“Here we go again!”
Nanan was instantly delighted. She looked around. Then, she thought about something. She put on a necklace made of gold.
She hid behind Li Nianfan like an innocent girl. She also rattled her golden bells in her hands. It chimed. She looked like she was not aware of evil forces in the realm.
Li Nianfan was speechless. ‘Here we go again. The test of humanity.’
His mind was miles away. He felt like it was very much like the test of the River God.
‘Brave adventurer, did you drop this silver ax or this gold ax?’
Clop clop.
The horse was getting closer.
Nanan and Li Nianfan were both energetic. They felt the excitement of waiting for the fish to take the bait.
Finally, an army of people slowly walked out of the woods.
They were a small pack of traders. They did not have a lot of goods. They had two horse carriages in total. There were twelve people with simple clothing. A young man led the caravan. He sat on top of the goods in the horse carriage. He seemed a bit extravagant.
The others were riding on horses. Some were guarding the goods with longswords or machetes. It felt very martial-artsy.
Li Nianfan was not intimidated at all. He looked at them like how he watched television.
“Halt!”
The traders naturally saw Li Nianfan and Nanan. The young man on the horse carriage immediately stopped the horses by raising his hand.
Clang!
Nanan acted like she was startled. She ‘accidentally’ dropped her gold coins. It was very flashy.
The traders stared and breathed fast. They went silent.
“Excuse me, I have too much money,” said Nanan apologetically. “Can you guys help me pick it up?”
“Cough. All…aright.”
The young man on the horse carriage coughed softly to cover up his awkwardness. Then, he leaped from the horse carriage and picked up the gold coins on the floor.
He realized the gold coins were heavier than he imagined. His eyes were teary after picking them up. ‘Darn, can’t believe this is my richest moment in life.’
“Here.”
The young man struggled to give Nanan her gold coins back.
‘Yo, he returned the coins.’
Li Nianfan was impressed by the young man. Nanan rolled her eyes. He had passed the first test, which meant he was a nice young man.
Li Nianfan saluted. He smiled and said, “Thanks, bro.”
“Ha. You’re in the middle of the woods. Aren’t you worried that you’ll attract trouble by all the accessorizing?”
The young man sounded jealous. Their gold accessories were blinding as he got closer. He gulped. Then, he said, “Thankfully, you ran into me, a righteous warrior! Otherwise, you would’ve been dead!”
Li Nianfan smiled and said, “Sorry. My sister’s immature. She likes being flashy with gold accessories.”
The young man twitched. He had to glance at the Golden Purple Gourd on Li Nianfan.
‘Do you think your sister is the only immature one?
‘Your Golden Purple Gourd is sparkling. It must be very expensive. You’re wearing it on your belt like that. You’re no better than your sister!’
Nanan suddenly sighed and said, “We used to be rich but things are different now. We have to escape with our family’s fortune. We have no one to depend on. I’m afraid no one would realize even if we died in the middle of nowhere.”
She was not being subtle about it. In translation, ‘We’re rich and vulnerable. No one will look for us so feel free to rob us.’
The young man had to glance at them. He secretly cursed them out.
‘Escaping with such flashy accessories? These two are truly rich folks. They had never experienced hardship before!
‘They talk like they are stupid, too.’
The young man shook his head. He asked, “May I know where you’re heading to?”
Li Nianfan smiled and replied, “Gaolao Village.”
“I think you meant Gaojia Village.”
The young man rolled his eyes. He smiled and said, “It’s quite far from here. The two of you won’t make it. I’m afraid it’d be more difficult than flying for you two. My caravan can drop you two off.”
Li Nianfan said, “Thanks, buddy.”
“But it’d be like an escort service. Hehe, you have to…”
Li Nianfan laughed, “How much?”
The young man thought about it and gestured with three fingers. “Three gold coins.”
“There will be danger on the way. You two can sit in the horse carriages so you don’t have to walk. More importantly, we also provide food. It’s not expensive, right?”
The young man felt kind of guilty.
“Not expensive.”
Li Nianfan shook his head. “Nanan, pay them.”
“Generous, bro. Please, after you!” The young man instantly became friendly. He smiled and introduced himself, “I’m Ye Huaian. Feel free to order me around. We’ll charge extra for anything out of our escort services.”
