Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Encountering a Ferocious Tiger

“There are fresh rabbit droppings next to this hole, which means there must be rabbits inside. We’ll set this foothold trap here, and when the rabbit comes out and steps on it, it’ll get caught,” Xu Huaian patiently explained his reasoning.

“Then why are your traps in different sizes?”

Look at him, talking to me all serious.

This was actually Gu Qinghuan’s first time seeing these primitive hunting tools, and she was quite interested, instantly turning into a curious little kitten.

“If you want to catch rabbits, you have to use the smallest trap. For deer or wild boar—larger animals—you use a medium-sized one. If you’re hunting fierce beasts like tigers, leopards, or bears, you need the largest trap.

If you pick the wrong size, a big trap for a rabbit will just break its leg, and a small trap for a large animal is useless.

Learning to choose the right trap is lesson one for any hunter.”

Gu Qinghuan nodded, taking it all in.

“So you’re tying this chain to the tree to stop the animal from escaping?”

“Smart! That’s exactly it. Experienced hunters always tie the trap to a log or a tree, so when the animal is caught, it can’t run far and gets dragged down.

But if you’re hunting bigger or faster animals, you have to fix the trap to the ground, or else not only will the animal escape, you might even lose your trap.”

“Then why not use some bait? Wouldn’t that make it easier to catch something?”

Xu Huaian really appreciated Gu Qinghuan’s cleverness—she could already draw inferences from a simple explanation.

“You can use bait. In good years, old hunters would bring some cured meat or grain to attract animals. But now, everyone’s barely got enough to eat—who has any to spare? So I didn’t bring any today.”

The two of them walked and talked, setting up two more traps as they went.

After a while, as they continued along the mountain path, Xu Huaian suddenly stopped, his face turning serious.

“Wait, something’s wrong.”

He looked around, then stopped in front of several piles of black droppings.

“This is bad. That’s fresh tiger scat—there was a tiger here just now! We need to go, now.” Xu Huaian hadn’t expected a tiger to come down from the mountains so close to the edge of the forest.

In fact, Gu Qinghuan’s earlier foraging and use of her spiritual spring to nourish the plants had attracted a lot of animals—so many that even a tiger had been drawn out.

As Xu Huaian spoke, he grabbed Gu Qinghuan and started running.

But luck was not on their side today. They hadn’t gone far before they ran straight into a full-grown Amur tiger, walking right toward them.

It clearly saw them as prey, letting out a deafening roar.

Xu Huaian instinctively shielded Gu Qinghuan behind him. “Run! Don’t look back—I’ll hold it off.”

Then he added, “Take care of the children for me.”

He already knew there was no way he’d make it out alive today. At his peak, he might have had a chance, but now, with his frail body, he wouldn’t last long before being devoured.

But he couldn’t back down. If he did, neither of them would survive.

Goosebumps broke out all over Gu Qinghuan, and she trembled.

She’d seen Amur tigers at the zoo before and thought they were interesting, never dangerous.

But now, with a wild adult tiger baring its teeth at them, she could feel death breathing down her neck. One wrong move, and she’d be meeting the King of Hell—her body not even left intact.

Why is it so hard to just stay alive?

Wait, she had her space! She wasn’t afraid—at worst, she could hide inside. But Xu Huaian would be in trouble…

Her mind was racing, but to Xu Huaian, she just looked frozen with fear.

He gave her a shove and shouted again, “Go!”

Then he threw down his basket and, empty-handed, charged at the tiger. But instead of fighting it head-on, he feinted and darted away.

By the time Gu Qinghuan snapped out of it, the tiger was already chasing after Xu Huaian.

She instantly understood his intention.

He was drawing the tiger away to give her a chance to escape.

In moments of crisis, you see a person’s true heart. Xu Huaian didn’t know about her space or that she could save herself.

He was genuinely willing to sacrifice his own life for hers.

Honestly, even parents might not be able to do that for their children, let alone a near-stranger she hadn’t known for long.

She couldn’t help but be moved—this was the first time anyone had been willing to die for her.

A flood of emotions surged inside her.

Save him? Of course.

But how?

Should she use her space?

But then she’d reveal its secret, and there were so many complications.

