Deng sighed, "This child is also ill-fated. Without a mother since childhood, living under a stepmother, how could she be so unrestrained? Now that she has left that family, her temper has naturally loosened up."
The woman sighed sympathetically, "That's true. These two children are truly pitiable. Their mother died early, and their father is such a..."
Saying this, the woman sighed again but said no more.
Deng smiled, "Sister-in-law, let's go back."
Although she was kind to Shen Xiaoyan and her brother, she couldn't and wouldn't interfere in the Shen family's affairs.
The two chatted about other things and walked back towards the village together.
Shen Xiaoyan walked back to the courtyard with the cat in her arms. As she reached the middle of the courtyard, she saw Shen Xiaoming looking at her expectantly.
"Sister, where did you go?" Shen Xiaoming asked eagerly.
He had lost sight of Shen Xiaoyan in the blink of an eye, which had scared him badly.
"Look, what is this?" Shen Xiaoyan didn't answer Shen Xiaoming's question but instead placed the cat in her arms in front of him.
"A cat?" Shen Xiaoming said with surprise, "Sister, where did you get it?"
Shen Xiaoming, like Shen Xiaoyan, loved cats very much. He had wanted to raise one when he was young, but Xu Shi didn't like it, so it never happened.
"I found it outside the courtyard just now. I don't know where it came from. You play with it, and I'll go get it some food," Shen Xiaoyan said, standing up and walking towards the kitchen.
She searched the kitchen but found nothing for the cat to eat.
Looking at the sky outside, it was only mid-morning. If she were to cook porridge for lunch, it was actually a bit early. But it wasn't impossible.
Thinking this, Shen Xiaoyan started a fire to cook porridge.
After the porridge was cooking, she quickly went back to the courtyard, dug up some wild vegetables, and brought them back to the kitchen.
About half an hour later, the aroma of porridge filled the kitchen. Shen Xiaoyan stood by the kitchen door and called Shen Xiaoming to bring the cat inside.
Shen Xiaoyan carried two bowls of rice porridge into the main room and placed them on the table. She then quickly went back to the kitchen and returned with a small plate.
She poured some porridge into the small plate and let it cool, then placed the plate on the ground and called the cat to eat.
"Xiaoming, you eat some too?"
Shen Xiaoming, who was squatting on the ground watching the cat eat porridge, heard Shen Xiaoyan call him. He grunted, then reluctantly stood up and sat at the table.
Seeing Shen Xiaoming eating porridge while secretly glancing at the cat from the corner of his eye, a doting smile appeared on Shen Xiaoyan's face. At this moment, Shen Xiaoming truly looked like a child.
After the two finished eating the rice porridge, the sun was directly overhead. It was noon.
For the first time, Shen Xiaoyan felt that there were also bad aspects to this world.
Not being able to tell time by looking at the sun was the most inconvenient part. Although she had the memories of the original owner, she still didn't know how.
Although there was a watch in the space, there was no reference time to set it.
More importantly, she couldn't explain the appearance of the watch.
Sighing, Shen Xiaoyan turned to look at Shen Xiaoming in the courtyard. He was engrossed in playing with the cat. Even though the medicine would make him a bit drowsy, he was unwilling to go back to sleep.
"Xiaoming, you stay home and guard the house. I'll go out and wander around nearby. Okay?" Shen Xiaoyan asked for Shen Xiaoming's opinion.
Shen Xiaoming nodded, "Then I'll take Bai to the bed and play. If I get sleepy, I'll sleep with it."
Bai?
Shen Xiaoyan was stunned, then immediately realized that Shen Xiaoming was referring to the cat. The name was indeed fitting.
"Then you two be good and stay inside, don't go out," Shen Xiaoyan reminded him again before heading out of the courtyard with her bamboo basket.
Her destination was Baiyun Peak, but she didn't intend to go into the mountain. She was still wary of the three spotted tigers she had encountered last time.
After walking for half an hour, Shen Xiaoyan arrived at the forest at the foot of Baiyun Peak again.
The leaves hadn't fully grown yet, and the sunlight filtered through the gaps, falling on Shen Xiaoyan's body. She closed her eyes in enjoyment.
Suddenly, Shen Xiaoyan heard the sound of a branch breaking. She opened her eyes and saw a small spotted tiger standing not far in front of her.
At this moment, only one sentence echoed in Shen Xiaoyan's mind: "No pain, no gain."
She cautiously looked around. Seeing no sign of the two larger tigers, Shen Xiaoyan breathed a sigh of relief.
However, the larger tigers might come soon, so she should head back.
"Roar?" The small spotted tiger tilted its head in confusion as Shen Xiaoyan turned to leave.
Although the small spotted tiger was not large, its speed was not slow at all. Within a few steps, it ran in front of Shen Xiaoyan, blocking her path.
"What do you want?" Shen Xiaoyan rubbed her forehead. She had actually ended up in this situation? Not even a small spotted tiger could run faster than her.
The small spotted tiger blinked its eyes and looked at Shen Xiaoyan expectantly. It remembered that this creature had given it delicious things last time.
Oh, right, Mother said this was a human.
"Roar?" The small spotted tiger growled again.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at it, completely unaware of what it wanted.
"Idiot, it's asking you for milk," Luoluo's voice was filled with undisguised disdain.
However, Shen Xiaoyan was already used to this. What surprised her was that Luoluo had actually appeared in front of her.
"Luoluo, you can come out now?" Shen Xiaoyan said with surprise. Did this mean she could enter the space?
"Hmph," Luoluo raised its head proudly, not answering Shen Xiaoyan's question.
With a slight movement of Luoluo's paw, a bowl of milk appeared in front of the small spotted tiger.
The small spotted tiger immediately buried its face in the bowl and began to eat happily.
"Hurry up and leave, before its parents come back?" Luoluo's voice reappeared in Shen Xiaoyan's mind.
When Shen Xiaoyan looked towards Luoluo, she saw that it was already walking towards the edge of the forest.
Walking back home, following Luoluo, Shen Xiaoyan glanced into Shen Xiaoming's room. Seeing that he was already asleep, she returned to Zheng Wei's room and closed the door.
Luoluo leaped lightly onto the bed. It licked its paw and then said to Shen Xiaoyan, "You are truly unlucky."
Shen Xiaoyan felt a pang of guilt. "I know, but you don't have to be so direct."
Luoluo surveyed the room and continued, "Not only unlucky, but also pitiful. You've died twice, and now there are no more zombies, and you're this poor. Oh my, how can I have a master like you? Truly..."
Seeing Shen Xiaoyan's increasingly darkened face, Luoluo wisely closed its mouth. "Do you want to go into the space to take a look?"
Shen Xiaoyan then remembered the main business. With a slight movement of her heart, she disappeared from the room.
Shen Xiaoyan reappeared in another place.
There was a not-very-tall mountain here, with a clear stream flowing down. The stream encircled the central area of the space, forming a loop.
Within the area enclosed by the stream, besides the small mountain, there were about two mu of land. On the open ground, there were three bamboo buildings. In front of the buildings were various kinds of flowers, which were now in full bloom and exceptionally beautiful.
Behind the bamboo buildings was a small pond. Calling it a pond was an exaggeration; it was more like the source of a spring.
The spring bubbled upwards continuously, and the spring water emitted a refreshing fragrance. A light breath of it dispelled all fatigue.
This was the most precious place in the space... the Immortal Spring.