“Hm? This little brat is still awake?”

Upon seeing the little beggar suddenly open his eyes, a man in black exclaimed in surprise.

The middle-aged man’s expression changed drastically, and he shouted, “Something’s not right! Something's fishy, everyone fall back!”

As he shouted, he retreated backward. The other black-clad men at the Jindan (Golden Core) stage didn’t even have time to react.

Even though he reacted as quickly as possible, it was still too late.

The little beggar opened his mouth, and a cloud of emerald-green mist spewed out, instantly engulfing all the men in black, including the middle-aged man.

The mist lasted only a few seconds before dissipating, leaving all the men in black collapsed on the ground.

The little beggar looked smug, rummaging through the black-clad men's bodies, scavenging for loot.

After searching, he found about ten spirit stones.

Stashing the spirit stones, the little beggar spat in disdain, "Tch, a bunch of poor devils!"

With that, he grabbed the middle-aged man’s magic weapon, a wolf-fang club, and fled.

On the second floor of the tavern, Chen Xiao witnessed the entire process.

He stroked his chin, a smile on his face, "Interesting."

With that, he jumped from the second floor and followed the direction the little beggar had fled.

"Damn it, another freeloader! Stop right there!"

The waiter noticed someone jumping out of the building and immediately ran over. But looking out the window, Chen Xiao was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it, this month's work is wasted again. So unlucky!"

The waiter cursed, then looked down and his eyes widened.

On the table where the food and wine had been sampled, there was a sparkling spirit stone.

The waiter was dumbfounded. This single spirit stone could not only pay for the meal, but could cover a month's worth of meals of this standard!

Meanwhile, after escaping, the little beggar disappeared into the crowd. After confirming that no one was chasing him, he trotted all the way through the city gate and out of the city.

After walking along a rugged dirt road for more than twenty minutes, the little beggar arrived at a dilapidated temple.

Inside the temple was a tattered cotton quilt, a pile of embers from a campfire, and next to the campfire, a broken pot and several broken bowls.

Clearly, this was the little beggar's hideout.

Returning here, the little beggar breathed a sigh of relief, as if returning home.

The mad dash, combined with the previous escape, had taken a toll on the little beggar's stamina. Jindan stage cultivators weren't much stronger than ordinary people in terms of physical strength.

So, when he had a moment, the little beggar lay directly on the tattered quilt to rest.

After resting for a while, seeing that dusk was approaching, the little beggar went out to catch a wild rabbit, gathered some dry firewood, and then returned to the dilapidated temple.

With practiced ease, he skinned the wild rabbit, removed its organs, washed it, and then skewered it on a wooden stick.

He lit the campfire and began to roast the rabbit.

The little beggar looked like he was starving. He ate the rabbit impatiently, even when it was only half-cooked.

After a gluttonous feast, the entire fat rabbit had been sacrificed to his internal organs.

The little beggar was satisfied. Only then did he take out his loot for the day, a total of nine spirit stones.

"Too poor. A dignified Yuanying (Nascent Soul) cultivator only carries a few spirit stones. Tsk, tsk..."

The little beggar wasn't very satisfied with the day's haul. He shook his head and sighed, then pried open a floor tile near the wall, took out a pouch from inside, and stuffed the nine spirit stones into it.

This pouch, similar to the one Qing Lian gave Chen Xiao, was also a storage magic treasure.

After stashing the spirit stones, the little beggar was about to stuff the pouch back into the wall, but at that moment, the pouch seemed to grow wings and suddenly flew up.

The little beggar was startled and realized the pouch was floating right in front of him. He immediately reached for it.

But just as he was about to grab the pouch, it suddenly flew to the left, and he missed.

He tried again, and missed again.

He tried three times in a row, and missed every time.

The little beggar finally realized something was wrong. His dark eyes darted around, and he said casually, "Stop it, who's playing games with me? I see you! Come out now!"

"Tch, see me? Who are you trying to fool?"

A disdainful voice suddenly rang in the little beggar's ear.

"You, who are you?"

The little beggar was shocked, his eyes wide. "Stop playing tricks! Do you dare to come out and face me!"

"Why wouldn't I dare?"

Chen Xiao's figure slowly materialized in front of the little beggar.

He held the little beggar's pouch in his hand, smiling as he looked at the little beggar.

Of course, the little beggar couldn't see the smile. All he could see was a person dressed in a black robe, with his face hidden in the deep hood.

"You, who are you?"

The little beggar asked, trembling. "Why, why are you stealing my spirit stones?"

"That's what I want to ask you. Why are you stealing other people's spirit stones?"

A somber voice came from within the black robe.

"Are you from the Li family?"

The little beggar asked suddenly, then denied his own guess. "No, you're not from the Li family!"

