A magical journey of a sharp-tongued woman and a goofy man

At the alley entrance, a burly man with a face full of scars and a beard like an exploding steel wool swaggered in, followed by a group of henchmen carrying all sorts of low-grade weapons, looking like a mob imitating a gangster movie.

Ye Shuli recognized him at a glance; he was the leader of the notorious small gang in town, "Black Wind Stronghold," nicknamed "Boss Zhao."

"Hey, isn't this the new chick?" Boss Zhao leered at Ye Shuli, his tone as greasy as gutter oil. "You're quite pretty. What, running into this alley all by yourself, trying to play hide-and-seek with your brother?"

Ye Shuli rolled her eyes inwardly. This guy's flirting skills were even worse than Jiang Ye's.

She snorted coldly, "Get out of the way, a good dog doesn't block the way."

The smile on Boss Zhao's face froze instantly, and his henchmen behind him shouted, "You dare call our boss a dog?!"

"I'm praising you guys, you know how great Paw Patrol is?" Ye Shuli said casually, as if she were just saying how nice the weather was today.

Zhao Laoda's face was ashen. He walked up to Ye Shuli and said in a gloomy tone, "Little girl, I think you've got guts. Why don't you join our Black Wind Stronghold? I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury."

"Join you? Join you in robbing and looting?" Ye Shuli looked disgusted. "Even if I starve to death or jump off this cliff, I, Ye Shuli, would never associate with a bunch of scum like you!"

Boss Zhao sneered, "You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences! In this dog-eat-dog fantasy world, do you think you can survive without the protection of a gang?"

"Heh, you don't need to worry about my way of survival." Ye Shuli shrugged, looking disdainful.

"Boss, why waste words with her!" a henchman shouted impatiently. "Just grab her and take her back to show her the power of Black Wind Stronghold!"

A fierce glint flashed in Zhao Laoda's eyes. "Get them!"

Ye Shuli's lips curled into a cold smile. "With your bunch of crooked and ugly..." Her eyes sharpened as she scanned the surroundings. "You think you're worthy?" At Zhao Laoda's command, the henchmen pounced on Ye Shuli like a pack of hungry wolves.

Ye Shuli sneered. This group of people were completely disorganized and were simply throwing their lives away.

With lightning speed, she grabbed a handful of sand and threw it fiercely at the first few henchmen.

"Ouch!" "My eyes!" In an instant, screams rose and fell as the henchmen covered their eyes and ran around like headless flies.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Ye Shuli nimbly slipped into a narrow passageway nearby, like an eel.

The henchmen, all large and burly, were stuck at the entrance to the passageway and could only watch helplessly as Ye Shuli slipped away.

"Useless!" Zhao Laoda roared, taking the lead himself.

He was, after all, a Spirit Master in the early stages. He condensed a ball of pale green spiritual energy in his hands and thrust it out with a palm towards Ye Shuli.

"A mere trick!" Ye Shuli scoffed, dodging the attack with a sidestep.

The spiritual energy struck the wall, sending shards of stone flying and dust billowing everywhere.

"That's it?" Ye Shuli picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at Boss Zhao.

Although it was just an ordinary stone without any spiritual power, its advantage lay in its unexpectedness.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Zhao Laoda dodged in a flustered manner, missing his target several times in a row.

The surrounding henchmen were dumbfounded. This girl's got some skills!

While dodging, Ye Shuli observed the surrounding terrain, searching for the best escape route.

She suddenly stopped, a pitiful expression on her face, and said in a tearful voice, "Boss Zhao, I was wrong, I'm willing to join Black Wind Stronghold..." Seeing this, Boss Zhao smiled smugly, and was about to speak...

……

“But…” Ye Shuli sobbed, forcing out two crocodile tears from the corners of her eyes, “I have a condition.”

Boss Zhao raised an eyebrow. This girl is quite good at putting on airs.

He waved his hand dismissively, feigning magnanimity, "Speak! As long as you join Black Wind Stronghold, any conditions are negotiable!"

Ye Shuli sniffed and said seriously, "I think Black Wind Stronghold is just doing small-scale things now, and it won't amount to anything. We need to come up with something new, expand and strengthen our operations, and create new glories!"

Boss Zhao and his henchmen exchanged glances, thinking to themselves, "This girl certainly has a big mouth."

"What's the new trick?" Old Zhao asked with great interest.

“Boss Zhao, think about it, are you the only gang in town right now? Of course not! The competition is so fierce, all the customers are being snatched away, what are you going to make?” Ye Shuli paused, then dropped a bombshell, “So, we’re going to implement… a membership system!”

"Membership system?" Boss Zhao looked completely bewildered.

