“Huh.”
Inside the tent, Mu Xueyan, having just received a pleasant new name, was smiling contentedly when a sudden vision flashed before her eyes, causing her to let out a surprised exclamation.
“Master, what’s wrong?”
Shi Bao sensed the fluctuation in his master’s emotions and immediately responded with a concerned, milky voice.
Mu Xueyan was pleasantly surprised: “After being reborn, I never expected the supernatural ability from my past life to remain, allowing me to see events that will happen in the future.”
“Foresight?!”
Shi Bao trembled with astonishment, his emotions a mix of joy and worry.
Foresight is a double-edged sword.
It can see through people’s hearts and predict the future.
It is greatly beneficial for cultivation, allowing one to avoid dangers and seize opportunities.
However, predicting the future is also a test of one’s character.
Those who possess such an ability must not recklessly reveal heavenly secrets or alter the fate of others.
Every time one defies fate, a year of their lifespan is diminished.
In her past life, to avoid the limitations of lifespan depletion, her master desperately cultivated, reaching the highest realm of the Immortal Domain in a thousand years and achieving the title of Jiuzhou Sword Venerable.
Unfortunately, just as she was about to ascend to the Immortal Realm, she encountered an invasion by the Demon Race.
To protect her fellow disciples, she forcibly used a Secret Art, burning her divine soul to unleash a devastating ultimate strike, Myriad Swords Return to One, finally slaying the Demon King with her sword.
At the moment her soul scattered, it was Shi Bao who protected a wisp of her master’s remnant soul, allowing it to return to the underworld and be reborn.
“Don’t worry, Shi Bao.”
Mu Xueyan and Shi Bao were spiritually connected, and she could clearly sense his concern for her. Touched, she comforted him in return.
“After a thousand years of arduous cultivation, experiencing the vicissitudes of the world and witnessing the sorrows of mortal life, my heart has become as firm as a rock. I will no longer feel pity for the misfortunes of strangers.”
“Moreover, with the memories of my past life, my cultivation speed will be even faster. Once I reach the Semi-Immortal Realm, I can live as long as heaven and earth, no longer needing to worry about revealing heavenly secrets and depleting my lifespan.”
“Mhm, mhm.”
Shi Bao, obedient and sensible, unconditionally supported his master: “Shi Bao believes that Master will surely break through her limits and achieve her wishes, just as she did in her past life.”
“Hehe.”
Mu Xueyan was delighted to hear this, her chest trembling slightly as she couldn’t help but laugh again.
“Mother, little sister is laughing again.”
“Little sister looks so beautiful when she smiles.”
“I love little sister.”
The Mu family three brothers, seeing their sister smile, brightened up and began frolicking around her once more.
“Boss, look, I wasn’t lying! This is really damn weird!”
At the entrance of the cave, Li Ao’s voice rang out, filled with frustration: “One cave, two temperatures. I was guarding the entrance, freezing to death, while they slept inside, separated by an invisible barrier. Not only were they not cold, but all the withered wildflowers bloomed.”
“It really is this weird!”
“No one would believe it without seeing it with their own eyes.”
“Who set up the barrier?”
“Could it be some evil spirit?”
“Flowers blooming in winter—it’s damn unbelievable.”
The other five officers escorting the prisoners had heard Li Ao’s complaints early in the morning and initially didn’t believe him.
But after witnessing the fantastical scene firsthand, they had no choice but to believe, all wearing expressions of disbelief.
Among the six, the leader, Liu Gao, wore a grim expression, his gaze toward the cave filled with malice.
“Boss, there’s something even weirder.”
Li Ao’s eyes gleamed with cunning as he leaned close to the leader’s ear and whispered: “Last night, several Spirit Birds ran out of the forest on their own and flew into the cave. They even dug up a blood ginseng inside.”
“Spirit Bird, Blood Ginseng?”
Upon hearing his words, a flicker of greed flashed in Liu Gao’s eyes.
