The mother and her two children sat in the thatched shelter. Li Cuihua touched Wenxi’s swollen, reddened face, her heart aching with both pity and self-reproach. “Xiaoxi, I’m useless. That’s why you’ve had to suffer so much.”
Wen'an, sitting beside them, abruptly lifted his head.
“Xiao'an is useless too.” The boy’s voice still held a child’s youthful roughness. His eyes rimmed red, he bit his lip and said, “If I were a little taller and stronger, I could protect Sis, and she wouldn’t have been beaten. Sis, your face really hurts, doesn’t it?”
“I…” Wenxi managed to say only that one word before her eyes rolled back and everything went black.
“Xiaoxi!”
“Sis!”
…
The moment Wenxi lost consciousness, she felt as if her head were about to split apart from the pain.
It was as though she had returned to the moment she had been blown up while carrying out a mission. Pain seemed to tear through every bone in her body.
Clutching her head, she curled up on the ground. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat, and her knuckles had gone white from the force of her grip.
She had no idea how much time passed before that piercing pain finally began to recede.
Wenxi sat up with her head in her hands, gasping for breath.
All around her was a vast expanse of white mist. She could not see a thing.
She frowned.
Could she have died again?
As she pondered this, a mechanical voice suddenly rang out above her head.
【It has been detected that the host performed a meritorious deed by eliminating a crime lord before her death. As the host’s soul has not dispersed, she has been specially granted a golden finger: the Spirit Spring Space. The space contains a Spirit Spring and Spirit Farmland. Host, please accept it!】
Wenxi jerked her head up. The white mist stretched endlessly around her, and she could not see a single person.
“Who’s speaking? Come out!”
There was no response.
The next moment, the white mist before her abruptly parted, and a large bright-red button floated in midair. A single word was printed on it in large characters: Confirm.
Wenxi narrowed her eyes and examined it for a moment.
She extended a fingertip and poked the red button.
A dizzying sensation immediately swept over her. The white mist around her rapidly receded before her eyes.
Her surroundings suddenly came into view. In the blink of an eye, the world that had been blanketed in white had completely changed.
Beneath her feet stretched boundless black earth, covered in ankle-high grass. The leaves were tender and fresh, sparkling with dewdrops.
There was no visible boundary in the distance. It looked like a vast wilderness. The air was unbelievably fresh; with one deep breath, even her internal organs seemed to have been washed clean.
Ahead of her, an ancient-looking well hovered in midair. The mouth of the well was roughly half a meter wide, and a clear column of water as thick as an arm poured from it into the soil below. Yet no water accumulated there. It seemed to be entirely absorbed by the earth.
Wenxi stared, stunned.
【This is the Spirit Spring.】
The mechanical voice sounded again.
【Spirit Spring Water can strengthen the body, neutralize poisons, nourish the body, and heal lingering injuries. The host may draw upon it at will through thought alone. Note: The more serious the illness or the deeper the poisoning, the greater the required amount of Spirit Spring Water.】
Wenxi stood where she was, digesting those few sentences.
She wasn’t dreaming, was she?
She lowered her head and looked at her slender wrist. This body was frail and delicate, and the injuries on her body still throbbed faintly. If this Spirit Spring was real…
Then it was damn amazing!
Wenxi steadied herself and walked over to the floating ancient well.
She cupped a handful of spring water in both hands and raised it to her lips.
The water was icy as it entered her mouth. It slid down her throat, carrying a sweetness that refreshed her very soul.
A warm current spread from her stomach, flowing through her blood vessels and into every part of her body.
The lingering pain in her head immediately eased considerably. The burning pain in her swollen face also felt as though it had been washed with cool water, subsiding by more than half.
It really worked.
Wenxi’s eyes lit up, and she drank two more mouthfuls.
【The host is the sole master of this space and may enter and leave freely through thought alone. The space is bound to the host’s soul; no one can seize it. May the host remain safe and well in this realm and have all her wishes fulfilled.】
After the mechanical voice finished this final sentence, it fell completely silent.
Wenxi waited for a while, but there was no further response.
She did not dwell on it. Instead, she walked across the grassland for a while.
This land was extraordinarily vast. As far as the eye could see, it was all fertile black soil—perfect for growing both grain and medicinal herbs.
With Spirit Farmland and Spirit Spring Water, feeding herself would be easy. Even making a fortune wouldn’t be difficult.
The dizzying sensation swept over her again. Wenxi’s vision went black, and she lost consciousness once more.
…
“Xiaoxi? Xiaoxi, wake up!”
Li Cuihua’s voice sounded beside her ear.
Wenxi struggled to lift her eyelids. The light stung, making her squint.
The rough thatched roof came into view. Whenever the wind blew, fine bits of thatch drifted down from the roof.
“Mother…” Her voice was still somewhat hoarse.
“Yes! Yes! You’re finally awake!” Li Cuihua cried tears of joy as she hurriedly helped her sit up.
She picked up half a cornmeal bun from beside her and held it to Wenxi’s lips. “Doctor Sun came to see you yesterday. He said you injured your head and need to rest properly. He also prescribed some medicine. Eat a little first to line your stomach, and then we’ll take the medicine, all right?”
Wenxi accepted the cornmeal bun. It was hard as a rock.
She looked around the thatched shelter and discovered that quite a few things had appeared since before she had fainted.
In the corner lay a patched but very clean coarse-cloth quilt. There were also three bowls, a small earthenware jar, and a small cloth bag that appeared to contain grain.
“Mother, who brought these things?” she asked.
Li Cuihua raised a hand to wipe the corner of her eye, a trace of comfort appearing on her face. “Xiaolan. She returned from the city yesterday and heard that we’d been driven out. She hurried over and brought these things before the Village Chief arrived. That child Xiaolan has such a kind heart. Her own family isn’t well-off either, yet she still thought of us. We’ll have to thank her properly in the future.”
Wenxi nodded.
Zhou Xiaolan was a girl from the same village. She and the original owner had grown up together and had been one of the original owner’s few friends.
Her family was hardly better off than the Wen family. For her to bring them all this despite her own family’s poverty showed how close the two girls had been.
Wenxi held the half cornmeal bun in her hand and glanced toward the doorway again. Seeing no sign of Wen'an, she asked, “Have you eaten? Where’s Xiao'an?”
“We’ve eaten. My legs are no good, so I can’t go anywhere. I’ve become a burden to you and Xiao'an. Fortunately, I can still use my hands, and I can manage some light work. So I had Xiao'an borrow Xiaolan’s hatchet and go to the bamboo grove at the foot of the mountain to cut some bamboo. I’ll weave a few bamboo baskets. That should bring in a little money for the household.”
Wenxi understood immediately and swallowed the hard cornmeal bun in two mouthfuls.
The coarse grains scraped her throat, but her expression did not change.
In her previous life, while carrying out missions, she had eaten compressed biscuits and raw meat. This little bit of coarse grain was nothing.
Li Cuihua brought over a bowl of dark-brown medicinal broth from beside them. Steam still rose from it.
Wenxi took it without even furrowing her brows, tipped back her head, and drank it all in one go. It was bitter as hell.
“Drink slowly. Don’t choke.” Li Cuihua hurriedly passed her some water.
Wenxi waved it away, rose to her feet, and walked out of the thatched shelter.
As soon as she stepped outside, the daylight dazzled her eyes.
The morning sun rose from between the mountains, spilling golden-red light across the land.
She paused. “Mother, did I sleep through the night?”