My incomprehension must of shown on my face, as the man stops and takes a second to examine me, then switches to another language. The language he now speaks sounds vaguely Italian to me, though varied enough that it could very well be something else.
I shake my head to indicate that I don't understand, causing the man to frown. He seems to go into thought for a moment, then gestures to himself and says, "Kang Cheng."
Seeing his action, I realise what he wants me to do. I point at myself with my good hand and explain, "Sarah... Engli-" I cut myself off as I begin to say what I speak, as I'm not sure if England even exists in this era. I think London has existed for around two thousand years though, so unless I'm in a time before the birth of 'Jesus', it should be a good place to use.
"Uh, London?"
His eyebrows rise, then he turns to the woman and says something to her, causing her to nod and step out of the room. I look at Kang Cheng with confusion, but he just stands up and smiles at me, then raises a hand in a wait gesture.
After a couple of minutes of silence, the woman returns with a second man, this one elderly and in a black robe. He greets Kang Cheng, who starts a short conversation with him. After a quick back and forth, the new man turns to me and pauses, before speaking, "Parlez-vous français?"
French? From what I remember of my history classes, France made contact with China far later then when the founding of the Kingdom of England occurred... So, "English?"
The man furrows his brow, then says, uncertainly, "...Fulang?"
...What?
The man looks at the woman to the side and says something to her, leading her to smile and nod. He speaks to Kang Cheng, who nods, then turns to leave, with Kang Cheng following behind.
With those two gone, I'm left staring at the woman, who walks towards me. She stops by the chair, pours some tea out into two cups, then hands me one. She moves the tray over to the desk, then sits in the chair and takes a sip.
That done, she points at herself and says, "Name, Shi Min." She then points at me, "Name, Sarah."
Ah, I get what she's trying to do; she's trying to teach me.
Nodding at her, I begin a long game of learning a completely foreign language from scratch.
…
I've been confined to this bed for five days now, with the woman, Shi Min, treating me. Due to Accelerated Learning, I've managed to learn a surprisingly good amount of Chinese so far, with Shi Min even managing to communicate to me that I can finally get up and step beyond the room I've been stuck in.
I even got a notification for it,
[Ability Learned – Old Mandarin (Skilled): The language of northern China during the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. You've found someone kind enough to take the time and teach you it, leading you to have a young adult's level of speaking ability in it.
You won't be winning any debates anytime soon, however.]
Shi Min enters the room and sees me awake, causing her to give me a smile. As I look to her, she walks to my bed and pulls the cover off me, then helps me sit up. In the time I've been here, Shi Min's been the one to help me wash and change, so I don't mind the move.
She takes my hand and supports me as I stand, my new, blue robe covering my form. Leaning on her, I take a second to find my balance, then smile at her.
"Good?" She asks me, worried.
"Good." I reply. She nods and releases my hand, letting me walk on my own. As I take my first steps to the courtyard, I stop and turn to her, asking, "...Jian?" I point at my sword.
She follows my gaze, before turning back to me, "Safe. Later." Trusting her, I leave the room and walk out into the light of the day. Although I saw the courtyard in my dream, there is an extra layer of reality to what I'm seeing now. The surface of the yard is paved by large square stones that stand out against the dark wood of the buildings.
Shi Min takes in my appreciation, "You like it?" she questions.
"Yeah," I breath out, "new." She laughs and start walking away, before looking back at me and gesturing for me to follow. I move to walk beside her as we pass through a circular hole in a red wall, that opens up into a large garden with a small body of water in the centre, on the bank of which sits a red gazebo.
We pass to the left under a tree with a wide crown that stands in the centre of a circular floor of stone. We move through the remainder of the garden and take another opening that leads to an open area, with a large temple gate to the left. Standing in front of the gate is the greying man, Kang Cheng.
He sees us approaching and nods to Shi Man, then greets me, "Hello, all better now?" He asks.
I give him a smile, "Yes, thank you." He gives me a smile in return and says something I half understand to Shi Min. She turns to me, "Come, the Abbot wishes to see you."
The Abbot... The leader of the temple?
Suddenly worried, I ask, "Is everything alright?"
Kang Cheng nods his head, "Don't worry, he just has some questions for you."
My worries somewhat abated, I follow them through the gate. We pass through a few more, move around a couple buildings, and walk by some children in their little robes, before coming to a stop in front a simple looking courtyard. Shi Min pushes open its gate and steps through, then waves us in.
The courtyard is filled with all kinds of cultivated plants and flowers, and is made from the same dark wood as the others I've seen so far. At the far end of the courtyard sits a middle-aged man in a black robe, reading a book under an eave. As we approach him, he takes notice of us and closes his book.
He stands and folds his hands in front of his chest, then bows towards me. He straightens and asks me, "Have you recovered well, Madam?"
I feel like I'm going to be asked that question a lot today. Still, no need to be rude to my hosts.
"Yes, Abbot." I bow in return. It feels like the proper etiquette.
The Abbot smiles, "Good, I want to ask you some questions, if that's alright with you?" I nod. "First, can you tell us who you are, and what you were doing alone in the forest of Mount Heng?"
Should I tell them the truth? I could lie to them about my situation, but as Taoists who might possess supernatural power, they could be able to tell if I lie.
How about some half-truths, and see how it goes from there? After all, from what I know, Taoists are all about humility and going with the flow, so they might just accept the truth without batting an eye.
Here goes nothing.
"...My name is Sarah, from England, a kingdom in the far west. As for why I was in the forest... I don't know. The last thing I remember before I woke up in the forest is going to sleep in my bed."
The Abbot stares at me, seemingly in contemplation. He looks over at the other two, then back at me and says, "...Madam, every life is entitled to keep their own secrets, but we won't be able to help you with our best effort if you are not willing to share with us."
