Rural Life

The battle ended more than forty minutes after John entered the room where the giant snake was located.

The once handsome blond guy is now unrecognizable, a truly pitiful sight.

Half of his body, from his right shoulder to his right leg, was trapped in the gaping maw of the giant snake's chest. His clothes were tattered, and the exposed skin looked as if it had been corroded by strong acid; in some places, even the white bone was visible.

Five tentacles with sharp barbs pierced his body from different parts, causing him great damage. The most serious damage was to his face—half of his face was slashed, and his right eyeball was gouged out, leaving only a bloody hole.

But at least for now, he was still breathing. The small white porcelain knife in his left hand had been deeply embedded in the fleshy growth on the giant snake's head, tearing it to shreds. Before he himself was killed, he had killed the giant snake.

After a while, the giant mouth on the snake's chest and abdomen slowly opened, and John's right arm, right leg, and right side of his body, which had been corroded beyond recognition, finally separated from it.

But he was no longer able to stand up; he could only struggle desperately, bringing his mouth to the wrecked part of the giant snake's head and drinking its blood in large gulps.

A few minutes later, the giant snake had vanished, leaving only a large amount of gray powder on the ground. John lay face down on the ground, motionless, looking as if he had died.

Outside the room, Mr. Liang, who had been watching the situation inside through a huge wall screen, knew that John Cavendish was not dead, but had completed his blood-drinking beforehand and was about to enter a deep sleep.

Although his injuries appeared severe, and would have been fatal to an ordinary person, he would be able to recover completely after this period of slumber.

To be honest, a month ago, when Mr. Liang brought John into this underground space, he thought that if John fought to the death with that giant snake, he would have no chance and would surely die.

Unexpectedly, John ended up being the one who survived.

Although John brought the small white porcelain knife with him, although John deliberately chose the time when the giant snake was about to drink blood and was beginning to become frenzied, and although John used various strategies and tricks to deal with the giant snake throughout the entire deadly battle, Mr. Liang knew that none of these were the key to his victory.

John was able to kill the giant serpent and survive because he finally became "reckless" in the fight, and finally dared to fight with the mindset of having no way out and risking everything.

Mr. Liang was certain that John, whom he had just brought down here, did not have this mindset.

It seems that after spending more than a month down there and observing that giant snake, his mindset has changed quite a bit. Perhaps this is a case of... "One is influenced by one's company"?

Mr. Liang previously looked down on John, or rather, he looked down on all "Blood-feeding Creature" that primarily feed on the blood of their own kind, whether human or other creatures.

But now, he felt he needed to reassess John's worth; perhaps John could bring some unexpected surprises?

Early morning.

Chongyun Village.

Liu Shiling groggily opened her eyes, vaguely feeling sunlight filtering through the curtains onto the blanket. Her heart skipped a beat, and her first thought was:

Mom overslept again!

However, she immediately realized that this bed was not the one in her room in Star City. Then, she turned her head to the right and saw "Roast Chicken Wing Sister," and then turned to the left and saw Sister Little Apple.

Then she realized that she had arrived in Baldy's village and was staying at Baldy's house.

Then Liu Shiling couldn't help but smile, pulled the blanket up a little, twisted her body to make herself sleep Zhengyi School, and then happily closed her eyes and continued to sleep.

However, Liu Shiling suddenly remembered something, sat up abruptly, and looked towards a corner of the room where a tattered blanket lay.

"Where's the Egg Pie?!" Liu Shiling exclaimed in surprise.

Affected by her action, Xia Libing and Little Apple beside her also woke up and sat up. Little Apple even subconsciously hugged the Little Chubby Girl next to her and asked in surprise, "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

"The Egg Pie Egg Pie is gone!" Liu Shiling said anxiously.

Xia Libing tidied her messy hair and said, "The Egg Pie won't be lost."

Little Apple breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "Don't worry, Little Bell, your cat went out to play with Gold Glitter last night. Cats, like birds, like to play at night. That's why they're called 'night owls'!"

In fact, Little Apple knew when Egg Pie was called out by Gold Glitter last night, and even knew how Egg Pie and Gold Glitter opened the window, went out, and then closed it again.

"Oh." Liu Shiling felt relieved. Little Apple's big golden bird looked very smart, and it might even have some "magic." Egg Pie should be fine with it.

Anyway, Lao Xia and Little Apple usually wake up very early, so when they saw that the Little Chubby Girl was also awake, they didn't continue sleeping and got up to wash up.

