As memories resurfaced one after another, Li Xiaoxiao’s gaze landed on a familiar wooden box.
She clearly remembered there was a hidden compartment inside.
Following the clues from memory, she quickly found the concealed layer at the bottom of the box and opened it without hesitation.
The moment the compartment was revealed, she froze in shock.
Inside were five neatly stacked banknotes worth one hundred taels each.
These were the hard-earned riches Qin Youfu had accumulated while traveling as a merchant. They were proof of his cleverness and daring—and the very foundation that had supported the family all these years.
Qin Youfu had been sharp-minded and bold.
When traveling for trade, he had even participated in black-market dealings and outright robberies.
And according to Li Shi’s memories…
this definitely wasn’t all the family had hidden away.
Li Xiaoxiao shoved aside the cabinet and felt around the wall until she found a loose brick.
Carefully removing the bricks one by one, she uncovered two thick overlapping boxes already beginning to smell faintly moldy.
Opening the first box, she saw fifty neatly arranged silver ingots worth twenty taels each.
Li Xiaoxiao’s heart instantly bloomed with joy.
All the treasures Li Shi had hidden so carefully had ultimately fallen into her hands.
She was rich!
No wonder Qin Yougui’s family had been obsessing over the property.
There really was reason for it.
Opening the second box, she found exquisite gold and silver jewelry along with precious gemstones.
Qin Youfu had once warned Li Shi very seriously:
The banknotes and silver ingots could be spent freely if necessary.
But the jewelry and gems absolutely could not be shown or used outside.
As for where they came from…
Qin Youfu had refused to say another word.
Unfortunately, before Li Shi could pry out the truth, the spendthrift Qin Youfu had been dragged off by Qin Yougui to drink and fool around in brothels—and died suddenly from overexertion.
After moving the boxes aside, Li Xiaoxiao used scissors to dig through the dirt beneath them and uncovered a small box.
The lock was already rusted.
According to memory, these were belongings left behind by Li Shi’s deceased parents.
When she opened the box, she found children’s silver bracelets and longevity locks, along with several silver bangles gifted to Li Shi at different ages by her parents.
There was also a white jade hairpin with a faint impurity running through it, delicately carved with peach blossoms.
This had been the gift her father gave her upon coming of age.
A strange ache rose inside Li Xiaoxiao’s chest.
She knew these emotions belonged to the original owner lingering within the body.
As she prepared to place the jade hairpin back into the box, her finger accidentally scraped against the rusted lock she had broken earlier.
Fresh blood seeped out.
The moment the blood touched the white jade hairpin—
the blood was instantly absorbed.
And the faint impurity inside the jade vanished completely.
Li Xiaoxiao had originally been worried about tetanus.
Instead, she watched the hairpin disappear directly from her hand.
“What the hell…”
“Where did the hairpin go?!”
Just as the thought formed—
her surroundings abruptly changed.
She found herself standing in a vast white space.
Beneath her feet stretched about two mu of rich black farmland.
Turning around, she saw an ancient-looking small building behind her, surrounded by endless white mist.
Carefully, Li Xiaoxiao walked inside.
The first room was the main hall.
Its furnishings resembled a traditional hall from this era, except the ancestral altar had been replaced by a painting of peach blossoms.
To the right was a connected tea room and study.
Both were completely empty.
The bookshelves and desks contained absolutely nothing.
To the left was a storage room lined with wooden shelves and cabinets.
Also empty.
Behind the main hall was a dining room.
A square dining table sat in the center with four long wooden benches.
The dining room was partially open-air, allowing a clear view of the backyard.
At its center stood a peach tree covered in blooming flowers.
On the right side of the backyard near the building was an old-fashioned wood-burning kitchen.
Near the stove sat a water vat beside a stone preparation counter and long cabinet.
Across from the stove, beneath an open window, stood a long table with two benches beside it.
Under the stove were a small stool and fire tongs.
The kitchen was spotless.
So clean there wasn’t even dust.
Behind the kitchen was an empty room that Li Xiaoxiao guessed must be a woodshed.
Beyond it, through an archway, stood a water well filled completely to the brim.
Beside the well were two wooden buckets and a shoulder pole.
