Chapter 005: The Emergence of Xianyuan

Lin Ye and Xu Chuchu walked in through the door.

Lin Ye stood at the doorway and casually dropped the box of milk he was carrying onto the ground. The courtyard was covered with water stains left by Lin Jiu when he was cleaning the old furniture. Lin Ye felt sorry for his new shoes and didn't want to walk into the courtyard.

Lin Jiu saw it but pretended not to, continuing to wash the wooden box that was filled with water from the well. For a while, no one said anything.

"Um, Mom asked me to ask about the situation," Lin Ye finally managed to say after a long pause, his voice strained and lacking the usual respect for his sister.

"Don't worry, Mr. Li agreed, and the money has been invested. We'll be able to get it back in two months," Lin Jiu said calmly, as she continued to clean the box, which was relatively clean inside but covered with a thick layer of dust and dirt on the outside.

With nothing else to say, Lin Ye glanced around the entire courtyard, looked at Lin Jiu who was vigorously scrubbing the box, and sneered.

"Why bother cleaning this? Who uses these things now? And it's so ugly... We're about to make a fortune, and you still look like this, poor and pathetic."

Lin Jiu had always had good hearing and caught every word of Lin Ye's muttering. She had no intention of dealing with him now and continued to scrub the box, making a rustling sound with the cloth.

"Let's go, let's go back," Lin Ye said, feeling bored, and pulled Xu Chuchu to leave. In Lin Ye's eyes, his sister Lin Jiu was just like their mother, always under someone's control. He never doubted that this useless sister could scheme anything in the family.

Xu Chuchu had not witnessed the details of how Lin Jiu had interacted with the Lin family before, so she was still wary of her sudden return.

She was not as pampered as Lin Ye, so she walked up to Lin Jiu with the milk in her hand, her pretty face filled with a smile. She looked down on Lin Jiu, but when she saw that Lin Jiu had the money to buy a house with her name on it, Xu Chuchu had to ask herself.

"Hello, elder sister."

Xu Chuchu deliberately placed the milk within Lin Jiu's line of sight, and Lin Jiu indeed looked over. It was the expired milk she had bought at the mall on her way to the Lin family a few days ago.

"Oh, it's you, Chuchu. Please have a seat," Lin Jiu pointed to the old bench behind her, which she had already wiped clean. Xu Chuchu looked at it and finally sat down cautiously.

Lin Jiu rolled her eyes secretly, feeling that in her past life, she had been too stupid to be killed by this hypocritical woman. Now, seeing Xu Chuchu putting on a show in front of her with her innocent face, Lin Jiu felt not much resentment, but rather a bit of excitement.

Xu Chuchu sat next to Lin Jiu for a while, trying to engage her in conversation, but Lin Jiu was completely focused on scrubbing the box and paid her no attention.

"Elder sister, what kind of project did you and Mr. Li invest in? I don't know much about it, so just tell me," Xu Chuchu said, trying to act like a neighbor girl.

"It's a private resort in City B," Lin Jiu said, making up the story as she went along, leaving the rest for Xu Chuchu to imagine.

"A private resort?" Xu Chuchu's eyes lit up. She had deliberately learned about some of Xu Zhiqiang's life because of her background, and she knew what a private resort represented. It was a place for the wealthy and influential to spend money. Why would Lin Jiu be involved in such an investment?

"Yes, usually, they don't want investors, but Mr. Li has some connections..." Lin Jiu said half-truths, leaving the rest for Xu Chuchu to figure out.

Xu Chuchu felt somewhat reassured by what Lin Jiu said. At worst, Lin Jiu had written a loan agreement for 500,000 yuan, and she was still young. She could wait for two years. Xu Chuchu was really afraid of living in poverty, even if Lin Ye was just a spoiled brat, she could accept it. Besides, she could always divorce after getting married, right? Then she could take the money and find someone with better conditions.

