It was the voice of the stall owner!
Ye Wan’s expression darkened. She scooped up Sui Sui and began to run.
“Sui Sui, hold Mommy tight!”
Watching the sudden crowd of people chasing them, Sui Sui hugged her mother’s neck tightly, a trace of fear appearing on her small face.
Ye Wan ran for her life. she could hear the footsteps drawing closer behind her, accompanied by their muffled curses. It seemed that the stalk of Luminous Grass was anything but ordinary.
Ye Wan pushed her spiritual power to its limit to boost her speed and quickly ducked into a narrow, winding alley.
Seeing the pursuers gaining on them, Sui Sui was so scared she wanted to cry. It was Sui Sui who had caused this trouble. Sui Sui didn’t want Mommy to be caught by the bad guys; if only Sui Sui could take Mommy to a different place.
Just as Ye Wan was about to send a distress signal to the sect outpost, her vision blurred. The ground beneath her feet suddenly felt soft, causing her to stumble and nearly lose her balance. When she looked up, her surroundings had completely changed.
Hadn’t she just been running for her life in a dim, twisting alley? How had she arrived in a forest in the blink of an eye?
“Mommy, don’t be afraid. I’ll protect Mommy.”
A pat, so light it was almost imperceptible, landed on her shoulder, followed by Sui Sui’s soft, weak voice. If the forest hadn’t been so quiet, she wouldn’t have heard it at all.
Ye Wan hurriedly set Sui Sui down. Seeing the child’s face as pale as the day she had suddenly fainted—perhaps even worse—Ye Wan’s hands and feet went weak with panic.
“Sui Sui, don’t scare Mommy.” Ye Wan frantically poured spiritual energy into Sui Sui’s body until her own face grew pale and her energy was depleted.
“Qi-Restoring Pills, milky fruits…”
Ye Wan pulled everything edible and spirit-infused out of her storage bag in a heap. Even the “Luminous Grass” that had brought them this danger was pulled out.
Just as she was about to feed Sui Sui, a red fruit about the size of a child’s fist suddenly appeared in Sui Sui’s hand.
The fruit was as red as fire and as clear as crystal. Its skin was like a transparent garment as thin as a cicada’s wing. The enticing color and plump juice made one want to peel it open immediately to taste what was inside.
“Mommy, the red fruit was willing to be eaten by me.” Sui Sui’s voice was very faint, but she sounded happy. Before Ye Wan could speak, the child had already raised the fruit and taken a big “om-nom” bite.
“Sui Sui, don’t eat it yet!”
Ye Wan’s heart leapt into her throat. She didn’t even know what this fruit was; could it be eaten raw just like that?
However, the juice inside the red fruit seemed to have a mind of its own, flowing into Sui Sui’s mouth without a single drop leaking out. As the juice entered her system, the color slowly returned to Sui Sui’s cheeks.
Ye Wan forgot to lower the hand she had reached out to stop her. She was shocked and overjoyed; this fruit could return Sui Sui to normal instantly!
The fruit had appeared out of thin air just now. Could it be that her daughter had awakened some kind of planting space? One that could even perform spatial transfers?
“Sui Sui, do you still feel unwell anywhere? Does your stomach hurt after eating the fruit?” Ye Wan tucked the items away and pulled Sui Sui up to check her over.
“No. Just now, the red fruit ran into my mouth by itself to let me eat it. I have strength now that I’ve finished.” Having finished the fruit, Sui Sui smacked her little lips, looking like she wanted more.
Realizing she hadn’t saved any of such a delicious fruit for her mother, Sui Sui dove into Ye Wan’s arms. “Next time there’s a red fruit, I’ll save it for Mommy to eat.”
Truly, with such a sweet child, how could it not be worth risking one’s life?
Ye Wan’s heart felt warm. She ruffled Sui Sui’s small head. “If there are more, Sui Sui should keep them for herself. When you feel unwell like you did just now, take one out and eat it. You need strength to protect Mommy.”
“Mhm! Must protect Mommy! I protected Mommy just now!” Recalling what happened, Sui Sui puffed out her little chest proudly.
Speaking of that, Ye Wan still had lingering fears.
She scanned their surroundings and could faintly hear the sound of carriage wheels rolling outside the woods. This should be the forest outside the city.
Ye Wan first swallowed a Qi-Restoring Pill herself. She led Sui Sui to a more secluded spot and set up a barrier that was better than nothing before asking in a low voice, “Sui Sui, when the bad guys were chasing us just now, how did you bring Mommy here all of a sudden?”
“I saw many, many bad guys chasing us from behind. I was scared Mommy would be taken away, so… so I thought about changing places to run with Mommy. That way, the bad guys couldn’t catch us.”
Despite having just gone through such a harrowing experience, Sui Sui wasn’t scared at all. She gestured proudly, stuttering slightly because she was too excited to express herself.
“Sui Sui is amazing! You can even protect Mommy now.” Ye Wan kissed her daughter’s soft, tender cheek.
Criticizing her was out of the question. If it hadn’t been for her own uselessness as a mother, her child wouldn’t have had the chance to take such a risk. When she saw Sui Sui lying weak in her arms, for a split second, a thought of retreating had flashed through her mind.
“Sui Sui must promise Mommy not to do that casually. You can only use that method to run away when you meet bad guys like those just now, or when someone wants to hurt you.”
Three years old was an age of curiosity about everything. Ye Wan used words the child could understand as much as possible to caution her.
Sui Sui was feeling quite proud of being able to make Mommy go “shoo” and run away. She had wanted to play with it again, but then her mother gave her this serious warning. Her large eyes blinked guiltily, and she didn’t dare look at her mother.
