"Hmm? This little brat is still awake?"
Upon seeing the little beggar suddenly open his eyes, a man in black exclaimed.
The middle-aged man's expression changed drastically, and he shouted, "No, something's wrong, everyone retreat!"
As he shouted, he retreated backward. The other black-clothed men, who were at the Golden Core stage, didn't even have time to react.
However, even though he had reacted as quickly as possible, it was still too late.
The little beggar opened his mouth and spat out a mass of thick, emerald-green mist, which instantly enveloped all the black-clothed men, including the middle-aged man.
The dense mist only lasted for a few seconds before gradually dissipating. By then, all the black-clothed men had fallen to the ground.
The little beggar, with a smug look on his face, rummaged through the bodies of the black-clothed men.
After searching, he found about ten spirit stones.
After pocketing the spirit stones, the little beggar spat with disdain, "Bah, a bunch of paupers!"
With that, he picked up the middle-aged man's spiked mace and fled.
On the second floor of the restaurant, Chen Xiao witnessed the entire process.
He stroked his chin, a smile on his face, "This is interesting."
After speaking, he leaped down from the second floor, following the direction the little beggar had fled.
"Damn it, another one skipping out on the bill, stop right there!"
The waiter noticed someone jumping out of the window and immediately ran over. However, looking through the window, Chen Xiao was nowhere to be seen.
"Damn it, another month of wasted work, this is truly unlucky!"
The waiter cursed, then looked down, his eyes widening.
On the table where he had eaten a few bites of food and drink, lay a crystal-clear spirit stone.
The waiter was stunned. This single spirit stone was not only enough to pay for the meal, but it could also cover a month's worth of such wine and dishes with plenty to spare!
Meanwhile, after the little beggar fled, he blended into the crowd. Once he was sure no one was following him, he ran all the way, passed through the city gate, and exited the city.
After walking along a rugged dirt road for more than twenty minutes, the little beggar arrived at a dilapidated temple.
Inside the temple, there was a tattered cotton quilt, and a pile of bonfire had burned down to embers. Beside the bonfire, a broken pot and several broken bowls were placed.
It was clear that this was the little beggar's hideout.
Upon returning here, the little beggar immediately breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had returned home.
The mad dash and the previous escape had taken a toll on the little beggar's stamina. Golden Core stage cultivators' stamina was not much stronger than ordinary people.
So, once he had a moment, the little beggar lay down on the tattered quilt to rest.
After a short rest, seeing that the sky was getting late, the little beggar went out to catch a wild rabbit, gathered some dry firewood, and then returned to the dilapidated temple.
Skillfully skinning the wild rabbit, removing its innards, and cleaning it, the little beggar then threaded the rabbit onto a wooden stick.
He lit the bonfire and began to roast the rabbit.
The little beggar seemed to be starving. He couldn't wait to eat the rabbit even though it was half-cooked.
After a ravenous meal, the entire large, fat rabbit was consumed.
The little beggar, with a look of satisfaction, then took out his spoils for the day, which amounted to nine spirit stones.
"So poor, a dignified Nascent Soul cultivator, carrying only a few spirit stones. Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
The little beggar was not satisfied with the day's haul. He shook his head and sighed, then pried open a brick by the wall, took out a purse, and stuffed the nine spirit stones into it.
This purse, similar to the one Qing Lian had given Chen Xiao, was also a storage artifact.
After putting away the spirit stones, the little beggar was about to stuff the purse back into the wall when, at that moment, the purse suddenly flew up as if it had grown wings.
The little beggar was startled and found the purse floating in front of him. He immediately reached out to grab it.
However, just as he was about to grab the purse, it suddenly flew to the left, and he missed.
He tried to grab it again, and missed again.
After trying three times and missing each time, the little beggar finally realized something was wrong. He scanned his surroundings with his dark eyes and said with feigned casualness, "Stop messing around, who's playing tricks on me? I can see you, come out!"
"Hmph, you can see me? Who are you trying to fool?"
A voice full of disdain suddenly sounded beside the little beggar's ear.
"You, who are you?"
The little beggar was greatly alarmed, his eyes wide as saucers. "Stop playing tricks, dare you come out and face me!"
"What's there to not dare?" 138 reading net
Chen Xiao's figure slowly materialized in front of the little beggar.
He held the little beggar's purse and was smiling at the little beggar.
Of course, the little beggar couldn't see the smile. All he could see was a person in a black robe, whose face was hidden in a deep hood.
"You, who are you?"
The little beggar asked tremblingly, "Why are you trying to steal my spirit stones?"
"That's what I want to ask you, why are you trying to steal other people's spirit stones?"
A faint voice came from within the black robe.
"Are you from the Li family?"
The little beggar asked abruptly, then negated his own guess, "No, you're not from the Li family!"
