Lin Xi thought for a moment but didn’t reply. Instead, she first put the kimchi and pickled vegetables into the refrigerator. If she held onto these items now, Aunt Yang would definitely inform her grandmother, and it would be hard to hide them.
Fortunately, the refrigerator she bought was the largest model. Even with two big bags of food inside, they didn’t take up much space; there was still a large empty area on both sides.
After putting away the food, Lin Xi sat by the hearth. Chi Xiangping and the others were watching TV, which was airing a rerun of some melodramatic soap opera that had been replayed countless times. The female lead was going through a phase where everyone misunderstood her, and all she could do was cry, as if she had no voice.
Lin Xi could hardly bear to watch. Finally clearing her thoughts, she picked up her phone and told Qin Suyuan about the situation, then replied to Qin Shichun.
“Her name is Qin Suyuan.” Just five short characters and a punctuation mark—after sending this message, Lin Xi felt a great sense of relief. She didn’t say anything else, leaving Qin Shichun to interpret it as he wished.
In Lingfeng City, in the dormitory at Xishan Cemetery, Qin Shichun saw the text message. He covered his eyes, then laughed, and then cried.
Yesterday, after those two strange young girls left, Qin Shichun continued cleaning the cemetery. His hands were busy, but his mind kept replaying the image of the tearful girl.
He wasn’t a pervert, nor could he possibly feel any desire toward a girl younger than his own daughter. He simply felt an inexplicable connection—the girl reminded him so much of his daughter.
From her gestures to her expressions, if not for the different faces, she could have been the same person. The thought made Qin Shichun laugh at himself for overthinking. Once someone dies, they’re gone—he was the one who had claimed his daughter’s body, watched her cremation, and carefully collected her ashes from the furnace.
How could she still be alive? Yet, even with this rational thought, his feet wouldn’t move. He stood upright, watching the car drive down the mountain, eventually disappearing from sight.
He swallowed his melancholy and went to visit his daughter’s grave as usual. From a distance, he noticed fresh white chrysanthemums placed there. At that moment, his heart trembled, and a bold, absurd guess formed in his mind.
Because of Fu Ladi, he had a good relationship with his daughter—they talked about everything. His daughter often told him about her new friends.
Qin Shichun was sure none of the friends his daughter mentioned matched those two girls.
He hurried to the gravesite, carefully inspecting every inch of the ground in front of the tomb. Finally, when he saw a semi-circle drawn on the soil with a foot, he broke down and sat on the ground, crying.
His daughter had a peculiar habit since childhood: when sweeping others’ graves, her foot would restlessly trace half-circles on the ground. He had told her countless times to stop, but she never did.
Holding the bottle of water his daughter had given him, Qin Shichun ran to the duty room and started watching the afternoon’s surveillance footage. Viewing the scenes from an outsider’s perspective, he watched his daughter’s every move—from getting off the car to leaving.
Each frame told him the same thing: the girl who didn’t look anything like his daughter was, in fact, his daughter.
Xishan Cemetery didn’t require visitors to register, making it nearly impossible for him to get in touch with them.
The only lead he had to contact his daughter was the car they arrived in. It bore a Yunnan Province license plate, so he had to ask someone to look up the owner’s information. It took a full day of cross-province inquiries before he finally got the owner’s phone number and confirmed that it belonged to one of the two young women who had come to the cemetery yesterday.
After obtaining the number, Qin Shichun spent half an hour carefully drafting his message and another twenty minutes psyching himself up before finally sending the text. Once it was sent, he couldn’t help but feel regret—he hadn’t apologized in the message. He thought about sending another but feared it might annoy them.
Qin Shichun was prepared to receive no reply, but to his surprise, he got one. He couldn’t quite describe how he felt at that moment, only that the dark cloud hanging over his head had suddenly lifted.
He immediately sent another message, apologizing for having looked up Lin Xi’s information without permission. Then he began to thank her and asked if he could add Lin Xi on WeChat. After receiving her consent, he searched and added her.
Qin Shichun didn’t dare ask any questions about Qin Suyuan. He knew his daughter well; if she had recognized him, she wouldn’t have been so reserved yesterday. Since she didn’t recognize him, she must have her reasons. Adding Lin Xi on WeChat was simply a hopeful wish to catch a glimpse of his daughter through Lin Xi’s Moments. That alone would be enough to satisfy him.
