Chapter 70: After enduring hardships, finally entering the city

She believed this was definitely holy water or something with other uses, so she gulped it down in one mouthful.

Perhaps because she had been hungry too long, Wang Guafu actually felt this "holy water" was somewhat sweet, only regretting that the amount was too little.

She sat silently on a stone, waiting for the holy water to take effect, while constantly wondering what its effect actually was.

To become rich and noble? Or to have good fortune? Failing that, to become beautiful would also do!

Then nothing she imagined happened; the impatient Wang Guafu could only disappointedly take the bottle down the mountain.

But when she saw the bottle in her hand, Wang Guafu realized, wasn't the most valuable treasure already given to her by heaven?

If she went to the city and sold this bottle to those officials and nobles, how much silver could she get?

Ten taels? No, perhaps everyone would rush to buy it, bidding up the price, and it might even exceed a hundred taels!!

Wang Guafu's breathing grew heavy; she suddenly realized she was holding a treasure worth over a hundred taels.

Looking left and right, there was no one, yet she still couldn't calm her excited heart.

Even after returning home she didn't feel safe, fearing someone would scheme to take this treasure.

Immediately Wang Guafu made a decision—to enter the city overnight!

Holding this treasure herself was truly unsettling; she must quickly exchange it for silver.

Sneaking out of the village like that, Wang Guafu took a long detour through forest paths to avoid drawing the villagers' attention, walking a long time before reaching the main road.

She wanted to go to the city to find the person who had her act as a spy for the magistrate's office; in her view, doing this was working for the government, thus she considered herself half a government official.

This was the most formidable person she knew; surely he would offer a high price to buy her treasure!

To prevent the treasure from being exposed, Wang Guafu specially found a piece of torn cloth to wrap it up, revealing none of its true appearance.

Feeling her way in the dark to Jiangcheng's gate, Wang Guafu was dumbfounded—the city gate was tightly shut, and no matter how she knocked, it was useless.

A refugee old man kindly reminded: "The city gate never opens at night; if you want to enter, you must wait until dawn."

"Shut up, how could I be the same as you?" Wang Guafu fumed, indignant—she was working for the government; how could she be lumped together with these lowly people?

The old man, after being rebuked, couldn't say anything more; he just shook his head and lay back down in his spot.

After knocking on the city gate for a good while, Wang Guafu finally believed the gate wouldn't open at night, so she promptly prepared to find a spot to sit for a while, waiting until morning to enter the city.

But the city gate entrance was full of refugees sleeping in disarray; the smell was unbearable for Wang Guafu, so she moved away from the crowd to a quiet, sparsely populated place and sat leaning against the city wall.

Not long after she sat down, Wang Guafu felt uneasy all over, as the gazes of the people around her all focused on her.

Those looks were not envy or awe; Wang Guafu was very familiar with this gaze, which contained desire—a desire to possess her body.

Unable to help it, she leaned back against the city wall, clutching the thing in her arms tightly with both hands.

Although Wang Guafu's reputation was bad, and she herself had indeed done those things, they were voluntary, not the same as being forced.

Gradually, a man in the crowd stood up and walked toward Wang Guafu, then a second, a third...

Wang Guafu shouted in terror: "Don't come over! What do you want to do?"

"I tell you, I am a government official!"

"A bunch of lowly people, I will report you to the officials to have you executed."

Soon a clear space opened around her; those with ill intentions had already closed in, while those without ill intentions were disturbed by the noise and couldn't sleep, only able to stay farther away.

At first one could still hear Wang Guafu's anguished cries; later they gradually faded, leaving only occasional evil laughter.

When the first ray of morning sunlight struck the city wall, the city gate, which had been silent all night, finally opened a crack in the eyes of the expectant crowd; as the gate swung wide, a new day arrived, and the refugees who had starved all night also knew they could now have a bowl of thin porridge.

Beneath her swollen red eyes, her pupils were left numb; looking at the opened gate, her eyes regained a glimmer of spirit, and the hatred in her depths surged forth like a tide.

She wanted to enter the city, and have all these lowly people die!

Fortunately, she had wrapped the treasure in torn cloth yesterday; those people saw only her, and no one paid attention to the bundle that had fallen beside her.

Even if someone noticed, the water bottle wasn't large, and the cloth bundle looked flat, not seeming to contain anything valuable.

At this moment she placed all her hopes on the treasure in her bosom, expecting to turn her fortunes around and henceforth become a person above others.

The line to enter the city was long; there were always people trying to sneak in, but the city guards, experienced as they were, would not let anyone in without paying.

When it was Wang Guafu's turn, the soldier's face showed clear disdain as he stepped back a step, because her odor was truly too strong.

Originally clean and tidy, Wang Guafu, after a night of torment, had become hardly different from the refugees; her foul smell could not be concealed.

Wang Guafu had no money to pay the city entry fee; she could only desperately beg the soldier to let her in.

The soldier merely regarded her as a refugee and wanted to drive her away.

At this juncture, Wang Guafu hastily declared she was working for the government, which drew loud laughter from the crowd.

Seeing the crowd disbelief, Wang Guafu claimed she had an important matter to report and gave the name of the person who had originally contacted her, thereby gaining entry to the city.

Arriving at an inn, Wang Guafu finally found that person—the innkeeper.

This was also one of the many properties of Magistrate Liu.

The innkeeper took Wang Guafu to be reporting someone chopping wood on the mountain; who would have known she refused to speak, insisting on going to a secluded spot before she would explain in detail.

Bringing Wang Guafu to the backyard, the innkeeper frowned impatiently and said: "Just say what it is quickly; I have plenty of things to do!"

While speaking, the innkeeper waved his hand in front of his nose, his disdain plainly visible.

Wang Guafu dared not bear a grudge against the innkeeper; she hurriedly took out her torn cloth bundle and opened it layer by layer, revealing what was inside.

The innkeeper had been listless, but the instant he saw the item, his eyes widened!

"What... what kind of treasure is this?"

The innkeeper lifted the water bottle with both hands; relying on his years of mercantile experience, he had never seen such an object.

He observed it more meticulously than Wang Guafu; the bottle's body was as thin as paper, yet airtight, its transparency far surpassing that of kingfisher jade; a light press would cause slight deformation, but it would spring back.

Even saying this item was used by immortals would not be an exaggeration!

Seeing the innkeeper's expression finally regain confidence, Wang Guafu blurted out its origin, of course emphasizing that she was a heaven-favored person.

But unexpectedly, the next moment the innkeeper's face changed instantly: "Did you drink what's inside?"

"Mm!" Wang Guafu, unaware of what was about to happen, nodded while smiling.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately slapped him, knocking him to the ground, and then kicked him twice more.

"Oh, the hidden heaven thing! How could such a divine object be touched by someone like you, a lowly commoner?

Based on this alone, you deserve to die a hundred times"!

The knocked-down Widow Wang clutched her head with both hands, dazed and unable to utter a word.

This… this is completely different from what she had imagined!