Folded Space

Late at night, Jiang Han and her younger sister Jiang Zhenling sat at the round dining table, reading as they waited for their two mothers to bring out the dishes.

Witches were all night owls. They generally slept no more than five hours, usually from morning until noon, with the occasional half-hour nap in the afternoon counting as a healthy lifestyle. Dinner was therefore usually around eleven at night, though some witch families were used to eating at one in the morning.

Jiang Han was a little sleepy. In her previous life, she had never been particularly fond of staying up late, and once it passed eleven at night, she started yawning.

After reviewing her elementary school textbooks, she saw Ye Keshu, wrapped in an apron, carrying a platter to the table. On it was an entire steamed fish, coated in richly fragrant spices and drizzled with cooked soy sauce. It looked especially appetizing—at the very least, far more edible than the green gelatinous liquid they had eaten at noon.

There were also meat dishes: braised chicken with potatoes and beef stewed with tomatoes.

And vegetable dishes: broccoli with garlic and meat gravy, stir-fried bamboo shoots with mushrooms, and finally tofu fish soup.

A deluxe four dishes and one soup.

The steamed rice gave off a faint fragrance. The scent of the meat made saliva flow, while the fragrance of the vegetables was intoxicating to the senses.

Jiang Xuan took the rice and gave the sisters a sweet smile. "Want some chicken fat added?"

The answer was obvious.

In this world, there probably was no choice more mouthwatering or more motivating than pouring rich chicken fat or chicken broth over the first bowl of rice—unless it was a pot of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, with its thick, nearly sticky broth poured over the rice instead.

As she poured on the chicken broth, Jiang Xuan asked, "How are Zhen Ling's grades at school lately?"

"The other schools are fine. I'm barely passing Necromancy School and Prophecy School." Jiang Zhenling stared at the steaming rice as she answered.

Ye Keshu arranged the chopsticks, knives, and forks. After sitting down, she joined the conversation. "Necromancy and Prophecy are fairly difficult. Back then, we could only visit the morgue once a month. We only had that one chance each month to improve in Necromancy School."

That was the bad thing about witches—they loved discussing all sorts of heavy topics even at the dinner table... Jiang Han had once dated an outstanding medical student in her previous life, and she had never stopped talking about wounds at the table either. They later broke up because Jiang Han discovered that she sleepwalked.

"Everyone, eat." Ye Keshu was the first to pick up her chopsticks.

Holding her rice bowl, Jiang Han first picked up a piece of braised chicken and stuffed it into her mouth along with rice soaked in chicken fat.

The primal flavor of chicken broth burst across her tongue. The fragrant rice blended with firm but tender chicken, and with a gentle chew, she could taste the chicken fat, the meat, and a hint of sweetness from the rice.

Her nose twitched as she took a breath. The scent of rice and chicken fat made up ninety percent of what she could smell, and her eyes even grew slightly moist.

This is what rice and proper dishes are! What the hell was that green gelatinous liquid we ate at noon? It was edible, and it didn't taste bad, but rice was still sweeter, and meat and vegetables were still more delicious.

"Mm... this fish is good. The seller said it was caught in the Yangtze River, from a Folded Space in the Yangtze River." Jiang Xuan chatted as she ate the fish.

For people in China, chatting over a meal was an important way to strengthen family bonds.

Almost anything could be discussed at the dining table.

Ye Keshu ladled the milky-white fish soup into bowls, then picked out two pieces of golden, crispy fried fish and added them in. She sprinkled on some chopped scallions with satisfaction before dropping in several chunks of tofu.

The tender freshness of the tofu blended perfectly with the savory fish soup.

"The fish soup is good. It's the best I've ever made..." Ms. Ye praised herself.

Jiang Han also ladled herself a bowl of tofu fish soup and took a sip. Ms. Ye's boasting was no lie—it really was delicious.

It was savory without losing the perfect amount of saltiness and a trace of black pepper. After drinking it, her whole body felt a little warm.

Once they were nearly full, everyone began drinking soup and chatting.

"A large Folded Space has appeared in the waters near South City again. It's full of resources." Jiang Xuan took a sip of fish soup, a satisfied smile like a well-fed cat appearing on her face.

"How nice... The people who discovered it should be able to make a fortune, right?" Ye Keshu picked up a piece of fish belly, licked it, and spoke with a hint of envy.

Jiang Zhenling then grabbed Jiang Han and began explaining:

"It's something like an alternate dimension. The earliest known origin should have been in the Yellow River basin. After the witches there discovered that the water was muddy and its source couldn't be found, they had the government organize a group of Archwitches to investigate. In the end, they discovered a Folded Space along one stretch of the Yellow River—it was a space where sandstorms occurred three times a day. Dust seeped into the Yellow River and turned it muddy."

Jiang Han nodded to show that she understood.

Jiang Zhenling joined the topic her two mothers were discussing.

"Is the Folded Space large-scale, small-scale, or shattered?"

Jiang Xuan seemed to have insider information. Smiling, she said, "It's an ultra-large shattered one. People outside don't know yet, but once they do, housing prices in South City might rise."

Growing interested, she used Mage Hand to bring out a blackboard, then controlled a piece of chalk to draw an insanely badass three-dimensional map on it—yes, insanely badass. She drew everything, including the terrain, the plants on it, and the buildings. It looked more like she had extracted the image stored in her mind and turned it into a readable map. Perhaps the animation industry would become even more badass in the future because of such spells.

After drawing the map in just a few seconds, Jiang Xuan explained, "This is the sea and islands currently inside the Folded Space. A group of Archwitches who went in said there are extinct dragons, extinct animals, and extinct plants inside. Aside from being fairly dangerous, it's basically the most resource-rich Folded Space discovered in China so far. According to Archwitch Chen Weihe, this Folded Space may also be unprecedentedly large."

Jiang Xuan paused, then recited in a sing-song voice:

"I rode my broom eastward. On the first day, I saw a dazzling false sun. On the second day, I crossed a surging sea. On the third day, wind and snow struck, and I could only turn back... Chen Weihe is the fastest-flying witch in China. She flew for three days without reaching the end, forced to turn back by the overwhelming blizzard she described. She doesn't even need three days to circle the globe, so just imagine how large this Folded Space is."

It really was enormous. Jiang Han calculated inwardly. If a witch who could fly in a straight line from China to the United States in a little over a day at full speed had spent three days without even reaching the limit, then its range was indeed vast. Its area might even compare to the planet beneath her feet.

"Because there are large numbers of fragmented spatial passages within it, experts have determined that it's a shattered space. But its resources may be enough for the country to explore and develop for more than a hundred years. So housing prices in South City will rise quickly. This place will become the world's largest gathering place for witches in the future."

Jiang Han stared blankly at the map. Could it be that the economic special zone of her previous life had become a Folded Space development zone in this life?