Dahe Town, Zhoujia Village.
In the most run-down house at the end of the village, the rough, scolding voice of a woman suddenly rang out.
“You little brat! I’ll teach you to steal food! I’ll teach you to steal food!”
A strongly built woman swung a stick as thick as a thumb in her hand. On the ground, a child of three or four years old had curled herself into a tight ball. She dared not even cry loudly, yet still tried to speak up in her defense. “I… I didn’t steal… Granny… gave it to me…”
“Still making excuses!” The woman lashed out even harder.
When she finally stopped, the small figure huddled on the ground had fallen completely still.
The woman let out a cold snort and gave her a kick. “Stop pretending! Get up right now and go cut grass for the pigs!”
The kick sent the child rolling twice across the dirt, but she kept her eyes tightly shut and did not make a single sound.
“You little wretch, playing dead to trick me?” The middle-aged woman grew even angrier. She reached down and hoisted the child up by the collar, and only then did she realize something was terribly wrong.
The child’s lips had turned purple, and her whole body seemed utterly limp and lifeless. Besides… how could a small child act that convincingly?
Had she actually knocked her unconscious this time?
The woman sneered and reached out to press the pressure point between the child’s nose and upper lip, but her hand froze the moment it made contact.
Was she… not breathing?
The woman held her fingers beneath the child’s nostrils for three full minutes, yet not even the faintest wisp of breath brushed against her skin.
Had she… killed her?
Panic seized the woman.
She had hit the child often, yes, but she had never intended to kill her! It was only because the little girl refused to tell them where the money and valuables her parents had left her were hidden, choosing instead to stay in their home and eat their food without working for it, that the woman had flown into such a rage.
Now that she was dead, she could not just leave the body here.
Moving furtively and nervously, the woman wrapped the child’s body in an old piece of clothing, carried her deep into the nearby mountains, and tossed her into a thick patch of weeds. “From now on, you just ran off into the mountains all by yourself and got eaten by wolves. It has nothing to do with me.”
With that, she dared not linger any longer in the wilderness and hurried away as fast as her feet could carry her.
What she never knew was that less than five minutes after she left, the chest of the child she had declared dead suddenly began to rise and fall gently. Her eyelashes fluttered, and slowly, her eyes opened.
The child who answered to the name Shan Shan was no longer the same little girl she had been. Now, she was Shan Shan the Mountain Spirit.
As a spirit that had not yet taken human form, sleeping had been her main occupation day in and day out. But when she woke this time, all the spirits who had lived alongside her whom she had thought of as older brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, grandparents were gone. A mysterious old man had told her that they had all set out to undergo their heavenly tribulations, and that in the worlds they had entered, they had all been cast as powerful villains. Unless Shan Shan went to them and helped them change the course of their stories, they would fail their trials and be destroyed forever.
Shan Shan did not fully understand what a “villain” was, but she knew exactly what it meant to die. To die meant never being able to see someone you loved ever again.
She could not bear the thought of losing them, so she had sought out a suitable physical form and traveled to this world, determined to save her family.
At the same time, she had also inherited all the memories of the little girl whose body she now inhabited, binding her fate closely to that of the original child.
The real Shan Shan had once been a beloved child, doted on endlessly by her parents. But after they died, she had been taken in by her father’s older brother and his wife a greedy, cold-hearted couple. They had agreed to become her guardians only so they could get their hands on the inheritance her parents had left her. When the little girl refused or was unable to tell them where the wealth was kept, they had turned cruel and abusive. They often starved her, and beat her at the slightest excuse, until the fragile child of four had finally been beaten to death.
Shan Shan clenched her small fists, filled with a fierce desire to avenge the poor little girl.
But when she recalled the memories of how big and strong her aunt and uncle were, and how much pain the thin, tough canes they used had caused, her courage quickly melted away.
She patted her own flat stomach and muttered to herself, “I’m not strong enough to fight them yet. First, I have to find my older brothers and sisters. Once I’ve found them, I’ll bring them back here, and we’ll get justice for you, I promise.”
S City Film and Television Studio
It was September, the time of year when the summer heat lingered at its fiercest.
Across every corner of the sprawling studio complex, lighting rigs were set up and elaborate sets stood ready. Cast and crew worked furiously through the sweltering days, sweat pouring down their faces as they rushed to complete their filming schedules.
No one noticed the tiny figure no bigger than the torso of an adult sneaking carefully out from behind a pile of equipment.
This small child of three or four had thin, dry yellow hair tied into a messy knot on top of her head. Her face was so thin and gaunt that her eyes looked far too large for her small frame. Her skin was smudged with streaks of dirt, grime, and the faint red marks of old scratches. Her tattered little dress was equally filthy, and she had lost one of her shoes, leaving her bare foot blackened and caked with mud. When she wiped her forehead with her tiny hands, she only left another dark streak across her skin.
Once inside, Shan Shan twitched her nose, caught a familiar scent, and her eyes lit up instantly. She trotted off quickly in that direction, her small feet pattering rapidly against the ground.
