Smoke from chimneys, old trees, crows in the dusk...
Mountain village, small temple, a faraway place...
When Yan Liqiang came out from the temple, he felt as though he had an empty void in his heart. Despite the hurdles and countless attempts he made over these seven to eight months, he could still only wander around everywhere like a lonely, homeless ghost. He couldn't feel coldness or hunger, and he did not need to eat or sleep. He wasn't dead, and yet he wasn't alive. Under such circumstances, even the mentally strongest person would inevitably feel the despair and hopelessness of the situation...
Yan Liqiang had no idea where he currently was. In any case, this place was already very, very far from Gan Province of the Great Han Empire.
[1] Materialism here refers to the theory or belief that nothing exists except matter and its movements and modifications.