As soon as Little Apple woke up, Gold Glitter immediately noticed and flew back quickly. He obediently waited outside the window, and after they finished washing up and went downstairs, they discovered Egg Pie, who had just climbed over the wall.

Compared to the glossy, Gold Glitter the Egg Pie, it looked much more disheveled, its orange feathers covered in dirt and fallen leaves, making it appear quite dirty.

"Where did you go playing with Gold Glitter? Look at you all dressed up like this! Sigh, now you know how powerful wings are!" Liu Shiling squatted down, carefully picking the bits of leaves off Egg Pie while muttering to herself with a hint of exasperation.

Little Apple said somewhat shyly, "Should we give Egg Pie a bath?" Through her connection with Alice, she learned about Egg Pie's situation and figured that Gold Glitter had taken Egg Pie into the mountains and made it so dirty.

Xiang Kun, who brought breakfast out of the kitchen, smiled and said, "No need to wash now, otherwise it'll be too much trouble to dry it. If we go out to play later, it'll easily get dirty again. We'll wash it tonight."

Liu Shiling immediately came over. "Good morning, Uncle Baldy! What delicious food are you making?"

"Meat buns".

Is it filled with rabbit meat?

"Ground beef."

Is it spicy?

"There are spicy and non-spicy options. These are a few of them, and they're a little bit spicy."

"Isn't it delicious if it's not spicy?"

"It's delicious even without spice, but you like it a little spicy," Xiang Kun said confidently.

"Can I eat the non-spicy one?" Liu Shiling asked expectantly, gripping the edge of the table with both hands. If she were at her aunt's or uncle's house, she definitely wouldn't ask so many questions; she knew it would annoy people. But she also knew that it was fine to ask her bald uncle these questions; he definitely wouldn't dislike her!

"Sure, you can try whatever you want to eat. Anything you can't finish is for Lao Xia," Xiang Kun said with a smile. "Alright, go wash your hands and then get ready to eat."

After giving his instructions, Xiang Kun asked Lao Xia to go upstairs and wake up Tang Baona and the others.

While eating breakfast, watching the chubby Little Chubby Girl who tried a few bites of various flavored steamed buns and twisted rolls, and then handed the leftovers to Lao Xia next to her, Yang Zhen'er asked curiously, "Little Bell, this outfit of yours... wasn't bought for you by your mother, was it?" Before, whether in Star City or through video chat, Liu Shiling's clothing style and texture were not like this, which looked a bit abrupt.

After swallowing the meat bun in her mouth, Liu Shiling shook her head and said, "No, it was Roast Chicken Wing Sister who asked her to buy it for me."

Yang Zhen'er laughed, "No wonder it looks a little ill-fitting! I really do have a keen eye! Sigh, let's go to town today... no, to Jianzhou City to buy clothes for Little Bell!"

Tang Baona nodded and said, "Sure, buying clothes is one of the few areas where you're truly good at it."

"Nana, are you complimenting me...?"

After dinner, Xiang Kun drove Li Yang, Little Apple, Tang Baona, Yang Zhen'er, Liu Shiling, and Lao Xia to Jianzhou City. The main purpose was to take Professor Li Yang to catch his flight and to buy clothes for Little Chubby Girl. As for Xia Tianhuo, he called a car and went to Tongshi Town for a stroll. The cat and bird stayed behind to look after the house.

Professor Li Yang originally only planned to bring his daughter to Chongyun Village to celebrate Xia Libing's birthday, and then stay for a day or two before returning home. After all, it wasn't summer or winter vacation, so he could only take a limited number of days off and still had to go back to teach.

But after staying in Chongyun Village for a few days, Li Yang deeply felt the difference in his daughter's emotions. She became relaxed and cheerful, clearly enjoying the environment. Even Gold Glitter, the canary, seemed to have found a home in Chongyun Village and was particularly happy.

So last night, Li Yang took the opportunity to discuss with Xiang Kun whether Little Apple could stay in Chongyun Village for a while longer, and that he would pay for her accommodation and meals. After all, Little Apple is not in school now and is mainly doing bird information organization and working as Bilibili UP, which can be done through computers and the internet. With Tang Baona, who has given her a lot of guidance before, there shouldn't be any problem for her to stay in Chongyun Village.

Over the past two days, he observed that Xiang Kun, Tang Baona, Xia Libing, Yang Zhen'er, and the other women all took excellent care of his daughter. They showed no signs of disliking blind people or considering their daughter a burden. They genuinely cared for and loved his daughter. Even the adorable little girl "Little Bell," who arrived just last night, showed a clear affinity for Little Apple.

