Qin Junyao finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat down again after everyone had gathered around their luggage to rest. Having the title of being enlightened by a Bodhisattva gave her actions and demeanor a reasonable explanation.
She couldn't act according to the original owner's habits.
"Sister, were you possessed?"
The sudden voice startled Qin Junyao. Looking towards the sound, she saw the boy who had been picked up.
"Children shouldn't talk nonsense. Tell me your name, okay?"
Qin Junyao looked at the child, who was chubbier than anyone she had seen that day, and gently tried to change the subject.
"My name is Fuzi. Sister, your eyes have changed. My brother said that people's eyes don't lie. But you seem to be a good ghost, so I won't expose you."
Qin Junyao: ...
"Sister, can you phase through walls?"
"No."
"Sister, can you make me a bun?"
"No."
"Sister, can you send a dream to my brother and ask him to come pick me up?"
"No."
"Alas, you're a useless ghost."
Qin Junyao: ???
Not to mention Qin Junyao's inability to send dreams, even if she could, it would be useless, because Zhao Youcai, Fuzi's brother, had no intention of sleeping tonight.
He was currently holding a large hammer, interrogating his stepmother about how his younger brother went missing.
"Liangcai, I've told you many times, Youcai wandered off by himself. I didn't lose him. That child is my own flesh and blood. How could I possibly lose him?"
"Wuwu~~ My Youcai~~" Fuzi's mother collapsed onto a chair, covering her eyes with a handkerchief and weeping continuously.
Zhao Liangcai, the general guarding the salt lake in the northwest, tightened his grip on the large hammer, his veins bulging on his forehead with each sob from his stepmother, Madam Qian.
He wanted to know when, where, and how the child disappeared, but the woman would repeatedly cry and say that she hadn't lost him.
If his father hadn't asked him to take good care of his stepmother before he died, he would have given her a sum of money and let her remarry and leave long ago.
"General, the interrogation is complete," Suozi, Zhao Liangcai's deputy, entered from the doorway to report.
Madam Qian, who also heard the report, instantly stood up from her seat and exclaimed agitatedly,
"Interrogate?"
"Zhao Liangcai, who did you have interrogated? Your sister or your cousin? Are you even human? How could you let your soldiers interrogate them? You—"
Madam Qian was about to say more when Zhao Liangcai's stern gaze made her swallow her words.
"Madam Qian, you know better than I do whether Zhao Rui is my biological sister. Besides, my maternal grandfather's family has no cousins."
"Suozi, let's talk outside," Zhao Liangcai said, and without even looking at Madam Qian's expression, he got up and led Suozi to the courtyard.
This courtyard was an empty one they had found on their journey fleeing. Now, it was filled with Zhao Liangcai's soldiers. From the courtyard, they could hear crying from one of the rooms.
"Hammer, Zhao Rui said that Qian Duo wanted to save someone. In the confusion, Fuzi disappeared. Then they searched for a while and couldn't find him, so they sent the guards to report," Suozi said softly to Zhao Liangcai, looking down.
Suozi and Zhao Liangcai were childhood friends, having grown up in the same village. In private, Suozi habitually called Zhao Liangcai by his nickname.
"Save someone? Did you see the person being saved?" Zhao Liangcai asked.
"He's unconscious. He looks like an ordinary civilian. I don't know why Qian Duo wanted to save him. Your stepmother listened to her and lost her own son without complaint. It's truly strange. Hammer, how should we search?"
Zhao Liangcai twirled the long-handled hammer in his hand and said, "You take some men and search west along the road. Fuzi might have been carried away. It's only been three days, so he shouldn't have gone far. As long as he doesn't encounter those man-eaters, he should be fine."
"Also, escort Madam Qian and the other two to our camp first. I'll take the brothers to search east and see if we can find some food to bring back."
Suozi nodded in understanding. If Zhao Liangcai were to escort them back to the northwest, he didn't know what unreasonable demands his stepmother might make using the name of the deceased Uncle Zhao.
Their current journey was also to find food, which was why they learned of Fuzi's disappearance so quickly. The drought in the Central Plains had also caused food shortages in their region.
The soldiers in the courtyard, following Suozi's arrangements, either rested or stood guard, conserving their strength for the morning.
However, Zhao Liangcai lay on the rooftop, gazing at the starry sky, unable to sleep. One reason was his worry for his brother, whom he had raised since he was two years old. The other was his insomnia.
His mother had died when he was five. Shortly after his mother's death, his father had married a pregnant newcomer into the family. He believed his mother's spirit was protecting him to survive his childhood under his stepmother.
Therefore, at the age of thirteen, he lied about his age, adding two years, and joined the army with Suozi, who was also to be drafted.
He relied on the skills he learned from his hunter father and his bravery to fight on the battlefield for seven years, rising to the rank of general.
At the young age of twenty, Zhao Liangcai earned the nickname "Little God of War" on the border, but also the affliction of insomnia.
What good was the reputation of a God of War? Without connections, generals could only be assigned to guard the salt lakes in the northwest after the war.
Lying on the rooftop, Zhao Liangcai looked at the brightest star in the sky and prayed that Zhao Youcai would survive.
Zhao Youcai, the hungry little boy also known as Fuzi, was currently sleeping soundly next to Qin Junyao. In his dreams, buns of various fillings were flying into his mouth one by one, making him drool.
Qin Mengyao was also dreaming. In her dream, she was in a circular space covered in grass.
It looked to be about a hundred pings in area, with a well in the center. The water in the well attracted her to drink it. Sudan Novel Network.
Her steps were light as she walked to the well. She reached out to scoop the water but couldn't get it into her mouth. Frustrated, she could only keep scooping water and splashing it on her face, but no matter how she tried, the water wouldn't enter her mouth.
"Sister, sister, it's raining, sister, it's raining."
Just as Qin Junyao was thinking about whether she could drink the water by lying down by the well, she was woken up by Fuzi pushing her.
"Raining?" Qin Junyao blinked in confusion and immediately reached out to feel for the rain, but felt nothing.
"Fuzi, it's not raining."
"Huh? Sister, it was raining just now. Touch me. My face and body are all wet. I don't drool this much. The rain was so heavy, it felt like it was pouring on me," Fuzi said, pulling Qin Junyao's hand to his small chest.
When Qin Junyao touched him, she found that Fuzi was indeed wet.
It was the middle of the night, and she couldn't see clearly. She could only comfort Fuzi a few words and let him sleep on the other side. Then, inexplicably, she connected the water on Fuzi's body with the water she had been scooping in her dream.
A flicker of surprise passed through her, followed by calm. Since she had transmigrated to a fictional world, having a golden finger seemed normal.
In modern times, besides practicing and performing piano, her favorite pastime was reading online novels. A golden finger was an essential skill for every transmigrator.
After Fuzi lay down on her other side, Qin Junyao closed her eyes and tried to feel the space from her dream again.
To her surprise, she entered the space again. This time, she didn't rush to the well but stood still to observe.