"That's right! Membership system! Bronze members get a 20% discount on protection fees! Silver members get a 50% discount! Gold members get free protection! Diamond members..." Ye Shuli deliberately dragged out her words, "Not only is the protection free, but there's also a surprise gift package every month! How about that? Isn't it great?"

Zhao Laoda was stunned. He felt that what the girl said made a lot of sense, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

"But... what is this surprise gift package?" a henchman asked timidly.

"Well..." Ye Shuli smiled mysteriously, "Of course it's a secret! But I can reveal a little something, it's something you'd never expect!"

"Boss, I think this is a great idea!" one of the henchmen said excitedly. "This way, our Black Wind Stronghold will definitely attract more customers!"

Zhao Laoda was also tempted. He waved his hand and said, "Okay! We'll do it your way! But you still need to explain to us how to implement this membership system."

“Of course, no problem!” Ye Shuli said sincerely. “However, I need to go back and prepare some things so that I can better implement this plan.”

After thinking about it, Zhao Laoda felt it made sense and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, go ahead. I'll give you three days. I want to see your results in three days!"

Ye Shuli felt as if she had been granted a pardon and ran away in a flash.

Jiang Ye had been observing everything from the shadows. Seeing Ye Shuli successfully escape, he couldn't help but admire her. This little girl really had a lot of clever ideas.

After Ye Shuli walked away, he quietly followed her.

Ye Shuli looked back warily, feeling like someone was following her. Could it be that the Black Wind Stronghold had changed their minds?

Her heart tightened, and she quickened her pace.

"Hey!"

Ye Shuli turned around abruptly, ready for battle.

Jiang Ye suddenly appeared in front of her, holding a small, delicate pastry in his hand, and handed it to her: "You looked so tired just now, please have this."

Ye Shuli was stunned. What... what's going on?

"Here you go." Jiang Ye pushed the pastry forward again. "Osmanthus cake, the best in town."

Ye Shuli looked at Jiang Ye suspiciously. What was this kid up to?

However, the aroma of the osmanthus cake was so tempting that she eventually accepted the dessert.

"You still have some conscience."

The two walked to the outskirts of the city and found a clean, large rock to sit on.

Ye Shuli ate the osmanthus cake in small bites, while Jiang Ye, like a chatterbox, began to recount the "glorious deeds" of Black Wind Village.

"Let me tell you, this Boss Zhao is just a pretty face, all show and no substance. His little bit of spiritual power is only good for bullying ordinary people. If he really runs into a master, he'll run faster than a rabbit." Jiang Ye said, imitating Boss Zhao's running away posture, which made Ye Shuli almost spit out her osmanthus cake.

"Then how did he become the leader of Black Wind Stronghold?" Ye Shuli asked curiously.

"It's all thanks to his dad! His dad used to be the richest man in town, but somehow the family fortunes fell apart, so he gathered a bunch of cronies and founded Black Wind Stronghold. However, he's almost squandered all the wealth his dad left behind." Jiang Ye said with a gossipy look. "I heard that Boss Zhao is currently eyeing an ancient ruin, hoping to get rich overnight!"

"Ancient ruins?" Ye Shuli's heart stirred. This fantasy continent was indeed full of opportunities, but also full of dangers.

She originally thought that with her modern knowledge, she could easily thrive in this world, but now it seems that she was too naive.

This fantastical continent was more complex and unfathomable than she had imagined.

Just then, a group of people walked over from a distance. Their clothes were not uniform, and their weapons were also different. They were obviously independent cultivators.

They stared intently at Ye Shuli, their eyes filled with greed and malice.

Jiang Ye sensed something was wrong. He stepped in front of Ye Shuli and whispered, "Be careful, these people don't have good intentions."

One of the men who was leading the group had a small mustache and a pointed, monkey-like face; he was clearly no good.

He walked up to Ye Shuli, leering at her from head to toe, and said in a flirtatious tone, "Little beauty, all alone? Want your brother to play with you for a bit?"

Ye Shuli glanced at him coldly and said, "Get lost."

The mustachioed man's expression changed. "You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences! Brothers, get them!"

Jiang Ye clenched his fists; it seemed a fierce battle was inevitable.

He turned to Ye Shuli and said, "Take care of yourself."

Ye Shuli sneered, "Them? You underestimate me too much." She cracked her knuckles, a sharp glint in her eyes, "It's been a while since I've stretched my muscles, I'll use you as practice today."

The mustachioed man scoffed disdainfully, "With your puny build, you think you can fight us? You're overestimating yourself!"

"Who's overestimating themselves is still uncertain." A clear voice came from not far away, with a hint of sarcasm in its tone.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman dressed in white walking slowly towards them.

She was stunningly beautiful and possessed an ethereal气质, like a celestial being descended to earth.

“Lin Xiao…” Jiang Ye called out the woman’s name in surprise.