Chapter 18: When Being a Thief, Leave a Way Out for Future Dealings

One month passed by.

The family of three, after a long and arduous journey, reached Xian City, the closest city to Tianxu Sect^[1]Sky Void Sect, before sunset.

With Xie Shen, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, escorting them, as long as they didn’t court death, they could have toured and played along the way at a leisurely pace.

But they couldn’t stop their daughter’s mischievous antics.

Xie Jiuniang stood facing the wind on their small flying boat, a string of storage pouches hanging from her waist. She gazed at the distant city with a solemn face full of ambition.

Tianxu Sect, here I come!

The once impoverished girl had achieved financial freedom after her path of underhanded dealings.

Clang, clang! The clashing of blades rang faintly in the distance.

A battle unfolding in the small woods ahead?

Xie Shen and Mo Lan instinctively glanced at their daughter, unsurprised to see her excited and eager expression.

They exchanged resigned looks. Was their obedient, sensible, soft and lovely daughter gone forever?

Xie Jiuniang went ahead to investigate while being as cautious as ever.

In the woods, three male Qi Refinement cultivators encircled a young woman.

The young woman fought mainly by throwing spirit talismans and smashing magic tools. Though lacking in combat experience compared to the three, she fought on par with the enemies by relying on her pay-to-win approach.

The young woman looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, slightly chubby, with apricot eyes and peach blossom cheeks. Adorned in luxurious jewelry and treasures, she appeared every bit the uncouth, nouveau-riche young mistress of a wealthy clan.

In fact, this young woman was Xie Jiuniang’s old acquaintance, surnamed Song with the given name Bao’er, the second young miss of the Song family of Rongsheng Commerce Chamber in the Northern Domain. In her previous life, she firmly held the throne of Lin Wangchen’s most loyal bootlicker.

Ever since Xie Jiuniang married Lin Wangchen, she had been constantly met with hostility and targeting from Song Bao’er.

For example, something Song Bao’er did in her previous life left Xie Jiuniang upset for over a hundred years.

The Song Clan rose to prominence by manufacturing large flying boats. Their flying boats were known for their high defense and speed in the cultivation world. What made the Song family even more famous was that they spent heavily to open up a safe flight route between important cities in various domains. A journey that usually took a year from the Northern Domain to the Eastern Domain only required a month on the Song family’s flying boats.

Yet in her previous life, Song Bao’er ordered a ban on Xie Jiuniang from boarding any Song Clan’s ships.

Xie Jiuniang had been cultivating in the sect and didn’t lack resources, so the impact wasn’t significant, but Song Bao’er’s move was especially disgusting…

At this moment, the battle ahead was nearing its end.

Song Bao’er ran out of spirit talismans and consecutively exploded more than a dozen magic tools. Before exhausting herself, she finally killed two people and forced one to flee injured.

“Phew, finally over,” Song Bao’er panted heavily, drenched in sweat from the life-or-death struggle. She survived a close call!

Just as Song Bao’er squatted down in front of a corpse, ready to pick up the storage bags on the ground.

Thwack! A blow struck the back of her head.

Song Bao’er collapsed unconscious, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Xie Jiuniang lowered the thick wooden staff she wielded with a cold smirk before calmly storing it away.

A successful sneak attack in one move!

Xie Shen and Mo Lan, who had just approached and witnessed this scene, were wide eyed.

Their daughter was previously keen on taking advantage of others, but almost always after others had ill intentions first. This time, their daughter broke from her usual style and actually took the initiative to strike?

Did their daughter have a grudge against the woman on the ground?

The couple thought of the biggest possibility—this woman was not a good person.

Xie Jiuniang stripped Song Bao’er clean, taking off even her belt, outer robe, and shoes, leaving only an inner garment and trousers.

As she reached to tear off the last of Song Bao’er’s clothes, Xie Shen’s eyelid twitched. “Daughter, when being a thief, leave a way out for future dealings.”

Xie Jiuniang, “…”

Father, why does it seem you’re quite happy with that quip?

Alright, she was an obedient child who listened to her father the most. She let go of the little hand tugging at Song Bao’er’s collar and took out a rope instead, tying the person up and hanging her on a big tree.

She patted the dust off her little hands, then Xie Jiuniang calmly said, “Father, Mother, let’s preserve the battle scene but erase our traces.”

The couple diverted their gazes and wordlessly began the clean-up.  

Xie Shen erased their footprints while Mo Lan scattered some powders to mask their scents.

Soon, the trio departed.  

Xie Jiuniang suggested they camp a few miles away beside a rocky stream instead of entering the city immediately. Her first priority was establishing defensive formations.

