Why did you provoke me?

Jing Ancheng sat in the car and stared coldly at Niannian.

Jingyi stepped forward and said, "Secretary Wu sent us to pick you up. Please come with us."

Jing Ancheng was truly surprised. His rivals had become so cunning that they even knew Secretary Wu's identity.

At this moment, Zhou Shi and his group walked over. Looking at Niannian, he remembered the little girl. "Captain Jing, they are real. I know this little girl."

Zhou Shi pointed to Niannian.

"Hey brothers, it's you! Are you here for fun? I'll have Uncle Wu give you the best rooms." Nian Nian was very happy to see Zhou Shi.

Zhou Shi felt a little embarrassed. The person he was escorting had left on his own, and he should have gone back, but Yu Meng stopped him.

If they go back early, those with ulterior motives will know that they know Yu Meng has left, which could be detrimental to them.

Everything that needed explaining has been explained. It's up to you to choose whether to stay or leave!

No one knew that returning would bring countless troubles. Therefore, Zhou Shi joined up with the Jing family's guards.

With Zhou Shi's guarantee, Jing Ancheng returned to the guild hall with Jing Yi and the others.

Secretary Wu warmly stepped forward and welcomed them into the clubhouse. "Have a meal first, then go and rest. We can talk about anything else tomorrow. Consider yourself home now. You can come to me if you need anything."

Jing drove Liu Wei's car to the backyard alone. There were many cultivation resources there, which they could all use.

Upon arriving at the guild hall, Jing Ancheng remained vigilant and still arranged for staff to be on duty.

Secretary Wu didn't stop him. He added Jing Ancheng as a friend. "You can message me if you need anything. That girl is called Niannian, she's Teacher Yu's sister, and that's Jingyi. You can contact them if you need anything."

Jing Ancheng politely thanked him. Secretary Wu's lips curled up; he had always said that if Teacher Yu wanted to do something, there was nothing he couldn't do. And look, after just one trip, he'd found himself such a strong security team.

Meanwhile, Yu Meng and her three companions had been traveling day and night. It took them three full days to finally encounter the people arranged by Jing Er.

Sitting in the car, Yu Meng was drowsy when the person who arrived was Yu Er. Originally, Jing Er had planned to step down, but Yu Er disagreed, as did his team members.

They said that Jing'er's position was decided by Teacher Yu, and no one could change it at will.

"We only started infiltrating in this direction after receiving a message from Secretary Wu," Yu Er reported while driving.

"The people here are very united and hostile to outsiders. If there is a conflict, the whole village will stand together against the outsider."

"But they don't seem to mind when they see your car," Si Jiu said, looking at the scene on the roadside.

Monotonous, desolate, with only a few short trees standing there forlornly.

"After being out there for so long, I've learned some survival skills. As long as you have food on you, it's the fastest way to get closer to strangers. You don't know how xenophobic they are."

Yu Er sighed, realizing for the first time that ordinary people's lives were actually very hard.

Their families couldn't afford to train mask revealers, so they had to do odd jobs, but even those weren't always available.

"Teacher Yu, I've noticed there are more crazy people here. Do you think it's related to that energy fog?"

"I guess so," Yu Meng replied casually without opening her eyes.

"And there's another strange phenomenon here: there are very few girls, and almost no unmasking artists."

"Yu Er, you're so observant! You even pay attention to things concerning girls?"

"Hehe, it's not just to improve our quality of life. The brothers secretly made some little gadgets, hoping to make a little money, but we couldn't find any shops that would buy these things."

"What? How much money can you make with that little gadget?" 432 also became interested and asked hurriedly.

"Didn't I already say that there are no shops that specialize in selling this kind of thing?"

"How could that be? This is the favorite of the rich; it's both respectable and understated."

Yu Er didn't respond, but continued, "Later, I used this stuff to exchange for half a cartload of grain, and then went to some remote places to sell it."

Yu Er paused for a moment, but no one in the car responded.

Yu Mengxiang laughed, "You've talked for so long, but you haven't gotten to the most important point."

Yu Er coughed lightly, "When I sell grain, I sometimes unintentionally reveal those little items. Guess what?"

"How is it?" Si Jiu asked.

"They know their stuff, and then someone would secretly contact me and we'd make a deal."

"Where did they get the money?"

"It's not money, it's a kind of mineral. I felt comfortable holding it, so I traded some with them."

"Sigh, I thought it was real gold and silver."

"You don't understand, that stuff is good for cultivation," Yu Er said mysteriously.

"Is it real or fake? Let me see it."

"Exactly, who would believe it if you just said it?"

49 and 432 formed a united front and unanimously asked Yu Er to take it out and take a look.

Zhang Zhen sat in the back, and he didn't say much the whole way.

Hearing this, he also wanted to broaden his horizons and see what kind of ore it was that could be useful for cultivation. Moreover, he was quite suspicious, as the word "cultivation" wasn't used casually.

With one hand on the steering wheel, Yu Er reached under his feet and pulled out a fist-sized rock. Without turning his head, he tossed it behind him. "Catch."

Si Jiu snatched the piece from his hand.

"Judging by your casual attitude, do you have more? Give me another one." 432 didn't snatch 49's; they were his own brothers.

Yu Er curled his lip, "Look at this piece, you two. Here, take it. Can you give it back to me?"

"You can't just exchange them for those little gadgets. I'll make you ten or eight when I have some free time."

"Who needs those things?" Yu Er didn't turn around. "My eldest brother doesn't have any yet, I have to save some for him."

"It's only right to give it to the eldest brother, but it's not like I'm short of a piece." Si San Er still didn't give in.

The lines of 49 pierced into the ore, his face flushed, the fatigue of the past few days seemed to have vanished, and he felt as if he were soaking in a hot spring. He tugged at 432, "Good stuff."

Yu Er looked smugly at the rearview mirror on the roof of the car and said, "I didn't lie to you, did I?"

Si Jiu nodded. "Brother, you're a true friend. If you come across something like this again, don't forget to remind me. I also need to bring some back for our boss."

Seeing that Yu Er really wasn't going to give it to him, Si San Er didn't hold back and directly inserted his own lines into the ore.

Si Jiu didn't say a word; he was enjoying himself! It was better to absorb more benefits than to argue with Si San Er about these things.

Zhang Zhen saw the two lines behind him; he had them too. He wanted to try it too, but he was too embarrassed to ask, since they weren't familiar with each other yet.

Yu Er is quick-witted; anyone who aligns themselves with Teacher Yu at a time like this must be a confidant. Even if they don't know each other, befriending them shouldn't be a bad idea.

But that would leave only a 4-3-2, which doesn't seem ideal either.

Alright, let's be generous, it's not like we're short of a stone.

So, Yu Er pulled out two more stones from under his feet and threw them to the people behind him.