After turning down several winding paths and past countless sets, she finally arrived at the filming location for a major fantasy drama.
Even from a distance, her sharp eyes spotted a face she knew better than any other. He was dressed in the long, flowing robes and long hair typical of ancient characters, nothing like the modern clothing and short haircuts worn by all the people she had seen along the way.
It was Elder Brother Shuixian!
“Hey there, little girl, you can’t come in here. This is a working set.”
Just as Shan Shan was about to rush forward happily, she was stopped by a member of the production staff standing guard at the entrance.
Shan Shan’s eyes shone brightly as she pointed straight at the young man in the white traditional robes. “I’m here to find my big brother!”
The worker followed the direction of her finger, but before he could say another word, a sharp cry rang out from the set. “Teacher Yin! Look out, it’s falling!”
Shan Shan snapped her head up just in time to see a heavy metal framework teetering precariously above the man she called her brother, and then come crashing down straight toward him. If that heavy structure hit him full force, he would either be killed instantly or crippled for life.
Thinking only of saving him, Shan Shan ducked quickly under the staff member’s outstretched hand and darted forward at a speed so fast it was almost impossible for the human eye to follow. She threw herself directly at Yin Kairui, knocking him sideways and carrying him several feet away before they both crashed hard onto the ground.
A split second later, a deafening crash echoed through the air, mixed with the soft sound of two bodies hitting the floor and a sharp grunt of pain.
“Teacher Yin! Teacher Yin, are you alright?”
The surrounding crew members were terrified out of their wits and rushed over immediately. But no one dared to touch Yin Kairui, fearing that if he had suffered internal injuries or broken bones, moving him might only make things far worse.
Yin Kairui had landed on a thick cushion that had been placed nearby for props, yet he still felt as though his entire body had been crushed. His back, his chest, and even the base of his spine throbbed with intense pain, and his vision swam with black spots.
“I… cough cough …I’m fine.” He struggled to catch his breath, and as he did, he felt something small and heavy shift against his chest. A second later, a small, dirt-streaked face popped up right in front of his eyes. The moment she saw he was conscious, her mouth turned down, and she burst into loud, heart-wrenching sobs.
“Elder Brother Shuixian! Waaaaah… you almost died! I’m so sorry… I came too late!”
Completely overwhelmed by this sudden turn of events, Yin Kairui’s eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness completely.
Hospital Ward
Yin Kairui stared in complete confusion at the small child sitting opposite him, and she stared right back with equal intensity.
The little girl’s large eyes were brimming with tears, and her still-dirty face was etched with pure worry. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and tears threatened to spill over at any moment. “Elder Brother Shuixian… does it hurt very much?”
Yin Kairui leaned back subtly, putting as much distance as he could between himself and this tiny, messy creature, and repeated his words once again, very clearly. “I am not anyone’s Elder Brother Shuixian. You must have mistaken me for someone else.”
At his words, the child’s eyes turned even redder. She blinked once, and a large tear rolled down her cheek and splashed onto the bedsheets.
Yin Kairui felt his head begin to ache terribly.
He had woken up shortly after being brought to the hospital, and the doctors had confirmed that he had suffered no serious injuries only some heavy bruising on his chest and stomach, and a minor strain to his tailbone. He had just begun to relax, thinking the worst was over, when this strange little girl had attached herself to him and refused to let go. She seemed absolutely convinced that he was someone she knew, and called him “big brother” over and over again.
Yin Kairui had never spent much time around children, and now he felt as though this small creature was driving him slowly out of his mind.
“Kairui! Are you okay?”
The door to the ward flew open, and his agent, Wen Yiting, hurried inside in a rush.
Yin Kairui looked at her as if she were his only hope of salvation. “Sis Wen, thank goodness you’re here. Please, take this child away from me right now.”
Wen Yiting had not expected to see a little girl in the room, and she paused in surprise. She reached out to pick her up, but Shan Shan immediately threw herself forward and wrapped both her arms tightly around Yin Kairui’s neck, refusing to let go.
“Waaaaah… don’t send me away, Elder Brother! I looked for you for such a long time… I couldn’t find anyone else… I was so scared… waaaaah…”
The force of her hug nearly made Yin Kairui gasp for air. He could feel hot tears dripping down his neck, and when he thought of how dirty her face and hands were, he felt a shiver run down his spine.
“Sis Wen! Hurry, hurry, hurry! She’s getting tears and snot all over me!”
As he spoke, he tried to pull her arms loose, but to his utter shock, no matter how hard he pulled, her grip did not loosen even a little. Instead, his struggle only frightened Shan Shan, and she clung to him even tighter, squeezing harder and harder.
This is bad…
He could barely breathe. His face began to turn purple, and his eyes started to roll back into his head.
Alarmed, Wen Yiting rushed forward to help him pry the small arms loose. “Where did this child even come from? Little girl, please let go first you’re choking him!”
But Shan Shan only cried louder. “Don’t send me away! I’m scared!”
