Nan Zhi stared blankly at herself in the mirror.
Her face was still the same face, without any drastic changes.
Yet it was as if a beauty filter had been turned on in real life; her skin was smooth, fair, and delicate enough to break at a blow.
Let alone blemishes—even the dark circles under her eyes left from years of staying up late had vanished completely.
Recalling what her coworker had said that morning, Nan Zhi could not help pinching herself.
It hurt; she was not dreaming.
“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”
Perhaps driven by curiosity, the golden-furred mouse also drifted over, squeaking twice at the mirror:
“Squeak squeak?”
Nan Zhi remained expressionless.
She was not dreaming, and her mental state was perfectly sound.
There really was a flying golden-furred mouse hovering above the toilet in her bathroom.
—The golden mouse did not seem able to control its flight very well yet. After floating in the air for just a short while, it was already panting from exhaustion.
In the end, it plopped down on Nan Zhi's shoulder and curled up without moving.
Looking in the mirror, it appeared as though a miniature plush toy were clinging to her neck.
“This little thing isn't afraid of strangers at all? Chubby and pretty cute.”
Nan Zhi tried poking the golden mouse's rear:
“By the way, what do mice eat again? Corn, peanuts, mealworms, or hamster food?”
A treasure-seeking spirit mouse was still a mouse. Raising it like a hamster should... be fine, right?
On the coffee table, the takeout had gone completely cold.
Yet Nan Zhi did not feel hungry.
She opened her tablet and found that her in-game character was no longer idling. The character had left the room, seemingly getting ready to eat.
【Cultivation ended.】
【Cultivation duration: Three and three-quarters shichen】
【Meditation EXP +10】
【(Fortuitous Encounter) You cultivated diligently. In a haze, you seem to have gained insight; your comprehension of the 《Small Huanzhen Manual》 has deepened, and your cultivation has progressed further.】
【Cultivator: Nan Zhi】
【Bone Age: 18】
【Cultivation: Qi Refinement level 1】
...
【Currently Equipped: “Butcher’s Daughter”, “Nan Village Slaughtering Knife”】
【Spirit Pet: Golden-Furred Treasure-Seeking Spirit Mouse (Unnamed) (Level 1)】
Just like that, she had reached Qi Refinement level 1?
Nan Zhi withdrew her gaze, shifting her attention to the dining table in front of her character.
The Nan family members were all seated together. Even Nan Yi, who rarely stayed at home, was sitting beside Nan Dazhuang.
The willow wood table was laden with a hearty meal.
A bowl of braised taro, a dish of greens tossed in sesame oil, a plate of braised pork, a dish of fried peanuts, and half a platter of pig's head meat.
In front of her character sat a separate bowl of chicken soup. The surface grease had been meticulously skimmed off, and a plump chicken leg rested within.
Nan Zhi recognized at a glance that this was the old hen Chen Jingui had slaughtered to nourish “her” body.
The family seemed to share an unspoken understanding, only reaching for the other dishes with their chopsticks without so much as glancing at the chicken.
The moment she made an input, the in-game character left auto-idle. Nan Yi, sitting across from her, immediately looked over with a concerned expression:
“Eldest Sister, are you all right? You slept for so long this time, and when you woke up you were in a daze. I was really worried you'd turn back into how you used to be...”
As he spoke, he subtly sized Nan Zhi up, seemingly trying to confirm something.
It appeared that whenever she was not logged into the game, her character would automatically idle, unable to hold conversations or interact with NPCs.
“Mm.”
Nan Zhi gave a vague response: “I felt tired, so I slept a bit longer.”
At once, the entire family's eyes turned toward her.
“Heavens above, the Bodhisattva has truly blessed us, truly blessed us!”
Chen Jingui exaggeratedly felt Nan Zhi's forehead, beside herself with joy:
“How did you suddenly learn to speak? Just yesterday you couldn't even call anyone, and today you can speak so coherently!
Could it be that you really learned it from an immortal in your dreams?”
Only then did Nan Zhi remember that she had obtained the item 【Mimic Bird】.
So now when she spoke, the people around her could understand?
She tried addressing them: “Father, Mother, Second Sister... Nan Yi?”
...
“Father.”
The dark, sturdy young woman touched her own throat before speaking hesitantly.
Her dark eyes flickered slightly, and her voice sounded as tender as a toddler learning to speak:
“Mother.”
“Second Sister.”
“Nan... Yi?”
She seemed still unaccustomed to it. After calling their names, she closed her mouth, and a faint trace of bashfulness surfaced on her otherwise expressionless face.
“Aye, aye, aye!”
“Good daughter, good daughter!”
Chen Jingui and Nan Dazhuang responded in delight one after another. The former beamed with joy while the latter looked immensely proud, setting down his wine cup and saying repeatedly:
“Our Eldest Daughter is clever after all! Let's see who dares call you a mute from now on—see if Daddy doesn't smash their mouth in!”
“Eldest Sister, call me again! Call me one more time!”
Even the usually steady Nan Ye came over to Nan Zhi, tugging at her arm coaxingly:
“Eldest Sister is playing favorites! How come you only remember Big Brother's name? I've been the one eating and sleeping with you these past few days—Big Brother just happened to be here at the right time!”