Qin Shichun couldn’t help but smile. His daughter was still alive—that was the greatest comfort he could ask for.
The phone rang. It was a call from an old neighbor. Qin Shichun knew right away it was Fu Ladi stirring up trouble again.
“Shichun, Fu Ladi brought a man to live at your place. They say they’ve registered their marriage—they’re a couple now,” the neighbor said.
The smile on Qin Shichun’s face slowly faded, disappearing completely.
****
Lin Xi told Qin Suyuan about the messages Qin Shichun had sent. Qin Suyuan was already settled at a hotel. After reading Lin Xi’s messages, she thought carefully and realized where she had slipped up.
Her heart felt warm and full, and she was on the verge of tears.
She sent Lin Xi a message:
[The Real Heiress Qin Suyuan, Switched at Birth: Sister Xi, I’ve thought about this for a long time. I want to go abroad to study. Qin Susu is now the eldest daughter of the Qin family. Even if I’m found and brought back, I can’t compete with her position in the family.]
[Besides, she has been reborn. Since I didn’t die, she definitely won’t let things go easily. Those kidnappers who took me away have vanished without a trace. Who knows when they might come back. I need to avoid them and study jewelry design overseas. Once I’ve made a name for myself abroad, I’ll come back to fight them.]
[The injuries the original owner suffered, and the wounds I’ve endured, cannot just be forgotten!]
Lin Xi quickly replied:
[Earth Girl Lin Xi: That’s a wise choice. I support you.]
Qin Suyuan laughed softly. She sent that message again to the group chat, and all her friends there were very supportive of her.
Qin Suyuan was the youngest in the group, so everyone cared for her a little more. She had studied jewelry design in college, and among the group, jewelry was never in short supply.
Ah Huahua had all kinds of gems scattered throughout her realm’s waters, and Wen Wan’s city was even richer with gold, silver, and jadeite.
With the group’s encouragement, the next day Qin Suyuan went to a pawnshop and sold a high-quality jadeite rough stone. After getting the money, she headed to the Y University embassy to start the process of applying for a visa to go abroad.
It was bound to be a slow process, but Qin Suyuan wasn’t afraid of that. During this time, she rented a daily room in an urban village where even an ID wasn’t required for registration. She bought a computer and began working on her designs.
Qin Suyuan had a natural talent for jewelry design. Before her reincarnation, her mentor had praised her repeatedly. Now, she seemed to have shed all restlessness and had become even more composed and focused.
***
The day after Qin Suyuan left, Lin Xi got up and saw Chi Xiangping on the phone with Aunt Yang, chatting away in Mandarin thick with a strong Yunnan accent.
Chi Xiangping was delighted about Aunt Yang arranging for Li Yucheng to deliver pickled cabbage and sauerkraut. On the phone, the two women shouted to hear each other, checking on each other’s health. After that, they moved on to casual conversation. Though these two elderly ladies had never met in person and even had some difficulty communicating, they got along remarkably well.
After chatting for about half an hour, they hung up. Chi Xiangping called Lin Xi over: “Call Yucheng and ask him to come over for a meal. He’s already here; it’s only right he comes to eat at our place.”
Chi Xiangping absolutely would not allow such a thing to be overlooked. Her sister’s younger generation had come to her territory—how could she not play the gracious host? Even without Chi Xiangping’s insistence, Lin Xi would have called Li Yucheng anyway.
She took out her phone and dialed. After a long ring, no one answered. “He must be busy with work,” she guessed.
Hearing that he was busy, Chi Xiangping didn’t ask Lin Xi to call again. “Send him a message. Tell him to call back when he’s free.”
“No problem.” Lin Xi sent a WeChat message to Li Yucheng, then grabbed a dustpan to sweep away the shriveled red beans.
Yue was especially well-behaved, using the little broom Chi Xiangping had tied for her to sweep away the spoiled beans, then helping her mother tie up the bean stalks they had just finished threshing.
Chi Xiangping was also sweeping up red beans. She said to Lin Xi, “Your Aunt Yang told me before that she wanted you to go on a blind date with that Yucheng. Why didn’t it work out? Were you not interested?”
