The next few days were leisurely for the pair. They wandered about, collecting low-grade spirit herbs and catching a few beasts.
In the past, Zhou Lixing never cared for such common things. But twice now, Nan Sining had turned these ordinary plants into powerful pills and powders. He suddenly felt enlightened: it wasn’t that these things were useless, it was just that other pill cultivators lacked the skill. Only his little junior sister could turn trash into treasure.
Nan Sining, gazing at the mountains full of herbs, felt regretful. If only I had a portable immortal manor like other transmigrated heroines—so many spirit plants I could grow, so much junk I could stash away.
Compared to Luo Qingyao’s anxious group, Nan Sining and Zhou Lixing lived happily. With Dragon Head Blood Ginseng in hand, Zhou radiated satisfaction. Truly, an easily pleased man.
Lounging lazily on a Frost Wolf’s back, Nan Sining swayed with its stride. “Before we leave this secret realm, let’s do another zero-cost shopping trip at Luo Qingyao’s expense. Once we’re out, we won’t get such a good chance again.”
Zhou, still stewing over Luo Qingyao’s Thunder Bomb stunt that nearly killed their senior sister, agreed with relish: “Good! I’ll follow your lead.”
Nan Sining nodded with satisfaction. He might be slow and straightforward, but he wasn’t stubbornly rigid.
“After we rob them, we run. And before the teleportation kicks in, remember to cancel the disguises.”
“I’ll remember,” he said solemnly.
She prepared thoroughly, using the Water Mirror to fix Luo Qingyao’s position. Strangely, the group around her was smaller than before.
Nan Sining clicked her tongue. “So many fat sheep missing? This haul might not be as good as last time.”
The two Frost Wolves, driven hard for days, twitched their ears: Did you hear that? She just called people fat sheep again.
Zhou empathized instead—he too missed the hefty spoils of their first robbery.
“Forget it,” Nan Sining said, stowing the mirror. “This time Luo Qingyao’s the target. The others are freebies. Can’t skip the deal just because the giveaways aren’t juicy enough.”
She pulled out two round, fan-bladed contraptions. Zhou blinked. “Little Junior Sister, what are those?”
She demonstrated. “I loaded each with a mid-grade spirit stone. More than enough. When I tell you, just press this button.”
Zhou frowned. “Why not use my spiritual power directly? Wasting stones like this feels wrong.”
Truly scarred by poverty, Nan Sining thought. Aloud, she explained: “You need your power for fighting. If things go south, you’ll still need to carry me out.”
That logic struck home—compared to her safety, a few spirit stones meant nothing.
She flipped one open. A roaring gale blasted forth, shaking trees dozens of meters away and scattering birds. Startled, she shut it off quickly.
“What is that?” Zhou asked, amazed.
“It’s a fan. For making big wind,” she said casually. She’d fixed hundreds of electric fans back home—this was just swapping electricity for spiritual power.
Zhou beamed. “You’re amazing! Pill refining, artifact refining—you do it all!”
Nan Sining chuckled. “Save the praise for me alone. If word spreads, proper artifact refiners might beat me to death.”
Zhou snorted. “Anyone who touches you will have to step over my corpse first.”
They laughed together, then she estimated range: about a hundred meters would work perfectly.
Disguises reapplied, they approached Luo Qingyao’s hideout. Zhou set up formations as ordered, while Nan Sining bribed the wolves with pills.
The wolves looked suspicious, eyes narrowed.
Annoyed, Nan Sining huffed. “What’s with that look? Ever seen me abuse you? Forget it—good deeds really are thankless. Like biting Lü Dongbin’s hand!” She moved to snatch the pills back.
The wolves howled frantically, unwilling to lose out.
She rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you just doubt me? Then why take my stuff? What if something goes wrong later—will you blame me?”
The wolves whined pitifully, tails tucked, conceding it was a misunderstanding. After all, these days with the siblings hadn’t been bad—daily beast meat, even roasted food! Only Nan Sining’s constant teasing put them on edge.
Seeing their contrition, she relented and handed over the bag. Their eyes lit up at the high-quality pills, and soon they circled her joyfully, tails wagging like dogs.
Nan Sining laughed. “So now you realize I’m a beautiful, kind fairy, huh? Want to be my dogs? Sorry, I’m not looking to contract beasts just yet!”
The wolves froze, then stepped back stiffly: Who could outdog you?!
Just then Zhou returned. “Brother Luo, everything’s set up.”
Nan Sining nodded, confirmed with her mirror that Luo Qingyao’s group was still there, then sent the wolves to wait two li away.
“Come fast if things go wrong,” she ordered.
With the wolves gone, she and Zhou activated the fans, scattering powders into the air.
Meanwhile, Luo Qingyao’s admirers were in full farewell mode:
“Junior Sister Luo, who knows when we’ll walk together again?”
“Call me anytime—you’ll always have my protection!”
“I too am at your service forever!”
She hid her disdain behind teary eyes, pretending deeply moved. “To walk beside you all was Qingyao’s honor… if fate allows, I hope to journey together again.”
Her voice was soft and sorrowful—until one man yawned loudly.
Her fragile act nearly shattered. Seriously? Am I that boring?
She patched her mask back up, but then another man yawned too, unable to hold it back…