With the family safely ensconced within the formations, the thrilling moment arrived!

Xie Jiuniang rubbed her hands excitedly and handed Xie Shen a spatial ring—her spoils from Song Bao’er. “Father, your turn to open the blind box.”

“As you wish, daughter.” Xie Shen dispelled the spiritual tracing on the ring before peering into the spatial realm within. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Holy moly, oh Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable!”

Xie Jiuniang’s eyes lit up.

Song Bao’er was just a foolish young mistress who had recently run away from home…

Sure enough, the space contained a large amount of cultivation resources suitable for the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment stages.  

Setting aside pills, tools, talismans, and formations, even the sheer quantity of spiritual wines, liquids, rice, fruits, and vegetables stacked ten meters high and wide on wooden racks was an immense windfall.

With these resources, her mother’s path to Foundation Establishment was assured!

Additionally, over a hundred large wooden crates were piled in a corner filled with…spirit stones!  

Ten thousand spirit stones per crate!

A total of over a million?!  

Xie Jiuniang grinned from ear to ear. “We’ve struck it rich! Much more than our month of hard work.”

“With such immense wealth, she can’t be from an ordinary background. This may bring future troubles,” Xie Shen and Mo Lan worried.

Small fights and scuffles were fine, but if they provoked a behemoth, even the Xie family stepping forward couldn’t withstand it.

However, Xie Jiuniang already had a plan. “Father, Mother, don’t worry. We’ll discard anything that poses a risk, including this ring. Without evidence, who would suspect us?”

The discarded items held considerable value.  

Just this hundred-cubic-meter ring could fetch several million spirit stones if sold. But to live a long life, one mustn’t be greedy.

Anything with potential issues was sorted out and thrown into a spatial ring together.

Finally, Mo Lan said with reluctance, “Shen, it’s quite a pity to just throw them away like this.”

Xie Shen thought of his own father. “Why not send them back to Yunmu City? Let Father change its appearances…”

“Stop right there!” Xie Jiuniang didn’t want further complications. “Bury it! It must be buried today. Father, if you have any ideas, keep them discreet until this blows over.”

Mo Lan then asked, “Jiu’er, do you know that woman’s background?”

Xie Jiuniang replied honestly, “She’s from the Song Clan of the Northern Domain, the Song family of Rongsheng Commerce Chamber. I heard their clan has two Deity Transformation stage cultivators. The items I had you throw away all bore the Song family’s mark.”

Xie Shen and Mo Lan fell silent.

This time they had stirred up big trouble!

“The Song Clan is based in the Northern Domain. How did a young woman like her end up here?” Mo Lan asked with trepidation. “Could her Dao protectors be lurking nearby?”

Xie Shen had been paying attention to the surroundings. “I haven’t sensed any danger.”

Xie Jiuniang wasn’t concerned. “Rest assured, there isn’t. If there were, could we still be sitting here comfortably? Prestigious clans at least assign Golden Core experts as young disciples’ protectors.”

The Song Clan had intended for Song Bao’er to join the Sword Sect, but she found the life of a sword cultivator too arduous. In her previous life, she secretly boarded her clan’s flying ship and fled from the Northern Domain to the Eastern Domain. The Song Clan only tracked her down after she joined the Tianxu Sect.

Reassured by their daughter’s reasoning, the couple didn’t dwell further. Xie Shen went out briefly before returning with two wild rabbits and a pheasant, having buried the spatial ring somewhere.  

Mo Lan started a fire while Xie Jiuniang eagerly assisted.  

As cultivators with fasting pills, they didn’t need to eat, but Xie Jiuniang herself had cravings. While eating, she asked her father to keep an eye on Song Bao’er’s side.

In short, if there was no danger, just ignore her.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator’s spiritual sense could reach a radius of ten miles. The stone creek was only a few miles away from the small forest, so Xie Shen could check anytime he wanted.

“Hmm?”  Xie Shen paused mid-bite of the rabbit meat.  

Xie Jiuniang and Mo Lan looked at him inquisitively.

Xie Shen explained, “That young woman has woken up, but she’s in danger.”

“What?” Xie Jiuniang was surprised.

Mo Lan was also doubtful. “There shouldn’t be any demon beasts in the woods. No matter what, she’s a cultivator. The rope our daughter used to tie her is a cheap one she brought for a few spirit beads. A flicker of spiritual power could easily snap them.”

Xie Shen shook his head and laughed. “This young woman is a bit unlucky. Who would have thought the male cultivator who escaped earlier would return?”

This wasn’t just a bit unlucky.

It was very unlucky!

Song Bao’er probably regretted coming to the Eastern Domain at this moment.

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