Chapter 42 Take All Back
When the night just came, Su Li took the brother and sister to the restaurant. The anxious Shopkeeper Wu was relieved and said, “Miss, you finally come back. Why did you spend such a long time?”
Then Shopkeeper Wu’s eye sight skipped the Second Miss and fell onto Fang Yuan. The shopkeeper looked serious and scolded, “Fang Yuan, how could you lead the Second Miss to the South Street? If the Second Miss were in danger, could you take the responsibility?”
Fang Yuan’s eyes flashed with some complexities, but he said nothing and looked at Su Li.
Su Li waved her hand and whispered, “Do not blame Fang Yuan. It’s my fault. Fang Yuan’s sister caught a cold, so I took her to the Baicao Tang. It cost some time. We did not encounter any danger.”
“I see.” The shopkeeper turned to the Second Miss with a gentle expression and immediately smiled, “I went to visit the Master today. He praised you that your accounts comments were excellent. You are really a genius.”
Su Li chuckled and said nothing. After arranging the residence of the brother and sister, she returned to the Su House with the carriage.
“Mammy Li, I feel tired. Have a rest early.”
After dinner, Su Li made an order. Mammy Li quickly replied and left after serving the miss in bathing and lying down.
After Mammy Li’s breath disappeared completely, Su Li sat up and her eye sight looked calm.
After she witnessed the b.l.o.o.d.y battle of Fang Yuan today and looked back her previous life, she gained much inspiration. Practicing Xuangong immediately would get half the results with the double efforts. So, she asked Mammy Li to leave so that she could have enough time to digest the inspiration…
In the early morning of the next day, the light of the dawn s.h.i.+ned into the room, and the purple air was rising surrounding the bed like a fairyland. When the crowing was heard, the dense purple air immediately writhed, taken in by Su Li as a whale inhaled water.
“Hu…”
Su Li spat out a turbid air and her eyelashes slightly trembled. Immediately she opened her clear eyes slowly. The air in front of her was scattered and then restored.
“I never thought that I can reach to the acquired ninth hurdle of Xuangong in less than half of a year in this life. With the right moment, I will achieve the inborn…”
When Su Li looked at her white slender hands, she was peaceful.
She still remembered that in the previous life, due to improper practice, her potential was exhausted. So, she just practiced at the acquired eighth hurdle. Finally, she cut her hands for the acquired ninth hurdle by means of forbidden techniques in the Collection of Poison. But it was found by the people who practiced in the right way, and she was repeatedly hunted down.
She was just fifteen years old now and practiced to the fifth hurdle of Ghost Valley Meditation Direction, which was the same as her master. Her cultivation of Xuangong was a little weaker than his.
Sure enough, as for curing illness and saving lives, her master deserved the t.i.tle of highly skilled doctor. His skill of resurgence was far beyond hers. In the previous life, the first five hurdles of Ghost Valley Meditation Direction were lost. She misinterpreted them as the killing methods. In this life, after she digested the first five hurdles, she realized the skill of combating poison with poison.
“The poisonous gra.s.s and herbs are not enough. So many methods can’t be practiced. In face of powerful enemies, I will not win. But since the elder brother has not returned, I still have enough time to prepare.”
Su Li’s eyes flashed with multiple thoughts. After she took charge of the Baiwei Building, her plans kicked off finally.
After breakfast, the butler looked for the Second Miss in a hurry before she went to have a cla.s.s in the East Courtyard. The butler said: “Miss, the seasoning ingredients in the mountains nearby were picked and processed. I asked servants to plant them, but it didn’t go well. Do you have any methods?”
Su Li’s eye sight flashed slightly and she gently said, “Butler, how long can the left seasoning of the Su Family be used?”
Li Yin laughed and said: “Rest a.s.sured. So long as the business is not expanded, the seasoning can be used for one year.”
“Then I can rest a.s.sured. The failure of trials is mostly due to the inconsistency of the seasons. One year is enough to try out the correct planting season.”
Li Yin was stunned and immediately praised, “I am slow-witted. I didn’t think of it. Miss, you are really smart!”
Su Li blushed and smiled a little bit bitter smile, saying, “You can think of it these days without my reminder.”
After Li Yin left with a joke, Su Li stopped smiling and went to have a cla.s.s in the East Courtyard. Qi Xianqing had waited her for a long time. After the cla.s.s was over and Su Qinghao left, Qi Xianqing moved to Su Li and said happily,
“Nice, you have crossed the threshold of Nothing Unusual. Then don’t spend too much time on it. Just maintain the appearance before the change. Let me see your achievements in Xuangong.”
“Yes, master.”
Su Li nodded. She instantly rushed to her master, which made a breeze in the whole school.
Qi Xianqing’s eyes widened. The cultivation of the girl reached to the critical point in the third hurdle of Ghost Valley Meditation Direction. She was so close to the third hurdle where she could learn the true meaning of the amazing martial arts.
“Excellent!” Qi Xianqing praised her and then got up and practiced with her…
After two hours, Su Li pretended to be breathless and stopped.
When Qi Xianqing looked at his apprentice, he couldn’t help but smile. The foundation of Su Li was more stable than his in those years. He never saw anyone whose martial arts talent was as excellent as hers. If she took part in the martial arts compet.i.tion in the Qinghe Province, she would be the winner.
