I am the god of this land.

03: Small Mountain Village

The next morning, Han Feng was awakened by the chirping of birds outside the window. The branches of the old loquat tree stretched out to the window, and several sparrows hopped around on them, chirping away. Sunlight shone through the dusty glass and fell on the quilt, making it feel warm and cozy. He turned over, reached for his phone on the bedside table, and glanced at it. It was already 9:40 in the morning, and the signal bar was still empty. Getting in through this mountain road was easy, but contacting the outside world was not so simple.

He sat up and stared blankly for a moment. The first thought that came to his mind was not brushing his teeth or eating breakfast, but the fish tank.

Han Feng quickly climbed the creaking wooden stairs and went downstairs. The room was quiet. On the table was the small fish tank. The morning light slanted in from outside the door, passing through the transparent tank walls and casting a pale golden spot on the table. He walked over quickly, leaned closer to look, and then froze.

The lychee tree in the fish tank is no longer the small sapling that was half a person tall last night. The trunk has grown to the thickness of a thumb, the bark is grayish-brown with clear patterns, and the branches spread out in all directions, filling the entire interior space of the fish tank. The green canopy is as lush as a cloud.

What truly left him speechless were the clusters of heavy fruit among the branches and leaves—lychees. The bright red lychees, three or five at a time, were huddled together, their skins covered with fine bumps that gleamed in the morning light, like rubies hanging from the branches.

He carefully reached into the fish tank, his fingertips touching the largest lychee. With a gentle twist, the stem broke off, and the lychee fell into his palm. The peel was thin yet tough; a pinch of his fingernail easily cracked it open, revealing the translucent, white flesh inside. Juice dripped down his fingers, and Han Feng quickly popped it into his mouth.

It was sweet, but not the cloying sweetness of supermarket fruit. Instead, it was a clean and refreshing sweetness, with the unique floral fragrance of lychee. The flesh was crisp and tender, and the juice burst in his mouth the moment he bit into it. It was better than any lychee he had ever eaten in his life. He couldn't help but squint his eyes, and before he could even spit out the pit, he mumbled an "Mmm" and reached out to pick another one.

He ate five or six in one go before pulling his hand back, licking his fingers, and letting out a satisfied sigh. The sweetness lingered on his tongue, like a reminder—that this was not a dream.

His stomach growled at that moment, and Han Feng realized that he hadn't eaten a single grain of rice since last night. He had spent the whole day cleaning the house yesterday, and for dinner he had only eaten two compressed biscuits that he had brought from the city. Now his stomach was empty and he was starving.

He went into the kitchen. The stove was an old-fashioned wood-fired stove, which he naturally didn't know how to use, but there was an induction cooker in the corner. The pots and pans were also quite complete. He rummaged through the cabinet and found half a bag of noodles, a packet of salt, and a small bottle of soy sauce. Fortunately, the refrigerator—that old, buzzing refrigerator—was still powered on. Inside, there were a few eggs and a bunch of wilted scallions.

Han Feng boiled a pot of water, threw in the noodles to cook, took them out and rinsed them with cold water, mixed them with soy sauce and salt, and then fried two sunny-side-up eggs. The egg whites were fried until they were crispy, but the yolks were still runny. He sprinkled some chopped green onions on top, and it actually looked pretty good. He took the bowl of noodles and sat down at the table in the main room, slurping the noodles while staring blankly at the lychee tree in the fish tank.

After finishing his noodles and washing the bowl, he squatted down in front of the fish tank for a while. There were still more than half of the lychee fruits on the tree that hadn't been picked. The branches were covered with red and green fruits, and some of them were even starting to wrinkle slightly. It looked like they would be overripe if he didn't eat them soon. He thought for a moment and decided not to pick them all. He only picked the reddest ones and put them on a plate to eat slowly.

After clearing away the dishes, Han Feng rolled up his sleeves and continued the work he hadn't finished yesterday.

He went upstairs and searched through all the remaining bookshelves in his grandfather's study. This time he searched more carefully, taking out each book and shaking it, glancing at each page, and even using a flashlight to examine the gaps between the bookshelves and the walls. He turned the bamboo boxes in the corner upside down, finding broken porcelain shards, old rubbings, yellowed newspaper clippings, hand-drawn topographical sketches, archaeological reports from decades ago... There were quite a few things, but none of them were related to the fish tank.