Lin Xi was already 24, about to turn 25 soon. Her birthday was in the second lunar month, so once that passed, she would be 26 by East Asian age reckoning. Da Mingbao, who was half a year younger than her, had been in a relationship for years and was about to get married.
Wang Peng, who was about the same age as her, didn’t have a wife yet, but he did have a steady girlfriend. As for Lin Xi, no one had ever heard of her dating anyone, nor had anyone ever heard of her having a crush on a man.
Chi Xiangping was quite worried. She believed that the reason Lin Xi wasn’t seeing anyone was because she was too picky. After all, with such a wonderful granddaughter, if those guys couldn’t appreciate her, then they must be blind.
Lin Xi said, “I just haven’t met the right person. When I do, I’ll date them.” She wasn’t without hope when it came to love.
But after being harshly disappointed, Lin Xi no longer dared to hope. Still, if love came, she would embrace it wholeheartedly; if love left, she wouldn’t try to hold on.
Besides, in the past few years, she had been so busy just trying to survive that she hadn’t had the time or energy for romance.
Chi Xiangping thought for a moment and said, “Your cousin’s grandmother told me a few days ago that there’s a relative on your aunt’s side who’s two years older than you, works at the county government, and looks decent. She asked if you’d like to meet him before the New Year.”
Lin Xi had already guessed that Chi Xiangping would start urging her to get married this year. She didn’t refuse outright: “We’ll see when the time comes. There’s still quite a few days before the New Year, isn’t there?”
“All right, think it over carefully. Whether you want to meet him or not, you have to let your cousin’s grandmother know.” For her only granddaughter, Chi Xiangping didn’t want to pressure her too much.
And just like that, the topic of matchmaking was brushed aside. Chi Xiangping hadn’t even heard why things didn’t work out between Lin Xi and Li Yucheng. But to Chi Xiangping, it was probably for the best. Li Yucheng worked in the capital city and was originally from Jisheng Province, thousands of kilometers away. If Lin Xi really married him, she wouldn’t like the climate there and wouldn’t follow him.
Chi Xiangping definitely didn’t want Lin Xi to marry so far away!
Lin Xi’s family had harvested quite a lot of red beans. After winnowing and packing them neatly, they filled two large bags. Chi Xiangping kept half a bag and planned to sell the rest.
Thinking that Li Yucheng might come for a meal, Chi Xiangping went to the kitchen to prepare zhenggao (steamed rice cake) for him.
The zhenggao from Dian Province was different from that of other provinces. This version dyed soaked glutinous rice flour with a rose-red coloring, then steamed it together with plain glutinous rice flour. Layers of white glutinous rice flour alternated with rose-red glutinous rice flour repeatedly.
When taken out of the steamer, the rose-red color seeped into the glutinous rice, creating layers of white and rose-red, making it look like a cake from a fairy tale.
This zhenggao was not only beautiful but also sweetened during the making process, so whether eaten cold or pan-fried, it tasted quite good.
There was just one downside: the dye used to color the glutinous rice wasn’t all-natural, so if you ate too much of this zhenggao, your urine would turn a light pink.
It had been a year since Lin Xi last ate zhenggao, and she actually felt a bit nostalgic for it. Yue tagged along behind Chi Xiangping like a little shadow.
Yue had only been living with Lin Xi for a short half-month, but her growth was noticeable. Chi Xiangping was meticulous in raising children. That very afternoon when she met Fang and Yue, she had already gone to Da Mingbao’s supermarket to buy some moisturizing lotion.
Every day, she made sure the two children wiped their faces, and now the cracks caused by the cold wind had disappeared. Yue ate well, slept soundly, and had grown taller.
With the household chores no longer overwhelming her, Yao Yuran took the time each day to braid the girls’ hair beautifully. Fang, accompanied by Lin Ling, was making more and more friends at school. Every night at the dinner table, the most talked-about topic was always her school life.
Lin Xi found a wooden stool and settled herself in the yard, waiting for dinner.
In the group chat, Yao Xiran, who had already settled on a planet near Capital Star, tagged Lin Duxi. She had obtained the technical blueprints for the cosmic probe and spaceship and wanted to trade them for star meteorites.
