The next day, the marketplace was extremely lively.

Meng Ruji’s stall was set up next to Miaomiao’s noodle stand. She crouched watching people come and go in the marketplace, everyone’s faces showing joy, so she asked Miaomiao, who was resting and drinking water nearby: “Is today some kind of festival? Why is it so bustling?”

“No, today the soldiers transporting goods returned from other places. They bring many fresh novelties we don’t usually have – food, useful items, everything. Much richer than our marketplace!”

“You have other places here?” Meng Ruji was surprised. “Does that refer to the mortal world?”

“No, no, just places outside. The Placeless Realm is huge. It’s just that we usually don’t go out much, so nobody mentions it. Besides our place here, there are cities, towns, mountains, and seas outside the Placeless Realm. There’s also Zhuliu City, which specializes in commerce. I heard that the city is enormous, and its city lord is wealthy enough to rival a nation!”

Meng Ruji now loved hearing such fantasies about being wealthy enough to rival nations.

She perked up.

“So, how did that city lord of Zhuliu City achieve such wealth to rival nations?”

“You want to learn from him?” The boss was cooking noodles nearby and laughed when he heard their conversation. “I want to, too! If I had his opportunities, wouldn’t my noodle stand make more money than his?”

Meng Ruji earnestly asked: “What opportunities does he have then?”

“How would I know? If I knew, I’d go get rich instead of fishing noodles here! But I know that people who make big money must have opportunities others don’t have!”

Turns out they all liked listening to fantasies.

“What other opportunities could there be?” A customer eating noodles interjected. “Just killing and robbing. These big money makers all rely on sending people to their next life, then inheriting their wealth. None of them are good people.”

Miaomiao and the boss glanced at the customer but didn’t respond.

Meng Ruji raised an eyebrow and made a mental note – in the Placeless Realm, sending others to their next life allowed them to inherit their property.

That customer thought he’d revealed the truth of the world and became excited, continuing to speak eloquently: “Moreover, this morning I heard that the goods the government office was transporting from Zhuliu City to our place were almost robbed yesterday!”

Meng Ruji’s eyes lit up again: “Who robbed the government convoy?”

“Seems like a den of bandits.” The boss chimed in. “They’ve been in the mountains north of the outskirts.”

“There are bandits too!” Meng Ruji stood up, her fingers clenching excitedly as if she were already counting money. “They’re still there? Didn’t you say there were no big thieves?”

“Those are bandits! Not petty pickpockets. And they’re quite a distance from here.” Miaomiao tugged Meng Ruji’s sleeve, making her sit down.

“What bandits or not!” the customer said. “I see them as heroes! Zhuliu City’s things deserve to be robbed! ‘Don’t worry about scarcity but about inequality!’ Zhuliu City has so much stuff, why shouldn’t they share some with us? Can that city lord alone eat and drink all that much? Serves them right!”

“The bandits won’t give you their loot for free either. Why are you cheering for bandits here!?” Miaomiao was displeased. Those transporting goods are government soldiers risking their lives. How can you make them out to be wrong?”

The customer, having been contradicted, immediately raised his voice: “Zhuliu City’s things deserve to be robbed! Whoever robs them is right! That’s what I say, so what!”

When his voice rose, people around looked over. The boss didn’t want customers fighting in his shop, so he immediately went to calm things down.

Miaomiao didn’t want to argue further with him. She rolled her eyes and pulled Meng Ruji aside.

“Sister, I know you and Young Master Mu Sui are capable, but you absolutely cannot provoke those people. That’s a bandit lair – they dare offend both Zhuliu City and the government office. They’re all desperados! They kill people! The government has sent people to eliminate them, but they can never clear them out completely. After a while, they appear again…”

Meng Ruji pondered: “How many people could there be?”

Miaomiao shook her head: “I don’t know, but there must be at least thirty to fifty people, otherwise how could they rob government convoys?”

Meng Ruji calculated – if there were thirty to fifty people, going with Mu Sui now would be somewhat rash. She still needed to think and find a way to lure them out, group by group, to catch them.

Moreover, the location of the bandit stronghold, and how many people were there – she’d need to ask the government office. Most importantly, if she wanted to deploy Mu Sui, she’d need to consider how much reward money the government could offer…

“I have discretion.” Meng Ruji patted Miaomiao. “You don’t need to get angry with that customer either. ‘Don’t worry about scarcity but about inequality’ – he shouts the loudest, but if thieves robbed his house, he’d shout even louder.”

Miaomiao stamped her foot in anger: “I just can’t stand him.”

