Night had fallen, and the group spent the night at a dilapidated highway service station.
Cao Yongjun used his earth-type ability to construct a simple earthen stove.
Bai Xuan took a pot from his spatial storage and placed it on top, then brought out the prepared ingredients.
Qi Ran condensed several water spheres from the air and dropped them into the pot.
Murong Zhuo collected dry firewood and placed it into the stove.
Dai Qianning snapped his fingers, and the dry wood immediately ignited.
Feng Ruijie cooked with a knife in hand.
Ji Chaoxi helped by stimulating the growth of vegetables.
No words were needed. Each person had their own task.
Ji Chaoxi watched them and felt a trace of envy, and also a faint expectation.
She went outside to gather dry branches and firewood. The wilderness night was cold, and they needed fuel for the fire.
A thin vine wrapped around a dry branch on a large tree. With a crisp snap, the branch broke off and was lowered to the ground by the vine.
A pile of firewood had already accumulated there.
“Big sister, you gathered so much?” Bai Xuan walked over with a bright smile. “We already have enough wood for tonight.”
Ji Chaoxi smiled and used her vines to break off another branch.
She was actually not planning to have too much interaction with this team.
Under the dense trees, her slender body looked even more fragile and delicate. She raised her head to look for dry branches, her pale neck stretched straight, its elegant lines impossible to ignore.
“Big sister, do you not like our team?” Bai Xuan suddenly asked from not far away.
Ji Chaoxi controlled her vines to place the broken branch down and turned back to look at him.
“No, I don’t dislike you.”
Bai Xuan walked closer.
“Then why don’t you talk to us much, big sister?”
Ji Chaoxi instinctively stepped back.
“I’m not ignoring you. I’m just not good at talking. I’m afraid I’ll say something wrong.”
She did not like strangers getting too close.
Bai Xuan stopped where he was.
“I won’t. Big sister’s voice is very nice. Talking with you is a pleasure.”
The young man’s smile was pure and harmless. When he smiled, he revealed small sharp canines, making him look somewhat cute.
He reminded Ji Chaoxi of a boy she had met at the orphanage.
That boy had also liked to cling to her. He had been very obedient, but his illness had been severe. Less than two months after arriving at the orphanage, he had died.
Something stirred in Ji Chaoxi’s heart.
She looked at the boy with a hint of warmth in her eyes.
“You really know how to talk. You must have many friends.”
The wind in the wilderness grew stronger as night approached, blowing through her black hair and clothes, outlining her slender waist that could be held in a single hand.
Bai Xuan smiled slightly, a little shy.
“Not that many… just okay.”
Ji Chaoxi used her vines to bundle all the firewood together.
“It’s getting dark. Let’s go back.”
“Alright.”
Bai Xuan followed beside her.
“Big sister, I’ll put this into my space.”
“No need. We’re almost there.”
Space ability users needed to expend energy to store and retrieve items.
“Then I’ll carry it. I can’t just stand by and watch a girl carry such a big bundle of wood.”
The bundle was indeed quite large.
After thinking for a moment, Ji Chaoxi split it in two.
“We’ll each carry half.”
Bai Xuan suddenly grabbed both bundles quickly and ran off.
He ran a short distance, then turned back and smiled brightly.
“Big sister, hurry up. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Ji Chaoxi sighed helplessly and followed.
The night deepened, and the moon was half-hidden behind thick clouds.
The wilderness wind howled, but Cao Yongjun had already reinforced the crumbling walls with his ability.
The fire burned brightly, filling the small space with warmth.
The boy on night watch idly stirred the fire with a branch. Sparks flew like scattered fireworks.
Firelight reflected in his pupils, and in a place unseen by others, it burned with mockery and twisted jealousy.
Ji Chaoxi wrapped herself in a blanket and leaned against the corner.
The boy’s shadow cast by the fire completely enveloped her.
A faint gray mist moved through the darkness, wrapping around her ankle and slowly climbing upward along her leg…
In her sleep, Ji Chaoxi’s breathing suddenly became rapid. Her brows furrowed tightly, and her long lashes trembled uneasily.
She was dragged into an inescapable dream.
On a narrow wooden bed in the orphanage, she was pinned down by a dark figure.
The figure was extremely strong. She could not break free. Her mouth was tightly covered, and only muffled sounds of resistance escaped her nose.
A cold hand slipped into her waist.
Ji Chaoxi’s heart sank to the bottom.
No matter how violently she struggled, it was useless.
She cried in fear, hoping the night patrol aunt would come to save her.
But the cold hand became even more intrusive, forcing her body to curl up uncontrollably in resistance.
She did not know how much time had passed when a low chuckle suddenly sounded in her ear.
A familiar voice made her scalp tingle.
“Ye Jiming…”
That murmured whisper exploded in the boy’s ear.
The hand stirring the fire abruptly stopped.
The madness in his eyes slowly faded.
He suddenly stood up and walked straight toward her.
Gray-black mist spread rapidly, covering everything—people and objects alike.
Silence fell.
A hand gripped Ji Chaoxi’s chin.
In the dream, she shifted uneasily, and her slightly parted lips once again uttered a broken sound.
“Ye Jiming… don’t…”
Within the thick swirling mist, a short, low laugh echoed.
Long fingers pressed against her lower lip.
“Even in your dreams, you’re thinking of me? Good.”
The young man leaned down and covered her slightly parted lips.
“Wife, I’ll forgive you today. Don’t disappoint me…”
“It doesn’t matter if you do. That just gives me a reason to lock you up forever at home.”
Dawn broke faintly.
The group gradually woke and began preparing breakfast, making extra food for lunch as well to store in Bai Xuan’s spatial ability, so they would not have to endure those tasteless compressed rations at noon.
The person who invented those things must have been insane.
Many believed that anyone capable of making such food must have no sense of taste at all.
“Chaoxi, why do you have so many marks on your neck? Are there that many insects here?” Dai Qianning frowned, glancing around at the others.
None of them had marks—only Ji Chaoxi did.
She hissed softly.
“Could it be that Wood-type ability users attract insects more easily?”
Ji Chaoxi touched her neck, recalling last night’s dream. A faint unease rose in her heart.
She secretly “asked” the surrounding plants but found nothing unusual.
Her tension eased slightly.
Ye Jiming probably had not followed them.
Even the strongest seventh-rank ability user would not dare travel alone in the wilderness.
“It’s fine. It’ll go away after a while.”
Ji Chaoxi let out a breath and suppressed her unease.
But thinking back to the dream, her expression darkened slightly.
When she was eleven years old, something exactly like that dream had indeed happened.
A light-sleeping child had discovered it, screamed, and alerted everyone, saving her.
Ji Chaoxi unconsciously bit her finger.
She bit down hard enough to break the skin, drawing a thin bead of blood, without even realizing it.