“Make way. Everyone, move aside.”
Carrying the emaciated Lin Yulong in her arms, Lin Wan walked out of the Lin family’s courtyard one steady step at a time.
Her pace was firm, her back perfectly straight.
The villagers gathered outside scattered to both sides as if avoiding a plague, automatically clearing a path for the siblings.
Countless eyes followed them.
Some were filled with sympathy, some with pity—but far more were simply enjoying the spectacle.
“What a way to throw your life away!”
Old Madam Liu leaned against the fence, cracking sunflower seeds and spitting the shells all over the ground.
“In weather this cold, they didn’t even take a single blanket. Wherever they go, they’ll end up dead.”
The gossiping women beside her curled their lips in agreement.
“Exactly. That girl is just too stubborn. Being someone’s concubine is still better than starving to death.”
“Just wait. By tomorrow morning, there’ll be two frozen corpses at the village entrance.”
Hearing those cruel remarks, Lin Yulong shrank in fear.
He buried his burning little face tightly against Lin Wan’s thin shoulder.
Lin Wan stopped walking and slowly turned around.
Her gaze was as sharp as a blade, piercing straight into Old Madam Liu.
“You seem to have a lot of free time. Why don’t you head to the back mountain and pick out a nice burial spot for yourself first?”
Old Madam Liu rolled her eyes, ready to put her hands on her hips and curse back.
But the moment she met Lin Wan’s icy, emotionless eyes, every insult stuck in her throat.
She hadn’t forgotten that this crazy girl had nearly slit her own father’s throat just moments ago.
“Girl… Lin Wan… wait a moment.”
Hurried footsteps suddenly came from behind.
Lin Wan turned around.
It was Aunt Wang, the kindhearted woman well known throughout the village.
Aunt Wang glanced around cautiously. Seeing that no one was paying attention, she quietly pulled Lin Wan behind an old elm tree.
She reached into the sleeve of her gray cotton jacket and searched around for a while.
Finally, she pulled out half of a dark, hardened coarse-grain bun and quickly stuffed it into Lin Wan’s hand.
“My family is poor too. There are several mouths waiting to be fed. This is all the extra food I could spare.”
Her eyes reddened as she looked at the siblings and let out a heavy sigh.
“Take it. When Yulong wakes up, let him eat it to fill his stomach.”
“Go now. Don’t fight your grandmother’s family anymore.”
Holding the cold half bun in her hand, Lin Wan felt an unexpected warmth in her palm.
An assassin might be cold-blooded, but she always repaid kindness and revenge in equal measure.
“Thank you, Aunt Wang.”
Lin Wan tucked the bun carefully inside her clothes.
“I’ll remember this kindness.”
“Go quickly. What a tragic fate…”
Aunt Wang wiped away her tears before hurrying back home.
Lin Wan wasted no more time.
Holding her brother tightly, she walked straight toward the end of the village against the biting autumn wind.
Beyond Apricot Blossom Village stretched the endless Wolong Mountain.
At the foot of the mountain stood an abandoned Mountain God Temple that had been deserted for over ten years.
For now, it was the only place where they could shelter from the wind and rain.
The wind grew stronger.
It sliced across their faces like knives.
This body of Lin Wan’s was simply too weak.
Years of malnutrition, combined with the blood she had lost earlier, had pushed it to its limit.
She had walked less than half a mile before her legs felt as heavy as lead.
Darkness clouded her vision, and every breath sounded like air passing through a broken bellows.
“Big Sister… put me down.”
The drowsy Lin Yulong slowly opened his eyes.
His voice was so weak it was barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz.
“I can walk. I’m not tired.”
He struggled to climb down but didn’t even have the strength to lift his arms.
“Don’t move.”
Gritting her teeth, Lin Wan hugged him even tighter.
Using her thin body, she shielded him from most of the freezing wind.
“Be good, Yulong. We’re almost there.”
“We won’t be cold once we arrive.”
“Big Sister… are we going to die?”
The little boy’s tears rolled down his cheeks.
“It doesn’t matter if I die… but I don’t want you to die.”
“I’m only a burden.”
Lin Wan’s heart clenched painfully, and a wave of bitterness rose in her chest.
Even now, this foolish child was still thinking about someone else.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
She forced a smile, though her voice remained unwavering.
“If the King of Hell dares take you away, your sister will tear up his Book of Life and Death.”
“As long as I’m here, even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.”
“From now on, I’ll make sure you eat white steamed buns every single day.”
Hearing his sister’s promise, Lin Yulong managed to curl his cracked lips into a faint smile.
He closed his heavy eyelids once more and completely lost consciousness.
About the time it took to burn one stick of incense later, the ruined Mountain God Temple finally came into view.
It was even more dilapidated than Lin Wan had imagined.
The wooden doors had long since rotted away, leaving only an empty doorway.
Most of the roof tiles were missing.
Cold wind blew through from every direction.
Spider webs larger than washbasins hung in the corners, swaying as if they could fall at any moment.
Half of the clay Mountain God statue had collapsed.
The altar was buried beneath thick layers of dust and bird droppings.
The moment she stepped inside, several fat rats squeaked and darted past her feet.
Cough… cough…
The dust made Lin Wan cough repeatedly.
Ignoring her own exhaustion, she quickly looked around and found the cleanest corner she could, one that offered at least a little protection from the wind.
