As she walked along, Zhao Xiyan carefully searched here and there until she finally chose a century old tree. She pressed her palm against its trunk, and a steady stream of wood-based ability surged into her body.
At that moment, Zhao Xiyan noticed that the tiny needle-like thread inside her heart was also frantically absorbing the wood-based ability.
“Huh? This is a wood-based ability. Why are you, a healing ability, absorbing it?”
Zhao Xiyan observed it carefully and saw the tiny thread rapidly grow taller, then sprout leaves, and finally bloom, all in one smooth sequence.
Then something even more astonishing happened. The flower rapidly grew larger until it covered her heart. From the center of the flower, a seed emerged and separated from her heart, before suddenly appearing in the palm of her hand.
Before Zhao Xiyan could even take a proper look, the seed suddenly burrowed into her palm and disappeared.
Zhao Xiyan was completely dumbfounded.
Then she was astonished to discover that the century old tree beneath her palm rapidly aged before withering away.
She felt an aura of vitality surge through her body. Although there was only a tiny amount of it, it was incredibly pure and made her feel exceptionally comfortable, as though every pore on her body had opened in bliss.
Huh?
The century old tree that had just disappeared suddenly sprouted tender buds. It quickly shot upward, growing at an astonishing speed. It became larger and larger as the seasons changed, spring passed into winter, flowers bloomed and fruit ripened, and the cycle of all four seasons unfolded.
Yet it continued to grow, reaching higher and higher.
Zhao Xiyan abruptly withdrew her hand, only to see a drop of liquid drip from her fingertip and fall onto the tree roots. In an instant, the roots became noticeably thicker and stronger.
Could this be vitality?
Zhao Xiyan was utterly stunned. Her wood-based ability and healing ability had merged together, causing a mutation.
My goodness, is this the legendary cheat ability that comes with transmigration?
Overwhelmed by the pleasant surprise, she grinned so broadly that she looked like a two hundred jin fat man.
If anyone witnessed this scene, she would probably be captured and cut open for research.
“Thud.”
The realistic pain brought Zhao Xiyan back to her senses, and she raised her head.
Huh?
She saw a large, bright red apple and quickly moved aside.
One ripe apple after another began falling from the tree, scattering all over the grass.
This, this…
Zhao Xiyan hurriedly headed back to call the two little ones over to pick them up. After all, with her delicate body, there was no way she could do much physical labor herself.
As she walked back, she suddenly remembered the liquid that had dripped from her fingertip earlier. She wondered whether it could be harmful to her body.
She squeezed a few drops into her mouth and carefully sensed the effect with her mind. It seemed to have the healing effect of a Level Eight ability user, and bringing someone back from the brink of death would not be a problem.
The moment it entered her body, the rich vitality spread from her mouth into all four limbs, instantly repairing her damaged body. Her entire body became warm and comfortable.
“Is this the legendary Water of Vitality? But isn’t that supposed to be nothing more than a legend? How lucky am I to encounter such an opportunity? I even managed to transmigrate, and now I have a cheat ability too. I really am the chosen one.”
Her heart was filled with delight as she thought about it.
But why had there only been three drops? No matter how much she shook her finger until it nearly cramped, she couldn’t squeeze out another drop.
She couldn’t figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it.
Picking apples was more important.
“Little Aunt, Little Aunt…”
Over there, Zhao Wen and Zhao Wu had already finished picking the wild strawberries. Their clothes were stuffed with strawberries, leaving them with bulging pockets. The two little boys had been sitting there waiting for quite some time, and when they still hadn’t seen their little aunt return, they immediately became anxious.
“Xiaowu, where do you think Auntie went? Why hasn’t she come back for so long?”
Zhao Wen’s eyes filled with tears. Their grandfather and grandmother had ordered them to keep an eye on their little aunt, so if she disappeared during the short time they were waiting, what would they do? Their grandfather, grandmother, father, and uncles would surely punish them together.
The more he thought about it, the more tears fell.
“Zhao Wen, Zhao Wu, I’m right here. Guess what I found!”
Zhao Xiyan called out as she led the two little boys back along the path they had taken.
