The ring was something Liu Qing had accidentally picked up a few years ago. Once it went onto her finger, she never took it off again.
The entire band was silver, and the face of the ring bore a Bagua pattern.
No matter how it had come to her, Ruoruo only wanted to know what kind of divine artifact it might be.
Could it open a spatial dimension? Cure illnesses? Endlessly cycle out supplies?
Ruoruo thought any one of those would be great, and if all of them came together, she wouldn’t refuse that either. But it had only flashed once, and then nothing happened.
She set aside the torn clothes for now—studying this was far more valuable.
If it could open a spatial dimension, that would be a perfect hiding place for treasures. Tuck anything inside, and even the gods couldn’t find it. Traveling would mean no luggage at all.
If it could cure illnesses, even better—she’d never suffer from sickness again in this life.
Endlessly cycle out supplies? That would work too. Tomorrow she’d find someone to return the betrothal gifts and call off the marriage, then just lie around and coast through life.
Ruoruo’s mind spun through countless possibilities while her hands stayed busy—twisting the ring left, twisting it right, but it remained still!
Could it be that the blood she’d fed it wasn’t enough?
Ruoruo steeled herself. Fine, she’d drip a few more drops to test it. But the wound had miraculously stopped bleeding. She’d have to cut a fresh one.
To verify, Ruoruo was determined. She grabbed the razor blade by the windowsill and sliced her finger.
Ninth Aunt, who had just come in to help carry the clothes and belongings, saw this. That wouldn’t do—the girl had been fine a moment ago, and now that she’d won the argument, was she thinking of doing something rash?
Ninth Aunt rushed over to snatch it away. “Ruoruo, you can’t do this! Think about it—you still have a father…”
She thought Ruoruo was slitting her wrist to kill herself.
Ninth Aunt’s charge came too fast, and they both tumbled onto the hard wooden plank bed.
Ruoruo braced herself with one hand on Ninth Aunt while the other reached back to steady herself, and the hand wearing the ring knocked against the bedboard. Then, before her eyes, she saw a vast expanse of land in various colors.
A spatial dimension! That was it!
So the space wasn’t opened by twisting the ring—just pressing the face once did the trick.
Ruoruo’s mind wandered into the space. It truly lived up to its name—empty and vast. But the land was divided into three colors: Red Soil, Black Soil, and Golden Soil. The three differently colored plots formed a circle, and at the center of the land was a pond roughly fifty or sixty square meters.
Looking at this setup, was it meant for people to grow their own vegetables?
At least they’d thought to include a water source for watering the crops.
This space was useless enough as it was, but better than nothing, she supposed.
“Ruoruo, Ruoruo…”
Ninth Aunt was terrified. The girl had just barely escaped drowning and gotten her little life back—if she got hurt again, Ninth Aunt couldn’t afford to pay for it.
After being shaken by Ninth Aunt for a good while, Ruoruo finally came out of the space and snapped back to reality.
“Ninth Aunt, I’m fine. I probably just got dizzy from hunger.”
“Oh, right. You went through an ordeal in the water, and it’s about time for dinner anyway. Hurry up and finish with these things, then come to my place. I’ll cook you a meal. In this house, you probably can’t even get a sip of water.”
“Mm! Thank you, Ninth Aunt.”
“Then let’s go quickly. I just went to check your room—it’s in shambles. It’ll take a while to fix it up before you can stay there. Grab a set of clothes and stay at my place for the night. It’s just me and my two kids there, so it’s convenient.”
“Ninth Aunt, you’re so kind!”
With her head on straight, she looked so endearing. Ruoruo was no longer the foolish Ruoruo of before, and Ninth Aunt was genuinely happy for her.
As the two of them came out carrying large bundles of clothes, they ran straight into a crowd of the Ning family.
“Grand Uncle, I only took my own clothes and bedding. I didn’t touch anything else. I’m leaving now. Don’t get too angry—take care of yourself. After all, there’s plenty more to be angry about in the future.”
It had been going fine, but at Ruoruo’s words, Ning Xingguo couldn’t catch his breath, his old face turning bright red.
He pointed at Ruoruo but couldn’t even manage a curse.