"Since you're not from the Li family, then who are you..."
The little beggar feigned deep thought, thinking that by attracting Chen Xiao's attention, he suddenly opened his mouth and a stream of green smoke spewed out.
"Heh heh, I've always been the one stealing spirit stones, and now someone dares to steal from me. You're just unlucky..."
Before the dense smoke had dissipated, the little beggar became smug.
Then, the faint voice came from within the smoke: "Heh heh, you? Are you sure? Little girl, at your age, why are you stealing things?"
When the smoke cleared, Chen Xiao was still standing in the same spot. The poisonous mist of a mere Golden Core stage cultivator had no effect on him.
And this little beggar, though covered in dirt and as flat as a runway in the chest, was indeed a girl, of this Chen Xiao was absolutely certain.
"You, who exactly are you!"
The little beggar finally knew fear. "Forget it, I don't want to know who you are. Just take the spirit stones and leave, I don't want them anymore."
"What if I don't leave..."
Chen Xiao said indifferently.
"You, what else do you want?"
The little beggar crossed his arms in front of his chest, adopting a defensive posture.
"Don't worry, you're as flat as an asphalt road, I have no interest in you," Chen Xiao said teasingly.
Hearing this, the little beggar felt both relieved and angry.
Who was he calling flat? She just hadn't developed yet!
"Answer a few questions for me, and I'll return it to you."
Chen Xiao dangled the purse in his hand.
"Ask away."
The little beggar adopted a posture of "I am the fish, you are the knife."
"Who are the Li family members you just mentioned?" Chen Xiao asked.
"You don't even know the Li family of Zhenwu Town? You must be from out of town."
The little beggar sized up Chen Xiao. Seeing that Chen Xiao didn't reply, he continued, "The Li family is the local power in Zhenwu Town. Because the Li family produced a rare cultivation prodigy who was accepted as a disciple by the Zhenwu Sect, the Li family is protected by the Zhenwu Sect, and no one dares to provoke them."
"Then how dare you steal from their family?"
Chen Xiao had already guessed that the little beggar's spirit stones were stolen from the Li family.
"What's it to you?"
The little beggar rolled his eyes. "Besides, those spirit stones originally belonged to my family. I'm just taking back what's rightfully mine."
"Oh? What do you mean by that?" Chen Xiao pressed.
The little beggar glared at Chen Xiao impatiently. "Why are you asking so many questions? What does it have to do with you?"
"It has nothing to do with me, but if you don't tell me, I won't return the spirit stones to you, and I'll kill you... Oh right, rape then kill!"
Chen Xiao realized that saying this would have a greater deterrent effect on this grubby little girl.
As expected, the little beggar once again nervously protected his chest.
His expression flickered, and finally, he sighed and said, "Alas, forget it. You're just an outsider anyway, so it doesn't hurt to tell you. Although Zhenwu Town is under the jurisdiction of the Zhenwu Sect, in reality, the Zhenwu Sect is far away, and they have no control over this place."
"My surname is Su, and my given name is Meinan. Since ancient times, our Su family has lived in Zhenwu Town."
"Our family controlled a spirit stone mine near Zhenwu Town, so we were considered a prominent family in the town. Later, the Li family produced Li Bei Wu, a cultivation prodigy rarely seen in a century, who was taken as a personal disciple by the Sect Master of the Zhenwu Sect."
"The Li family's status rose accordingly, and they set their sights on the spirit stone mine. With the Zhenwu Sect as their backer, our Su family was naturally no match. In the end, all of my Su family members, from top to bottom, were killed by the Li family's swords, and the spirit stone mine was naturally seized."
"I'm done. Is that your story? Are you satisfied?"
The little beggar, Su Meinan, looked at Chen Xiao provocatively and asked.
Chen Xiao frowned. "You said your entire Su family was killed by the Li family's swords, so how are you still alive?"
"Actually, I've been dead for a long time..."
Su Meinan stuck out her tongue and said faintly, "The me now is actually a vengeful spirit,桀桀桀..."
Chen Xiao slapped her on the head. "Tell the truth, stop playing ghost games with me!"
Su Meinan rubbed the large lump on her head and gave Chen Xiao a resentful look. "Why else? Because I wasn't home at the time, you idiot!"
"I was cultivating at my sect at the time, so I escaped the disaster."
Chen Xiao sneered twice. "Heh heh, so now you plan to steal the Li family's spirit stones through petty theft?"
Hearing this, a look of despair appeared on Su Meinan's dusty face. She said mournfully, "I know this isn't a solution, it's just to annoy the Li family... But I have no other way. I'm just a girl, my talent isn't high, my skills aren't refined, and my sect wouldn't dare offend the Zhenwu Sect for me. What else can I do..."