Spirit Birds and Blood Ginseng originated from the Immortal Domain and were rarely seen in the Mortal Domain.
Especially Blood Ginseng—each plant was of immense value.
Selling it to an apothecary would fetch at least three thousand taels of silver.
“Blood Ginseng is a rare treasure; they are unworthy of possessing it.”
Li Ao, having frozen all night, was seething with malice. He wanted to use the captain’s authority to seize the Blood Ginseng and vent his resentment: “We must make them hand it over.”
“Exactly, they are exiled criminal women with no personal freedom.”
Liu Gao’s younger brother, Liu An, was a sinister villain who had long harbored ill intentions toward the Mu sisters. Seeing an opportunity, he also urged: “Their lives are in our hands, let alone something as rare as Blood Ginseng.”
Liu Gao hesitated: “The Old Madam is a tough one; forcibly seizing it might not work.”
“Why fear her!”
Liu An sneered: “Even if the old woman is an eighth-level martial artist, she’s old and has been exiled for over half a year. Her strength is depleted, and she’s now at the end of her rope—no match for us.”
“Deputy Captain is right.”
Li Ao nodded in agreement: “She’s alone, and there are six of us. If we attack together, how could we fail to defeat an old woman?”
“Kill her.”
Liu An’s eyes gleamed with malice: “Not only the Blood Ginseng, but the Mu sisters will also be ours. Without the old woman in the way, given their meager skills, they’ll be at our mercy.”
“They are the family members of the Fu Guo Gong Residence.”
Liu Gao, well aware of his brother’s character, warned sternly: “We cannot toy with them recklessly. If remnants of the Mu Family Army find out, it could bring disaster upon us.”
“Once we’re done playing, just kill them.”
Liu An was vicious and cruel: “Dead people don’t talk.”
Liu Gao looked surprised: “You want to kill them all?”
“On the road of exile,”
Liu An chuckled darkly: “What’s so strange about a few official slaves dying? Especially when they’re just old, weak, women, and children.”
Liu Gao rubbed the hilt of his sword with his right hand, his heart swayed.
~~
“Villains!”
“Despicable!”
“Too shameless!”
“Heartless scum!”
Inside the cave, Shi Bao listened to the three men’s conversation, his little lungs nearly bursting with anger.
“Dealing with such people, there’s no need for mercy…”
A cold glint flashed in Mu Xueyan’s eyes as she instructed Shi Bao: “Next, we’ll do this…”
“Mhm, Master, just watch. See how I deal with them.”
Shi Bao, having received clear instructions, his little eyes instantly lit up, transforming into a streak of light as he flew out from his Dantian.
The Spiritual Power barrier dissipated, and a biting cold wind swept into the cave. The budding flower, still in its infancy, was enveloped in frost, withering rapidly overnight.
“Captain.”
Li Ao’s eyes lit up with delight: “The barrier is gone.”
“Heaven itself is helping us.”
Liu An, emboldened by lust, hurriedly urged: “Brother, don’t hesitate any longer. Qingshui County is almost here. If we don’t act now, we’ll never have another chance.”
“Let’s go.”
Liu Gao, overcome by wickedness, glared with malice: “Follow me into the cave.”
“Yes.”
Liu An and Li Ao followed closely behind.
The remaining three officials were secretly alarmed, fearful of the Liu brothers’ sinister cruelty. Unable to openly oppose them, they could only follow their conscience into the cave.
~
“Achoo, achoo.”
With the Spiritual Power barrier gone, the temperature inside the cave dropped rapidly. A cold wind blew in, and the three little ones of the Mu Family sneezed in unison.
Yan Yiqing wrapped her daughter in a quilt, fearing the temperature was too low and might harm her precious baby girl.
Liu Gao and the others barged into the cave like fierce demons. Old Madam, sensing danger, leaned on her Dragon-head Cane and stood guard in front of the birthing chamber.