Chapter 9

Wu Sanye said with lingering fear:

"This afternoon, He Kai had just entered my antique shop when a bunch of special police swarmed out and surrounded my store."

"Oh my! Fully armed! Live ammo!"

"I've lived over forty years and never seen such a scene; it scared me pissless."

Recalling that scene, he is now breaking out in a cold sweat all over.

Ning Jinli's eyes lit up, "He Kai was arrested?"

Wu Sanye nodded vigorously, "He's been arrested long ago; he's still being interrogated at the station!"

"I was interrogated for several hours before being cleared, and then I learned he was actually carrying a national treasure-level relic! In a while it should hit the news—big explosive news!"

"By the way, this matter is related to your uncle, right? His whole family got taken in too… I inquired and found out you're actually from the Ning family."

Hearing this, Ning Jinli breathed a sigh of relief; it seems the Canglan Jade Disc has safely reached official hands.

"Third Uncle, I actually have no ties with the Ning family anymore… You said you came specially to apologize and give me money—what exactly do you mean? Is this related?"

"This… cough…" Wu Sanye shivered.

He wasn't sure what exactly was going on.

Anyway, a short-haired woman wearing sunglasses warned him.

She said if he dared to swindle Ning Jinli again, she would make sure he had no foothold in the country.

He didn't know who that imposing woman was, only that among the people accompanying her at the time were several national-level bigwigs…

"I'll just give you the money first." Wu Sanye pulled out his phone and swiftly transferred.

The next second, Ning Jinli's phone received a bank SMS.

It arrived instantly—47 million yuan.

"This is…"

Ning Jinli was startled.

So much money? And it arrived this quickly?

Wu Sanye's face was full of obsequiousness, yet mixed with utter sincerity.

"Hehe, Miss Ning, the money from auctioning your jade pendant—I don't want a cent; it's all yours."

"The 100,000 I paid earlier for your jade pendant also counts as my apology."

"From now on, Miss Ning, for any antiques you have—as long as they're not cultural relics—I'm willing to help you sell them."

Ning Jinli was startled again!

Forty-seven million! That jade pendant actually sold for forty-seven million!

Her gaze toward Wu Sanye changed; she pressed her lips and forced out two words: "Swindler!"

Wu Sanye nodded and bowed with a smiling face, "Yes, yes, you're right, Miss Ning—I'm a swindler, shameless."

If anyone else scolded him like that, he could say without changing expression or heartbeat, "Antiques are all about eyesight and luck; if the seller lacks vision and sells cheap, they have no one to blame but themselves—that's the rule."

But facing Ning Jinli, who has mysterious bigwigs backing her, he dare not bring out that jianghu excuse to argue.

Seeing Ning Jinli's face still bearing resentment, he raised three fingers: "I, Wu Lao San, swear to heaven that if I ever swindle Miss Ning even a penny, I, damn it—will die with my whole family!"

"You…" Ning Jinli was speechless.

"Miss Ning, from now on I'll be your little brother; call me anytime for anything, I'm available 20 hours a day."

Wu Sanye politely left his business card and then departed.

Ning Jinli stared at her phone screen, counting the bank card balance several times.

Five million yuan national award, plus the 47 million just received…

"Holy crap… fifty-two million…"

"I-I-I, I've become a rich lady?"

Ning Jinli pinched her arm.

Hiss, it really hurts!

Not a dream.

Ning Jinli spun around excitedly!

No debts!

Cash deposit fifty-two million!

How to spend this money to feel great?

"Calm down… now isn't the time to think about that; I still have business to attend to…"

She took a few deep breaths, lifted her head and chest, and walked into the factory.

Arriving at the warehouse behind the factory, she discovered the spacetime portal had changed.

The fluorescent vortex at the back door of the small warehouse sprayed out a continuous stream of light toward the sky.

The stream of light rose over ten meters high, like a fountain spraying outward, forming a bowl-shaped light curtain inverted above the warehouse.

The light curtain was especially large, nearly covering the entire 5,000-square-meter large warehouse of the food area.

She instinctively pulled out her phone to capture it.

But she found she couldn't photograph the curtain; only her eyes could see it.

"Could the spacetime portal still be upgraded?"

"What caused this? Could this transformation serve another purpose…"

Ning Jinli muttered as she walked into the back door of the small warehouse.

"Jinli Fairy! Jinli Fairy has arrived!"

Upon reaching the cave, she heard shouts and stared in astonishment at the Lin Xian Village soldiers kneeling all over the ground, kowtowing to her.

Jinli Fairy?

Is it calling her?

"Jinli Fairy! How is His Majesty?" someone asked tearfully.

Ning Jinli hurriedly told them to rise.

