The night deepened, yet many found themselves unable to sleep. Some gazed spellbound at the Milky Way, while others huddled close to their loved ones, whispering secrets.
Fu Xinci, too, was awake. She mentally observed the changes within her space. Through diligent exploration and effort, she had a strong premonition that the small planting area was about to level up.
However, she hadn't quite figured out the specifics of how it would upgrade.
Sighing, she realized she had learned to sigh unconsciously. Indeed, on this journey, it wasn't just her, but even Bao'er would sigh.
Fu Xinci subtly opened her eyes a sliver. Seeing that Fang Shi and Yu'er, sleeping beside her, were undisturbed, she prepared to activate her wood element ability to speed up the growth of a few more potatoes in her space.
After accelerating the growth of two potatoes, she felt her stamina severely depleted.
"Sigh, this small body is still too weak," Fu Xinci grumbled inwardly.
She observed again. The two potato plants, which she had never used her wood element ability to hasten, had blossomed. Only then did she truly close her eyes to rest.
She needed to conserve her strength, as she might need to perform marvels tomorrow.
Summer nights were not long. Coupled with the occasional mosquito delivering a "red envelope," sleep was not entirely restful. Yet, everyone seemed to have forgotten to look for insect repellent grass.
As the first bird song echoed through the woods, the Meng clan members gradually awoke.
Fu Xinci stretched languidly and climbed down from the donkey cart. She heard someone greet her:
"Little sister."
"Xinci."
"Cousin Ci."
"Ahhh."
Fu Xinci hadn't expected that her companions would be awake before her. Rubbing her eyes, she first said, "Good morning."
"Good morning."
"Little sister, what shall we do now?"
Throughout the journey, Qi He had been taking orders from Fu Xinci. Over time, these individuals had been thoroughly influenced by Qi He, asking Fu Xinci about everything.
"Do you even need to ask me? Tell me yourself, what is the first thing you want to do when you wake up in the morning?" Fu Xinci said, then reported to her grandfather and her nominal father, preparing to head towards the small river.
"Go to the latrine."
Fu Xinci stumbled, thinking, "This elder brother is truly honest. He's someone I can be friends with."
"Sister, wait for me." Yu'er had also woken up. Hearing their conversation, he clamored to join them.
"Come over quickly."
"Okay." Yu'er was lifted off the donkey cart by his father, grinning widely, and trotted over, holding his sister's hand as they walked ahead.
At this time, dawn had just broken, and the mist still lingered throughout the mountains. Apart from the early-waking Meng clan members, everything else seemed to be still immersed in deep slumber.
A few semi-grown children followed the sound of water to the small river. "Wow," Fu Xinci's first reaction was that the unpolluted river water was practically comparable to paradise.
If there were no people here, she would have truly wanted to lie by the river and have an intimate embrace with the clear, transparent water.
However, it didn't prevent her from washing her hands and face. Yu'er was even more excited than his sister. He dipped his little paws into the water and didn't want to take them out.
The others, weary from their journey, hadn't seen such clear river water for a long time. Unable to contain themselves, they let out excited cries and rushed into the river one after another.
The Meng clan members behind them, hearing the cheers of the little ones, also followed suit and ran over.
When they saw the sparkling river water, after a moment of stunned silence, they, like the children, plunged into the water and splashed around.
Fu Xinci hadn't expected to attract such a crowd of disruptors. "Oh no, my peaceful solitude is completely ruined."
"Yu'er, sister will take you for a walk ahead, okay?"
"Okay." After Yu'er agreed, he secretly glanced at the people left behind by him and his sister, then whispered to his sister, "Sister, Yu'er is hungry. Can sister do magic for Yu'er?"
"Alright, my clever little one." Fu Xinci finished speaking, pulled Yu'er, and hid behind a large willow tree on the riverbank. She whispered, "Magic."
Yu'er stared at his sister's upturned palm, where a white, boiled egg lay. He immediately grinned, happily took it, and even coquettishly said to his sister, "Thank you, sister."
"Yu'er, eat quickly."
"Mm."
While Yu'er was eating, Fu Xinci surveyed the surrounding scenery again.
The small river was full of water. Across the river was a flat, open grassland dotted with colorful wildflowers. A few ancient trees, scattered here and there, stretched towards the distance.
Looking further northwest, one could see encircling mountain ranges. To the south lay an endless sea of forests.
"What a great place," she thought. "I like it."
However, before Fu Xinci could take a closer look, she heard Fang Shi's furious voice approaching.
"Who are you? How dare you take our things without a word?"
Fu Xinci turned around and saw a sturdy woman stealthily picking up clothes and bedding from their donkey cart. Fang Shi tried to stop her but was easily pushed aside by the woman.
Her grandfather and nominal father, seeing that the other party was a woman, felt it inappropriate to intervene and were anxiously at a loss.
Fu Xinci could no longer afford to care. She activated her wood element ability, broke off a willow branch, picked up Yu'er, and rushed towards their donkey cart.
Yu'er: His eyes widened, and his mouth followed suit. Was he flying?
In almost an instant, Fu Xinci arrived in front of their donkey cart, placed Yu'er into his nominal father's arms, raised the willow branch in her hand, and angrily yelled at the woman, "Put down my family's things."
The sturdy woman was startled. When she turned around and saw a small, dark-skinned girl barely reaching her waist, she became displeased.
"You impudent little whore, you dare to scare me? Haven't you heard? In this territory, who dares to act tough with me? Even He Liu Shi has to detour around me."
"You're the impudent old whore! Taking something without asking is stealing. How can you justify forcefully taking our things?" Fu Xinci would not back down an inch.
The sturdy woman didn't expect such a young girl to dare to talk back and curse at her. She felt her authority challenged and threw down the items she was holding, rushing forward to attack.
"You little harlot, how dare you curse at me? Today I'll beat you to death, you slut!"
"You're the harlot! Your whole family are harlots! And another thing, you old hag, open your dog eyes and see. If you want to beat this grandma, you'd have to go back to your mother and be remade, and even then, you might not succeed."
Fu Xinci had never been called such vulgar names by a villain in her life. She was so enraged that she wished she could kill her.
They say one shouldn't hit a person's face, nor expose their shortcomings.
"Today, grandma will do the opposite. I will specifically hit that big face of yours."