Traveling Between Two Worlds: From Bread for Maids to Fantasy Overlord

As night deepened, the cave was quiet. Yang Xiu curled up on a pile of dry grass, sleeping soundly. The fear and exhaustion of the past few days had completely dissipated under the young master's protection. Her brows relaxed, and a faint smile played on her lips. Huang Yiming stood guard at the cave entrance. Having finished his body-refining exercises, he was wide awake, and the strength that filled him with confidence.

[Ding! This system is sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. Host's current strength: Peak Mortal (Early Stage of Body Refinement). Storage space has ample resources. It is recommended to take advantage of the night to plunder nearby abandoned bandit strongholds. This will allow you to obtain otherworldly silver, eliminate potential threats, and pick up some small treasures along the way. Don't dawdle, or there won't be any left.]

Huang Yiming's eyes sharpened, and he immediately stood up. His movements were swift and decisive, exuding an aura of ruthlessness that made Yang Xiu's eyes sparkle. But only he knew that his legs were still trembling slightly, the soreness from practicing the body-refining technique hadn't subsided, and he was holding himself together with sheer willpower, afraid that a moment's distraction would give him away. He touched the gun at his waist, silently praying: Please don't let anything happen, pretending to be a master is too tiring.

The system's prompt gave Huang Yiming a bright idea. The direction the three bandits had fled during the day must have led to a temporary stronghold. Rather than waiting to be killed, he should take the initiative and not only get some otherworldly currency but also find out more about the bandits. He quietly got up, covered Yang Xiu with a blanket, gripped his pistol and machete, and silently slipped out of the cave.

By the moonlight, he followed the footprints and bloodstains left by the bandits, groping his way westward through the forest. After walking about a mile, a dilapidated mountain stronghold came into view. Most of the wooden fence had collapsed, and the courtyard was littered with broken tables, chairs, and coarse clothing. It was deserted, clearly a temporary abandoned stronghold of the bandits, who had probably looted the refugees' shacks and temporarily left.

"Nobody here? Perfect!" Huang Yiming breathed a sigh of relief and immediately started scavenging. Like a treasure-hunting hamster, he ransacked every nook and cranny. Soon, he found a small bag of silver coins, a few bolts of coarse cloth, a few old weapons, and a pile of moldy grains. These things were worthless in modern times, but they were hard currency in this other world.

[Ding! This system is sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. Found 5 taels of silver, 3 bolts of coarse cloth, and 2 iron knives. A mediocre harvest. Host, keep up the good work, don't just pick up scraps. This is all you have to call it looting? Shameful!]

Huang Yiming rolled his eyes, but his hands didn't stop. He continued searching slowly and methodically, his posture as elegant as if he were appraising a treasure, showing no impatience whatsoever. In reality, he was frantically searching, wishing he could dismantle the entire stronghold to find the treasure, but he maintained a faint smile on his face, putting on an air of superiority who regarded money as dirt—the contrast was striking. Inside the hut was only a dilapidated wooden table, with weeds piled underneath. Huang Yiming casually parted the pile of weeds, and a splash of green immediately caught his eye—a small green grass, no bigger than a palm, was growing quietly, its leaves crystal clear and emitting a faint fragrance, completely out of place in its dilapidated surroundings.

[Ding! Low-grade spiritual herb found - Qi Condensation Grass, which can assist in cultivating body refining techniques, accelerate meridian unblocking, and improve cultivation efficiency. Its value far exceeds that of ordinary gold and silver. Host, you've hit the jackpot!] The system's voice rarely carried a hint of surprise, no longer the usual sarcastic remarks.

"A spiritual herb?!" Huang Yiming's eyes widened in surprise, and he was so excited he almost jumped up. This was a treasure for cultivating immortality, far more valuable than gold and silver! He carefully dug up the Qi Condensation Grass by the roots, wrapped it carefully in a cloth, and tucked it into his pocket like a precious treasure, afraid of damaging it in the slightest.

Just as he was about to leave, he caught a glimpse of a yellowed animal hide tucked into a drawer of the wooden table. Pulling it out, he found it was a simple map, marking the terrain of Black Wind Ridge, areas inhabited by monsters, and bandit lairs. In the most prominent position was a large castle drawing, with three characters written next to it—Qin Family Fortress.

Below the map was a line of smaller print, indicating that Qin Family Fortress was the largest mortal force in the vicinity, its lord Qin Cang was powerful, protected the surrounding refugees, and was irreconcilably opposed to the Black Wind Mountain bandits. Huang Yiming was overjoyed; this was like sending charcoal in snowy weather! Black Wind Ridge was fraught with danger, and Qin Family Fortress was undoubtedly an excellent foothold.

"I've struck it rich! Not only did I find a spiritual herb, but I also found a place to settle down!" Huang Yiming carefully put away the map, searched around again, but found nothing else of value, so he prepared to return to the cave.

Just as they reached the entrance to the mountain stronghold, a series of light footsteps approached. Huang Yiming's expression changed instantly. He immediately hid behind the wooden fence, gripping his pistol tightly and holding his breath. Two dark figures flashed past, muttering, "Hurry back to the stronghold and report! The second-in-command said that kid has a magical artifact; we must capture him and seize the treasure!"

Huang Yiming's heart sank: as expected, the bandits wouldn't give up easily, and the main force of Black Wind Stronghold would arrive soon. He dared not linger, turned around silently, and quickly headed back towards the cave, calculating in his mind that he had to leave Black Wind Ridge as soon as possible and head to Qin Family Fort.

When they returned to the cave, Yang Xiu was already awake. Seeing him, she immediately threw herself into his arms, her eyes red-rimmed: "Young Master, where did you go? Xiu Xiu was so scared." Huang Yiming patted her back and gently comforted her: "It's alright, Young Master went to find you some treasure. We'll be able to leave this horrible place soon."

He took out the Qi-Gathering Grass, pretended to be mysterious, and leaned close to Yang Xiu, lowering his voice: "Xiu Xiu, look, this is a magical herb that can make people stronger. With it, I can protect you for the rest of my life." Yang Xiu blinked her big eyes, staring at the spiritual herb with curiosity. Her little face was full of admiration. She nodded obediently, completely believing her young master's words.

[Ding! This system is sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. Host's boasting has been successful, and the maid's admiration level has increased by 20%. Friendly reminder: Don't just focus on flirting with girls. Mountain bandits may be chasing you at any time. Quickly pack your supplies and run away tonight. Don't wait until you're surrounded and crying. This system won't care about you then.]

Huang Yiming coughed lightly, put away the Qi-Gathering Grass, and patted Yang Xiu's head gently and calmly, showing his doting affection. In his heart, however, he was panicking, and his steps quickened. He calmly reassured her, "No rush, let's get ready before we leave. They're just a few bandits, they can't cause any trouble." In reality, he wished he could sprout wings and fly away from Black Wind Ridge immediately, fearing that if he was even a step too late, he would be surrounded by bandits.

Huang Yiming rolled his eyes at the system, then immediately packed up all the supplies, carefully put away the spiritual herbs and map, took Yang Xiu's hand, and under the cover of night, quietly set off towards Qin Family Fortress on the map.