"He's fine, he's being treated. Don't do this, I'm not an Immortal; just call me Miss Ning or Jinli."

Hearing her say Xiao Qidi was unharmed, over a dozen soldiers repeatedly thanked her.

Moreover, she had sent them unprecedented amounts of fine food and plenty of water, so everyone already regarded her as an Immortal.

No matter what, they refused to call her Miss Ning, fearing it would be disrespectful.

She urgently asked, "Quickly tell me, what exactly happened? Why was Xiao Qidi injured?"

"Yes, Jinli Fairy."

A soldier reported the situation.

"Yu Guo dispatched a 50,000-strong army in a surprise attack! Xi Tun Guan fell, three thousand defending soldiers died, and the remaining ten thousand troops were led by His Majesty to retreat to Lin Xian Village. On the way, His Majesty was pursued by Yu Guo's vanguard elite, thus sustaining injuries!"

Ning Jinli stared, "A 50,000-strong army? Why launch a sudden attack?"

"Well..." the soldiers looked embarrassed.

Ning Jinli grew anxious, "Speak quickly!"

They all knelt down in unison, and the leading soldier said:

"Because Yu Guo's scouts had been tracking the whereabouts of the Canglan Jade Disc, and just a few days ago they learned the Canglan Jade Disc was in the hands of a band of bandits."

"Coincidentally, it was exactly that band of bandits who came here to wreak havoc on the populace."

"The Yu Guo King sent out a 50,000-strong army, not hesitating to invade our Xuan Guo borderlands, just to seize the Canglan Jade Disc."

"The bandits were already slain by His Majesty, and His Majesty presented the Canglan Jade Disc... to you, Fairy."

Upon hearing this, Ning Jinli's head buzzed.

She had already turned the Canglan Jade Disc over to the state; she couldn't possibly take it back...

What to do?

"Jinli Fairy, we don't intend to demand the Canglan Jade Disc."

The leading soldier immediately said, "Given the Yu Guo King's nature, even if we obtained it here, he would order the 50,000-strong army to slaughter us all."

Ning Jinli recalled the historical knowledge she had learned.

After the Zhou Son of Heaven's authority collapsed, the seven major states of Zhong Yuan each vied for dominance.

Among them, Yu Guo is the smallest in area but possesses many mineral veins, making it very wealthy.

However, the Yu Guo King is greedy and bloodthirsty, causing the Yu Guo Army to become habitually brutal; it is indeed capable of slaughtering everyone here.

"Please save us, Jinli Fairy!" a shout suddenly came from outside the cave.

Ning Jinli looked up and saw dozens of civilians gathered outside the cave.

The soldiers looked sorrowful, "Originally His Majesty ordered us to evacuate the civilians of Lin Xian Village quickly, but they refused, swearing to share His Majesty's fate."

"Jinli Fairy... Jinli Fairy..." an elderly man with white hair crawled to the cave mouth on his knees.

Ning Jinli hurried over.

The old man was on his last legs, as thin as dead wood, his clothes more ragged than a rag.

Ning Jinli's eyes instantly welled with tears; she wanted to help him up.

The old man refused to rise, kneeling on the ground and saying:

"Jinli Fairy... I am the Village Chief of Lin Xian Village."

"Our village has preserved a thousand-year-old Golden Silk Nan Ebony Wood for generations; this secret is known only to the Village Chiefs of each generation."

"Now... I have ordered everyone to dig out this wood and present it to the Fairy."

"Please, Fairy, save everyone..."

He strained to wave his hand back.

Over fifty emaciated villagers, using grass ropes, dragged a pitch-black, shining log with all their strength into the cave.

Dozens of soldiers inside the cave came to help; hundreds working together, gritted their teeth until they bled, finally managed to bring the log in.

Not only because the cave's terrain is high, but also because this log is extraordinarily heavy.

"This... I can't accept it!" Ning Jinli waved her hands repeatedly.

The black wood formed from the thousand-year-old Golden Silk Nan is absolutely extremely valuable.

But this is a heirloom treasure passed down through generations in their village.

Seeing her refuse without hesitation, the Old Village Chief and villagers' eyes showed despair, making Ning Jinli feel anguished.

Ning Jinli said, "I'm not refusing to help you; this item is too precious, I truly cannot take it."

Yet the Old Village Chief and villagers simply knelt and refused to rise.

The leading soldier advised, "Jinli Fairy... please accept it, at least to put their minds at ease."

Ning Jinli felt both moved and troubled.

It cannot be moved...

How to accept it?

If only it could go to the great warehouse on its own.

In an inadvertent moment, a thought stirred, and the thick, long Golden Silk Nan Ebony Wood instantly vanished.

"Huh?" Ning Jinli was bewildered.