Qingzhou.

"Save me! Save me!"

"Save me!"

The mechanical female voice kept echoing in the dim room as Qiu Xiaoyi lay on the bed, still and dispirited. Her phone, flickering beside her hand, continuously repeated the same phrase.

"Screw you! I've had enough!"

She tossed her phone away abruptly, feeling light-headed. She hadn't eaten for an entire day!

Not because she didn't have money, but simply because she didn't feel like moving!

This was the current state of a modern single young woman. When she had her fill, everyone in the household was satiated!

"Save me! Save me!"

"I've said I'm done playing! No more saving! I've saved you countless times already!"

Qiu Xiaoyi picked up her phone, pressing the loudspeaker, and hollered with anger, "This damn chicken game has lousy teammates! Always have to save you! If I keep playing, I might as well be a dog!"

Exit, uninstall, that's it!

Throwing her phone away, Qiu Xiaoyi finally got up from the bed where she had been lying the whole day, stretching herself out. "Stretch left and right, move around a little bit, eat adequately. Ah! Joyful!"

Through the dim window, the not-so-slender silhouette of Qiu Xiaoyi cast onto the curtains. This was the urban-rural fringe of a second-tier city, which could also be considered Qiu Xiaoyi's paradise!

"I sowed a seed, and finally bears fruit..."

The ringing of the phone broke the silence. Qiu Xiaoe took a glance at the caller ID, hesitated for a moment, but answered anyway. "Hello? Uh-huh, okay, I'll be on my way tomorrow!"

Pulling back the curtains revealed a sky gradually steeped in darkness. Looking out, she could still see the sunset's fiery glow on the distant clouds. Qiu Xiaoe turned on the lights, and instantly, the room was bathed in brightness.

She pulled out a pink suitcase and packed two sets of clothes along with some daily necessities. It didn't take long for her to finish packing. As she boiled water to cook noodles, she booked a bus ticket home on her phone.

Life was pretty convenient now. After quitting her job two months ago, it was high time for an impromptu trip!

"Slurp~"

"Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong!"

She swallowed a mouthful of noodles. Her stomach, which had been empty all day, finally had something to digest. As she was casually scrolling through social media, a sudden influx of messages poured in, followed by a barrage of urgent voice calls and video requests.

Without hesitation, Qiu Xiaoe declined the calls, deleted the texts, and left the group chat. What a load of nonsense!

How dare they exploit me after I had already quit two months ago!

Her biological parents were unknown. A kind elderly couple raised her. They both passed away years ago; she hadn't visited their hometown much since then.

One reason was that her job was too demanding; she didn't have the time. The second reason was the villagers didn't accept her.

Innocent and unloved, like a cabbage left to wither in a field.

A wild girl!

Growing up, these were the phrases she heard most frequently.

This time, she received a call from the village chief. Their small town was going to be demolished, and her parents' house was within the planned demolition zone.

She had a good sleep overnight.

The next day, as dawn was barely breaking, Qiu Xiaoe packed her luggage and boarded the high-speed train. To reach Qingzhou from the small town, she had to endure a bumpy half-day ride, finally reaching the city by the afternoon.

"Anyone need a ride on my scooter? Going to Fuping?"

Under the scorching sun, Qiu Xiaoe flagged down a vehicle. The town wasn't far from the city; it would take just over half an hour on a scooter. It wasn't that she was stingy with her money, rather, there were only two buses a day from here to the town, and she had unfortunately just missed the last one!

The female driver peered at her over her facemask, "Twenty-five!"

"Twenty-five? It was only twenty previously! How has it gone up by five in less than half a year?! Madam, I'm a local, don't swindle me!"

Qiu Xiaoe was not poor, but she certainly wasn't a fool!

"Oh, come on, gorgeous, look what time it is! Pork is over a dozen yuan per pound, so twenty-five isn't even enough for me to buy a meal!"

Qiu Xiaoe glanced around. Aside from this lady's scooter, the rest were all driven by men, and she didn't want to take one of those!

"Alright, fine! Twenty-five it is, but don't raise the price halfway!"

"That won't happen! We're honest people here!"

The middle-aged woman finished her sentence, got off her scooter and helped tie Xiaoe's luggage to the back. Qiu Xiaoe climbed onto the back seat and they quickly zoomed off.

Yes, zoomed off!

Qiu Xiaoe clung to the scooter tightly from the back seat, her upper body almost being blown away by the wind, her nerves taut, feeling as if her facial features were getting distorted by the strong rush of wind. The ancient scooter roared beneath her.

