens of thousands of mu of rare medicinal herb cultivation bases, premium free-range chickens, and top-quality cattle, horses, and goats established by Jiang Yan's parents deep in the mountains. Ordinarily, the other villagers helped out at this comprehensive farming and ranching base, earning a wage to supplement their household incomes.
On this particular day, Jiang Yan and five companions from the village—Yulan, Qinger, Dà Míng, Gāng Qiáng, and Xiǎo Qín—were heading toward the deep-mountain farming and ranching base to tend to the medicinal herbs, chickens, cattle, horses, and goats. Along the way, laughter filled the air as they playfully teased one another, sharing amusing anecdotes and jokes, spending a thoroughly joyful and leisurely time.
At that moment, Dà Míng and Gāng Qiáng chimed in, "We live and study together in the village every day. Big Brother Jiang Yan, you are smart, capable, and profoundly knowledgeable. You are truly the universally acknowledged leader among us all and the role model we look up to together!"
Right then, Yulan and Qinger also crowded closer and chimed in, "Indeed! Indeed! Big Brother Jiang Yan, you really are the role model we all look up to."
With great modesty, Jiang Yan replied, "Thank you all for thinking so highly of me. I'm nowhere near as wonderful as you make me out to be."
At this, Dà Míng, Gāng Qiáng, Xiǎo Qín, Yulan, and Qinger all chorused together, "Big Brother Jiang Yan! It's true! It really is true! We genuinely trust and admire you from the bottom of our hearts."
As it happened, Yulan and Qinger were walking a few steps ahead. Taking advantage of this, Dà Míng, Gāng Qiáng, and Xiǎo Qín whispered amongst themselves, "I say, Yulan and Qinger look quite lovely. With their breathtakingly beautiful faces and the radiant youth of their adolescent years, they gaze at Big Brother Jiang Yan with tender affection every single day, their faces beaming with happy smiles. If you ask me, there's an eight-in-ten chance that both Yulan and Qinger have fallen for our Big Brother Jiang Yan."
"Who's to say they haven't? Big Brother Jiang Yan is young, promising, and dashing. To my mind, he and they would make a match made in heaven—a truly talented scholar paired with fair maidens."
Hearing this, Jiang Yan turned his head back and scolded, "What nonsense are you lot babbling about? If you keep going like this, the sun will have set!"
Only then did the group quicken their pace, hurrying toward the farming and ranching base deep in the mountains.
Before long, Jiang Yan and his companions arrived at the base. But before anyone even had a chance to catch their breath and rest for a moment, in the blink of an eye, a gale-force wind whipped up, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and torrential rain poured down. The sky darkened into pitch blackness, instantly plunging the world into a blur where one couldn't even see the hand before their face, resembling a hellish nightmare on earth.