The cannon fodder heiress trembled with fear after being recognized as a member of her family.

Granny Wang chatted with Jin Yi for a long time in the room, and Han Cuiyin listened to the whole thing.

Princess Mingxia and Princess Jialuo are mortal enemies, and the servants under their two masters are hardly on good terms.

While the masters were mindful of appearances, these servants had no such concerns, and the two sides had clashed several times in private.

However, Granny Zhang was tall and strong, and Granny Wang suffered several losses as a result.

If it weren't for Jin Yi, Wang Mama would have been the one who suffered this time.

Han Cuiyin now had a new understanding of the brocade-clad guards.

In her past life, this head maid wasn't too unreasonable; she was just cold and didn't take her seriously.

The Ma family felt uncomfortable because of her preferential treatment of the Han family, and they were even more upset that Princess Mingxia had benefited from it.

She was unhappy, so naturally she wanted to vent her anger.

Ma Xuankang was initially disdainful, but later he treated the Han family differently, which made Han Cuiyin want to vomit blood just thinking about it.

Before nightfall, she threw the scarecrow onto the bed and quietly slipped out, heading straight for the Ma family's resting place on the shore.

The Ma family father and son settled in Area 3.

Ma Youcai rubbed his aching back and said, "I need to get rid of all this stuff by tomorrow. I can't stay in this awful place any longer."

“Father, do you think you can just handle it as you please? Things here are expensive, where can we find such a suitable buyer?” Ma Xuankang said, wiping his soft sword.

"Alright, at worst we'll lower the price by 10% tomorrow. Hurry up and finish this so we can go home. Your mother is waiting for us!" Ma Youcai stood up, walked around a few steps, and stretched his back. "Ah, that feels better now."

"Then we'll lose a lot! That money could renovate my master's place! No, Father, if you're tired, go rest. I'll stay here. Those two old women today aren't rich and powerful; tomorrow we'll send someone to lure them over—"

"Give it to you? You'll ruin my reputation, Ma Youcai! Just shut up and get back to work! That necklace of mine went missing out of nowhere, but I still have a pair of earrings here."

Ma Youcai dared not entrust this son with the task, as he was a sword-wielding madman like his master, completely ignorant of the five grains.

Mentioning these things makes Ma Youcai want to sigh.

This child almost didn't survive back then. If it weren't for that poor old Taoist priest who had a way, how could the couple have been willing to let their young child be taken away?

This is his only child.

After Ma Xuankang was born, Ma Youcai was injured while doing business. The injury was in a hidden place, and he would never have any more children.

Six months ago, this child was kicked off the mountain by his master and has been neglecting everything except practicing swordsmanship.

With such a large family business, someone has to inherit it.

Only then did Ma Youcai swallow his pride and ask his son's master to write a letter. Ma Xuankang, having received his master's order, obediently complied.

That stinginess is something he learned perfectly from his master.

The Ma family was extremely wealthy and naturally had no shortage of money. They would send a considerable amount of silver up the mountain each time. It was just a mystery how that old Taoist priest had raised his child like that.

If his wife hadn't threatened to kill herself, his son would never have gone to sea with her.

"Father, there's also a pair of earrings. How come I didn't know about them? Please don't take them out. Instead, give them to my master so he can think about them. If they're really useful, I won't be left out!"

Ma Xuankang couldn't see anything special about the necklace, but it must be something extraordinary to be valued by two people at the Innate Realm.

Ma Youcai looked disgusted. "This thing is a source of trouble. Do you think your master can protect it? Your lousy sect only has a few people. You'd better not get involved."

"So what if there are fewer people?" Ma Xuankang retorted. "My master is also at the Innate Realm, he's no worse than anyone else!"

“So what if he’s no worse than others? Does he dare to show his face?” Ma Youcai considered many things and wanted to dissuade his son from the idea.

"Who?"

Ma Xuankang dropped the rag and rushed out.

Han Cuiyin deliberately made a noise to lure people out and test them.

The sword flashed quickly; in the instant they clashed, Ma Xuankang had already swung his sword more than a dozen times.

Chopping, thrusting, stabbing, hacking—every move was ruthless.

Having spent a long day in the sun, Han Cuiyin's strength had recovered considerably. She parried each attack, and finally, with a burst of power from her right index and middle fingers, a pile of powder fell to the ground.

Ma Xuankang was horrified. "Who are you? How dare you hide your face and destroy my weapon!"

