Chapter 78

78 Merit

Fifteen minutes later, Hong Luan and Su Xiaoxiao came out of the forest one after another.

Hong Luan presented the things she had found to Jing Yi with both hands. “Please take a look, Young Marquis.”

Jing Yi opened the handkerchief and took a look. “Pancake?”

“Yes,” Hong Luan said. “I only found this.”

Jing Yi looked coldly at the two black-clothed guards at the side.

The two of them frowned!

The square-faced man said, “Young Marquis, I really saw it! It’s indeed what we’ve been looking for!”

“What about you?” Jing Yi asked another person.

Another person recalled carefully and said, “It looks like it to me.”

Hong Luan was unhappy. “What do you mean? Are you suspecting that I missed it, or are you suspecting that I’m protecting her?”

Hong Luan was a hidden guard and was good at qinggong and concealment. Her vigilance and meticulousness were not something ordinary experts could compare to.

She did not care what these two fellows had seen. In short, she had searched inside and out. There was indeed nothing suspicious on that little village girl.

Jing Yi broke open the pastry.

It was just a pancake. There was nothing hidden.

The square-faced man was very puzzled. “I did see her put it in her pocket...”

Hong Luan said indifferently, “Perhaps you saw wrongly. It’s just a biscuit.”

The square-faced man opened his mouth. “I... ”

Hong Luan snorted. “If you don’t believe me, go search again!”

Hong Luan was not speaking up for Su Xiaoxiao. She firmly believed that her search methods would not miss any blind spots.

Jing Yi also believed in Hong Luan’s ability. If the item was really on Miss Su, it was impossible for Hong Luan not to find it. As for protecting Miss Su, it was even more impossible.

Jing Yi waited for Su Xiaoxiao to come out after putting on her clothes and personally apologized to her.

Su Xiaoxiao said angrily, “To think that I thought we were friends, but you don’t trust me at all. Thinking about it, it’s not strange. You’re the Young Marquis, and I’m just a small village girl. You’re out of my league! Goodbye!”

With that, Su Xiaoxiao left without looking back.

Jing Yi wanted to say something but hesitated. He looked at the broken pancake in his hand and pinched the brocade bag in his left hand that he had not given away in time. His expression darkened.

—

Su Xiaoxiao kept walking back. After confirming that she was far away from Jing Yi and the others’ line of sight, her tense body finally relaxed.

She let out a long breath.

It was too dangerous. Jing Yi looked like a high school student in her previous life. She didn’t expect him to be so calm and meticulous.

She was not really angry with Jing Yi, but if she did not appear so angry, she would appear very suspicious.

She thought that she would definitely be exposed this time, but at the critical moment, the pharmacy appeared.

Although it was only for an instant, it was enough for her to put the token in.

In Hong Luan’s opinion, she only clutched her chest and felt dizzy for a moment.

Hong Luan asked her what was wrong.

She said to Hong Luan, “I didn’t eat breakfast and went to town for a consultation. I was so hungry that I almost fainted! It wasn’t easy for me to bring a pancake, but you treated it as stolen goods!”

With that, she successfully deceived the world.

....

She had got off unscathed and the pharmacy had contributed.

Speaking of which, she had entered the pharmacy a total of four times.

The first time was to treat Wei Ting’s injuries. The second time was to treat Young Master Xiang’s lung disease. She also gave Father Su a bottle of bone-strengthening pills. The third time was to save Aunt Fu.

The fourth time was just now.

Could it be that... the trigger condition of the pharmacy was an emergency? What was the criteria to be met?

Initially, she thought that the pharmacy might only appear when there was an medical emergency situation, but how could she explain what happened today?

Too many doubts flashed across her mind. Su Xiaoxiao felt that she had to figure it out.

Not only because it was supernatural, but also because it was her only remaining connection to that world.

Perhaps one day, she could return to that world through it.

Assuming her body wasn’t cremated...

After arriving home, Su Xiaoxiao plunged into her room and began to study how to enter the pharmacy.

“The first two times, I was confused, like Zhu Bajie eating a ginseng fruit. I came out with the medicine without realizing it. I had a strong desire to enter that time, but I also tried a few times-”

“What are you muttering about?”

Wei Ting’s voice suddenly sounded at the door.

Su Xiaoxiao trembled and turned to him with a dark expression. “Why are you eavesdropping on me?”

Wei Ting knocked on the door indifferently. “The door is open.”

Su Xiaoxiao was speechless.

Su Xiaoxiao secretly stuffed the small shovel under the bed and said, “I didn’t dig up your treasure!”

Wei Ting looked at her deeply and said coldly, “Ergou called you.”

“Sister! Sister!”

Su Ergou called him Sister at the entrance of the village. The entire village heard him. It was obvious how distracted Su Xiaoxiao was just now.

Wei Ting naturally did not know what had happened on the official road. He looked at the shovel that was exposed and said mockingly, “Looks like you’re very disappointed that you didn’t dig it up.”

Su Xiaoxiao glared at him. “One day, I’ll dig it up!”

Su Xiaoxiao went to the village entrance and found the anxious Su Ergou. “What’s wrong?”

Su Ergou said anxiously, “Dahu, Erhu, and Xiaohu are missing!”

Su Xiaoxiao said, “Why didn’t you see them? Tell me properly.”

Su Ergou scratched his ears and cheeks. “It’s... it was time for dinner. I asked them to go back for dinner. Coincidentally, Zhu Zi came over to fetch water. We chatted for a while, but when we turned around, they were gone!”

Su Xiaoxiao sighed. “Got it. I’ll go find them. You can go back first.”

The little fellows must not want to be caught by Su Ergou and went into hiding again.

Su Xiaoxiao was right. The three little ones were indeed hiding and playing hide-and-seek with their uncle. They would only returned with their uncle after he found them.

The safety range of the three of them had gradually expanded from their house and Liu Shan’s house next door to an entire row of villages.

In other words, they were getting bolder.

The three of them hid in a small woodpile behind the Su family’s kitchen.

These were wood that were cut before the snow. They were intended for repairing the house, but because the weather was bad, they could only be put aside for now.

The older children could not get in. The three of them were young and could get in one at a time.

The three of them squatted in the firewood pile for a while, but Uncle Ergou did not come. They ran out again.

Coincidentally, Su Jinniang pushed the door open to pour water away.

She saw the three little ones next to the firewood pile at a glance.

The three of them were wearing thick cotton-padded jackets with blue hoods over them.

Fatty Su had worn these when she was young and Father Su had taken them out to put on the three little ones.

This way, it didn’t matter if they were dirty after playing. They just had to change their clothes every day.

The three of them were cute. Their eyes were big and their eyelashes were long. There was no child in the village who was more beautiful than them.

Nor in town.

At least, Su Jinniang had never seen any.

Su Jinniang knew that they were Wei Ting’s children.

She poured away the water, put down the wooden basin, and came to the three of them. She bent down and gently patted the snow on their clothes.

The three of them looked at her with wide black eyes.

Su Jinniang smiled gently and said, “Aren’t you afraid of freezing on such a cold day? Do you want to come in and warm yourself by the fire?”