Finally, she even discovered a small porcelain bottle tucked into the belt around her waist.
After gathering everything, Xia Wanyue stood up—but suddenly a wave of dizziness hit her.
Everything went black, and she collapsed.
Just before losing consciousness, she silently muttered to enter her space.
Not long after she disappeared, a group of masked people entered the forest.
They quickly found the corpse.
“Master, he’s dead. Looks like his throat was slit… and someone touched the body!”
“…The items on him are missing too.”
“See, the body is still warm. He can’t have gone far. Find him quickly, recover the items, and kill him.”
“Yes, Master!”
At the sound of the command, the others immediately scattered, leaving only their leader standing in place.
From his elevated position, he looked down at the corpse and let out a cold chuckle.
“Heh… Sixth Prince, I never expected that before I even got the chance to kill you, you’d die like this. Pathetic. Heh… remember, next life, don’t dare to cross our lord again. Otherwise…”
“Master, we’ve searched everywhere but couldn’t find anyone.”
Soon, the dispersed group returned.
“Forget it. Take him with us.”
Someone stepped forward, hoisted the corpse, and followed the leader. The group quickly disappeared into the forest.
…
Inside her space, Xia Wanyue was still unconscious, her injured shoulder shrouded in darkness.
Suddenly, a wisp of white mist, which had been trapped outside the courtyard gate, drifted inside the villa.
The mist hovered above Xia Wanyue, then entered the wound on her shoulder.
A comforting sensation spread through her body, smoothing out the furrow in her brow.
The white mist fought the poison in her body, quickly extracting the toxins from her shoulder and dissipating into the air.
A healthy flush finally returned to Xia Wanyue’s pale face.
More white mist flowed in, wrapping her entire body tightly like a cocoon.
After about an hour, the mist dissipated. Xia Wanyue gently floated down, landing softly on the ground.
All the wounds on her body had vanished, her skin was less dark, and her complexion was much improved.
Ten minutes later, Xia Wanyue awoke with a start, sitting upright.
She instinctively cried out upon noticing her shoulder.
But when she realized what had happened, she found her shoulder was completely healed.
It was just a reflexive reaction; her memory told her she had been injured, so she instinctively cried out.
She pressed on her shoulder.
“It… doesn’t hurt anymore. Huh? Where’s my wound?”
Xia Wanyue lifted her clothes to reveal her shoulder.
The flesh was smooth and tender—no trace of injury, not even the bruise Little Li had inflicted.
She jumped up, feeling her head clear and her vision steady. Walking felt effortless, and she was full of energy—strong enough to punch a cow to death.
“What’s going on? Could this space have a healing function?”
“…This is amazing!”
“Anyone there? Little spirit, system…?”
Xia Wanyue called out for a long time, searched everywhere in the space, but there was no sign of anyone. Her throat was hoarse, yet no one responded.
“What’s going on? Who healed me?”
She gave up looking for answers.
In any case, having a healing function in the space was a blessing.
The aroma of chicken soup drifted from the kitchen in waves.
Xia Wanyue took a bowl and filled it, sitting in the dining area to enjoy it.
After leaving her space, she checked the time.
“Not much daylight left. I need to go back, or the kids will be worried.”
She took the basket from her space, placing a chicken and a rabbit inside, and began walking down the mountain.
By the time she reached the foot, night was falling. The moon peeked out from behind clouds, casting enough light to see the path. Xia Wanyue hurried home.
As she neared the house, stifled cries reached her ears.
She gripped the basket tighter and quickened her pace.
At the door, she found her two older children holding their little brother.
The cries came from the two older kids, while the youngest simply sat, bewildered, sucking his thumb.
“What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
Hearing her voice, the two kids lit up, rushing toward her like little cannonballs.
“Mom~!” ×2
“Mom, where did you go? Wuwuwu…”
Li San Ya clung to Xia Wanyue, sobbing uncontrollably. Her tears soaked Xia Wanyue’s clothes like a bursting dam.
Li Ning held his brother, tears welling in his eyes, pouting as if he wanted to cry but couldn’t.
“It’s okay, don’t cry. Mom’s back, see?”
“Come, let’s see what delicious food Mom brought home.”
The three went inside and closed the door. The house was pitch black—empty, without even a candle.
After settling the two older children, Xia Wanyue went to the kitchen, taking the broken clay pot into her space to wash it.
She poured the chicken soup into it.
Then, in her space, she plucked feathers from another wild chicken, cleaned it, seasoned it, wrapped it in tin foil, and dug a hole in the backyard to cover it in clay.
Back in the real world, she placed the chicken soup in the kitchen, then lit a fire in the backyard where she had roasted sweet potatoes. She threw the clay-wrapped chicken into the fire, preparing to make a Beggar’s Chicken.
“An Ning, San Ya, come out.”
The two children, carrying their little brother, stumbled into the backyard. The firelight reflected on their young faces, still streaked with tears.
Xia Wanyue made them wait, then brought two stools and a small table from the kitchen.
She served two bowls of chicken soup with chicken on the table for the children to eat. She broke two sticks and whittled them with the watermelon knife to use as chopsticks, handing them to the children.
“Eat first. I’ll take care of your brother.”
Taking the baby from Li Ning, Xia Wanyue turned around, lifted her clothes, and prepared to breastfeed.
She had eaten a little in her space earlier, so she wasn’t very hungry. Fortunately, after the space’s enhancements, her previously weak, malnourished body could still produce enough milk for the little one.
“What’s this?”
Xia Wanyue noticed black residue on the baby’s mouth.
“Mom, that’s sweet potato…”
“Our little brother was crying, and we had nothing to feed him, so we gave him sweet potato. But we didn’t have water, so we couldn’t wash it off,” Li San Ya explained uneasily.
The two older kids were worried—would Mom blame them for not taking care of their brother properly?
“It’s okay. Don’t feed him that anymore; he’s too small to digest it. Now hurry up and eat!”
Xia Wanyue carried the baby back to the kitchen, then quietly entered her space to bathe the child, wash his face, and finally begin breastfeeding.