Sometimes, he even had the illusion that his daughter and these people had known each other for many, many years, and were even family and friends?

But it was precisely because of this that he dared to return to school on his own and entrust his daughter to their care.

Xiang Kun readily agreed to Professor Li's request. Even if Professor Li hadn't mentioned it, he would have found a way to suggest that Professor Li let Little Apple stay in Chongyun Village for a while.

Without a doubt, at present, Little Apple is the most comfortable and "free" in Chongyun Village. This "freedom" is not in terms of action, but in terms of mind and senses.

Xiang Kun also hopes that Little Apple can take advantage of this time when Alice is in a state of further improvement, and see if the connection they have established can be applied more comprehensively and achieve a qualitative leap.

Professor Li transferred "Little Apple's meal expenses" to him via WeChat, but he did not return or refuse to accept them; instead, he readily accepted them.

Based on his cognitive model of Professor Li would be more troubled if he didn't accept money. He would worry that his daughter would bring an objective burden and financial expense to Xiang Kun and the others. Even if he knew that Xiang Kun and the others wouldn't care, he would still try to give them an equal return. At the same time, he would feel embarrassed to let Little Apple stay for too long.

Accepting the money would actually put Li Yang's mind at ease.

After dropping Li Yang off at the airport, Xiang Kun drove everyone to a large shopping mall nearby. After a quick lunch, they started shopping and buying clothes for the Little Chubby Girl.

Yang Zhen'er especially loves buying clothes, and she not only likes to buy them for herself, but also for others. When she was little, she bought clothes for her "dear cousin" Lao Xia, and after she started working, she bought clothes for Tang Baona, who lived with her. However, compared to Lao Xia, Tang Baona also had her own style of dressing, so she didn't really accept the clothes that Yang Zhen'er bought for her.

This time, buying clothes for the Little Chubby Girl was a real treat for her. She bought more than a dozen sets of clothes, shoes, and accessories of various styles for the Little Chubby Girl. It wasn't until Tang Baona and Xiang Kun insisted that she stop that she shifted her focus to buying clothes for Little Apple. In the end, she also bought a few more pieces for Lao Xia.

As for Xiang Kun and Tang Baona, they resolutely refused to cooperate, which is why Yang Zhen'er didn't pull them into her "real-life Barbie dress-up game".

On the way back, Yang Zhen'er looked at the photos she had taken of Little Apple, Little Chubby Girl, and Lao Xia when they tried on their new clothes with a satisfied expression. In the car, she discussed with Tang Baona which outfit and style looked good.

Even though it was all her money that was spent, and she was buying other people's clothes, Yang Zhen'er was extremely excited, even happier than if she had bought dozens of outfits herself.

Chongyun Village is not only Little Apple's true "home ground" and her "freedom," but it's also a very fun place for Little Chubby Girl.

When she first arrived yesterday, she wasn't fully calm yet and didn't pay much attention.

Today, she clearly felt that the sensing ability of her five Coin in Chongyun Village was much stronger.

After dinner, Liu Shiling took the initiative to invite Little Apple to play on a high ground that she had secretly scouted out beforehand.

Tang Baona and Yang Zhen'er were probably too tired from shopping in the afternoon, and they were so sleepy after dinner that they went to take a nap. So Lao Xia went out with the two girls and kept an eye on them.

However, in reality, it was only a symbolic accompaniment. Both she and Xiang Kun knew that in Chongyun Village, these two girls were under almost comprehensive protection, and all potential safety hazards would be anticipated and prevented by Alice in advance.

The Little Chubby Girl held Little Apple's hand and stood side by side with her on a dirt slope. Then she pointed into the distance and said, "Little Apple, that's Chongyun Village down there. Let's play with airplanes!" Of course, neither of them knew that the place they were standing in was the spot where Xiang Kun and Alice, who had appeared out of nowhere, had been discussing problems and had sat all night.

As she spoke, the Little Chubby Girl took out two paper airplanes she had just folded in the yard, handed one to Little Apple, and kept the other for herself.

The two paper airplanes were identical in shape, but the one in her hand was folded from white cardstock and looked clean and brand new, while the one in Little Apple's hand was crumpled and looked like it was folded from scrap paper.

If it were someone else, they would probably think that the Little Chubby Girl was using a good plane for herself while giving the Little Apple a bad one.

But whether it was Lao Xia watching from the side, Little Apple receiving the airplane, or the Gold Glitter on the branch, or the egg Egg Pie tilting its head up at Little Chubby Girl's feet, they all knew that the crumpled airplane was the real awesome airplane.