Chapter 2, Time Travel 2: Skill Successfully Unlocked: Cooking
"Hey! The little idiot is out!"
When he heard the sound, Xu Xing was by the river, holding a stick and trying his luck to spear a fish.
"Haha! You actually think you can catch fish with a stick? What a fool!"
Several children ran over, and the boy in the lead was the one who had been mocking Xu Xing; he looked to be about ten years old.
Xu Xing is an adult at heart. Although she doesn't like rude brats, she wouldn't argue with a child. Besides, she's too small to beat one.
“My mother said she’s all better now, you can’t call her ‘idiot’.”
Xu Xing ignored the group of children, but a soft voice defended her.
Xu Xing looked over in surprise. The speaker was a rather cute little girl who looked a bit like the kind Sister Wang. Could they be mother and daughter?
"Hmph! Your mother takes such good care of her, she must treat her like a daughter. So if you have a mentally challenged sister, then you're mentally challenged too!"
"You, you..."
The little girl couldn't argue with him, so she pouted and her eyes welled up with tears.
Seeing her cry, Zhao Youming laughed even harder, "Did you hear that? Zhao Linglan is an idiot too. We're not playing with her anymore!"
The other boys chimed in, "We don't play with idiots!"
"Have you said enough?" Xu Xing gripped the wooden stick tighter and said irritably, "I'm an idiot, so you think it's cool to bully an idiot?"
Zhao Youming was taken aback. When he met Xu Xing's strange golden eyes, he felt a chill run down his spine for some reason.
Although Zhao Youming is young, he is of a senior generation, and his family is considered well-off in the village. Usually, the village children all look up to him, and the elders in his family do not avoid talking to him.
In recent years, the village's harvest has been poor, and there have been frequent natural disasters. Every time a disaster strikes, he hears his parents complaining that it must be brought by a monster from the back mountain. Over time, Zhao Youming came to think that Xu Xing was not only stupid but also a jinx, so it was only natural for him to bully him.
When Xu Zhen was alive, no one dared to cause trouble in the back mountain. After his death, Xu Xing, who was delirious, had no one to protect him anymore.
After Xu Xing traveled through time, she rested for two days before cautiously moving around the village. Although few people paid attention to her, she managed to piece together some information about the place.
This village is located upstream of a river and is called Xiahe Village. Every other day, the children in the village go to the other side of the river to learn martial arts.
Xu Xing had read many novels. Logically speaking, in ancient times, people studied to take exams and obtain official titles. However, the children of school age here were all practicing martial arts. He guessed that this world was probably one where martial arts were respected. He just didn't know if it was really like the martial arts novels where people could fly over rooftops and walk on walls.
"You even practice martial arts? All you do is bully idiots. I bet someone like you will be a menace when you grow up!"
Being reprimanded so rudely by a fool, Zhao Youming's face turned bright red. He had some education and naturally knew that his behavior was wrong, but since no one usually said it to him directly, he didn't care. Now, being lectured by a fool, he felt both ashamed and humiliated.
Xu Xing gripped the stick, feeling a little nervous. She was afraid that Zhao Youming would hit her in his anger. She didn't want to pay attention to it, but the only girl who spoke up for her was also being bullied. She couldn't just pretend to be stupid and get away with it.
Fortunately, Zhao Youming was young and simple-minded. Although he felt ashamed, he was not shameless enough to lay a hand on a little girl.
"You jinx! You're the one who brought this flood! I'm going to tell Dad to kick you out of the village!" Zhao Youming glared at Xu Xing and ran off angrily.
The other children looked at each other and then dispersed.
Xu Xing breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at the river and regretfully gave up on the unrealistic idea of catching fish.
Zhao Linglan didn't leave. She clutched the hem of her clothes, somewhat afraid to look at Xu Xing, and murmured with her head down, "Don't try to catch fish here. Mother said the fish in the river are very clever and you won't be able to catch them."
"It rained heavily a few days ago, so the riverbank is very dangerous."
Seeing that she was somewhat afraid of him but still kindly reminded him, Xu Xing smiled and said, "I understand, thank you."
