Things proceeded steadily according to Meng Ruji’s plan.

During the day, she found ways to earn some money. She learned from Madam Lin’s methods and, through Mo Li, obtained a list of wealthy people in the Land of No Reprieve.

During the day, Meng Ruji went door to door, first expounding on how the world was now in chaos and how wealthy people in the Land of No Reprieve needed to learn mystical arts well to protect themselves. Then she would frighten them, saying that hiring people for protection ultimately still carried risks. She would then begin selling her identity and abilities, getting them to pay large sums to learn life-saving formations and spells from her.

With this approach, Meng Ruji’s money-earning speed increased rapidly.

At night, Meng Ruji would meet with her guardians in dreams.

They were indeed very busy in the mortal realm. There were many Nether Monsters, and even more cultivators causing trouble – those taking advantage of the chaos to rob, kill, and commit arson were countless. Refugee camps had been built at the foot of Hengxu Mountain.

Shang Lan had to coordinate the surviving immortal sects against the Nether Monsters, and now had the additional task of “making trouble for Mu Sui.”

The five guardians were stretched thin. There was always someone who truly had no time to sleep, but they organized information daily and sent one person each night to report to Meng Ruji.

Through the daily reports, Meng Ruji tracked Mu Sui’s movements.

She learned that Mu Sui didn’t seem to be constantly with the deity. He was always traveling, appearing in various great mountains throughout the mortal realm, but the people sent by Hengxu Mountain to investigate could never get close to Mu Sui and didn’t know specifically what he was doing.

Meng Ruji then gave them orders to use mystical arts to sweep entire mountains after Mu Sui left. Wherever there was spiritual power, malevolent energy, or magical treasures, they should attack that place with mystical arts.

Better to wrongly destroy than to let something slip by.

The guardians followed her instructions and indeed discovered that Mu Sui, who had previously been moving through different mountains, began repeatedly returning to places he had already visited.

Thus, everyone knew that Meng Ruji’s “return strike” truly interfered with Mu Sui’s plans.

Everyone was happy, but during one mission, Qing Rao encountered Mu Sui again.

But Qing Rao escaped again. That night, she came to see Meng Ruji and strangely told her: “I was using mystical arts to turn over the earth there when that Mu Sui caught me red-handed. He seemed even more powerful than before. I couldn’t beat him and thought I was dead for sure, but then he asked me…”

Meng Ruji crossed her arms and stared at Qing Rao: “What did he ask?”

“Asked if this was Meng Ruji’s idea.” After speaking, Qing Rao immediately distanced herself. “Master, he’s the one who called you by name directly, not me!”

Meng Ruji raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: “Did you tell him?”

Qing Rao immediately showed her loyalty: “How could I betray the Master! I immediately said it was all my doing! It had nothing to do with the Master! But he didn’t seem to believe it. He told me to tell you…”

Qing Rao pressed her lips together, finding it difficult to speak.

Meng Ruji was straightforward: “Say it.”

“Um… he said you have some ability, but not much…” Qing Rao observed Meng Ruji. “Those were his words!”

Meng Ruji gave a cold laugh.

“Ah…” Qing Rao looked at Meng Ruji and covered her mouth slightly, but ultimately couldn’t hold back from speaking. “Master, when that Mu Sui caught me turning over the earth today, you laughed just like that…”

The smile on Meng Ruji’s face froze slightly, then she glanced at Qing Rao: “You’re saying I’m like him?”

Qing Rao muttered quietly: “You rarely used to laugh so sarcastically and coldly…”

Meng Ruji was silent for a moment, finally only instructing: “When you go to disturb the places he’s been to again, be more careful. He probably has new methods.”

“Alright. Master, do you understand him well?”

Meng Ruji was silent for a moment: “I suppose.”

“Was he your enemy in the Land of No Reprieve before?”

Meng Ruji fell silent again: “We were husband and wife.”

“Oh.”

Qing Rao responded, then seemed to react as if she had just processed it. She stared at Meng Ruji with wide eyes, looking terrified: “What? What did you say?”

“It’s a long story, and there’s no time to tell it. Don’t ask about it.”

“I…”

Qing Rao started to speak, then held back, but she seemed unable to contain herself. Finally, she bit her lip hard to prevent herself from asking the next question. Holding her breath, she stated:

“No wonder…” Qing Rao spoke almost through gritted teeth. “No wonder… I always felt that when he knew you had ruined his plans, he didn’t seem very angry… When he looked at me, there was no killing intent… He let me go both times… So it turns out… your… karmic entanglement… saved my life…”

“I’m leaving. Don’t tell them yet.” Meng Ruji turned to leave. “Hold on a bit longer. I’ll return to the mortal realm as soon as possible.”

