Chapter 1: and

Da Wu Dynasty, Yun Prefecture, Autumn.

The sun had just risen. By the riverbank outside Xiaoshi Village, several people were frantically fishing for something in the water.

"Oh, thank goodness, we finally got her out," a strange woman's voice said with relief.

"Quick, you lot on the side, give a hand," a man’s gruff voice commanded.

Amidst the chatter, several hands reached out, pulling and dragging the soaking wet Song Liyun onto the bank.

Song Liyun lay half-reclined on the withered grass, gasping for air.

That was far too close!

She had spent her days wandering through the ruins of the city, searching for supplies.

Exhausted, starving, and mentally drained, she had finally found a shelter that others had abandoned.

But she hadn't expected a swarm of mutant rats to be inside. The moment she opened the door, she was besieged.

In the crisis, her companions fled first. There were too many rats, and despite her desperate struggle, she couldn't escape. In despair, she had jumped into the river, hoping only not to die in too gruesome a fashion.

It seemed she had been rescued.

The lingering fear of her narrow escape made her heart hammer like a drum. Before she could even offer words of thanks, she was stunned by the scene before her.

Surrounded by seven or eight men and women, they were dressed in coarse cloth with slanted-front tunics—much like the attire of ancient farmers recorded in the historical archives from before the Great Cataclysm of the Era.

Each of their faces held a mixture of curiosity and sympathy.

"Hey! Young lady, whose family are you from? How did you fall into the river?" a middle-aged man holding a wooden staff asked loudly.

He had been on his way to check his crops when he saw a girl from afar, head bowed, walking straight toward the river.

The water there was deep. He had shouted for her to stay away several times, but the girl seemed not to hear him.

When he rushed over to check, he found she had fallen in, which was why he had called for the others working in the fields to help.

"That's right, this girl looks unfamiliar. She doesn't look like she's from our Xiaoshi Village. Could she be visiting relatives and lost her way, ending up here at the Old Crow Pond at the edge of the village?" Someone stepped forward to examine Song Liyun’s face closely.

Another woman hurried in from behind the crowd. As soon as she saw Song Liyun, she said loudly, "Girl, whose family are you from? Why did you come to the water's edge? Don't you know the water is deep here? People have drowned in it."

The woman’s voice was stern, yet filled with deep concern.

Song Liyun looked up. The woman appeared to be in her forties or fifties, her hair styled in a bun held by a silver hairpin.

She crouched down, nimbly wringing the water from Song Liyun’s clothes before untying her own apron and draping it over the girl’s shoulders to hide the embarrassment of her wet, clinging garments.

Seeing that Song Liyun remained silent, the woman softened her tone. "Girl! It’s not that I’m lecturing you, but these are rare peaceful times. You must live your life well. As long as you’re alive, you can overcome any hardship."

"My surname is Huang, and my husband is the village head of Xiaoshi Village. If you have any trouble, just tell me, and I will help you."

A woman nearby helped wring the water from her hair, also offering comforting words: "That’s right! Girl, just speak up. With the village head’s wife backing you, you’ll be fine. We people of Xiaoshi Village are the most reasonable, and we help each other out. We’ve never had a family lose a life here."

The others were also chattering, asking questions, and more villagers were running toward them.

Listening to the women’s inquiries, Song Liyun’s eyes flickered.

She looked at "her" arms—slender and weak, not the muscular, hardened limbs she had possessed after using biological agents.

And the clothes she wore—long sleeves, slanted front, a pale red skirt... the style was identical to these "ancients" around her.

She looked around.

Although this place looked like the area outside a base’s defensive wall, there was no waist-high, razor-sharp grass, no beasts with bared fangs and claws, and no gray, lifeless sky.

The breeze was gentle, the sunlight bright, the water rippled softly, and in the distance, there were neat fields and houses.

These were the beautiful scenes that only existed before the Era of Catastrophe.

Could it be that she had left that doomed planet and returned to the ancient times before the Era?

Looking at the bright sun and feeling the concern of the people around her, Song Liyun’s heart suddenly felt warm and alive.

After ten years of the apocalypse, she was willing to accept this, even if it were a dream or the afterlife.

But not knowing the situation, she needed to observe for a while.

The crowd grew larger, everyone speculating about who the girl was and why she wouldn't speak.

Just then, an old woman screamed as she charged into the crowd, swinging a slap at Song Liyun: "You shameless little hussy, you little slut! You’ve grown bold enough to run off and try to kill yourself to scare people, have you?

