A Lifetime Promise

Chapter 3

The winter was coming and that was the time it was hardest for them because it wasn't easy to grow vegetables, potatoes and rice at all. They had to prepare so they could survive the winter, they also had to have the money to buy warm clothes to protect themselves from the cold.

Lin Xinglan really regretted for not paying much attention in class, if she was a diligent student and studied hard, maybe she could have used her modern knowledge to help her parents. But really, who could have anticipated that she would transmigrate to an unknown ancient world after her death.

If she compared to the protagonists in the novels, she would be the most useless protagonist ever. She felt the shame running in her blood and mind. It wasn't her fault for being born lazy and stupid, really.

Besides helping her parents, there wasn't much she could do. She had already read all the books she could find in the village. Her parents were surprised she could even read because not many commoners could read or write, she really thought she was done that time but luckily, she made a quick believable excuse.

She told them that there was a kind old man who taught her to read and write which made her parents become so happy for her sake. They wanted to meet the old man but she quickly rejected because the old man didn't let her. They reluctantly gave up but not before warning her to be careful.

It really made her heart jump in fright... In fact, ever since she came into this world, she noticed that she could understand and read the language. All she had to do left was to practice her writing so she would often write on the sand or mud with a thin stick.

That year she became six years old, she decided to ask her father to bring her with him to the capital. Every month for eleven days her father, Jian Duan, would always travel to the capital for business. It would take three days to arrive, he would stay for another five days in the capital and then travel back to the village.

Her father was surprised to hear his daughter requesting it, he was pondering whether he would bring her. She was still young but since she begged him many times, he could only give up.

"Little Da, travelling to the capital is really tough since the road is rough and isn't always safe so prepare yourself." Her father informed her, she only nodded her head and sat on the carriage.

The view from the outside was really peaceful, sometimes she could hear voices of people talking and children playing around. She, as a modern person, wasn't used to see the ancient looking villages and shops so it was a nice experience for her.

Well, her father wasn't joking about the road being rough. In the end, she arrived with a butt aching in pain from having a bumpy ride for three days.

However, she would soon forget the pain when she saw the capital, it was really huge and busy in the streets. There were many shops and people, quite a lively place.

"Welcome to the capital, little Da!" Her father hopped off the carriage and took her down to the ground. Holding her hand, he said, "My work partners and I need to go further in the capital so we are walking from here, you must never let go my hand, okay?"

Lin Xinglan nodded her head in response. Naturally, she would never let go her hand off her father's. She would be stupid if she did so, there was a low chance she would find her father again if she was lost in these busy streets. Really a dream becoming a nightmare.

However, she really wondered if irony was flowing in her blood because even if she vowed to herself to never let go off her father's hand, she somehow managed to get separated from him. She was now a lost child in the capital city, it really was a true dream becoming a nightmare.

She had been walking aimlessly for hours, her father must had been searching for her already. It was scary, there were so many people and who knew if there were any human traffickers among them. Lin Xinglan shuddered, her back was feeling cold as she kept thinking of all the possible scenes that would happen to her. When she saw her feet stepping on the grass, she finally raised her head up and she could feel her jaw dropped as fast as the wifi would lose the connection.

She had been walking much farther from the busy streets than she thought. Right in front of her was a huge forest, it looked very amazing. She had the urge to go in and explore but her courage said otherwise because what if she had an accident or got eaten by the wild animals. Ultimately, her curiosity got her best, since she was already lost and was far away from the busy streets, it wouldn't do much difference if she went to the forest that was just in front of her.

Lin Xinglan had always admired nature, even if she would rather stay at home, it didn't change her admiration every time she saw scenes like she was seeing now. There were trees with birds sitting and singing, and she could feel the freshness in the air. It truly screamed the words, 'wild nature'.

In some way or another, she got lost in her thoughts and found a waterfall, it wasn't loud at all. It was a waterfall with a small river, you could even take a bath there. The scenery got clearer as she walked closer to the waterfall. She got a glimpse on a small figure who stood close by the river.

By the figure, she could tell it was a young boy that was a little older than her. He wore white clothes which was worn out, possibly from playing around. The young boy looked down in the river, seemingly searching for something.

"Hey, little boy. What are you doing?" Lin Xinglan asked the young boy who suddenly jumped in shock.

Might be because the young boy didn't expect someone to be in the forest so when he heard a childish voice belonging to a girl, he was caught in surprise.