Do they actually possess some form of lie detection?
I turn to look at Shi Min who gives me a smile and a nod, then face the Abbot and confess, "I'm sorry, I didn't want to lie to you all, I just wasn't sure if you would believe the truth." I furrow my brow.
"Whatever do you mean?" asks the Abbot. "No matter how strange the story, we will assist you in any way we can."
"I wasn't lying about my name, or where I'm from, but I was lying about how I ended up in the forest. Its just..." I show them an unsure expression, "I think I've come from the future."
For a second, there is no reaction from anyone, before a surprised look appears on the Abbot's face and he opens his mouth, "...Pardon?"
…
So it turns out that Taoists aren't as unflappable as I'd believed.
After my 'confession', all three of them started asking questions in quick succession, before they realised they'd lost their composure and settled.
The conversation moved from the courtyard into the residence of the Abbot, who's name I learned was Chang Fan, which apparently means 'always ordinary'.
Once inside, Shi Min made us some tea, before we all sat down on some cushions around a low table. I stayed silent as they took some time to gather their thoughts.
Kang Cheng was the first to break the silence, "Madam, why do think that you have have arrived here from the... future?" The word looks like it unsettles him as it passes beyond his lips.
"...Well, I don't know what year you all live in, but when I'm from, it's the year two thousand and twenty-five." I stop to see if they have any questions, but they seem content to let me talk. "I was honest about going to sleep before I arrived here, but I omitted that I maybe saw what brought me here."
Shi Min regards my story with narrowed eyes, before relaxing and speaking, "Do continue, Sister. I am fascinated by what you're saying."
The Abbot nods in agreement and gestures for me to continue.
I think on my story for a moment. "I was deep asleep in my bed, when I was awoken by the sensation of falling. As I panicked and flailed, I fell through my bed and landed on the dirt in the forest. I got to my feet and looked to where I fell from, and knew some kind of… hole, was floating above me." I take a sip of my tea to wet my dry mouth.
"I couldn't actually see anything, there was no physical hole, I could just... sense some absence directly above me. I reached out my hand to see if I could feel anything, but it vanished, along with two of my fingers. The hole seemed to only linger for a couple of seconds before it disappeared, but I'm certain about what I felt. After that, I eventually wandered off into the woods, where I made a gourd for water, found a sword, and attempted to treat my injuries."
I finish weaving my tale and wait for one of them to speak up.
The Abbot is the one to open his mouth, "Your tale has so many implications that I don't even know where to begin."
"But, I'm inclined to believe you, Madam. You have an air about you that seems at odds with the world around you, and you quite honestly seem a bit lost. If what you say is indeed the truth; then you are far from your home, in a strange time and an unknown land." The Abbot gives me a smile.
"In that case, from now on, you are guest of the Grand Temple of Mount Heng. Until the day that you wish to leave, you can call this temple your new home, on the condition that you aid in the upkeep of the temple."
I abruptly stand and stare at the Abbot with watery eyes, before giving a deep bow, "Thank you!" The Abbot seems startled, but he accepts the bow with a nod of his head.
Straightening out, I turn to Shi Min, "...Can I hug you?" She looks unsure for a moment, but stands and opens her arms. I step into her and close my arms around her, whispering, "Thank you for saving me." I give her my earnest thanks.
Shi Min had told me how she had been the one to find me in the woods while she was out collecting herbs, and managed to carry me back to the temple, where she worked tirelessly to keep me alive.
Without her, I'd be dead.
Again.
I finally release her as the Abbot speaks, "Taoist Shi, please take our newest member to the disciples' living quarters and find her a bed. I would like to speak to Taoist Kang for a moment."
Shi Min, looking relieved now the hug is over, nods at him, "Understood, Abbot. Follow me, Sarah, I'll give you a small tour on the way."
She turns to leave, so I follow behind her, leaving the two men to their conversation.
…
The walk to the living quarters doesn't seem to take that long, not with Shi Min introducing the facilities to me as we pass them. When we arrive at the living quarters, what appears before me is a wide building with multiple doors placed around it, surrounded by a red wall that leaves a large gap between the two structures.
A young disciple steps out of one of the doors as we approach, causing Shi Min to call out to him, "Junior Brother, what are you doing out of bed?"
The boy jumps, startled, but calms down once he sees Shi Min, "...Ah, Senior Sister, I-I needed to use the bathroom." He stutters, slightly nervous.
Shi Min regards him for a moment, before smiling at him, "Hurry back then, I would like to introduce you to a new disciple." Shi Min motions to me, causing the boy to notice to me. His eyes widen as he makes out my features, his face paling, "...Ghost?" He turns and runs back into the building, forgetting to close the door.
Shi Min turns to me and laughs, "You're going to have to get used to seeing that for a while, most of the disciples here have never seen someone with your complexion or hair colour. They won't mean anything by it, so I hope you'll forgive them."
I recover from the boys reaction, and laugh along with her, "Don't worry, they're just children, I won't hold it against them." Shi Min looks happy at my words.
She leads me into the quarters and to a room with ten beds, nine of them occupied, and finds me one between two others, all the while the children stare at me. "Here you go. It's not much, but it serves its purpose." She pats the bed.
I ignore the whispering of the kids, and sit down on it, finding it surprisingly comfortable. Once Shi Min sees that I'm settled, she turn to leave me, but not before saying one final thing, "I sleep in the Medicine Hall quarters, so if you need anything, have one of the Junior Brothers lead you there."
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Shi Min." She gives me one final smile, then steps out of the room.
I lay down on the bed and make myself comfortable, then try to get some sleep, which quickly finds me.
For the first time in almost a week, I feel safe.