Meng Ruji withdrew from the dream realm. On the formation, Mo Li was propping up his face, tilting his head to look at Meng Ruji: “Little Meng, this father dares to say…”

Meng Ruji glanced at Mo Li.

Mo Li immediately corrected his wording: “I think our previous tactic wasn’t a complete failure.”

Meng Ruji looked up at the moon in the sky: “It didn’t fail. It even succeeded. It’s just… compared to his hatred, this little bit of love doesn’t count as leverage. Isn’t it the same for Mo Yi?”

At the mention of those two words, the smile on Mo Li’s face also faded.

He sat up straight, sighed heavily, then got up and left.

Meng Ruji lowered her head to look at the vine bracelet on her wrist. She raised her hand to touch it. The texture under her fingertips was rough, as if it could cut her fingertips if she wasn’t careful, but fortunately, when Mu Sui made this bracelet, he had rubbed off all the thorns, so the vine wouldn’t truly harm her.

Just like the current Mu Sui…

“This damn man…” Meng Ruji spoke quietly under the moonlight. “He’s somewhat unforgettable…”

The next day, as Meng Ruji had predicted, when the people from Hengxu Mountain followed Mu Sui’s trail to destroy some mountain formations, they were suddenly attacked by the formations.

With their abilities, they could no longer approach those formations.

Meng Ruji’s countermeasure was rendered ineffective. They could only watch as Mu Sui moved through the mountains.

But Meng Ruji’s side also received good news – they had gathered the thousand gold.

The mortal realm was becoming increasingly chaotic, and more and more people were coming to the Land of No Reprieve. The wealth of the Land of No Reprieve was generated by people’s “thoughts,” and with more people, there were naturally more “thoughts.” The wealth of the Land of No Reprieve also began to increase.

Some people knew of the crisis in the mortal realm and that the Lord of No Reprieve was seeking money to resolve the crisis. Many voluntarily offered their wealth.

The people of Zhuliu City, the soldiers of the Land of No Reprieve, and ordinary people living everywhere all contributed what money they could.

The wealth was gathered to Meng Ruji through Tuzi and Ye Chuan – copper coins and silver pieces, accumulated bit by bit. The amount grew rapidly in a short time, combined with the money Meng Ruji had earned these days.

The thousand gold… had been gathered.

Without any delay, Meng Ruji activated the power of the thousand gold and rode the wind to the long-unvisited Mo Neng Ferry.

Da Hong and Xiao Lu were still guarding the ferry. To them, the world seemed unchanged.

But when they saw that Meng Ruji had come with Mo Li this time, their attitude changed instantly. No teasing, no mockery – the two properly welcomed guests, obediently called for a boatman, and courteously sent Meng Ruji onto the ferry boat.

The treatment was completely different from when Meng Ruji had first come to the Land of No Reprieve.

Mo Li said to Meng Ruji at the ferry: “Though I cannot leave this place, I will come to your dreams, just as you previously met with your guardians.”

Meng Ruji nodded.

The boatman rocked the oars, and the boat moved out. Meng Ruji looked at Mo Li on the ferry, watching his figure grow more and more distant. Meng Ruji said: “Look, this time, obtaining the thousand gold wasn’t very laborious for me either. In times of crisis, everyone helps. Mo Li, our fates don’t count, and neither does the deity’s fate.”

Mo Li’s eyes trembled, then he waved at Meng Ruji.

“Little Meng, we’ll meet in dreams.”

The small boat drifted out, following the Nai River downstream. Meng Ruji looked at the shore, seeing the broken thatched hut where she and Mu Sui had killed the bandit leader, then the fruit grove. Continuing forward, the Ruwei grass shade could also be faintly seen.

Meng Ruji looked up at the Nai River flowing upward like a ribbon. Her body swayed with the boat’s motion, floating and swaying. For some reason, her head began to feel heavy.

The experiences with Mu Sui in the Land of No Reprieve flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern. Finally, all the scenes connected into one piece. She felt as if she was flying, floating into the air like a feather.

Then…

A violent sensation of weightlessness struck.

With a “buzz,” Meng Ruji felt as if she were a heavy piece of iron thrown to the ground.

She opened her eyes to see a hard mountain stone. She was lying on this stone, struggling to support her body and stand up, but her limbs felt incredibly heavy, as if weighted with thousands of pounds.

After a long while, Meng Ruji finally managed to sit up, gasping for breath.

Looking around, she saw a gray sky, but the undulating curves of the distant mountain ranges were very familiar. Nearby were cliff walls and mountain stones, all familiar to her…

Hengxu Mountain, Xuejing Cliff. She had bought her life with a thousand gold and returned to the mortal realm.