The White-Bone Demon of the Farm is as rich as a country

The next morning, as the sky brightened, Ru Yue and Chu Ning'an left the courtyard and went into the mountains.

With the experience of going into the mountains last time, they walked smoothly despite the high mountains and dense forests, but they both looked back from time to time.

"What's wrong? Do you also feel something is wrong?" Ru Yue couldn't help but ask in a low voice when she saw Chu Ning'an looking back more frequently.

Chu Ning'an looked at her and nodded, feeling quite surprised. He had been training with a martial arts master since he was a child. Although he considered his skills average, he was still much more sensitive than the average person. He was sure that Ru Yue had no internal force skills, but she had actually noticed something strange. He couldn't believe it, "You felt it too?"

"I've been feeling like I'm being watched by wolves since we entered the mountains. I'm freezing cold." Ru Yue approached Chu Ning'an, rubbed her arms with her hands, and blinked at him twice. "Hurry up, let's rest for a while up ahead."

Chu Ning'an knew that this girl was not an easy person to deal with. Seeing that she had a plan, he did not stop her and followed her all the way to the pond where the trap was set.

The grass here is low and the space is wide. There are no dense trees or grass within a radius of 20 to 30 feet. Not to mention hiding people, even a dog cannot hide.

Ru Yue glanced around again without leaving a trace, pulled Chu Ning'an to sit by the water, and asked in a low voice, "What's going on? Is there really someone following us in the dark?"

Chu Ning'an casually glanced around, opened the bamboo tube, and handed it to Ru Yue, saying quietly, "There must be a skilled tracker following us all the way." He leaned down and tucked Ru Yue's flying hair behind her ears, whispering, "It's very likely related to the purpose of our trip into the mountains this time."

"Wasn't everything fine when we went into the mountains before?" Ru Yue was puzzled.

"Last time, we were just two poor country kids going into the mountains to look for goods. How could anyone notice us? Those two old guys found our home because of that herb, and they led the dark forces to us." Chu Ning'an quickly sorted out the cause and effect, and analyzed it to Ru Yue, so that she could be prepared. "That herb is extremely yin and yang, with both sexes in one. How could anyone get such a strange disease? It's unheard of. There is only one possibility: poisoning. This antidote herb is so hard to find, so the poison must be rare in the world. Based on this, the person who was poisoned must be very noble."

Ru Yue understood immediately and made an excuse, "The person who poisoned us went to such great lengths to prevent us from detoxifying. So, since we followed those two old men here, we became his target."

Chu Ning'an tapped the tip of her small nose and said with a hearty smile, "How come you are so smart?"

"How stupid would I be if I still don't understand after hearing what you said?" Ru Yue said with a smile, "What should we do now?"

"The person who poisoned us really thinks we're easy to deal with, otherwise they wouldn't have sent such a master to follow us. This is undoubtedly the biggest benefit for us." Chu Ning'an continued to share everything he could think of with Ru Yue, wanting to see her reaction. "That person probably won't come out until we get the herb. It wouldn't matter if we died, but he doesn't know if we've told anyone else about the herb. After all, if someone knows, they might be able to get the herb and save the poisoned person. Only if we destroy the herb will everything be considered a success."

"When we get the grass, that's when we die!" Ru Yue pointed out the key point incisively.

"That's right." Chu Ning'an put away the faint smile on his face and said seriously, "Are you scared? Maybe we still have time to turn back now."

Ru Yue was silent for a long time, then said seriously, "It's too late. We are the only two people who know the whereabouts of that grass. If we turn back, it means we have discovered something. Not only are we in danger, but everyone connected to us will be in danger. We are just two ants to them, and they are even more afraid that we will sell the information to those two old men. They must be very important people, right? Even if we return the banknote, I'm afraid they won't let it go."

Chu Ning'an knew Ru Yue was intelligent, but he hadn't expected her to see things so clearly. "That fat old man must be the current Grand Tutor Qin Zhengqing, the most trusted and powerful minister by the current emperor, absolutely second only to the emperor and above everyone else." He thought for a moment and continued, "If my guess is correct, that skinny old man must be Shen Zhongtian, known as the world's number one doctor."

"Let's go. We have free bodyguards so we don't have to worry about anything until we find that grass." Ru Yue laughed heartlessly.

"But what's the idea?"

"When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten out; when the car reaches the mountain, there will always be a way." Ru Yue put on an unfathomable look again, "You will know when the time comes."

"By the way, tell me about this world and this country!" Ru Yue suddenly said seriously.

Chu Ning'an didn't understand how a person could have so many changes in expression. He thought that being with such a person would probably never be boring.

After the conversation, the two continued their journey, and Chu Ningan began to popularize this dynasty and the general situation of the world to Ruyue.

