A sudden thought flashed through Su Qianli's mind, and she immediately pressed on, "Did that snake start fighting with you because of this Jade Cicada, too?"
The little guinea pig nodded heavily, the fluffy fur on its head bobbing along as if recounting the intensity of that battle!
Viewed in this light, the Jade Cicada must contain spiritual energy, making it easily detectable by keenly perceptive small animals.
Full of doubt, Su Qianli continued to question, "Is it also because of this Jade Cicada that you're able to talk to me?"
The little guinea pig first shook its head, then immediately nodded, and explained, "I had already begun to develop spiritual awareness when I was in the lab, though I was still quite clueless back then. But ever since I got this Jade Cicada, I feel like my body has undergone tremendous changes."
"A lab?" Hearing this, Su Qianli frowned, a murmur of doubt rising in her heart. Could it be the secret laboratory set up by secret agents on Wansheng Mountain?
Her thoughts drifting back to modern times, Su Qianli remembered accidentally coming across a video about the origin of guinea pigs. The video mentioned that guinea pigs were introduced to China from Japan in the 1990s.
Yet looking at it now, the truth was not so simple. It was very likely that the Japanese had secretly brought guinea pigs to China long ago and used them for covert experiments, and the little fellow before her was obviously a "product" of those experiments.
To have escaped from such a dangerous place and developed spiritual awareness—she had to admit it was truly lucky.
Su Qianli's gaze fell upon the little fellow before her, and she looked it over from head to toe.
Its head was round, its body chubby, its limbs short and stubby, and its petal-shaped little ears stood up playfully. With its tricolor fur and a body no bigger than the palm of a hand, every move it made exuded a clumsy, adorable charm that made people want to reach out and touch it.
In an instant, Su Qianli made up her mind, secretly deciding to keep this little fellow by her side.
Therefore, she spoke softly, "I'm going to take you somewhere." With that, before the little fellow could react, Su Qianli brought it into Space.
As soon as the little guinea pig entered this unfamiliar place, it widened its eyes, its little head turning this way and that without stopping, its nose sniffing everywhere continuously, filled with curiosity about everything around it.
After a good long while, it couldn't help but exclaim, "It smells so good here, staying here feels so comfortable!" Its voice was full of surprise and intoxication.
Su Qianli had guessed correctly: the Jade Cicada itself contained spiritual energy, and the Space must naturally be filled with spiritual energy as well.
She knew very well that as soon as this little fellow tasted the sweetness of the spiritual energy in the Space, wanting to keep it would be as easy as pie.
However, Su Qianli also understood that "easy-come goods aren't cherished." With a thought in her mind, she brought the little guinea pig out of the Space.
As soon as it left that spiritually rich place, the little guinea pig immediately grew unhappy, spinning around in anxious circles on the spot and crying out unceasingly, "I want to go back, I want to go back!"
That appearance made it seem as though some peerless treasure in the Space was calling to it.
Feigning hesitation, Su Qianli said with a serious expression, "We aren't very familiar with each other yet. Letting you in so easily doesn't feel quite right, does it?" On the surface, she remained unmoved, while secretly observing the little guinea pig's reaction.
Hearing this, the little guinea pig grew anxious enough to turn red in the eyes, and loudly retorted, "Are we not familiar now? I helped you retrieve the Jade Cicada, and you saved my life—isn't this mutual help between friends?"
As it spoke, it gestured with its little paws, trying to make Su Qianli believe they were already close and inseparable partners.
Seeing that the timing was about right, Su Qianli nodded slightly, pretending to agree reluctantly, "That sounds like what happened. Fine, I can agree to let you stay in the Space, and even provide you with food. But you can't live here for free—you have to help me with things."
By the end, a flash of slyness crossed her eyes.
Although the little guinea pig was much smarter than other animals, it was ultimately just a little creature that had accidentally gained spiritual awareness; how could it understand such roundabout words? Hearing that it could stay in the Space and get good food as well, it nodded its head like pounding garlic, without the slightest hesitation.
Immediately afterward, Su Qianli took the little guinea pig into the Space. Afterwards, she climbed onto her bed to sleep, quickly drifting into sweet dreams.
Early the next morning, Su Qianli woke up leisurely, lying lazily in bed as she recalled the scenes from her dream last night, which turned out to be entirely composed of the events described in the novel.
One day, Su Zhiguo's eldest son, Su Feng'an, wrote him a letter solemnly detailing his marriage plans.
Su Feng'an had enlisted in the army at age fifteen. Over the years, he fought his way up through the ranks in the military, relying on his own hard work to be promoted step by step until he was now a battalion commander.
In the military, he met a young woman who captured his heart; as it happened, that young woman was none other than the daughter of a high-ranking military commander.
The feelings between the two gradually deepened, reaching the stage of marriage discussions, but the betrothal gifts became a difficult problem.
According to convention, marrying a commander's daughter meant the betrothal gifts certainly could not be shabby; otherwise, it would not only make the Su Family appear insincere but might also leave a bad impression on the future in-laws.
Having no other choice, Su Feng'an had to turn to his father, Su Zhiguo, mentioning the idea of selling the Jade Cicada.
Su Zhiguo knew very well that if this marriage went through, it would be like adding wings to his eldest son's future official career.
In the end, following his son's suggestion, Su Zhiguo decided to sell the Jade Cicada to prepare the betrothal gifts.
It was also in her past life that Su Zhiguo brought the Jade Cicada to town. He had originally thought this was merely a routine transaction for his son's marriage, never expecting that it would cause the long-sealed Jade Cicada to reappear before the world.
And this small Jade Cicada acted like a key, mysteriously driving the original owner to find her biological parents step by step.
Su Qianli felt a complex mix of emotions. If she remembered correctly, her biological father at this time was also a high-ranking commander.
With that being the case, a bold guess quietly emerged in the depths of her heart—the young woman dating Su Feng'an was very likely her own younger sister, Su Mengcheng.
If this guess turned out to be true, then everything made sense. The person who first discovered her existence was most likely Su Mengcheng.
Thinking of this, Su Qianli couldn't help but frown. She had a vague feeling that Su Mengcheng instigating her eldest uncle to sell the Jade Cicada was probably not that simple; perhaps she did it intentionally to prevent her from being recognized by her biological parents.
At this thought, Su Qianli instinctively stroked the Jade Cicada in her hand. Now that it had been found by her, it meant that whenever she decided to return and reunite with her biological parents was entirely up to her.
Su Qianli's previously somewhat anxious heart suddenly settled, and a sense of grounded stability welled up within her.
As for her younger sister Su Mengcheng's hostility toward her, she hadn't expected it to arise this early, even hardening her resolve not to let her be recognized by their parents.
Very well, Su Qianli was suddenly filled with fighting spirit, wanting to go and meet this evil accomplice of a sister in person!