However, Xu Chuchu really sensed the hidden meaning in Lin Jiu's words. According to Lin Ye and Lin's mother, Lin Jiu was just a salesperson in City B, with some performance but not in any leadership position. How could Mr. Li's connections be related to her?

As Xu Chuchu's gaze lingered on Lin Jiu's profile, she could see that the Lin family's genetic makeup was quite good, and upon closer inspection, Lin Jiu's features were quite attractive. However, her rough and dull skin made her look unremarkable at first glance... How could she attract a man from such a good family?

Thinking about Mr. Li mentioned by Lin Jiu and looking at Lin Ye, who was wandering aimlessly outside the courtyard and not taking care of anything, Xu Chuchu couldn't describe the feeling in her heart. Wasn't she much better looking than Lin Jiu? If she wanted to make money quickly, her conditions were much better than Lin Jiu's.

Although Xu Chuchu had thought about finding a wealthy man to rely on, her own mother's fate was there for all to see, and she didn't want that kind of life.

Xu Chuchu was making plans in her mind, and she caught sight of an old jewelry box casually placed on the bench.

At a glance, Xu Chuchu fell in love with the pair of jade earrings.

"These are so beautiful..." Xu Chuchu picked them up and before Lin Jiu could react, she had already put the earrings on. With her fair skin and delicate features, the jade earrings looked stunning on her.

Lin Jiu watched as Xu Chuchu quickly took out her phone and opened the camera to admire herself after putting on the earrings, her brows furrowed tightly.

She realized that she had been neglecting some details.

In her past life, when Xu Chuchu awakened her spatial abilities, she was wearing this pair of earrings! Coupled with her previous suspicions about Xu Chuchu's second awakening of abilities... Lin Jiu felt that she had discovered a remarkable secret.

If Xu Chuchu didn't awaken a second ability, but... what if it was because of these earrings?

Lin Jiu vividly remembered that Lin Ye had asked Xu Chuchu to get rid of the remaining earring, but Xu Chuchu refused. Since then, whenever Lin Jiu saw Xu Chuchu, she could see that earring on her ear.

If the earring really held some secret, then it would explain why Xu Chuchu wanted to kill her.

The earring came from Lin Jiu, and she was afraid that Lin Jiu would discover her secret.

Lin Jiu's gaze was sharp, and she swallowed hard, her voice low and bitter.

"Take it off."

"Elder sister?"

"I said take it off. This is something left to me by our grandmother, and it's not for you."

"Sis, I really like this earring. I'll buy you an even better pair in return, okay?"

Xu Chuchu didn't get angry at Lin Jiu's intense attitude and still wore an innocent expression, with pleading eyes. She didn't know why, but she just liked this pair of earrings, and she was particularly attached to it, wishing she could just take it and leave.

Xu Chuchu looked towards Lin Ye at the door, hoping he would say something for her, but Lin Ye had already left when he found out that Lin Jiu had invested in a private club, and he went to report to Lin's mother.

"I'll say it again, this is my grandmother's heirloom, take it off for me."

At this moment, Lin Jiu's eyes unconsciously carried a hint of bloodthirst, making Xu Chuchu, who had never experienced any substantial danger before the apocalypse, stand on end, not daring to dawdle any longer.

"Elder sister, don't be angry. I'll give it back to you..." Xu Chuchu touched the earring and reluctantly took it off to give it back to Lin Jiu, feeling very resentful. It wasn't something valuable anyway... If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't offend Lin Jiu now, she would have taken the earring back even if it meant causing a rift between them.

Xu Chuchu put the earring back in the wooden box, knowing that it would be hers one day. Considering Lin Jiu's position in the family, she didn't believe that Lin's mother would leave something she liked to Lin Jiu.

After putting down the earring, the atmosphere in the courtyard became heavy. Since she had already obtained the information she wanted to know, there was no point in staying any longer.

Xu Chuchu bid farewell to Lin Jiu and left. Before leaving, she lingered for a moment on the new lock on the door of the storage room.

Lin Jiu's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't underestimate this woman when it came to being petty.