Under the dagger-like glares of Ning Xingguo’s whole family, Ruoruo walked away light and easy, not once looking back.
Even after turning the corner, she could still hear Liu Qing cursing ugly words behind her.
She could also imagine Ning Xingxing gritting her teeth and twisting the hem of her clothes, plotting to get back at her.
It wasn’t until she stepped into her own rundown shack that Ruoruo saw with her own eyes just how dilapidated it was. The bed had only half its planks left, the table had just three legs, the water vat was missing half, and the window? Gone entirely.
Oh my heavens, Ruoruo pressed a hand to her forehead. Good grief—she looked up and could see the twinkling stars of a midsummer night through the gaps in the roof tiles!
What was there to say? Ruoruo could only accept her fate. Tomorrow she’d deal with that marriage, then work hard to earn some money and get by.
Setting down her things, Ruoruo picked out a set of clothes that could barely pass as wearable and followed Ninth Aunt home.
Ninth Aunt was a widow. After her husband passed, he’d left her with a pair of children. Her daughter, Ning Hongying, was four years younger than Ruoruo, twelve this year, with a round face and two dimples when she smiled—very cute.
Her son, Ning Jianming, was ten this year, sharp and clever-looking, though his skin was dark as a little calf.
“Mom, why did you bring the fool back?”
Ning Jianming’s words were harsh, but the moment he saw Ruoruo, he shrank back in fear.
Because the old foolish Ruoruo used to love teasing and hitting him.
“Mom, you’re back.”
Ning Hongying was just carrying firewood into the kitchen. She was more sensible and didn’t call Ruoruo a fool the moment she saw her.
Ninth Aunt went over and first gave her son a punch, scolded Ning Jianming a couple of times, then said, “Call her Eldest Sister. If I ever hear you say ‘idiot’ again, I’ll break your legs!”
“Oh, but she was an idiot, so why can’t I—”
Before he could finish, Ning Jianming dashed off in a flash, narrowly escaping a beating.
“Hongying, Eldest Sister is sleeping at our place tonight. Go tidy up the bed, and don’t leave it stinking like a pigsty.”
“Alright, I’m on it.”
Ning Hongying was also a bit afraid of Ruoruo, so she answered timidly and slipped away to clean up.
Ninth Aunt said they’d cook white rice tonight, a rare treat to improve their meals.
Ruoruo helped add firewood to the stove while Ninth Aunt washed dishes and vegetables by the side.
“Ruoruo, this time you’ve turned misfortune into a blessing—your mind has finally become normal. Let me give you a word of advice: when you go to call off that engagement tomorrow, act just like you used to. Be as crazy as you need to be. Don’t act like a normal person, that’s the key. Listen to your aunt—you’re still young and pretty, and that family’s people are all dying of illness. Don’t get tangled up with them and ruin your whole life.”
“Aunt, I know. Once I return the money and get the divorce papers done, I’ll come back.”
“It’s just a pity—you’ll always be a second-marriage woman now. But no need to fear, with your looks, you’re likable enough to find a good one.”
“It’s fine. If anyone dares to look down on me, I wouldn’t want them anyway.”
“Heh heh, you girl. How about I go with you tomorrow?”
“No need. If there are elders around, things might not go as smoothly.”
Ninth Aunt thought about it and agreed—an idiot could make as much fuss as she wanted without going too far, but with a normal person or an elder present, that wouldn’t work.
That night, Ruoruo went to bed early, thinking about how she’d have to play the fool tomorrow. Fortunately, she had the original owner’s memories, so she reviewed the original’s crazy behavior, hoping she could pull it off convincingly.
Ruoruo also studied the ring for a while and found that she could put anything into the Spatial Dimension and take it out freely.
She wondered what was special about those different-colored plots of land. She remembered there were a few melon seeds by the kitchen window. She couldn’t wait a single moment—since she couldn’t sleep anyway, she went to the kitchen, grabbed them, and tossed them into the Spatial Dimension to plant.
In the Spatial Dimension, she buried a few seeds in the Red Soil, a few in the Black Soil, and a few in the Golden Soil, to see if they’d sprout, what they’d grow into, and how the three colors of soil differed.
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