Chapter 1

"Ah... Help... Help... Help..."

"Child, don't blame me. Blame yourself for seeing what you shouldn't have seen!"

Willow struggled to open her eyes, only to find herself in an unfamiliar sorghum field.

She remembered picking wild Ganoderma on a cliff in the deep mountains, and by accident, stepped into the void...

From such a high cliff, how did she survive the fall?

Just as she was dumbfounded, Willow heard strange noises not too far away.

She quickly moved forward a couple of steps, pushed aside the sorghum stalks for a clearer view, and immediately took a sharp, cold breath.

She saw a tall, bare-chested man, gripping the throat of a five or six-year-old boy tightly.

The little boy's face had turned purple, his tongue sticking out. It looked like he wouldn't last much longer.

Had she stumbled onto a murder scene?

Willow felt goosebumps all over her body, became wobbly on her feet, and stepped on something round and rolling.

It was a wooden stick as thick as a wrist.

The noise startled the man, and in the dim light, a pair of eyes, green and glowing maliciously, looked over.

But Willow's actions were faster than her thoughts.

With a quick flick of her foot, she picked up the stick on the ground and swung it vigorously at the man's head.

Fast, accurate, and ruthless!

A guaranteed one strike kill!

The man gazed at her wide-eyed, clearly in disbelief. Seeming as if he wanted to say something, his body wavered, ultimately falling stiffly to the ground.

Willow took a step forward, intentionally pressing her hand against the man's neck pulse. After ensuring that he was merely unconscious, she finally let out a sigh of relief. She could tell this man was no good, but she didn't want to become a murderer.

Willow didn't have time to concern herself with him anymore, turning around hurriedly to check on the little boy. It was only when she picked him up did she realize how terribly thin he was. His clothes were tattered, and his face and hair were covered in grime and bits of grass, resembling a little beggar.

The young boy's face was bruised and his pulse weak, clearly on the brink of death. Willow adeptly held him, pinching his nose and blowing air vigorously into his mouth, before releasing his nose - repeating the two steps in a cycle.

A few minutes later.

"Cough... Cough..."

A fierce tremor shook the young boy's chest and he began to gradually regain consciousness. Upon opening his eyes and seeing Willow up close, his pupils constricted in fear.

After taking a deep breath, Willow asked, "Child, how are you feeling? Can you speak? Do you know where you are? I'll take you to the hospital right away..."

Willow's words trailed off halfway.

Because she noticed that the little boy was looking at her with a terror-stricken gaze, as if he was seeing a devil.

It seemed as if she was the one who had just tried to kill him.

Willow figured the child might have been too scared and was a little paranoid at this moment.

She softened her voice: "Don't be afraid, the bad guy has been knocked unconscious by me, he won't hurt you anymore."

She pointed at the unconscious man on the side as she spoke.

The little boy stared with wide eyes at the man lying on the ground, then looked at Willow. His expression shifted from fear to doubt: "You...you won't kill me?"

His words made her chuckle a little: "Why would I kill you? With your skinny little body, selling you by weight wouldn't even fetch much money!"

Upon hearing this, the little boy immediately backed away, trembling, tears welled up in his eyes, as if she were a real wicked witch intent on murder.

Willow realized she had frightened the child. She quickly softened her voice again: "I was just joking with you. Killing is illegal. How about we call the cops? Let's let the police take you to the hospital, you won't be scared then, right?"

As she spoke, she instinctively reached into her pocket for her phone.

However, this search left Willow totally flabbergasted.

Her pocket was empty.

No! That wasn't right!

What she was wearing wasn't her original clothes at all.

Even though the light within the sorghum field was dim, she could still see clearly. It was undoubtedly a gray plaid shirt.

Several buttons had been ripped off, with the unbuttoned shirt revealing her fair skin and slender belly-band straps.

Her chest was adorned with two large braids that were loosely undone.

Seeing Willow's stunned expression and the rigid stare at her own clothes, the kid couldn't help but gently call out, “Sis... Sister-in-law?”

Willow was taken aback, "What...what did you call me?"

Chapter 2

The child was frightened by her expression, turned around to run, and Willow wanted to call him. She opened her mouth, but suddenly, she grabbed her own head, and knelt down as her body was unable to support her.

At this moment, numerous pieces of information were suddenly rushing into her mind.

It seemed like an enduring story was being narrated to her.

And it felt as if a hand was splitting her head open, tearing her soul, and pouring something into her head all at once.