That little note tucked between the pages of the book was like the only clue Grandpa had left in the entire study.

Han Feng sat on the dusty floor, leaning against the bookshelf, feeling a strange sense of loss. He had thought that since the old man had left behind the fish tank, he would have left more information about where it came from, how to use it, and what precautions to take. But after searching the entire room, he found nothing.

Han Feng sat on the floor, leaning against the bookshelf, holding the yellowed note in his hand. He looked at it over and over again. His grandfather's handwriting was so neat that it was unbelievable, but the content was so absurd that he doubted his eyes again and again.

"To unleash the power of the Creator, my bloodline must be the catalyst..." he murmured, then looked up at the bookshelf, which had been ransacked.

"Grandpa, what exactly did you leave me?"

Just as I was lost in thought, there was a knocking sound coming from downstairs.

"Xiao Feng! Xiao Feng!" A clear female voice called from outside the door, slightly out of breath, as if she had run over. "I heard you're back. Are you there?"

Han Feng was taken aback, then smiled. He recognized the voice all too well; it was Li Ange, Han Feng's childhood sweetheart.

He folded the note and stuffed it into his pocket, dusted himself off, and went down the creaking wooden stairs. He unlatched the door, and the old wooden door creaked open. Sure enough, it was Li Ange standing in the doorway.

She was wearing a light green short-sleeved shirt, her hair loose over her shoulders, and her skin was so white it almost reflected the afternoon sun. As Han Feng looked at her, the words the villagers used to say when he was a child suddenly flashed through his mind: "An Ge is a water girl, she's naturally fair-skinned. Her father is as dark as charcoal when he goes out to sea, but she's as white as tofu." More than twenty years have passed, and those words still hold true.

"It really is you." Li Ange tilted her head to look at him, a smile curving her lips. "My mom said your lights were on, but I didn't believe her. When did you get back? What are you doing back?"

Han Feng stepped aside to let her in, and casually replied, "I came back yesterday to tidy up my grandfather's house. It's been empty for too long and is covered in dust."

Li Ange stepped across the threshold, circled the main room, his gaze sweeping from the table to the transparent fish tank in the corner, and finally landing on a small dish on the table. The dish contained several bright red lychees, round and plump, which stood out conspicuously in the gray old house.

"Oh, you brought these lychees back?" Her eyes lit up, and she reached out her hand. "Are they for me?"

Before Han Feng could even open his mouth, she had already picked up a piece and popped it into her own. He opened his mouth, then swallowed the words that were about to come out, thinking: You've already eaten them, why are you asking me?

Li Ange took a bite, juice splashing out. She made a soft "Mmm" sound, her eyes widening, and mumbled, "So sweet! Where did you buy this? I've never eaten such a sweet lychee before!"

Han Feng made up an answer without changing his expression: "It was a gift from my college roommate. His family owns a lychee orchard, and they grow their own lychees. You can't buy them outside."

"That's really good." Li Ange nodded, took another one, and ate it with satisfaction. "Your roommate is a good friend. Thank him for me later."

Han Feng hummed in agreement, silently apologizing to his non-existent roommate.

Li Ange ate while observing him, then suddenly asked, "How long are you staying this time? Not leaving?"

"I still have to leave." Han Feng hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth, "It's hard to find a job in the city. I'll come back and rest for a few days before deciding."

She didn't ask any more questions, just nodded, then picked up the last lychee and waved it at Han Feng: "I'll eat this one, we can't waste it."

Han Feng looked at her, somewhat helpless.

Li Ange peeled a lychee, then suddenly slapped his forehead: "Oh right, are you free this afternoon? Come fishing with me. It'll be no fun going alone; there are plenty of crucian carp in the stream lately."

Han Feng thought for a moment, and since the house was almost tidied up anyway, he nodded: "Okay, what time?"

"It's two o'clock, the sun won't be so strong then." Li Ange stuffed the last segment of lychee into his mouth, mumbled, "Then I'll head back now," and walked out. At the door, he turned back and added, "Don't forget, the usual place."

The door slammed shut, and the main room fell silent once more.