In Yang Hong's astonishment, Xi Miaohua had Liu Laohan and his men openly move the gold and silver onto Yang Hong's cart.
It was an age-old truth that one should not flaunt wealth.
Xi Miaohua's ostentatious display of gold and silver seemed like an open invitation for theft and robbery.
"Senior Sister, are you fishing?"
After all the gold and silver had been loaded onto the cart, Yang Hong cautiously asked Xi Miaohua.
"Fishing? What kind of fishing?"
Xi Miaohua knew what Yang Hong was implying but deliberately feigned ignorance.
"Senior Sister, you want the mountain bandits to know our cart is laden with riches, and then kill them when they come to rob us?"
Yang Hong cut straight to the chase.
"Oh, Junior Brother, you've misunderstood.
I simply wanted to give you some money. If you wish to fish, I wouldn't object."
Xi Miaohua's eyes, hidden behind her veil, were filled with innocence and kindness, but Yang Hong didn't believe a word of it.
Wuji's mother had told him that the more beautiful a woman, the more deceitful she was.
He was one hundred percent certain that this woman suspected he possessed a storage ring and had cultivation.
She was deliberately displaying this gold and silver as a test, and as bait.
If Yang Hong used a storage ring to collect the riches, it would solidify the assumption that he practiced martial arts, or even cultivation.
This was because using a storage ring required sufficient mental power,
and it was only usable by those in the Heaven-Human realm of martial arts or the Qi Refining realm of cultivators.
The legends in ancient tales of ordinary people finding storage rings and becoming wealthy and achieving immortality were all lies.
The threshold for cultivation was extremely high.
Having read cultivation manuals, Yang Hong knew this and certainly wouldn't accept the gold and silver.
However, even if Yang Hong hadn't collected the gold and silver, Xi Miaohua still had a next step in her plan.
Such dazzling gold and silver would not only attract mountain bandits but also ordinary villagers.
She had already noticed the greed in the eyes of the nearby villagers.
She figured they would make their move after dinner.
Yang Hong also had some inkling that Xi Miaohua was testing him, but he had no choice but to play along.
Unless he intended to slaughter everyone in the village and Xi Miaohua along with them.
For now, he harbored no such brutal thoughts. In fact, he wanted to attract some mountain bandits for Xi Miaohua to kill,
making the Hengduan Mountains safer.
"Miss, Young Master, your meal is ready. Shall we serve it now?"
Soon, Liu Laohan prepared a sumptuous dinner for Yang Hong and the others.
As Yang Hong and Xi Miaohua had anticipated, their food was drugged.
However, it wasn't poison, but a common sleeping potion – Meng Han powder.
Moreover, the person who administered the drug seemed to have increased the dosage, fearing it wouldn't be enough to knock out Yang Hong and his companions,
making the food taste slightly sour.
But to test people's hearts, Yang Hong cheerfully ate the drugged meal.
He only pretended to faint after he had eaten his fill.
After he "passed out," Xi Miaohua and Shi Feixuan also "fainted."
"Village Chief, should we... finish them off?"
Just as they had "fainted," a voice reached their ears.
"No! Absolutely not! I only seek wealth; spare our lives!"
As the villagers voiced their murderous intent, the village chief, Liu Laohan, loudly stopped them.
He knew the identities of the three before him, and the "immortal maiden" had spoken to him with divine arts, warning him.
He could cooperate with the immortal maiden's charade, but he dared not kill anyone.
"Village Chief, these two women are so beautiful, could we..."
"Slap ~ You beast! Cease your filthy thoughts. Don't even dream of it."
Liu Laohan was nearly scared to death. To covet an immortal being was seeking death!
"Everyone out! Unload the gold and silver from the cart. Put these three onto the cart and drive it away."
Then, Yang Hong felt himself being moved, a soft body pressed against him, and the cart began to jostle.
They were thus sent away!
That was it?
Yang Hong was extremely puzzled. This didn't seem like the plan or method of a cultivator like Xi Miaohua.
Whatever, he'd sleep first.
The body on him was soft and warm, emitting a faint fragrance.
It was Shi Feixuan.
Cultivators could suppress their own auras and shouldn't have such body fragrance.
Unless she was trying to poison him.
Yang Hong drifted into a shallow sleep. After only fifteen minutes, Shi Feixuan, who was on him, sat up.
"Master, why are we doing this? This Yang Hong is just a waste who cannot cultivate."
Shi Feixuan still looked down on Yang Hong, even more so after her cultivation.
"Hmph, this is your Martial Uncle. From now on, you must address Yang Hong as Martial Uncle."
"Yes... yes, Master."
Yang Hong, who was feigning unconsciousness, felt a powerful pressure descend. Although it was directed at Shi Feixuan, its residual force made his brows furrow.
"Meditate and rest. Wait until the cart stops on its own."
Afterward, the two sat down separately and began their respective cultivation.
However, in the Five Directions Dynasty, there was no spiritual energy, so they could barely cultivate, only meditating to adjust their spirits.
After an unknown period, the cart came to a halt.
Yang Hong was awake but, having calculated the effect of the Meng Han powder, decided to sleep soundly.
"Oh~ Good morning, Senior Sister, Miss Shi.
Eh~ Are we in a cart?"
Yang Hong woke up the next morning around the Hour of the Serpent and, seeing they were in a cart, feigned appropriate surprise.
"Yes, we are in a cart. Yesterday, the people of Liu Family Village drugged us.
They stole all your gold and silver, then threw us into this cart and drove us out."
Xi Miaohua explained calmly.
"Senior Sister, you didn't kill anyone, did you?"
As soon as Xi Miaohua finished speaking, Yang Hong asked nervously.
"Heh heh ~ Am I such a bloodthirsty person? A bunch of ants, I wouldn't deign to act."
"That's good, that's good. I thank Senior Sister on behalf of those common folk for sparing their lives."
Yang Hong immediately expressed his gratitude, which made Xi Miaohua pause, then she snorted disdainfully and turned to disembark.
Shi Feixuan followed closely, and Yang Hong naturally followed them.
The cart had stopped in a valley filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers. Two horses were leisurely grazing.
"Senior Sister, I need to relieve myself. Do you two want to..."
"Go yourself."
Xi Miaohua rolled her eyes at Yang Hong's invitation and walked away in another direction.
After Yang Hong left, she circled back and followed him from behind.
Even as Yang Hong urinated, she kept a distant eye on him.
This action greatly perplexed Shi Feixuan.
"Eh~ What's this box doing here?"
At that moment, Yang Hong's surprised voice rang out.
He then began to dig where he had just urinated and soon unearthed a chest.
Breaking the rotted copper lock, they found a chest filled with gold, silver, and jewelry.
"More money, how boring."
Yang Hong merely glanced at it, casually took out two ingots of fifty taels of silver, and covered the chest again.
He had no intention of taking any of the gold and silver; it was worthless.
After Yang Hong meandered away, Xi Miaohua immediately came over and opened the chest.
"Feixuan, estimate the value of this box."
"Approximately three thousand gold."
Shi Feixuan, having traveled the martial world extensively, quickly calculated the value of the jewelry.
"Is this luck?"
Xi Miaohua murmured, looking in Yang Hong's direction.
On the subsequent journey, Xi Miaohua continually gave Yang Hong gold and silver jewelry.
However, it wasn't for attracting mountain bandits, but for Yang Hong to help the farmers they encountered along the way.
Soon, Xi Miaohua discovered that no matter how much money Yang Hong gave away, he would soon unexpectedly receive a similar amount.
And that wasn't her biggest discovery.