For the first time, Willow was experiencing a headache so intense it felt like her head would explode.

She felt as if she had endured a full century of torment, yet in reality, it was just a mere moment.

When she regained her senses, she finally realized what had happened.

She had time-traveled to a place called Five Gates Village in the 1970s.

The original owner of her body was named Willow Kirk, who just turned eighteen this year, yet she was already married.

Her husband was named Aiden Nicholson, a military man.

Though they were husband and wife, they didn't live as a couple.

Because on the day of their wedding, Aiden was recalled to the military, and he didn't even have time to consummate their marriage.

Before leaving, Aiden ordered Willow to take good care of his younger brother, Jason Nicholson, and left all his money and valuables to her.

Who would have known that Willow is actually a vain and lazy oddball.

The money Aiden left was all used by her for feasting, and she paraded around the village all day, dressed in flashy clothes.

The young Jason was constantly hit or scolded, deprived of even a single full meal.

Aiden, while on a mission, passed through the village and discovered his own younger brother being treated so poorly. His eyes turned red with anger.

Holding back the urge to kill, he ordered Willow to pack up and leave Nicholson's house immediately.

If it weren't for the mission, Aiden would have divorced her already.

After Aiden left, Willow was overwhelmed with fear.

She knew all too well what would await her once she was sent back to her parental house.

In desperation, the woman resorted to secretly meeting her illicit lover in the sorghum field.

This act was unexpectedly intercepted by her brother-in-law Jason.

The scene Willow witnessed when she came here, was that of her original body's illicit lover attempting to silence Jason.

After receiving all the information in her mind, Willow was left completely speechless.

She turned to look at the young boy in front of her, staring at her in fear.

So this was the brother-in-law, whom the original owner had abused daily, and who discovered her affair.

No wonder the boy looked at her as if gazing at an old witch who gobbles humans and doesn't spit out the bones.

Oh, mighty gods of time travel, what did she ever do to deserve this!

Not only did they dump her in the resource-scarce 1970s, but they also gave her a hellish difficulty setting from the start.

Willow, or it would more appropriate to now call her Willow Beck Kirk, took a deep breath, slowly steadied her emotions, and decided to face reality bravely.

At least, she was still alive.

The little boy across from her, Jason, seeing her still as a stone, cautiously tried to stand up, wishing to make an escape.

Who would know that the moment he moved, his world would spin, almost making him fall head-first.

His face turned pale with fright, his delicate skinny arms flailing around, trying to stabilize his body.

Soon, a hand reached out to steady him.

A pleasing voice rang in his ear: "Child...ahem...Little Jason, are you alright? Can you walk on your own?"

Jason looked up at Willow in a daze.

The face that was once sharp and harsh, now under the moonlight, appeared so tender and beautiful.

Could this person really be the wicked sister-in-law he knew?

Couldn't it be that after he had stumbled upon her scandal and she had fallen, she might have injured her brains?

Chapter 3

Seeing the child keeping quiet, Willow simply turned around and half squatted down, "Climb up, I'll carry you."

A struggle appeared on Jason's face.

Willow threatened him, "If you don't come, I will leave. It's midnight, and there might be lonely ghosts wandering around here. Are you sure you want to stay here alone?"

As if to echo her words, a gust of wind blew, making all the millet sway, making a whispering noise.

In this still night, it seemed particularly creepy.

Jason's small body trembled with fear, finally hesitating before laying on Willow's back.

"But, what about him?"

Hearing the child's shaky voice, Willow glanced at the unconscious man and hooked her mouth, "Don't worry, he won't die!"

He won't die but lying bare-chested in the millet field on this cool early summer night, she couldn't guarantee he wouldn't catch a cold, develop a fever, or be covered in mosquito bites.

The vile lover of the body's original owner was named Caleb Collin.

His appearance was decent, but in the original owner's memory, he was not as handsome as Aiden.

The reason why the original owner got involved with him was because Caleb was the son of the production team leader in the Collin family's village next door. His family was very well off, and he himself was a high school student.

As for the original owner's looks and figure, they were ranked among the top in miles around.

When the original owner flaunted around the village, Caleb had his eyes on her beauty.

Later, when the original owner was caught by Aiden mistreating Jason, in her panic and confusion she sought a lifeline and ended up with Caleb.

In Original Willow's view, a man of Caleb's stature would definitely not consider marrying her.

But she was an available woman he could take advantage of.

That's why he arranged to meet her in this sorghum field in the middle of the night, showing his disgusting intentions.

