Chapter 3: The Whole Village Is Gone

Xin’er was woken up by hunger. When she got up, A Da was still asleep—probably tired from hunting yesterday.

She lay down for a bit longer, then entered her space to wash up and have a hot, steaming meat bun before coming back out.

A Da had already woken up upon hearing movement.

Seeing him awake, she gave him a bun as well. The girl and the wolf, one human and one beast, ate their fill and then wandered through the mountains again.

They caught a few wild chickens and even a large wild boar. By the time they looked up again, it was already afternoon.

So, the two slowly headed back down the mountain. As they passed by the dilapidated houses…

They noticed something strange: the village was eerily quiet. Usually, the noisy brats would already be out and about at this hour, chattering away. But today—nothing, not a single sound.

It was already noon, yet there wasn’t even smoke rising from any chimney. Xin’er found this increasingly odd and told A Da to go back to the house first.

She walked through the village alone, finding every house’s door wide open.

The courtyards were in complete disarray, and there wasn’t a single person in sight.

So they had all left while she wasn’t home—without even telling her a word.

But Xin’er didn’t care. Good riddance! At least now there were no more annoying little kids around.

It seemed the entire village had received some sort of news and decided to flee all at once.

Excited, Xin’er called out to A Da,
“A Da, come out! Everyone’s gone now—you can come out freely!”

As soon as he heard her, A Da came running out.

He looked at her, tail wagging.

Xin’er led A Da door to door, checking what had been left behind.

After visiting several homes, they found some coarse grains and potatoes hidden in cellars.

She also collected wood that had been left behind—perfect for cooking and heating when the weather got cold.

After a full round, they discovered that the villagers had taken everything they could carry, leaving only the bulky stuff behind.

But Xin’er wasn’t about to let that go to waste. She stored things like grindstones for grinding soybeans into her space as well.

Now, the entire village was completely deserted. At night, it was silent and pitch dark—no lights at all.

Even the dogs were gone.

She sat on the roof, staring at the moon above, sighing while petting A Da’s furry head.

“It’s a bit boring with no one around,” she said to A Da. “Let’s go on the run too!”

With that, Xin’er jumped down from the roof.

“A Da, let’s go hunting for a few days and gather more prey. We can store it all in the space—it won’t spoil.”

Feeling satisfied with her decision, she cheerfully sang an unknown tune.

The next day, she got up early. The girl and the wolf went up the mountain again.

Although her space already had plenty of food and live animals, who would ever complain about having too much?

The animals on the mountain were truly unfortunate. As soon as Xin’er arrived, they all scrambled to hide—none dared show their heads.

She was very pleased with the results in her space. She had over twenty wild boars alone—more than ten of them still alive, meaning they could breed more piglets in the space.

There were also plenty of wild chickens and ducks.

She even found some wild ginseng.

Once the sky darkened, she went back down the mountain, planning to make another trip the next day. After that, she decided she would leave the following day.

Her plan was to head for the county town and see if there was still anything she could buy to eat.

As she walked, she munched on a juicy peach from her space.
“It’s getting hotter by the day, A Da,” she commented.

Back at the rundown house, she and A Da had a meal of meat buns and roast chicken.

Then they went to sleep. A Da lay at the doorway on a blanket, occasionally twitching his ears.

They slept until dawn the next day. Xin’er sat up and noticed A Da was nowhere to be seen—probably went out to play again. She didn’t worry about it.

After washing her face in her space, she took out some porridge and side dishes.

These had all been ordered from a restaurant in the county town. Fresh from her space, they were still steaming hot.

The aroma of the food opened her appetite, and she ate happily and heartily.

But just as she was halfway through her meal, the sound of horse hooves came from outside. A moment later, A Da came running back.

Xin’er frowned, muttering,
“Can’t even eat a meal in peace.”

From outside, she heard men yelling and cursing loudly.

Irritated, she quickly finished breakfast with A Da, then packed everything up from the broken house.

She wasn’t about to leave anything behind for those people!

Even the leftover firewood was stored in her space. She then pulled out a large knife from her space.

She tested its weight in her hand—very satisfied.

Outside, men on horseback were talking loudly.

“This village is deserted.”

The leader growled in broken Mandarin,
“With just two legs, how far could they possibly run? When I catch them, I’ll skin them alive!”

Another voice chimed in,
“If we catch any women, we’ll play them to death.”