While they were talking, the customer had already been persuaded away by the boss. Meng Ruji watched the customer’s back as he walked into an alley. In a daze, it seemed like a familiar figure followed him into the alley, and that person looked somewhat like…

Mu Sui?

Wasn’t he supposed to stay in the little house?

Meng Ruji craned her neck, trying to see more clearly, but that person had already disappeared into the alley.

At this moment, someone tapped the wooden board reading “Work Available” in front of Meng Ruji with a wooden stick.

Meng Ruji looked up and saw a man dressed in tight-fitting clothes standing before her small stall, carrying a black bundle.

“Help deliver something?” the man said in a low voice.

Business had come. Meng Ruji decided to set aside her doubts and trust Mu Sui, because over the past half month, Mu Sui showed no signs of recovering his memory. He was still like a little wild beast – wary of outsiders but very affectionate with her, completely trusting her and obeying her words, as if he truly treated her as his sister.

He shouldn’t disobey her “orders”…

What Meng Ruji missed was that the figure she’d just seen was Mu Sui.

Mu Sui naturally saw Meng Ruji on the street too. Seeing her chatting with Miaomiao and having business come to her, he restrained his impulse to approach her and quickly walked into the alley.

Since Meng Ruji had forbidden him from catching thieves, Mu Sui had indeed obediently listened to Meng Ruji and stayed in the little wooden house…

For two days.

Because every day when Meng Ruji went out to work, she would instruct him: “Try meditating.”

So he tried for two days and found out – it didn’t work.

It wasn’t that Meng Ruji’s teaching was wrong, nor that he was incapable, but that this place wouldn’t allow it.

He had a kind of body memory regarding cultivation. Mu Sui could sense that his former self must have been able to use spiritual power, but now he couldn’t – he was definitely under some restriction.

Solving the cultivation problem under current conditions was almost impossible. So Mu Sui quickly abandoned the cultivation path.

When Meng Ruji left, he would first secretly follow her to see what she did at the marketplace.

After learning she worked hard at the marketplace but wasn’t in danger, Mu Sui began doing other things, like finding ways to resolve Meng Ruji’s anxiety.

Mu Sui didn’t like seeing her gaze powerlessly into the distance, and sighed. He liked seeing her look at him with bright eyes, liked her smile, liked the passionate aura emanating from her.

This aura seemed to have power, able to make the blood in his body flow faster, making him feel warmer.

Just like… touching her.

To keep Meng Ruji from worrying, Mu Sui thought of many methods.

For instance, he discovered Meng Ruji liked picking fruit.

When picking fruit, she would always nod with relief, then sigh: “Heaven still won’t cut off my path.” Then continue picking fruit happily.

So to let Meng Ruji pick fruit every day, Mu Sui marked territory in the forest where they lived.

When he encountered others coming to pick fruit, he would drive them away. After chasing away several groups, he ensured this forest always had enough fruit.

He didn’t pick any himself – he just waited for Meng Ruji to pick.

She liked picking fruit, and Mu Sui liked watching her pick fruit.

Mu Sui especially liked watching her say proudly, “Mu Sui, look, you still have to rely on me.” He would cooperatively nod and say sincerely, “Right, Meng Ruji, everything depends on you.”

For another example, Mu Sui discovered that Meng Ruji didn’t like hunting.

When he used to go catch thieves, Meng Ruji would hunt in the forest. Occasionally catching a rabbit or chicken, when bringing them back, she would always sigh: “Just this little meat, what’s it good for!”

So to keep her from worrying, Mu Sui later caught all the wild rabbits and chickens in the forest while she went out to work.

He didn’t waste them either. After butchering, he secretly took them to the marketplace to exchange for sweet potatoes and cheap vegetables. A little meat could be exchanged for a pile of vegetables. When he brought them back, he told Meng Ruji he’d dug them all up in the forest.

After Meng Ruji became happy, she turned melancholy again, asking him: “Digging up so much, you didn’t tire yourself out, did you?”

Then Mu Sui decided to continue doing this in the future. But he had to eat all the sweet potatoes and vegetables before Meng Ruji returned, so she wouldn’t discover he’d gone out and moved around during the day.

Moreover, he could eat less at night, making Meng Ruji worry less.

Finally, there was yesterday.

Mu Sui saw Meng Ruji return, looking very melancholy. She wasn’t very happy when picking fruit either, and while sitting in the house washing fruit, she kept sighing from time to time.

Mu Sui thought about it and felt he should do something.

