Once again, exhausted beyond measure, they returned to the market.
Once again…
Utterly, completely exhausted…
"Sigh…"
Standing in the middle of the bustling market street under the harsh midday sun, Meng Ruji released a long, defeated sigh.
Going around in circles, what a ridiculous detour—only to end up right back here, forced to work again. Since they'd have to work either way, why hadn't they just worked steadily from the beginning? Without all the trouble and chaos, staying stable and consistent, by now she might even have accumulated some savings.
What delivery job… what mountain bandits to kill… what an enormous, pointless circle they'd made…
"Sigh…"
Meng Ruji sighed again, the sound carrying the weight of absolute defeat.
She turned to survey the four men behind her.
Yes, four.
The rabbit had returned to his burly human form on the journey back to the market, declaring that he wanted to protect his City Lord big brother.
But now that Meng Ruji had sent them into the streets to find work…
Because this rabbit was so intent on protecting his City Lord big brother, he'd crossed his arms—each as thick as her legs—and planted himself behind Mu Sui like an immovable door god, glaring with eyes wide as saucers, vigilantly watching every person who dared approach "City Lord big brother."
Mu Sui himself radiated pure killing intent. The two of them standing together—forget finding work, even the stray dogs wandering the street were too terrified to come near them.
As for Mo Li…
Meng Ruji didn't even want to think about it…
After this old charlatan had arrived at the market, he'd kept exclaiming "oh my, oh dear," found himself a shady corner to settle into, sprawled out casually, and promptly fell asleep.
The only one who seemed even somewhat reliable was Ye Chuan…
And it was only "somewhat" reliable.
He was certainly a persistent individual—Meng Ruji could acknowledge that much.
He'd found work helping a family repair a crooked door pillar. But what happened? This Ye fellow was far too meticulous in his work. While repairing, he'd started carving decorative flowers into the wood, claiming he'd noticed the natural grain patterns and felt it would be a shameful waste not to appreciate this natural beauty of the wood grain…
The result? He'd been fired by the employer for blocking the other workers.
But he'd stubbornly continued carving flowers for free, and was currently hiding in a corner by the door, still absorbed in his carving…
No wonder he'd been in seclusion for hundreds of years.
Meng Ruji finally understood! A leopard truly can't change its spots!
"Sigh!"
Turning back around, Meng Ruji stared down at her own industrious hands. A horrible thought crept into her mind—when they'd discussed on the road earning travel money to reach Zhuliu City, surely they hadn't meant she'd have to earn it all alone?
Even a life of toil shouldn't be this toilsome, right?
Unlike Meng Ruji's spiral into despair, Mu Sui stood by the street corner looking completely calm and composed. Only his burly guardian rabbit showed any indignation:
"Making the City Lord come to the market to work—this bad woman's heart is too vicious!" The rabbit shot a glance at the sleeping Mo Li, then swept his gaze over Ye Chuan absorbed in carving the door, grumbling in his deep voice: "These two are also strange. This woman doesn't want to wait for the City Lord to work and support her two kept men, does she!"
Mu Sui's gaze slid toward the rabbit.
The rabbit flinched and immediately ducked his head, but after maintaining silence for barely a moment, he couldn't resist staring at Ye Chuan carving the door. "But City Lord, why did we agree to let that person come to Zhuliu City with us? He was possessed by malevolent qi and harmed us. Who knows if he might in the future…"
"He's regained his clarity now and poses no immediate threat. Moreover, this Ye fellow is naturally persistent—even if we refused him, he'd follow us. My 'wife' wouldn't let him go either. Rather than let them contact each other secretly, it's better to have all the pieces visible on the board." Mu Sui's eyes tracked Meng Ruji as she searched the market for work.
The rabbit nodded enthusiastically. "Worthy of the City Lord! The City Lord is wise!"
"As for that one over there." Mu Sui's gaze shifted to Mo Li sleeping by the street, his expression turning glacial. "Find an opportunity to kill him."