Only she, that naive fool, would believe that if Caleb took her body, he would certainly marry her.

Willow thought bitterly of this awful beginning and found it hard to resist a sigh.

She no longer felt welcome in Nicholson's house.

Aiden would be sure to drive her out after returning from the military.

Her birth family, even more so, would no longer offered her sanctuary.

In the 21st century, it wouldn't have mattered if she had been divorced, she could survive and do well on her own.

But this was the 70s!

A time where one needed grain stamps to buy grain, meat stamps for meat, and a referral letter to stay at an inn.

She feared that she’d be deemed suspicious and arrested before even leaving Five Gates Village.

Willow heaved a despairing sigh, she had to figure out a way to stay.

In a flurry of hurried movements, she made it back to the Nicholson's house before dawn.

The Shen's house was a tea brick-tiled house, facing east to west with four rooms in total. Additionally, there was a main hall and a kitchen.

Willow Swan and Aidens room was at the far west.

Upon entering the room, a heavy stench of mold and foul odors assaulted their senses.

With a strong will, Willow managed to reach the bed and lay down the child she had been carrying.

“Go to sleep first. We can deal with everything in the morning," she said.

During their journey, she had felt the small head of Jason nodding off on her shoulder, clearly exhausted to the limit.

At this moment, she too felt an intense headache and just wanted to rest.

Was all this just a dream?

Maybe when she woke up, she would return to her old world.

The night deepened.

In a house filled with the scent of mold and bad odors, Willow slept restlessly, feeling as though her whole body was on fire.

Thirst began to claw her throat.

She wanted water, she needed to drink!

If she couldn't get water, she was going to die of thirst.

Groggily, Willow raised her hand, touching her forehead.

It seemed she had developed a fever.

Just at that moment, a drop of icy liquid slid from her finger down to her nose tip. Then, with the gentlest roll, it slipped between her lips and teeth.

So sweet! So refreshing!

It was just like the hottest days of summer, when a giant piece of chilled watermelon would make every pore in your body open up.

The burning heat and throbbing pain of a parched throat disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Willow's eyebrows relaxed, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curled into a satisfied smile, and she seemed to have fallen into a fluffy, sweet dream.

That is, until...

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

A rooster’s crow abruptly jolted Willow from her dream.

She leapt up from the bed, sitting there perplexed as she gazed around her, unable to distinguish the reality.

Until the memories of the previous night came flooding back.

So, this was not a dream after all!

She really couldn't go back anymore.

Willow showed a bitter smile and let out a soft sigh.

Just then, a low moan was heard at her ear.

Jason's little face was flushed red. His mouth was slightly open, and a painful moan unconsciously escaped his throat.

"Jason? Jason, do you have a fever?!"

Chapter 4

Willow faintly remembered feeling feverish last night, probably due to catching a chill in the sorghum field.

However, it was as though she had swallowed something and her body suddenly became incredibly comfortable.

What was that? It seemed like some kind of delicious medicine.

Who gave her that medicine to drink?

In this impoverished countryside, in her decrepit hovel, who would come to give her, a notorious woman, such a lifesaving medicine?

Just as she was thinking about this, Willow looked down at her right index finger, and watched a droplet form at its tip.

The droplet was milky white and exuded a faint fragrance.

Just the smell alone made her feel extremely comfortable.

Could this be the so-called "golden finger" from the legends?

A spiritual spring, capable of curing all illnesses?

Willow had read quite a few internet novels in the past and was no stranger to concepts like time-travel, alternate dimensions, and spiritual springs.

So, once she saw this milky white liquid, her thoughts immediately went to the spiritual spring.

Hesitating for a moment, she carefully brought the drop to her lips for a taste.

However, the moment her tongue touched it, the droplet vanished instantly.

Willow immediately felt a wave of refreshing coolness and comfort, spreading from the tip of her tongue to all her internal organs, from her nose and mouth even up to her limbs and bones.

It's truly the Spirit Spring!

She saved herself!

She appreciated that the cross-dimensional Deity didn't forget about her and even left her a Golden Finger for survival.

With a single thought, a drop of milk-white fluid seeped out from her fingertip again.

Without hesitation, Willow fed it to Jason.

A single drop, and the little guy's panicked breathing returned to normal, the temperature of his body seemed to have diminished a little as well. But his forehead remained feverish.

Immediately, Willow intended to condense a fourth drop.

However, there was none!

No liquid came out from her fingertip.

Willow was stuck dumb.