At that moment, Li Nianfan and Nanan were his rich clients. They were rich and also knew how to spend money.
‘Three gold coins, man. If I have rich clients like that every day, why would I trade goods for a living?’
Li Nianfan nodded. “Alright. I’m Li Nianfan.”
Li Nianfan and Nanan sat on a wagon at the back. It felt nice, like a convertible car.
Nanan felt kind of disappointed. She felt like her chance for a performance was snatched away from her. She complained, “Brother, do you think that Ye Huaian’s putting up a front? Is he going to take us somewhere quiet before robbing us?”
“Enough. Do you not allow kind people to exist in this realm? We finally met someone with principles. He’s quite nice.”
Li Nianfan laughed and stretched. He laid on the wagon as the horse carriage slightly stumbled. He looked at the passing trees and the blue sky. He let his mind wander.
They had been walking for so many days. It was time to relax their feet.
He casually asked, “Oh yeah, Nanan, can you tell what their cultivation level is?”
Nanan pouted, “The best one’s at the peak of Qi Refining. They have no foundation.”
Li Nianfan burst out laughing. Qi Refining was for beginner cultivators.
Meanwhile.
Ye Huaian and the others sat together. They glanced at Li Nianfan from time to time. They felt a mix of emotions.
A fatty had to ask, “Why’s God so unfair? Why are the siblings so rich?”
“Yeah. They look like they aren’t as smart as our leader. They don’t deserve to be rich.”
“Alright. They were blessed because of their ancestors. Stop being jealous.” Ye Huaian looked at the three gold coins in his hand. He placed them in his mouth and bit hard. He smiled and said, “We are not too shabby either. Three gold coins for an escort!”
“Huaian, three gold coins are nothing to those rich folks!” the fatty whispered. “How about we do something big? At least ask for ten gold coins!”
The gold coins were far more valuable than the goods they were transporting.
Ye Huaian slapped the fatty on the head, “Something big, my foot! We’re traders, not robbers. The three gold coins are worth three trips!”
He had to look at Li Nianfan who was at the back. “But the siblings are so naïve. How could they fall asleep?”
The caravan slowly moved on.
Half an hour passed. Li Nianfan barely woke up.
Ye Huaian noticed it. He immediately passed the water bottle. He smiled and asked, “Boss, you’re awake. Do you need to drink some water?”
He called him boss.
Li Nianfan laughed and slapped his wine gourd. “No thanks, I have my own beverage.”
“Are you a wine fan, boss? Is it better than the brew in Qingfeng Inn?”
Ye Huaian was delighted. He became a promoter, “To be honest with you, I have traveled the realm for many years. I think the Qingfeng Inn’s wine is the best. Too bad that it’s expensive. Do you want to try it? I can sell you some.”
“My casual brew isn’t comparable to that. But…no thanks.” Li Nianfan smiled and shook his head.
The young man loved money but he was not unethical.
However, he did not want Ye Huaian to drink his wine at the moment.
First of all, they were strangers. He did not want to befriend him. Second of all, he was confident in his food. Maybe the traders resisted the temptation of money but they could not resist the temptation of delicious food. It would be ridiculous if they forced him to give them his wine.
It was entirely possible.
Li Nianfan was not scared of them but he did not want unnecessary trouble. He did not have a weird fetish like Nanan.
He would treat them to a drink later.
Ye Huaian felt slightly disappointed. “Nevermind then.”
Then, they chatted.
Ye Huaian was a traveller. He knew a lot of interesting things. He was extremely chatty and had a sense of humor, too.
Li Nianfan knew two types of people. One was pure ordinary people. The other one was cultivators from cultivation sects, mostly respectable elites. He did not know any random cultivators. He listened to the experiences of Ye Huaian and felt slightly sentimental.
Those cultivators lacked resources. They were either lucky enough to become cultivators, or they were separated from their cultivation sects due to various reasons. They were ordinary cultivators. They earned more than ordinary people but they were living in danger.
It was a hard-knock life.
Ye Huaian asked curiously, “Boss, why do you want to go to Gaolao Village?”
Li Nianfan casually replied, “Because it’s famous.”
“Have you read ‘Journey to the West’, too?”
Ye Huaian said, “Speaking of that, Gaojia Village became famous, too. They say it’s basically Gaolao Village. I wonder if it’s true.”
