Chapter Four: Time Travel? Parallel Universes? Five-Dimensional Space?

I walked forward, the scratches on my legs and feet from the grass increasing, blood seeping out, leaving bright red marks on my pale skin. But that wasn’t the worst part; what I couldn’t bear was the bone-chilling cold.

I was dressed too lightly. This dazzling gown was clearly unsuitable for the current environment. Fortunately, I had a coat; otherwise, I’d have frozen stiff by now.

I endured the cold, glancing around at the vast expanse of half-meter-high grass all around me. The sky was overcast, not a trace of sunlight in sight. Despair settled in deeper—I had no idea where I was, and could only stagger forward.

I don’t know how long I’d been walking, but I was barely holding on. The cold grew worse, and sharp, piercing pain shot through my legs. Just as I was about to lose consciousness, I suddenly heard the faint sound of hooves in the distance.

Hooves?

Did I hear that correctly?

Where would there be horses? A park? The suburbs?

Suddenly, my spirit lifted. No matter what it was, I was finally saved!

Save me! Save me!

I shouted loudly, running toward the sound.

Sure enough, I saw them—a group of riders had stopped some distance away. There were about twenty or thirty of them. Thank goodness, my prayers were answered, I was saved!

I hurried toward them, shouting again and again, “Help me! Help me!”

Closer and closer, hope was within reach.

Then I froze. The sight before me forced me to stop. I stared blankly at these people in front of me, too shocked to speak.

A group of horsemen stood right there—not strange because they rode horses, but because every one of them was dressed in ancient clothing!

No way! What is this? Have I traveled through time?

I screamed silently in my heart.

After a few minutes of stunned silence, we locked eyes. The air seemed to freeze; I could feel the fear between us.

Yes, they must be scared too. Their expressions were incredulous, as if looking at a monster.

Looking at this scene, I guessed—most likely, I had indeed traveled through time!

I refused to accept it. It couldn’t be true!

There is no such thing as time travel; it’s all made up. They must be extras filming a movie! Crowd actors shooting in the suburbs!

With that hope, I cautiously tried to break the silence. I forced a polite smile and asked in a conciliatory tone, “Hello, are you extras? Sorry, I’m lost. Could you tell me where your film crew is?” (I dared not mention I fell from a mountain—there’s no mountain here.)

Dead silence again. They just stared at me without a word.

I wished I could dig a hole and crawl into it. These dozen or so people were staring at my disheveled self, and nothing could be more humiliating.

Suddenly, with a sharp, clear sound slicing through the stillness, the leader drew his sword. Almost simultaneously, the others drew theirs too, all pointing at me!

It was over—the worst outcome had come.

Given the situation, two possibilities: these people were definitely not actors; otherwise, they wouldn’t threaten me with swords—that would be illegal. So either I’d encountered robbers—but it’s the twenty-first century; who robs people dressed in ancient clothes with swords? That would be insane. Or...

I had traveled through time!

Why was this happening to me? Wasn’t I unlucky enough? With my survival skills, I wouldn’t last two episodes in a time-travel drama! This wasn’t a time-travel story anymore; it was a horror movie! This outcome was worse than dying from the fall!

I shouted in my heart.

Calm down, calm down! If I had really traveled through time, I couldn’t die at the start! Think—how to handle this? First, survive!

While I was lost in thought, the leader suddenly spoke:

“Who are you? Speak quickly!”

Such a familiar, clichéd line—I’d seen it on TV.

I had watched many time-travel dramas, but none started like this. No one had taught me how to respond.

I thought quickly. I couldn’t lose face now. Judging by their armor and swords, though my limited history knowledge couldn't pinpoint the dynasty, they looked like soldiers on a campaign. The man who spoke was probably an officer.

Their expressions showed uncertainty about me. In their eyes, my clothing was strange beyond belief. They must have never seen such a bizarrely dressed woman in this desolate place, and perhaps they were afraid too.

That was good. I couldn’t lose in terms of presence. For now, before they understood who I was, they wouldn’t dare kill me.

Survival was paramount!

Though terrified, I forced a calm demeanor, looked the officer in the eye, and said with neither humility nor arrogance, “I wish to see your general. I have urgent matters to report.”

Yes, that was right. First meet the top commander, then think about inventing my identity. Most importantly, I needed to know what era I had landed in.

The officer looked at me suspiciously, then whispered something to his companions.

I silently prayed for divine protection: please don’t kill me.

“Take her away!” he ordered.

I exhaled deeply; thankfully, he hadn’t decided to kill me.

The soldiers sheathed their swords. Two men dismounted and approached me, tying my hands with a rope, one on each side lifting me up. One snatched the bag from my shoulder.

“Give that back!” I cried. The contents were my only hope of survival; I couldn’t let them take it, even though I knew the phone inside might be useless.

The officer stared at me for a moment, said nothing, then signaled to the man who returned my bag.

So, I was mounted on a horse and set off with the group.

My heart settled slightly. It seemed they had no intention of killing me—for now. They surely had no idea I was from the future.

Looking out over the boundless grasslands, I began to think rapidly.

First, why had I traveled here? This defied all scientific principles. Could it be that when I fell from the mountain last night, the speed was so great I crossed time and space? That was the only explanation.

Theoretically, if velocity reaches a certain limit, time travel is possible!

Or perhaps I had entered a parallel universe—meaning that by entering a special environment, I arrived in another world.

I remembered a sci-fi movie explaining time travel.

Passing through a black hole in the universe to a singularity could, with a tiny chance, lead to a five-dimensional space where time becomes a linear solid. Through these linear solids, you could see past scenes but not enter them.

All possibilities. Under certain triggers, spacetime twists—though the chance was minuscule.

So, if I was in this unknown era, as long as I triggered the right conditions, returning to my own time might still be possible. Please, let me go back, I prayed repeatedly.

For now, the most important thing was to survive. Only then could there be hope of returning.

Yes, there was still hope.