Although Feihua Island was poor, the head of the main household was obviously rich and well-off.

     She was dressed in a bat-patterned gold satin robe made of the finest quality chiffon from Taxue Palace of Mount Kunlun. Her long black and white hair was tied up in a tight bun, adorned with jade beads and pearls. Her eyebrows were thickly drawn with the finest powder and her lips were painted a vivid red. Around her neck, she wore a pearl necklace, and from her ears hung two golden earrings inlaid with rubies the size of pigeon’s eggs.

     She was a woman in her fifties, and her youthful beauty was long gone. She had a slightly chubby body and a face full of wrinkles. She would have been fine if she had dressed simply, but she clearly thought that the more luxurious and expensive her clothes were, the more beautiful she would be. So instead, she was trapped in this pile of glittering pearls and jade, like an old turtle in red and green.

     The old turtle sat on half of the entire Feihua Island, and when she spoke, not even the village chief dared to make a sound.

     At this moment, the sun rose, and the old turtle with red flowers and green leaves came to the square. She sat in the red rosewood chair that was prepared for her and looked at the refugees from Linyi.

     “Why did you let them in?” She opened her painted eyelids and glanced at the village chief, “They didn’t even pay the silver taels, so why did you give them a place to stay? And what about the food? How much did they eat?”

     “Not much… They only ate the village’s leftovers, nothing more,” the village chief murmured.

     The old turtle snorted and said, “But you have to pay for it too. Wasn’t this rice and wheat grown on my land? This year’s harvest wasn’t good, so I even opened a warehouse to provide ten pounds of wheat flour and a pot of oil to every family on the island. I don’t mind giving it to you since we’re all family, but I’m afraid it’s not very nice of you to use my food to help the refugees from Linyi.”

     “Third Madam is right,” the village chief said apologetically. “But look, these little girls and old men are so pitiful in this cold weather. You’re so kind, so why don’t we just let it go?”

     The old turtle glared at him, “How can I let it go? Money is money.”

     Village chief: “...”

     “How much did each family give them to eat?” the old turtle asked. “I asked you to record it. Did you record it?”

     The village chief had no choice but to say, “Yes, I’ve got it down.” As he spoke, he handed over a small booklet to Madam Sun.

     Third Madam Sun raised her right hand with a clatter. On her right wrist alone she wore nine colorful bracelets made of gold, silver, and jade, covering almost half of her forearm.

     “Hmm.” She finished reading it lazily, took out a box of account books, counted with her fingers, and said, “You people are pigs, you really can eat. You really ate twenty-six steamed buns in just a short time. Our steamed buns are plump and sturdy, so it’s not too much to charge you ninety silvers.

     “In addition, you’ve also had half a tank of fresh water, which I brought back from Linyi. They sold one tank to me for three gold, and I have to account for the travel expenses, so I’ll sell it back to you for four gold. Half a tank is two gold, so that’s a total of two gold and ninety silver. Oh yeah, Zhang-jie.”

     Hearing her name, a kind-looking woman trembled and hurriedly replied, “Ah, yes Third Madam?”

     Third Madam Sun smiled and said, “Your family’s steamed buns are the best. When you knead the dough, you even put pork lard inside. They have to pay for that too.”

     “This… I only use one pea-sized grain of lard for ten steamed buns, how can you count them in?” the woman asked.

     “Why shouldn’t I?” Madam Sun scoffed. “Ten steamed buns have one pea-sized grain of lard. After conversion, I’ll charge you one copper coin. It’s not too much.”

     “...”

     “So that’s two gold, ninety silver, and one copper coin,” Madam Sun said. “In addition, you also slept in the houses on my land. Although the houses aren’t mine, the land is mine. You all slept for about one hour, so I’ll charge you seventy copper coins per person.”

     She turned to ask the village chief, “How many people are there in total?”

     “Forty nine in total,” he replied.

     Third Madam Sun tilted her head, “That’s not right. Wasn’t it fifty one? What about the other two?”

     Before she could start looking, she suddenly heard a gloomy voice, “Here.”

     Although Chu Wanning wasn't wearing a snow-white robe, but rather a deep moonlight robe, he still exuded an aura of frost and snow. His phoenix eyes were clear, but cold and proud, like a sharp unsheathed knife.

     Third Madam Sun was an ordinary person, yet she still wasn’t intimidated by cultivators. She had been working for a majority of her life, and although she was always critical over small details, she never committed any crimes.

     Therefore, she said unhurriedly, “So it’s a cultivator. No wonder you don’t need to sleep. You saved all these people, right? It’s good that you’re here, hurry and pay up.”

