When the sun was setting, Meng Ruji looked at a clean spot by the roadside and had Tuzi stop, planning to make this their resting place for the night.

She looked at the forest and discussed with Ye Chuan: “We still have flatbread, but not much. How about we go into the mountains today to dig up some wild potatoes and pick some fruit to eat with them? After eating flatbread for several days, my throat feels parched.”

“I saw a small pond over there when we came. I can make a fishing rod to catch fish.”

“That works too.”

Tuzi finished organizing their things and sat to the side, muttering to Mu Sui: “They seem like an old married couple raising children.”

Mu Sui glanced at Tuzi, then stood up, picked up a slender branch nearby, and walked directly between Ye Chuan and Meng Ruji.

“Fishing rod.” Mu Sui handed the slender branch to Ye Chuan, saying, “You go fishing. Meng Ruji and I will go pick wild potatoes and fruit in the forest.”

Meng Ruji looked at Mu Sui with amusement, understanding his thoughts completely.

Though Ye Chuan’s expression wasn’t good upon seeing Mu Sui, he still took the slender branch and turned to walk into the forest.

Mu Sui turned to look at Meng Ruji: “Let’s go.”

Before he finished speaking, Miaomiao, who had been quiet all day, let out a piercing scream.

“No!”

Everyone turned to look, seeing Miaomiao suddenly wake up and stand, rushing straight toward Ye Chuan with such force that she knocked him down.

The slender branch broke on the ground, and some of the broken pieces pierced Ye Chuan’s palm, immediately drawing blood. The smell of blood seemed to further stimulate Miaomiao.

She hugged Ye Chuan and shouted, “Give me back his heart! Give me back his heart!”

Ye Chuan endured the pain and called to her: “Miss Miaomiao! Please get up first.”

Meng Ruji stepped forward and pulled two copper coins from the pouch at Miaomiao’s side, pressing them against the back of Miaomiao’s neck. This didn’t knock her unconscious but forced her to freeze in place.

Ye Chuan immediately escaped from under Miaomiao.

Meng Ruji glanced at his hand, and Ye Chuan understood: “Surface wound, nothing serious.”

Meng Ruji nodded, then circled to face Miaomiao. She crouched down and looked at her, seeing Miaomiao’s terrified expression, face full of tears, lips trembling uncontrollably.

Meng Ruji first smoothed her hair, her voice gentle: “Doesn’t Miaomiao want to go back with me to get married? Have you forgotten?”

Miaomiao was stunned, the terror in her eyes fading somewhat, replaced by more confusion.

Meng Ruji removed one of the copper coins from the back of Miaomiao’s neck. Miaomiao blinked, and her mouth began to move: “Yes, that’s right, going back to get married, with Brother Changyun…”

Seeing her emotions stabilize, Meng Ruji removed the other copper coin, releasing her restraint.

Miaomiao’s body slumped to the ground. She looked up at Meng Ruji, tremblingly raising her hand, her fingertip gently touching Meng Ruji’s heart: “…But why… I saw you get hurt.”

“What kind of injury?”

“There was a beam of light, a slender beam of light that took away your heart. You were standing with me… then you fell.”

Hearing this, Meng Ruji was stunned, a vague guess forming in her heart: “Was it… Immortal magic?”

This seemed to trigger Miaomiao’s memories. She covered her head, speaking somewhat chaotically:

“In the sky… two beams of light… fighting, light everywhere, magic… houses collapsed, alleys in chaos… people running everywhere, Brother Changyun… Brother Changyun…”

Miaomiao suddenly looked up at Meng Ruji, her hands grabbing Meng Ruji’s arms fiercely. She stared at her, eyes red, tears rolling from the corners of her cheeks, but they were bright red.

“Covered in blood… disappeared…”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… You couldn’t in the end…”

Blood-colored tears rolled thickly down her cheeks, drawing a horrifying line.

Miaomiao was somewhat out of control, the strength in her hands so great that her whole body was trembling with effort: “You said… I’m sorry, I couldn’t marry you in the end…”

Meng Ruji remained silent, speechless.

Meng Ruji seemed to see a scene of chaos from these fragmented words.

Immortals fighting magic in the sky, people below scattering and fleeing, the Immortals’ magic destroying their homes, streets, and lives like crushing ant nests.

“You disappeared… no… you’re not Brother Changyun? You’re not him! He disappeared!”

Seeing her emotions becoming increasingly agitated, her hands gripping Meng Ruji’s arms tighter and tighter, Meng Ruji’s brow just barely furrowed when a hand reached over from behind Miaomiao, pulling her head back. It was still a copper coin from her pouch, pressed against her forehead. Miaomiao immediately closed her eyes, her whole body went limp, and she released Meng Ruji and fell unconsciously to the ground.