Zhao Linglan was somewhat surprised to hear Xu Xing speak so clearly and logically. She secretly glanced up and saw that although the girl in front of her, dressed in tattered clothes, was very thin, her eyes were bright and her faint smile made those strange golden eyes look less frightening.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Linglan said in a low voice, "Zhao Youming will definitely complain. He has already been tested and found to have martial arts talent, and he is highly regarded. You should go back quickly and not wander around the village unnecessarily."
Since Xu Xing started going out these past few days, Zhao Linglan has heard a lot of unpleasant things. Although she's not stupid anymore, the villagers are blaming her for the floods a few days ago. If something else happens, they might really not let her stay in the village...
Martial arts talent?
Xu Xing was taken aback, realizing that the "martial arts" Zhao Linglan mentioned might be different from the "martial arts skills" she had guessed in the martial arts world.
With a quick thought, Xu Xing stepped forward and said softly, "Linglan... Sister, thank you so much for taking care of me before, Aunt Wang. I feel much clearer now, and I no longer feel confused. But I don't remember anything from before, and I don't know what 'martial arts' is. Can you tell me about it?"
Calling a little girl "sister" made Xu Xing blush with embarrassment, but given her current appearance, he could only treat her as a child.
Zhao Linglan was indeed as kind-hearted as her mother. She hesitated for a moment, but did not refuse.
The two found a large rock to lean against, and Zhao Linglan began to tell Xu Xing in a soft voice...
"...Everyone has to have their talent tested when they are ten years old. It's already quite good if an ordinary person has martial arts talent. If they are lucky enough to have spiritual roots and immortal talent, they will become superior to others and will no longer be the same as us."
When it comes to immortality and martial arts, Zhao Linglan's young face is full of longing. She is already nine years old, and in another year she will be able to take a talent test. She doesn't dare to hope for immortality; if she can find out her talent in martial arts, she will be content.
Upon hearing these words, Xu Xing was so shocked that his hands trembled slightly. This was actually a world of cultivation?!
This world is called the Spirit Martial Continent. People whose spiritual roots are detected can use spiritual power to cultivate immortality, while others who cannot cultivate immortality can use internal energy to cultivate martial arts if they have good aptitude.
Martial arts are divided into three stages: Body Refinement, Martial Entry, and Martial Integration. Xiahe Village has three martial artists in the Body Refinement stage, but Zhao Linglan doesn't know much about the Immortal Path.
Zhao Linglan was still young and couldn't explain some things clearly. Xu Xing didn't want to ask too many questions and attract attention, so he just listened to whatever Zhao Linglan said.
"I've never seen those legendary cultivators before, but you should be careful since you live in the back mountain. I heard that monsters roamed the back mountain about ten years ago..."
When the topic of monsters came up, Zhao Linglan suddenly stopped and glanced at Xu Xing cautiously.
As Xu Xing processed this information, he touched the corner of his eye, understanding Zhao Linglan's thoughtfulness. In this world, wouldn't someone with golden eyes like "Xu Xing" be mistaken for a monster?
No wonder the villagers were so indifferent to her...
"Oh dear! It's getting dark!"
After talking for a long time, Zhao Linglan, whose mouth was dry, realized that it was already dinner time. She jumped off the rock and said hurriedly, "I have to go back, otherwise Mother will worry."
She also reminded Xu Xing, "You should go back soon too! Don't wander around the village these next few days. I'll secretly go to the back mountain to tell you after Zhao Youming has forgotten about this."
Disturbed by his thoughts, Xu Xing watched the little girl's retreating figure and returned to her dilapidated little house in a daze.
When Xu Xing first discovered her golden eyes, she didn't have any particular feelings. Having received more than ten years of materialistic education, she couldn't think of anything related to demons and monsters. Although everyone in the village had black eyes, perhaps the parents of this body had blood from other races.
But when she suddenly learned that this was a fantasy world, with demons and monsters in addition to humans, she could no longer view it with her previous mindset.
Xu Xing began to worry: Could there be something wrong with those eyes? Was "she" really human?
Thinking this, Xu Xing closed the door of the small house and tried his best to "transform". He struggled until midnight, but not only did he not reveal his "original form", he also made himself tired and hungry.
She was so hungry that she felt dizzy and lightheaded, and only then did she calm down.