After walking for a while, she stepped aside, revealing what was ahead.
When Zhao Wen and Zhao Wu looked forward, their mouths fell open.
“Oh my gosh, I’m not dreaming, am I?”
Zhao Wen’s mouth was wide open in shock.
A suspicious stream of drool trickled from the corner of Zhao Wu’s mouth.
The three of them had come out empty handed and had nothing to carry the apples in, while Zhao Wen and Zhao Wu were already carrying the wild strawberries in their clothes.
Zhao Xiyan picked three apples for each of the two little ones, kept two for herself, and then headed down the mountain to get a basket before returning to pick up the rest.
The two little boys kept turning their heads back every few steps as the three hurried home.
By now, the two little ones no longer found it strange that their little aunt was walking so quickly down the mountain. Even though they were running, their little aunt was still walking calmly without the slightest sign of exhaustion.
Most of the villagers were out in the fields earning work points at that time, while the younger children had probably found some shady place to play.
The three of them made it all the way down the mountain without encountering a single person. As soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw the vegetable garden behind their house.
Zhao’s mother was weeding in the backyard. When she spotted the three of them from a distance, she called out, “Sweetheart, slow down. Why are you walking so fast?”
At this moment, Zhao’s mother was also secretly wondering why her youngest daughter could now walk without turning red in the face or becoming short of breath. Her complexion didn’t seem nearly as pale as before either, and there was even a healthy flush in her cheeks.
It seemed that the old saying about exercising more being good for the body really was true.
“Mom, we’re back to get the carrying baskets, then we’ll go again.”
“Grandma, look what we picked! Look!”
“That’s right, Grandma, look!”
The two little ones shouted excitedly as they approached from a distance.
Zhao’s mother looked into their clothes and exclaimed when she saw how many strawberries they had. She quickly went inside to get a basin to put them in.
“Grandma, we found so many huge apples! They were scattered all over the ground. We came back to get baskets so we can carry them all.”
Zhao Wu spoke excitedly.
“You two little rascals, did you persuade your little aunt to go up the mountain with you?”
“Your little aunt’s body is weak. How could she possibly climb up and down the mountain?”
Thinking about how dangerous the back mountain was, Zhao’s mother couldn’t help feeling frightened.
“Mom, I’m only this weak because I haven’t exercised enough. I walked around today and already feel much stronger.”
Zhao Xiyan acted coquettishly as she shook her mother’s arm.
“Besides, Mom, we found lots of apples on the back mountain. Let’s go pick them together. We’re only near the outer area, so it’s not dangerous.”
“Then let’s go quickly, before the villagers finish work.”
As she spoke, Zhao’s mother promptly put a basket on her back and grabbed two burlap sacks.
The two little ones and Zhao Xiyan each carried a basket as they quickly headed out.
Zhao Xiyan led Zhao’s mother and the two little ones from the foot of the mountain and then took them through a winding path.
As Zhao’s mother followed the twists and turns, she noticed that they were getting farther and farther into a secluded area.
Well, she had to admit that this place was so remote that ordinary people probably wouldn’t come here. The weeds had even grown nearly as tall as a person.
But something wasn’t right.
How had her daughter managed to walk this far? And how had she made it all the way back down from the mountain?
Even Zhao’s mother, an experienced countrywoman, was already getting short of breath after walking this far, yet her daughter wasn’t even breathing heavily as she climbed.
Her daughter had previously been out of breath after only a few steps.
Perhaps she really had just been lacking exercise.
It seemed that from now on, they couldn’t keep their precious girl cooped up at home all the time.
Zhao Xiyan had no idea about all the thoughts running through her mother’s mind. Seeing her daughter full of energy and bouncing around, Zhao’s mother had already found her own explanation for everything.
The truth was that the original Zhao Xiyan would become breathless after only a few steps and rarely left the house. The Zhao family had never seen her travel more than five hundred meters from home, and they were even afraid that if she went out, she might collapse and die somewhere in some forgotten corner.
After all, the original Zhao Xiyan’s body had genuinely been so frail that saying she could be knocked down by a gust of wind would hardly have been an exaggeration.