The sky was as clear as if it had been freshly washed, and the sunlight was bright.
In the distance, branches and leaves swayed gracefully under the gentle breeze, startling the white egrets resting among the trees. Green and white painted bold strokes across the deep blue canvas.
Even though it was not her first time seeing such a pleasing scene, Li Mai still felt a sense of unreality.
She forced her eyes wide open and stared directly at the blazing sun until her eyes swelled and tears streamed down.
Only then did she lower her head, a smile spreading across her face as she eased the discomfort in her eyes.
Li Mai could not help but take a deep breath, trying to draw all the fresh air around her into her body.
There was no dust, no metallic rust smell, no air filled with decay. Air that did not need filtering was simply too precious.
Li Mai could no longer remember how many tens of thousands of times she had repeated this action.
Yet, in order to make her body and mind feel more comfortable, she deliberately lengthened and deepened every breath, savoring the beauty of the air.
She thought, this must be the Immortal Realm spoken of by the elders.
There were no mutated animals or plants, no zombies. One could obtain abundant natural food without having to risk losing one’s life at any moment.
In her previous life, if one wanted to eat natural food in the base that was neither mutated nor genetically modified, it had to be exchanged with expensive points.
Li Mai had only followed her team to eat it three times, and each time she had wished she could lick the plate clean.
Now, after starving to death and arriving in the Immortal Realm, she no longer needed to worry about anything.
At this thought, Li Mai reached out toward the melastoma fruit in front of her, grabbed a large handful, and stuffed it directly into her mouth without restraint.
“Pfft!”
The sweet juice burst instantly under the pressure of her teeth. The sweetness spread along her taste buds, flooding her mind, wave after wave crashing against her soul.
On her habitually cold face, a smile actually formed, rare enough to be unsettling.
Li Mai could not help but sigh inwardly.
How could something in this world be this delicious!!!
Sweetness, what a rare taste!
If someone had told Li Mai before that there was a place where crisp and sweet fruits grew all over the ground, she would never have believed it.
But now, something that had only existed in the stories of the older generation had appeared right before her eyes.
Li Mai simply could not control her excited hands and mouth. She practically wanted to press herself to the ground and eat right there.
She picked while eating, and her picking speed clearly could not keep up with her eating speed, making her increasingly anxious.
Just as she was immersed in the sweet fruits of the Immortal Realm, she had no idea how strange her actions looked to the villagers.
Aunt Chunhua saw a figure lying on the ground from afar. Thinking that someone had fainted at the foot of the mountain, she hurried closer.
But when she drew near, she was surprised to find that the figure on the ground was moving at an unbelievably slow pace.
When she got within ten meters of Li Mai, the sound of her footsteps was instantly noticed.
The vigilance Li Mai had developed in her previous life made her instinctively turn her head. Her hawk-like sharp gaze locked fiercely onto Aunt Chunhua.
It startled Aunt Chunhua again and again.
The person before her looked far too frightening. Purple-red “blood” flowed from the corners of her mouth, paired with her crawling posture and gloomy eyes.
For a moment, Aunt Chunhua thought she had seen a ghost.
But the rising warmth on her back and the dazzling sun overhead told her it was daytime.
She could not help but step closer. When she saw clearly that the figure was Li Mai, she immediately let out a sigh of relief.
Thinking that Li Mai was a pitiful child, her frightened expression instantly softened into sympathy, and she subconsciously asked in a gentle voice.
“Child, why are you lying on the ground? Get up quickly, do not catch a chill. Your body has only just recovered. And your mouth…”
Aunt Chunhua frowned, pointing at the unusual sight at the corner of her mouth.
Li Mai, who had just been on guard and ready to fight, also recognized that the person seemed to be one of the immortals of the Immortal Realm. She had seen her when she first woke up.
So Li Mai slowly stood up from the ground, brought her fist in front of her, turned it, and opened it to reveal the melastoma fruit inside.
At the same time, her cool voice sounded, “Picking fruit.”
In an instant, Aunt Chunhua also saw clearly what was in her hand. So she was picking melastoma fruit. This kind of wild fruit was usually only picked by children.
Looking at Li Mai, whose mouth was stained with overflowing purple-red juice, she could not help but sigh that Li Mai was only a young girl who had just come of age, still with a childlike nature.
If it were not for her father dying in an accident while hunting, and her mother, who had been in poor health after giving birth to twins, falling ill from grief and passing away, Li Mai would have simply been a girl doted on by her parents.
At this thought, Li Chunhua’s smile became even gentler.
“So you are picking melastoma fruit. It tastes quite good. I remember there is a large patch of water celery by the stream ahead. If you like it, you can pick some.”
Facing a lonely and helpless girl, she could not help but say a few more words.
In summer, every household had no shortage of vegetables. Only families like Li Mai’s, who were hunters without farmland, had no choice but to eat wild vegetables.
There were not many wild vegetables that remained tender in this season, and water celery was one of the few.
In Li Chunhua’s view, Li Mai had gone out to gather wild vegetables. She had only stopped at the foot of the mountain because she saw the melastoma fruit and became greedy. Her main purpose was still to gather wild vegetables, so Li Chunhua was happy to point out where edible ones could be found.
But in Li Mai’s eyes, someone willing to reveal their own secret gathering spot was simply the best person in the world.
Her surprised little expression amused Li Chunhua. After speaking, she prepared to leave, as she still had weeds to remove in the fields.
However, after taking only a few steps, she seemed to suddenly think of something.