But if she didn’t save him, she’d never forgive herself.

No outsider had ever entered her space before—what if it didn’t work?

She thought about all this in a split second, then made up her mind. She took off after him.

Xu Huaian ran as far as he could, but his strength gave out—his legs hurt too much to go on, and he had to stop.

But at least he’d run far enough for Gu Qinghuan to get away.

Maybe in the next life, he thought, I’ll meet you sooner.

He braced himself for death.

The tiger pounced, and Xu Huaian met it head-on, punching it with all his might before dodging aside.

The tiger hadn’t expected its prey to fight back—and to actually hurt it. Enraged, it charged again.

Gu Qinghuan arrived just in time to see Xu Huaian get slammed by the tiger, sent flying like a rag doll.

In a split second, she flung a splash of spiritual spring water in another direction to distract the tiger.

Catching the scent, the tiger immediately bounded away, ignoring Xu Huaian.

Xu Huaian lay on the ground, staring up at the sky, ready to die a hero’s death.

Gu Qinghuan scrambled over to him, grabbed his hand, and silently willed them into her space.

In the next instant, they were both transported inside.

Gu Qinghuan let out a sigh of relief—thank goodness she could bring someone else in, or things would’ve ended badly.

She collapsed to the ground, too exhausted to move.

Xu Huaian felt like he was dreaming. He closed his eyes and opened them again, but the world around him hadn’t changed.

How had they switched places in the blink of an eye? Where was this? Some kind of paradise?

Wherever it was, as long as Gu Qinghuan was there, he felt at peace.

“Where… is this?”

“This is the Celestial Palace. I’m a little fairy from the heavens. I couldn’t bear to see you suffer, so I came down to help you,” Gu Qinghuan said, deadpan.

Xu Huaian didn’t doubt her for a second. Instead, he looked at her with reverence."

"Chapter 69: Sharing Secrets

Gu Qinghuan burst out laughing. “Haha, I was just teasing you, and you actually believed it!”

Xu Huai’an felt a pang of disappointment—he’d really thought she was some celestial maiden sent from the heavens just to save him.

But whether she was a fairy or not, she had saved him once again.

Next, Gu Qinghuan gave him a simple explanation of her soul transmigration, skipping over details about the Underworld Palace, transmigrating into a book, and time travel.

She only said that she was from the future, that she’d died saving someone, and when she woke up, she’d become Gu Qinghuan in the 1970s, and somehow gained this mysterious space.

She also gave him a brief introduction to the space itself.

It wasn’t that she wanted to hide anything on purpose—she was just worried he wouldn’t be able to handle knowing the ending of the book, so it was better not to mention it.

Xu Huai’an’s face was frozen in shock the entire time.

She was actually from China, decades in the future?

That world must be wonderful.

No wonder—he’d always felt Gu Qinghuan was special, different from any woman he’d ever met.

She was sunny, full of life, confident and cheerful, and always respected others’ opinions. Even with children, she would patiently explain things.

He’d thought it was just her upbringing, but it turned out she didn’t even belong to this world.

As for this mysterious space, all those things she’d suddenly brought back before finally made sense.

He actually took it all pretty well—he’d already had some wild guesses, but even so, he realized he’d still been too conservative.

There really was such a miraculous space in this world.

“Will you leave again?” Xu Huai’an finally asked the question that mattered most to him.

“You think I’m some immortal who can come and go as I please? I’ll probably have to wait until I die of old age!” Gu Qinghuan said helplessly.

Xu Huai’an quietly let out a sigh of relief.

“Here, the water from this spring is what I’ve been giving you all to drink. It helps people recover their strength, and if you drink it long-term, it can cure old ailments and prolong life.

Your illness recovered so quickly all because of this water.

Besides that, I’ve also been adding medicine to your daily water—medicine specifically for your condition. I bought it from this self-service vending machine. It has everything you could possibly want.” Gu Qinghuan explained as they walked.

Xu Huai’an looked around curiously, especially at the magical machine that could dispense goods from the future.

“In the future, there’s medicine for my illness?”

“Of course! In the future, your illness is called post-war psychological trauma. There are all sorts of medicines to treat and relieve it. Look, this is the one.” Gu Qinghuan pulled up her purchase history.