Xu Xing touched her empty stomach and sighed deeply. She had never imagined that she would one day be reduced to going hungry every day, having never had to worry about food and drink before.
Forget it, if she really were a "monster," these villagers would have driven her away long ago, instead of just ignoring her like this. Let's just assume it's a genetic mutation.
Dr. Xu Zhen was a human being, and his child was naturally a human being as well.
Unable to find the answer, Xu Xing stopped dwelling on it. She had always been easygoing and adaptable. Now that she had transmigrated to Xiahe Village and become "Xu Xing," she would cherish this life and live it to the fullest, regardless of her true identity.
Anyway, there's nothing to hold me back from my so-called past life.
It's best to be human in this life, but it doesn't matter if you're a monster or not; you can live the same life.
Xu Xing once again demonstrated her adaptable nature, going to sleep hungry, and unsurprisingly waking up hungry again the next day.
This was already the sixth day since she transmigrated. After finishing the dry biscuits left by Wang Lianhua, Xu Xing searched the entire house but couldn't find a single grain of rice.
Wang Lianhua hadn't come over these past two days. Thinking back to their last conversation, Xu Xing could guess that Wang Lianhua had probably suffered a lot of criticism from her husband while taking care of the former young Xu Xing over the past two years. She couldn't let such a good person be in a difficult position any longer.
Previously, Xu Xing was mentally unstable, but now she was a thinking adult and could no longer accept favors with a clear conscience. Moreover, Xu Xing had observed the shapes of the houses in the village and judged that this small village with only a few dozen households was not wealthy.
In short, she will have to support herself from now on.
For the past two days, Xu Xing has been barely surviving on a few rotten persimmons left on the persimmon tree next to the house, which had been pecked away by birds. She used a branch to knock some down from the lower ones, but couldn't reach the higher ones, so she could only wait for them to fall down on their own. Now that she was almost starving, she didn't care about the dirt anymore.
The weather is getting cold, and there are only a few persimmons still hanging on the branches; we can't count on them.
There were some wild fruit trees in the village, but they had all been picked clean. As for the crops in the fields, Xu Xing didn't even dare to think about them. Not to mention that her morals wouldn't allow it, she was already disliked, and if she dared to steal vegetables, she would probably be beaten to death or driven away. If she left that small, dilapidated house, she would have nowhere to shelter from the wind and rain.
In this unfamiliar world, where can she go with such eyes?
Although Xu Xing's small, dilapidated house was located behind Xiahe Village in the mountains, it was actually a bit far from the deep forest. After all, if it were too close, wild animals might run out of the forest.
There should be some food in the mountains, but Xu Xing knew that the deep mountains were dangerous, even for adults, let alone an eight-year-old girl.
Yes, Xu Xing then realized that her body was not around five years old as she looked, but almost eight years old. She had become so thin due to long-term malnutrition.
Clutching his hungry stomach, Xu Xing frowned and looked towards the woods behind the house, his heart filled with worry. It was probably late autumn; his frail body couldn't even get enough to eat now, how would he survive the winter?
Just as she was worrying, Xu Xing suddenly caught sight of something in the bamboo forest. Her eyes lit up; it looked like bamboo shoots!
He picked up two stones and threw them in. Seeing that no animals ran out, Xu Xing boldly approached the edge.
There were two bamboo shoots there, but Xu Xing was too weak to dig them out, so she decided to stop there and instead of going deeper into the bamboo forest, she carried the bamboo shoots back to the house.
Xu Xing couldn't identify the type of bamboo shoot, but she could tell that these two were quite old. She knew they wouldn't taste very good, but as long as they were edible, she didn't care.
She started a fire, peeled the skin off a bamboo shoot, and wondered uncertainly, "It shouldn't be poisonous, right?"
Xu Xing was a little worried, so he decided to cook it a little longer, thinking that it would be fine once it was thoroughly cooked.
Mushroom poisoning is common, but I've never heard of anyone getting poisoned by eating bamboo shoots.
However, just as the water in the pot was bubbling and boiling, a series of colorful images flashed through Xu Xing's mind like a marquee, and finally the image settled on a panel that she knew all too well.
"Successfully unlocked production skill: Cooking".
A note from the author:
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