Wen Yiting pulled and tugged, but the girl held fast. She felt as though she had stepped into some kind of impossible situation. Seeing that Yin Kairui was turning more and more blue, she had a sudden flash of inspiration.
“I won’t send you away, I promise. But you have to let go right now! If you don’t, your big brother is going to stop breathing completely!”
Big brother is going to die?
That was the only thing that cut through Shan Shan’s panic and tears. She lifted her head quickly and saw that Yin Kairui really did look very sick and strange.
She immediately loosened her grip, though she continued to cry bitterly. “Elder Brother… I didn’t mean to hurt you… I just forgot… I forgot that you’re a human… and humans are so fragile…”
Finally able to draw in fresh air, Yin Kairui coughed violently until tears streamed down his own face, and his neck felt as though it had been rubbed raw. When he saw Shan Shan reach out a hand as if to touch his neck, he scrambled backward in fright, forgetting his injury, and cried out in pain as his tailbone jolted.
“Ow! Don’t come any closer!”
He looked utterly disheveled, his face twisted in pain and panic, and Wen Yiting could not help but feel sorry for him. She quickly stepped forward and gently lifted Shan Shan into her arms.
“Your name is Shan Shan, isn’t it? Listen to me, I won’t make you leave. But your big brother is hurt right now. If you get too close, it will make his pain worse, do you understand?”
Wen Yiting was a clever woman, and she had clearly seen that Shan Shan cared deeply for Yin Kairui, so she used that to persuade her.
To her relief, it worked perfectly.
Shan Shan froze in her arms, and fresh tears welled up again. “I can heal him, though. If I heal him, then he won’t hurt anymore.”
“The doctors here will take good care of him,” Wen Yiting said quickly, not daring to let the girl get near him again. She carried Shan Shan to a chair far away from the bed, and once she was sure the girl was sitting calmly, she turned to Yin Kairui. “Where exactly did this child come from? Did you find her somewhere?”
“Me? Find her?” Yin Kairui wiped his neck furiously with a handful of tissues, looking completely wronged. “She just appeared out of nowhere! The first time I met her, she threw me to the ground, and the second time, she almost choked me to death! I honestly have no idea what I ever did to make her hate me so much!”
As he spoke, his voice rose with indignation, while Shan Shan sat there pouting and looking at him with large, sorrowful eyes.
Wen Yiting glanced back and forth between the two of them. “But I heard that you were saved by a small child… that was her, wasn’t it?”
Yin Kairui fell silent for a moment, then answered quietly, “…Yes. It was.”
That was the truth, after all.
Wen Yiting began to form a plan in her mind. She turned back to Shan Shan and spoke in the softest, most soothing voice she could manage. “Look at you, your whole face is covered in dirt. Would you like me to take you to wash it clean? The bathroom is just right here, it won’t take long at all.”
Her voice was so gentle and kind, just like the way Shan Shan’s family used to speak before they left, and the little girl relaxed immediately. “Okay.”
Once Shan Shan had been washed and cleaned, Wen Yiting was stunned by what she saw.
She had worked in the entertainment industry for years and had seen countless child actors and performers, but none of them were as beautiful or striking as Shan Shan. There was something special about her too an air of natural grace and liveliness that seemed to radiate from within her.
As a professional agent, her instincts kicked in immediately. She stroked Shan Shan’s soft hair and murmured to herself, “With a face like this, you could make a living doing anything you wanted.”
Just then, a loud rumbling sound came from Shan Shan’s stomach. She patted it gently and looked up with an innocent expression.
“Are you hungry?” Wen Yiting pulled out her phone. “I’ll have someone bring you something nice to eat right away.”
“Thank you, Auntie.” The beautiful little girl was very polite, but she also made her request clear. “But I want to sit next to Elder Brother.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible right now. He’s still hurt, and he doesn’t like being around messy things. But later, Auntie will take you to buy some pretty new clothes and give you a nice warm bath, and then you can sit right next to him again, okay?” Wen Yiting used every trick she knew to stall for time.
Shan Shan thought of how Elder Brother Shuixian had always loved beautiful things and kept himself spotlessly clean, so she nodded obediently.
Seeing that Shan Shan was now under control, Yin Kairui finally let out a long breath and felt calm enough to ask about other matters. “What did they say back at the studio?”
“It was just an accident. A screw had come loose, which made the whole structure unstable,” Wen Yiting replied. She had already looked into the situation thoroughly on her way over. She rubbed her temples wearily. “Xiao Liu checked all the security footage, and there’s no sign that anyone tampered with it on purpose.”
Yin Kairui’s expression turned serious and dark.
“It’s a good thing Shan Shan rushed out and knocked you out of the way,” Wen Yiting continued, looking at the child. “If she hadn’t been there, you would have been seriously injured or even killed. You definitely wouldn’t be able to continue filming anytime soon.”
Both adults found it a little strange, though, to describe the event as Shan Shan “knocking him out of the way.” It sounded rather violent, even though it had saved his life.
In the end.