The world is now divided into four parts. The Ye family of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty occupies nearly half of the fertile land in the world, the Gu family of the Western Qin Dynasty occupies more than half of the remaining territory, and the Southern Tang and the Northern Territory share the remaining territory. The country we are in is the Great Zhou Kingdom under the rule of the Ye family's imperial power.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was a powerful nation, having passed through three generations of emperors since its founding, with the current emperor, Emperor Mingde, reigning supreme. This emperor was a courageous and responsible ruler, diligently governing the country during his decade-plus reign, overcoming obstacles and instituting reforms. The dynasty is now characterized by political clarity and strength. In particular, his promotion of the imperial examination system, which promoted young men from humble backgrounds to official positions, has seen the gradual decline of the aristocratic system. The portly old man Qin Zhengqing, whom I met yesterday, came from a humble background and now holds the highest position among the officials.

Emperor Mingde was diligent in government affairs, but his harem was not large. After Empress Yuan's death, no new empress was appointed. Currently, the harem consists of only four concubines and a few beauties. This also resulted in a small number of heirs, consisting of only three sons and two daughters. The Crown Prince was born to Empress Yuan and hailed from the Marquis of Wu'an. The current Marquis of Wu'an was Your Majesty's study companion and a trusted advisor. At the time of Empress Yuan's death, the Crown Prince was only two years old. The Emperor took him to the Qianqing Palace for personal upbringing. By the age of ten, he had been attending court. He was extremely self-disciplined and exceptionally talented, and now he has reached adulthood. The Second Prince, born to the Imperial Noble Consort and hailed from the Duke of Ningguo, possessed considerable talent due to his mother's powerful family background, but he was also ruthless and had many supporters at court. The Third Prince, frail since childhood and drawn to poetry and painting, had little interest in the court. Therefore, it was widely believed that the succession was likely to be won between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince.

The Zhou Dynasty had a strict hierarchy, with scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans as the four major classes. It can be seen that the status of merchants was still lower than that of other classes. Fortunately, Emperor Mingde had a broad vision and understood that the economy was the pillar of the country. While vigorously developing agriculture and industry, he also encouraged the development of commerce, and even businessmen could take the imperial examinations to become officials.

Along the way, Chu Ning'an explained the general situation of the world to Ru Yue. Knowing that she would not be content with being an ordinary citizen, he also helped her analyze the distribution of forces in various places, and even covered the situations of the other three countries. This was like an epiphany for Ru Yue, and she became more clear about her future plans.

A day later, when they were still half a day's journey from the waterfall, Ru Yue stopped to rest by a stream and discussed with Chu Ning'an the strategy to deal with that man.

"We will reach the waterfall this evening. Logically, we should be able to pick the grass today, but what should we do with the people following us?" Ru Yue asked Chu Ning'an what he meant.

"Judging from the way that man is tracking me, his skills are only second-rate. If I fight him hard, I may have a chance of winning." Chu Ning'an answered after careful consideration.

"If you're not sure of winning against a desperate criminal, forget it." Ru Yue immediately rejected Chu Ning'an's suggestion. "Let's use poison. We can take advantage of his unpreparedness and knock him out. Everything will be fine."

She took out a few flowers and plants, pointed them at Chu Ning'an, and said, "If we light these plants together and add a little something special, we can knock down a cow in ten breaths. No matter how strong that person is, he should be able to be knocked down when he is not prepared. Of course, that person is very skilled in martial arts, so we can increase the dosage to prevent any accidents."

Chu Ning'an looked at her, trying to see panic and anxiety in her eyes, but there was nothing, as simple as talking about the weather today.

"Do you think I'm vicious?" Ru Yue didn't look at Chu Ning'an, but looked at the gurgling stream flowing eastward.

"Whether you're evil or not is none of my business. I just want to know who you are." Chu Ning'an finally couldn't hold back and asked the question in his heart. "These days, no matter what you encounter, you have been able to handle it with ease. You speak, act, and treat people with ease. This is not something a fourteen-year-old peasant girl can do. Are you really Meng Ruyue?"

"Who do you think I am?" Ru Yue had never deliberately concealed anything from Chu Ning'an. She didn't know why she did so, but every time she had to lie in front of him, she would feel inexplicably entangled in her heart, so she followed her heart and became the "White Bone Spirit" in the business world in her previous life. Now that he asked her this question, she was really annoyed and asked aggressively, "Who do you want me to be?"

"I just hope it's you." Chu Ning looked at Meng Ruyue steadily, his voice filled with unwavering determination. "But you must promise me, no matter who you are, you can't leave in the same mysterious way you came."