Only three drops of Spirit Spring?

What kind of Golden Finger is this?

Cross-dimensional Deity, are you fooling with me?

"I'm so thirsty...water...I want more water...big brother, Jason wants water..."

With a tearful husky voice, Jason brought Willow back to her senses.

The spiritual spring he had just experienced made him feel quite comfortable, yet it did not entirely remove his illness.

The little one seemed even sicker than she was.

"Brother, why haven't you returned yet? Little Jason is in so much pain… I miss you so much..."

Tears slid down Jason's cheeks.

His small body instinctually curled into a ball.

Only in these moments of semi-consciousness would this child reveal his true feelings.

Willow held him in her arms with a love filled heart, gently patting him: "Little Jason don't be afraid, brother will be back soon."

Jason's voice gradually weakened, and he slipped back into unconsciousness.

Willow looked around and saw a pot of water and a towel hanging on a shelf in a corner.

She quickly wrung the water and wiped Jason's body.

However, as soon as she stripped Jason's clothes off, Willow's eyes widened in shock.

Extreme anger made her body tremble uncontrollably.

There were numerous big and small, fresh and old wounds.

There were bruises, bite marks, scrapes, and even burns.

So many wounds, if they were on an adult, it would have been unbearably painful.

At this moment, a plethora of things were happening to such an innocent child.

Willow's chest rose and fell rapidly.

If the original host were here, she would certainly not be able to resist strangling this toxic and ruthless fool.

No, the culprit wasn't the original host, but rather…

"Little brat, the sun is already high in the sky, and you are still not up to start the fire for me. You, with your evil intentions, are you trying to starve our whole family to death?"

An ear-piercing voice suddenly resounded from outside the house.

Chapter 5

Jason, who was originally in a deep state of sleep, leapt up from his bed, his face full of panic, and clumsily tried to climb off the bed.

"What are you doing?!"

Willow firmly pushed him back onto the bed, scowling, "Still feeling unwell and you want to move about."

Her tone was rather harsh, but her action of dressing the young boy was extremely gentle.

With a face full of fear, Jason stuttered, "I, I need to light the fire, or else they will get mad."

They'd punish him if they got mad. One after another.

Willow knew exactly who the young boy was referring to when he said "they".

Her anger intensified, but fearful of further alarming the young boy, she suppressed her rage, and firmly pushed him back onto the kang, "I will speak to them, they won't need you to light the fire today, all you need to do is lie down and focus on recovering."

"But..."

"No buts!" Willow intentionally put on a stern face to frighten him, "Are you only afraid of their anger and not mine? I order you to stay in bed obediently and you shall not get down without my permission, understand?"

Sure enough, Jason got frightened and crawled back into bed, pulling himself into a small ball.

Willow then put a damp cloth back onto his forehead and poured him a glass of water, placing it next to the bed, before she walked out of the room leisurely.

As soon as she stepped outside, she forthright collided into an angry woman.

This woman appeared to be in her early thirties, had a plump figure with rough, tanned skin, and had chaotic hair bundled into a bun at the back of her head, resembling dry straw.

Upon seeing Willow, the woman immediately bawled, "Sister-in-law, where is that little brat? Hurry and wake him up, there's a bunch of chores waiting for him in the kitchen!"

Willow was stunned for a moment before realizing that the woman in front of her was her sister-in-law in her previous life, named Martha Jones.

The family relations of her husband, Aiden, were somewhat complicated.

Eva Hope, Aiden and Jason's biological mother, fled to Five Gates Village over two decades ago. Tragically, she died there from a difficult childbirth when Jason was born.

Less than a year later, Nate remarried to Wendy Brick.

Wendy was also a widow, her late husband's surname was Smith. She had two sons and a daughter.

For some unknown reasons, Nate was very partial against his own sons - Aiden and Jason.

Contrarily, he was more kind to the two stepsons and stepdaughter Wendy brought with her.

Once Wendy gave birth to his youngest son Harry, he no longer viewed the sons left by his previous wife as human.

Aiden had to leave home at a young age to join the army, striving to earn his own fortune so that he could separate from his family as soon as possible.

However, he didn't realize that by his action, it led to his only biological brother falling into a trap.

Aiden was smart and strong, with a hint of ruthlessness pervading his entire being.

When he was at home, even though Wendy held resentment towards her two stepsons, she didn't dare to act too outrageously.

However, once Aiden left to join the army, and after marrying Willow — a daughter-in-law which was easy to manipulate, her true nature was immediately exposed.

