Before heading to the government office, Mu Sui dug up a yam in the forest. The task was simple enough, but as he worked, something in his arms began to tremble. He reached inside and pulled out a gray-black stone, its interior glowing faintly, similar to the stones found in the Naihe River.
Mu Sui figured the stone must have slipped into his clothing when he fell into the river last night, though he hadn’t noticed it amidst the shock and panic. Now, with a clearer mind, he finally became aware of its presence. Remembering that Xiaohong and Dalu mentioned how the Naihe River was littered with stones, Mu Sui thought nothing of it and tossed the stone aside, giving it no further thought.
With the yam in hand, Mu Sui fashioned a hat out of a large roadside leaf, covering most of his face, and proceeded to the government office. Collecting the reward was straightforward—the mountain bandits, thoroughly beaten the day before, had fully cooperated, recounting everything Mu Sui had told them to the authorities, though they likely embellished the story a bit.
As Mu Sui entered the government office, his face mostly hidden, the soldiers inside stared at him in awe. Wherever he went, whispers followed him.
“That’s him, the one who took down fifty men single-handedly.”
“I heard he shot two men dead from two hundred feet away.”
“They say he flattened the hills in the northern suburbs!”
The stories grew more exaggerated with each retelling, but Mu Sui listened indifferently, having experienced such reactions before. He tugged the leaf hat lower over his face and approached the reward counter.
The soldiers on duty, having seen their fair share of mysterious bounty hunters, were only mildly surprised by his feat. They craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the man beneath the hat, but when Mu Sui lowered it further, they wisely looked away and continued in a businesslike tone, “Six silver and eighteen coins,” the sergeant said, handing Mu Sui a purse and a list. “The amount varies depending on the crimes each bandit committed.”
“I know,” Mu Sui replied, taking the purse. He weighed it twice without opening it, judging the amount by the weight and sound alone, then turned and left swiftly, without a word.
The sergeants exchanged glances, surprised by how experienced he seemed.
“Looks like he’s done this before,” one remarked.
“I don’t recall any expert bounty hunters around here…” the other mused.
After leaving the government office, Mu Sui removed his hat and headed into a secluded forest. He broke off three silver beads from the ingot, arranged them in a triangle, and traced a circle of runes around them with a dead branch. Chanting a spell, he activated his spiritual power, and the formation glowed with white light. The wind stirred the grass and trees, and soon, a shadowy figure appeared within the circle, seemingly walking.
“Chensha,” Mu Sui called out.
The figure paused, quickly drawing a stone from his waist. As he touched it, the shadowy form solidified into a sturdy man with strong features, clad in a gray stand-up collar and leather wristbands, exuding an air of competence.
“City Lord?” The man’s voice trembled with surprise, his expression turning dull with shock. “Did I hear that right…?”
“It’s me,” Mu Sui confirmed calmly.
The man’s shock deepened. “City Lord!? Why are you…?” But before he could finish, realization dawned, and he immediately knelt on one knee, bowing deeply. “Forgive my rudeness…”
“Rise. Find somewhere private.”
“Rest assured, my Lord, there’s no one here,” Chensha replied, standing up. “You’re in the human world… but can you really use the Shadow Flow Stone from Wuliu Land here?”
Mu Sui remained silent for a long moment. “I’ve returned.”
“What? You’ve… returned? To Wuliu Land?” Chensha’s astonishment was evident.
Mu Sui didn’t answer directly, but Chensha knew his lord’s temperament well—he never repeated himself. Swallowing his shock, Chensha nodded. “If the Lord has returned, we’ll follow your orders.”
“Zhuliu City’s treasury—how much gold and silver remains?” Mu Sui asked.
Chensha hesitated, then whispered, “Since you left Wuliu Land two months ago, there’s… one gold left in the treasury.”
“One?” Mu Sui echoed, stunned.
Chensha’s face tightened. “One gold.”
Mu Sui frowned. “That’s impossible. There were a hundred gold pieces when I left.”
“Yes, but after you left, Zhuliu City had a… small incident.”
“What incident?”