     The village chief whispered, “Third Madam, these two aren’t from Rufeng Sect, they’re xianjun from Sisheng Peak, you don’t have to be so—”

     “I don’t care what sect they’re from,” Madam Sun interrupted. “I recognize money, not people.”

     Chu Wanning glanced at the refugees huddled together and shivering in the cold. He raised his hand and cast a golden barrier to dispel the cold. He then turned his head and asked, “How much do you want?”

     Third Madam Sun replied, “Two gold, ninety-three silver, and four hundred and thirty-one copper.”

     Although Madam Sun was disgusting, they had nowhere else to go. Chu Wanning knew that if he offended her, he would implicate the people he brought with him. Therefore, although his expression was very cold, he still took out his money pouch and threw it to her.

     “There’s about eighty gold inside.” He had spent most of his money with Xue Zhengyong, so he really didn’t have much left. “We’ll need to stay for about seven days. You can count and see if it’s enough.”

     “It’s not enough,” Madam Sun said coldly.

     She would never personally count the money herself, so she handed the money pouch to her subordinates and let them count it on the side.

     “Eighty gold would only be enough for you to stay three days at most, and that’s not even counting the cost of food,” Third Madam Sun continued.

     “You—”

     “If xianjun isn’t convinced, I can go over it with you,” Madam Sun said. “A businessman knows how to calculate money, and I can tell you the reason for every single transaction.”

     At this time, Mo Ran had also rushed over. He didn’t have much money either; together with Chu Wanning, they barely had enough to feed and shelter fifty-two people for four days.

     Third Madam Sun put away the money and smiled with her bright red lips, “I’ll let you stay for four days. After that, if you don’t have the money, I don’t care if the fire has died down or not, all of you have to leave immediately.”

     In order to make the money last a little longer, Chu Wanning didn’t eat that night. He threw a messenger haitang into the river and tried to get in touch with Xue Zhengyong. Then, he returned to his room.

     This room was even more simple and modest than the one in Yuliang Village. Since there weren't many empty rooms on the island, everyone needed to squeeze in. Chu Wanning wasn’t used to sharing a room with strangers, so he could only share with Mo Ran.

     At this time, the lights in the room were on, but Mo Ran wasn’t there. He didn't know where he had gone.

     Chu Wanning took off his outer robe. Although it was luxurious, the material was no better than the snow-white robes he usually wore, and it was covered with ashes and bloodstains from the tribulation fire. He filled a wooden bucket with hot water, and was about to wash his robe when the door opened.

     Chu Wanning looked up and glanced at him, “Where did you go? You’re back so late.”

     Mo Ran walked into the room, carrying a bamboo food box. The wind was blowing strongly outside, and it was very cold, so Mo Ran tucked the food box in his arms and looked up. The tip of his nose was red from the cold. He smiled and said, “I went to Third Madam’s house to beg for food.”

     Chu Wanning was stunned, “You went to beg for food?”

     “Just kidding,” Mo Ran said. “I brought back some food.”

     “What did you bring?”

     “Steamed buns.” Mo Ran felt a little embarrassed, “There’s also a bowl of fish soup and a bowl of braised pork, but unfortunately, there’s no dessert. That Third Madam Sun has been keeping a close eye on me. Everyone in the village is afraid of her, so no one dared to give me anything. I went to her house and traded her a silver dagger I brought with me.”

     Chu Wanning frowned, “She’s too black-hearted. I know that silver dagger of yours, there are even spirit stones embedded in it. How could she trade it for so little?”

     “It wasn’t just for this,” Mo Ran said with a smile. “I bargained with her and exchanged it for fifty-two servings of food. Everyone has one, I watched the kitchen send it out. So Shizun, you don’t have to worry about the others, just eat.”

     Chu Wanning really was quite hungry. He sat at the table and ate several mouthfuls of the hot fish soup before picking up a steamed bun and munching on the braised pork.

     Third Madam Sun was stingy and didn’t give them much meat; even the little bit they did have was mostly fat. Chu Wanning didn’t like it, but the steamed bun dipped in the soup broth tasted pretty good. He ate one, then another.

     Mo Ran glanced at the steaming water and asked, “Shizun was going to wash the robe?”

     “Hmm.”

     “It’s just a robe, I’ll wash it for Shizun,” Mo Ran said.

     Chu Wanning looked up, “No need, I’ll do it by myself.”

     Mo Ran smiled, “It’s fine. I was just about to go wash mine too, that’s all.” As he spoke, he picked up Chu Wanning’s robe and went to the bed. He picked up a few pieces of his own clothing that he had previously thrown there earlier, and carried the wooden bucket out of the room.