On the left side of the backyard stood another open structure.
At its far end was a tiny one-meter square compartment containing a wooden toilet bucket.
The entire courtyard was surrounded by covered corridors and overhanging roofs.
Taking the stairs behind the building’s left side, Li Xiaoxiao entered the second floor.
The first thing she saw was a reception room filled with wooden furniture.
Long wooden benches lined the walls, separated by tea tables, while tall stands sat in the corners clearly intended for potted plants.
The room to the right was empty.
The room to the left, however, was a massive bedroom.
Inside stood an elaborately carved gold-trimmed canopy bed.
There were no blankets or bedding left—only the bedframe remained.
Two huge wardrobes stood along one side of the room, divided into many compartments.
On the other side were a dressing table and chair.
Beneath the window near the doorway sat a lounging couch with a small table atop it.
Li Xiaoxiao approached the vanity mirror.
Reflected there was an elderly woman with graying hair meticulously pinned into a bun using a silver hairpin.
Though aged, traces of her former beauty could still clearly be seen.
This was Li Shi’s face.
Her face now.
Completely different from the ordinary features she’d possessed in modern times.
Opening every drawer of the dressing table, she finally discovered the vanished peach blossom jade hairpin.
Beside it sat an inconspicuous silver ring.
Li Xiaoxiao picked up the hairpin again.
Fresh blood from her finger once more stained the jade.
The hairpin disappeared instantly.
A sharp dizziness hit her head, forcing her to sit down quickly.
Moments later, information about the space flooded into her mind.
This space had originally been crafted by a powerful cultivator as a portable personal realm.
It could accompany its owner anywhere.
The space itself had been refined from spiritual jade, making it rich in spiritual energy with eternal springlike weather.
Plants nourished within the space would grow healthier and many times faster than outside.
The land could even improve seed quality.
The water from the well was ordinary water, but infinitely renewable and eternally clean.
After binding the jade hairpin with blood, a physical body could contract with the space and freely enter or exit it.
Once the body died, the contract would end.
However, if someone signed the contract again while inside the space, the agreement would become a soul contract instead.
At that point, the space would transform into a peach blossom birthmark and follow its owner through lifetime after lifetime.
As for the silver ring—
it was actually a spatial storage ring.
Anything placed inside would remain perfectly preserved forever.
The ring was linked to the space itself and also required blood to activate.
Suddenly sensing discomfort near her chest, Li Xiaoxiao pulled open her collar slightly—
and saw a pale pink peach blossom mark appearing directly over her chest.
“So it became a soul contract…”
“Well, heaven really isn’t treating me badly.”
“I lost my tiny modern apartment…”
“…but gained a whole little mansion with a courtyard instead.”
Li Xiaoxiao muttered to herself.
She carefully examined the silver ring.
It looked entirely ordinary.
Smearing the remaining blood from her finger onto it, the ring instantly appeared on the pinky finger of her right hand.
Small.
Thin.
Completely unremarkable.
After fully understanding the space, Li Xiaoxiao wanted to leave.
The moment the thought crossed her mind, she instantly returned to her original room.
The silver ingots and jewelry still sat before her exactly where she had left them.
She experimented several more times and quickly confirmed she could freely enter and exit at will.
The bitterness and frustration she had been carrying for days vanished completely.
Picking up a pearl necklace, she decided to test the storage ring.
With a single thought, the necklace vanished from her hand.
Thinking again—
the necklace instantly reappeared.
After repeating the process several times, Li Xiaoxiao mastered the technique completely.
Anything she could physically touch could be stored or retrieved instantly with a thought.
Thrilled, she immediately stored all the silver, banknotes, jewelry, and treasures into the storage ring.
Now even if thieves dug three feet into the ground, they wouldn’t be able to steal a single coin from her.
Too excited to sleep, Li Xiaoxiao entered the storeroom behind the bedroom and found seeds for rice and corn.
She went outside and planted half the farmland in rice, the other half in corn.
Then she fetched water and thoroughly irrigated the fields.
Only after all that did drowsiness finally arrive.
Leaving the space, Li Xiaoxiao collapsed onto the bed and instantly fell asleep.