Do you believe me? If you run off again, I’ll kill those two beasts back home!"

Although Song Liyun was being supported by the village head’s wife, she was startled by the woman’s scream. As she looked up, she saw a withered, claw-like hand swinging toward her cheek.

Before the village head’s wife could intervene, Song Liyun’s instinct for danger took over. She kicked out.

However, having just been pulled from the water, her body was weak, and she was sitting on the ground. Her kick only landed on the old woman’s stomach.

The force was insufficient; while the old woman was knocked over, Song Liyun also fell backward.

The incident happened so suddenly that the village head’s wife and the other woman gasped, rushing to help her up. "Girl, are you alright?"

On the other side, because they were by the riverbank where the ground was uneven, covered in broken grass and stones, the old woman, kicked by Song Liyun, lost her footing and tumbled to the ground.

Like a startled chick, her already sharp voice rose by eight octaves, piercing everyone’s eardrums.

"Ah! Ouch! You’re trying to kill me!"

This was a pile of soft mud and grass; even falling a few more times wouldn't break the skin.

No one in the crowd moved to help the old woman, Gu. The village head’s wife frowned and scolded, "Old Woman Gu, have you gone mad? Attacking someone for no reason."

Song Liyun’s kick had been fast. Others only saw Old Woman Gu lunge forward and then Song Liyun fall backward. They assumed Old Woman Gu had lost her balance while lunging to hit someone, accidentally knocking Song Liyun over.

Old Woman Gu didn't understand how she had been kicked over either. Furious and anxious, and now being accused of attacking someone for no reason, her face turned the color of a pig’s liver. She opened her mouth to curse.

But remembering her son’s instructions from that morning, she suppressed her rage, nimbly scrambled up, and grabbed Song Liyun’s arm, threatening through gritted teeth: "You little slut, aren't you coming back with me?"

Song Liyun pushed her hand away and said sternly, "Who are you, and why should I go with you?"

She had now clearly seen the old woman’s face.

An indigo-blue gown, in her forties or fifties, a long, horse-faced appearance, and a fierce glint in her eyes that made it clear she was not to be trifled with.

Old Woman Gu hadn't expected the dead girl to pretend not to know her, and she flew into a rage. "Song Liyun, you little slut, what kind of look is that? Are you trying to rebel just because you have someone backing you?

You bitch, I am your grandmother! Even if I want you to go back and die, you will follow me obediently. If you dare to run off again, I’ll skin you alive."

This was a naked threat!

Song Liyun turned her head to look at Old Woman Gu, her eyes narrowing slightly.

As Old Woman Gu was speaking, she met Song Liyun’s icy gaze. She was startled and opened her mouth several times, unable to utter another word.

Since when did this little bitch have such a look and such an aura?

But after only a moment, Old Woman Gu began to curse again: "What are you looking at? Keep looking and I’ll dig those dog eyes out!"

She had been a bully for decades and was experienced in fighting and arguing; she wouldn't be scared off by a single look.

The children of the Song family’s eldest branch all had round eyes with slightly drooping corners, and their irises were lighter than most, making them look cold. In Old Woman Gu’s eyes, those were "dog eyes."

As she shouted, the surrounding villagers realized who she was, and they began to speak up

"Hey! So this is your granddaughter! Old Woman Gu, your granddaughter fell into the water, and as her grandmother, you don't ask a single thing, just start hitting and cursing so viciously."

"She only recognizes the ones from Song the Second’s family; the girl from the eldest branch doesn't count as a granddaughter to her."

Some in the crowd had already guessed the identity of the girl who fell into the water, and their words became sarcastic.

Seeing everyone siding with Song Liyun, Old Woman Gu jumped in anger, slapping her thighs and cursing: "I’m disciplining my own kin, what business is it of yours? Standing here watching my family’s business and gossiping—you’d be better off going home to see if your wives are cheating on you."

Hearing her foul language and wild accusations, the villagers were also enraged.

But Old Woman Gu was notorious in the village for being shameless and unreasonable. Arguing with her only brought a bellyful of anger and nothing else.

So, some began to grumble.

"Your Song the Second’s family has done plenty of wicked things. There’s nothing worth watching; it’s just disgusting."

Old Woman Gu was about to go mad with rage. Just then, a short, stout woman suddenly rushed into the crowd from the outside.

This is my first time writing a "golden finger" (cheat/special ability), I hope it feels different!

Please vote! Throw them at me!

(End of chapter)