When the movie ended, everyone carried their stools and headed ho. The children walking the sa way ho chattered nonstop, rehashing scenes from the movie. The boys were focused on the power of the cannons and machine guns, while the girls lanted the lack of won in the action flick. They were especially disappointed by the absence of beauties in pretty dresses, feeling like they’d watched the movie for nothing.
Xiao Man helped Grandma walk while Liang Xiaoju carried the stools. They both just listened, not joining the boisterous discussion.
Back ho, Xiao Man lit the stove and heated a pot of water. She first ladled so out for Grandma to wash her face and feet. She poured the rest of the hot water into an iron bucket, took it to the well, and mixed it with cold water to make two buckets of warm water for washing. Then she called Liang Xiaoju to co out and take a quick bath before bed.
Liang Xiaoju was already dozing off. She scrunched up her face, clearly displeased. "I already washed my hair and bathed today. Why do I have to do it again?"
Xiao Man said, "You did, but we were running all over the place before the movie. Don’t you think we got sweaty?"
"I’m not doing it!"
"Fine, don’t. But you’re not sleeping with . Go make a bed for yourself sowhere else!"
Liang Xiaoju had no choice but to reluctantly go and give herself a quick rinse with a bucket of water. After Xiao Man finished washing, they went to bed together.
Liang Xiaoju fell asleep almost the mont she lay down, but Xiao Man’s eyes remained open, her mind completely alert. It wasn’t because she was too excited from the movie to sleep. Instead, the mole in the palm of her left hand was faintly hot to the touch. Xiao Man had a feeling. ’Sothing is about to happen!’
Old Snake had said that once her body was stronger, she’d be able to see what was inside the Treasure Bead. She was feeling pretty good right now. ’Maybe I can see it now?’
’But there’s soone lying right next to . Will that be a problem? What if sothing unexpected happens and wakes Liang Xiaoju up? What if she finds out my secret? What will I do?’
Xiao Man turned her head to look at the soundly sleeping Liang Xiaoju. ’Tomorrow, I’ll tell Grandpa and Grandma to have Liang Xiaoju sleep in the guest room. I don’t want her sharing a room with anymore. I’m a person with a secret, after all. A secret I’ll probably never be able to share with anyone my entire life. I have to be careful to keep it safe.’
Clutching her left hand, her mind racing with thoughts, she drifted off to sleep before she knew it.
Xiao Man knew she was dreaming because she was witnessing sothing very strange. It was as if her soul had left her body. She floated away from the bed, hovering near the ceiling made of woven bamboo mats. She looked down at the two little girls lying side-by-side on the bed. Then, in the blink of an eye, the scene changed, and she found herself in a completely unfamiliar place.
Xiao Man took one look at her new surroundings and was instantly captivated.
Before her lay a space of about two hundred square ters, like a beautiful, exquisite garden. The sky was a grayish-blue, with no sun in sight, yet it was brightly lit, just like a clear day. Directly across from Xiao Man was a mountain peak about fifty or sixty feet high, its shape sowhat resembling the Feilai Peak she had seen while traveling in her past life. The entire mountain was covered in dense, lush, erald-green vegetation. A stone platform jutted out from the front of the peak, and on it stood an exquisite pavilion. Frad by white stone railings and the shade of green trees, it looked like a celestial paradise. Halfway up the mountain, a clear spring gurgled forth, flowing down along the mountain’s contours. The natural pools ford by the rushing water were draped with curtains of water, arranged layer after layer like terraced fields—crystal clear, orderly, and beautiful... Xiao Man rembered! Old Snake had said the spiritual spring water in the Treasure Bead flowed down from on high, tier by tier. The sight before her was exactly what he had described!
’Could it be? Have I entered the Treasure Bead?’
A thrill of joy shot through Xiao Man. ’I can finally get in! Old Snake was telling the truth! He didn’t lie to ! There really is a whole other world inside the Treasure Bead!’
’Old Snake also said the Treasure Bead was full of wonderful treasures. Where are they? They’re all mine now!’ Xiao Man was eager to survey her private treasury.
Looking closer, she found that a third of the space was occupied by two clear, turquoise spring lakes—one large and one small. The Spring Lakes were naturally ford by the spiritual spring water flowing down from the peak. The water was so transparent you could see straight to the bottom.
The Big Spring Lake had clearly been ticulously constructed. Its banks were lined with exquisite Taihu rocks of various sizes, and its bottom was paved with beautifully polished pebbles. These were clearly no ordinary pebbles, as they glowed with a dazzling, multicolored light. Silvery-white fish, about the size of a pinky finger, swam freely in the water, looking nimble and cute. If a leaf happened to fall on the surface, the silver fish would vanish with a SWOOSH, their speed astonishingly fast!
The Big Spring Lake felt to Xiao Man like a luxurious swimming pool that still retained a natural feel, while the Little Spring Lake seed like a completely untended, wild pond. It had the sa clear, clean spring water, but its banks were casually piled with irregular Taihu rocks—likely rejects from the other lake’s construction. There were no beautiful pebbles on the bottom, only a thick layer of sand and mud from which clumps of waterweeds grew, swaying gracefully in the depths. The lake was teeming with life, though: fish, shrimp, turtles, snails, frogs, and tadpoles. There were also lotus flowers, which covered nearly the entire surface of the Little Lake. The lotus leaves were as large as umbrellas, a vibrant, lush green. The flowers themselves were the size of soup bowls, with double-layered, pale purple petals. They were stunningly beautiful; the variety had to be a rare and valuable one.
Xiao Man didn’t know if the Treasure Pearl World experienced seasons, but while the outside world was sweltering, the climate inside was perfectly pleasant—not too cold, not too hot. A pond full of such beautiful, vibrant lotus blossoms was a truly rare sight.
A stone path made of Taihu rocks separated the Big and Little Spring Lakes. Following it led to a small peach grove. The blossoms were in full bloom—pinks, whites, and pale reds. It was a beautiful sight, but sadly, there were no peaches to eat. Beyond the peach grove stood a few clumps of verdant bamboo and three or four tall pear trees, which were also blossoming and bore no fruit. Beyond the pear trees stretched a lawn as wide as a firebreak. Past the lawn was a forest so dense it seed impossible to enter. Xiao Man parted the branches and peered into the woods. Amidst the overgrown wild vines and weeds, she saw many kinds of edible mushrooms. There were also dicinal herbs: Lingzhi, silver horn flower, Dendrobium officinale, safflower, Panax notoginseng... These herbs were common enough for Xiao Man to recognize, but many other plants also looked dicinal, though she couldn’t be sure. ’I can’t believe so many herbs are growing in such a small forest. If only Grandpa could co here to gather them! With his experience, he can identify over a thousand types of herbs. That would be amazing!’
’Then again, this is inside the Treasure Bead. It used to belong to Old Snake. Maybe this forest is a dicinal garden he cultivated himself.’
Coming out of the forest, Xiao Man looked up at the stone platform on the summit of Feilai Peak. She longed to stand up there and take in the entire Treasure Pearl World at a glance.
The most precious things here were the tiered pools of spiritual spring water. Old Snake had said that the higher the level of the Spiritual Spring, the more potent it was—capable of curing a hundred illnesses. ’What I’m drinking now is from the lowest Spring Lake, and it already feels amazing. If I could just get so of the spiritual spring water from the upper tiers and take it out for Grandma, could it cure her eyes?’
Filled with hope, Xiao Man resolved to climb up the mountain.
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