“Your rabbit… became a spirit.”
The rabbit, a creature tied to Mu Sui’s life force, had been just that—a rabbit—when he was around. He never had much affection for it, sometimes keeping it in a cage, other times letting it roam free. He wasn’t fond of animals, but the rabbit had always stuck to him, much like he now stuck to Meng Ruji…
But unlike Meng Ruji, he had never allowed the rabbit to get too close.
Mu Sui had never coddled the rabbit, though he ensured it was well-fed. He often saw others secretly cuddling the creature, whispering in that sickly sweet tone he detested, “So cute, so cute.”
And now, his subordinates were telling him that this rabbit had become a spirit.
“So?” Mu Sui asked with a scowl. “Did you let her drain the city’s coffers?”
“No…” Chensha hesitated. “Your rabbit inherited your will… or at least tried to. She wanted to make Zhuliu City wealthy enough to rival a kingdom, but… well, rabbits don’t always make the wisest decisions.”
Mu Sui sneered. “Were you all dead? Letting a rabbit run the city?”
“But she’s your life force…” Chensha muttered, clearly troubled.
“Put her back in the cage and take care of the city’s affairs yourself.”
“But…” Chensha faltered. “The city’s leaders hold you in high regard. After you left, everyone missed you. When the rabbit became a spirit, they willingly served her as their master. But now that you’re back…”
“I’m not returning just yet. I have other matters to attend to.”
Chensha’s mention of the golden staff made Mu Sui’s hand twitch. He had once been the master of Zhuliu City, holding the city’s authority in his grip every day.
Mu Sui considered this for a moment. “I’ll teach you the spell. Go to Chiying Palace, retrieve the golden staff, and lock the rabbit up. I won’t be returning, so you’re not to release her. Make sure Zhuliu City returns to normal.”
“Yes.”
“Keep the city’s empty treasury a secret. You know what that means.”
“I understand.”
Without gold and silver, how could he use his spiritual power? And worse, Zhuliu City’s opponents still had money.
“For now, no one else should know I’ve returned. Keep it to yourself.”
“Yes.”
After Mu Sui taught Chensha the spell, he ordered in a cold tone, “Go. Handle the rabbit first. I’ll contact you later. Make sure you’re in a quiet place when the Shadow Stone is in use.”
“Understood!” Chensha obeyed, tucking the stone into his belt. As he did so, the figure in Mu Sui’s formation faded into a phantom again.
Mu Sui kicked the formation, extinguishing the light. He gathered the silver beads and returned them to his purse.
After cleaning up, Mu Sui surveyed the empty forest, then looked down at his tattered clothes and sighed.
In this moment, his desolate state of mind mirrored that of his impoverished self from many years ago, when he first arrived in Wuliu Land. He had bought his life with a fortune, thinking he had secured a smooth path, only to find himself circling back to the painful starting point…
“Lost…” Mu Sui murmured the word and trudged back to the broken wooden house.
At the same time, Meng Ruji was having her own epiphany: “A life of hard work… A life of hard work…”
Standing before the counter in the drugstore, she eyed the tall medicine cabinet behind the shopkeeper. Each compartment was clearly labeled with prices and descriptions of various ailments and their corresponding remedies.
Small green pills: five cents a bottle.
Cough pills: three cents a bottle.
Among the rows of affordable remedies, one grid stood out, catching her eye:
Antidote for Naihe water poisoning: eight silver, one pill.
Seeing the price, Meng Ruji felt as though the heavens had set the price to match the exact contents of her purse, leaving her no choice but to part with every coin she had.
“Is there… any way this antidote could be cheaper?” Meng Ruji asked, her voice strained as she rubbed her temples.
The shopkeeper shook his head emphatically. “No way! Naihe water is incredibly poisonous. We used a lot of rare ingredients and put in a great deal of effort to make this antidote. It’s a life-saving medicine—how could it be cheap?”
Gritting her teeth, Meng Ruji reluctantly handed over her purse, feeling the sting of every lost coin.
What now? She’d just have to keep working…
She was destined to toil endlessly, it seemed.
What else could she do?
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