He went out, planning to use the cover of night to go farther and catch more wild rabbits and chickens to give to Meng Ruji, so she could take them to the marketplace tomorrow to exchange for her favorite “money,” keeping her from worrying about food.

But after going farther, Mu Sui saw someone traveling quickly in the night.

It was that pickpocket, holding a sack and knife, hurrying along and occasionally glancing behind as if hiding from something.

Further in the darkness, there were some rustling footsteps. Mu Sui’s hearing was sharp – he heard at least twenty or thirty people in the distance, probably about thirty zhang away. The person ahead had fallen behind.

Mu Sui looked at this pickpocket traveling alone through the forest at night and immediately understood.

Meng Ruji often lamented that there was no big game in this forest, which was a pity. Mu Sui saw that this person was tall and big, butchering him would provide a very filling meal tonight.

But he never expected…

This made Meng Ruji even more unhappy. She scolded him and blocked him outside the house, nearly not letting him in…

But today, after thinking all night, Mu Sui felt that an isolated pickpocket couldn’t be eaten, but might have some other use…

For instance…

“Bang!” Mu Sui’s hand pushed against a dilapidated wooden door.

The pickpocket stood inside the house, looking at Mu Sui, who’d come to his door, his voice and body trembling together: “Big… big brother… don’t kill me.”

Mu Sui showed no expression: “Go inside to talk.”

Inside the house, the furnishings were simple – a table, stools, and a wooden plank bed with bedding piled messily on top, all carrying a strange smell.

Mu Sui entered and sat on a stool by the table. The stool had a backrest. Almost unconsciously, Mu Sui leaned back slightly, habitually wanting to grasp something with his right hand.

When his hand came up empty, Mu Sui looked at his right hand with some confusion.

He used to… perhaps often sit in chairs with backrests. He would lean against the backrest, and in his hand, he seemed to often hold something…

While Mu Sui stared somewhat dazedly at his right hand, the pickpocket sensibly poured tea and presented it before Mu Sui.

“Big brother… how is it you again…” He looked ready to cry. “Did you track me by scent…”

“Mm.”

“Huh?”

“What did you do last night?”

“I… I… you know this too? The person who knocked me out yesterday, could it be…?”

“What did you do?” Mu Sui’s gaze grew slightly cold.

The pickpocket shuddered all over: “The marketplace… after you caught me last time, I couldn’t make it in the marketplace anymore. I thought I’d go to the mountains and join the bandits north of the outskirts. Yesterday… yesterday I wanted to go with them to rob the convoy the government was transporting back from Zhuliu City… then halfway… I got scared and ran back. I’m cowardly and don’t dare become a bandit.”

So he’d fallen behind.

Mu Sui unconsciously tapped the table with his fingertips: “The north outskirts bandit lair – have you been there?”

“When… when seeking to join them, I went there.”

“Draw it.”

“Huh? Draw what?”

“A map of the bandit lair.”

The pickpocket swallowed, bearing enormous pressure as he timidly looked at Mu Sui: “Big… big brother… You want to catch thieves all the way there? They’re bandits! Big brother… I, I don’t dare draw this…”

Mu Sui looked coldly at the pickpocket: “Don’t draw, and I’ll butcher you.”

Then the pickpocket didn’t dare say another word. He searched the house for a long time for a pen and paper, finally taking burned charcoal and beginning to draw on the table.

“I don’t know if I’m drawing accurately. You… you absolutely mustn’t say I drew this…”

Mu Sui glanced at the map on the table, memorized it, then stood up.

The pickpocket thought he was leaving and also stood up tearfully. Unexpectedly, just as he reached the door, Mu Sui suddenly turned back: “Any food left?”

“…Huh? What?”

“I’ll pay you back later.”

“Ah… oh… uh… there’s still a little here…”

After Mu Sui filled his stomach and left the house, shortly after, the pickpocket also poked his head out.

The pickpocket looked left and right, then immediately turned back into the house. When he came out again, he already had a large bundle on his back containing all the pots, bowls, ladles, and basins from the house.

The pickpocket muttered complaints: “Thought he’d caught me again today… Good thing there was a harvest today, otherwise I’d starve to death…”

The pickpocket left struggling with his stolen goods. He didn’t close the door behind him, just left it wide open.

On the other side, someone humming a tune and picking his teeth leisurely strolled back – it was the customer who’d been eating at the noodle stand earlier. Seeing his door wide open, the customer’s expression immediately changed. He rushed back into his room, then came a series of wailing cries.

In the quiet alley, only his house echoed with continuous cursing.