Even though life in that world was lonely and isolated, she still wanted to keep living—she didn’t want to die.
Holding Emily Bennett's hand as they walked along the ridge between fields, the eldest sister noticed the change in her younger sister’s mood. She casually picked a wildflower from the roadside and tucked it into Emily Bennett’s braid.
“Big sis, you’re so biased toward third sister. I want a flower too.” The second sister, Helen Bennett, puffed out her cheeks in protest.
On Grace Bennett’s back, the just-turned-one-year-old Jack Bennett also reached out his little hands, babbling unclearly, “Flower, want flower.”
So Grace Bennett picked a big handful of wildflowers, adorning her sisters’ heads with them, and even wove a flower crown for her little brother, placing it atop his tiny head with just a few tufts of yellow hair. The siblings laughed and played all the way home.
Bright sunlight, swirling greenery, children running along the field ridge.
Life was clearly hard and busy, but it was this very liveliness and simplicity that added a touch of warmth to their days. It seemed to fill in a small piece of the loneliness and lack that had once marked Emily Bennett’s childhood.
At the end of the dirt road, an elderly man with white hair was walking toward them. His beard and hair were completely white, but his face was ruddy, and he wore splendid silk clothes, strolling along at a leisurely pace.
Emily Bennett caught sight of his smiling face and froze for a moment, goosebumps rising all over her.
This old gentleman looked no different from an ordinary person, with nothing strange about him at all. But that only made Emily Bennett even more uneasy.
In this poor little village, the elderly who had worked all their lives usually had faces full of wrinkles and hunched backs. Anyone who could walk around in clothes without patches was already considered well-off.
Suddenly, on the muddy path along the field ridge, such a well-dressed, prosperous-looking old man appeared. Yet her sisters showed no reaction at all to this out-of-place figure. Emily Bennett immediately knew that this must be a special being only she could see.
Having lived in this world for six or seven years, she knew there were big differences among spirits and demons. The little foxes and flower sprites mingling among the villagers might play the occasional prank, but they couldn’t really harm humans. As a young person from modern society who easily accepted new things, she wasn’t afraid of encountering those small supernatural creatures.
But this old man walking toward her now—not only could he stroll leisurely through a human village at noon under the sun, but he had also perfectly taken on human form. He was a “great demon” she absolutely couldn’t afford to provoke.
So Emily Bennett grabbed her second sister Helen Bennett’s hand, pretending nothing was amiss, as if, like her sisters, she hadn’t seen the old man at all.
The distance between them grew shorter and shorter. Emily Bennett felt a bit nervous, forcing her gaze to stay fixed on the distance, ignoring the old man who was now right beside her. Her palm began to sweat slightly.
As they passed each other, the old man suddenly bent down, bringing his smiling face close to hers.
“Little girl, you can see this old man, can’t you?”
Emily Bennett instantly turned pale, her body tensing up.
“Xiang’er, what are you doing? You’re squeezing my hand so hard it hurts.” The second sister complained in annoyance.
Emily Bennett couldn’t say a word. She didn’t know how she was supposed to react. Maybe the old man had just been testing her, but she hadn’t been able to hold back in that moment—she’d already given herself away.
If this “old man” wanted to do anything to her and her siblings, she was completely helpless, with no way to defend herself.
She could only keep her mouth shut, stiffly following her sisters forward, nervously passing by the old man.
“I’m so hungry, big sis, what are we having for lunch? Let’s cook the clams we caught into soup.” Helen Bennett was still thoughtlessly focused on what they’d eat for lunch.
“All you think about is eating. Those need to be kept in the water jar to spit out the mud. We’ll eat them when Dad and Mom come back from the fields tonight.” The eldest sister, Grace Bennett, replied.
The two sisters were completely unaware of the danger beside them, chatting easily as they brushed past the old man’s clothes.
Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have any intention of making things difficult for them. Smiling, he stepped aside and let them pass without trouble.
In the height of summer, under the blazing sun, Emily Bennett broke out in a cold sweat down her back.
The old man watched Emily Bennett’s slowly receding figure, stroking his beard and nodding. “As expected, she’s a child of good potential. So young, yet not only has she opened her spiritual eye, she’s also so calm in the face of danger. No wonder Mr. Nature would come for her.”
“Hmph, calm in the face of danger? I saw her legs shaking in fear—she’s even more timid than a rabbit spirit. She’s not even big enough to get stuck in my teeth.” A strangely-toned voice came from somewhere underground.
“She’s only six or seven years old. Even among humans, she’s just a cub. How could she possibly compare to an old monster like you who’s lived six or seven centuries?” the old man said with a laugh.
Chapter 2
At sunset, the evening clouds were brilliant, the sky filled with tiny scales of cloud tinged gold by the slanting rays, as if an immortal was passing through the sea of clouds, sailing into the mortal world, setting the sky ablaze with layers of glowing light.
It was rare for the Yuan family to have guests. The parents were entertaining in the front hall, the sisters busy boiling water and cooking. Only Emily Bennett was left in the courtyard, chopping firewood.