Inside the space, Ziling had no idea what Gong Mohan was feeling at that moment. She went to check whether the ginseng she had planted in the spiritual herb garden had survived, but the moment she entered, she was startled.
In only a single day, the medicinal herbs had already grown significantly.
“This spiritual spring water is truly incredible,” Ziling sighed inwardly.
“Master! Master!”
A tiny transparent bird, no bigger than a sparrow, suddenly appeared before her, fluttering its wings in the air above her.
“So you’re the space spirit that was talking to me?”
“Yes, Master. The space upgrades whenever plants are cultivated inside it. You should plant more varieties. The more types of plants you grow, the greater the abilities of the space will become.”
“So that’s how it works. Little bird, why are you transparent?”
“I’m not called ‘little bird’—I’m a spirit! The space’s current level is still too low, so I can only appear as this vague half-formed shape for now. Once the space upgrades further, I’ll be able to fully reveal my true appearance.”
“But you look just like a sparrow. From now on, I’ll call you Lingque.”(Lingque literally means “Spirit Sparrow.”)“I’ll help you restore your original appearance as soon as possible.”
Ziling filled the water pouch with spiritual spring water again, then took out some anti-inflammatory medicine from the modern drugs stored in her space. She crushed the pills into powder, planning to secretly mix them into Gong Mohan’s food later. That way, if he took the medicine without noticing, she would not need to invent explanations.
Not daring to stay inside the space too long, Ziling quickly returned outside and quietly crept back to her sleeping place before lying down again.
What she did not see was that after Gong Mohan watched her return and settle down to sleep, he secretly let out a sigh of relief before falling asleep as well.
The next morning, the guard Zhang Meng spoke sternly to the prisoners:
“Today we enter the mountain roads. These paths are full of danger, and wild beasts often appear. Stay close to the group at all times. If anyone attempts to escape and encounters wild animals, we will not save you.”
Among the exiled prisoners were both heinous criminals and innocent commoners falsely accused. The innocent people only hoped to safely reach the place of exile, while some of the vicious criminals constantly searched for opportunities to escape.
The guards distributed one coarse black-flour bun to each prisoner. As usual, Ziling quietly tucked hers into her bundle and instead gave each member of her family an egg to eat.
Traveling along mountain roads with a wheelbarrow was already difficult enough, so they could not load extra items onto it. Ziling and her mother-in-law packed up their belongings and prepared to carry them separately.
Ziling stuffed most of the items into her own bundle. Since she possessed the space, she could always find opportunities to secretly store things there later, leaving only a few simple items outside.
While packing, Ziling noticed a woman and a little girl chewing on grass roots nearby. She remembered them—they were the family of the father and son who had earlier tried to escape. Most likely, just like before, the food distributed by the guards had once again been snatched away by the two men.
Feeling pity for the child, Ziling walked over and took out two black-flour buns from her bundle, handing one to each of them.
“You should hurry and eat them here. Otherwise, if you take them back, they’ll just get stolen again.”
On the harsh road of exile, being willing to share food with others was no small thing. The woman was so grateful she immediately tried to kneel before Ziling.
As a modern person, Ziling truly could not get used to people kneeling to her, so she quickly helped the woman up.
“There’s no need for this. I only helped because the child is truly pitiful. If you remain weak and unable to stand up for your child, then the child will suffer along with you.”
“Thank you, benefactor. I’ll only give one bun to the child. I don’t need to eat. She’s truly starving. If she doesn’t eat soon, she’ll die of hunger.”
“If you starve to death, won’t things become even harder for the child?” Ziling replied. “From what I can see, the child’s father doesn’t care whether she lives or dies. I feel some affinity with this child. If she’s hungry in the future, let her come find me.”
“Thank you, benefactor! Thank you! If there’s any work you need done along the way, I can do it—washing clothes, cooking, anything.”
Ziling thought to herself that although the woman was weak-willed, she at least knew gratitude. The exile journey ahead was still very long, and there were indeed many things in this ancient world that Ziling herself did not know how to do. In modern times, everything had simply been bought ready-made. Perhaps someday she would truly need the woman’s help.
“Alright. If I need anything, I’ll come find you.”
At that moment, the guards were already urging everyone to continue moving. What Ziling did not know was that Gong Mohan had witnessed the entire scene. Watching her give away her buns to the mother and daughter made his opinion of her improve even further.
Although the mountain paths were rugged and difficult to traverse, they were far cooler than the official roads. As Ziling walked with Ying’er, she taught the little girl how to recognize medicinal herbs and edible wild vegetables, planning to cook them during the noon break.
The little girl who had received the black-flour bun earlier also followed after them timidly.
“Madam… are these plants you’re gathering edible? Could you teach me too? I want to gather some for my mother.”
“Of course,” Ziling replied. “A person who knows how to strive for herself and understands gratitude is someone worth teaching.”
What Ziling did not realize was that these very words would go on to change the little girl’s fate forever.