Having raised this child in the palm of her hand, how could Ye Wan not know the little girl’s thoughts?
“Think about it. Didn’t you feel very bad just now, like you had no strength? If it hadn’t been for the red fruit, you’d be lying in bed right now letting a doctor poke you with needles and drinking bitter medicine. You wouldn’t be able to eat anything delicious, and you might never be able to go out and play with Mommy again.”
“No, no!” Sui Sui shook her head like a rattle and buried herself in her mother’s arms. “Don’t want needles or bitter medicine, and don’t want to be away from Mommy.”
Ye Wan pulled her daughter out of her embrace. “Then remember: that method can only be used when there is danger. You cannot use it for play.”
“I remember!” Under the threat of her mother’s “loving” gaze, Sui Sui nodded obediently.
“Then say it back to Mommy. What are you not allowed to do?” Ye Wan let go; this matter could not be handled carelessly.
“I’m not allowed to move myself to another place to play. I can only do it when I meet bad guys.”
“Yes, very good!” Ye Wan gave her daily praise.
“Then for such an amazing Sui Sui, can I be rewarded with a cup of milk tea?” Sui Sui blinked her starry eyes.
Ye Wan: “…”
Milk tea was something she had tinkered with when she was bored. Whatever other children had, her child had to have too—she would never admit that she wanted to drink it herself. She had only made it once or twice, but she hadn’t expected the little one to keep thinking about it.
“Fine, Mommy will make it for you when we go back.” Ye Wan pulled the little clever-clogs into a hug and ruffled her. “Now tell Mommy, where did that red fruit come from?”
Since Sui Sui could teleport people and produce spirit fruits of an indiscernible rank, there was a high possibility she had awakened a spatial divine ability.
“It grew out of a big rock. I wanted to eat, so it appeared.” Sui Sui hoped the big rock would grow a second fruit soon; it was the most delicious fruit she had ever eaten.
“Can you still see the big rock now? Is there anything else besides the rock?” Ye Wan was more inclined to believe it was a rock that came with Sui Sui’s space.
“I can see it! A big, big blue rock. The red fruit grew from it. Now there’s only the rock left.” Sui Sui used her small arms to draw what she considered a very large circle.
“You can only see the rock? No other flowers or grass?”
“That’s right! That’s right! Only the big rock, and it glows.”
Well, she had overthought it. She had expected it to be like in novels, with a spiritual spring, black soil, and a thatched hut. She had even thought that in times of crisis, Sui Sui could hide inside.
However, Sui Sui mentioned it glowed and that fruit grew from the rock… could it be that the big rock was actually a fruit tree mimicking a stone? After all, the cultivation world was full of wonders.
Ye Wan thought for a moment and plucked a nearby wildflower, giving it to Sui Sui. “Sui Sui, try to see if you can put this flower on the big rock.”
Sui Sui did as she was told. The moment her small hand touched the wildflower, it disappeared.
“I see it! The flower is on the big rock.” Sui Sui was like a child with a new toy, taking the flower out and putting it back in.
Ye Wan took out the household belongings she had brought from the village from her storage bag and let Sui Sui put them into the rock space. Sui Sui thought her mother was playing house with her and couldn’t have been happier to pack them away.
Through testing large and small items, Ye Wan concluded that Sui Sui’s rock space was roughly ten square meters—equivalent to a small room.
Ye Wan then caught a rabbit, tied its limbs, and told Sui Sui to put it inside to see if it could hold living things.
“Mommy, the bunny won’t go in!” Sui Sui’s small hands tightly gripped the rabbit’s ears, using all her strength to try and put the rabbit into the big rock.
“Maybe a moving rabbit can’t go in.” Ye Wan used a trace of spiritual energy to send the rabbit to its next life and told Sui Sui to try again.
This time, it actually went in. However, Sui Sui immediately pulled it back out. “Mommy, I want to eat spicy bunny.”
“No spicy bunny, but we can have roast rabbit.”
Ye Wan took the rabbit and set it aside. Fortunately, when they were in Darong Village, she hadn’t let Sui Sui develop the “bunnies are so cute, how could you eat bunnies” personality.
“Okay then, roast bunny is yummy too.” Sui Sui swallowed her saliva and held up the storage bag at her waist. “Mommy, is the big rock just like a treasure bag?”
“Yes, but anyone can have a treasure bag. Only Sui Sui has this big rock. To make sure no one steals it, you must not let anyone besides Mommy know about it, do you understand?”
“Even Little Sui Sui can’t know?”
Ye Wan: “…” Is it possible that “Little Sui Sui” the doll isn’t a person?
“Little Sui Sui isn’t a person, so she doesn’t count. This is a secret between you and Mommy. Pinky swear.” Ye Wan extended her pinky finger. Never mind whether it was childish or not; she had to fool the girl first.
Sui Sui extended her short pinky and hooked it with her mother’s, shaking it up and down as she said in a milky voice, “Pinky swear, hang it high, for a hundred years it shall not fly. Whoever changes is a little dog.”
“Remember that. Mommy doesn’t want a puppy daughter.” Ye Wan tapped her daughter’s small nose.
“I remember. Mommy must remember too. I don’t want a puppy mommy either.” Sui Sui also tilted her little face up, giving a serious warning.
Ye Wan: “…” Does that count as a swear word?
While roasting the rabbit, Ye Wan remembered the “Luminous Grass” that had caused the trouble. Worried about divine sense probes, she didn’t dare take it out to study it casually.
She asked Sui Sui, “Sui Sui, why did you want that grass just now?”