The Prodigy of the Hidden Realm

"Could I have just imagined it?" Lily rubbed her eyes furiously, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling.

But no, she was sure. She had clearly seen a figure suddenly appear and then disappear on the mountain. It was definitely not a trick of the light.

Could it have been a immortal?

The thought of a real immortal existing in this world made her shiver in awe.

That made her think of cultivation.

In the past couple of days, Lily had discovered a spiritual stone on the bookshelf in her space. It revealed that she had a full fire affinity spirit root, considered to be of the highest quality—this was a rare and exceptional talent for cultivation. According to the records, someone like her could certainly practice.

Once she got through this period of time, she was planning to pick a cultivation method suitable for her and start training.

Unfortunately, she had secretly tested her family, and none of them had any spiritual roots—just ordinary people.

Even though the books mentioned that people with spiritual roots were incredibly rare, and only a handful out of ten thousand possessed them, Lily couldn't help but feel disappointed.

However, she was comforted by the thought that, as someone with a fire affinity, she could eventually learn alchemy and create medicine for her family, improving their health and strengthening their bodies beyond that of regular people.

After planting the herbs in her space, Lily returned to the thatched hut.

Mary and Thomas had gone to the town early in the morning. Mary was looking for embroidery work to help support the family.

Little Emily was being held by Granny Abigail. The tiny girl, with great seriousness, was stumbling through the first poem Thomas had taught her.

Lily couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight. "Our little Emily is so clever." She walked over and patted her sister's head in praise.

Lily had to admit that both her father and mother were quite good-looking. All three children, including herself, had inherited their best qualities. The boys were handsome, and the girls were soft and adorable.

Especially Lily. After drinking the spirit water, she felt lighter and more graceful, and her features had become even more delicate and refined. Though only six years old, she already had the beginnings of a little beauty.

Abigail snorted, clearly unimpressed. "Children should focus on reading and writing. It's all your dad's fault for spoiling her."

"Sister, are Mama and Papa back yet?" Emily immediately jumped out of Granny's arms when she saw Lily, her eyes sparkling with joy as she rushed to hug her.

"Not yet, but they should be back soon." Lily was nearly melted by her younger sister's big, round eyes.

Just as she finished speaking, Thomas and Mary appeared at the door, holding a bag between them. Their faces were full of worry.

Lily's heart sank. "Dad, Mom... did you not buy any grain?"

Thomas sighed heavily. "We bought it, but recently, someone has been hoarding grain, and the price of coarse grain has risen by one cent half kilo."

It wasn't much—a mere one cent—but that small increase made it unaffordable for many families to buy food.

Lily froze for a moment. There wasn't any drought or disaster... so why were people hoarding grain?

Then, an idea struck her. She remembered her previous life, when she worked on dramas. Could it be that there was going to be a war?

Only during wartime would there be mass grain hoarding. Some people, knowing the signs, would secretly purchase grain when prices were low, and then sell it at a much higher price when the chaos of war hit, profiting from the misery.

If that were true, things would be bad.

Her family could hardly afford this, and if there was a war, who knew how many families would be torn apart by conscription and grain requisition?

She couldn't do much about it now, but she could try to stockpile some food just in case.

For now, she prayed it was just her imagination and that war wouldn't come.

Mary had managed to find another embroidery job in town, but the pay was much lower than before. As she was about to bring the embroidery and grain into the house, a scream pierced the air.

"Ah! Dad, Mom, there's a snake!"

The family's expressions immediately changed. They rushed to the back of the house to find Jacob standing frozen, his face as pale as a sheet, while a black snake was staring him down menacingly from nearby.

"Oh my God, Jacob!" Mary shrieked in horror.

Lily quickly grabbed her mother's hand, speaking in a low voice to calm her down. "Mom, don't scream. It might get startled."

Then she turned to Thomas. "Dad, there's a hoe behind the house. Try to sneak up on it and strike its weak spot."

Lily immediately recognized that the snake wasn't particularly venomous, and it wasn't too large—only about three or four jin. She felt a bit relieved, but still kept her composure, directing her father's movements carefully.

It was a warm winter day, and snakes could still be active. It was just unlucky that this one had stumbled into their yard and was now threatening her brother.

Thomas, though scared, acted quickly. He grabbed the hoe and, with a determined look on his face, headed to the back of the house.

"I'll try to distract it. Dad, you sneak around behind it, be careful," Lily instructed as she slowly walked toward the snake.

The snake immediately shifted its attention to Lily. Though she was still afraid, she remained calm—this snake might not be deadly, but it still sent a chill down her spine to have its eyes locked on her.

"Sister, don't come any closer!" Jacob, who had stopped crying, suddenly shouted in panic.

"Don't move, brother!" Lily warned sharply, fearing he would be bitten.

Thomas, moving quietly from behind, swung the hoe with all his might, striking the snake's weak spot with a clean blow. The snake was immediately cut in half, thrashing a few times before lying still.

"Good heavens!" Abigail gasped, her legs giving way as she collapsed onto the ground, her forehead slick with cold sweat. "I almost lost my favorite granddaughter!"

Mary, similarly pale with fear, rushed to grab her children, hugging them tightly. "Don't be afraid, it's over now, everything's fine."

After calming herself down, she glared at Lily, her voice stern. "You little girl, what were you thinking? What if you got bitten? You shouldn't have gone so close."

Mary had been holding little Emily when she saw Lily walking toward the snake, and her heart nearly stopped in her chest. She hadn't dared move, worried that any sudden motion might startle the snake.

Thankfully, the crisis had passed.

"I knew what I was doing, Mom," Lily said, already feeling better. She ran over to the snake's body with excitement. "Great! We're going to have snake meat today!"

In her previous life, she had the chance to taste wild snake meat while working on a drama. Despite how intimidating snakes looked, their meat was surprisingly delicious. Once you tasted it, the flavor lingered in your memory.

"You girl, you really are fearless." Abigail couldn't help but stare at her granddaughter with a mixture of admiration and disbelief.

She was still reeling from the fact that Lily had just taken charge, calmly ordering her father to strike the snake. Was this girl not scared at all?

"Can we eat this?" Thomas and Mary both looked uncertain. Neither of them had much experience with farming, let alone eating snake meat.

"It's fine to eat. The poison is in the fangs. We'll skin it, and I'll cook it myself," Abigail reassured them, though her gaze lingered on Lily curiously.

Thomas and Mary had no idea snake meat was edible, but Lily seemed to know right away. Abigail didn't dig too deep, though. After all, the girl seemed fearless, maybe just craving some meat.