Longyan Temple, main hall.
The instant the Buddha statue's head shattered, Sun Hang's vision blurred. By the time he came back to his senses, the surrounding scene had completely changed.
First, the fragrant scent of steaming food drifted into Sun Hang's nostrils, followed by the sounds of children playing and chasing one another.
The air was humid, carrying the faint chill unique to early morning. A vendor by the roadside hugged a stack of steamers taller than himself and unsteadily set them atop a crude coal stove converted from an oil drum.
This scene felt extremely familiar to Sun Hang.
He realized that he had returned to the morning of the Taishui hunt.
He raised his wrist and checked the time displayed on his wristband, only to find that its screen was already filled with garbled text.
"..."
Sun Hang stepped forward. He moved aside for a vegetable vendor pushing a handcart, dodged two elementary school students carrying backpacks, and arrived at that familiar storefront.
The owner was still rolling out dough, while the meddlesome old man was still seated in the same spot, blowing "hoo, hoo" on the piping-hot wontons he had scooped up with his spoon.
His bowl had plenty of chili sauce in it, and the red oil had even stained his pale beard.
A plastic bag sat on the old man's table, containing two neatly cut squares of Brown Sugar Glutinous Rice Cake.
Sun Hang lowered his head and looked at his palm. A tiny strand of mycelium slipped inconspicuously out from between his fingers before quickly withdrawing again.
"...An illusion?"
Sun Hang simply strode over and sat down at the storefront, calling out to the owner, "One bowl of wontons. No spice."
"One bowl of wontons? How many liang?" the owner asked, immediately lowering his