Jason's injuries were all administered under the orders of Wendy.

Yet, it is the original owner of this body, the foolish one, who was blamed for all.

Not even Aiden knew that it was his stepmother Wendy, not Willow, who was the real threat to Jason.

Acting upon the memories of her original self, Willow maintains her composure and simply says, "Sister-in-law, little Jason is sick, he's not able to work today."

This woman before her, Martha Jones, is the wife of Jerry Smith, who is the son of Wendy's ex-husband.

Martha always obeys Wendy's commands.

In regard to abusing and torturing Jason, she is always at the forefront.

As expected, after hearing Willow's words, Martha starts roaring, "Sick? I see him as just trying to slack off. Let me tell you, little sister, this brat has a lazy bone in him. If you don't beat him for three days, he gets itchy. I will go drag him out right now."

"There's no need. It's just starting a fire, I'll do it."

Hearing Willow's words, Martha looks at her inexplicably.

This little sister, who is usually lazy and vain, has changed?

She even takes over the work from that little brat Jason.

Could it be that she can't get up because she was beaten last night?

Chapter 6

Martha became more and more convinced of her own guess, and couldn't help but laugh. "Then you'd better hurry up. If breakfast is late, Mother will lose her temper."

However, Mother seems to enjoy tormenting the Nicholson brothers the most.

Unfortunately, Willow is like a straw bag that is strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

Even if you ask her to teach Jason a lesson, she could only come up with childish tricks like depriving the little rascal of a bed or giving him a couple of light whacks with a broom.

It was unexpected that today she actually wised up and beat that Child till he couldn't get out of bed.

If Mother knew, she would certainly be very delighted!

Martha twisted her robust body happily and went to the stove.

...

The food in this era was very simple. In a quarter of an hour, hot cornmeal pancakes and sorghum porridge were served on the table.

However, looking at those dry pancakes and a lump of dark porridge, Willow couldn't muster any appetite.

There were two bowls of egg custard on the table that looked relatively fresh and nutritious.

It should be good for replenishing little Xuan's strength.

"Eggs, eggs, Mommy, I want to eat eggs!"

A childish voice came from outside.

Shortly after, a wan-faced little girl stepped in leading a three or four-year-old boy.

As soon as Martha saw the little boy, her eyes lit up with joy, "Well, well, get Mommy's little Jake an egg."

"Mia, what are you standing there for? Quickly feed your younger brother the egg custard."

The little girl holds up the egg custard, couldn't help but swallow, and licks her lips, obviously wanting to eat it badly.

But in the end, she obediently feeds it to her younger brother next to her.

Jake swallows down the egg custard fed by his sister without any hesitation, thoroughly enjoying it, without any intention of sharing a bite with his sister.

These two are the children of Martha and Jerry.

The girl is five years old and is called Mia Smith.

The boy is four years old, named Jake Smith.

Judging from their ages, both are just children, but because one is a girl and the other is a boy, their treatments are worlds apart.

"The egg is mine! Mine! You can't snatch it from me——!"

Miaa had just fed Jake a couple of bites of the egg custard when a chubby little boy rushed in like a cannonball, glaring fiercely at Jake.

Jake, who was misbehaving with Mia, complaining about her not feeding him well, immediately shrunk into a ball at the sight of this little fat boy, showing a look of fear, muttering: "Little uncle, I, I didn't snatch yours…"

Turns out, this chubby boy is Nate and Wendy's youngest son, Harry Nicholson.

In the Nicholson family, he is the real little ancestor.

Everyone has to coax and appease him. The best things at home are only available to others after he has picked over them.

As soon as Martha saw Harry charging towards her son in a huff, her heart immediately panicked, and she quickly piled up a smile and said, "Harry, come quickly, your aunt has prepared the egg custard for you. I promise it's much more delicious and tasty than Jake's!"

However, when she turned around, she saw that Willow had already picked up the only remaining bowl of egg custard on the table, along with a few cornmeal pancakes, and was about to leave.

Martha quickly stopped her: "Hey, third sister-in-law, what are you doing? That egg custard is Harry, what are you doing with it? Put it down quickly!"

Willow dodged her grab, casually saying, "Jason is sick, so I won't call him out to eat. It's thoughtful of elder sister-in-law. This bowl of egg custard is just right for him to replenish his body."

Martha was stunned for a moment, then incredulously said, "Sister-in-law, did your brain get kicked by a donkey? What qualifications does that rascal Jason have to eat egg custard?"