Chapter 17 – Exposure

The wild chickens suddenly vanished from her sight!

Strange!

She had just touched the wild chickens’ tails, how could they suddenly disappear?

Xia Tian stood up and searched the area, but she still couldn’t find any trace of the wild chickens, as if they had vanished into thin air.

Vanished into thin air?

She suddenly had a peculiar thought, feeling cautious as she looked around to make sure no one was around. She then moved behind a large tree and quickly entered her space.

Sure enough!

The wild chickens were quietly lying in her space, motionless.

Xia Tian went over and poked one with her finger.

It wasn’t dead; they probably fainted as soon as they entered.

After thinking back to what had just happened, she concluded that as long as she could touch something and thought about putting it into the space, it would be stored there.

Xia Tian picked up one of the wild chickens and murmured a command. In an instant, she was back behind the tree.

The wild chicken in her hand immediately fluttered when it exited the space, lively and jumping around just like before. It seemed her analysis was correct.

This space could store living creatures other than herself, and once they entered, they lost consciousness. However, once they left the space, there was no lasting effect on them.

She was quite pleased. If she encountered wild boars again, as long as she handled it properly and touched one as it charged at her, she could store it in the space. That way, wouldn’t she be able to eat meat whenever she wanted?

Haha!

It was a good day. She took two wild chickens out and tied them with grass ropes.

She packed the mushrooms in a bag and placed the wild chickens underneath in the basket, covering them with clean tree leaves and adding the wild eggs. Then, she grabbed the bag and headed down the mountain.

When Xia Tian returned home, she placed the basket down. She didn’t see Shen Nian in the yard, but noticed that the bamboo sieve under the apricot tree was halfway done. She thought that perhaps he was tired from weaving and had gone back to his room to rest.

She didn’t pay much attention. These past few days, Shen Nian had rarely coughed under the influence of the spiritual spring water, and she wasn’t worried about him having a relapse.

Moreover, she had noticed that the spiritual spring water didn’t have the same noticeable effect on him as it did on her. After drinking it, Shen Nian didn’t recover immediately, but he was definitely improving slowly.

Xia Tian took the wild chicken eggs and the chickens out of the basket and started boiling water to scald the chicken feathers.

After cleaning the two chickens, she put one in a pot to stew for soup.

The other one, she planned to stir-fry with chili later. Last time, Aunt Yao had given her a bunch of dried chili peppers, which came in handy.

Looking at the sky, it was still a bit early for dinner, so Xia Tian decided to sort through the half-bag of mushrooms she had picked up earlier.

Fresh mushrooms had to be cleaned of any leaves or dirt, and those that couldn’t be eaten right away had to be spread out and dried; otherwise, they would spoil quickly.

She set aside the slightly crushed mushrooms to add to the chicken soup later.

The whole mushrooms were spread out on the bamboo sieve and left in the yard to dry.

She then cleaned the wild vegetables she had picked this morning, planning to stir-fry them for dinner.

Once everything was ready, it wasn’t late, but she hurried to fetch water twice.

Xia Tian kept coming in and out, but Shen Nian hadn’t appeared.

Strange?

Usually, he woke up at the slightest sound, so what was going on today?

Wait, could something have happened again?

Xia Tian startled herself with her thoughts and hurried to the upper room.

She flung open the door curtain and saw Shen Nian sitting dazedly on the kang (bed).

“Shen Dage? What’s wrong?” she asked cautiously as she approached.

Seeing that Shen Nian didn’t respond, Xia Tian waved her hand in front of his eyes. “Shen Dage?”

“Xia Tian?” Shen Nian finally reacted.

“Yeah, it’s me. What’s wrong?” Xia Tian asked, a bit worried.

“It’s nothing!” Shen Nian spoke after a long pause, finally saying only two words.

Xia Tian patted her chest. “Shen Dage, you scared me to death! I thought something happened to you. I’ve been calling you for ages, and you didn’t respond.”

“Xia Tian!” Shen Nian called her name in a very formal tone for the first time.

What was going on? Xia Tian placed her hand on her chest, her heart now racing.

“Did… did you finish cooking?” After a long wait, Shen Nian finally asked.

Xia Tian was so stunned she almost choked. How could he ask about dinner after making her wait for so long?

“What a guy! Asking about dinner after making me wait like this!”

She turned around angrily and stomped toward the kitchen. She was certain Shen Nian didn’t mean to ask that question earlier.

Fine, if he didn’t want to talk, then she wouldn’t bother asking!

Xia Tian clanged around in the kitchen, venting her frustration with the pots and pans.

After a while, she found herself chuckling.

Wasn’t it a good thing Shen Nian was fine?

Why was she making such a big deal out of it?

Their relationship was more like harmonious living partners, not even quite ordinary friends.

“You’re dangerous, Xia Tian!” she warned herself inwardly.

Xia Tian let go of her unnecessary thoughts and began preparing dinner.

At dinner, Shen Nian noticed that Xia Tian had returned to her usual self and breathed a sigh of relief.

He had always known that she was very smart and that her earlier words couldn’t fool her, but she had been considerate enough not to press the issue.

Shen Nian could feel that he had been healed a lot these past few days, but he was also afraid that he was just imagining it and didn’t have the courage to investigate further.

In the afternoon, while weaving in the yard, he had felt a bit tired and went to his room to drink some water.

Before long, he felt a slight warmth in his dantian. This sensation had not occurred since his poison flared up.

Shen Nian thought it was just his imagination and immediately sat cross-legged on the kang to meditate.

He wasn’t wrong.

A slight flow of energy began to gather from all over his body in his dantian.

Though the flow was faint enough to be almost imperceptible, it was real.

Shen Nian knew that this could only mean one thing – the poison in his body was gradually being neutralized.

But how?

The divine doctor had said the poison had entered his five organs and could not be cured by any medicine!

Shen Nian slowly recalled that the last time his poison flared up, it was Xia Tian who helped him, and after that, his recovery had been faster than usual.

Water!

It was after she gave him water twice that he suddenly felt much better.

Afterward, Xia Tian insisted that he drink water every day and kept a close eye on whether he finished the entire teapot of water.

But she was just an ordinary farm girl. How could she have the antidote to cure his poison?

Who was she really?

Yet, Shen Nian also knew that Xia Tian was definitely not an undercover agent sent by that person.

That person only wanted him dead—there was no way they would give him the antidote.

And this girl was kind-hearted, straightforward, and would never hide her thoughts.

So, when Xia Tian had called out to him earlier, he had thought of asking her directly.

But when the words reached his mouth, he still didn’t ask.

In fact, what he had wanted to say more than anything today was “Thank you!”

For the first time in three years, someone had given him hope for survival.

But based on her actions these past few days, it seemed like this girl didn’t want him to know the truth.

So, he decided to pretend he didn’t know.

There was still plenty of time ahead, wasn’t there?

Xia Tian, unaware that her secret had already been exposed, looked at Shen Nian’s face, which now appeared unaffected, and went on with her dinner preparations, thoroughly enjoying the chicken soup with two large bowls of rice.