The next day, Su Jinse picked two melons, wrapped them in cloth, carried them on her back, and once again stepped onto the rugged mountain path.
Going down the mountain was easier than climbing up.
When she reached the foot of the mountain, the broken carriage was still there.
Inside the carriage, the air was stifling like a steamer. Huamei’s eyelids were heavy, her consciousness drifting on the edge of darkness.
Was she dead?
Perhaps dying would be better. Then she would not have to suffer anymore.
Just as her thoughts were fading, the carriage curtain was suddenly lifted with a whoosh from outside.
Blinding light poured in, and a familiar figure stood against the light, their silhouette sharp and clear.
Huamei’s unfocused pupils suddenly shrank. From her dried body, the last bit of strength burst forth.
“Water… water…”
The sound could hardly be called a voice anymore—more like the rasping breath from a broken bellows.
A round, cool green melon was placed by her mouth.
Su Jinse said nothing. She simply nodded slightly with her chin, signaling her to eat.
Huamei didn’t think any further. She snatched it and began devouring it.
Sweet juice ran down from the corners of her cracked lips, mixing with dust, making a miserable sight. She didn’t care at all, stuffing it desperately into her mouth like a wild dog that had starved for ten days.
The melon was quickly finished, even the rind chewed clean.
With food in her stomach, the deadly dizziness finally subsided.
Strength slowly returned to her limbs.
Huamei looked at Su Jinse, who stood calmly nearby. The fear, grievance, and lingering terror she had accumulated over the past day and night suddenly burst out.
“Miss!”
She cried loudly, tears and snot covering her face.
“You finally came back! I… I thought you abandoned me, leaving me here alone in this wilderness to feed the wolves!”
She sobbed uncontrollably, pounding her chest as if she had suffered the greatest injustice.
Su Jinse quietly watched her. Only after the crying had softened did she take out another melon from the cloth bundle behind her and toss it lightly in her hand.
“Finished crying?”
Huamei sniffed and nodded.
Su Jinse tossed the melon into her arms, speaking calmly.
“Wipe your face and eat this. We… need to leave this cursed place quickly.”
The words sounded pitiful, carrying a trace of the delicate tone she had used before.
But Su Jinse ignored her complaints completely. Her gaze calmly landed on Huamei’s badly swollen ankle.
“How is your leg?”
Her voice carried no emotion.
“It hurts… terribly. I can’t even move it,” Huamei said with a sniffle, instinctively trying to gain sympathy.
Su Jinse said nothing more. She walked over, crouched beside her, and directly grabbed her injured ankle.
“Miss!” Huamei cried in alarm, about to scream.
But suddenly a cool, soothing warmth flowed from Su Jinse’s palm, wrapping around the burning pain.
The unbearable agony began fading at a visible speed.
This…
Huamei’s crying stopped in her throat. Her eyes widened in shock.
“Miss… you…”
Su Jinse lifted her eyes.
Her dark pupils stared quietly at Huamei, deep and unfathomable like an ancient well that could swallow a person’s soul.
Huamei’s heart trembled.
“If you want to live,” Su Jinse said slowly, her voice calm yet clear, “listen to me.”
Six simple words.
Yet they fell upon Huamei like six massive mountains pressing down on her heart.
She was completely stunned.
The Su Jinse before her had none of her former foolishness.
Those eyes were terrifyingly clear, as if they could see through the darkest corners of a person’s heart.
All the small tricks she had secretly played over the years, the disrespectful words she had once spoken, rushed into her mind at once.
A chill shot from her spine to the top of her head.
She was not merely no longer foolish.
She was like a vengeful ghost crawling back from hell.
Huamei felt her scalp go numb under that gaze. She shrank her neck subconsciously, her throat dry as she struggled to speak.
“Your servant… your servant will listen to Miss.”
“Up the mountain.”
Su Jinse spoke just two words before releasing her grip. Her movements were decisive, without hesitation.
Huamei shuddered.
She looked around the deserted wilderness, then at the unfathomable young lady before her, and immediately made her choice.
“I’ll follow you up the mountain! I’ll serve you like an ox or horse!”
Struggling to stand, she managed to get up. Though her leg could not fully bear weight, she could at least stand.
Su Jinse tossed the remaining melon and the bundle to her, then turned and began walking ahead.
“Follow.”
“Yes! Yes!”
Huamei clutched the items, limping behind her. Though every step hurt, she dared not utter a single complaint.
Only now did she finally understand.
The Third Miss was not simply no longer foolish.
She had been completely reborn—transformed into someone entirely different.
Someone Huamei could only look up to and fear.