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"By the way, Nuomi, what do you want to buy?"

At this moment, Chen Zhaoning turned to look at Nuomi, who was looking down, and asked curiously.

She remembered that when she left the cave, Nuomi had said that she wanted to come to the city to buy a lot of things.

"I think……"

Nuomi blinked, glanced at Chen Yuan and Li Wei, and whispered, "Sister Ning, I want to keep this a secret for now. If you find out, it won't be a surprise."

"Oh, I see." Li Wei chuckled. "Then we'll wait and see."

Chen Yuan smiled as well.

Chen Zhaoning smiled faintly, finding this precocious little girl quite interesting.

The group then strolled around the town, buying grains, oils, rice, and noodles along the way.

After eating wild game for days on end, everyone was already tired of it.

The group also bought an iron pot, which Li Wei carried on his back.

The group strolled around and around, their enthusiasm growing. The closer they got to the town center, the denser the crowds became, and the more lively the surroundings grew.

Amidst the bustling crowd, Chen Yuan suddenly turned around, his expression changing drastically: "Where's Nuomi?"

He turned to Li Wei beside him and asked urgently, "Weren't you the one holding her hand the whole time?"

"No, I thought you were the one holding her hand!"

Li Wei looked completely bewildered.

"Oh no, she must have gone shopping alone. This town is a mixed bag, and as a human child, she's easily bullied."

Chen Zhaoning's expression changed slightly. "Quickly, let's split up and search!"

The three of them immediately became anxious and began weaving through the crowd, searching for Nuomi's figure.

This place is inherently chaotic, and conflicts and fights are commonplace. If a human dies here, most bystanders will just watch coldly, treating it as a spectacle.

Because humans are the lowest of the low.

The three men's expressions grew increasingly grim.

Chen Zhaoning, already a cultivator at the Spirit Aperture Realm, was completely unaware that Nuomi had quietly left, and his heart was filled with doubt.

Only Chen Yuan felt a sinking feeling in his heart.

Uncle Lu was originally a zombie, and the origin of Nuomi was probably not simple either.

Even he often couldn't sense the scent of glutinous rice; that girl was sometimes like an invisible shadow.

The town wasn't big, and the three of them searched every street and alley, but still couldn't find any trace of Nuomi.

"What exactly does Nuomi want to buy? Why does she have to go alone in secret?"

Li Wei was both anxious and suspicious, his eyes filled with worry.

Looking at Chen Yuan and Li Wei's dirty, ill-fitting clothes, Chen Zhaoning suddenly said, "Let's go to a clothing store."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed, and he sighed helplessly, "Sigh, this silly girl."

……·······

There is only one clothing store in the whole town.

The shopkeeper had a small braid at the back of his head, but the rest of his hair was shaved off, and his forehead was shiny with oil.

Upon seeing Chen Yuan and the other two enter, he completely ignored the disheveled Chen Yuan and Li Wei, focusing his gaze on the distinguished Chen Zhaoning, and a smile spread across his face:

"Sir, what kind of clothes would you like to buy? Our shop has a full range of styles, and we also offer custom-made options."

"Have you ever seen an eight or nine-year-old girl come in? Shoulder-length short hair, round face, two dimples, her eyes curving into crescents when she smiles, and a pair of little tiger teeth showing."

Chen Zhaoning was filled with anxiety and quickly described what the glutinous rice looked like.

"Oh?"

The shopkeeper's eyes darted around, and his tone was impatient. "Sir, there are too many young women coming and going. I haven't seen the person you're talking about."

Chen Zhaoning's newly ignited hope instantly sank to the bottom.

Having spent many days together, she had already genuinely grown fond of this well-behaved little girl, and was now extremely anxious.

Chen Yuan had been keeping an eye on the shopkeeper ever since he entered.

Seeing that the other person's eyes were evasive, and after scanning the various parts of the store, he suddenly spotted a black cloth bag in a corner.

He quickly stepped forward and picked it up, his expression suddenly turning cold.

"This is a bag made of glutinous rice to hold money!"

Li Wei gasped in shock.

"Tell me, where is she?"

Chen Yuan gripped the cloth bag tightly, his eyes fixed on the shopkeeper.

"What do you mean, 'where'? You lowly servant, how dare you look at me like that? You have no idea how big of a hole you're in!"

Seeing Chen Yuan's tough attitude, the shopkeeper immediately became angry, speaking harshly and acting arrogantly.

In the Great Xiang Empire, those of the Manxiang clan, who were born into the beast race, have always been considered superior to others.

Chen Yuan's eyes were filled with a chilling light.

He recognized at a glance that this person belonged to the Tian Shu clan in the Manchu register.

Swish!

Chen Yuan's figure suddenly disappeared, and the next second he appeared in front of the shopkeeper.

He reached out and grabbed the other person's neck, lifting them into the air.

"Ah...you!"

Caught off guard, the shopkeeper was both shocked and furious. "How dare you lay a hand on me?"

"Where...is she!?"

Chen Yuan spoke slowly and deliberately, his eyes flashing with a chilling sharpness.

He slowly tightened his grip, and a cracking sound came from his neck joints.

The fear of death gripped his entire body, and the shopkeeper managed to squeeze out a sound from his throat:

"She...she was sold by me to the young master of the Wang family, Wang...Wang Cheng!"

"If you're so capable, go find him yourself!"

"Wang Cheng?" Chen Yuan frowned.

