"Sir, I don't know where you come from, but I can tell you are no ordinary person, at least far more capable than people like us. I truly don't understand how you ended up captured by this foolish little Japanese captain. He’s an awfully vain man; if he sees fine fabric or clothes he likes, he can’t bear to part with them. If he gets agitated, he’ll actually try to snatch them—just like you wearing those clothes today is practically asking for trouble. Right now, this is the Japanese domain; they do whatever they please. If you don't give them an explanation today, regarding the origin of your clothes, you'll be sent to the laboratory tomorrow," said the fabric shop owner.

Zhou Huan brushed his eyes and replied, "Sir, it's like this: if he wants the clothes I’m wearing, I can give them to him, but he must give me a set of clothes in return. I can’t just run around the world naked, can I?"

"That’s easily settled, but what if he insists on knowing where the clothes came from, then..."

"Don't worry, I'll copy an address for him later, and they can find it themselves!" Zhou Huan got a pen and paper, quickly scribbled down the address from the clothing label, and then took off his own clothes. The fabric shop owner found him another set of clothes. Zhou Huan smiled at himself as he put them on.

A short while later, the little Japanese devil captain straightened his cap and adjusted his uniform: "This man is a truly good citizen! Good. Have him come with us. We’ll arrange a job for him at the Police Department later!"

"Yes, yes, honored sir, don't worry. I'll speak to Director Sun tomorrow and ask him to grant a favor and just throw this fellow in," the traitor surnamed Long swaggered over to Zhou Huan. "Hey, the officer wants to offer you a post at the Police Department. Do you want it or not?"

"Police?" Zhou Huan’s eyes darted around, and he asked, "I want to ask, what kind of TV series is this being filmed for?"

"TV series? What is a TV series? I’ve heard of movies," the clothing store owner chimed in.

Zhou Huan frowned slightly. "Then what year is it right now?"

"1938. Today is the twenty-fifth day of the tenth lunar month."

"What? The War of Resistance? You mean the real War of Resistance?" Zhou Huan sounded skeptical, then asked again, "Is it really the War of Resistance?"

"You’re not from around here? Looks like you’ve returned from abroad, or...?" The fabric shop owner reached out and felt Zhou Huan’s forehead. "No fever. Brother, what’s wrong with you?"

Wasn't this the time of Manchuria or Manchukuo? How did he end up in this era? Where was his Fushou Hall? Where was his family? Zhou Huan couldn't help but think of these things, but no matter how much he thought, it was useless. The Japanese took what they wanted and turned away. Seeing that Zhou Huan had no money, the fabric shop owner didn't want to keep him in the shop and finally ushered him out of the clothing store.

Zhou Huan walked around, looking at everything. Nothing resembled his own time. It seemed he had truly time-traveled, actually returning to this age of raging warfare. What on earth did this old man want him to do? His mind was a mess, and he had no idea where he had ended up.

The sky grew darker. There was no moon that night; perhaps it was near the end of the month, so the moon rose smaller, providing almost no light. He had to rely on the light from the houses lining the road to see where he was going, otherwise, he walked in pitch black.

The night air was unusually cold. Zhou Huan walked alone for about two li and spotted a small house ahead. He intended to go in and ask for shelter for the night, but when he stepped inside, he realized it was a temple—perhaps a local mountain god shrine. However, the temple structure was dilapidated. The outer wall had long since collapsed, leaving only one corner standing, and the door of the small building was half-gone, with the remaining piece still hanging precariously from a pillar, swaying in the breeze.

Zhou Huan reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a stack of talismans and a lighter. He quickly drew a 'Blazing Flame Talisman,' lit it, and tossed it toward the sky. Instantly, the area where Zhou Huan stood became brilliantly lit, almost as bright as day. He tiptoed into the mountain temple and called out softly, "Is anyone here? Anyone?"

There was no response from the temple. Zhou Huan had no choice but to use the light from the talisman to survey the general layout of the interior and look for a place to rest.

"Rumble!" A loud noise made Zhou Huan jump. The swaying door of the temple compound had finally succumbed to the wind—or perhaps it had sensed something unique about Zhou Huan, a lifeline to fund repairs for the crumbling shrine. But Zhou Huan had no money; how could he repair a temple, when he couldn't even afford a meal?

Zhou Huan slowly entered the room, using his lighter for illumination. He saw a pile of straw extending before his feet, suggesting others often sought refuge here. Zhou Huan didn't care about that; he collapsed onto the straw, his mind hazy, wanting to drift off to sleep.

"Hey, keep it down. There’s someone here. Looks like a penniless fellow. Look at those ragged clothes he’s wearing; who wears things like that these days? Really," a very small voice broke the silence of the lonely night.

Another voice, sounding like a dog’s, responded, "Big Brother, let's startle him first. If he really has no money, we’ll have to figure out a way to make him work for us."

The two figures who had been speaking crept step by step toward Zhou Huan. Before they could get close, they pulled out two short guns from their pockets. The muzzles of both weapons were aimed directly at Zhou Huan’s forehead.

"Hey, buddy, this isn't your sleeping spot. Get up!" The two men poked and prodded Zhou Huan.

How could Zhou Huan allow them to talk nonsense? He decided to unleash his anger and take down these two who were disturbing his sleep. As the thought formed, his hands and feet moved. In the blink of an eye, the weapons held by the two intruders flew from their grasp.

Zhou Huan instantly lunged in front of them, grabbing the collar of one man in each hand. "Damn it! It’s one thing for the Japanese devils to bully us Chinese—we fight them off! But you two little brats dare try to sneak attack your Grandpa Zhou? Do you know what Grandpa Zhou does?"

The two men who had been subdued immediately recovered, stumbling and crying out for mercy. "We don’t know which great hero you are! We just wanted to find a place to sleep. Seeing the straw on the ground, we figured it was safe enough to spend the night here."

"Tell me honestly who you are, or you won't see tomorrow’s sun," Zhou Huan deliberately spoke fiercely. The two men hadn't been able to lift their heads; Zhou Huan's two arms were enough to pin them both to the ground, faces mashed into the straw.

The two trembled and begged Zhou Huan, "Great Hero, could you let us stand up to talk? Lying prone like this is torturous. Our eyes are seeing stars, and our faces are completely buried in the straw."

Zhou Huan gave a faint smile. "Fine. Today, I’ll let you stand up. Come on, tell me what you do for a living?" After speaking, Zhou Huan released his grip, and the two scoundrels slowly rose. Seeing that Zhou Huan meant no harm, they relaxed considerably.

"Master, we truly admire your skill; it’s rare. We are drifters, looking around to see if we can scrape up some extra cash."

Zhou Huan laughed at their words. "Heh heh, you two certainly have a knack. But with just the two of you, whatever you scrounge up is barely enough for a meal. Why don't you go find some game later, and we can eat together, then get to know each other better? I might be staying here for several days, so if the three of us can coexist harmoniously starting today, won’t this place become ours?"

"Yes, yes, Big Brother speaks the truth. But it’s so late; where are we going to find game? The rabbits nowadays are fast and burrow deep, not wanting to come out. So we have nothing to eat tonight; we’ll have to wait until tomorrow." The situation they described sounded grim, suggesting it was hard for them to get food. Seeing this, Zhou Huan showed great compassion, raised his hand, and drew a talisman. After lighting it, two ornate vases rose on either side of the temple.

Zhou Huan turned back to the two scoundrels. "What do you two actually do? You still haven't answered directly. If you don't answer, I can sense it, and I can dispose of you at any time, so you had better watch yourselves."

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