All Realms and Worlds: The Lost Home

"then."

The man put one hand in his pocket and casually tossed the bottled water over with the other, controlling the force perfectly. "It's just to stop the bleeding. Don't try to tough it out. If you die, I'll have to find someone else, which is a hassle."

Yao Guang caught the bottle, its cool surface pressing against his palm, instantly evoking a familiar memory. The packaging, the feel—it was exactly the same as the two-yuan bottles of purified water in Earth's supermarkets. He unscrewed the cap and took a large gulp, the metallic taste of blood in his throat being diluted. He poured the remaining water onto his chest wound—after a soft hissing sound, the still-bleeding wound miraculously scabbed over, and even his churning internal energy calmed down considerably.

"This stuff is pretty good, even more convenient than healing pills." Yao Guang raised an eyebrow, tracing the Chinese characters on the bottle with her fingertips, a self-deprecating smile on her lips. "I never thought that one day I could save half my life with a bottle of mineral water."

Wen Yan didn't say anything, silently picked up a packet of instant noodles and a bottle of water, unscrewed the cap, and gulped it down. The sweet water slid down his throat, and he paused, then lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly. He wasn't crying, just suddenly feeling a pang of emotion—the last time he tasted this was with his sister on their way home from school, sharing a bottle of water, munching on five-cent instant noodles, laughing even as they walked.

Shen Jianxin opened the peanut bag, releasing a salty and fragrant aroma. He picked one up, popped it into his mouth, crunched it with a loud crack, and casually remarked, "Still the same old taste. Back in the day, I relied on this to keep me going when I was pulling all-nighters revising plans. I never thought I'd be able to eat it again after transmigrating."

The words were spoken lightly, but a hint of nostalgia flashed in her eyes. Back then, she thought 996 was hell, but now she realizes that being able to stay up all night revising plans peacefully is a blessing from her past life.

The man leaned against the cart, cracking sunflower seeds with gusto, looking at the three men with the same expression one would give a fellow townsman: "How's it? The taste of home, isn't it great?"

"Great, absolutely great." Yao Guang opened a bag of sunflower seeds and gave him one in return. "Thanks, fellow villager."

"Don't mention it." The man waved his hand, spitting out the sunflower seed shells. "We're all fellow travelers from the ends of the earth; helping each other is only natural."

Wen Yan finally calmed down and casually picked up the instant noodles to open it, but his fingertips felt something was off on the side of the packaging. He turned the packaging over, examined it against the light for a while, and frowned, saying, "Hey, look at this, isn't there something fishy going on?"

Shen Jianxin and Yao Guang went closer and saw a faint, almost invisible line on the edge of the instant noodle packaging. It wasn't a printing burr, but rather something deliberately carved in, winding and twisting, exuding an indescribable charm.

"These patterns..." Yao Guang squinted, "I think I've seen something similar in a museum, like some kind of ancient totem? I can't remember."

Shen Jianxin touched it with his fingertips; the texture was very obvious. "It's definitely not original factory printing; it was added later."

The three exchanged glances, all seeing the understanding in each other's eyes—this mysterious fellow villager was indeed not just there to deliver food.

The man, cracking sunflower seeds, glanced at them with a half-smile, saying nothing and letting them figure it out themselves.

Less than two minutes later, Wen Yan made another discovery. While rummaging through the peanut bag, his fingertips brushed against the inner corner and he felt a patch of raised writing. He quickly brushed away the peanut crumbs and held the bag up: "There's writing! And it's quite dense!"

Shen Jianxin took the bag and carefully examined it in the daylight. The words he read aloud made all three of them fall silent for a moment: "37 degrees east longitude, 28 degrees north latitude... Kunlun Ruins, anchor point fragments."

After reading it aloud, he laughed first: "Good heavens, you're just giving me coordinates? But will these coordinates even work in all the worlds?"

Yao Guang chuckled, toying with the mineral water bottle in his hand: "Kunlun Ruins, the legendary holy land, has become a clue point here. I just don't know if it's the Kunlun we know, or some other instance in the universe."

Wen Yan didn't laugh, but clutched the peanut bag and said, "Whether it works or not, this is the only clue that's related to 'hometown' right now, it's better than wandering around aimlessly."

"That makes sense." Shen Jianxin nodded and handed the bag back. "Keep it for now; we don't have any other options right now anyway."

Seeing that they weren't making a fuss and were actually quite calm, the man finally put down the sunflower seeds, clapped his hands, and said, "Alright, it wasn't for nothing that I brought you food; your brains haven't been damaged yet."

Shen Jianxin looked up at him, his tone casual: "Fellow villager, let's not beat around the bush. You already knew the tricks of these snacks, right? And what exactly is that anchor fragment?"