Lin Duxi’s base had been waiting for this day for a long time; the star meteorites were ready. To show their sincerity, Lin Duxi’s base prepared a total of two tons of star meteorites for Yao Xiran.
This exceeded Yao Xiran’s expectations, but she was not the type to let a good deal slip away. Living on Garbage Star for five years had turned her into a shrewd trader.
She messaged: [Interstellar Wanderer Yao Xiran: Last time you said it was already extremely cold on your side. I’ll buy you some outdoor gear that keeps you warm when worn.]
In Yao Xiran’s interstellar era, people had long developed ways to cope with extreme weather. Such warming devices were not expensive. The reason she hadn’t bought them for Lin Duxi before was initially due to a tight budget.
Later, it was because living on Garbage Star made it inconvenient to receive large shipments. But now things were different—no matter how many items she bought, she wouldn’t attract unwanted attention. After all, the interstellar population numbered in the hundreds of billions, mixed with various intelligent species, and there were plenty of eccentric individuals.
Lin Duxi was deeply grateful for Yao Xiran’s offer. After learning that those stones were the culprits behind the apocalypse, the military base personnel wanted to spread the news far and wide.
But the weather was so cold that even their cotton-padded clothes couldn’t keep them warm in temperatures dropping to minus sixty or seventy degrees outdoors.
If they had outdoor warming gear, it would be a different story. The military personnel could visit base after base to notify everyone.
They could even repair the long-broken wireless transmission devices.
Today’s transmission attempts were still ongoing, so Lin Duxi immediately sent a delivery request to Lin Xi. With the spatial technology, Lin Xi no longer needed to find a special place to receive supplies. She simply clicked “accept,” and a large pile of goods, packed tightly in sacks and rice bags, appeared in her space.
Yao Xiran had just placed an order for tens of thousands of outdoor warming devices, but they hadn’t arrived yet.
Lin Xi recalled the Yi Shu Thirteen Classics that she had mailed with Medicine Ballzi yesterday and stood up, heading toward Da Mingbao’s place.
Da Mingbao’s family had a photocopier. When she heard Lin Xi needed one, she just unplugged it and told Lin Xi to take it with her. “This photocopier just sits here; I barely use it once a year. If you need it, just take it home. Here’s some paper too—no need to pay me. If you try to pay me, I’ll get mad.”
Lin Xi didn’t say a word, but Da Mingbao’s little mouth kept chattering, cutting off whatever Lin Xi was about to say.
Leaning against the counter, Lin Xi spoke to her, “Alright, no money then. So, what have you been up to lately? I always pass by your place but never see you around.”
Da Mingbao hugged a hand warmer in her hands. “It’s so cold; I’ve just been lying upstairs sleeping. But I did see you brought a girl home yesterday. Who’s she? Doesn’t sound like she’s from around here.”
“She’s from Gui Province. She had a fight with her boyfriend and was feeling down, so she came to hang out with me.” This was the story Lin Xi and Qin Suyuan had agreed on. When Lin Xi had called Chi Xiangping that day, she’d used the same excuse.
Da Mingbao clicked her tongue. “Young people these days, always like that.”
“Don’t call me ‘second brother,’ ‘big brother.’ I still remember when you had a fight with Sun Xianquan and wanted to break up, you ran all the way to the capital city to find me,” Lin Xi rolled her eyes at Da Mingbao.
That had happened when Da Mingbao was a freshman in college. At the time, it didn’t seem like a big deal, but looking back now, it was pretty childish.
“Why bring that up now?” Da Mingbao awkwardly changed the subject.
“Chi Chongxin and Fang Shulei are back. Did you know?”
It had been a long time since Lin Xi had heard those names. The sudden mention made her pause for a moment. “You know? I don’t even have our class group chat. I really didn’t know they were back.”
Da Mingbao glanced cautiously at Lin Xi. Seeing her expression was normal, she continued, “Well, you’re probably better off not joining. Most of our high school classmates are married now. The group chat is just full of people talking about their families or showing off their husbands, wives, and kids.”
“It’s so annoying,” Da Mingbao complained, then added, “The class monitor said she wants to organize a reunion and asked me to check if you’re going.”
