Why did you provoke me?

Xiao Wen's eyes were complicated. "I don't want to test human nature."

"Then what do you want to do? I'm on your side." Du Wenhe said without hesitation.

"Then let's keep this a secret. We'll arrange to rescue Qingyuan tomorrow." The tone was certain.

Early the next morning, Xiao Wen invited all the captains and above to his tent. These people were mostly from Jingchuan Base, with a few from the Seventh Base as well.

Xiao Wen didn't waste any words and directly stated that the mission this time was to determine who would rescue Qingyuan.

Yan Lei was the first to raise his hand, "I'll go!"

Liu Wei chimed in from the side, "Count me in."

Xiao Wen glanced at him. "Aren't you going to reconsider?"

Liu Wei shook his head. "When I was parasitizing the alien, Teacher Qingyuan took good care of me."

Old Chen also raised his hand, "Count me in, after all, I've walked that road before."

Xiao Wen nodded. "We can't have too many people involved. Let's do it this way. The four of us will go and investigate first."

Du Wenhe also stood up. "Count me in."

Xiao Wen did not object, and looking at the few people who had not spoken, said, "Then you'll have to take care of things here."

Captain Tian and the others nodded. "Don't worry, we will guard this place well."

An old house in the countryside.

Yu Meng had planned to go home; she had already packed her things. But when she opened the door and saw the people standing there, her eyes darkened slightly. "Who are you looking for?"

A middle-aged man stepped forward and bowed slightly to Yu Meng. "I am the butler of the Hou family in Kyoto. My surname is Han. You can call me Butler Han, Teacher Yu."

Yu Meng nodded, "Butler Han."

"Here's the thing, our investigation revealed that it was the medicinal stone you made that saved the Lu family. Our young master is feeling a bit unwell, and we'd like to ask you to make a medicinal stone for him to wear long-term. This is your fee for your hard work." He then pointed to the combination lock suitcases being carried by the two people behind him.

Butler Han stated his purpose directly, his tone sincere and his attitude respectful, without the slightest arrogance or pride. He also clarified how they had learned about Yu Meng.

Yu Meng politely invited the person into the courtyard. "Making a medicinal stone is not a big deal, but I don't have the corresponding raw materials."

Butler Han was kind and gentle, unlike the arrogant and condescending gaze of the bone painter.

He smiled and nodded. "We've prepared a few different kinds. Which one would you like?"

Yu Meng didn't let anyone into the house. She opened the box on the table in the yard, revealing a white object inside. It felt soft to the touch. Yu Meng placed her hand on it without saying a word.

Then she opened another box, inside which was a transparent bottle containing some liquid. Yu Meng unscrewed the cap and pressed her finger against the bottle opening. Then she put the cap back on.

She then looked at three more items.

"Can I know what symptoms your young master is experiencing? These items correspond to different symptoms, but I can only provide one medicine."

Butler Han smiled broadly. "He has a very bad temper, and he himself says he has the urge to kill. Of course, he hasn't actually killed anyone."

Yu Meng pondered for a moment, then said, "Niannian, bring me my jujube-red beads." These were dough pieces peeled from the red willow tree by the river.

Niannian agreed and ran back into the house. A moment later, she returned with a small box and handed it to Yu Meng. Then she stood beside Yu Meng, looking at the things on the table, none of which she recognized.

Yu Meng's technique was swift; the beads opened up in her hands, reaching their most primitive state. Yu Meng took two ingredients, mixed them together, and then quickly wrapped them with dough. It took a total of twelve beads to complete the making of this medicinal stone.

This is a red thumb ring, crystal clear, and the most beautiful part is that the color of the thumb ring seems to be flowing.

Yu Meng pointed to a small protrusion, "After you put it on, press down on this protrusion, and it will fit the size of your finger."

Butler Han was inwardly impressed. The speed at which Yu Meng crafted the medicinal stones was nothing short of a miracle, not to mention the thumb ring—who would dare say it was a medicinal stone if they didn't know better? It was both beautiful and practical.

"Thank you, Teacher Yu. On behalf of my young master, I would like to express my gratitude for your help. The Hou family is willing to owe you a favor, and this is a token of our appreciation."

Yu Meng accepted it without hesitation. It was a piece of wood of unknown material. It had tree rings and was quite heavy. A "侯" (Hou) character was carved in the center, in a cursive script. This was the first time Yu Meng had ever seen this type of calligraphy in this world.

Having obtained what he wanted, Butler Han bowed and withdrew from the Yu family courtyard.

Niannian ran to the door, and after seeing that everyone had gone far away, she ran back to Yu Meng. "Fourth Sister, that medicinal stone is so beautiful. I thought medicinal stones were all made in the shape of stones."

"The medicine stone uses the contents inside, not its original form. Making it look nice is just to match that person's identity," Yu Meng explained.

"Fourth Sister, do you know who that person is?"

Yu Meng stood up. "Look around, who still calls their own child 'young master'? That's an old custom, a term used by families with a long history to address their descendants."

"Fourth Sister, I've noticed that you have a particularly good temper; you're willing to help even strangers."

Yu Meng pointed at the briefcase and said, "Want to see what's inside? Then you can comment on why I made the move."

"Yes!" Niannian happily moved the briefcase onto the table.

The box was full of things, all different colors and shapes. Niannian was dumbfounded. "Fourth Sister, what are all these things? I've never seen any of them before."

Yu Meng lingered her hand on those things for a moment. "You don't need to know their names. Just feel them. As long as they're useful to you, that's fine."

Niannian smiled and put her hand down as well. It turned out that both could be used to make medicine, but the ingredients were different.

Yu Meng hadn't expected the Hou family to be so ambitious; could they have ulterior motives?

Niannian also withdrew her hand. Her fourth sister had taught her that there's no such thing as a free lunch.

"We're not going back today. Let's get rid of these things," Yu Meng decided. Since they were given to her, she could make the decision.

Niannian's eyes lit up. "Fourth Sister, I want to make a pretty hair clip."

"Okay, you do it yourself."

Yu Meng didn't do anything extraordinary. She made many small medicinal stones and then wove them into her backpack with thread.

"Fourth sister, this is for Mom, this is for Dad, this... this..." Niannian rummaged around, mentioning everyone in the family, even including Xiao Hao.

"You're really willing to do that!" Yu Meng looked at her with amusement.

"It's all thanks to Fourth Sister's generosity; otherwise, we wouldn't have gotten such a good deal."

"Let's go. We've already been delayed for a long time. Mom and Dad must be worried." Yu Meng stood up, took a few steps, and then sat down again.

"What's wrong?" Niannian looked at her, puzzled.

"Niannian, go tell your older sister that something came up today and we'll talk about it tomorrow."

Niannian glanced outside the door, then turned and went back inside.