"Ms. Su, you have been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. The situation is very grim. Please contact your family immediately and prepare yourself mentally."
The doctor's words struck like a bolt from the blue, instantly plunging Su Nanqing into an icy cellar.
"Doctor, I—I don't have any family left... Please, just tell me how much time I have left!"
The doctor looked at the frail, pale young girl before him, a wave of pity welling up inside him. The medical record stated she was only twenty-six years old—the prime of her youth. Yet she had contracted a terminal illness, with her life nearing its end. Given current medical technology, nothing could be done to save her.
"Doctor, I'm begging you. I've had neither parents nor relatives since I was little, and last year my grandmother passed away too. There's only me left in the whole family. Please don't hide my condition from me..."
Su Nanqing clutched her hands tightly together, her tone earnest. "Just tell me straight out how much time I have left!"
At those words, the doctor's expression darkened. He hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to confess: "Ms. Su, I understand how you feel, and I sympathize with your plight, but there is truly nothing we can do."
"Pancreatic cancer is the king of cancers. The time from diagnosis to onset is extremely short. Your cancer cells have already metastasized throughout your body, and there is no longer any need for surgery."
"You probably have about three months left... Please take good care of yourself. Eat whatever you want to eat, do whatever you want to do, and try to leave as few regrets behind as possible..."
Stepping out of the hospital, Su Nanqing was still in a daze, her brain feeling as though it had short-circuited into a complete blank.
Too many things had happened lately. Before she could even process them, she had been pushed forward by the giant waves of life, and now she stood at the edge of a perilous cliff, one misstep away from plunging into an abyss.
At the end of last year, her grandmother—the only person she had to lean on—passed away. She had cried her heart out, consumed by grief.
At the beginning of this year, she was laid off by her company without even receiving severance pay. Unemployed for three months, she couldn't find a job no matter what. Yesterday, she suddenly collapsed while walking down the street, and a passerby had called an ambulance to rush her to the hospital.
When she woke up again, she received the devastating news that she had a terminal illness with only three months left to live.
Heaven was truly unfair. She had been so kind, so hardworking, and so optimistic—why had she ended up in such a tragic state?
Misfortune always targets the most vulnerable, and disasters single out the suffering!
So be it. Su Nanqing didn't want to struggle anymore. She quickly returned to her rented apartment, packed her luggage, checked out, and bought a ticket back to her rural hometown.
Anyway, she didn't have many days left to live. Rather than dragging out a miserable existence in this bustling metropolis that had no room for her despite all her hard work, she might as well return to Qingping Village, her hometown blessed with beautiful mountains and clear waters that had nurtured her since childhood, and quietly spend her remaining short days there.
As Su Nanqing trudged wearily along the country path dragging her suitcase, the group of idle grandpas and grandmas sitting under the big tree at the village entrance started gossiping again.
"Oh, isn't this the Su family girl? Why has she suddenly come back to the village?"
"Heh, needless to say, she must couldn't cut it in the big city anymore!"
"Right, my son says the big city isn't easy to stay in. A young girl should come back to her hometown; it's easier to get married that way."
"She probably doesn't have a partner yet. I have a nephew who just got divorced, has three little girls, and is fretting over not finding a wife!"
"Oh my, stop playing matchmaker blindly! I heard from others that this Su family girl has bad luck and brings misfortune to her family!"
"Sigh, now that you mention it, it really is true. This girl is probably a jinx; she even brought about Grandma Zhou's end last year..."
In the past, Su Nanqing would have fiercely fought back against these gossiping old folks, scolding them for being sharp-tongued, blind, and making something out of nothing. But right now, she felt physically unwell and no longer had the energy to bicker. She could only sweep them with a look of disdain and contempt, and say coldly:
"You lot are in your seventies and eighties, yet you talk trash about people so loudly—are you terrified I wouldn't hear you?"
"Do me a favor and shut your mouths. Mind your own business and it won't kill you. Consider it accumulating some virtue for your families! Otherwise, who knows who I might bring bad luck to next!"
Hearing this, the grandpas and grandmas all exchanged glances and didn't dare utter another sound.
Returning to her grandmother's house, Su Nanqing quickly cleaned up, tidied the room, and lay down on the bed to rest.
Right now, her entire body ached everywhere, and she felt a stifling tightness in her chest. At the thought of her recent ordeals, her tears began to flow uncontrollably.
"Grandma, tell me, why is life so bitter?"
"From childhood until now, I've never done a single bad thing against the heavens. When I was young, I studied hard and worked through hardships; when I grew up, I worked earnestly and diligently, thinking that as long as I kept striving, life would get better and the future would be bright..."
"Why won't heaven treat me kindly, and instead deal me the worst possible hand?"
"Grandma, I hurt so much right now. If only you were still here... In three months, I'll be coming to join you. Grandma, I miss you so much..."
Clutching her stomach and enduring the intense pain, Su Nanqing gradually drifted off to sleep amidst her struggles.
"Nanqing, my child, you are not allowed to give up hope! You are still young, and your life is far from over!"
"I buried a treasure under the old locust tree in the courtyard. Go dig it out; it will keep you safe, sound, and worry-free..."
When Su Nanqing woke up, tearstains still lingered at the corners of her eyes. The dream had felt too real, and her grandmother's words still echoed in her ears.
Could it be that her grandmother had really come to her in a dream?
Thinking this, Su Nanqing didn't dare delay for even a second. She immediately grabbed a shovel and went to dig for the treasure under the old locust tree in the courtyard.
By now it was already late, but Su Nanqing couldn't care about wiping away her sweat. She kept digging fiercely into the ground until, after a long while, she finally unearthed a black wooden box.
This must be the treasure her grandmother mentioned, right?
Unable to wait, Su Nanqing opened the wooden box to find a smooth, translucent jade ring resting inside.
She had never seen her grandmother wear this jade ring before. When on earth had her grandmother buried it?
There was no time to ponder further. Su Nanqing tried putting the jade ring on her finger. For some reason, the size was a perfect fit, as if it had been custom-made for her.
As she stroked the delicate and archaic jade ring, she accidentally grazed it against the sharp corner of the wooden box, and a drop of bright red blood instantly seeped from her fingertip.
The blood flowed into the jade ring, and a sudden, intense flash of light instantly enveloped her.
Blinded by the glare, Su Nanqing blinked, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a completely different place.
Wasn't I just in the courtyard? How did I suddenly get here?
Looking around, Su Nanqing spotted a gurgling spring. Feeling a bit thirsty, she cupped her hands and scooped up a palmful of water.
The spring water was slightly cool, and sweet as it entered her mouth.
After drinking the spring water, Su Nanqing felt a wave of warmth surge through her body, and the aches and pains all over her vanished instantly.
This left her pleasantly surprised. Could this be the portable dimension and spiritual spring found in novels?
Su Nanqing scooped up another palmful of water and drank it. The effect of the spiritual spring was obvious; she went from weak and frail to instantly full of energy.
To test her hypothesis, she closed her eyes and focused her mind. The moment she opened them again, she was back in the familiar courtyard.
It really was a portable dimension operated by thought!
[Ding! Detected that the host has a strong desire to survive, meeting the system's binding conditions!]
[System loading...]
[Congratulations, you have successfully bound to the Myriad Worlds Trading System!]