From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

On the bed in the stone house, Chen Shi sat cross-legged with his palms facing upwards.

As the sunlight shone through the cracks in the rocks onto his face, his brows twitched slightly before he opened his eyes.

Glancing at the yellowed booklet spread out beside him, Chen Shi was surprised. He had actually managed to enter a meditative state all night by practicing the methods recorded inside.

Entering a meditative state for a night is nothing special, but he has only been practicing for a few days.

Moreover, upon waking up, I felt not tired at all, but rather refreshed and invigorated.

As dawn broke, the noise outside grew louder. Chen Shi closed the booklet, tucked it into his pocket, and got up to leave the stone house.

"Return home!"

As the hour of Chen (7-9 AM) was about to pass, everyone finished breakfast and tidied up. Then, Steward Sun gave a loud shout.

As the twelfth lunar month ended and the north winds in the mountains subsided, this year's treasure hunt also came to a close, and members of the search teams gradually emerged from the mountains.

Today is the third day of the first lunar month. We've been waiting at the camp for three more days. Almost everyone who was supposed to come back has returned. As for those who haven't come back yet, I guess they won't be able to.

As is customary, everyone returned home.

More than a dozen carriages were fully loaded with everyday utensils such as pots and pans, as well as boxes of various sizes containing rare and precious materials, and materials cut from the corpses of exotic beasts.

As a result, these carriages could no longer carry people, and those who had arrived in these carriages could only follow the procession.

But Steward Sun was among them, along with three other carriages specifically for carrying people. Steward Sun originally owned one, but presumably he gave it to Gu Hanying.

"So little..."

Chen Shi silently followed in the group, glancing around and roughly counting. Apart from the logistics personnel, the search team originally had nearly a hundred people, but now there were only twenty or so left.

Including Jia Shun, about seventy people remained forever on Yongqiu Mountain.

With a mortality rate of 60-70%, the danger of searching for treasure in the mountains is indeed well-deserved.

Thinking of this, Chen Shi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, feeling as if he had survived a disaster.

And that's exactly what happened.

Fortunately, the danger has passed, so we can relax now and just keep our heads down and continue on our way.

When it was time to rest in the evening, Chen Shi meditated and entered a meditative state according to the booklet.

Seven or eight days passed in a flash. That afternoon, after a month and a half, the group finally returned to Yongqiu City.

"Everyone has had a hard time on this trip. Take three days off and go home to rest."

After entering the city, Steward Sun addressed the group.

Everyone was overjoyed and quickly expressed their gratitude.

Everyone involved in the search team, as well as the logistics team, was exhausted after this trip.

Next, the coachman drove the carriage back to the Marquis's residence, and the rest of the people dispersed.

Chen Shi was extremely anxious and ran back to Sweetwater Lane.

As dusk fell, the courtyard gate was tightly shut, with the bolt inserted from the inside.

Before Chen Shi left the city, Cui Nong prepared plenty of firewood, rice, meat and vegetables. After Chen Shi left the city, she kept the courtyard gate tightly closed and never stepped out of the inner gate.

Just as Chen Shi was about to knock on the door, he suddenly stopped, smiled slightly, and jumped over the wall into the courtyard.

He wanted to give Cui Nong a surprise.

The door was ajar. Chen Shi gently pushed it open, but Cui Nong was not visible in the outer room.

She tiptoed to the door of the inner room, gently lifted the curtain, and saw Cui Nong lying on the bed, her face bare of makeup, her hair haphazardly piled on the pillow, fast asleep.

As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Looking at Cui Nong's sleeping face, Chen Shi couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

She quietly walked to the bedside and then suddenly pounced on it.

"……ah!"

Cui Nong was startled awake from her sleep and screamed, struggling instinctively.

But she only felt a tremendous force flip her over, pressing her face down on the bed. When she tried to push him away, she was instead gripped tightly from behind.

"Let me go! You bastard! Let me go right now!"

She could tell that the other person was a man. Cui Nong panicked and struggled while cursing loudly, trying to turn around to look.

But then, the other person pressed her head down onto the pillow, making it impossible for her to turn over.

That makes sense; thieves, fearing being identified, will try every means to prevent others from seeing their faces.

But then, the other person grabbed both of her wrists with one hand, and with the other hand, began to unbutton her floral cotton-padded jacket.

"don't want!"

Cui Nong was instantly terrified and struggled desperately while shouting.

"Please don't touch me! I'll give you silver! How much silver do you want? I'll give you anything!"

But the other party wouldn't listen at all and skillfully unbuttoned her clothes.

"I'm going to kill you!"

A wave of humiliation washed over her, and Cui Nong's eyes widened as she let out a hysterical roar.

But she couldn't move at all, so how could she resist?

Just when Cui Nong was at her wit's end, the other party suddenly stopped.

Cui Nong was startled, and then she came to her senses. Yes, ever since Chen Shi left the city, she had been wearing those iron underpants day and night.

Originally, it was done partly to appease Gu Chengze's maids and servants who were questioning her, and partly to ensure Chen Shi's chastity. Unexpectedly, it actually came in very handy this time.

Although she has been humiliated, all she wants now is to preserve her innocence.

"snort."

But the next moment, the other person let out a soft groan. Reaching out, they fumbled under the covers and pulled out a key.

"How could that be!"

How did he know the key was here?!

Cui Nong's eyes widened, and in an instant, her heart turned to ashes.

With a click, the lock opened.

"……No!"

Cui Nong gasped again, her eyes widening as they gradually opened, and then in an instant, all the light in her eyes dimmed.

"Chen Lang, I'm so sorry."

She muttered something to herself, and the next moment, Cui Nong bit her tongue hard.

Since she has already lost her innocence, the only way for her to prove her innocence is through death.

Cui Nong came from a poor family and originally thought that her life would at most be that of a concubine in a wealthy family, and then she would live out her days in misery. Unexpectedly, she met Chen Shi. Although Chen Shi was just a servant, he made her feel a sense of belonging and security that she had never experienced before.

From then on, she regarded Chen Shi as her husband and devoted herself entirely to him.

"Ouch!"

The next moment, the person behind him let out a scream.

Cui Nong was startled when the other person actually put their hand into her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue.

A fierce glint flashed in Cui Nong's eyes, and then she bit down with all her might.

She wanted to bite off a piece of this villain's flesh and break his bones.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Sister Cui Nong, let go!"

Cui Nong bit down hard, seemingly about to tear the flesh off. Chen Shi dared not joke anymore and quickly spoke up.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Cui Nong was startled. He opened his mouth and turned his head, only to see Chen Shi looking at him with a playful expression.

"you……"

Upon seeing that it was Chen Shi, Cui Nong's tears fell like broken beads in the next moment.

"Sister Cui Nong! I was just kidding, don't cry, don't cry."

Chen Shi panicked for a moment, frantically wiping away Cui Nong's tears while looking ashamed. It seemed he had gone too far.

"Thank goodness, you're alright."

Cui Nong opened her mouth, bursting into tears of joy.

Chen Shi was taken aback, then couldn't help but smile. It turned out that Cui Nong wasn't angry at him for being silly, but rather happy that he had returned safely.

Immediately afterwards, Cui Nong wrapped her arms around Chen Shi's neck from behind, holding him tightly against her back.

"Take good care of me."

"Um."

Chen Shi responded and hugged Cui Nong tightly as well.