When she opened her eyes, Qi Nian found two children lying beside her.
Having experienced transmigration once before, Qi Nian was only dazed for a short moment before processing the memories flooding her mind. She had transmigrated again.
This was Suicheng in the Dalim Huangchao. Due to a long drought and the chaos of war, the original host and her two children had fled their village ten days ago along with the other villagers.
Because she was carrying two small children, she walked slowly. The villagers, disdaining the burden, did not wait for her. Their food and water had already run out. Hungry and thirsty, the original host had collapsed on the road, striking her head.
As soon as the original host drew her last breath, Qi Nian, the little immortal, took her place and inherited a pair of children.
Aside from the lack of food and water, there was the constant threat of pursuing soldiers. Their situation was dire; she had to wake the children and keep moving immediately.
“Hey, wake up…”
Qi Nian shook the two thin, small children. she didn’t even dare to use too much force, fearing she might accidentally break their frail frames.
“Hungry… drink water…” Xiao Xi murmured unclearly, her eyes half-closed.
“Mother, I’m scared, don’t die…” Xiao Chen was in slightly better condition than Xiao Xi. He still had the strength to grab his mother’s hand, terrified that his mother might leave him.
“Don’t be afraid, Mother is fine now.”
What poor children. To experience such suffering at such a young age. Qi Nian rubbed the sparse, yellowed hair on their heads, her heart aching for them.
“Mother, blood!”
Xiao Chen pointed at her forehead. Only then did Qi Nian feel the pain. She reached up to touch it—good heavens, her hand was covered in blood!
She rummaged through the small bundle she had been lying on, tore off a long strip of cloth, and tied it around the wound on her forehead. Qi Nian knew full well that if she and the two children didn’t eat soon, they would surely starve to death. For now, she had to find a way to fill their stomachs.
That was the goal, but how was she supposed to do that now?
There were no rations, no water, and not even a container to hold water!
“Xi’er wants to drink water~”
“Mother, I want to drink water too…”
It’s not just you two who want to drink; I want to drink too, Qi Nian thought. She felt like dying on the spot just to see if she would transmigrate into another life.
Qi Nian helped the two children sit up, preparing to carry them on her back to continue their escape.
As she held the cloth strips, wondering how to tie the children to her back, a shadow suddenly loomed over them. Qi Nian looked up to see a man standing before her.
This man was incredibly tall. Not only was he tall, but he also had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Even coarse cloth garments could not hide his imposing aura.
He did not look like a refugee.
Qi Nian was stunned. Am I blocking his way? Just as she was about to speak, the man scooped Xiao Chen up.
“Rui’er, are you hurt?”
“What are you doing with my son?”
“He is my son!”
Yao Chengyi replied coldly, ignoring Qi Nian’s existence as he held Xiao Chen in one arm and checked him for injuries with the other.
This was clearly her son Xiao Chen, so how could he be this man’s son? If not for the tender tone he used to call for “Rui’er” and his obvious anxiety over the child’s potential injuries, Qi Nian would have suspected he was a kidnapper.
“Mother, save me! Save me, Mother!”
“Mother is here. Xiao Chen, be good and don’t be afraid.” Qi Nian comforted Xiao Chen, undaunted by the man’s pressure. She said, “He is my son, Xiao Chen. I’m afraid you’ve mistaken him for someone else.”
Had he mistaken him? This was clearly his son. How could he be mistaken after not seeing him for only a month? Yao Chengyi looked behind him.
Qi Nian followed his gaze to see an old man running over in a hurry.
“Master, did you find him? Huh? He isn’t Xiao Rui.”
Yao Chengyi was taken aback. He even pinched Xiao Chen’s face and asked Old Hu, “He isn’t?”
“Xiao Rui wasn’t this thin, though they really do look alike.” Old Hu found it strange as well, but he had raised Xiao Rui himself. No matter how much they looked alike, he wouldn’t mistake the child.
“Since you’ve cleared that up, give my child back to me.”
Yao Chengyi put Xiao Chen down with some reluctance.
Qi Nian quickly pulled the child back into her arms, then turned to comfort Xiao Xi, who had been frightened into tears.
“My apologies, young lady. My master hasn’t seen his son in a long time. He only mistook your child because he looks so much like his own.”
“It’s fine. Hurry and go find your child.”
Old Hu was also wondering how a child could look so much like Xiao Rui, but now was not the time for such thoughts. Finding the child was more important.
As Yao Chengyi left, he frequently looked back at Qi Nian and the two children by her side, lost in thought.
Finding water was the priority. Having been delayed, Qi Nian picked up the cloth strips. “Xiao Chen, Xiao Xi, come here.”
“Mother, I can still walk.”
“Xi’er can too!”
What sensible, good children.
“Alright, Mother will carry you when you can’t walk anymore.”
Qi Nian dragged her leaden legs, leading the two children. However, after just a few steps, she tripped, and the three of them tumbled down into a dry ditch by the roadside.
This fall sent Qi Nian directly into her Secret Realm Space.
Had her little Secret Realm followed her here? If so, the three of them were saved!
This Secret Realm was something Qi Nian had possessed when she transmigrated from the modern world to the cultivation world. Just moments ago, she had been tending to flowers and fruit trees in her private Secret Realm when she and the space had vanished from the cultivation world in a flash, ending up here.
Qi Nian found the gourds she used for Hundred-Flower Brew, filled two of them with Spirit Spring Water, and drank her fill. She also grabbed her usual Black Iron Dagger and plucked a few pears and apples before hurriedly exiting the Secret Realm Space.
She stuffed the water and fruit into her bundle and rushed to pick up the children.
The two children had rolled to the other side of the dry ditch and were lying on the ground, crying in small bundles.
As soon as Qi Nian returned, the two children scrambled over to hug her legs. Their expressions were pitiful beyond words. What kind of earthly suffering was this? Looking at them made her heart ache again.
Qi Nian took out a gourd and first fed the little girl water.
The water was very sweet! Xiao Xi was so thirsty she kept licking her lips.
“Brother drink too, Mother drink too.” After a few sips, the little girl pushed the gourd toward Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen took two sips and handed it back to Qi Nian. “Mother, you drink too.”
“I’ve already had some. You drink more.”
Once the two children had their fill of water, Qi Nian took out two pears to stave off their hunger.
The children took the pears and crunched into them eagerly.
When had the children ever tasted such delicious pears! They ate everything, right down to the skin and core.
With the Spirit Spring Water and the fruit from the Secret Realm, the three of them recovered exceptionally fast. Qi Nian could feel that the wound on her head had stopped bleeding. The two children, who had been as listless as wilted grass, were now full of energy.
“Mother~~” Having regained her strength, Xiao Xi snuggled into Qi Nian’s arms to act spoiled.
“I want a hug too.” Seeing this, Xiao Chen also leaned in for a hug.
Qi Nian held one in each arm.
Qi Nian had initially disdained this unfortunate identity, but now, feeling the blood connection between her and these two soft little bundles, it felt… magical.
After being single for two lifetimes, suddenly becoming a mother didn’t seem so bad after all.
“Xiao Chen, can you and Xiao Xi walk?”
“I can walk.”
“Xi’er can too.”
“Good, you two are wonderful!”
Qi Nian led the two little ones around a less steep area to climb back up. To her surprise, as soon as they rounded a small mound, they saw a child who looked the same age as Xiao Chen.
The child seemed very frightened. His small hands were clenched tightly together, his mouth was trembling, and tears were welling in his eyes.
Remarkably, his features were very similar to Xiao Chen’s.
Qi Nian remembered the man who had mistaken his son earlier. In all likelihood, this child was his.