When they arrived at the few rundown thatched cottages at the western edge of the village, Xi Qingyue’s mood lifted considerably.
Three dilapidated thatched cottages faced south—one main hall and two bedrooms. To the east was a small kitchen, and directly opposite the western kitchen stood a woodshed. There was no fence, no courtyard wall.
A large willow tree stood by the roadside, directly facing the main hall of the cottages.
No one knew how old this willow tree was—not even the villagers. It was the very reason the village was named Willow Tree Village.
These cottages had been abandoned for a long time. Because they were too close to the great willow, and the villagers refused to allow the tree to be cut down, building a wall here was impractical. Even if one were built, it wouldn’t be safe.
After all, the willow’s branches were so thick and abundant that any one of them could easily reach into the yard. A wall would be useless. In the end, no one was willing to live here.
More importantly, the place was too close to the mountains. No one chose to live here unless they had no other option, and the village had plenty of land for building houses elsewhere.
The village head had arranged this place temporarily because they had nowhere else to stay. At least it was better than sleeping out in the open.
Xi Qingyue was very pleased with the spot—especially the great willow tree. She tugged Xi Weilan’s hand and slowly pushed open the front door.
“Cough, cough…”
As the door swung open, dust from the beam fell and swirled toward them. Xi Qingyue quickly pulled her sister back two steps outside.
“How many years has it been since anyone lived here?” Xi Qingyue set the bedding down on the ground beside her.
Xi Weilan craned her neck to peek inside. The main hall was completely empty, covered in cobwebs everywhere, with dust thick on the floor.
“Sister, maybe we should just stay home tonight and come back tomorrow to clean up?”
Xi Qingyue looked at the thatched cottage and shook her head. “What’s the point of going back? This place is fine. Wait here—I’ll have it cleaned up in no time.”
With that, she stepped into the main hall. At her mental command, a gentle breeze swept through every corner of the room. Cobwebs peeled off on their own, and the dust seemed to grow legs, gathering in one corner of the house.
She didn’t sweep the dust outside but left it piled in a corner, just in case she needed to pretend later.
Xi Weilan’s eyes went wide, and she rubbed them hard.
In no time, the three main rooms were spotless. She left the kitchen and woodshed untouched.
Exhausted, Xi Qingyue sat down on the door frame to rest. That beginner-level ability was really weak—just doing this much wore her out.
“Sister, you’re amazing!” Xi Weilan sat beside her, eyes sparkling with admiration and curiosity.
“This is our secret, okay? You can’t tell anyone.” Xi Qingyue looked at her seriously.
She couldn’t be bothered to make up a story for a three-year-old. She didn’t want to spend every day explaining where things came from or how she could perform magical tricks. That would be way too tiring.
Xi Weilan patted her chest and promised, “Don’t worry, sister, my lips are sealed. I never told anyone about my strength, so I definitely won’t blab.”
Xi Qingyue smiled and nodded, pulling her up. “Come on, let’s go to our room.”
She led her through the main hall and into the eastern bedroom.
The sky had already darkened, and the room was pitch-black, with only a faint glow of moonlight filtering through the window.
With a flick of her wrist, a small, portable rechargeable lamp appeared in her hand, instantly lighting up the whole room.
Then, in the center of the room, an exquisite carved mahogany table and two chairs appeared. Shortly after, a spacious sofa materialized against the wall.
Xi Qingyue placed the desk lamp on the table and walked over to sit on one of the chairs.
This was the westernmost part of the village, near the foothills, and no one came here at night, so she didn’t worry about being seen.
She smiled and waved at Xi Weilan, who was still standing there stunned. “Come here, I’ll make you something delicious.”
Xi Weilan happily ran over and directly climbed onto her lap, her clear eyes fixed on her without blinking. “Sister, are you a fairy? A fairy who can conjure good things?”
Xi Qingyue pinched her little cheek and chuckled. “Well, kind of. How about your fairy sister makes you something good to eat?”
