She rose from the Space feeling dizzy and disoriented, quickly fetching some Spirit Spring Water to drink. Within seconds, the dizziness vanished completely.
Only then did she turn to look at the child.
The little one was tightly wrapped in a thin blanket, half of his face hidden beneath it.
As she pulled back the blanket, her fingers accidentally brushed against his skin—the heat was so intense it felt scalding.
Su Wantang was startled.
Having never cared for a child before, she felt a wave of panic.
But there was no time for hesitation.
In such a short time, the people outside probably hadn’t left yet. Although she had stored backup medical supplies when collecting the Su Family’s belongings, it would be nearly impossible to feed medicine to such a small child.
Su Wantang had no choice but to resort to her old method: she carefully fed the child some Spirit Spring Water using a spoon.
She then unwrapped the hastily bundled swaddling clothes and wiped his entire body with a towel.
The little one couldn’t be very old—his body was soft, and he had only a few sparse strands of hair.
Still, he looked quite adorable.
With chubby cheeks and long, upturned eyelashes, his lips had turned purplish-red from the high fever. He stirred restlessly from time to time, clearly uncomfortable.
Su Wantang couldn’t help but wonder fondly: when her own child was born, would they be this cute too?
Perhaps because his discomfort was more severe, it took several minutes for the Spirit Spring Water to take effect on the little one.
Gradually, his fever subsided, the tiny furrow between his brows smoothed away, and he slowly opened his eyes.
But the moment he saw Su Wantang, his lips trembled, and he burst into loud, wailing tears.
The crying went on and on—he seemed to have plenty of energy, but it left Su Wantang utterly flustered.
While wiping him earlier, she had noticed the child was a boy, likely stolen by the trafficker from who-knows-where.
After all, with the two traffickers’ rough and unappealing looks, there was no way they could have produced such a handsome child.
As time passed, the little one cried even more fiercely. Su Wantang guessed he might be hungry.
Although the Space contained many things, there was no baby formula to feed him.
There was millet, but she had no idea how to cook it.
The young lady, who had never cooked before, struggled tremendously—even burning the pot—before managing to scoop out a barely edible bowl of millet porridge with a charred smell.
She managed to feed him a few mouthfuls before the little one refused to eat any more.
Worried he might get an upset stomach, Su Wantang fed him a few more spoonfuls of Spirit Spring Water.
Though small, the little guy seemed to know what was good for him.
He drank spoonful after spoonful, not stopping as long as Su Wantang kept feeding him.
Even without the millet porridge, he probably could have filled up on water alone.
Having the little one around made things less boring.
According to her watch, about an hour had passed before Su Wantang cautiously ventured out of the Space.
She found herself in front of a house.
Looking up, she saw the trafficker tied to a phoenix tree inside the fenced yard, beaten badly.
Weakly, he opened his eyes and met Su Wantang’s gaze. His pupils contracted sharply, and he began shouting, “That damned woman is still here! Someone, come quick!”
Su Wantang panicked, turned, and ran behind a stack of earthen bricks, hiding herself once again in the Space.
Only when she was completely safe did she pat her chest and let out a sigh of relief.
According to her earlier observation, she was currently at the doorstep of the last house in the village—a relatively secluded spot that should make escape easy.
But since it was still daytime, she decided to hide first and wait until nightfall to make her move.
The little one, full and content, was sleeping soundly on his own bed. Su Wantang changed her clothes and lay down beside him, gazing at the scene inside the Space.
At the edge of a large grassy area, furniture and items were piled up haphazardly. Nearby were the Seafood she had secretly bought in the Fishing Village, and boxes filled with gold, silver, and jewels were stacked to the side, creating a somewhat disordered appearance.
The bed where she slept was shielded by several cabinets, giving her the illusion that she wasn’t sleeping out in the open.
But when she looked up, she saw a bright, pure blue sky—no different from the sky outside, except there was no sun or clouds.
If only there were a house here, she thought, just before drifting off to sleep.
Su Wantang was awakened by the little one’s cries. Opening her eyes, she found the surroundings still bright.
But according to her watch, it was already past one in the morning.
After feeding him some more porridge and watching him fall asleep again, Su Wantang left the Space.
The night air was chilly, causing her to shiver. The sudden transition from brightness to darkness also made it hard for her eyes to adjust, leaving her temporarily unable to see.
It took a while for her vision to return to normal.
The moon was hidden, and the stars were sparse.
Craning her neck, she peered through the faint light and noticed the trafficker was no longer tied to the tree. She didn’t know whether he had been released or had met with misfortune.
In the yard, pigs were grunting, and chickens were flapping their wings.
Remembering the suffering she had endured, a mischievous impulse took hold.
She quietly slipped into the fenced yard and stored all the chickens and pigs into her Space.
Inside the main room, the old woman sat up and peered through the window, but all she saw was darkness outside.
Her movements disturbed the old man, who grumbled irritably, “What the hell are you doing, moving around in the middle of the night? If you’re not going to sleep, get the hell out and stop bothering me!”
Scolded, the old woman didn’t dare talk back. Instead, she said gently, “I thought I heard something outside. Could it be a thief?”
“The authorities are strict these days. Who’d dare steal? They’d be beaten to death if caught! You’re just overthinking—go to sleep!”
There was a precedent for this.
Once, a lazy loafer had tried to steal chickens but was caught and struck dead with a hoe. Since the thief had trespassed, the killer faced no punishment.
After that, petty thieves in the village had become much more cautious.
Seeing that her concerns were dismissed, the old woman sighed and lay back down.
Her cloudy old eyes remained fixed on the window, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
Su Wantang moved quietly.
After succeeding, she left with light steps.
During this process, she made another interesting discovery: she could use her thoughts to completely partition the Space.
For instance, the pig and the three chickens were confined to a designated corner, completely separated from the area where she stored her belongings.
This also prevented any harm from coming to the little one still lying in bed.
The dark, narrow path was unnerving.
But Su Wantang had no choice—she had to take advantage of the darkness to leave quickly.
Once day broke and villagers started moving about, it was uncertain whether she could get away.
After navigating the dark path and reaching the brighter main road, the unease in her heart began to fade.
She took the bicycle out of her Space, holding a flashlight in one hand to illuminate the road ahead as she rode away.
After this incident, she no longer dared to think that she could live well on her own.
It hadn’t been long since she left Nan Province, yet as a lone woman she had already encountered several dangerous situations. If not for having her Space to rely on, she would likely have been harmed long ago.
And then there was this little child.
Who knows where the human trafficker had stolen it from. The parents who lost their child must be utterly heartbroken.