Reincarnation and Rebirth

"Senior brother, are you really leaving like this?" Lin Nanxing asked Zhu Hongqi across the teahouse.

"If we stay, we'll only cause trouble for the little girl."

"Grandfather, is that your newly accepted apprentice?" Zhu Zeyang asked, looking at Su Wan'er's retreating figure.

Zhu Hongqi glared at him, "You have no manners, that's your junior uncle."

"What? Grandfather, you're not kidding, are you? She's even younger than me."

Lin Nanxing couldn't help but laugh, "Well, that's because they're of a higher generation. Alright, since you're leaving, leave as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen problems. Where are you planning to go?"

"Let's go to Bayi Town," Zhu Hongqi said softly.

Lin Nanxing gave him a meaningful look, "Alright, I'll go with you."

The three disguised themselves and successfully left Sunset City.

Su Wan'er sat in the teahouse for a while longer, and after figuring out which unscrupulous merchants were in town, she returned to the Su family's old house. Su Xiang'er had already gone back and was currently brewing medicine for Madam Wang. Madam Xiang was making sarcastic remarks beside her, but Su Xiang'er pretended not to hear them.

"Fourth Aunt, it's already past 4:45, why hasn't the food been cooked yet? Oh dear, don't let Grandma go hungry," Su Wan'er said loudly before Xiang Shi could react, "Grandma, the herbs sold for a good price again today."

Grandma Su rushed to the door in a fit of rage, thankfully it was only her hand that was injured. "You little slut, why are you shouting so loudly?"

Oh, you're scared now that you've been bitten by a snake?

"What are you all standing there for? Come in quickly, Xiang Shi, hurry up and cook, your father is still hungry."

Xiang Shi dared not contradict Old Lady Su again. Now that Su Youcai was idle at home with no income, she could have done some embroidery to earn a little money. However, when they went to town to inquire last time, several embroidery shops refused to take her in because of poor business. Even if they did take her in, the price was ridiculously low, not even enough to buy needles and thread. Xiang Shi was shrewd and naturally would not do a losing business.

In the Su family, if you don't make money, you have to keep a low profile, and the Xiang family knows this too.

As soon as Su Wan'er reached the door, Old Madam Su snatched her purse, dumped it all onto the kang table, and started counting it.

Looking at the old man lying facing the wall, Su Wan'er thought to herself, "Could this old man be depressed? But it's also strange. Logically speaking, he has no injuries, which means he didn't encounter any wild animals on the mountain. He should have been able to return to Suhe Village last night. Why did he only come back this morning?"

Su Wan'er noticed a corner of a silver note peeking out from the old man's arms, and she guessed that the old man must have gone to town to buy grain first.

He went to Black Tiger Village for grain, but he ended up robbing it on the way. He wanted to buy more, but there was no grain left in town.

"You'll continue gathering herbs tomorrow," Old Lady Su said imperiously.

After considering for a moment, Su Wan'er said, "Grandma, we can't buy any food in town anymore. Should we prepare some?"

Old Man Su suddenly rolled over, his cloudy eyes fixed on Su Wan'er. Recalling what he had heard at Black Tiger Stronghold, he asked in a deep voice, "How did you know?"

“I went to sell medicinal herbs today and I heard people there saying, ‘Sir, we don’t have any food left at home. I’m worried.’”

Old Man Su continued to stare at Su Wan'er, and said coldly, "Do you know the young master of Baicao Hall?"

“Young master? Sir, I’m just a little girl who sells herbs. How could the young master possibly know me?”

Old Man Su thought about it and agreed. He waved to Su Wan'er, signaling her to leave.

After hearing Su Wan'er's words, Grandma Su was also a little worried. "Old man, should we go to the village and ask if anyone has any extra grain?"

"Hmph, they're all a bunch of good-for-nothings. Which family could spare so much grain?" Old Man Su hadn't been staying at Black Tiger Stronghold for nothing; he had already sensed something was wrong. It seemed this battle was really going to break out.

Although Meizhou is far from Qingzhou in the event of war, nothing is absolute, and we should take precautions as soon as possible.

"Tomorrow, I'll send the eldest son to town. If the Gou family can offer a thousand catties of grain plus an estate as a betrothal gift, then I'll agree to their marriage."

Su Wan'er, standing outside the door, clenched her fists. Damn it, even in this situation, she still couldn't resist selling herself.

That night, Su Wan'er only cultivated in the space. She had now reached level five. The spiritual spring water had become a small stream, and the space had also expanded, with several more mountains and grasslands. The thought of being able to bring people in in the future made Su Wan'er inexplicably excited. Could this place be transformed into her own world in the future?

Su Wan'er was enjoying a peaceful life in her spatial dimension, unaware that Sunset City was undergoing a baptism by Black Tiger Stronghold.

Fortunately, Su Yang was there. He strongly opposed the bandits robbing the people. The chief thought Su Yang was right. Instead of wasting energy robbing the people for a pittance, it would be better to rob the rich directly. Besides, many of these bandits came from poor backgrounds. If their families hadn't been starving, they wouldn't have joined the gang. The chief's decision undoubtedly made his men even more loyal to him.

The wealthy people in the city were in dire straits that night, suffering heavy losses. The next morning, they went to the county government to plead their case, but their magistrate, preoccupied with the troubles in his own backyard a few days earlier, had no interest in paying attention and simply made a brief note before sending them away.

Ding Chouqin traveled through the night and finally arrived at Sunset City around noon. Seeing the desolate scene, he was even more alarmed. The once bustling market was now deserted, with only a few people around. He was at a loss for what to do. Suddenly, several bandits sprang out from an alley, pointing their knives at Ding Chouqin. "What's on the carriage?"

"Big, big brother, this, this..."

Upon seeing this, the driver turned pale with fright, and Ding Chouqin was also a little flustered. "Heroes, I am just passing by. There are only some changes of clothes in the carriage, nothing else."

"Get down," the bandit leader said menacingly.

They didn't have much of a catch last night, but they finally caught one that looked like a fat sheep, so naturally they weren't going to let it go.

The hidden guards behind them exchanged glances. "Shunfeng, should we go up and help? Those people don't seem like ordinary robbers; they look more like bandits."

The man named Shunfeng frowned. "In broad daylight, these bandits are so rampant. They are simply lawless."

"Look at Sunset City, there's not a soul on the streets. Could something have happened? Could it be that the Purple Flame Kingdom has attacked?"

“Probably not, Master hasn’t received the news,” Shunfeng said. “Shunshui, take some men and find out what happened in the city. The rest of you, come with me.”

Shunfeng lived up to his reputation as Xiao Yunting's bodyguard; in no time, he had captured all the bandits.

"Kid, do you know who we are? If you offend Black Tiger Stronghold, you'll be in big trouble."

Black Tiger Stronghold? Ding Chouqin was shocked. Wasn't Black Tiger Stronghold always entrenched in Bayi Mountain and rarely raided the city? What happened now?