Back in school, Lin Xi had focused on her studies. Besides Da Mingbao and Fang Shulei, she was only somewhat close with a few others. After what happened, she even changed her QQ number and lost contact with the rest of her classmates.
Hearing the words “class monitor,” Lin Xi wasn’t keen on going but still nodded. Their class monitor, Wang Aiwei, was a very responsible girl. Lin Xi had a good impression of her.
When Lin Xi’s grandfather had a car accident and was rushed to the hospital, it just so happened that Wang Aiwei’s grandfather was the hospital’s deputy director. Because of that connection, Wang Aiwei had helped Lin Xi’s family a lot back then.
“Okay, once the date is set, I’ll let you know.” Da Mingbao was popular and had kept in touch with their high school friends. Now, she and Wang Aiwei were close—good friends, really.
Da Mingbao was very happy that she had taken care of the favor their good friend asked of her. “You don’t need to worry about Chi Chongxin and Fang Shulei,” Da Mingbao said. “We all remember the terrible things those two did back in the day. If they ever dare to mess with you, they won’t find us easy to deal with.”
Da Mingbao’s words made Lin Xi laugh. “That’s all in the past. Whatever those two are up to now, it really doesn’t concern me anymore.”
Chi Chongxin was the class monitor and a sports specialist. Tall and handsome, with a bright and outgoing personality, he shone on the basketball court and was one of the most popular students in their three graduating classes.
Since the first year of high school, he had taken a strong interest in Lin Xi. Back then, he treated her very well—so well that his kindness extended even to her friends.
At their high school graduation farewell dinner, he confessed his feelings to Lin Xi. At that time, her family had not yet faced any hardships; she lived carefree under the protection of her grandparents.
Besides, having just graduated, she was starting to think about dating, and during those three years of high school, she hadn’t exactly been indifferent to Chi Chongxin.
So, egged on by their classmates, Lin Xi and Chi Chongxin started dating.
Youthful love is always a bit naive. During the summer after their senior year, just before heading to university, Lin Xi sat on the back of Chi Chongxin’s bicycle as they toured all the fun spots around Pingyuan City.
Through their time together, Lin Xi felt herself fall deeply in love with Chi Chongxin. But Lin Xi was admitted to a university in Jing City, while Chi Chongxin went to a sports university in Dian Province.
Da Mingbao and Sun Xianquan both went to study in Hu City, and the rest of their classmates all went their separate ways. In Spring City, the only classmates left together were Chi Chongxin and Fang Shulei.
Maybe because they were from the same hometown, or maybe because Lin Xi was a common link between them, the two grew closer and closer.
During the May Day holiday of their freshman year, Lin Xi’s eldest cousin got married. Lin Xi returned to attend the wedding and had a layover in Spring City. On a whim, she decided to look for Chi Chongxin.
She couldn’t find him in his dorm, but at a small hotel near the university, she saw Chi Chongxin coming out with Fang Shulei. Fang Shulei was holding onto Chi Chongxin’s arm, and both of them wore bright, happy smiles.
Betrayed by both her good friend and her boyfriend, Lin Xi was furious. She immediately took photos of them and posted them in their classmates’ group chat and on her social media. Then, she deleted her account, blocking both Chi Chongxin and Fang Shulei from all contact.
Da Mingbao, as Lin Xi’s close friend, stood firmly by her side, even though Fang Shulei was also her friend. She cut off contact with Chi Chongxin as well.
Da Mingbao knew Lin Xi’s character well. “Once it’s over, it’s truly over,” she said with a smile. “I always knew you were the most open-minded one. I heard that Fang Shulei and Chi Chongxin have been on and off all these years.”
“I also heard that Fang Shulei isn’t favored by Chi Chongxin’s parents and has had several abortions for him over the years,” Da Mingbao gossiped with a mischievous grin. “I never expected Chi Chongxin to be that kind of person.”
“If he can’t take responsibility, won’t he at least take precautions? Fang Shulei is foolish too—if the man doesn’t, she won’t either?”
Lin Xi wasn’t particularly interested in the affairs of those two. After listening to Da Mingbao gossip for a while, she picked up the copier and left.
She had long since moved on from that relationship, but inevitably, it had left a mark on her impression of men.