Seeing his son about to go berserk, Ma Youcai quickly came out to stop him, "Xuankang, stop! Dad will find you a better one later. Miss Yang, come in and talk!"

"Miss Yang? You're that dark-skinned girl from this morning!" Ma Xuankang was stunned. This person hadn't reacted when he tried to take the things this morning, so how could she be so powerful!

Han Cuiyin was not surprised to be recognized.

Ma Youcai has traveled all over the country for many years and has a very sharp eye.

“You seem to possess a peaceful energy; your presence makes the surroundings more comfortable.”

"I see. Mr. Ma is very observant. No wonder his business is so big."

Han Cuiyin did not hold back in praising him.

She's here to take advantage of us; saying a few nice things won't make a difference to her.

"Miss Yang, do you like those two items?" Ma Youcai couldn't guess her thoughts, so he could only try to find out her purpose.

"I originally came here for other reasons tonight, but I'm quite interested in the earring that Mr. Ma mentioned earlier."

Otherwise, she wouldn't have revealed her presence so easily.

She wanted to discuss something else during this nighttime visit, but seeing the earring revealed, she could confirm that these were indeed Qingyun's items.

"Since you like it, young lady, then I'll give it to you." Ma Youcai pushed the box over without the slightest reluctance.

"Father!" Ma Xuankang called out, trying to stop him.

Ma Youcai ignored it. He had never thought of exchanging wealth for those few servants in the palace, let alone his son's tutor.

Having this in hand is like having a hot potato.

Why not give it out and get something useful in return?

"Miss Yang, I would like to ask you for a talisman to bless me so that my voyage at sea will go smoothly."

Ma Youcai smiled obsequiously, his face full of flattery.

This was the first time Ma Xuankang had seen his father so despicable. Just a couple of days ago, he hadn't seen his father so obsequious in front of those two Innate Realm experts.

The father and son had different thoughts; one wore it on his face, while the other kept it to himself.

“I don’t have any talismans!” Han Cuiyin ignored the old fox’s disappointment and continued, “But there’s something you might find useful.”

A piece of charred wood appeared out of nowhere, leaving the father and son astonished.

"Is this the legendary treasure pouch?" Ma Xuankang stared at the purse in Han Cuiyin's hand, his eyes shining.

My master also has this; it's his treasure.

"..."

Han Cuiyin was merely using this purse to retrieve something from the jade lotus pod. It was an ordinary purse from the Daye Dynasty, which she used to store loose silver.

"Can the magic bag hold things?"

"Yes!"

Ma Xuankang's attitude changed drastically, and he became very enthusiastic. "Would you be willing to help, young lady? If you are, I will not seek revenge for the broken sword."

"Don't get involved! Girl, what's the use of this piece of wood?" Ma Youcai asked hurriedly.

"This is the boat I used on the Pinglian River to protect you," Han Cuiyin said without any pretense, directly instructing, "Also, don't publicize the Pinglian River incident."

"Okay!" Ma Youcai made the decision without hesitation.

"Did any other ships see anything unusual that day?" Han Cuiyin asked again, still not entirely at ease. "If so, Mr. Ma, could you tell me a thing or two?"

"Don't worry, Miss Yang. My son and I were able to see it that day entirely because of the Thousand-Mile Eye given to us by my son's master. It was nighttime then, and other ships wouldn't have noticed anything unusual."

After Ma Youcai finished speaking, Han Cuiyin breathed a sigh of relief.

"The strange phenomenon you mentioned, young lady, is it that black mist? Pinglian River is indeed abnormal? No wonder those innate realm cultivators were helpless against Pinglian River and could only watch their ships sink."

"When ships wrecked, wasn't it Changji Village that intervened?" Han Cuiyin pressed.

“Changjizhai is only a minority. There is a very dangerous section of Pinglianjiang River where accidents happen inexplicably, especially at noon and midnight.”

Han Cuiyin frowned. "Ping Lianjiang was indeed inappropriate. The fact that two people at the Innate Realm fought seemed to have released something from the river. However, I've dealt with some of it, and it should be able to ease the situation."

Ma Youcai was extremely grateful.

"Here, take it! It's inconvenient to bring it to the Han family's house otherwise."

"You're getting an advantage!"

Han Cuiyin swapped out a storage device from her spatial storage that even mortals in the Immortal Realm could use, and tossed it to Ma Xuankang.

Seeing that his son looked worthless, Ma Youcai knew that the purse was no ordinary item, and naturally, he was quick to ask, "Miss Yang, what brings you here so late at night?"