Mu Sui, who had knocked out Miaomiao, glanced at Meng Ruji’s arm: “Usually, you retaliate against me for every slight, but now you don’t know how to resist?”

“What are you saying, husband? Of course, I must respond seriously to your every action,” Meng Ruji said perfunctorily, delivering a “sweet nothing,” then continued expressionlessly to check on Miaomiao’s condition.

But hearing these words, Mu Sui was stunned for a moment, then unnaturally coughed lightly and turned his head away.

Meng Ruji touched Miaomiao’s head and arranged her in a more comfortable sleeping position.

“Miss Miaomiao’s past is truly heart-wrenching,” Ye Chuan said, having simply treated the wood splinters in his hand. “Those who enter the Land of No Refuge indeed all have their regrets and unwillingness…”

“What are you lamenting about?” Tuzi muttered dissatisfiedly from the side. “Isn’t it just that you Immortals fighting caused innocent mortals to suffer? You were talking about gods being tyrannical before, but I don’t see how Immortals are any better.”

“We…” Ye Chuan wanted to defend himself, but looking at the blood tears still on Miaomiao’s cheeks, he couldn’t open his mouth. Ye Chuan glanced at Mu Sui, but seeing Mu Sui calmly adjusting his clothes as if it had nothing to do with him, Ye Chuan fell silent, too embarrassed to say anything.

“We still need to eat,” Meng Ruji broke the silence. She beckoned to Tuzi, “We’re going to find food. You take good care of her. If anything happens, as your city lord brother would say, your tongue will be cut.”

Tuzi fearfully pressed his lips together, muttering “bad woman,” but still obediently sat beside Miaomiao.

“Let’s go,” Meng Ruji called to Ye Chuan and Mu Sui. “Same arrangement as before.”

The three left, and the forest returned to quiet.

Tuzi crouched beside Miaomiao, looking left and right, then used his clothes to rub and wipe the blood tears from Miaomiao’s cheeks, stammering as he hummed the folk tune he had just learned today, helping Miaomiao gradually relax her brow in her sleep.

The three who had entered the forest had already split up. Ye Chuan picked another slender branch to go fishing. Meng Ruji and Mu Sui worked nimbly at picking fruit and digging wild potatoes.

As it grew darker, the wild potatoes became harder to dig. Mu Sui planned to join Meng Ruji in picking fruit, but just as he reached the tree where Meng Ruji was, suddenly, from a distance came Tuzi’s grief-stricken roar:

“Kidnapping! Kidnapping!”

Meng Ruji and Mu Sui immediately looked in that direction. Without hesitation, Meng Ruji jumped down from the tree and ran in that direction like flying, with Mu Sui following efficiently.

Racing all the way, when they returned to the resting place, they saw Tuzi tied up on a tree, his mouth gagged, only able to make “wu wu ah ah” sounds. Miaomiao, who had been lying on the ground, was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is she?” Meng Ruji yanked the dirty cloth from his mouth and asked.

“Taken by three bandits! They have money! They know magic! I couldn’t beat them!”

Meng Ruji’s expression darkened. “Which direction did they go?”

“Northeast, they just left not long ago, but they used money for magic and left! Very fast!”

Meng Ruji looked toward the northeast direction and let out a cold laugh.

At this moment, Mu Sui picked up a copper coin from the ground. He glanced at Meng Ruji: “Only one left. The copper coin I used to calm her earlier fell to the ground. Probably no one noticed.”

Meng Ruji took the copper coin from Mu Sui’s hand and looked toward the northeast: “I’d like to see which death-seeker dares to steal my employer.”

Meng Ruji broke the copper coin in half and gave half to Mu Sui: “Not much money, half each. Don’t hold me back.”

Mu Sui held the half copper coin, looked at Meng Ruji, then grasped her hand: “Raise your half to the same position as mine.”

Meng Ruji was stunned but complied.

Mu Sui chanted an incantation. The broken parts of the copper coin flashed with bronze light, and then wind rose from beneath their feet.

“You haven’t wasted these years in the Land of No Refuge, accomplishing big things with small money. Not bad,” Meng Ruji praised. “Qianshan Jun recovered his memory and became so useful.”

Mu Sui glanced at Meng Ruji: “Fortunate to have my wife’s favor.”

The next instant, riding the wind, the two quickly headed northeast.

Only Tuzi remained shouting from the tree: “Untie me first, okay!”

With a “whoosh,” Ye Chuan came running breathlessly from the forest with his fishing rod, carrying a string of fish: “What… what happened?”