"Good question." The man stretched, "but I won't go into details."

Seeing that the three of them rolled their eyes, he smiled and added, "Returning home is something you have to do yourself. If I pave the way for you, even if you go back, you won't be able to stay safe."

He pointed to the things in the three people's hands: "Remember, everything you brought from Earth might contain clues. Whether it's a coin, a pen, a tattered piece of clothing, or an old bracelet, the more inconspicuous it is, the more likely it is to hold a secret."

Yao Guang's eyes lit up, and he immediately pulled a shiny one-yuan coin from his pocket: "Does this count?"

Sure enough, there is a mark on the edge of the national emblem on the coin that resembles the pattern on instant noodles.

The man glanced at it and said, "See for yourself, figure it out yourself. I'm only responsible for pointing the way, not leading the way."

Wen Yan also removed the silver bracelet from his wrist. The intricate patterns on the bell vaguely matched the coordinates on the peanut bag. He played with the bell and laughed, "So, all these years of birthday presents I've worn have turned out to be a GPS navigator?"

Shen Jianxin then took out the fountain pen engraved with the character "heart," unscrewed the cap, and saw the small words "Returning Home, Starting from the Heart" on the inside, which made him chuckle: "Who engraved this? It's quite artistic."

Despite his laughter, he still screwed the pen cap back on and tucked it into his pocket.

The man looked at them and nodded: "There's one more thing, let me make it clear from the start."

His tone finally became a bit more serious, but not overly so: "You're not the only ones who want to return home. There are many forces in the heavens eyeing this piece of the pie, and the Hunters are one of them."

"What you have now are just fragmented clues. Don't be cocky, don't expose yourselves, or you won't even know how you died."

The man waved his hand, and the snacks on the cart vanished instantly, leaving only a few bags of peanuts and a few bottles of water. "I'll keep these and study them slowly; maybe there will be some surprises."

He tossed over another white jade pendant, the pattern on which was exactly the same as the one on an instant noodle package: "This is an auxiliary tool that can sense clues on Earth objects. If there are goods nearby, it will light up, saving you from searching for a needle in a haystack."

Shen Jianxin caught the jade pendant, its smooth surface warm to the touch: "Thanks, fellow villager."

"You're welcome." The man waved his hand, and a faint light began to emanate from his body. "I have other things to do, so I'll be going now."

Seeing him about to leave, Shen Jianxin quickly called out, "Hey, I haven't even asked your name yet!"

The man's figure gradually blurred, but his voice drifted over, tinged with a hint of mockery: "Just call me the Homecoming One! Hope to meet again someday, and hopefully we can still chat so easily!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished completely into the void, leaving only a ripple in space.

Wen Yan took a deep breath and smiled, "These people returning home are quite interesting."

"His strength is unfathomable, and he's quite good at keeping people in suspense." Yao Guang toyed with a coin. "But then again, having a clue is better than wasting time."

Shen Jianxin stood up, dusted himself off, and put the jade pendant away: "Let's go, let's find a place to rest."

He pointed to a mountain peak not far away: "That mountain looks pretty remote, not many people around. It's a good place to study the clues and recuperate while I'm at it."

"Alright." Wen Yan picked up the peanuts and water. "I was just thinking about how this bracelet works for navigation."

The three flew side by side toward the mountain peak, their auras completely concealed, yet the previous heaviness was gone.

The road home was still long and fraught with danger, but with clues in hand and companions by his side, even the wind felt lighter.

Landing atop the mountain peak, the three found a large blue stone to sit on and each took out their treasures to begin studying them.

Comparing the pen and the instant noodle totem, Shen Jianxin quickly discovered that the character "heart" was actually the core of the totem; the pattern on Wenyan's bracelet, when connected with the coordinates of the peanut bag, formed a winding route; the fine lines on the chrysanthemum petals of Yaoguang's coin looked like a complex code.

"It seems Kunlun Ruins will be our next stop." Wen Yan put down her things, stretched, and said, "I just wonder if Kunlun in this universe is the same as Earth's."

"Who cares? We'll find out when we get there." Shen Jianxin leaned against the bluestone. "Let's rest for a day and get our energy back before setting off tomorrow."

Yao Guang nodded and casually tossed the sunflower seed shells far away: "While you're at it, try to figure out the code on this coin. Maybe we can unlock some new clues ahead of time."

As the three talked, a mountain breeze blew by, carrying a faint scent of grass and trees.

Just then, Shen Jianxin suddenly raised an eyebrow, a playful smile playing on his lips: "Speak of the devil, and he appears."

Wen Yan and Yao Guang instantly understood, their weapons silently unsheathed, and their gazes turned to the foot of the mountain.

A dark shadow was rapidly approaching, and its intense malice could be felt even from a distance.