Xia Tian instantly forgot to breathe, her feet rooted to the spot, unable to move an inch.
As the wild boar charged toward her, she opened her mouth but didn't even have time to scream "help" before everything went black and she fainted.
When she gradually regained consciousness, the expected pain didn't come. Xia Tian was secretly surprised, "Was I saved?"
The situation had been critical—she hadn't had time to dodge and hadn't noticed if anyone was around.
Besides, she had never encountered such a dangerous scene before and had been so frightened that she passed out.
Who had saved her?
Xia Tian moved her hands and feet—everything was fine—then sat up from the ground and looked around. She didn't see anyone, and there were no trees nearby.
Patting the ground beneath her, she found it flat and hard, unlike the forest on the mountain.
Where was she? Xia Tian suddenly grew tense.
Wait, why was it hazy in the distance? The weather had been clear today, with no fog.
The visible area around her was only about twenty meters in radius.
Huh?
There seemed to be a well not far away?
Could it be that her golden finger had finally appeared?
Was she inside her own space?
Her heart racing, Xia Tian scrambled to her feet and rushed toward the well.
Up close, she saw it was a water well, the water level almost even with the rim but not overflowing.
Excited, Xia Tian circled the well, carefully searching until she found two small characters carved outside the well opening: "Spirit Spring."
"Hahaha, my golden finger has finally appeared!" Xia Tian laughed heartily, hands on her hips. She had always thought that space systems were standard for transmigrators—how could she not have one?
On the second night after transmigrating, she had tried various methods to see if she had a golden finger.
After struggling for half the night with no results, she had been quite disappointed.
Fortunately, better late than never!
It must have been triggered during that life-or-death moment earlier.
After her excitement subsided, Xia Tian carefully searched around the Spirit Spring again but found nothing else.
It seemed her space was just a Spirit Spring Space.
Leaning over the well, Xia Tian saw her face clearly reflected in the water. After several days, she finally knew what she looked like.
Previously, she had only seen a rough outline and knew she wasn't ugly, but now she felt somewhat relieved.
At least her foundation wasn't bad. She was still young—with proper care, she could become quite attractive.
After admiring herself, Xia Tian cautiously dipped a finger into the water. Hmm, it felt no different from ordinary water.
What would it feel like to drink a sip?
Based on her years of novel-reading experience, Spirit Spring should be something special.
She wondered if it had the legendary effects of cleansing the meridians and rejuvenating the body, as described in books.
Would drinking it cause impurities to be expelled from inside and out, suddenly transforming her appearance like in those stories?
Although Xia Tian wanted to become beautiful, she didn't want an abrupt change—that would be too startling.
She preferred gradual progress.
After hesitating for a long time, she finally couldn't resist and scooped up a small handful to taste.
She closed her eyes and waited, but felt no changes. Opening them, she carefully examined her hands—still no difference.
Xia Tian was somewhat disappointed. Could it be that this Spirit Spring water had no effect at all?
Probably not. Maybe she had drunk too little to feel anything.
Xia Tian let her thoughts wander for a while before setting them aside.
No matter what, she now possessed a spatial ability.
If she encountered danger in the future, she could hide inside it—a life-saving skill indeed.
Uncertain of the current time outside, Xia Tian dared not delay further. She decided to explore it properly when she returned home and had time. Visualizing "exit" in her mind, the scenery before her shifted instantly, and she found herself back at the spot where she had encountered the wild boar.
The novels hadn’t deceived her!
After a moment of reflection, Xia Tian quickly scanned her surroundings. The wild boar was nowhere in sight—it had likely moved elsewhere.
This was no place to linger. Identifying the direction, she hurried back.
Arriving at the bamboo shoot digging site, she found her bamboo basket and other items untouched, exactly as she had left them. It seemed no one had noticed her absence during that time.
Xia Tian dug a few more bamboo shoots, filling the basket completely. She covered the shoots with a cloth bag, placed a small bundle of firewood on top, and hoisted the basket onto her back to descend the mountain.
After a few steps, she finally noticed something unusual.
The basket felt much lighter?
A full basket of bamboo shoots should weigh at least eighty to a hundred jin, yet she had lifted it effortlessly.
Moreover, while digging earlier, she had worked much faster than before. Worried about encountering wild boars or other dangers, she hadn’t paid attention at the time.
A suspicion arose in Xia Tian’s mind: Could the sip of Spirit Spring water she drank have increased her strength?
Well, testing it would confirm whether her strength had truly improved.
Spotting a bamboo stalk as thick as her wrist nearby, she grabbed it with both hands and exerted force. To her surprise, she pulled it out of the ground with little effort.
It seemed the Spirit Spring water indeed enhanced strength—at the very least, that small sip had granted her several hundred jin of additional power.
As for other effects, she would have to discover them gradually.
Without further delay, Xia Tian hurried down the mountain toward home.
She walked without stopping and arrived home without feeling particularly tired. The Spirit Spring was truly remarkable—just a small sip had produced such miraculous effects.
Setting down the basket, she went to the kitchen for a drink of water. Lifting the lid of the pot, she saw the rice inside was gone—Shen Nian must have already eaten lunch.
Listening carefully for a moment, she heard no sounds. Shen Nian was likely resting in his room.
Moving quietly, Xia Tian prepared a simple meal for herself in the kitchen and had a makeshift lunch.
After resting briefly in her room, she remembered the water vat was nearly empty and went out to fetch water.
Passing by Sister-in-law Yao’s house, she saw her sitting in the yard stitching shoe soles. They exchanged greetings and chatted for a bit.
Tomorrow was market day in the nearby villages, so Xia Tian arranged to go to the market with Sister-in-law Yao.
At the well, she ran into Aunt Chun and a few others who had gone up the mountain with her that day. They were sitting under the shed by the well, stitching shoe soles. Xia Tian greeted them warmly.
Seeing Xia Tian, a young girl, lowering a large wooden bucket into the well, Aunt Chun and the others worried she might struggle to draw water. They set aside their needlework and rushed over to help.
Before they could reach her, Xia Tian had already deftly hauled up a full bucket of water, appearing completely at ease.
The women exclaimed in amazement, "Oh my! Who would’ve thought you’d have such strength, girl? You lifted such a large bucket of water so effortlessly!"
"Well, I've always been strong, and I work every day at home, so I've built up my strength," Xia Tian explained to the aunties with a smile.
After chatting with them for a bit longer, she learned that everyone was planning to go to the market tomorrow, so they agreed on a time to go together—more people meant more fun.
Carrying the water home, she had just reached the doorway when she heard a violent coughing fit coming from the main room. It sounded different from before, accompanied by rapid, labored breathing.
Something’s wrong—could Shen Nian be in trouble?
With a loud clang, Xia Tian dropped the buckets and rushed toward the main room in a few quick strides.