Chapter 9: Prank

During his years in the army, Gu Shiyu had traveled far and wide and considered himself fairly knowledgeable. But he truly had never seen a fruit like this.

Puzzled, he asked, “What kind of fruit is this?”

“Don’t know, just some wild fruit I picked on the mountain.” Ji Tangtang raised an eyebrow. “What? Don’t dare eat it? Afraid it’s poisonous?”

“No, just never seen it before.” Gu Shiyu said as he bit into it.

The moment he did, his nose and eyes scrunched up together. He had never expected that a fruit smelling so fragrant could actually taste so sour. At that, he was convinced—this really must be some random wild fruit from the mountain.

Seeing his face twisted from the sourness, Ji Tangtang couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. She had done it on purpose.

This fruit was unlike ordinary ones. When unripe, it turned bright red and gave off a strong fragrance, but its taste was unbearably sour. Once ripe, it turned pale green, and its flavor became deliciously sweet. However, the ripe version was much more restrained: unless broken open, it gave off no scent at all.

When she was picking fruit in the secret realm, she had come across these and casually stuffed a few into her storage pouch, planning to use them as seasoning someday. But seeing him just now, she had gotten the sudden idea to prank him with them.

Gu Shiyu realized from her laughter that she had been teasing him on purpose. But even knowing that, he wasn’t angry. Instead, he forced himself to eat the sour fruit.

Ji Tangtang hadn’t expected that—even knowing she was playing a prank, he would still endure the sourness and finish the fruit. Seeing his eyes squeezed shut from the taste yet his face still strikingly handsome, she almost felt a little soft-hearted.

She only had a few hobbies in life: one was eating, and the other was admiring beauty. And she had to admit—Gu Shiyu really was extraordinarily handsome. Unable to stand letting a beauty suffer, she pulled out a few more fruits from her pocket and handed them to him.

“Don’t eat that one anymore. Here, eat these. These are sweet.”

Looking into her bright, sparkling eyes, Gu Shiyu’s heart skipped a beat. It was as if something strange inside him had just cracked open…

“Wait at home. When the time comes, I’ll come marry you,” Ji Tangtang said casually. She still had to return to the secret realm to reclaim land, so she didn’t linger long at the Gu household. With that, she vaulted over the wall and left.

Gu Shiyu looked at the empty window, and the corners of his lips curved into an involuntary smile. He hadn’t realized she could be such an interesting girl. It seemed the rumors about her really were unreliable.

But then, remembering how the two of them had been drugged the day before, the smile faded from his lips, replaced with an icy expression. He didn’t need to think hard to know who had drugged them and for what purpose. Their scheme was clever enough.

Now that he had left the Gu household, things had gone just as they wanted. Yet by a twist of fate, he had ruined a girl’s innocence and tied down her future. The allowance left with his comrade would never be enough to make it up to her.

For the first time since becoming paralyzed, he began to seriously consider his future.

Meanwhile, after leaving the Gu family, Ji Tangtang found a secluded spot and re-entered the secret realm.

Inside, the newly cultivated field had already been filled with spiritual spring water. She sealed the outlet of the spring, then took out rice seedlings and began planting them.

The plot she had cleared wasn’t large, enough to plant only three handfuls of seedlings. Seven or eight handfuls still remained. So once she finished planting this patch, she picked up her hoe again and continued reclaiming land.

This time, she worked more slowly than before. Besides collecting rare herbs and fruit trees, she also harvested ordinary medicinal plants, planning to take them to the supply and marketing cooperative the next day to see if she could exchange them for money.

Ji Tangtang worked busily until late at night. When she was done, she didn’t leave the realm. Instead, she bathed in the spiritual spring, changed into fresh clothes, and slept there.

Although she had spent much of the night farming, time flowed differently in the realm than outside. She still managed to sleep soundly.

The next morning, she even went hunting. Though her cultivation was gone, her movements were still agile. She couldn’t take down large spirit beasts, but small animals without spiritual awareness—like rabbits and pheasants—were easy prey.

Since she had no cultivation now, she didn’t dare venture too far. She stayed within familiar territory, collecting several nests of pheasant eggs and catching two rabbits before leaving the realm.

This time, however, she didn’t bring the rabbits home. She tucked them into her storage pouch, planning to take them to the black market in the city to try her luck. Along with the rabbits were the medicinal herbs she had collected, all ready for trade.

After preparing what she needed for the trip, Ji Tangtang went home, grabbed a crossbody cloth bag, slung a basket on her back, and, after informing her family, set out for the city.

At this time, most villagers traveled to town on foot. Only those better off could afford bicycles. But in all of Hongxing Village, apart from the Gu family, no other household owned one.

Without a bicycle, and with her cultivation gone—making it impossible to use the magical tools hidden in the realm—Ji Tangtang could only follow the original body’s memory and walk.

The original body had been frail, but after two days of eating spirit-infused food, her body had already grown much stronger. Walking wasn’t hard for her anymore. She treated it as training, a way to strengthen her body.

When tired on the road, she would secretly pull out a few fruits from her storage pouch—hidden by the cover of her cloth bag—and snack on them.

In this way, after more than an hour of walking, she finally reached Nancheng.

Once there, she first took Gu Shiyu’s wooden token and went to the Public Security Bureau to find Lin Xinming.

“Brother Lin, there’s a stunningly pretty girl outside asking for you.”
The public security officer who came to pass on Ji Tangtang’s message winked at Lin Xinming. “Brother Lin, since when did you know such a beautiful girl? Why didn’t you tell the rest of us? Could she be your wife?”

Lin Xinming replied, “Where would a wife come from? Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Really not your wife? Then, Brother Lin, be a good man and introduce her to one of us as a bride!” Zhou Jincheng was truly tempted. In all his life, he had never seen such a beautiful girl.

Seeing his expression, Lin Xinming couldn’t help but feel a bit suspicious. He knew Zhou Jincheng’s background well—both of his parents worked in government, and he was born in a military compound. His standards were always high, and many girls had chased after him, but he never took an interest in any of them. Yet today, just after seeing this girl once, he was actually asking for an introduction? Just how beautiful must she be?

But Lin Xinming couldn’t remember ever knowing such a stunning girl.

With his heart full of doubt, he went to the gatehouse. It wasn’t just Zhou Jincheng who was instantly smitten upon seeing Ji Tangtang—even the old gatekeeper, when his eyes fell on her flower-like face, felt as though his aged vision had suddenly cleared.

The original Ji had already been beautiful, and ever since Ji Tangtang had crossed over, nourished by spiritual fruits and spring water, her face had become as tender as a freshly peeled egg. Coupled with the change in her very soul, her whole bearing had transformed as well.

When Lin Xinming finally laid eyes on her, even he was briefly stunned by her dazzling beauty. But having faced life and death on the battlefield, though his heart was shaken, his expression remained calm. His eyes stayed respectful—after only one glance at Ji Tangtang, he moved them away.

Then, with polite composure, he asked, “You were looking for me? May I ask what business you have with me?”