Everyone returned to the You residence, and Chang Nian was still puzzled as to why his benefactor had returned so early.
Looking at the three people behind him who resembled beggars, he understood a little.
Jiang Wen asked him to boil some hot water and took out three sets of clothes from his storage bag.
Once the water boiled, he had the three of them take a bath. He also took out some food and left it for the mother and children to fill their stomachs after they had cleaned up.
"Benefactor, you are truly a great philanthropist," Chang Nian praised Jiang Wen as he placed the food on the table.
Jiang Wen only smiled and said nothing.
Waiting in the living room until the mother and children finished washing and put on the clothes Jiang Wen had prepared for them, Jiang Wen discovered that the boy named Li Qingran was actually a girl.
"Greetings, Master," Li Qingran respectfully bowed to Jiang Wen.
Perhaps it was because she had been hungry for too long, her originally round face was a little gaunt. But her eyes were as bright as pearls, and her features were just right, neither too much nor too little.
One could fully sense that if she grew up in the future, she would definitely be a beauty capable of captivating a nation.
Li Qingran noticed that Jiang Wen kept staring at her, and she fidgeted uncomfortably, looking left and right to see if she had put her clothes on backwards or something.
"Master... why are you looking at me like that?" Li Qingran asked courageously.
"How can you be a girl?" Jiang Wen said with a sigh.
"... Master, could it be that you dislike women?" Li Qingran was a little flustered, not knowing what to do upon hearing Jiang Wen's words.
"It's not that. I've been treating you as a boy all this time, and I didn't expect you to be a girl. I didn't expect that I would misjudge things sometimes," Jiang Wen sighed. He hadn't used his divine sense just now, and he hadn't paid much attention to the boy's gender, so he was fooled.
Li Qingran couldn't help but laugh when she heard Jiang Wen's words, and the heart she was holding slowly relaxed.
She originally thought that the master disliked women, but she didn't expect that the master was lamenting that he had misjudged things.
She weighed it in her heart and respectfully said to Jiang Wen, "This little girl was just afraid of accidents on the road, so she pretended to be a boy, and never intended to hide it from Master."
"That's all right, let's talk about your mother's affairs first," Jiang Wen looked at her mother and younger brother.
At this moment, the younger brother was hiding beside his mother with some energy, looking at Jiang Wen timidly. The woman stood upright, displaying the demeanor of a wealthy lady.
Her face was charming, and her eyebrows and eyes were gentle. Probably because she had gained strength from eating the porridge, her spirit was much better than before, and she looked completely different.
Such a beautiful woman would be a rare beauty even in modern times. It would be no problem for her to be a star or something.
When the woman saw Jiang Wen looking over, she respectfully bowed to him. She said in a gentle voice, "Thank you, Master, for your life-saving grace just now. This concubine, Zhang Shi, is extremely grateful. Our mother and son have nothing to repay you, so please buy our mother and son as well."
"Mother! How can you do this! My younger brother will have to serve in the government in the future, how can you sell my brother as well," Li Qingran hurriedly spoke out to stop her upon hearing Zhang Shi's words.
The reason she was willing to sell herself was not only to provide her mother with a source of income, but also because she was a daughter and could not enter the officialdom. Her younger brother was now the only man in the family, and would bear the responsibility of revitalizing the family in the future, so how could he be sold to others as a servant.
"But Qing'er, how can Mother let you be someone else's maid alone... Mother can't bear to see you..." Zhang Shi said, and began to sob, causing Li Qingran to persuade her for a long time.
Jiang Wen watched the conversation between the mother and daughter, ate a few pieces of dim sum, and then asked, "I wonder if Madam can read?"
"Of course I can read," Zhang Shi stopped crying and answered Jiang Wen's words with a puzzled expression.
"Since Madam can read, why not stay and help me with things," Jiang Wen said with a smile. "I'm planning to open a shop, and I'm worried about not having someone who can read. Why don't Madam help me, and it can be considered a place to go?"
"But, but I don't know how..." Zhang Shi said timidly.
"These things are not difficult, Madam will learn after studying more. If there is anything you don't understand, you can ask me then," Jiang Wen said, and Zhang Shi no longer acted reserved and nodded in agreement.
Jiang Wen naturally wouldn't have unrealistic ideas about opening a shop. After coming to the Imperial Capital, he planned to leave a trading house in the Immortal Sect Gathering. After all, this was a place where Immortal Sects from all over the world gathered, and the Immortal Sect Gathering would only be more lively than Sucheng.
In the future, the things he obtained from refining pills and weapons could all be placed in it.
Li Yunshang and A Meng supported each other as they groped forward in the darkness.
Wiping the rain off her face, she looked at the faintly flickering lights at the end of the jungle, where the followers of the God-Worshipping Society were searching for their tracks.