She swept away the loose stones and rat droppings with her sleeve.
Carefully, she laid Lin Yulong on the ground.
Then she removed her own outer patched jacket and wrapped it tightly around his trembling body.
The moment he touched the ground, his body suddenly convulsed violently.
“Yulong!”
Lin Wan’s heart skipped a beat.
She immediately placed her hand against his forehead.
Hot.
Terrifyingly hot.
His forehead burned like a glowing piece of charcoal.
His eyes remained tightly shut.
His teeth were clenched together.
His dry lips had cracked open, and tiny streaks of blood seeped out.
He began mumbling deliriously.
“Don’t hit me…”
“Grandma… I won’t do it again…”
“I won’t eat the eggs anymore…”
“Big Sister… it hurts…”
“I’m so thirsty…”
Lin Wan’s brows furrowed deeply.
The top assassin who had killed countless people without ever changing expression now felt genuine panic for the first time.
She quickly pinched Lin Yulong’s cheeks and forced his mouth open.
Picking up a relatively clean piece of dry straw, she wedged it between his upper and lower teeth to prevent him from biting off his own tongue during the convulsions.
After that, she searched every pocket on her body.
Nothing.
Every pocket was empty.
She couldn’t even find half a copper coin.
She had no money to hire a doctor.
No money to buy fever medicine.
There wasn’t even a broken clay jar inside this temple that could hold water.
“Water…”
“Water…”
Lin Yulong’s voice grew weaker and weaker.
His breathing became shallow and rapid.
This was acute dehydration caused by a high fever.
If she couldn’t cool him down and give him water immediately, he wouldn’t survive another half an hour.
Even if he lived, brain damage would likely leave him permanently disabled.
Or he could simply go into shock and die.
A dead end.
A complete dead end.
Lin Wan clenched her back teeth so tightly that the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.
She looked around the drafty temple.
There was nothing but mud and dry grass.
Go back to the village and borrow water?
She had already seen the villagers’ true colors.
Aside from Aunt Wang, who would lend water to a “jinx” who had just cut ties with her family?
Besides, running back to the village and returning with water would take at least the time it took to burn two sticks of incense.
By then, her brother would already be dead.
“Calm down.”
Lin Wan took a deep breath.
She slapped both cheeks hard with her palms, forcing herself to stay composed.
The second rule of an assassin:
The closer you are to death, the calmer your mind must become.
Panic only speeds up death.
She sat cross-legged beside Lin Yulong.
Placing both hands on her knees, she closed her eyes and adjusted her breathing.
One breath in.
One breath out.
Using the meditation technique unique to assassins, she tried to sharpen all five of her senses to their absolute limits.
She searched for any hidden source of water around—or even beneath—the ruined temple.
Even a few drops of dew would do.
The howling wind outside…
The rustling leaves…
Even Lin Yulong’s heartbeat, so faint it was almost impossible to hear…
Everything became infinitely magnified.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Her concentration reached its peak.
Her mind entered a mysterious state of complete clarity.
Suddenly—
An overwhelming sensation of weightlessness struck without warning.
It felt as though someone had shoved her off a cliff thousands of feet high.
Her heart lurched.
Her stomach churned violently.
Lin Wan’s eyes flew open.
Acting purely on instinct, she planted one hand on the ground and immediately assumed the most effective defensive stance for a counterattack.
But when she saw her surroundings…
She froze.
The ruined Mountain God Temple was gone.
The drafty mud walls…
The dry grass…
Her unconscious little brother…
Everything had completely disappeared.
She now stood inside an entirely unfamiliar space.
Beneath her feet was no longer cold mud.
Instead, it was rich, fertile black soil that glistened with moisture and released the fresh fragrance of earth.
There was no sun overhead.
Yet the surroundings were as bright as daylight.
The biting chill of late autumn had vanished.
Instead, the air carried a refreshing scent of plants and herbs.
“What kind of place is this?”
A trace of vigilance flashed across Lin Wan’s eyes as she quickly surveyed her surroundings.
Not far away, at the center of roughly half an acre of land, stood an ancient stone well built from blue-gray rocks.
Mist-like white vapor continuously rose from the mouth of the well.
The pleasant fragrance in the air came from that very water.
Beside the well stood a lonely, simple thatched cottage.
Beyond that, everything was swallowed by endless white mist.
Nothing else could be seen.
Instinctively, Lin Wan reached toward her waist.
There was nothing there except cloth.
She had only her fists.
Carefully, she moved forward like a hunting leopard ready to strike, slowly approaching the well.
Her instincts told her—
There was something extraordinary about that water.
When she was less than three steps away from the well—
A mechanical yet crisp voice suddenly echoed through the empty space.
“Oh my goodness! I thought I’d suffocate to death!”
Lin Wan’s eyes sharpened instantly.
She locked onto the source of the voice.
“Who’s hiding there pretending to be a ghost? Get out here!”
The voice seemed startled by the killing intent radiating from her.
Then it spoke again in a pitiful, ingratiating tone.
“Master, please don’t attack!”
“I’m the little caretaker of the Divine Farmer Space, bonded to your soul!”
“You finally focused your mind enough to activate me.”
“That poor little fellow outside only has half a breath left. Shouldn’t we get some Spirit Spring Water out there and save him first?”