As she practiced, she suddenly realized that this body was an uncut gem waiting to be polished.
The original owner had spent years doing hard labor, forging an incredibly solid foundation. Her flexibility and sense of balance were astonishingly good.
Meanwhile, the timing, instincts, and sensitivity she had honed in her previous life—abilities etched into her very soul—were slowly awakening and painstakingly, yet firmly, merging with this new body.
A few days later, when Ye Qing once again stood before a dead tree as thick as a bowl and treated it as an imaginary enemy, everything had already changed drastically.
Her feet slid forward, and she closed the distance with the agility of a civet cat. Twisting her waist and hips sharply, she gathered all the strength in her body into a single force and threw a vicious punch.
Bang! Bang!
The dull impacts exploded through the silent forest.
Sweat streamed down her temples, soaking the wisps of hair on her forehead, but her eyes shone brightly.
This body, once so frail after being tormented by Wang Guihua, was gradually being tempered by her day after day, transforming into the handiest and deadliest weapon she could possess.
At dawn, Ye Qing stood by her temporary campsite, stretching her limbs.
Her complexion was much better than before. The pond had finally reached its limit and had stopped flowing since yesterday. It was time for her to leave.
Taking stock of her supplies, she found that she actually had quite a lot. The dried meat had been smoked thoroughly and filled an entire bamboo basket. If she rationed it carefully, she wouldn’t have to worry about food for at least a month.
But she couldn’t survive on meat alone. She needed something to provide vitamins.
Why is staying alive so troublesome?
She could only search as she traveled.
She cast one last glance at the place where she had lived for five days, then turned and set off eastward along the mountain path.
Three days passed, and she still hadn’t found any water.
A thick layer of fallen leaves carpeted the ground, soft beneath her feet. Ye Qing cautiously surveyed her surroundings and used her chopping knife to push aside the thorny bushes blocking her way, worried that some wild beast might suddenly leap out.
As she walked, her eyes suddenly lit up.
On a steep slope not far away grew a patch of waist-high shrubs, their branches laden with clusters of bright red berries.
They looked remarkably similar to the sour jujubes from her previous life. When she was little, her adoptive father would always bring her a handful whenever he returned from the fields.
The branches, however, were different.
“…This thing should be edible, right?”
Ye Qing crouched down and carefully picked one. Bringing it to her nose, she sniffed it. There was no strange odor.
She hesitated.
The original owner’s memories contained nothing about this plant, but in her current situation, starving to death was no better than being poisoned.
Might as well take a gamble.
She popped the berry into her mouth. Sweet and sour juice instantly burst across her tongue, carrying a faint hint of astringency.
“Delicious!”
In no time, she had picked a large handful, her cheeks puffing as she chewed, looking just like a little squirrel stealing food.
By the time she had stripped the entire patch, the sun had climbed to its highest point, and the heat remained unbearable.
How much longer would this weather last?
According to the original owner’s memories, snow should have fallen in another half month. Yet now the land was parched to the point of smoking, and the temperature showed no sign of dropping.
She found a shaded spot beneath a rock and sat down to rest. Unscrewing her water flask, she took a few sips of warm water, then pulled out a piece of jerky from her backpack and slowly chewed it, replenishing the energy she had spent on the journey.
Just as she was about to stand, her ears caught a faint sound.
It wasn’t the wind.
It was an extremely soft, suppressed sobbing.
It came from behind a pile of rocks to her front left.
Ye Qing instantly tensed. Silently reaching for her dagger, she held her breath and carefully peeked out from behind the rocks.
On the other side of the pile, three refugees—sallow-faced, skinny, and dressed in rags—were shoving and arguing over a small clump of withered yellow plants that still retained a touch of green.
From what they were saying, it seemed to be wild ginseng, something that could save lives.
Nearby lay an unconscious woman. A child of about five or six was crouched beside her, quietly crying.
“I saw it first!” a one-eyed man roared.
“Big-Eye, that’s bullshit! If we hadn’t followed that mother and child here, would you have found this place?” a bald man shoved him.
Heiwa’s eyes flickered as he stared at the mother and child on the ground, especially at the bundle the child was clutching tightly.
Ye Qing’s pupils contracted.
It wasn’t hard to guess what he had in mind.
In a desperate situation like this, people could be even more terrifying than wild beasts.
To avoid trouble, she should quietly leave.
Meddling in other people’s affairs might very well get her killed.
But…
Her gaze fell upon the child’s helpless, frightened face and the unconscious woman’s cracked lips.
In both her previous and current lives, she had seen too much indifference and had personally experienced the despair of being abandoned.
The hand gripping her dagger tightened, then loosened.
Forget it. Everyone has their own fate.
She sighed.
Suddenly, a loose stone by her foot rolled away, making quite a bit of noise.
At the same time, Heiwa seemed unable to restrain himself any longer and reached toward the child.
“Who’s there? Come out!” Heiwa instantly detected her hiding place.
Big-Eye and the bald man also turned around at once, grabbing wooden clubs and farm tools and staring warily in her direction.
Ye Qing knew she could no longer hide.
She would have to strike first.
A fist-sized rock flew out from behind the pile of stones with a sharp whistle through the air and smashed into Heiwa’s outstretched arm.
“Ah!”
Heiwa cried out in pain and jerked his hand back, glaring furiously toward the direction the rock had come from.
Taking a deep breath, Ye Qing gripped her dagger and slowly rose from behind the rocks. The sunlight outlined her thin yet upright figure.
Her gaze swept across the three refugees before finally settling on the trembling child, who still stubbornly shielded his mother.
“Big brother, please… please save us,” the child cried.
She remained unmoved, staring coldly at the three men.
The refugees were momentarily stunned. But when they saw that the newcomer was nothing more than a slender youth whose face still carried traces of childishness, their nervousness immediately turned into offended anger—and a strange greed.
“Where did this brat come from? How dare you meddle in our business?” Big-Eye sneered, hefting the thick club in his hand.
The bald man’s gaze swept over the dagger at Ye Qing’s waist and the small bundle she carried on her back. He licked his cracked lips.
“Big Brother, looks like she’s carrying some supplies.”
Clutching his injured arm, Heiwa said sinisterly, “You little fool who doesn’t know what’s good for you. Perfect. We’ll take your things and then settle the score for hitting me with that rock!”
The three exchanged glances and spread out in a fan formation, surrounding Ye Qing.
“Brat, put your things down and kneel to beg for mercy. Maybe we’ll grant you a quick death!” the bald man shouted, spittle flying as he gripped his machete.
Ye Qing curled her lips into a cold smile.
“Save your threats for your next life.”
She held the dagger horizontally, her eyes sweeping over the three men as her breathing suddenly deepened.
Then, in the blink of an eye—
Ye Qing moved.
Before the bald man and Big-Eye could even see what happened, Heiwa had already collapsed to the ground.
A thin line of blood appeared across his throat.
He died instantly.
“Big Brother!”
The bald man’s eyes nearly split with rage as he howled and swung his blade.
Ye Qing sidestepped the attack and thrust her dagger straight into his heart.
The bald man gave a muffled grunt, convulsed twice on the ground, and then lay still forever.