Walking home from Da Mingbao’s place, those two people had already vanished from Lin Xi’s mind, leaving no trace behind.
She placed the copier on the desk in her room, took out the original copy of the Yishu Thirteen Exercises, laid an A4 sheet on top, and began copying page by page.
Once finished, she used the stapler she had bought from Da Mingbao’s home to bind the pages in order. Lin Xi then opened the group chat and typed: [Earth’s Young Lady Lin Xi: The Yishu Thirteen Exercises have been copied and are ready to be delivered. Does anyone else need me to deliver anything?]
No sooner had Lin Xi finished her message than Yao Xiran privately messaged her, sending over the warm clothing he had purchased. Because of the arrival of these warm clothes, Lin Xi’s tiny Kaizi space was instantly filled to capacity.
The friends in the group chat responded one after another. With deliveries happening so often, everyone seemed to have everything they needed.
Lin Xi collected the requests and immediately began the deliveries. Besides delivering items, the fruits and other goods she had bought in Lingfeng City had already been delivered to her friends yesterday.
Now, all that remained was to deliver the Yishu Thirteen Exercises. After spending over ten minutes on the deliveries, her once fully packed Kaizi space was suddenly emptied.
Lin Duxi and Yao Xiran received the items they wanted and promptly went silent in the group chat.
The other friends, after receiving the Yishu Thirteen Exercises, immediately began practicing together.
Lin Xi also held the Yishu Thirteen Exercises booklet in her hands and began reading. The exercises weren’t complicated, nor were they filled with obscure or difficult language.
There were thirteen movements in total, each broken down step-by-step, and they didn’t look hard at all.
Especially the first movement, which Lin Xi thought resembled yoga.
After memorizing the key points, she laid out the cool mat she used for sleeping in summer and started practicing. Without realizing it, she had moved from the first to the thirteenth movement.
By the time she finished the thirteenth movement, sweat was pouring down her body, soaking her hair. Though exhausted, she felt as if all her joints and pores had been opened up.
Her phone rang with a cheerful ringtone, and Lin Xi plopped down on the mat and picked up her phone.
She first checked the time, then was surprised to realize that practicing the entire set of Yishu Thirteen Exercises had taken her three whole hours.
Meanwhile, the group chat messages had piled up to over 99 unread. Lin Xi jumped back to the very beginning of the chat to catch up.
[Domineering CEO and Villainess Ye Bingbing: Brothers and sisters, how far have you gotten with the Yishu Thirteen Exercises? I couldn’t even get past the third movement.]
[Primitive Society Ah Huahua: I managed to practice up to the second form, but then I just couldn’t go on. I feel like all my joints have been rearranged or something, and I was sweating buckets. Isn’t this even more sweat-inducing than doing aerobics with that Liu celebrity? But to be honest, after sweating it out, I felt all the fatigue in my body just vanished.]
[1960s Boxer Xiang Qianlan: I practiced up to the fifth form. I think as long as I keep reinforcing these five moves, not only will my figure improve, but when it comes to sparring, these five forms alone are enough to handle two grown men.]
As a martial artist, Xiang Qianlan definitely has the authority to speak on this.
[Ancient World Xu Huanhuan: While I was practicing, my personal maid was watching nearby. She told me this is an extremely advanced technique. I couldn’t even get past the first form. I guess it’s because I’ve been living the life of a noblewoman for too long and lack exercise.]
[Interstellar Wanderer Yao Xiran: I got up to the fourth form.]
[Post-apocalyptic Wasteland Lin Duxi: Like Qianlan, I reached the fifth form.]
[Whole Family Time-travel ABO Wen Wan: I couldn’t get past the second form.]
[Switched-at-Birth True Heiress Qin Suyuan: Same here.]
Lin Xi came downstairs and noticed that only Xiang Qianlan and Lin Duxi had reached the fifth form—and they both had the strongest physiques.
Since Xiang Qianlan’s time-travel, no matter how harsh the weather, she has consistently practiced boxing. She even keeps sandbags tied to her legs daily.
Lin Duxi, living in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, faces life-or-death situations every day, and after several years, his physique has become incredibly robust.
Among them, Xu Huanhuan, who has lived a pampered life, has the weakest constitution. Judging from their situations, how far they can practice the forms is closely tied to their physical condition.