Threatened by the human boy who was choking him, the shopkeeper's expression grew increasingly ferocious:

"That's right, it's Wang Cheng, the eldest son of the Wang family in Shangang Town, and the son of the town's garrison commander!"

He was the local tyrant of this town; even the garrison commander and head of the law enforcement department of the neighboring Wuqiao town were his uncles!

Having said that, he said with a mocking smile, "Heh, do you think you dare to cause him trouble?"

Chen Yuan's expression was cold and stern.

He had previously killed Wang Feng at the Liu family's place, and now he had run into someone from the Wang family again. It was truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road!

Seeing Chen Yuan's uncertain expression, the shopkeeper chuckled.

"I advise you to be sensible. That little girl is already incredibly fortunate to have caught Young Master Wang Cheng's eye and become his maid. You should be grateful!"

"What a pity! Young Master Wang Cheng has always had a fondness for young children. This delicate little girl will probably be tormented to death!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Yuan's killing intent surged, and he increased the force in his hand.

"What...did...you...say?!"

Sensing the impending murderous intent, the shopkeeper panicked, but still roared defiantly:

"What? You want to kill me?!"

"You fucking dare to kill me!?"

You, a lowly human, have committed the grave crime of slaughtering Manchus, which has implicated your entire clan!

Not only you, your whole family will be buried with me!!!

The shopkeeper's bluster and arrogance stemmed entirely from the strict laws of the Great Xiang Empire!

Seeing this, Chen Zhaoning gently tugged at Chen Yuan's sleeve and whispered, "..."

"...A-Yuan".

boom!

Chen Yuan took a deep breath and suddenly slammed the shopkeeper to the ground.

"call--"

The suffocating feeling in his nose suddenly disappeared, and the shopkeeper collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath!

Seeing that Chen Yuan ultimately dared not make a move, his arrogance returned, and he pointed at Chen Yuan, cursing, "You son of a bitch, you lowly thing, how dare you lay a hand on me? I think you're tired of living!"

He then turned to glare at Chen Zhaoning and shouted sternly, "And you, for condoning your subordinates' violent acts, I'm going to fine you five hundred taels of silver a month, or I'll report you to the authorities!"

Upon hearing the words "monthly allowance," Chen Yuan's gaze turned cold. "You also robbed that child of his money?!"

"What do you mean by robbery? The moment she stepped into my shop, she defiled my territory!"

That silver was compensation she gave me!

The shopkeeper shouted arrogantly, his expression extremely ferocious.

As he spoke, he looked Chen Yuan and Li Wei up and down, a mocking expression on his face: "So you two are the two brothers that little slut was talking about?"

"You're dressed so sloppily, you really need to get some new clothes. No wonder she was clinging to Yueyin so tightly, saying she wanted to give you both money to buy new clothes. Damn it, I had to slap her a few times before she'd let go!"

These words were like a bolt from the blue, leaving Chen Yuan and Li Wei stunned.

Their eyes suddenly narrowed and became bloodshot, and their hearts felt as if they had been violently clenched!

"Isn't this girl always saving money to treat her father's illness? How come she's willing to give us money to buy clothes..."

Li Wei murmured softly, his nose tingling and his throat feeling constricted.

"Ah Yuan, we must rescue Nuomi no matter what. She's been so kind to us."

Li Wei's voice trembled, and his eyes were red-rimmed. "That Wang Cheng is a beast! Nuomi is still a child. We absolutely cannot let her suffer such a terrible fate!"

The chill around Chen Yuan grew stronger and stronger.

He detested these evil people who harmed children.

Seeing the two girls' furious expressions, the shopkeeper's expression grew even more sinister. He then looked at Chen Zhaoning and provoked her, saying, "Miss, in my opinion, this girl probably stole your money to dare to buy clothes for these two poor bastards."

If you don't severely punish these two servants, won't you be diminishing your own authority?

To his surprise, Chen Zhaoning ignored the provocation and coldly ordered, "Hand over the silver on that child."

"Hmph, that silver is already mine..."

The shopkeeper snorted coldly, but before he could finish speaking, Chen Yuan had already lost his patience and stomped hard on his neck!

Click!

With a sharp crack, the shopkeeper's neck was broken on the spot!

He died instantly, his eyes wide open, unable to believe even in death that such a lowly wretch dared to openly kill him, a man of Manchu rank.

"Awei, retrieve Nuomi's money from this shop, then go back to the cave and find her father, Lu Chengfeng."

Chen Yuan looked at Li Wei and immediately instructed, "Just say that his daughter Nuomi has had an accident and ask him to come and help."

"And...and what about you guys?"

Li Wei's expression changed slightly.

He was genuinely afraid to go back and find Nuomi's father alone.

Chen Yuan turned to Chen Zhaoning, his expression menacing, and said, "Let's go and meet this young master Wang Cheng!"

"good!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Zhaoning immediately followed Chen Yuan out of the clothing shop.

On the other side, Li Wei searched around the shop and found hundreds of moon silver coins and tens of thousands of star copper coins, which immediately made his eyes light up.

"Wow, Nuomi's money has actually increased."

He grinned and quickly picked out a few pieces of clothing that suited him and Chen Yuan in the store, then hurriedly packed them away.

Then, he looked at the corpse of the dead shop owner and was surprised to find that it had turned into a rat the size of a bucket. He couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

"He's nothing but a beast, yet he dares to call himself a noble Manchu? Bah!"

Li Wei kicked the dead rat, then suddenly exclaimed "Huh?" and found a token on its body.

The token is engraved with the two characters "Manxiang".

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