"If you're not from the Li family, then you're..."

The little beggar pretended to be thinking, hoping to distract Chen Xiao. He suddenly opened his mouth, and a cloud of green smoke spewed out.

"Hmph, I'm always the one stealing other people's spirit stones. Stealing from me? Serves you right..."

Before the smoke had dissipated, the little beggar began to gloat.

Then, the somber voice came from within the smoke. "Heh heh, 'I'? Are you sure? Young lady, why steal things when you could be doing anything else?"

When the smoke cleared, Chen Xiao was still standing there. The poison mist of a mere Jindan stage cultivator had no effect on him.

And this little beggar, although covered in dirt and as flat as a pancake, was definitely a girl. Chen Xiao was absolutely certain of that.

"You, who exactly are you!"

The little beggar was now scared. "Forget it, I don't want to know who you are. You can have the spirit stones. I don't want them anymore."

"What if I don't leave..."

Chen Xiao said calmly.

"What, what else do you want?"

The little beggar crossed her arms over her chest, adopting a defensive posture.

"Don't worry, you're as flat as an asphalt road. I'm not interested in you."

Chen Xiao teased.

Hearing this, the little beggar was both relieved and angry.

Who are you calling flat? I just haven't started developing yet!

"Answer a few questions, and I'll give it back to you."

Chen Xiao shook the pouch in his hand.

"Ask away."

The little beggar acted as if she was the fish on the chopping board.

"Who are the Li family you mentioned earlier?"

Chen Xiao asked.

"You don't even know the Li family of Zhenwu Town? Are you from out of town?"

The little beggar sized up Chen Xiao. Seeing that Chen Xiao didn't reply, she continued, "The Li family is the local tyrant of Zhenwu Town. Because the Li family produced a cultivation genius who was accepted as a disciple by the Zhenwu Sect, the Li family is protected by the Zhenwu Sect, and no one dares to provoke them."

"Then you still dare to steal their things?"

Chen Xiao had already guessed that the little beggar's spirit stones were stolen from the Li family.

"What's it to you?"

The little beggar rolled her eyes. "Besides, those spirit stones originally belonged to my family. I'm just taking back what's mine."

"Oh? How so?"

Chen Xiao pressed.

The little beggar glared at Chen Xiao impatiently. "Why are you asking so many questions? What's it to you?"

"It's nothing to me, but if you don't tell me, I won't return the spirit stones to you, and I'll even kill you... Oh, right, first defile, then kill!"

Chen Xiao realized that this was more intimidating to the dirty little girl.

Sure enough, the little beggar covered her chest again, looking nervous.

Her expression changed again and again, and finally she sighed and said, "Fine, whatever. You're just an outsider anyway. I might as well tell you. Although Zhenwu Town is under the jurisdiction of the Zhenwu Sect, in reality, the Zhenwu Sect is too far away to effectively govern it."

"My surname is Su, and my name is Mei'nan. Since ancient times, the Su family has lived in Zhenwu Town."

"Our family controlled a spirit stone mine near Zhenwu Town, so we were considered a wealthy family in the town. Later, the Li family produced a Li Beiwu, a cultivation genius that appears once in a century. He was accepted as a personal disciple by the Sect Leader of the Zhenwu Sect."

"The Li family's status rose with the tide, and they set their sights on the spirit stone mine. They had the Zhenwu Sect as their backing, so our Su family was naturally no match for them. In the end, all the members of my Su family, from top to bottom, died at the hands of the Li family. The spirit stone mine was naturally taken away as well."

"I'm done talking. That's my story. Are you satisfied now?"

The little beggar, Su Mei'nan, looked at Chen Xiao provocatively.

Chen Xiao frowned. "You said that all the members of your Su family died at the hands of the Li family. Then how are you still alive?"

"Actually, I'm already dead..."

Su Mei'nan stuck out her tongue and said eerily, "The me now, is actually a vengeful ghost, jie jie jie..."

Chen Xiao slapped her on the head. "Tell the truth. Stop pretending to be a ghost!"

Su Mei'nan rubbed the bump on her head and glared at Chen Xiao resentfully. "What else could it be? Because I wasn't home at the time, you idiot!"

"I was cultivating in my sect at the time, so I escaped the calamity."

Chen Xiao chuckled. "Heh heh, so now, you're planning to rely on petty theft to empty the Li family's spirit stone vault?"

Hearing this, a look of despair appeared on Su Mei'nan's dust-covered face. She said sadly, "I know this isn't a solution. At most, it's just to disgust the Li family... But I have no other choice. I'm just a girl, with no talent, poor skills, and my sect doesn't dare to offend the Zhenwu Sect for my sake. What else can I do..."