Watching everyone enjoy their meal, Su Niyue felt a deep sense of satisfaction. This must be what family feels like—a happiness she had longed for but never experienced in her past life.
That night, Nangong Yunteng developed a fever. Su Niyue half-crouched by the cart and immediately sensed a familiar gaze. This time, there were two more eyes observing her.
“The dog emperor really goes all out—three people at once!” she thought with a lively expression, though her words dripped with sarcasm.
Using her body as a cover, she discreetly produced antipyretic medicine from her space and placed it directly into Yunteng’s mouth. To everyone else, including Ruan Mingyu, it seemed as if she were just giving him water. No one noticed her administering medicine.
Su Niyue didn’t tell Ruan Mingyu about Yunteng’s fever. After taking the medicine, it should subside soon. With the spiritual spring water aiding recovery, his wounds would also heal faster. There was no need for everyone else to worry.
Nangong Yundran and Ruan Mingyu gathered some dry grass and laid it on the ground for sleeping. Su Niyue used her Earth-element ability to move stones beneath the grass. In this weather, nighttime wasn’t cold, so they settled in. Yundran, normally a pampered lady of the family, now humbly helped collect grass and firewood—a rare and impressive scene.
“Yunqi, you sleep first. I’ll wake you later,” Su Niyue said.
Nangong Yunqi caught her meaningful glance and suddenly understood. “Okay!” Exhausted from the day, he quickly fell asleep.
Leaning against a tree, Su Niyue pretended to nap while secretly scanning for the spies. She infused her Earth-element power into the surrounding soil, alert to anyone stepping into her territory.
Soon, she noticed the gaze again—it was the same woman, ordinary in appearance, easily overlooked in a crowd. Concentrating, Su Niyue produced a small white porcelain vial and sprinkled some medicinal powder from it onto the ground. Using her ability, the powder traveled through the soil to the woman’s seat.
The other two spies—a tall, skinny young man and a muscular man—were soon located. They formed a triangle opposite Su Niyue. Knowing who they were made things easier, though she couldn’t act yet.
She had wanted to treat Yunteng’s leg with acupuncture to speed healing, but it was too risky. If the three were sent to kill him, any mishap could permanently damage his leg. That was why she had told the old madam Yunteng’s leg might be impaired—to prevent the spies from gaining useful information.
Unable to act, she entered her space to organize the gold, silver, treasures, and living creatures collected last night. Then she remembered the patch of land she had brought from the modern world. With a thought, her strawberry seeds appeared in her hand. She planted one, and the edge of the land glowed white mist with red text: “Level 3 Space Upgrading”, progress at 0.001%.
“Wow! So planting crops can level up space!” Su Niyue was thrilled and immediately began retrieving more seeds. She realized she could probably plant using just her mind.
Concentrating, the seeds floated into the soil. The experience reminded her of her favorite mobile farming games. Each harvest gave a satisfying sense of accomplishment, especially watching numbers in her inventory change. It was almost surreal that the game had become reality. She wondered whether planting gold ingots might yield more gold ingots.
With plenty of seeds saved for post-apocalyptic survival, she planted them freely. In no time, the progress bar jumped to 19%.
“Let’s plant this much for now. I need to feed the chickens, ducks, geese… and the horses too!” Using her mind to control the planting wasn’t laborious and allowed her to organize her stored supplies simultaneously. Surrounded by flying coins, antiques, and delicate vases, she felt like she was winning effortlessly.
Suddenly sensing an energy fluctuation, she left her space—it was Nangong Yunqi.
“Sister-in-law, you should sleep now,” he said.
Su Niyue smiled, touched by his thoughtfulness. “Come here.”
He leaned closer, following her hand’s gesture. “Watch those three—they’ve been staring all night!”
“Sister-in-law suspects they are—”
“Yes!” Su Niyue silently approved of his intuition.
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect my brother,” he promised.
“You just need to stay alert. Your brother seems dead in their eyes. They’re only observing. As long as he doesn’t wake, they won’t act.”
Yunqi admired his sister-in-law more than ever. She was only a few years older, yet so clever, spotting the danger in a single glance. He resolved to learn from her.
Back in her space, Su Niyue realized she had gained a little fan. “A fish pond would be perfect.” The dozens of fish she bought at the market would last them a while. Replacing the water in their wooden tanks with spiritual spring water ensured the fish would be even fresher.
Before dawn the next day, the guards shouted and whipped the exiles awake. Su Niyue saw the old madam, now looking healthier, and gave her a pill.
“Grandmother, let it dissolve under your tongue. Then we can eat breakfast.”
The old madam accepted it, her expression gentle. Ruan Mingyu couldn’t believe her luck—such a daughter-in-law was truly a blessing.
From her perch in a tree, Su Niyue spotted Xiao Bao tilting its head at her. Warmth filled her heart; she knew it wouldn’t stray far, but since it hadn’t left the capital area, she didn’t summon it yet.
The second branch, hiding far away, still occasionally watched the first branch. Lady Xu sneered: “Hmph, let’s see how long you can flaunt yourselves!” At first indifferent, after two meals of steamed buns, she was choking in frustration. “Father, why didn’t you bring a water pouch!” Had they not reached the river, she might have started scolding him.
Su Niyue distributed some snacks her uncle had brought, gave everyone spiritual spring water, and checked Yunteng’s pulse. Although still unconscious, his pulse was stronger than yesterday, thanks to the spring water. She fed him more water, relieved she could do so.
As they prepared to depart, Su Niyue glanced at the woman who had spied on them yesterday—good, she had started breaking out in a rash. The woman scratched herself constantly, walking unsteadily.
The sun was still blazing, and the roadside grass had lost its vibrant green. Even in the mountains, no coolness could be felt. Under the guards’ watch, the exiles walked quietly, obedient to their authority.