The rabbit startled. "Kill him? Isn't he that bad woman's elder? Oh!" Sudden understanding dawned on the rabbit's face. "Kill the chicken to warn the monkey! Scare that bad woman!"
Mu Sui fell silent, saying nothing.
The phrase "go back to Zhuliu City" circled in Mu Sui's throat. He swallowed it—these days, the rabbit was still proving useful and couldn't be driven away just yet.
Mu Sui only said: "He's not simple. Keeping him is a great danger."
To be able to control the spiritual power of the Land of No Return with his true form—in all his years here, Mu Sui had never encountered anyone with such ability.
Moreover, he had also used nightmare power to try to peer into Mo Li's dreams…
At this thought, the cold intent in Mu Sui's eyes intensified.
He knew Mo Li hadn't discovered anything this time, but having him around remained a massive hidden danger.
"He's injured and weak now. This month is suitable for us to act in secret." Mu Sui's voice was barely above a murmur.
"Will that bad woman let us succeed? If she discovers and stops us, what do we do? Take care of both of them?"
Mu Sui's attention returned to Meng Ruji in the crowd. His injured arm hanging from his neck suddenly seemed to itch. The "bandage" wrapping his hand was still the strip torn from her dirty clothes…
"Keep her. She's still useful."
"But if we kill her elder, she'll be sad, right? What if she gets angry at the City Lord?"
"Her emotions deserve attention?" Mu Sui glanced at the rabbit with something approaching disdain. "Just bring her back to Zhuliu City alive."
The rabbit responded with an "oh" but couldn't help tilting his head to observe Mu Sui several times.
If her emotions don't deserve attention, then why do you keep staring at her?
The rabbit had questions burning in his heart, but didn't dare voice them. He simply continued crossing his arms and standing beside Mu Sui, maintaining his fierce and intimidating guardian stance. He wanted to see which blind fool would dare make his City Lord big brother work today!
Meanwhile, Meng Ruji struggled through the market, unable to find any work. She felt so mentally exhausted that tears threatened to fall.
Just then, a joyful call rang out from ahead. "Big sister?"
Meng Ruji looked up to see Miaomiao running toward her happily, carrying a cloth bundle.
Seeing Miaomiao's simple and sunny smile brought Meng Ruji some relief from the gloom and pressure weighing on her. "Miaomiao."
"I haven't seen you for days! Where did you go? You don't know—our market was incredibly lively two days ago! That Linlan Mountain Lord came, you know! He seemed to have captured that Qianshan Jun, too! You know! That Qianshan Jun from Zhuliu City!"
"I…"
She knew, she knew all too well…
"That Qianshan Jun seemed to have been pushed into the Nai River by the Linlan Mountain Lord! Some say the Zhuliu City Lord died and Zhuliu City will descend into chaos, but others say he didn't die. That Linlan Mountain Lord later seemed to be seriously injured too, unconscious, and was carried back to Linlan Mountain."
"Mm…" Meng Ruji managed a dry laugh. "Rich people's affairs are quite exciting…"
Not wanting to dwell on these troublesome matters, Meng Ruji changed the subject, gesturing to the package in Miaomiao's hands. "What are you carrying there?"
"Oh… this…" Miaomiao scratched her head with visible embarrassment. "This is all my possessions."
Hearing this made Meng Ruji cautious. "Then you must hold onto it well. Don't lose it over some random nonsense."
"It's fine. I've walked this far, and I'll go to the pawn shop ahead soon to pawn it all."
Meng Ruji's eyes widened. "Pawn it? Why?"
"I want to exchange it for money as travel fare. I want to go to Zhuliu City, but I don't dare go alone. I want to hire someone to protect me and escort me to Zhuliu City. The Land of No Return has been so chaotic lately…"
This!
This was exactly like a pillow arriving when drowsiness struck!
Meng Ruji looked at Miaomiao, straightened her posture, composed her expression into something serious, and made her voice solemn: "Miss Miaomiao, look at me and these several bodyguards behind me—can we keep you safe?"