Chu Ning'an stared at Ru Yue without blinking, afraid she would tell him an answer he wouldn't want to or couldn't accept. He suddenly hugged the frail girl and leaned his head against her ear. "Don't say anything. I just want you to be 'you.'"

Meng Ruyue suddenly smiled, a smile so unrestrained, so joyful, and so contented. She held his face in her hands and looked straight into his eyes. "I'm Meng Ruyue," she said word by word. "Really, it's just Meng Ruyue. Do you care?"

"You hold my indenture contract, but do you care that I am a slave? You rescued me from several human traffickers, but do you care that I have an unknown background? You provide me with food, clothing, shelter and transportation, but do you care that I am useless?..." Chu Ning'an spoke one sentence after another about how miserable he was in the eyes of the world, and suddenly, his eyes became red.

Chu Ning'an insisted stubbornly, "Promise me, you won't disappear without a trace. Promise me."

Ru Yue looked at this handsome boy, so handsome that all the women in the world were ashamed of themselves. She thought that he was still young, with a hint of immaturity in his features. She could only imagine how astonishing his stunning appearance would become in a few years, as he matured and gained more experience. Suddenly, a particularly cheesy sentence from her past life suddenly popped into her mind: "If you never leave me, I will be with you through thick and thin!"

Chu Ning'an smiled, a smile of contentment, and Ru Yue also smiled, a smile of ease and comfort. Neither of them cared that they were still discussing how to kill people a moment ago.

After agreeing on everything, the two continued on their journey hand in hand. However, in half a day, Ru Yue plucked two blades of grass and picked two flowers, filling up the bamboo basket that Chu Ning'an was carrying along the way.

In the evening, the two finally arrived at their destination, and the gazes that fell on them from time to time seemed to be real and followed them here.

They didn't hang around the waterfall anymore, but went straight to the cave they visited last time to make a fire and cook. The two chatted idly, and in a blind spot where only the two of them could see, Ru Yue poured a small bottle of colorless and tasteless water into the clay pot.

After dinner, Ru Yue dumped all the flowers and plants she had picked into the fire. "This way, no more annoying mosquitoes will disturb our rest."

The next day, the two men packed up and went to the waterfall. They were careful along the way but did not find any clues. They did not see the man's body, nor did they feel the cold gaze again. They could not figure out whether the man was dead or alive.

"The wound on your hand hasn't healed completely yet. Let me go and pick the grass this time." Chu Ning'an said to Ru Yue.

"I'd better go up. We haven't seen that man, and we don't know what's going on. If you stay at the bottom of the cliff, you can still fight him if he comes, giving me time to get down from the cliff. If you go up the cliff, what can I do to fight him if he really comes? The end result is that we will both be caught in one fell swoop." Ru Yue analyzed the situation to Chu Ning'an, fearing that he would worry about the injury on her hand. "My hand is almost healed. It will be fine if I wrap it with a bandage."

Chu Ning'an knew that what she said was right, and even though he was worried about her injury, he had to do as she said.

He held her and carried her to the vine closest to the ground. He began to look up at her as she tried to climb, but secretly he was more careful about the person who was following her and suddenly appeared.

A cup of tea passed, and Ru Yue had changed several vines and continued to climb up.

An incense stick of time passed, and Chu Ning'an only saw a small black dot on the steep cliff. He could no longer tell whether it was moving slowly.

Chu Ning'an could no longer feel how much time had passed. His neck was sore from tilting his head back. The black spot on the cliff was getting bigger and bigger. He felt ecstatic. Ru Yue had succeeded.

At this moment, the cold gaze that seemed to be real suddenly fell on him. He knew that Ru Yue had guessed right, and that person really came.

Chu Ning'an tensed up completely. He moved back a little so that he could observe the entire situation from the best position and rescue Ru Yue as quickly as possible.

"Chu Ning'an, I got him." When he was still three to five feet away from the ground, Ru Yue excitedly shouted to Chu Ning'an, "Catch me quickly."

At this moment, a black shadow leaped into the air as fast as lightning, raised his sword and stabbed Ru Yue on the cliff fiercely.

Ru Yue also felt the crisis coming, and hurriedly held on to the vine and dodged. She did dodge, but the vine was cut by the sword. In the blink of an eye, Ru Yue used the push of the cliff to spill everything in her hand on the black shadow, and then she fell straight down.

"Ru Yue!" A heart-wrenching voice pierced the sky.

At the moment of landing, Ru Yue fell into a strong embrace as expected, and Chu Ning'an caught her again, this time without any harm.

At the same time, the black shadow also fell to the ground, covering his face with his hands and wailing in pain, blood flowing out from between his fingers.

Soon, the wailing sound disappeared, and all that was left of the black shadow was a bag of black clothes soaked in blood. The two men set the black clothes on fire and watched it turn into ashes before leaving together.