At last, Li Xiyue voiced the question that had weighed heavily on her heart ever since she arrived in this world.
Although her marriage to Zhu Qingshan had begun as nothing more than a practical arrangement born out of survival and necessity, she was not someone devoid of feelings. She understood very clearly that unless some terrible accident occurred, this man would be the person she spent the rest of her life with.
But Zhu Qingshan was far too perceptive.
His instincts were sharp, his observations keen, and his mind exceptionally careful. No matter how hard she tried, how long could she really continue hiding all of her secrets from him?
Was she supposed to spend the rest of her life sneaking around her own home like a thief, constantly on guard whenever she wanted to do even the simplest thing? Was she truly meant to leave the enormous mountain of supplies inside her pocket dimension untouched forever, simply because she could not explain where those items came from?
But Zhu Qingshan… can someone like you really be trusted with a secret capable of shaking the entire world?
Zhu Qingshan remained silent for a very long time.
The candlelight flickered softly across his rugged face as he looked steadily into her eyes. Finally, he spoke in a low, calm voice.
“I am your husband now, Xiyue, and in the future, I will be the father of your children. Everyone in this world carries secrets that cannot be shared lightly. As long as whatever you are hiding will not harm this family, then I do not mind.”
He paused briefly before continuing.
“If you wish to tell me, I will listen. If you do not wish to speak of it, then I will pretend not to notice anything at all. But Li Xiyue, you can try trusting me a little.”
At that moment, something inside Li Xiyue suddenly cracked apart.
The walls she had carefully built around herself finally collapsed. An overwhelming urge rose within her chest, and for the first time, she wanted to tell someone everything.
“I… I’m not originally from this world.”
The shock in Zhu Qingshan’s eyes was impossible to hide.
Li Xiyue let out a long breath, and strangely enough, relief washed over her.
Then she slowly began telling him the truth about her past life.
“I came from a place unimaginably far away from here. In that world, people lived inside tall buildings made of stone and steel, stacked one above another like birdcages reaching into the sky…”
In her world, both men and women had the right to receive an education.
People who excelled academically could attend prestigious universities and eventually obtain stable, respectable careers.
As for herself, she had only been an ordinary person.
Not particularly talented, not especially exceptional.
Every day had been the same endless routine, commuting between her small rented apartment and her workplace. Her salary had barely been enough to live on, yet she still worked tirelessly under exhausting pressure, enduring exploitation from wealthy employers while lacking the courage to resist.
And because of repeated lockdowns and economic instability, she had never even dared to quit her job recklessly.
Until one day, everything changed.
She won the lottery.
An enormous fortune suddenly dropped from the heavens, along with the mysterious pocket dimension capable of storing countless goods and supplies.
After that, her life transformed completely.
She could buy whatever she wanted without checking the price. She could travel anywhere she pleased. She could resign from work whenever she liked and enjoy life freely for the first time ever.
But fate had been cruel.
She had only enjoyed that happiness for two short months before dying unexpectedly and transmigrating into the body of a dead village girl in this unfamiliar ancient world.
…
Li Xiyue stared quietly into the darkness overhead.
If she had another chance, would she still jump into the water to save that drowning child?
Even now, she did not know the answer.
Silence filled the room for a long while.
Then Zhu Qingshan finally spoke, his voice filled not with fear, but fascination.
“The carriages in your world can truly travel over a hundred kilometers in only two hours? And those giant iron birds… they can really carry hundreds of people through the sky?”
Li Xiyue nearly laughed out loud.
Young man, your focus is seriously strange.
“So you really don’t care that I’m a wandering soul from another world?” she asked softly. “And you’re truly not tempted by all the supplies inside my pocket dimension?”
“Haven’t I already known who you are for a long time?” Zhu Qingshan replied gently as he cupped her cheek.
“As for your space, Xiyue, you absolutely must never reveal it to anyone else.”
His expression suddenly became solemn.
“I, Zhu Qingshan, swear before heaven itself that I will never betray my wife’s secret. If I ever break this oath, may lightning strike me dead, and may I never find my missing younger brother for the rest of my life.”
Li Xiyue’s heart trembled slightly.
Zhu Qingshan’s younger brother, Zhu Qingsen, had been born as Zhu Qinghe’s twin.
Years ago, on the twins’ sixth birthday, the children had begged their father to take them to the county town. Their father finally agreed, but during the brief moment he stepped away to buy candied hawthorn skewers, little Qingsen disappeared into the crowd forever.
The loss shattered the family completely.
Their mother fell into despair and died soon afterward.
Their father, devastated by consecutive tragedies, followed not long later. Before his death, he made Zhu Qingshan swear to bring his younger brother home one day.
In this era, people believed deeply in divine punishment and heavenly retribution. Oaths were not made lightly.
Li Xiyue could clearly feel Zhu Qingshan’s sincerity.
All she could do now was hope she would never regret trusting him tonight.
Reaching into her space, she suddenly pulled out a modern flashlight.
Click.
A bright beam of white light instantly illuminated the dark room.
Zhu Qingshan froze in shock.
Li Xiyue climbed out of bed, walked to the table, and casually used a lighter to ignite the candle.
Then, right before his eyes, she produced two steaming bowls of beef rice noodles out of thin air and placed them onto the table.
The scene looked utterly miraculous.
