Nangong An had vaguely heard before that Nanling City was known for selling smuggled salt. In this town, whether officials or wealthy people, most were involved in some way. So he figured that the batch of goods mentioned by the head of the Qiao family must be illegal salt—and it was likely right here.
“Xi’er, let’s go. Notify Lu Zihan and have him deal with it.”
Yunxi heard “go” and was about to enter the space. But Ke’er had just said there was treasure here—she wasn’t going anywhere without taking it. The question was: how could she get inside?
“Ke’er, is there any magic or spell that can make someone invisible?”
“I’m a space spirit, not a magician,” Ke’er said, trying hard not to laugh at her master.
“But! There’s an invisibility talisman in the space—costs one hundred taels each. Do you want one?”
“Seriously? That expensive? Ke’er, can you even steal it?” Yunxi said. She had silver, but it wasn’t unlimited, so she spent it carefully.
Ke’er knew her master was a bit money-minded, so she added, “Master, besides rare herbs, there’s gold and silver here. Way more than a hundred taels. Are you sure you don’t want it?”
Yunxi gritted her teeth, annoyed, and said, “Fine, I’ll take it!”
With the invisibility talisman in hand, she left the space, activated it, and casually walked into the warehouse in front of the guards as if nothing had happened.
Inside the warehouse, the scene nearly blinded her: piles of pure white salt, each probably weighing over a thousand jin.
Coarse salt sold for fifteen wen per jin, while fine salt went for at least 330 wen per jin. This batch alone was worth over thirty thousand taels. No wonder the Qiao family was so rich—they must have done plenty of shady business.
Nangong An had said to leave the illegal salt for Lu Zihan, but everything else she could take.
She continued searching, but aside from salt, there was nothing else. Ignoring the salt, she moved deeper, where a small door appeared before her.
This had to be the treasure Ke’er mentioned.
Excited, Yunxi approached. Looking at the little lock on the door, she chuckled—this was nothing for her.
For work, she had previously learned lock-picking from a senior, so this lock was easy.
Like performing a magic trick, she took out a piece of wire and clicked it a few times—unlocking it effortlessly.
Pushing the door open, she pulled out a flashlight.
“Wow! Mama mia! Shelves full of rare herbs, boxes of gold and silver, more boxes of silk and brocade—haha! This is all mine! I’m rich!”
“Ke’er, can these things fit into the space? How do I store them?”
Ke’er sighed inwardly at her master’s cluelessness. Waving a hand was enough, yet she didn’t know.
“Master, just reach out and say the word ‘store,’ and everything will go straight into the space.”
Yunxi followed instructions, waving her hand over the treasures. In the blink of an eye, everything vanished—like locusts had swept through, leaving nothing behind.
After taking the items, she quickly retreated. She had overheard the Qiao family mention that their shipment would leave at midnight, which was almost upon them. She needed to find Nangong An.
Before she reached the door, a strong hand scooped her up.
Initial panic gave way to calm. She recognized the familiar scent behind her and knew who it was. She didn’t struggle and allowed herself to be held.
After a few leaps, Nangong An brought Yunxi back to the inn’s guest room.
Without any gentleness, he tossed her onto the bed and pressed his body against hers.
Seeing his dark expression, Yunxi knew he was angry. She realized she shouldn’t have left him alone—but when he said “go,” she panicked.
“Husband, please don’t be angry. Look, Xi’er is fine now,” she pleaded.
But Nangong An ignored her and sealed her noisy mouth.
“Husband… um… you…”
That night, Yunxi felt both pain and pleasure. She vowed never to make this man angry again—it was terrifying.
The next day, she slept until the sun was high.
The first news she received upon waking: the Qiao family had been caught selling illegal salt by Lu Zihan. The sheer quantity of salt led to the entire family being arrested, their property seized, and they were exiled to Ningguta.
Yunxi was very satisfied. Evil people got their comeuppance. She still wished she could have dealt with that scumbag last night!
Even more interestingly, the gold and silver in the Qiao family’s mansion were nowhere to be found, which puzzled her.
Yunxi laughed to herself. “Hehe, no matter how much you dig, you’ll never find it. It’s all in my space! Haha!”
With that, she quickly entered the space.
The space had changed dramatically. The once blurry meadow was now clear, and the previously unreachable spring was now in plain sight.
Mountains had appeared, and the vegetable garden had expanded.
She pressed the bird totem on her palm. Haha—the space had leveled up three stages, reaching Level Five.
Could it be that collecting the items yesterday caused such a huge upgrade? Incredible!
But where were all the things now?
She asked Ke’er, “Ke’er, where are the items we collected last night?”
After a long pause, Ke’er lazily replied, “Master, they’re now in the rooms in your courtyard.”
Yunxi was about to check when someone knocked on the door.
She immediately left the space.
“Who is it?” she asked as she approached the door.
“Xi’er, it’s me,” came Xueli’s voice outside.
Yunxi quickly opened the door, wondering why her sister came at this hour.
“Xueli, why are you here? Is something urgent?”
Xueli smiled and plopped down on a chair at the table.
“Little sister, did you hear? The Qiao family has been exiled for selling illegal salt. Hehe, good thing I broke off the engagement with them.”
Yunxi nodded. “That’s karma for evil people. You’re lucky, sister—you’ll meet a good man someday.”
Speaking of men, Xueli’s expression dimmed. “Fate is unpredictable. Besides, I don’t want to marry now. I just want to run the cloth shop well. The rest can wait.”
Meanwhile, Nangong An stood outside, looking at Lu Zihan with a mischievous grin. “Haha, look at you two. One doesn’t want to marry, the other doesn’t want to be married—they make the perfect pair.”
Lu Zihan immediately snapped, “Shut up. Stop being sarcastic.”
Haha…
“Alright, let’s eat. This is our last meal here. Tomorrow we set off for the northern frontier!”
It was already September. Even riding fast, the journey would take about a month.
Moreover, traveling with Yunxi meant they couldn’t ride day and night. By the time they reached the northern frontier, it would be November—the coldest period, harsh and biting.
They needed to set off early to arrive safely.