"Auntie! Auntie! Slow down..."

Finally, Qiu Xiaoying understood why her aunt, whose face was covered, had dragged her along so quickly; the moment they opened their mouths, dirt flew in, scaring her into using her arms to shield her face behind her aunt.

She didn't want to be prematurely gone before she even got the compensation from the demolition!

"Squeak—"

"We're here!"

Qiu Xiaoying lifted her head in a daze, and saw the words ‘Fuping Town’ engraved on a large stone by the roadside.

She got out of the vehicle unsteadily as her legs turned soft. She was just paying up, collecting her bags, and walking around when she realized she was covered in dirt - seemed like a demolition was really taking place!

Dirt-filled trucks were going to-and-fro along the way, stirring up dust and causing Qiu Xiaoying to wilt!

Just then, she was met by a curious-looking woman who began to keenly observe her. The woman then heartily slapped her thigh and warmly greeted her, saying, "Xiaoying? You're back? Oh dear! Hurry over to the head of the village's house! Your uncles are trying to snatch your parents' house!" The gossip gleamed unceasingly in Aunt Wu’s eyes, who seemed to enjoy the chaos.

Everyone in town knew Aunt Wu and the Qiu family were at odds.

“Aunt Wu? It's me, Xiaoying!", exclaimed Qiu Xiaoying, raising a face caked in dust. Her thick black-framed glasses covered half her face, making her look astoundingly stunned, "Don’t worry, the house deeds are with me. They can’t snatch it away!"

With these glasses, who could guess that she, since her childhood, had had the ability to beat up those who dared to ridicule her to the point they had no place to complain?

They said Qiu Xiaoying had hit them?

How could a bookworm like her ever hit anyone?

Qiu Xiaoe has been living with this harmless appearance for over twenty years!

Hearing these words, Aunt Wu's smile froze.

Indeed, her elderly parents had already given her the property title deed before their death!

We are living in a democratic era where not everything can be snatched!

"Oh my, look at that little face of yours, better go home and tidy up!"

Qiu Xiaoe didn't say a word, just smiled and bid Aunt Wu goodbye, arriving at the gate of her own courtyard, a standalone house indeed!

Taking out her keys, she entered her house, took a shower, changed her clothes, left with a copy of the property title deed in her hand, and headed straight for the county government.

Qiu Xiaoe couldn't be bothered with pointless talks!

Undoubtedly, whoever holds the property title deed receives the demolition compensation, plus she was still on this family's household register!

Arriving at the demolition consultation window, Qiu Xiaoe bent down to the glass window and asked the staff behind it, "Hello, could you tell me how this demolition compensation is distributed?"

"Your family decides who gets the money transferred to their account, it's divided per head on the household register!"

"What if someone tries to snatch the money? I'm an adopted daughter, and my parents are no longer around. Can my uncles inherit the money?"

The staff took a look at Qiu Xiaoe, "No, they can't. Everything is based on who is on the household register."

"Alright, thank you!"

Qiu Xiaoe kindly said goodbye, bought a big bag of groceries then went home to eat and sleep!

Qiu Xiaoe had been cleaning up her house non-stop for half a month. With demolition impending, it was only natural that everything had to be removed. Of course, this didn't prevent certain individuals with ulterior motives from bothering her day and night!

Several of her uncles had been keeping a constant watch at her doorstep, waiting to catch her. Fortunately, she had already stocked up on food that day; she didn't need to step out, so she couldn't guess what could have happened if she had.

"Xiaoe! Xiaoe, open the door! We know you're in there! Please, open the door!"

"You little girl! We know you're home, open the door!"

The iron gate was being pounded on, making loud clanging noises. Qiu Xiaoe, disturbed and impatient, pricked her thumb on a table splinter. A gush of bright, fresh blood spurted out, staining her hand. "Hiss..."

Qiu Xiaoe, clutching her hand, didn't notice when a drop of her blood landed on her jade bangle. It released a mysterious light before she suddenly disappeared into thin air, leaving the ground beneath her feet vacant.

"Ah-----"

A figure suddenly appeared in the sky and plummeted down before splashing into a river. "Splutter, splutter, splutter!"

Struggling to climb, Qiu Xiaoe finally emerged from the water, supporting herself on the riverbank. A few fish scales were stuck to her hair; she looked up to see a few words floating in the sky:

"Welcome to the Spirit Jade Space~"