“There are some leftovers and steamed buns here. They’re from the table that just left. Take them and eat. Hurry, and don’t let the owner see.”
After saying this, the waiter led Meng Ping’an to a table. There was half a plate of leftover dishes and three steamed buns on it.
Without saying another word, Meng Ping’an put the copper coins from her broken bowl into her clothes, picked up the leftover dishes and poured them into the bowl, then grabbed the three steamed buns and stuffed them into her clothes. She quickly nodded in thanks.
“Thank you, big brother. Thank you!”
The waiter hurriedly waved his hand. “Go, go! Find somewhere with no one around to eat.”
“Okay!”
With the steamed buns tucked away and the bowl in her hands, Meng Ping’an quickly left.
She wasn’t even limping anymore!
Meng Ping’an followed the same route she had taken earlier and kept walking back.
Taking advantage of the fact that there were fewer people around, she had already put the steamed buns and leftover dishes into her space, along with the twelve copper coins.
Today had been quite a good haul: twelve copper coins, three steamed buns, and a bowl of food. It was enough to get her through the day.
Since it was still early, she needed to find somewhere to stay for the night.
Although she could sleep inside the space, she still needed a fixed place to rest.
Along the way, whenever she encountered beggars, she would hide, worried that she might run into the people from the previous night and have them chase after her again.
Right now, she was small and weak. If someone tried to rob her, she could only take a beating and give up her things.
It was better to avoid them whenever possible.
Once she became stronger, she would settle the score with those people.
Hmph! As the saying went, a gentleman could wait ten years to avenge himself!
One day, she would make those people pay the price they deserved.
Meng Ping’an walked north for nearly half an hour. The farther she went, the more desolate the surroundings became, and the closer she got to the foot of the mountain.
At noon, the old man at the market had mentioned that there seemed to be an abandoned temple at the foot of the mountain.
Rumors said that the place was haunted, so very few people went there. Even those passing by didn’t dare stay for long.
Meng Ping’an, however, didn’t find it frightening.
There were no such things as ghosts in this world.
In fact, what was more frightening than ghosts was the human heart.
Just when she felt she could barely keep going, she finally saw the abandoned temple.
From a distance, the temple already looked quite old. It must have been at least a hundred years old.
The earthen walls looked extremely dilapidated, while more than half of the wooden doors to the temple had rotted away and looked as though they could fall off at any moment.
The weeds surrounding it were nearly waist-high, making the whole place look incredibly desolate.
Meng Ping’an used her wooden stick to beat the grass around her, afraid that there might be snakes hiding inside.
She continued until she reached the entrance of the abandoned temple. Only then did she stop and carefully examine the place.
More than half of the roof had collapsed, leaving large holes. Only the eastern half remained intact. A large section of the western wall was also missing, as if something had knocked it down.
Inside the abandoned temple, the Buddha statue had long since disappeared, leaving only an altar and a battered table.
The eastern side had a large open space, with spider webs and moldy dried grass scattered all over the ground.
On the western side was a very old small table and a long bench, along with a donation box.
The building was very tall, about five meters high, and quite spacious. It looked to be around two hundred square meters.
Meng Ping’an was very satisfied with this temporary shelter.
She put down her wooden stick and began cleaning.
First, she went into the courtyard and pulled up some weeds, tying them together to make a simple broom. She used it to clean away the spider webs and dirt inside the abandoned temple.
She then carried all the moldy dried grass outside into a small earthen hut, planning to use it as firewood later.
After working for quite a while, Meng Ping’an looked at the completely transformed temple with satisfaction.
Not bad!
This place was much better than that dilapidated village from before.
At the very least, she now had a home in this strange world.
Although it was old and broken down, it could at least shelter her from the wind and rain and give her a place where she no longer had to live in constant fear.
Seeing that the sun was about to set, Meng Ping’an took the leftover steamed buns from lunch out of her space, along with some spiritual spring water. Sitting inside the clean temple, she happily began eating.
The steamed buns taken out of the space were exactly as they had been when she first put them in, still warm.
After eating one steamed bun, Meng Ping’an let out a satisfied burp.
This body was still too small to eat much at once!
She put the other steamed bun back into the space to save for breakfast the next morning.
After eating and drinking her fill, Meng Ping’an took advantage of the remaining daylight to go back into the courtyard and pull up more weeds. She also cleared a small path so that it would be easier for her to come and go.
However, when she was almost at the end, she stopped pulling them.
She deliberately left a thick patch of weeds as a screen, so that people outside wouldn’t be able to see what was inside.
She piled the weeds she had pulled into a haystack. Tomorrow morning, she could spread them out to dry and then use them as bedding in the eastern room.
After finishing everything, Meng Ping’an dragged her exhausted body back into the abandoned temple.
This body was simply too weak. She had only worked for a short while, yet she was already exhausted and gasping for breath.
She sat down against the wall and entered the space.
Using the broken bowl, she scooped up half a bowl of spiritual spring water and drank it.
She immediately felt much more relaxed.
Only then did she lean against the large rock and fall asleep.
Before falling asleep, Meng Ping’an was still thinking that she needed to work hard and save money to buy a blanket and bedding…
Then she would be able to lie down comfortably and sleep.
Meng Ping’an slept through the night without dreaming and was awakened by the chirping of birds outside.
She supported herself against the wall, stood up, and walked out of the abandoned temple.
First, she spread out the weeds she had pulled yesterday to let them dry for the day. By tonight, she could use them as bedding in the eastern room.
After finishing the work in the courtyard, she took some spiritual spring water from the space and washed her hands. She then scooped up a bowl of water and ate it with the last steamed bun.
She needed to find out if there was a water source nearby.
She couldn’t keep relying on the spiritual spring water for washing. That would be too wasteful.
Meng Ping’an picked up her small wooden stick and headed toward the overgrown area behind the temple.
Afraid of getting lost, she stepped on the weeds as she walked, gradually clearing a path behind her.
After walking for about the time it took to burn an incense stick, she saw a steep cliff.
It seemed that a mountain spring was flowing out from a crack in the rocks above.
Meng Ping’an excitedly hurried over.
“Sure enough, it’s a mountain spring!”
She took the broken bowl out of her space, filled half of it, and took a sip.
It was cool and sweet, and surprisingly, it was no worse than the spiritual spring water in her space.
The spring water flowed out from the crack in the rocks and down onto the stones below, gathering together into a small stream that flowed westward through the grass.
Meng Ping’an examined the little stream.
She could wash her clothes and bathe here in the future.
The area was surrounded by bushes and weeds, while the eastern and northern sides were bordered by steep cliffs, making it look quite safe.
It was also not far from the abandoned temple. It only took about the time it took to burn an incense stick to get there.
Looking at her reflection in the stream, Meng Ping’an saw a small, dark, skinny child.
Because there was hardly any flesh on her face, her eyes looked particularly large.
Not bad.
Aside from being a little dark and thin, she actually had decent features.
She wasn’t ugly….
Meng Ping’an nodded in satisfaction.
She wanted to wash herself with the spring water, but then remembered that she still had to go into town to beg later.
Forget it.
If she happened to encounter those beggars or human traffickers, a clean little beggar would only attract more attention.
Meng Ping’an followed yesterday’s route toward the town.
To avoid the group of beggars, she deliberately chose another path, which was half as long as the previous one.
When she was almost at the entrance of the large restaurant from yesterday afternoon, she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps.
Meng Ping’an quietly stepped behind a large tree.
She looked behind her.
It turned out to be that same group of beggars from before.
……..