TSFLIP Chapter 780

Tong County was a small county in Jiangnan. Though small in size, it was blessed with abundant resources. The local embroidery and textile trades were especially prosperous. More importantly, the area enjoyed remarkable public safety—throughout the year, the most notable incidents were things like a dog going missing in the east of town or a cow dying of illness in the west.

But recently, many strange things had begun to happen in Tong County. First, children started disappearing from time to time—and then, a murder occurred.

It was big news. The usually peaceful county suddenly erupted with gossip and fear.

The victim was a widow known to everyone as Madam Liu. She lived on Wutong Street in the city, making a living by selling embroidery. She was kind and friendly, well-liked by her neighbors, and lived quietly with her seven-year-old son. But this mild, law-abiding woman was suddenly found dead in her own home.

The wound on her neck was clean and precise—clearly, she had been killed with a single strike. None of her belongings were missing, and her clothes were untouched. The local authorities had no leads on the killer.

Feng Guang thought that if the story’s male and female leads were around, catching the murderer would be effortless. Unfortunately, neither had appeared yet.

And as for her… she looked down at her reflection on the river’s surface—a six-year-old little girl. She let out a deep sigh.

Normally, whenever she entered a new world, she would already exist there as someone who had grown up in it. The system would fast-forward time so that her age matched the start of the plot. But this time was different—she had lived through every day, growing from an infant into this small child.

She had tried asking the system to speed things up, but it ignored her. The system always behaved that way—it only responded when it felt like it. At other times, it treated her as if she didn’t exist.

And to think she had actually believed it was starting to show a bit of human warmth lately.

She tossed a pebble into the water, and gentle ripples spread across the calm surface—just like her unsettled mood.

Beside her, a white cat meowed toward a willow tree nearby.

The little girl, with her soft, porcelain-like features, patted the cat’s head. “What is it, Little Embroidery Ball?”

That was Feng Guang’s pet—a stray she had found on the street a year ago. Its fur was silky and soft, so she had named it “Little Embroidery Ball.”

The cat gave another low meow. Feng Guang turned in the direction it was looking and spotted a small boy hiding behind the willow. When he realized she had seen him, he looked startled, stumbled backward, and tripped over a stone, landing flat on the ground.

Feng Guang picked up the Little Embroidery Ball and walked over. As she approached, the boy’s face turned even redder.

“Who are you? What are you doing hiding here?” she asked, bending down slightly to meet his eyes.

He looked to be about seven or eight years old, dressed in plain clothes—clearly from an ordinary family—but his features were delicate and handsome. In a few years, he’d likely grow into a fine-looking young man.

Under her steady gaze, he grew flustered and blurted out, “I wasn’t hiding here to— to peek at you!”

“Oh?” Her tone was light and teasing. “So you were hiding here to peek at me, then?”

His face went scarlet. He looked like he wanted to slap himself.

Feng Guang found his reaction quite amusing. Smiling, she asked, “Why did you want to peek at me?”

“…Because you’re pretty,” he muttered in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him whole.