Chapter 28 Things are about to start

Hearing his older brother speak, Ling Zixiao finally dared to pick up his chopsticks. In truth, the smell of the rice had already made his mouth water. He remembered the last time he’d eaten rice was back when their parents were still alive. With their father around, they could at least eat rice every now and then.

The fragrant rice and the soft, tender stewed rabbit meat tasted heavenly.

“Not bad,” Ling Yu praised sincerely.

Ye Wuyou glanced at him, thinking that for once tonight he’d said something pleasant. Compared to his earlier nagging questions, this was much easier on the ears.

The meal was delicious, but the two wild chicken eggs that Ye Wuyou had boiled for Ling Yu—he didn’t eat them. Instead, he split them and gave them to Ye Wuyou, one to her and one to his younger brother. What’s more, he even went out of his way to peel one for Ye Wuyou and place it in her bowl.

He thought, since there wasn’t much in the house that was nourishing, this little bit might be insignificant, but he still wanted to take care of them—especially Ye Wuyou. Seeing how frail she was, he felt an urge to help her build her strength.

“Don’t go into the mountains anymore. If there’s something you want to eat, tell me, I’ll figure out a way to get it for you.” Ling Yu said this seriously, even though he knew Ye Wuyou disliked hearing it. Going into the deep mountains was no joke—he truly feared something might happen to her one day.

But Ye Wuyou just kept peeling roasted chestnuts and answered absentmindedly:

“I know.”

What she was really thinking was: in a couple of days, she’d be gone from here anyway. Why would Ling Yu have any say in where she went?

Seeing her indifferent attitude, Ling Yu could only sigh helplessly. He sat beside her and began peeling chestnuts for her.

“I mean it. The mountains are too dangerous. You’re just a girl—it’s not safe. And you’re not just going to the outskirts, but deep inside. Forget about wild animals you might not be able to handle—what if you ran into a man with bad intentions? What would you do then?” Ling Yu tried to reason with her sincerely, hoping to convince her to give up on going into the mountains.

Seeing how earnest he was, and that he truly was worried about her, Ye Wuyou softened for once and nodded with a promise:

“Alright, I get it. I won’t go in again.”

“Good. You finish eating, I’ll go wash up.” Ling Yu, thinking she had taken his words to heart, got up to go bathe.

Inside her space, the little beast Youyou was sulking as it watched Ye Wuyou keep eating the candied chestnuts outside.

“Bandit girl! Didn’t you say you’d save me some? Look at you—you’re about to eat them all and haven’t given me a single one!”

“Ugh, don’t blame me. They’re just too delicious, and I haven’t had them in so long. I couldn’t resist. But don’t worry, I set some aside earlier while cooking. I’ll make some for you later.”

Hearing Youyou’s whining, Ye Wuyou felt a bit guilty—but her hands never slowed in peeling chestnuts. Then, tired of its complaining, she directly muted it with her mental power.

“You shameless bandit! I picked all those chestnuts, and you won’t even give me any! Bully!” Youyou nearly cried in frustration. It had been dreaming about the taste of candied chestnuts all day while collecting them.

As for Ling Yu and Ling Zixiao, having grown up in the mountains, chestnuts were nothing rare for them, so they weren’t as eager as Ye Wuyou. Ling Zixiao, seeing how much his sister-in-law liked them, didn’t fight her for any but instead helped her peel chestnuts, while she just sat back and popped them into her mouth.

When the last chestnut was gone, Ye Wuyou finally stood up to wash her hands. The fire had been too hot earlier, charring the outer shells, so her fingers were blackened.

Perhaps from exhaustion, by the time Ye Wuyou returned to the room, Ling Yu was already lying in bed, snoring steadily. She stood at the bedside for a while, watching his peaceful breathing. After a moment’s hesitation, she chose not to lie down, but sat by the bed instead.

As she recalled the bits and pieces of their days together, she found herself admitting that though this man had a sharp tongue, he had a good heart. He had done a lot for her. The thought of harming Ling Yu, which she’d once entertained, slowly melted away.

Checking the time in her space, it was already midnight. Outside, everyone was likely asleep. Ye Wuyou knew this was the perfect time to act. Without hesitation, she gently opened the door and slipped out.

But just as she left, Ling Yu—who had seemed asleep—suddenly opened his eyes. He had noticed her quiet, cautious movements, so unlike her usual self. Thinking back on her odd behavior that day, he was sure she was hiding something.

When he waited a while longer without seeing her return, and instead heard the courtyard gate creak open, he quickly got up, dressed, and went outside.

In the dim night, he saw a figure swiftly heading down the mountain. Watching Ye Wuyou’s nimble movements, Ling Yu frowned. So, she really does have secrets.

Without further hesitation, he followed her.

Meanwhile, Ye Wuyou was on high alert. Since what she was about to do wasn’t exactly aboveboard, she spread out her mental power to monitor her surroundings. She quickly sensed Ling Yu tailing her.

Her fists clenched. She had originally decided to let him off, but if he insisted on sticking his nose in… Fine. She’d deal with Wang Old Lady’s family first, then settle accounts with him afterward.

Soon, Ye Wuyou reached the courtyard outside Old Lady Wang’s house. Sensing that everyone inside was fast asleep, she woke Youyou from its slumber inside her space.

“Fat cat, wake up. Time to work.”