As soon as Xu Chuchu left, Lin Jiu quickly locked the courtyard gate and hurried towards the earring.

Please, let it be as she thought!

Lin Jiu's heart was in turmoil, and for a moment, she couldn't figure out what this meant to her.

Was it a guarantee of survival, gaining another skill in addition to her water-based abilities? Or was it an urgent need to prove that Xu Chuchu wasn't as outstanding as she seemed?

At this moment, Lin Jiu had to admit that even after experiencing a life-and-death situation and finally being willing to step out of the illusion of family affection she longed for, she still couldn't change the fact that deep down, she was inherently lowly. In fact, in her past life, at this moment, she was jealous of Xu Chuchu.

She envied the unlimited attention and tolerance from Lin's father and mother that Xu Chuchu, as an outsider, received. She envied her beautiful and charming appearance, and she envied the care and affection from the men around her...

The intense sense of inferiority and the subtle influence caused by the severe lack of parental love during her long and arduous growth process, even after dying once, she couldn't completely let go.

Lin Jiu took the earring and stood in front of the slightly blurred mirror. Her fingers trembled nervously.

Lin Jiu had her ears pierced when she was in her teens, but she never had the habit of wearing jewelry. Her ear holes had long closed, leaving only a small, inconspicuous depression on her earlobe.

Lin Jiu forcefully pushed the earring into the depression, as if she couldn't feel any pain, she just wanted to confirm.

The beautiful jade complemented the beautiful person. Lin Jiu stared at herself in the mirror and had to admit that she was far from being as attractive as Xu Chuchu...

Xu Chuchu had fair skin, and the emerald beads on her earlobe shimmered, while Lin Jiu's skin was dull and yellowish from years of hard work. She had prominent sunspots on her forehead and around her nose, which made her once seven-point features look more like three points, making it difficult to stand out in a crowd.

Hmm... Lin Jiu foolishly compared herself in front of the mirror for more than ten minutes, but nothing unusual happened.

Perhaps it was just a normal coincidence, and it was uncertain whether Xu Chuchu really liked it.

As the initial excitement faded, Lin Jiu's mood gradually calmed down. It would be false to say that she wasn't disappointed, but since this path was a dead end, she quickly gave up. She had many other things to do.

Fingers touching the earlobe, Lin Jiu finally felt an unbearable pain. Without any preparation, she forcefully pierced her earlobe again with the hook of the earring. It would be strange if it didn't hurt.

Praying desperately that her ear wouldn't get infected at such a critical moment, Lin Jiu carefully removed the earring. A bright red drop of blood flowed down and disappeared into the jade bead, leaving no trace.

???

Blinking, Lin Jiu looked at her shoulder and saw that her light-colored sweater was perfectly clean, without a single trace of blood.

Could it be?

Ignoring the pain, Lin Jiu quickly took off the other earring and deliberately let the blood drop onto the jade bead. As expected, the fresh blood was absorbed by the jade bead.

Before Lin Jiu could fully understand what was happening, her vision blurred, and when she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the room.

Where is this?

Before her eyes was a lush green expanse, about the size of two basketball courts, covered with fresh and tender grass. Beyond that was a white mist.

In the center of the grass stood a small building, made entirely of wood, looking particularly exquisite. A winding stone path was also covered with grass, making it look more like a deserted courtyard.

So, this isn't a dream?

Half surprised, Lin Jiu pinched her bare arm hard, leaving a bruise. It hurt, so she wasn't dreaming. Her guess was correct. In her past life, Xu Chuchu didn't awaken spatial abilities at all; she accidentally opened the hidden space inside the jade bead, just like her!

Lin Jiu swallowed hard, feeling weak, and walked towards the small building with legs that were too shocked to support her.

In front of the small building was a clear spring, with water flowing continuously, disappearing into the weeds, emitting a faint green glow.

Next to the spring was a stone tablet engraved with an unfamiliar font. Lin Jiu didn't recognize the script, but instinctively understood the three characters carved on the stone tablet: Little Fairy Spring.