She abruptly turned around, her eyes filled with joy suddenly focusing as she looked at Li Mai, who was still eating melastoma fruit, and asked,
“Xiao Mai, is your family having Xiao Shu go to the Ancestors Hall?”
Li Mai responded with a puzzled look.
“Then maybe you left early and did not run into them. The Village Chief called everyone to gather at the Ancestors Hall early this morning. Oh dear, I spoke too much. Your surname is Li, so the matters of the Ancestors Hall probably have nothing to do with your family. Auntie still has weeds to pull in the vegetable field, I will be going first.”
After speaking, Li Chunhua quickly hurried away like the wind.
As she spoke earlier, she had realized that she might have said too much. If she had revealed an important matter of the village, even her husband might not be able to protect her.
To Li Mai, these words were almost like a heavenly book. What Ancestors Hall? What Village Chief?
These things seemed to have nothing to do with her.
Having starved to death, Li Mai only cared about whether she could fill her stomach.
During the following time, Li Mai cleared out all the melastoma fruit at the foot of the mountain, stuffing her stomach full and filling the basket in her hands as well.
Finally, she did not forget the water celery by the stream that the immortal had mentioned earlier.
Although she did not know what water celery was, as soon as she arrived by the stream, her gaze was instantly drawn to a patch of tender green.
Combined with the traces of previous picking nearby, she quickly pulled up all the water celery, roots and all, leaving not a single stalk behind.
She tied them together with some vines she casually pulled from nearby, then strode toward home, full of pride and satisfaction.
As she walked, Li Mai looked at the lush green rice plants, neatly arranged in the paddy fields.
At the thought that these non-mutated plants would become the rice spoken of by the elders once mature, fragrant, sweet, and soft, her mouth could not help but produce saliva.
“Slurp.”
Li Mai instinctively swallowed her saliva back, took a deep breath, and felt the beauty of the Immortal Realm.
Before long, she passed by a lively place. The noisy crowd made her somewhat irritated, and she could not understand why so many people had to gather together, which made her think of the noisy gatherings of zombies.
The words she had just heard suddenly surfaced in her mind, Ancestors Hall? Gathering?
Could it be that the two characters above the gate were Ancestors Hall?
The sudden feeling of being able to read made Li Mai very happy. She quickened her pace excitedly, planning to have her “younger sister” Li Qiao cook the food in her hands so she could taste what it was like.
“Bang!”
The already dilapidated wooden door finally reached the end of its life under Li Mai’s forceful push.
The door panel fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Li Mai instinctively covered her nose and mouth to avoid inhaling harmful air that might affect her body.
In the next second, a figure ran out from the shabby thatched hut.
Li Qiao looked at the wild vegetables in her sister’s hand with delight and instinctively reached out to take them.
But Li Mai, mistaking her for trying to snatch food, yanked them away. Her calm gaze instantly turned sharp, making Li Qiao’s heart tighten.
Li Qiao did not know why, but ever since her sister had woken up from a high fever last time, she had been acting strangely, always showing a frightening look.
Her outstretched hand trembled, and she quickly explained,
“Eldest Sister, the water celery you picked is very tender, it can be made into lunch. I will wash it and stir-fry it, then we can eat.”
Hearing that it was to cook for her, Li Mai’s expression immediately softened.
She then handed the water celery to Li Qiao and, in a rare act of generosity, said,
“Cook it all, you can have a little.”
In her view, the food she gathered belonged entirely to her. But since Li Qiao was cooking for her, she had some merit and could be allowed to share a portion.
However, Li Qiao did not notice anything strange in Li Mai’s words. She smiled happily and nodded.
“I will go cook now!”
Carrying nearly five jin of water celery, she walked to the well and washed it thoroughly with clean water to avoid any dirt inside, such as common leeches.
Seeing this, Li Mai also went to the well, drew a bucket of water, and washed her biggest harvest of the day, the sweet melastoma fruit.
“Splash, splash.”
The rushing sound of water drew Li Qiao’s attention from the water celery to the bamboo basket. When she saw that it was filled to the brim with melastoma fruit, she recalled its taste and could not help swallowing.
She raised her head in surprise, glanced at her sister, then stared intently at the full basket and exclaimed,
“Eldest Sister, you picked so much melastoma fruit! Where did you pick it?”
After speaking, she even licked her lips, recalling the taste.
Li Mai saw the longing in Li Qiao’s eyes at a glance. She immediately pulled the basket in front of herself, her voice filled with the intimidation of a beast.
“Mine.”
Whether it was the fruit in the basket or the place where it was picked, everything belonged to her. She would never share.
But Li Qiao did not catch the double meaning. Startled by Li Mai’s gaze and tone, she hurriedly finished washing the water celery.
Holding a basin of water celery, she walked toward the kitchen, which was actually just a shed with a stove, with drafts coming in from all sides.
Because of that, Li Mai could clearly see Li Qiao’s every movement from a distance, preventing anyone from stealing food.
While waiting, she did not stay idle. She continued eating the freshly washed melastoma fruit.
Even though she had been full after finishing picking, after walking for a while, she felt hungry again.
She understood that it was the consumption caused by her ability. Thinking about how more than ten years of hard work had been reduced overnight to a first-level ability, her mood instantly sank, and she had no idea when she would be able to level up again.
This feeling of not having overwhelming combat strength was uncomfortable. Fortunately, there was nothing in the Immortal Realm that required fighting over.
Li Mai felt that she could still live in such a peaceful world.
“Crunch.”
As she thought, she grabbed another large handful of melastoma fruit and stuffed it into her mouth, enjoying the pleasure that sweetness brought to both body and mind.
“I am back.” A gloomy voice sounded.