If you dare to ask, then I dare to give... Yi You handed several roasted sweet potato treats to the elder.

    "Little Seventeen, would you like to move in with me? It seems quite hard to be living alone like this," Grandfather Three suggested with a gentle expression, though his hand kept reaching for more sweets.

    In fact, before she found herself in this world, the original Liu Yi You had been constantly cared for by a wet nurse, but for some unknown reason, that wet nurse had disappeared. When she awoke in this body, the young girl found herself alone.

    The Liu family currently consisted of three main generations: the grandfather's generation, the parent's generation, and the children's generation.

    Yi You belonged to the children's generation, while the generation above, the great-grandparents, now only had one living member who remained in a state of constant meditation, awakening only when the family faced danger. There were no members of the great-grandchildren’s generation yet.

    "Grandfather Three, I’m not struggling," she responded. "But I would like to read more books. Could you possibly help me with that?"

    "What kind of books do you want to read?" asked the elder, after finishing the last piece of sweet and showing a look of regret.

    "If... if it's possible, could it be a book about concocting medicines?" The young girl tilted her head in a way that was endearing to anyone watching.

    "Take some of my books then. Remember the herbs first and then come to find me."

    Grandfather Three spread his hands, and several volumes of herbal textbooks appeared, each quite thick.

    "Thank you, Grandfather Three," Yi You said, her eyes sparkling.

    The elder looked at the girl in front of him and sighed inwardly. She was the daughter of the family's genius, yet not one of her 108 spiritual points could be activated, while her peers could activate ten or twenty each.

    A child without spiritual points like her could only end up as an apprentice. Even if she learned to concoct medicines, without the ability to use spiritual power, she couldn’t perform the actual concoctions. But seeing the spark in her eyes, he couldn't bring himself to tell her the harsh truth, so he simply went along with her request, letting her discover on her own that she couldn't do it.

    "Well, I must be going now. Focus on your studies," he said as he walked to the door, then turned back to add,

    "Could you make more of those sweets for me? What do you need for them, so I can bring it to you?"

    Yi You was speechless. Did Grandfather Three like sweets as well?

    One thing Grandfather Three seemed to forget: how could a five-year-old read? Plus, she had never formally learned to read and write. Even Liu Yi Ya, at seven, had only just begun to write a few letters.

    But that was no problem for Liu Yi You at all.

    Once she received the books, she studied them seriously.

    Serious…

    By serious, she meant flipping through each page swiftly. Her brain helped with memory similar to 'blink memory,' so within a single night, she memorized every word of the thick herbal textbooks she had received.

    The next morning, Yi You went to fetch ingredients to make more roasted sweet potato treats, but the bad news was that she had already used up her allotted share. The small figure walked back to her house, disappointed.

    Once the Chen[1] hours arrived, Yi You walked to the family's study room. It was more certain than certain that she was viewed unfriendly by sibling nine. Luckily, she wasn't teased today. The small figure took herself to the farthest corner to sit. She had no expectations of learning anything from this place, and they had no interest in teaching her either.

    Normally, children from birth are capable of unlocking one to two Qi[2] points each year. By the age of ten, they can unlock about twenty to thirty points, and by the age of five, they should at least unlock ten points as a minimum standard. This is the absolute baseline.

    However, Yi You didn’t even meet this minimum standard.

    For someone who couldn’t unlock even a single spiritual point like her, she could be described as 'trash among trash'.

    Whatever, being trash is still okay as long as I can survive.

    "Seventeen, Great Grandfather is asking for you," said a man of medium height and slightly plump, with an unremarkable face, gesturing to her in front of the study house.

    This man was Uncle Six.

    The little figure turned towards the voice, nodded in acknowledgment, and easily followed Uncle Six. The young girl was led to a small room, which appeared to have few books.

    It seemed this was Great Grandfather’s office.

    "Ah, Seventeen, what an unfortunate life you have. I primarily intended to give these things to you when you were older," said Great Grandfather, placing a wooden box on his desk in front of the girl.

    "What is this?" the young girl asked, tilting her head in a manner that easily endeared the adults.

    "These belong to your parents. You keep them," Great Grandfather said while gently stroking her head, his gaze filled with affection, pity, and ultimately, regret.

    "Thank you, Great Grandfather," the little figure bowed slightly, her mannerisms so endearing that Great Grandfather felt increasingly fond of her.

    "With your wet nurse gone like this, our family can't afford to find someone else to look after you. From now on, you must take care of yourself," he said with a deep sigh.

    The family's resources were dwindling, already entering a crisis period. If the times were still flourishing, finding a maid to care for a child would not be an issue, but now times had changed. He was doing the best he could.

    "Yes, Great Grandfather, I will take good care of herself," the young girl easily accepted, unconcerned whether there was a maid or not; what she had now was already quite fortunate.

    "Go on, then," the elder waved his hand as a signal for her to leave, sinking back into his chair.

    "Um, Great Grandfather, I’m free, can I clean the library?" the little figure asked hesitantly.

    Hearing this, the elder raised his eyebrows.

    In truth, the girl’s wet nurse hadn’t disappeared as she understood; a severe accident had occurred. Since the near-fatal incident that claimed her wet nurse’s life, she seemed to have changed significantly. Besides not remembering anything, she appeared to have grown overnight.

    The elder squinted seriously at the small figure for a moment, secretly wondering if this really was her or if someone had replaced her to plant a spy in their family. But then again, what purpose would such a small child have to impersonate someone in a small family with so few resources?

    The elder shook his head lightly; you’re overthinking it.

    "You are still too young. The library has many important books; if they are damaged, they can't be replaced. Wait until you are older, then I'll let you do it. How about that?" the elder said softly.

    PFF!

    Suddenly, the door to the room was pushed open.

    "Great Grandfather, are you really going to keep a worthless scum like her around? Just sell her off already!"

[1] ‘Chen hours’ (07.00-09.00 a.m.)

[2] ‘Qi’ (Chinese mythical concept for Chinese martial arts, meaning vital force or material energy)