So here’s the question: if Lin Duxi and Xiang Qianlan both couldn’t complete all thirteen forms, how did she manage to finish them?
Lin Xi pondered this question as she continued scrolling. Finally, Chu Qianmo made a belated appearance.
[Killer-Wife Cultivator Chu Qianmo: The Yi Shu Thirteen Classics is the most powerful martial art in the mortal world. The original owner once killed an entire mountain village just to obtain this technique. He isn’t short of martial arts; he’s just a jerk who wants everything.]
Whenever Chu Qianmo talks about the Killer-Wife Cultivator, she inevitably starts putting him down. Normally, when a time-traveler inhabits someone else’s body and speaks ill of the original owner, people would disapprove or even insult them.
But with Chu Qianmo, no one says anything. After all, the Killer-Wife Cultivator really was a terrible person—killing wife after wife just to improve his cultivation. Chu Qianmo is fully justified in belittling him while using his techniques.
[Killer-Wife Cultivator Chu Qianmo: I searched through memories about the Yi Shu Thirteen Classics. How many forms you can master depends on your physical fitness. But with persistent practice, it’s possible to reach the thirteenth form.]
[You’re all very strong. Many people can’t even get past the first form. I think this has a lot to do with everyone having used gene repair serum.]
The gene repair serum from Lin Duxi’s world was truly remarkable—no less effective than the Jingjing Faci (a profound body-cleansing technique) in the cultivation world.
But the Jingjing Faci required precious elixirs, like thousand-year-old Ganoderma and ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs, which Chu Qianmo found incredibly hard to come by.
Because he knew how rare the gene repair serum was, Chu Qianmo was deeply grateful to the group chat of fellow travelers. When he crossed over, the original owner’s dantian (energy core) was already shattered. After that, not only was cultivation impossible, but even survival was uncertain.
If it weren’t for Lin Duxi sending him the gene repair serum, he wouldn’t even be able to stand now. Judging by how fast grass grew in the cultivation world, the grass over his grave would already be taller than two people.
This was also why Chu Qianmo treated his friends in the group chat so well.
Chu Qianmo’s words confirmed Lin Xi’s suspicions, prompting her to wonder again why she was able to complete the Thirteen Forms.
Although she had also taken the gene repair serum Lin Duxi sent her, she hadn’t overdosed—only a single drop per month.
Her body was sticky and uncomfortable from sweating. After Lin Xi finished bathing and stepped out of the bathroom, her hair still dripping wet, Chi Xiangping frowned deeply.
“You’re such a child. How can you not dry your hair after a bath? You’ll catch a cold!” Winter in Dian Province only warmed up around noon; after three o’clock, it started to get chilly.
It was exactly three o’clock now, and the cold was setting in.
Lin Xi wrapped her hair in a towel and asked, “Where are Sister Yuran and Yue?”
“They went to your Fifth Aunt’s next door. Yuran gets along better with your Fifth Aunt’s daughter-in-law.” Yao Yuran lived here under the pretense of being Chi Xiangping’s maternal granddaughter.
Under this identity, she called Chi Xiangping “Grand Aunt.” Despite her physical limitations, she had lived with Lin Xi’s family for quite some time and had made several good friends.
Lin Xi’s Fifth Aunt’s daughter-in-law was about Yao Yuran’s age. However, since they married late, their child was only three years old. Because the child couldn’t be separated from her parents, she hadn’t followed her husband to work elsewhere.
“Oh.” Lin Xi pulled up a stool and sat by the hearth, rubbing her hair, “Grandma, was I often sick when I was little?”
Chi Xiangping replied, “When you were just born, your health was poor. Most children only started getting sick around six months old. But you began fussing at three months.”
“Either diarrhea or fever and cough. Your dad, mom, grandpa, and I all thought you wouldn’t make it.”
“Your mother cried every day back then. Your grandpa and I would sigh whenever we looked at you.” Speaking of Lin Xi’s frail childhood, Chi Xiangping was full of regret.
Back then, Lin Xi had to go to the hospital every few days. Some villagers even subtly advised them to give her up. But they couldn’t bear it. Now, so many years later, that thin, small child with a yellowish complexion had grown into such a beautiful young woman.
