Chen Zui’s mind was already racing with plans, but reality quickly struck her like a blunt blow.
At dawn, only half a ladle of clear water remained in the broken iron pot with a missing corner. The dry rations Chen Zui had secretly brought over could fill the stomach, but if they were eaten every meal, there would be no way to explain their origin to the family.
Chen Laosan got up early.
He tightened his belt—he was hungry. The bandage on his head was still there, but after a night nourished by the mysterious spirit spring water, the piercing pain had mostly faded. He lifted a chipped hoe and was about to rush out the door.
“Dad, where are you going?” Chen Zui crawled out from the haystack and rubbed her eyes.
“I’m going to the town dock to see if I can carry some heavy loads,” Chen Laosan forced a smile. Deep exhaustion was hidden in the wrinkles on his face. “We’re out of rice at home. We can’t just sit here and starve.”
A small hand grabbed his trouser leg.
“No,” Chen Zui said firmly, pointing at his head. “Your injury hasn’t healed. If it starts bleeding again, you’ll die. If you die, no one will protect Mom anymore.”
Chen Laosan froze.
Looking at his daughter’s serious eyes, his heart tightened. The hoe almost slipped from his grip. He was the pillar of the family—if he collapsed, the whole household would be like meat on a chopping board.
“Then what do we do…” The grown man squatted down, clutching his head, his voice breaking.
“I’ll go gather firewood,” Chen Zui said, pointing toward the back mountain. “Let Big Sister take me. We’ll just walk around the foot of the mountain. If we’re lucky, we might find wild vegetables or bird eggs.”
Chen Yinuo was washing their worn clothes in the yard. Hearing this, she wiped her hands and said, “Dad, I’ll go. Little Six is strong; she can help carry branches. You stay home and watch Mom and Second Sister, and reinforce the fence.”
After much persuasion, Chen Laosan finally agreed.
In the deep autumn forest, fallen leaves formed a thick layer, crunching underfoot.
Chen Yinuo carried a large bamboo basket and held Chen Zui’s hand tightly, afraid she might get lost.
“Little Six, stay close to me. Don’t run off. There are big beasts in the mountains,” Chen Yinuo reminded her while using a stick to search through the grass for wild vegetables.
Chen Zui nodded obediently, but her eyes scanned the surroundings like a radar.
The outer mountain area had already been stripped bare by villagers. Not even decent wild greens were left. They needed to go deeper.
“Big Sister, there are mushrooms over there!” Chen Zui pointed to a thicket on the left, a blind spot in their view.
Chen Yinuo’s eyes lit up. Sure enough, she saw a few gray mushroom caps. Just as she let go of Chen Zui’s hand and walked over, Chen Zui crouched down like a nimble monkey and slipped silently into the dense forest on the right.
Once out of her sister’s sight, Chen Zui’s innocent face instantly turned cold and sharp.
She took out a fingernail-sized piece of compressed biscuit from her spatial storage. Its rich oil and fragrance were extremely tempting to wild animals.
She placed it on an open clearing atop a large stone, then retreated ten meters and hid behind an old locust tree.
In her hand were two smooth pebbles picked up from the riverbank.
Cold, sharp-edged.
One minute. Two minutes.
The grass moved.
A wild chicken with colorful feathers poked its head out. It looked around cautiously, its beady eyes darting. After confirming there was no danger, the irresistible scent drew it forward step by step toward the biscuit fragment.
Now.
Chen Zui held her breath, locking her gaze.
The precision she had trained as a surgeon in her past life, combined with the terrifying strength of this body, merged perfectly in this moment.
She did not rush forward like a brute.
Instead, her wrist flicked.
Whoosh—
A faint sound cut through the air.
The pebble shot forward like a bullet, leaving a blurred trail.
Bang!
A dull impact.
The wild chicken, just about to peck at the food, didn’t even have time to cry out. Its head exploded like a smashed watermelon, bursting into a spray of blood. Its body twitched twice and then went still.
Chen Zui walked over and lifted the chicken by the neck.
Good weight—three to four jin, nicely plump.
Just as she was about to put it into her basket, hurried footsteps and teasing whistles came from the forest behind her.
“Well, well, isn’t this the little girl from Old Three’s family who’s said to be possessed by the King of Hell?”
Chen Zui turned around.
Three loafers emerged from the woods. The leader was a local idle man named Lai Ergou. They had been trying their luck finding bird nests, but instead stumbled upon this scene.
Lai Ergou stared at the chicken in her hand, eyes nearly popping out.
Meat was precious in these times.
“Tsk tsk, lucky little girl. Found a chicken that crashed and died?” he swallowed hard, signaling his two companions. “Dead chickens are unlucky. Eating them will rot your mouth. Come on, give it to uncle. I’ll dispose of it for you.”
He reached out to grab it.
In his eyes, she was just a three-year-old girl—what could she possibly do?
But Chen Zui didn’t move.
She just looked calmly at his dirty hand, her gaze colder than the autumn wind.
“If you don’t want to die, get lost.”
Her babyish voice carried words as sharp as knives.
Lai Ergou froze, then burst out laughing. “Hear that? This little brat’s got guts! Today I’ll—”
Crack!
A sharp, grating sound cut off his laughter.
Chen Zui casually picked up a wrist-thick dead branch—hard wood, the kind even adults would struggle to chop.
She held it in both hands and snapped it across her knee without expression.
The thick branch broke instantly like a brittle biscuit, revealing pale inner wood.
Lai Ergou’s laughter froze. His outstretched hand stopped midair.
He looked at the broken branch, then at his own wrist.
His throat bobbed.
This… this is a three-year-old kid?
His two companions turned pale and stepped back.
Chen Zui tossed the broken wood aside, brushed her hands clean, and looked at Lai Ergou with a sweet smile.
“The Mountain God is sharing food. You want a taste too?”
She took a step forward.
A chill shot from Lai Ergou’s feet straight to his skull. He suddenly remembered the rumors about Chen Zui’s older brother’s fate and the so-called “King of Hell possession.”
“N-no need… I don’t want it…”
He stammered, then turned and ran, scrambling away as if his life depended on it.
“Ghost! She’s a monster!”
Watching them flee, Chen Zui snorted coldly.
In this world, villains need villains to deal with them.
“Little Six! Little Six, where are you?” her sister’s anxious voice called from afar.
Chen Zui immediately hid her sharp aura. She tucked the chicken under dried leaves in her basket and called out in her sweetest voice:
“Big Sister! I’m here! I caught a silly chicken!”
She lifted the basket and walked back lightly.
With this chicken, the family’s first proper meal was secured.
As for whether Lai Ergou would spread rumors—
Chen Zui narrowed her eyes.
Let him. The more ridiculous the story, the better. In this ignorant village, being feared was better than being bullied.
What she didn’t know was that this bit of meat scent would soon attract a group far more troublesome than Lai Ergou.