The sound of magical artifacts clashing rang out in the distance, and from time to time, terrifying screams could be heard.
Feeling the rain soaking through her clothes, Li Yunshang simply took off her coat and put it over their heads.
"I say, good sister A Meng, if it weren't for wading into this muddy water with you, I would still be sleeping comfortably in the palace right now," Li Yunshang said with a pout. She shielded A Meng well with the clothes, leaving half of herself exposed to the heavy rain. Her eyes vigilantly watched the surrounding movements.
Fortunately, she was a cultivator, so even in the dark night, she could clearly see the surrounding environment.
"Sorry," A Meng leaned closer to her, hugging her chest and said softly.
"I didn't expect the situation to be so dangerous this time. Those people hiding in the mansion are probably not there for that thing."
"Of course, if they wanted to get that thing, they could have done it some time ago. Why would they drag it out until we came, and then run into us head-on?"
Li Yunshang nodded thoughtfully upon hearing A Meng's words. She thought of the scene when the God-Worshipping Society's disciples attacked them, it was clearly an ambush prepared in advance.
"You said, could it be that the Holy Emperor wants to..."
"If the Holy Emperor wanted to take it, why would he go to so much trouble?" A Meng asked in confusion.
"The God-Worshipping Society's disciples are so rampant, it must be because he is condoning them. My current situation is probably within his expectations as well," Li Yunshang said with a self-deprecating smile.
She cast a spell to block the rain, and the two of them huddled together to keep warm, quietly listening to the movements around them.
This Black Mountain Old Forest's weather was especially strange, and even the cold air was three points colder than usual. Even with cultivation, they couldn't help but feel a bone-chilling cold.
A Meng's voice was a little weak as she said, "These people are able to hide so deeply in the Imperial Capital, the person behind them is probably not simple, and they can even know our movements..."
"Then who do you think is the most suspicious?" Li Yunshang asked seriously. "How many people in the Imperial Capital are capable of doing these things?"
"If we're just talking about these things, only Big Brother Lu and Big Brother Su know. Being able to arrange an internal response in the Disciplinary Hall, the person who came is probably not simple," A Meng's eyes were obscure, and her tone carried a trace of anger. "Don't let me find out who it is, otherwise..."
"Could it be Senior Brother Lu?" Li Yunshang used her magic to dry her outer shirt, and then wiped the rain off her body.
She was glad that the Black Mountain was not in the dead of winter, otherwise it would be even more difficult to endure.
After drying the rain off her body, Li Yunshang handed the dried outer shirt to A Meng: "Wipe yourself."
A Meng hesitated for a while, but still reached out and took the outer shirt.
After all, the feeling of being wet all over was indeed a little uncomfortable for her.
"Thank you," A Meng said softly, taking off her own shirt and putting on the outer shirt.
Li Yunshang took out a fire talisman and lit it, using the faint light to look at A Meng beside her.
Her slender and well-proportioned back was facing her, and a long wound sharply cut open her smooth skin, like a terrible line drawn on a clean piece of paper, making people feel a little heartbroken.
"Tsk, we can be considered to have shared joys and sorrows, and gone through life and death together, right? If I were a man, I would definitely marry you, this beauty. By the way, how is your progress with Senior Brother Lu?" Li Yunshang said jokingly as she looked at A Meng.
She was always optimistic, and even in this situation, she didn't forget to comfort people.
Listening to the sound of the rain falling, Li Yunshang inexplicably thought of Jiang Wen again, and wondered how Taoist Priest Jiang was doing now.
A Meng's face flushed slightly when she heard Li Yunshang's words.
"I, I didn't. Senior Brother Lu and I are just..." A Meng said softly.
"Okay, okay. I know," Li Yunshang said with a smile. "You and Senior Brother Lu are just fellow disciples."
"Mm..." A Meng hummed softly, handing the outer shirt to Li Yunshang. "Here you go."
Li Yunshang took the outer shirt and put it away.
A Meng then said, "The person who did this should have nothing to do with Senior Brother Lu."
"How can you be so sure?" Li Yunshang asked curiously upon hearing A Meng's words. "You have to know that only Senior Brother Lu and Senior Brother Su know about our entering the Heavenly Que Palace to steal that thing."
"I know very well what kind of person Senior Brother Lu is. Even if he were to use this kind of method, he wouldn't do it himself," A Meng said calmly. "Senior Brother Lu is extremely cautious."
"Speaking of which, how are you and that Taoist Priest Jiang doing?" A Meng didn't want to talk about Lu Shiming anymore, and instead shifted the topic to Jiang Wen.
Li Yunshang sighed softly after hearing this, "Taoist Priest Jiang said he was coming to the Imperial Capital, what if he can't find me?"
"We still have to get rid of this group of God-Worshipping Society disciples as soon as possible, and then escape from this Black Mountain."