“What is it with you, bandit girl? Are you crazy? Dragging me out in the middle of the night?” Youyou grumbled angrily, still sulking about the chestnuts.

But Ye Wuyou didn’t bother coaxing it. She used her mental power to fling Youyou directly into the Wangs’ house and ordered:

“Hurry up, put everything in this house into the space.”

To motivate it, she added a promise:

“If you do a good job tonight, tomorrow I’ll make you candied chestnuts—and even cook you a full feast.”

“…Fine, but you said it!”

Hearing there were benefits in it for him, Youyou no longer hesitated and immediately started collecting everything from Old Lady Wang’s house into the space. It wasn’t picky—whatever it saw, it took. The money Old Lady Wang had hidden in her cabinet, the grain stored in their room—even the cabinet itself was swallowed into the space. Clothes, fabric not yet made into garments, shoes, bedding from another cabinet—gone.

Once it was sure nothing had been missed in Old Lady Wang’s room, Youyou moved on to the other rooms and stripped them bare as well. In the kitchen, it didn’t spare the pots, bowls, or chopsticks. By the end, not only the chickens outside but even the chicken coop—and the feathers inside—were all swept into the space.

“Bandit girl, I’m pretty much done. Do what you need to do and hurry up about it—I’m going back to sleep,” Youyou said at last. Having finished its work, it no longer bothered to chatter. It was exhausted: for the past few days, whenever it had a spare moment in the space, it had been sorting supplies. And since Ye Wuyou had put wild boars and chickens into the space earlier, it also had to feed them. Every day was tiring. If not for Ye Wuyou’s promises of delicious food, it would have quit long ago.

To Ye Wuyou, it looked like the beast was just gathering supplies. But in Ling Yu’s eyes, who was following her, it seemed like she was merely standing quietly outside Old Lady Wang’s house, staring at it. He thought maybe she couldn’t sleep, and, still upset about the past, had come to brood here. He was wondering how to persuade her to come back with him when suddenly she moved.

He saw her go to the woodshed and carry out several bundles of dry firewood, which she carefully set around the house.

Realizing what she was about to do, Ling Yu rushed forward to stop her, lowering his voice:
“What are you doing?”

Ye Wuyou’s eyes went cold when she saw him trying to stop her. “If you don’t want me to hate you, you’d better let go of me.”

Seeing that hatred in her gaze, Ling Yu was silent for a moment. Finally, he released her. The Wang family had done so many wrongs, and treated Ye Wuyou terribly—so if she wanted revenge, why not? He wasn’t some pious saint.

Then, watching her struggle with the firewood, he stepped forward, lifted the bundle from her arms, and asked simply:
“Where should this one go?”

Ye Wuyou thought he was about to stop her again, but the next second he was asking where to place the firewood. When she didn’t answer, he picked a spot he thought suitable and laid it down.

“Go on and finish. It’s not exactly a good deed, so the sooner we’re gone, the better—before anyone gets suspicious.”

Since he said so, Ye Wuyou didn’t hesitate. She set down two more bundles, then struck a flame. The dry wood caught instantly, roaring up with thick smoke.

She didn’t intend for Old Lady Wang’s family to just die inside—that would be too easy for them. So, as the fire grew, she scattered some powder that would jolt the sleepers awake.

Flames surged, and after exchanging a glance, she and Ling Yu ran swiftly back toward the mountain.

By the time they reached higher ground, they could see Old Lady Wang’s house engulfed in flames, neighbors already shouting to put it out. Ye Wuyou wasn’t worried the fire would spread—she had checked carefully beforehand and even set up barriers.

Inside, the family coughed violently in their sleep, then woke to see their home ablaze. They bolted for the door, not even stopping to put on shoes.

In the end, though the fire was huge, they escaped with only minor injuries. But the speed of the blaze was strange, and by the time it was finally extinguished, their house was reduced to ash.

Some neighbors began whispering:

“How did Old Lady Wang’s house suddenly catch fire like that? And look—none of the connected houses next door were touched.”

“Who knows? Maybe it’s retribution. Think about all the vile things they’ve done—was any of it decent?”

“Exactly! Other than Old Second’s family, who were real people, the rest of them never acted like humans. Old Second and his wife gave their lives saving Old First’s youngest son, and how did they treat his daughter afterward? The uncle nearly beat her to death. And that Old Lady Wang—selling her own granddaughter! As a grandmother!”

“No kidding. Sounds like karma to me.”

“Shh! Keep your voices down. Don’t you realize what time it is? This is the seventies—you want to get caught talking superstition and end up in jail?”

Though others agreed in their hearts, they dared not speak openly.

Old Lady Wang’s family sat weeping in front of the ruins, utterly bewildered. They didn’t know how such a blaze had started, only that it had almost killed them.

“My life is so bitter!” Old Lady Wang wailed. “At my age, and my house burned down! Someone must be trying to harm me! I’ll report this to the village head—I won’t let the villain’s scheme succeed. My house, my money, my belongings—everything’s gone!”

She refused to believe it was divine punishment. To her, someone had clearly set her up.

The other villagers only curled their lips in silence. She should be glad to have escaped alive. Still wanting her things back? Dream on.

But since it was a tragic matter, no one said this to her face. They only sighed inwardly, wondering how this family could possibly live on now.

Too distraught to sleep, Old Lady Wang’s family sat awake until morning, when the village head finally arrived to see what had happened.