Jian Sheng chuckled slyly, a hint of pride in her smile.
After all, ever since she was kidnapped, she had been striving relentlessly. On the journey of her captivity and during her return, she had consumed an unknown number of restorative elixirs.
Moreover, coupled with that mysterious cultivation manual that aided her in rapidly metabolizing the elixirs, her magical power was recovering at a terrifying pace.
This speed even surpassed the rate at which her true spirit and soul had merged, synchronizing her original magical power with her current physical constitution.
If there weren't world-ending powerhouses in the mortal realm, all other cultivators combined wouldn't be a match for her alone!
Proud face, indeed.
Jian Sheng really wanted to demonstrate her strength by lifting a log on the spot for Ke Xuan, but upon seeing the logs covered in dirt and wood shavings on the ground, she reconsidered.
These logs were too thick; she could barely hug them with both arms. For the sake of her new clothes, being weaker was acceptable.
Jian Sheng pushed the scattered logs together on the ground.
Ke Xuan, having agreed to let the young girl help, had been keeping an eye on her.
Seeing her effortlessly roll the logs together, Ke Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He then looked at Zhu Danni on the other side, who was sweating profusely.
Zhu Danni was also just a young girl, barely an adult. After sawing wood with him for so long, sweat beaded on her forehead.
Just as he was about to tell Zhu Danni to take a break, Jian Xiuhuan and Xiao Yufeng simultaneously approached and voluntarily took the saw from him.
Ke Xuan didn't stand on ceremony and sat down on a log, holding his aching back.
"When I first arrived, I thought it would be nice to have such a large yard in the countryside, perhaps planting flowers and fishing. I didn't expect the work to be so tiring."
"We're only helping out for a short while, but these villagers live such lives of arduous labor every day."
"Perhaps this is why the production team chose this location for filming."
Jian Xiuhuan fell silent for a moment before echoing the sentiment.
Compared to them, as celebrities, earning money was far too easy.
Perhaps he could do something for them?
This thought only flickered through his mind before Jian Xiuhuan picked up the saw and began cutting.
The priority now was not to indulge his misplaced sense of sympathy.
If they didn't work faster, they wouldn't find a place to sleep once it got dark.
Ke Xuan and Zhu Danni sat aside to rest. The aunt who had been busy in the kitchen soon emerged, carrying disposable cups and a thermos, inviting everyone to have some water.
At the same time, she retrieved an axe from the balcony, which was used for splitting wood.
After another round of thanks and pleasantries, the aunt quickly left.
Jian Sheng tugged on Ke Xuan's sleeve. "Uncle Ke, will all these logs be split into firewood like that later?"
Jian Sheng pointed to the neatly stacked firewood on the balcony.
Ke Xuan smiled. "Sheng Sheng is so smart. When Uncle splits the wood later, remember to stay a distance away. Be careful not to get hit by the split firewood."
Jian Sheng's eyes curved into crescent moons. "Uncle Ke, don't worry, Sheng Sheng will definitely take good care of herself~"
Ke Xuan ruffled her head. "Sheng Sheng is so good~"
While chatting with the others, Jian Sheng, as if playing out of childish curiosity, had already stood the horizontally placed logs upright.
Jian Xiuhuan and Xiao Yufeng were busy sawing wood, while Ke Xuan and Zhu Danni were recovering their strength, chatting, and sighing about life, occasionally complaining about the production team's lack of consideration.
The cameraman focused intently on adjusting the lens, striving not to miss any of the guests' genuine expressions and close-ups.
Meanwhile, other production crew members on the road were facing interrogation from Hu Guangxu.
In the live stream, comments floated by, offering evaluations of the celebrities, with praise for Jian Sheng being particularly abundant.
— Our Sheng Bao is truly a little angel. While other brothers and sisters were busy, Sheng Bao was feeding them and wiping their sweat, and she was always proactively offering to help.
— The intention to help is good, but rationally speaking, we hope Sheng Sheng just watches obediently and doesn't try to help.
— Agreed. Tools can be dangerous. Not helping can both prevent her from getting hurt and avoid causing trouble for others.
— Our Sheng Bao is the best, she's so smart, she must know... Holy crap, Jian Sheng, what are you doing? Put it down quickly!
— Where are the others? Who left the axe in such an obvious place?
— Put it down quickly! That's not something you should be playing with!
The viewers who had just been praising Jian Sheng erupted instantly.
In the camera's view, after standing the logs upright, Jian Sheng walked alone to the axe.
The others were either busy or relaxing, and due to the angle, the axe was largely hidden by the young girl, so no one else noticed her dangerous move.
The cameraman, while adjusting camera parameters, suddenly jolted as he realized what the scene signified.
He was about to shout when he saw the young girl casually tossing the axe in her hand, gesturing towards the upright log in front of her, and then raising the axe high.
The shout that had been stuck in the cameraman's throat immediately died down.
If the young girl chopped down with the axe now, at most it would be knocked out of her hand by the shock.
But if he shouted and inadvertently attracted the young girl's attention, causing her to lose focus, and the axe fell, hitting herself or her feet…
The cameraman, with his vivid imagination, froze instantly, not daring to breathe, his gaze fixed on the axe held high by the young girl.
At this moment, the others, who had belatedly noticed, caught a glimpse of the situation from the corner of their eyes and felt a surge of disbelief.
But before they could react, the axe in the young girl's hand quickly descended.
"Crack—"
With a crisp sound, a log nearly twenty centimeters thick was split into two halves with a single blow.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the small courtyard became eerily quiet.
Ke Xuan looked at the log he had spent more than ten minutes sawing, then looked at the young girl holding the axe after splitting the wood and smiling brightly at them. He was completely plunged into self-doubt.
Xiao Yufeng swallowed and mumbled, "It's fake, right? I must be seeing things."
Jian Xiuhuan glanced at the two halves of wood lying on the ground. Recalling the various rumored miracles about his younger cousin circulating in their family, his eyelids twitched.
He silently recalibrated several personal goals:
Spoil my sister! Spoil my sister! Spoil my sister!
Jian Sheng, holding the axe in one hand, took a step forward.
Everyone who had been watching her stiffened and took a collective step back.
Jian Sheng's raised smile froze on her face as she slung the axe over her shoulder.
"Well, I'm just naturally a little stronger than normal people."
Others scoffed mentally, calling this "a little stronger"?
More like "a lot stronger."
Jian Sheng exhaled softly, her large, dark eyes constantly observing everyone's reactions.
Her abnormalities would eventually be revealed. Rather than facing the unknown, it was better to be proactive.