With his face turning red, Qi Xianqing left. Su Li dried the sweat on her forehead and frowned slightly. When she broke through the fifth hurdle, she immediately felt that except the cultivation, there was something else mixed in the Xuanqi of her master, which she didn’t discover in the fourth hurdle.
“Because of Ghost Valley Meditation Direction…”
Su Li thought. Then she controlled her thoughts, because there was something important to be deal with tonight. She should not think too much about it.
In the afternoon, Su Li sat in the back hall of the Baiwei Building for a rest. Fang Yuan came back from outside with sweat. He s.h.i.+ patted Fang Yuan’s shoulder and whispered,
“The Second Miss lets you send the precious Beggar’s Chicken. This is a lucrative job. You’d better seize the opportunity. Maybe the shopkeeper position will be yours.”
Fang Yuan’s eyes flashed with obscurities, but he pretended to be excited and said, “Brother He, I will try my best.”
“Good, young man. The miss would ask you some questions. Go ahead quickly.” He s.h.i.+, who looked honest, acted like a big brother.
After Fang Yuan wiped his hot sweat, he went to the back hall and stood in front of Su Li. Shopkeeper Wu took a glance at them at the door and was a little envious, “The miss actually values the silly lad. I don’t know how much reward Mr. Zhou will give him. When he comes back, I will blackmail him…”
Su Li calmly drank a mouthful of tea. After Shopkeeper Wu left, she asked gently, “How is it going?”
Fang Yuan looked alert and looked around. He put the rest of the silver on the table and replied, “It’s done. I bought the carriage from the black market. n.o.body will know it.”
Su Li grabbed the silver and put it on Fang Yaun’s hand, saying, “Buy some clothes with it. In the midnight hour (the period of the day from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.) today, wait for me under the osmanthus tree in the back mountain of the Su House.”
Fang Yuan knew she hid something as expected. But he looked normal and took the silver away.
Baiwei Building, midnight
After confirming that his sister was asleep, Fang Yuan wore his nocturnal clothing. He walked in the eave like a goshawk and disappeared in the night. After he ran for five minutes, the osmanthus tree in the back mountain of the Su House was in sight. A thin back shadow stood under the tree.
“Are you here? It is not the right time.”
Fang Yuan was puzzled and quietly walked to the back of Su Li without any sound.
“Yes, I am, miss.”
“The word ‘miss’ sounds aloof.” Su Li in a black dress looked back and smiled slightly, “It is a good time to do something bad on such a dark and windy night. Come with me.”
Su Li stepped lightly without any sound.
Fang Yuan was confused and had many doubts in his heart. But he knew that it was not the right time to ask and followed with Su Li.
The dark night perfectly covered them. After Fang Yuan and Su Li climbed over a small hill, Fang Yuan was shocked instantly seeing the scenery at the foot of the mountain.
“Are these… secret warehouses of the Su Family?”
Fang Yuan turned around and looked at Su Li, who was calm. He whispered, “Why do you take me here? Maybe…”
He remembered that Su Li asked him to park the carriage in a place which was not far from the back mountain.
Su Li took out incense from nowhere and put it on the hand of Fang Yuan. She said softly, “It is blowing the east wind tonight. The effect of the incense can last six hours. Go ahead.”
Fang Yuan felt numb. It turned out that she wanted to steal something from the warehouse. But she was a member of the Su Family. Why did she steal from her own family?
With the question in his heart, Fang Yuan took out a firelighter and ignited the incense. He covered his nose and went down the mountain like a ghost.
The incense was colorless and tasteless, and it was blown into the warehouse courtyard by the east wind. After a short time, Fang Yuan heard several “pit-a-pat” sounds of falling to the ground, and the entire secret warehouse was silent.
After the eighth sound was heard, Su Li calmly walked down from the mountain road and stood in front of Fang Yuan, “Pull the carriage here. We do not have much time.”
Fang Yuan reluctantly turned and left. After walking into the courtyard, Su Li swept the guards on the ground and listened carefully to confirm that there was no extra breath sound. Then she picked off the keys from the guards’ waists and opened doors of the warehouse one by one.
Fang Yuan stopped the carriage and walked in. Seeing the things in the warehouse, Fang Yuan couldn’t help but ask, “What do you want? All these are piece goods or food ingredients. If you want to exchange them for money, you’d better steal silver from the counting house.”
Su Li gently shook her head and quickly found the seasoning ingredients in one warehouse following the fragrance. Fang Yuan followed and saw them. He suddenly felt shocked and thought of something crucial. He blurted out, “Will you move out all the ingredients and let the Baiwei Building go bankrupt?”
“The Baiwei Building serves as a tool for making money. How could I let it go bankrupt? I just take what belongs to me.” Su Li did not say in details, “Leave some ingredients which can be used for one day.”
Would we move out ninety-nine percent of the ingredients?
Fang Yuan was surprised. Su Li gently smiled and pointed to the ingredients bags piled to the roof, “It’s dawn after six hours. Hurry up!”
“Only myself?” Fang Yuan couldn’t help but ask. After he looked back, he saw Su Li smiled with white teeth showed. She said, “Do you want me to move them?”
Seeing Su Li in a dress, Fang Yuan twitched his mouth several times but didn’t refute her any longer. Seeing what happened, Su Li smiled even more happily.