Gu Jin watched him eat a few biscuits and drink the malted milk from the cup before allowing him to lie down on the bed opposite to rest.
The sound of the train clattered in the night; it was a sound Gu Jin hadn’t heard for decades.
She glanced at the child sleeping soundly on the bed opposite. Despite the loud train noise, she could still discern the sound of his breathing.
Recently, the child had been well taken care of by her, with the wounds on his face disappearing and gaining some weight.
After returning from this trip to Shenzhen, she would teach An Mingji the Mystic Sky Technique for cultivation.
Gu Jin calculated the time; if her cousin could remain safe, their return would mark the beginning of disaster for the entire North China District.
The impending rainy season would bring a month’s worth of rain, followed by famine.
Lying on the bed, staring at the scenery rapidly flashing past outside the train window, Gu Jin’s heart grew heavier.
Not only was there the unknown danger facing her cousin, but over the coming year, many people in the North China District would starve to death.
With a heavy heart, Gu Jin slowly closed her eyes.
...
Early the next morning, before dawn, An Mingji opened his eyes.
He sat up on the bed, immediately looking at the still-sleeping Gu Jin.
The sound of the train clattering continued endlessly, amidst the noise he quietly got up and put on his shoes.
Just as he straightened up after putting on his shoes, Gu Jin opened her eyes.
Looking into the child’s slightly wide eyes, she lazily pressed a hand to the corner of her eye and said, "Why up so early?"
"... It’s too noisy."
An Mingji thought he might have awakened Gu Jin, his expression turned somewhat guilty, though he quickly concealed it.
Gu Jin unable to discern this, got up and moved off the bed, quietly saying, "If you can’t sleep, join me in freshening up, then we’ll eat something. We still have over ten hours before reaching Shenzhen."
There were two other people still sleeping in the upper berth, so Gu Jin and An Mingji kept their voices low as they talked.
They folded the quilt and headed outside.
Before leaving, Gu Jin again poured malted milk into the empty cup, handing it to the child behind her.
She crouched down with her back to the child, pulled the suitcase out from under the bed, and retrieved two apples, two pears, and two sweet melons from it using her spatial abilities.
Gu Jin cradled the fruits and left with An Mingji.
After washing their faces, rinsing their mouths, cleaning the fruits, and mixing the malted milk, the two returned to their sleeping car.
They found the man and woman who slept in the upper berth awake, sleepily climbing down. Seeing Gu Jin and An Mingji holding apples, pears, sweet melons, and freshly mixed milk-like malted milk, they widened their eyes slightly.
Families able to eat fruit at this time had excellent household conditions, not to mention the rarity of malted milk.
Moreover, they had seen Gu Jin and the child each holding a big apple to munch the previous night. Now, waking up to see them with so much fresh fruit gave them such envy their eyes turned glazed.
Lili, despite her envy, showed a more apparent jealousy.
Under their envious and jealous gazes, Gu Jin and An Mingji walked into their compartment, placing the fruit atop the biscuit tin on the table, each taking an apple to eat.
Having finished an apple, Gu Jin felt her spiritual power begin to stir; she suppressed it within her body, leaned back on the bed, closed her eyes, and slowly circulated the Phoenix Spirit Technique to smooth her spiritual power.
After completing this, she noticed that the man named Liang Xia and Lili from before had, at some point, gone out.