Chapter 64: The Uncertain Opportunity for Flash Traversal

Leaving the pair of small-time thugs standing dazed in place, Du Yun turned and strode away with flair, her mind already calculating what goods she should gather next time she returned to the zombie world, things that would fetch a good price. Her steps were light and easy.

As she neared Lotus River, Du Yun found a shaded, flat spot and began pulling items out of her storage compartment: pots, bowls, pans—everything one could need. There were even fabrics and candies she’d brought back from the zombie world. In no time, her basket was filled to the brim.

The gourds used for carrying water were tucked safely in her storage compartment. Though they occupied a slot, Du Yun felt especially secure knowing she could fill them with water once she was home. With all the gourds full, she’d have enough to drink for ten days or even half a month. After all, in the zombie world, finding a clean water source was a near-impossible task.

With the heavy basket on her back, Du Yun walked home, her heart brimming with joy. Though a vague sense of forgetting something important lingered in her mind, the happiness overwhelmed it and she simply let it pass.

It was midday, so the village was mostly deserted; only the occasional child glanced at her over a clay wall, giving the whole place a tranquil air.

Du Yun made her way straight home. Most of the family were out in the fields; only her grandmother, her eldest sister preparing for marriage, and the children were inside. Seeing Du Yun return, her younger siblings rushed over, eyes twinkling as they eyed her basket, but not one clung to her or clamored for attention—their sensible restraint tugged at her heart.

“I’m back! Here, these are candies from town—one for each of you!” Du Yun beamed as she set down her basket, pulling out a paper packet of sweets and pressing it into the children’s hands.

How wonderful! The children’s joy was simple—a single candy was enough. A horde of laughing children dashed away, and Du Yun felt her own happiness deepen.

“You’re back,” Du Yun’s grandmother ambled out from the house. Seeing the basket crammed with goods, her brow twitched involuntarily.

“How much did all this cost?” Her voice trembled. What did she see? Bright red enamel basins, a corner of patterned cloth, bowls, chopsticks, and bedding—none of these were cheap. Surely Du Yun had spent all the money she’d earned selling pastries!

“It wasn’t much, Grandma.” Du Yun couldn’t help but give a nervous laugh under her grandmother’s gaze, finally realizing what had seemed off earlier: the basket wasn’t filled with goods she’d bought with her own money.

“Tell the truth!” Her grandmother wasn’t easy to fool; she’d spent a lifetime pinching pennies and could estimate the value of the contents at a glance. Even if Du Yun sold ten yuan’s worth of pastries, she could only buy a fraction of what was here.

“Well, um…” Under her grandmother’s sharp stare, Du Yun’s back stiffened. She was an honest child, never one to lie, and struggled for a long moment to find a way out.

“Did Du Song give you money?” Her grandmother saw Du Yun’s face redden and guessed there was something she couldn’t say, so she pressed her suspicion.

“No, that’s not it—I got an order for pastries from someone in town.” Du Yun saw her grandmother’s skeptical look and abandoned her usual honesty, hurriedly concocting a lie. Her eldest brother had privately helped Du Zhi with money and dowry, but Du Yun didn’t want her actions to make her grandmother suspicious of him.

“All right, I understand. Go on, then.” Her grandmother’s expression soured, but she didn’t ask further. Though she’d suspected Du Song, she hadn’t truly believed he would secretly leave money. Yet seeing Du Yun so eager to conceal the truth, she became convinced that was precisely what had happened.

“Yes, Grandma.” Du Yun slunk inside with her basket, relieved that her grandmother let her off and didn’t suspect her brother. She failed to notice, however, that her grandmother now firmly believed Du Song and Du Yun had pooled their money for Du Zhi’s dowry.

Du Yun carried the dowry items into the house. Du Zhi was embroidering; when she saw her sister, she quickly hid her work behind her, her face flushing bright red, piquing Du Yun’s curiosity.

“Oh! A bellyband!” Du Yun pulled out the hidden item and saw it was a bright red bellyband, half embroidered with twin lotus flowers. The pink matched the blush on Du Zhi’s cheeks perfectly.

“Don’t worry about that, Sis—come look at what I bought!” Du Yun grinned, dragging Du Zhi over to admire her purchases, never mentioning the bellyband again, much to Du Zhi’s relief.

Du Zhi followed Du Yun to the basket and, seeing all the goods, her face turned pale. She gripped Du Yun’s hand tightly, inspecting her up and down as if afraid she’d wasted away. “Xiao Yun, where did you get the money for all this? You weren’t cheated, were you?”

“I’m fine, Sis. Don’t worry—I got a pastry order in town and used the money to buy everything. I still need to make pastries and deliver them soon.” Du Yun smiled, comforting Du Zhi until she finally believed her and her concern eased.

Seeing her sister’s reddened eyes, Du Yun felt a warmth she couldn’t put into words. Her sister’s intense reaction was out of care for her, and Du Yun felt glad all her trouble bringing things back from the zombie world hadn’t been in vain.

Just as Du Yun was reflecting on this, a sudden sensation of weightlessness hit her. Her heart skipped a beat. “Oh no, I’m about to cross over again!”

Her first reaction was panic; the second, to fill the gourds with water; the third, a resolve to discuss with Dou Zhi whether she could control the timing of these abrupt jumps—each one was too sudden, and she really couldn’t stand it.

“Sis, I’m going to get a drink—keep tidying up!” Du Yun dashed out of the family’s house to the water jar. Seeing it full, she was delighted.

With a thought, the water level slowly dropped as she filled each gourd in her storage compartment. When the ten-minute countdown appeared in her vision, she’d already finished filling the gourds. She hurried to the small storeroom, locked the door behind her, checked her storage compartment once more, found everything in order, took up her bow and waited silently for the moment of transmission.

A flash of white light—and when one looked again inside the cramped storeroom, Du Yun was gone.