     The moon was shining brightly in the courtyard. Mo Ran looked up and wondered how Xue Meng and his uncle were doing. He wondered where Ye Wangxi and Nangong Si had gone. The tribulation fire on the other side of the sea was still rolling like a tide of blood, burning day and night until smoke filled the sky.

     Song Qiutong, and… that person.

     The man he hated to the bone, and for whom, in his previous life, he had slaughtered the entire Rufeng Sect.

     He was probably already buried in the sea of fire.

     Mo Ran sighed and stopped thinking about it. He put down the bucket, added some cold water, and began to wash his clothes.

     Chu Wanning was a very methodical and meticulous person, especially when making mechs or writing scrolls. However, when it came to washing clothes and cooking, he was always a mess.

     For example, before Mo Ran completely immersed his clothes in the water, he would check his hidden pockets and qiankun pouch to prevent anything important from getting into the water. However, Chu Wanning often forgot to do this step.

     “...”

     Facing the pile of gadgets he took out of Chu Wanning’s robe, Mo Ran fell silent.

     What was all this?

     Haitang handkerchief.

     Seemed normal.

     All kinds of medicinal pills.

     Nothing odd with that either.

     A handful of candy...

     Mo Ran was speechless.

     He looked closer and realized that it seemed to be the milk candy he had bought for him in Yuliang Village.

     You haven’t finished them yet?

     Looking further, Mo Ran was shocked.

     …Explosive Talisman?

     Mo Ran’s face turned blue. He held the half-soaked talisman in his hand, terrified. Just how reckless was Chu Wanning? How could he just carry an explosive talisman on his body without any bindings? Although the possibility of igniting the talisman and causing it to explode was very low, this was just too dangerous…

     Mo Ran frowned and went through the robes once again from head to toe. He cleared out all of the explosive talismans, freezing talismans, and soul suppressing talismans. Just when he thought he had cleared all the talismans, he found the little Rising Dragon Talisman that had also been carelessly carried by Chu Wanning.

     Mo Ran sighed. If he didn’t check himself, all of these talismans would have been soaked through and become useless by now. Chu Wanning was really…

     Mo Ran shook his head helplessly, and thought to himself, From now on, I can’t let Shizun wash his clothes by himself.

     While he was thinking, a lotus-white object suddenly slipped out of a secret pocket. Mo Ran didn’t think too much of it, expecting it to be some sort of spell or talisman, and casually picked it up to glance at it.

     With just that one glance, he was stunned.

     It was an old brocade pouch embroidered with silk acacia flowers. The satin was faded, and the flower petals lost their color, no longer as bright as they had been before.

     Mo Ran was somewhat at a loss. He vaguely felt that this pouch was very familiar. He must have seen it somewhere before, but it had been so long that he couldn’t recall where.

     Mo Ran stroked the small silk pouch, his pitch-black brows tightly knitted as his eyes flashed with an uncertain light. His memories flew by one by one, and he tried to find the source of these blossoming acacia flowers in the rapid flow of time.

     A light, cool cloth, the color that had faded over time…

     He held it in his hand and looked at it carefully, turning it over and over, but he couldn’t remember. He was afraid it might contain something dangerous, like the other talismans he carried, so he opened it a crack and looked inside.

     “...”

     It was a strand of hair.

     No, when he looked carefully, it was actually two strands.

     They were tied together, wrapped around each other like a net, tightly knitted together. In the hurried passing of time, they had always been entwined together, accompanying one another. At first glance, one would think they were one strand, but in reality, it was two strands that had long since been inseparable.

     “Hair?”

     Mo Ran was in a daze, and an indistinct memory flashed before his eyes.

     He muttered, “Brocade pouch…”

     Suddenly, he remembered something. Immediately after, the memory exploded in his heart like a flame, burning his chest until it blazed fiercely. His eyes instantly widened in shock.

     Ghost Mistress of Ceremonies…

     He remembered.

     The golden boy and jade maiden… Butterfly Town… They made a toast, tied a knot, cut hair as an oath—he remembered…

     From then on, two lonely souls accompanied each other, never to be separated whether in life or death, heaven or hell.

     He… he remembered.

     He remembered!

     In Butterfly Town, when he and Chu Wanning were married in a ghost wedding, the golden boy and jade maiden cut two strands of their hair, placed them in the brocade pouch, and handed it to Chu Wanning.

     This was the brocade pouch.

     “How…”

     Mo Ran’s mind was buzzing as blood surged. He was stunned, “How is this possible…”

     His hands trembled slightly as he clutched the brocade pouch, his eyes flashing with shock, horror, disbelief, bewilderment, ecstasy, and even sorrow.

     Shizun… Chu Wanning…

     Why… Why did you keep this?