Volume One, Chapter Two: Tracking the Target Once More

She instinctively reached out twice, her mouth making a soft “eh” sound.

The soldiers hidden in the shadows: !!!

“Little sister, what’s wrong?” Shen Zhichun asked.

Only then did Shen Zhiyi realize what it was; her pupils contracted slightly. She then looked up at her eldest brother and gave an embarrassed smile.

“Nothing, I just thought the ground… was pretty soft, kind of springy.”

Once the Shen siblings walked away, the area immediately came alive.

The “green lizards” clinging to the steep slope, the “grass piles” hidden in the bushes, the “ground huggers” lying low on the earth—all gathered around the spot where Shen Zhiyi had just been.

“Are you okay, Tuan?”

“Shall we keep practicing?”

“We weren’t discovered by the locals, so today’s stealth training should count as a success, right?”

Song Huaichuan silently got up from the ground and casually glanced toward the direction the Shen siblings had left.

Then he turned back to his teammates behind him, his voice sharp and clear:

“Dismiss the squad!”

“Awesome!”

Cheers erupted behind him as small groups of comrades linked arms and walked on together.

“Who do you think was the best at today’s stealth training?”

“Definitely the leader. That girl sat on him for so long, and he still didn’t get found…”

“That’s true. If I hadn’t watched the leader hide himself the whole time, I wouldn’t have believed people could be hidden there…”

“When the girl said she needed to relieve herself in the middle of it, I nearly had a heart attack. My heart was pounding out of my throat... Thankfully, it was just a false alarm!”

“By the way, leader, if she really had gone to relieve herself then, what would you have done?”

The moment the question was asked, the atmosphere instantly fell silent.

Like beams of light, a dozen pairs of eyes fixed on Song Huaichuan.

Song Huaichuan said, “Looks like you’re not tired yet. Run an extra ten kilometers when we get back.”

“Nooo!”

A chorus of wails rose behind him.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Shen Zhiyi was checking her system panel.

If she hadn’t imagined it, the moment she fell, her points had surged rapidly.

Just those two falls earned her more points than sitting idle for half an hour!

If she had known that the god’s fart—no, that fall—was so valuable, she would have tumbled a few more times!

Was it still possible to go back now?

But the next moment, when she saw her final score, the excitement on her face vanished instantly.

All her fierce efforts had yielded nothing; her score was stuck right where it was!

Her points weren’t even enough to redeem a small voice recorder.

Shen Zhichun noticed his sister suddenly looking drained, as if her soul had been sucked away, and asked with concern,

“Tired? Next time you need to pick something, just tell me. There’s no need to go up the mountain by yourself.”

Before this trip, Shen Zhichun had said the same thing, but Shen Zhiyi insisted on coming along because she believed staying cooped up at home was worse for her health. Shen Zhichun couldn’t argue and had brought her along.

Shen Zhiyi did not refuse her eldest brother’s care and readily agreed.

As for next time? That would be for another day.

She was naturally delicate—her frailty came from the womb.

Shen Zhiyi had three elder brothers—eldest brother Shen Zhichun, second brother Shen Zhigao, and third brother Shen Zhiyuan.

Shen Zhiyuan was her twin; they were a dragon and phoenix pair. When born, one was big, the other small; one fat, the other thin—a perfect contrast.

Growing up, Shen Zhiyi’s health was much weaker than others. At her worst, she could barely take a single step without gasping for breath.

But over the years, she had been carefully nurtured and regularly took medicinal food. Though not as robust as other girls her age, she no longer fell ill as easily as she did in childhood.

Because of this, her family doted on her and always gave her the best things first.

But in this era of scarcity, what good things could come from farming fields? It was never more than a few eggs and a can of malted milk powder.

Used to a life of luxury in her past life, Shen Zhiyi never imagined that simply enjoying a good meal of meat would be so difficult this time around.

Other transmigrators, relying on memories from their past lives, were at least able to live comfortably or even prosper.

But her? With this fragile body, her life started off as a disaster!

If she wasn’t a burden, that would be a blessing.

When she was eight, she happened to save an elderly couple. To repay the favor, the old man strongly insisted on betrothing her to his grandson. What seemed like an opportunity turned out to be a nightmare.

Because the fiancé she was promised to was the male lead of this story—Song Huaiyu.

The heroine, Su Yinwan, had a bad ending in her last life. This time around, she was prepared to find herself a good husband, and after much consideration, she chose Shen Zhiyi’s fiancé.

Once the two were entangled, fearing damage to their reputations, they schemed to sully Shen Zhiyi’s name.

Not only did they destroy her reputation, but they also planned to send someone to ruin her purity.

Retaliation is justified when wronged, so Shen Zhiyi intended to give them a gift of her own.

Shen Zhichun matched his steps to hers as they walked home chatting casually. Upon arrival, the faint smoke of cooking rose from the house.

Her eldest and second brothers were married with children—each had a son and a daughter.

The eldest sister-in-law tended the vegetable garden in the backyard, the second sister-in-law was busy in the kitchen.

Several little nephews were helping by feeding the chickens nearby.

The youngest nephew, from the second brother’s family, was only seven or eight months old, crawling all over the yard.

When he saw Shen Zhiyi, the little boy quickly crawled over and grabbed her pant leg.

She looked down to see an endearing little face.

The child looked up at her, grinning broadly.

“Du-du...” his words were unclear, and “aunt” came out as “dudu.”

“Hey,” Shen Zhiyi responded in a crisp voice, about to bend down and pick him up.

But someone was faster.

It was her second brother, Shen Zhigao.

He scooped the boy up into his arms while carrying a bundle of firewood.

“Little sister, don’t pick him up. This little guy’s getting sturdier by the day—don’t tire yourself out.”

He smiled and added, “Today, I caught two little fish in the ditch. Later, your sister-in-law will make some fish soup for you.”

In this era, everyone lacked clothes and food.

All the good food was quickly consumed.

For Shen Zhigao to catch two palm-sized little fish was quite a fortunate find.

After cleaning, the fish were pan-fried with ginger slices, then boiled in water over high heat, seasoned with a little pepper and salt, and finally sprinkled with scallions from their own garden before serving. The fish soup was milky white and looked very appetizing.

The portions were small; Shen Zhiyi drank a small bowl herself and shared the rest among the nephews.

After dinner and a bath, Shen Zhiyi lay down on the bed.

In this rural period, electricity was not yet common, and there was little entertainment, so most people went to bed early.

Staring up at the earthen yellow ceiling, Shen Zhiyi felt a faint sadness.

After hesitating for a long time, she got out of bed and poked her head out to call to Shen Zhigao in the yard:

“Second brother, when you go to town tomorrow, take me with you.”

Hard work pays off.

After three consecutive days of staking out, Shen Zhiyi finally spotted her target again.