“But starting from when you were eight months old, your health improved. You could eat and sleep well. Your weight shot up from twelve jin to twenty jin in no time. Your face grew fairer, and your hair turned darker,” Chi Xiangping said with a smile. “When I took you out, people even asked if I had bought you from outside.”
The idea of buying or selling children was an insult to Chi Xiangping; she hated those who trafficked children above all else. But at that time, such remarks felt like genuine praise to her.
When others said that, it meant her little granddaughter was thriving.
Lin Xi rarely heard Chi Xiangping talk about her childhood, especially anything related to her mother.
Now, hearing Chi Xiangping mention it, she asked, “What about when I grew up? Was I healthy then?”
“Of course! How could you not be? When the seasons changed, other kids would catch colds, fevers, runny noses. But you? You were perfectly fine. Think about it — how many times have you been to the hospital since you were little?”
Listening to Chi Xiangping, Lin Xi recalled carefully. It was true; she had rarely been sick, not even suffering from menstrual cramps.
“I told your grandpa, you’re so easy to take care of now because you got all the illnesses you were supposed to have out of the way when you were little.”
After saying this, Chi Xiangping shifted her tone. “But just because you’re healthy doesn’t mean you can take it easy. Go dry your hair quickly. I’ll make some ginger soup to keep you from catching a cold.”
Chi Xiangping headed to the kitchen, and Lin Xi went to her room to dry her hair. After some thought, she carefully composed a private message to Chu Qianmo.
His reply came quickly: [Chu Qianmo, the “Wife-Slaying Dao Master”: In the original owner’s memories, only one person managed to master the Yishu Thirteen Meridians in a single attempt. Rumor has it he’s the top genius of the Nine Provinces. And he’s the only martial cultivator who entered the Dao through martial arts.]
[That’s also why the Yishu Thirteen Meridians is considered the strongest mortal technique. Among all the cultivation methods, it’s the only one that allows people without spiritual roots to cultivate immortality.]
[I think a big part of why the original owner slaughtered thousands at that entire mountain estate was because of this technique.] After all, having already done the “wife-slaying dao,” it’s only natural to massacre a family to steal their cultivation method.
Lin Xi fell into deep thought. She considered herself to have had no extraordinary encounters growing up, except for this suddenly appearing chat group.
She began to suspect something about her father, who had been missing for over twenty years — neither alive nor dead, with no trace.
But it was only speculation. She still needed a lot of evidence to confirm it. Lin Xi wasn’t in a hurry.
“Ginger soup’s ready,” Chi Xiangping’s voice called out.
Lin Xi headed to the kitchen. As soon as she entered, a strong, pungent aroma filled the air.
On the Eight Immortals table in the center of the kitchen sat a bowl of ginger soup, with ginger bits floating on the surface and some brown sugar inside.
Lin Xi lifted the bowl, sipping and blowing on it to cool it down. Ever since she was little, every winter her grandmother would make a big pot of ginger soup. It was only in recent years that she had gotten better.
Lin Xi had always believed that her immunity to colds came from the bowl of ginger soup her grandma made as a kind of vaccine.
But now that she thought about it, if her guess was true, then all those years of drinking ginger soup had been a huge waste. Lin Xi could accept ginger in just about any dish. But ginger soup mixed with brown sugar water? No way. Every sip was unbearably bitter and awful.
After begrudgingly finishing the ginger soup, Lin Xi pulled out her phone. She had just opened the group chat and hadn’t even had a chance to see what her friends had posted when a message popped up.
[System Notice: Group member @EarthGirlLinXi has helped ten group members: Xu Huanhuan, Lin Duxi, Ah Huahua, Ye Bingbing, Xiang Qianlan, Ming Shu, Chu Qianmo, Yao Xiran, Wen Wan, Qin Suyuan.]
[During this time, all group members have given @EarthGirlLinXi five-star ratings for her assistance. Moreover, @EarthGirlLinXi has not disclosed the existence of this chat group to anyone.]
[Effective immediately, the chat group will undergo an upgrade. The upgrade will last 36 hours. During this period, normal chatting is allowed, but dimensional deliveries will be unavailable. Please take note.]