“Untie me first, then I’ll tell you…”

And then… when Tuzi and Ye Chuan, both out of breath, caught up with Mu Sui and Meng Ruji’s pace.

The matter had long been resolved.

Three bandits, beaten black and blue, knelt on the ground in a circle, each slapping the other, while slapping and suddenly cursing: “You are worthless.”

The “slap slap slap” sounds continued endlessly.

Mu Sui stood to the side with arms crossed, supervising and not letting the three stop.

On the other side, Meng Ruji guarded Miaomiao, who was resting under a tree, while her hands weren’t idle either – she was counting Miaomiao’s purse to see if any money was missing.

After she finished counting, she returned the small money pouch to Miaomiao, then said to the three bandits, slapping each other: “Enough.”

The three bandits were already dizzy from slapping. They hit each other a few more times before stopping, looking pitifully at Meng Ruji: “Sister, have you calmed down?”

Meng Ruji gave an indifferent “mm.”

Then the three bandits continued looking pitifully at Mu Sui: “Big brother, look, big sister has calmed down. How about you just let us go like a fart…”

Mu Sui still stood with arms crossed, looking at them coldly.

The three looked at each other, not daring to make a sound.

“You! You have some nerve!” Tuzi had just arrived, holding in a belly full of anger, about to scold the three when Mu Sui coldly swept him with a glance. Then Tuzi quickly shut his mouth and dragged Ye Chuan aside. “Let’s grill the fish. After running all this way, they’re starting to smell.”

Seeing that the dust had settled, Ye Chuan indeed went aside to grill fish.

“Let them go,” Meng Ruji weighed the ‘compensation’ the bandits had given her. “Their sincerity is sufficient.”

The three bandits nodded repeatedly.

Mu Sui was still pondering, then spoke: “Answer my questions and then you can leave.”

“Yes, yes, yes! We’ll tell you everything we know!”

“This place is very close to Zhuliu City. Within fifty li of Zhuliu City, theft and robbery are forbidden. Don’t you know this?”

Meng Ruji raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that Zhuliu City had such a rule. No wonder Tuzi had been so frantically angry, saying they had nerve.

The three bandits looked bitter: “We… we know, but if we weren’t forced to desperation, who would want to do this business…”

“What desperation?”

“Big brother and sister, you should have figured out that we’re all amateurs, only knowing a little bit of magic. We three brothers originally made an honest living in Zhuliu City, helping people move things, earning money to get by. But a few days ago, Zhuliu City suddenly issued a rule requiring all of us making a living in Zhuliu City to hand over all our money… How could that work… So we ran out…”

Hearing this, Meng Ruji raised her eyebrows and looked at Mu Sui, thinking that this kid must have secretly contacted his subordinates again and launched some activity she didn’t know about, actually forcing city residents to hand over their money.

This action didn’t seem like that of a proper businessman.

Meng Ruji glanced over but saw Mu Sui with a slightly furrowed brow.

This was even more interesting – this kid didn’t know.

Meng Ruji listened with great interest.

“Who told you to hand over the money?” Mu Sui asked.

“Seems like it was Zhuliu City’s new master.”

Oh, so Zhuliu City had a new master. Wasn’t Mu Sui overthrown then?

Meng Ruji was just finding this amusing when suddenly all her laughter froze on her face.

“What did you say!?”

Meng Ruji grabbed the collar of the man who was speaking: “What kind of thing came to Zhuliu City?”

The bandit was terrified: “New… new master…”

Meng Ruji released the bandit, looking completely stunned, then turned to look at Mu Sui: “What dog thing? Did you do this?”

Mu Sui’s expression was grave. He turned to look at Tuzi.

Tuzi, who had just started a fire, was also stunned when he heard this. He stared with wide, rabbit eyes, mouth agape, as if completely unable to process this, looking dumbfounded.

So Mu Sui looked back at the three bandits: “Who is the new master?”

The three thought for a while, piecing things together, but couldn’t come up with a correct name. Finally, they said: “This new master came suddenly. Suddenly, he said he had taken the Golden Staff from Chiying Hall. His orders also came suddenly. We fled overnight and don’t know what he’s called… We just remember he doesn’t seem to be from Zhuliu City before. We would remember the names of the former elders, managers, and guardians. We only know this time it’s a newcomer.”

Newcomer.

Very good.

Mu Sui’s eyes lowered slightly, thinking that Zhuliu City never lacked turmoil. In just a few days, before his return, a great gift had already been prepared.

And Meng Ruji also lowered her eyes, thinking:

I’d like to ask, in the Land of No Refuge, how does one get divorced? It’s quite urgent…

Meng Ruji: Husband and wife are like birds in the same forest – when disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways! Take care, husband!