Xu Huai’an saw the price and, even though he’d been mentally prepared, he was still shocked.

“This medicine is that expensive?”

Gu Qinghuan got annoyed just thinking about it.

“It’s because we don’t have a prescription. The legitimate stores require one, so I had to find a place that didn’t ask for it, and the price was three times higher.

But it’s fine, I’m working on ways to make money. We can still afford it.”

Xu Huai’an did a quick calculation—at this rate, he’d need sixty-six yuan a month just for medicine. That was enough to feed the whole family well every day.

Even the compensation he’d received wouldn’t last half a year at this rate.

Gu Qinghuan was really willing to spend on him.

He didn’t know why, but his eyes felt a little itchy and sore.

She was just too good to him—so good that he felt unworthy, like even giving her his life wouldn’t be enough.

To spend so much on medicine for a stranger she’d just met—she had the purest heart. No words could do her justice.

Was she really not a fairy from the heavens?

Seeing him lost in thought, Gu Qinghuan nudged him. “What are you thinking about? Now you know my secret, we’re comrades in adversity. We rise and fall together.

From now on, we’ll work together to build a better life. How about it?”

Xu Huai’an smiled.

“Alright!”

This was a secret only the two of them shared. He was someone special to her now, wasn’t he?

Even if she still saw him as a partner for now, just working together, one day, he’d bring her under his wing.

“Deal. From now on, you handle the heavy lifting, and I’ll do the thinking.”

“Whatever you say.”

Xu Huai’an looked at her dotingly, which startled Gu Qinghuan so much her heart started racing. She hurried into the villa, not daring to meet his eyes—they were dangerous, electrifying.

She used to just appreciate his looks, but now, just looking at him made her blush. Gu Qinghuan realized something inside her was changing, out of her control.

No, Gu Qinghuan, get a grip.

Xu Huai’an wandered around the villa, experiencing the advanced technology of the future, while Gu Qinghuan told him all about how society had developed.

They talked for over an hour.

Xu Huai’an now had a basic understanding of the place.

He quickly got into the swing of things.

“These fruit trees are planted too close together, we’ll need to space them out.

These rabbits need to be raised separately—we’ll have to build a few more hutches. They’ll breed more soon.

Hey, there’s a pheasant here too. Did you catch it in the mountains? We should catch a few more to raise.

Wild goats are good too—great for eating in winter…”

Gu Qinghuan didn’t really know how to take care of these things. She could wave her hand and use her mind to do some stuff, but when it came to actually doing it, she wasn’t much help.

“Alright, from now on, you’re in charge of everything in the space.” Finally, she could relax.

Xu Huai’an had been waiting for this—now he’d have more chances to spend time alone with her.

“No problem, leave it to me.”

Now that they shared a secret, the two of them felt even closer. Xu Huai’an could sense that ever since she’d opened up, Gu Qinghuan had become much more relaxed.

Actually, Gu Qinghuan wasn’t so naive as to trust just anyone—she was just responding to sincerity with sincerity.

In that critical moment just now, Xu Huai’an’s choice had completely broken down her defenses. She had nothing left to worry about.

If someone was willing to risk their life for her, what couldn’t she trust him with?

Now that he knew his medicine cost more than gold, Xu Huai’an was suddenly desperate to earn money. As a man, he couldn’t let a woman support him.

Gu Qinghuan’s platform was interesting—you could buy things, but also sell things to the future.

He looked at her transaction records and was completely blown away.

What? The wild vegetables the kids picked sold for two yuan? Schisandra berries were fifty cents a pound? Even persimmons could sell for thirty cents a pound?

Were people in the future all suckers?

Gu Qinghuan quickly explained—everything in the future was farmed, so anything labeled “wild” was considered premium and could fetch a high price.

Xu Huai’an felt like he’d found a golden road to riches, and immediately rolled up his sleeves, ready to get to work.

Meanwhile, Gu Qinghuan kept glancing outside the space. The Siberian tiger had licked up all the spring water she’d left out, then took a nap right there.

About two hours later, it finally woke up and swaggered off."

"Chapter 70: Going Big