At the mention of food, Xi Weilan’s eyes lit up. She nodded eagerly and stared at the table, waiting for something to appear.
Xi Qingyue waved her hand, and on the table appeared a plate of braised pork, a plate of braised pig trotters, a plate of braised chicken wings, a plate of stir-fried vegetables, and two large bowls of rice.
These were all dishes she had prepared in advance and stored in her space, still steaming hot.
She liked to cook extra when she had the chance and store it away, so she could take it out whenever she wanted—convenient and hassle-free.
“Wow, Sister, it smells so good,” Xi Weilan said, her face brimming with joy as she looked at the fragrant dishes before her.
Xi Qingyue took out a wet wipe and cleaned her hands again, then pointed to the chair beside her. The little girl immediately sat in her own seat and picked up her chopsticks.
“Eat up. If it’s not enough, there’s more. You can eat as much as you want.”
As she spoke, Xi Qingyue also brought out two bowls of egg drop soup and two small bottles of coconut juice.
“Sister, this is so delicious,” Xi Weilan said, her little mouth stuffed full, clearly enjoying her meal immensely.
Xi Qingyue felt even happier. This wasn’t the apocalypse, free of annoying zombies—she could settle down here and enjoy a peaceful life.
With her space, supplies, and supernatural abilities, she could live a stable life here, needing only to raise one little one. Anyone who dared to cause trouble would be dealt with.
Half an hour later, the two were full and set down their bowls and chopsticks.
Xi Weilan looked at her with an empty bottle, her eyes pleading. “Sister, I want more of this.”
“Alright, but you can’t drink too much at night. Have one more bottle. If you like it, you can have some more tomorrow.”
Xi Qingyue smiled and handed her another bottle, opening the cap and passing it over—she was just afraid the child would eat too much and get sick.
Watching Xi Weilan’s happy expression, she couldn’t help but think: if she hadn’t come here, who knew what would have happened to this child? Whether she had run back to Liushu Village or had been caught by the wealthy landlord Wang, things likely wouldn’t have gone well.
After eating and drinking, Xi Weilan yawned and rubbed her eyes. Her three-year-old body was already exhausted from sleepiness.
She picked up the child and carried her toward the sofa. The spacious couch was big enough for even two people to sleep on.
She had plenty of beds in her space, but she had decided bringing out the sofa would be more convenient for now, since she would put it away the next morning.
In the past, her own mother had always held Xi Weilan to sleep, but now there were only the two of them, and she had to do everything herself.
She held the child in her arms and gently patted her back to soothe her. Xi Weilan slowly closed her eyes, but she wasn’t sleeping soundly.
“Mother…” a drowsy murmur sounded in her ear.
Xi Qingyue looked down. Xi Weilan was calling out in her sleep, murmuring repeatedly.
She gently patted Xi Weilan on the back to soothe her, and after a long moment without hearing any sound, she only let go once the child was truly asleep.
Looking at the three-year-old’s sleeping face, she sighed inwardly—so well-behaved, it didn't seem like she was three at all.
Then, she took out a very large basin from her space and filled it with warm water.
She removed Xi Weilan’s clothes, held the child in her arms, and carefully placed her into the basin to give her a gentle wash, but she didn’t wash her hair, afraid of waking her up.
After a simple rinse, she wrapped the child in a bath towel and set her back on the sofa. She also put a small vest and shorts on her, then took a thin blanket from her space and covered her with it.
Once this was done, she stored the large basin and the water from the room into the bathroom in her space.
She herself went into the space to take a quick shower and change clothes before coming back out.
She threw the coarse cloth clothes both of them had been wearing into the washing machine in the villa to be washed; they’d need to wear them again tomorrow, and after washing, she’d put them in the dryer to be dried.
Dressed in light, cool pajamas, Xi Qingyue sat cross-legged on the sofa. In her hand, she held a crystal core the size of her palm.