“What you're saying isn't quite fair.”
Nan Yi picked up a chopstickful of sesame-oil greens for Nan Zhi's bowl and said leisurely:
“Eldest Sister has always been close to me. Wherever I went in the past, she would follow.
Even though I'm not home often these days, that affection won't change. Isn't that right, Eldest Sister?”
Nan Zhi felt a pang of tension in her heart, but did not let it show on her face, merely nodding.
He seemed to be prodding and testing with his words. Could he have noticed something?
Yet in her character's favorability menu, the ten hearts representing Nan Yi's Favorability remained firmly at their peak.
If Nan Zhi had previously been able to treat 《Path to Immortality》 as an ordinary game, then after witnessing the flying mouse and the changes in her own body, she had completely changed her mind.
Could the Nan family... actually exist in reality?
Then where did the “Eldest Daughter of the Nan Family” in that other world, who shared her exact name, go?
Did Zhuangzi turn into a butterfly, or did the butterfly dream of Zhuangzi?
Nan Zhi lowered her eyes and controlled her character to slowly drink the chicken soup before her.
...
...
After dinner, Chen Jingui sat under the oil lamp with Nan Ye mending clothes, while Nan Yi and Nan Dazhuang worked bare-chested in the courtyard, treading yellow mud.
Nan Zhi was left with the job of sitting on the threshold and spacing out.
—Earlier, the Painted Skin Ghost had wreaked havoc in the courtyard, and a section of the Nan family's mud wall had collapsed.
Plenty of black blood still stained the ground, giving off waves of foul, intolerable reek whenever anyone walked past.
It so happened that Nan Yi had a few days off, so Nan Dazhuang dragged his son outside the city to haul back a substantial load of yellow mud, planning to build the wall even higher.
“During the day, your father and I have to tend the shop selling meat, leaving only Eldest Daughter and Second Daughter at home.
Building the wall higher will keep those meddling ruffians from constantly climbing over.”
Chen Jingui scratched her scalp with a needle, and suddenly remembering something, pointed toward the east room:
“Once spring arrives next year and we've saved up some silver, we must find a way to upgrade to a larger residence.
I asked around yesterday. If we want to buy a decent place in town, it'll cost at least forty-odd guan.
Even a more remote courtyard rents for half a guan a month.
Brother Yi is grown up now. When he marries and has children in the future, he'll need space.
When that time comes, your father and I can just take Eldest Daughter to rent a place; that will be plenty for us.
After all, we still have our strength and can earn money. We'll save up more dowries to send both Eldest Daughter and Second Daughter off to marry in grand style.”
This courtyard was property Nan Dazhuang had earned from years of butchering pigs, complete with title deeds for both the house and land.
Nan Zhi caught on, instantly grasping the underlying meaning in Chen Jingui's words.
When parents truly love their children, they plan far ahead for them.
When Nan Zhi was “simpleminded” in the past, the elderly couple had undoubtedly planned to entrust this foolish eldest sister into Nan Yi's hands after their deaths.
They had clearly intended for Nan Yi to support his “foolish eldest sister” for the rest of his life.
But now that she had recovered, was no longer simpleminded, and had even gained great abilities, the couple naturally had to make different arrangements.
For one thing, distance lends enchantment—even between siblings, familiarity could breed contempt.
In the past, Nan Zhi possessed the innocence of a child and was close to Nan Yi, depending on him for the second half of her life.
If discord ever arose between the siblings, Nan Dazhuang and his wife would have had no choice but to turn a blind eye.
—After all, once they passed away, they would still need this son to have enough conscience to provide his eldest sister with meals.
Human nature is the least able to withstand testing.
The couple did not wish for their daughter to have wealth and glory; they only hoped she would live the rest of her life free from illness and misfortune, have food to eat in her brother's household, survive, and not be bullied.
Yet now, Nan Zhi was clearheaded and possessed formidable capabilities. If Nan Yi were to marry in the future, he would no longer be on his own, but the head of a family of his own.
At that point, one had to consider whether the bride Nan Yi married would be sensible.
If she were reasonable, she would naturally not covet Nan Zhi's abilities or fawn over her obsequiously.
If she were unreasonable—a troublemaker who constantly egged Nan Yi on and whispered poison into his ear—it would be better to separate their households entirely.
These parents possessed great wisdom.
Nan Zhi stroked her chin.
“That won't do.”
Bare-chested, Nan Yi replied with a grin:
“What girl from a respectable family in the county would look twice at an unranked assistant runner like me?
If you ask me, Father and Mother will live to a ripe old age, and now Eldest Sister has learned great skills, so our family's life will surely get better by the day.
All my wages from these past years are with Mother. Let's save a bit more and buy a larger courtyard; otherwise, Eldest Sister and Sister Ye will still have to squeeze together in one room.
Even in the future when I take a wife, our whole family should still live together.
Otherwise, would you two elders have the heart to watch me come back from the county yamen without even a hot cup of tea to drink at home?”
Rate on N.U.