It was only after finishing the entire bowl of noodles that Zhu Qingshan finally accepted reality.
The strange objects and food really had appeared from her mysterious pocket dimension.
He spent a long time examining the flashlight in his hands, turning it over repeatedly with complete fascination.
No matter how much he inspected it, he could not understand how something without fire could produce such brilliant light.
Meanwhile, Li Xiyue finally felt the burden crushing her chest disappear.
There was no greed in Zhu Qingshan’s eyes.
No calculation.
No malice.
Only curiosity.
At that moment, she knew she had won her gamble.
Suddenly remembering something important, she reached into her space once more and retrieved a worn leather-bound book.
It was the cultivation manual, the Taiyi Formula, left behind by Daoist Qinglu.
The spiritual energy in this world was almost nonexistent, and despite her repeated attempts to cultivate according to the manual, she had never successfully sensed even a trace of Qi. It was obvious she possessed no spiritual roots.
Still, the cultivation techniques were incredibly beneficial for strengthening the body and improving vitality.
That was why she handed the manual to Zhu Qingshan.
Although his martial skills were already impressive, there would always be stronger experts in the world. If he mastered this cultivation method, surpassing ordinary martial artists would not be difficult at all.
The instant Zhu Qingshan opened the manual, his eyes lit up like a child discovering priceless treasure.
To a martial artist like him, the appeal of a supreme cultivation technique far exceeded any amount of modern food or luxury supplies.
The next morning, after staying up deep into the night discussing her world and its wonders, the newlyweds naturally overslept.
Zhu Qinghe tactfully refrained from disturbing them. She simply left breakfast warming on the stove before heading out with her embroidery supplies to visit Zhu Qingmei, whose condition had improved significantly over the past few days.
When Li Xiyue finally woke up, she stretched lazily beneath the quilt.
Seeing that Zhu Qinghe was not home, she immediately took advantage of the opportunity to pull a toothbrush and mint toothpaste from her space.
She had truly reached the limit of her tolerance for the bitter willow-branch tooth powder used in the village.
By now, Zhu Qingshan had already become accustomed to seeing strange modern items appear from thin air.
He accepted the toothbrush she handed him and awkwardly copied her movements.
To his surprise, it felt excellent.
The bristles were soft and dense, and the toothpaste left an incredibly refreshing feeling in his mouth.
“Do you still have many of these items inside your space?” Zhu Qingshan suddenly asked after rinsing his mouth.
Li Xiyue nodded immediately.
“Then later, bring out another toothbrush in a different color for Qinghe,” he said with a smile. “I’ll tell her I obtained them from an old maritime merchant friend. I’ll also remind her not to mention these rare goods to outsiders.”
Li Xiyue’s eyes instantly brightened.
Perfect.
That excuse was flawless.
From now on, anything modern she wanted to take out could simply be attributed to Zhu Qingshan’s mysterious merchant acquaintance.
She immediately fetched another toothbrush and carefully scraped the printed brand name off the toothpaste tube using a utility knife.
At last, she could brush her teeth properly again.
That afternoon, Zhu Qinghe was kept at the Village Chief’s residence by Lady Ma for lunch.
When she finally returned home, she found Li Xiyue busily harvesting every vegetable in the garden while Zhu Qingshan stood on a bamboo ladder inspecting the roof for leaks before the storm arrived.
“Sister Li, why are you harvesting everything at once?” Zhu Qinghe asked in confusion. “There’s no way our family can eat all this before it spoils.”
“If we leave them in the ground and the heavy rain comes, the roots will rot,” Li Xiyue explained with a grin. “Don’t worry, I won’t waste any of it.”
The moment Zhu Qinghe heard that delicious food was likely involved, she immediately threw aside her embroidery and enthusiastically joined the harvest.
“Qinghe,” Zhu Qingshan called teasingly from the ladder, “why are you still calling her Sister Li instead of Sister-in-Law?”
Zhu Qinghe stuck out her tongue playfully.
“Calling her Sister Li feels much closer!”
Li Xiyue simply laughed.
She did not care much about titles.
Looking at the huge piles of cucumbers, eggplants, chili peppers, pumpkins, winter melons, and green beans filling the courtyard, she dragged several large stoneware jars from the kitchen and carefully cleaned them beneath the hot sun.
The pumpkins and winter melons could be stored for a long time without issue.
The green beans were washed and tied into neat bundles.
The cucumbers had their ends trimmed, while the chili peppers were carefully cleaned and their stems removed.
She was preparing authentic Sichuan-style pickled vegetables.
Back in her hometown in C Province, nearly every household kept fermentation jars for pickled foods. They were essential to everyday cooking.
Even after filling all the jars, a large amount of vegetables still remained.
She blanched the leftover green beans in boiling water before stringing them along a clothesline to dry beneath the sun.
After several days, they would become dried green beans.
In winter, those dried beans could be stewed with pork bones or stir-fried with cured bacon to create deeply savory dishes.
By the time Li Xiyue finished making the last batch of garlic chili paste, the weather outside had changed completely.
Violent winds howled across the village.
The sky darkened rapidly, turning nearly black as gravel and dust flew wildly through the air. The windows and doors rattled violently beneath the force of the storm.
The three hurried back inside and firmly secured every door and window.
As the terrifying wind roared outside the house, all they could do was silently pray that the storm would not tear the roof apart.