Chapter 19: Defying the Heavens

“I heard that this mountain range is about forty miles long from south to north, and twenty to thirty miles wide from east to west.

The nearest village to the north of Daheishan Village is more than a hundred miles away, called Fuyu Village;

The nearest village to the east of Daheishan Village is more than fifty miles away, called Sijiacun;

The nearest village to the west is called Xiaoying Village, more than one hundred and twenty miles away;

Because Daheishan Village is only relatively far from the southern mountains, another village, called Shaoguo Village, can exist in this place surrounded by mountains on four sides, and the two villages are about five miles apart.

Actually, it wasn’t this close before. After news of the valley’s “heavy evil spirit” spread, the people of Daheishan Village were scared and moved south. If the people of Shaoguo Village hadn’t disagreed, they would have moved directly to that village.”

Even without seventeen years of life in Daheishan Village in her previous life, an ordinary eight-year-old child growing up in this rather special place would roughly know this much.

“Why are the other villages so far away? Is it also because of this valley?” Xiang Wentian asked, puzzled.

“Actually, no. It’s mainly because the land within a hundred miles outside the mountains is extremely barren, full of rocks, and completely unsuitable for farming. The worst part is that you can’t even dig wells.

Without arable land or water, people simply can’t survive in such a place.”

“Is the soil in Daheishan Village and Shaoguo Village fertile?” Xiang Wentian had arrived during a snowfall; the ground was covered with thick snow, making it impossible to judge the soil quality.

“Not really. The land is scarce; they can barely feed themselves without major natural disasters,” Leng You shook her head.

This is why the two villages remained poor and backward for many years, and Leng You felt no sympathy whatsoever.

During her seventeen years living here in her previous life, due to the Leng family’s deliberate slander and rumors, the people of the two villages were filled with malice towards her, viewing her as an extremely ominous presence.

Children often followed her, throwing stones and calling her a jinx.

This kind of ostracism and abuse was a wound that would never heal. It was also the reason why she constantly wanted to escape, making her easily deceived by Wang Zicheng.

Hatred surged from her heart, blood, bone marrow, and every cell in her body. Leng You clenched her fists, gritting her teeth, unable to stop the bone-chilling frost that permeated her entire being.

“Youyou?” Xiang Wentian stared at Leng You in astonishment.

This wasn’t the first time he had sensed such overwhelming hatred from this eight-year-old child.

“I don’t understand why they would harbor such malice towards a child, especially my father.” This was something Leng You could never understand or reconcile, in this life or the last.

She wasn’t someone who easily showed her emotions, but she frequently lost control around Xiang Wentian.

“Because they are inherently evil, it’s in their bones. And… some fathers simply don’t deserve the title.

Don’t try to change such people, and don’t let yourself get hurt. Instead, make yourself strong and retaliate with evil. Understand?”

Xiang Wentian knelt down, holding Leng You’s shoulders. Beneath his deep, ink-like gaze was a surge of anger and coldness, with a trace of tenderness flashing through his firmness.

“Understood.” Leng You slightly curled her lips.

That fleeting flash of bloodlust didn’t escape Xiang Wentian’s eyes.

Xiang Wentian paused slightly but didn’t speak, simply ruffling Leng You’s hair again with his large hand.

He couldn’t tell a child who had suffered so much inhuman torture and abuse to forgive and forget. In this environment, that would only make her weaker.

Xiang Wentian also firmly believed in his judgment. This kind of teaching wouldn’t twist her personality or lead her to extremes. Even if she became cold-blooded and heartless, it would be better than being weak.

Besides, how could one repay kindness with kindness?

The two examined the cliff bottom but found nothing special.

“I wonder if there are any treasures hidden in that cave.” After finding nothing, Leng You turned her attention to the cave entrance.

“That cave is too small, and the entrance is filled with hot spring water. There’s nothing in there.

Besides, that’s the source of the hot spring water. The temperature inside must be extremely high. Even if you could get in, it would be very dangerous.”

Xiang Wentian once again affectionately ruffled Leng You’s hair, a smile appearing in his eyes.

No matter how precocious, a child’s fantasies will always exist.

“What about the cliff wall?

Even less likely. Even if there’s something, it’s inaccessible. The cliff wall is steep and smooth.”

Leng You shifted her gaze to the almost vertical cliff wall, before answering herself.

Retracting her gaze, she showed no disappointment. This valley was another gift from heaven, granting her a second chance at life.

“Let’s go back!” Xiang Wentian turned, kneeling down and offering his back to Leng You.

He had read “satisfaction” in Leng You’s eyes. The greed that many adults couldn’t control was absent in this child.

“I don’t need a piggyback; I’m not tired. Let’s go through the forest and see if we can find anything new.” Leng You refused, taking Xiang Wentian’s hand.

“Let’s go.” Xiang Wentian didn’t insist. After a few days of contact, he had seen the child’s stubborn side.

Entering the depths of the forest, they realized that roe deer, pheasants, and rabbits were truly rampant. Besides these, they also found an abundance of spotted doves, silly half-chickens, and quails.

This situation provided Leng You with the best training opportunity. Xiang Wentian patiently taught her how to aim and capture these animals with a slingshot.

After dozens of training sessions, Leng You actually hit a rabbit on her own, although not as decisively as Xiang Wentian, the rabbit fell and struggled, unable to stand up.

“My technique is still lacking.” Leng You identified the problem herself.

“It’s far beyond the level of ordinary people.” Xiang Wentian was inwardly amazed.

Leng You’s touch, strength, and especially her intuition were simply incredible. Others might take a month or even a year or two to achieve this level, but she had done it in less than a day.

“Shall we practice here from now on?” With her first success, Leng You was excited and more confident.

“Okay.” Xiang Wentian had the same idea.

It was getting dark. Besides the four roe deer, they had also hunted six rabbits and eight quails. Returning to where they had set their traps, they found nine pheasants caught.

“That’s a lot.” Leng You worried about carrying them back up the valley, acknowledging that they had already been very restrained.