Chapter 42: Entering the Space Again

She patted her chest and waited for a long time before she finally managed to swallow it down.

Once she had recovered, her first instinct was to head toward that small pool of water. She set down the buns in her hands, cupped the water, and prepared to bring it to her mouth.

But suddenly, she froze.

She stood up, splashed the water onto the nearby patch of land where she had previously planted seeds, and turned to walk straight toward the house.

When she emerged again a moment later, she was carrying a teak spoon and a small red sandalwood bowl. She returned to the edge of the small pool.

Using her willpower, she searched through the pile of items collected from the Ge family and found a coarse porcelain bowl. She used the spoon to scoop some water into the bowl, intending to test it.

Only then did she remember that she hadn't seen the two chickens she had collected from the Ge family.

Could they have been stored in the warehouse along with the other items from the Ge family?

But when she had been rummaging through the items earlier, why hadn't she seen them?

As the thought of the chickens crossed her mind, she heard a "cluck, cluck, cluck" sound. Following the noise, she saw that the chickens had actually appeared on a nearby hillside. She guessed that since the warehouse could not accommodate living creatures, the two chickens must have headed toward those unknown trees on the mountain.

After all, aside from the mountain, which held some signs of life, the rest of the space had been completely empty; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a wasteland.

When she had gained spiritual power from the jade medallion, she had known that her will could control everything within this space. Now was the perfect time to test it.

She placed the coarse porcelain bowl at the foot of the hillside and used her willpower to drive the chickens toward it. To her surprise, it actually worked.

After the chickens drank the water, nothing bad happened; instead, they seemed even more energetic and spirited. This put Chu Xue at ease.

She used the teak spoon to scoop a bowl of pool water for herself. It was cool and sweet upon entering her mouth. Although she couldn't immediately feel any physical changes, it was indeed refreshing and soul-soothing.

Thinking of her parents in the hospital, an idea formed in her mind.

She walked quickly back to the house, fetched a wooden bucket, and went to the freshwater area on the outskirts to wash it clean. After confirming with the chickens that there were no issues, she carried a bucket of fresh water back to the kitchen and washed out the two pots—one large and one small—on the stove.

Then, she fetched another bucket of pool water and poured it into the large pot. The firewood collected from the Ge family finally came in handy; she planned to boil a pot of pool water to keep on hand, so she could slowly administer it to her parents later.

Though she didn't know exactly what properties the water possessed, she was certain it was beneficial and harmless to the body.

Next came the task of making bait. In her previous life, due to her job, she had accompanied clients fishing many times and had learned quite a bit about it in private. Mixing bait was simple for her.

At this moment, she felt fortunate that she had visited the Ge family before coming to the city; otherwise, she feared she would be like a skilled cook unable to cook without rice—unable to even attempt making bait.

With efficient movements, she quickly prepared a large bowl of bait.

She found a piece of clothing from the pile of Ge family's belongings, tore off a pocket with force to use as a cloth bag, and put a small portion of the bait inside for backup.

She then continued to rummage through the pile, hoping to find something useful to fashion into simple fishing tools.

However, in her vigorous searching, she accidentally knocked over Granny Ge's sewing basket, causing a small cloth bundle to bounce and roll away.

Initially, she didn't think much of it, but when she picked it up to throw it back into the basket, the texture felt wrong.

Upon opening it, she discovered it was Granny Ge's hidden money, containing nine ten-yuan notes rolled up inside.

It turned out Granny Ge had hidden her money here; truth be told, an ordinary person would never have thought to look in such a place.

Having this money allowed her to breathe a slight sigh of relief; at least she wouldn't have to be quite so rushed in raising the funds for her parents' medical treatment.

(End of Chapter)