Meng Ruji had wanted to turn around heroically and gesture with the momentum of someone who could conquer the world, but unfortunately, the several "misfits" behind her were scattered too far apart. She had to point them out individually in the crowd.
"That one carving the door, that one sleeping by the roadside…" Even as the words left her mouth, Meng Ruji touched her nose in embarrassment. "But there are those two! Don't those two look somewhat presentable!"
With a grand flourish, Meng Ruji presented the wall-corner duo of Rabbit and City Lord.
Miaomiao's gaze swept over them all. The first two inspired an indescribable expression on her face, but seeing Mu Sui and the rabbit seemed to restore her confidence somewhat.
"Young Master Mu? He looks like compared to before…" Miaomiao seemed to think of something and shrank back slightly, closing her mouth. "Not much different… But who's that beside him?"
"His pet."
"Pet?"
"Bodyguard."
"Oh…" Miaomiao considered for a moment and weighed her bundled possessions carefully. "Is this money enough to hire you all? I might not be able to pay much."
"Just provide meals!" Meng Ruji agreed without hesitation.
Miaomiao was about to accept, but glanced at Mu Sui with lingering apprehension. "Including Young Master Mu's meals?"
Meng Ruji's mouth opened, and then she found herself carefully reconsidering.
She turned to look at Mu Sui. Unexpectedly, at this precise moment, Mu Sui's gaze was also focused on her. When their eyes met, Mu Sui immediately turned away to look elsewhere, as if that eye contact had been nothing more than an inadvertent glance.
Meng Ruji didn't develop any romantic notions. Her gaze dropped to Mu Sui's stomach area, and after serious contemplation for an extended moment, she told Miaomiao:
"I'll handle his meals!"
Resolute and decisive.
Miaomiao looked Meng Ruji up and down with concern. "Big sister, can you manage?"
"I could before, so of course I can now!" Meng Ruji patted her chest confidently. "Just give him a normal person's meal allowance. If he's not full, I'll feed him. Besides, he now has hands and feet…"
Meng Ruji glanced at Mu Sui's arm suspended across his chest, paused, and rigorously corrected herself: "He now has one hand, two feet, and a bodyguard. There's no reason for us to still be running around busy providing his food and drink. Don't worry!"
With this promise, Miaomiao's face lit up with joy.
"Big sister and Young Master Mu are both capable people—I've seen it! Having you escort me to Zhuliu City couldn't be better! Wait for me, I'll go pawn these things and bring the money right back. Let's set off immediately!"
"So urgent?" Meng Ruji snapped out of her elation at this unexpected windfall and properly examined Miaomiao's decision. "You're pawning all your possessions—aren't you coming back? Do you plan to live in Zhuliu City from now on?"
"No." Miaomiao scratched her head, her smile turning wistful. "I… seem to be approaching rebirth soon."
Meng Ruji froze completely, staring at Miaomiao's face that still carried a gentle smile, momentarily rendered speechless.
"In the Land of No Return, some people have no awareness when approaching rebirth, while others might have some premonition. These days, I keep seeing my palms disappear and reappear, and I inexplicably remember things from the past. So many memories appear in my mind. I don't know why, but I just feel my time is approaching."
"Perhaps… It's just an illusion?" The words came out hollow, unconvincing even to Meng Ruji's own ears.
Miaomiao shook her head gently. "I can't say for sure, but big sister, I feel this is certain. But after so many years in the Land of No Return, I've come to terms with it. Rebirth is just like people's birth, aging, sickness, and death—no one can escape it. These years in the Land of No Return, I've lived steadily and peacefully."
Meng Ruji found herself without words.
"I won't need these things in the future anyway, so I might as well pawn them all and use the money to travel around other places in the Land of No Return. After coming here, I haven't been anywhere else. I just heard people say the Land of No Return is vast, with many places. What I most want to see is the Marriage Tree in Zhuliu City. I heard the Marriage Tree is especially beautiful when it blooms."
Miaomiao's face filled with anticipation, her smile warm and genuine. "I want to see that tree blooming more magnificently than ten thousand flowers."
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