Tie Zhu

Meng Chuan opened the video and saw its main character.

He was a boy named Tie Zhu.

Meng Chuan was momentarily stunned when he heard what people called the boy.

The name rang a bell. He did know of someone by that name.

Tie Zhu came from a Small Mountain Village. He looked utterly ordinary, with nothing remarkable about him.

But Tie Zhu was clever and loved to read. Beneath his unremarkable appearance lay a heart that longed for the wider world.

Children like him were all too common.

Across the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, whether ruled by immortals, gods, or technology, there were children like him everywhere.

Some succeeded in leaving their Small Mountain Villages and entered the wider, better world they had imagined as children—though once they grew up, they no longer thought it quite so wonderful.

Others failed and remained in their villages, marrying and having children. Now and then, they recalled their youthful dreams and let out a soft sigh.

Perhaps the next generation would dream the same dreams.

But for Tie Zhu, a turning point came.

His fourth uncle brought news: there was a chance to become an immortal.

Tie Zhu, relatively bright among his peers, received that chance.

Of course, the greater reason was that Tie Zhu's family was close to his fourth uncle.

And so, under the hopes of his Parents, relatives, and friends, a bewildered Tie Zhu climbed into the carriage bound for the path to immortality.

Of course, those relatives and friends had only heaped praise on him because he might become an immortal.

Meng Chuan watched the images unfold in silence. He had already formed a guess about who Tie Zhu was.

And he was quite confident in it.

Tie Zhu arrived at his fourth uncle's home. An immortal took