The mystery surrounding the treasure was resolved just like that.
No earth-shattering artifact capable of summoning winds and rains—just a little carp that had sacrificed itself to save the villagers.
Yin Luan showed little reaction to the revelation, but Ren Tan appeared utterly distraught, her mind adrift.
She had toiled so hard to reach this place, all in pursuit of something powerful enough to stand against her brothers and restore the Ren Merchant Group’s former glory.
And yet… she could hardly bring this fish back with her, could she?
Besides, the fish clearly possessed its own sentience and wouldn’t obey her commands.
A “Natural Treasure”? What utter nonsense.
All those days of effort, wasted.
Yin Luan cradled the flower pot as she stepped outside the village. Two bursts of light flashed, and Xiao Luo and Lily reverted to their human forms.
“Whew, that fish’s oppressive aura was intense. I didn’t even dare breathe in its presence…”
Xiao Luo drew in several deep breaths as she spoke.
“Mm…”
Lily glanced at her, the corner of her eye twitching.
“What’s wrong?”
“Your hair…”
“My hair… why is a chunk missing? Yin Luan, did you sneak a bite of my radish leaves?!”
“Uh, no, I didn’t… Don’t worry, you scarfed down so much meat the day before yesterday—it’ll grow back in no time!”
“Wahhh, give me back my leaves!”
Once the truth was out, the Village Chief didn’t immediately shoo them away.
The situation was awkward, to say the least.
Crowds from all corners—people, demons, sprites—had gathered outside, convinced a treasure lay hidden here. They’d even turned on each other, killing without mercy.
The village’s protective barrier unsealed periodically, and when it did, those outsiders would surely come charging in.
Even spinning the tale of the “Divine Woman’s Gratitude,” how many would believe it?
In the worst case, they might not even safeguard “Senior Fish.”
The village’s current tranquility was nothing more than the eerie calm before the storm.
Ren Tan wandered the village in a daze, her mind swirling with possibilities.
Without the treasure, could she convince Senior Xiao Luo or the flower sprite to come along? But what if the Demon Subduing Division came sniffing around? Their strength wouldn’t do much for her plans anyway.
And Yin Luan? She was powerful, but she clearly wanted no part in Ren Tan’s troubles…
What now? Flee the Great Zhou Kingdom with whatever wealth she could carry? Cede the Ren Merchant Group entirely?
She couldn’t stomach it. After pouring her everything into this, it all came to nothing…
As her thoughts spiraled into chaos, the sky grew overcast.
Wandering onward, she arrived at a peculiar wooden cabin.
Most homes in the village clustered close or stood mere paces apart, but this one sat isolated, surrounded by emptiness on all sides, lending it an air of solitude.
The door hung open. Peering inside, Ren Tan recognized the young maiden who had confronted them earlier.
The young maiden spotted her too, and for a long moment, they simply stared in silence.
Finally, Ren Tan broke it.
“You… you’re the one who sent out the map, aren’t you?”
She had no hard proof—just a gut feeling.
The young maiden didn’t rise or confirm it. Instead, she countered with a question of her own.
“What is the world outside… like?”
What was it like?
For all her learning and experience, Ren Tan found herself at a loss.
A hundred people saw a hundred different worlds. It was a question without a simple answer.
“Complicated. Wonderful. Full of dangers, yet dotted with good souls. You can witness breathtaking vistas… and the darkest depths of the human heart. Words can’t capture it—you have to live it to know.”
“Is that so?” The young maiden sat rigidly in her chair, her face a mask of neutrality. “Pity I won’t get the chance…”
Her eyes remained dull, unchanging even in the presence of strangers like them.
She might have scrawled those words on the map, but deep down, she didn’t truly believe anyone could free her.
She fared even worse than the villagers from the settlement ravaged by the Earth Louse, for those at least clung to hopes for life and tomorrow.
“You possess power,” Ren Tan said after a pause. “If you wanted to leave, no one here could stop you.”
“I have to protect everyone,” the young maiden replied, curling into herself and hugging her knees. “It’s the duty I was born with.”
Shackled from birth?
What kind of twisted logic was that?
A person might be born poor or wealthy, into tragedy or bliss. But freedom—no one had the right to strip that away.
“This isn’t your responsibility,” Ren Tan said as she walked in, frowning at the young maiden. “Because they never asked for your consent.”
She now understood why Yin Luan had needed to seek the villagers’ permission before dealing with the Earth Louse.
True expectations could only arise from mutual consent—what one side forced upon the other was nothing but suffering.
“But,” the young maiden whispered, “even if they had asked me, I still would have agreed…”
Ren Tan wanted to say more, but a frantic voice from outside cut her off.
“Ren Tan! Ren Tan, where are you? Something huge has happened! Come quick and take a look!”
The Eldest Young Lady pressed her lips together, swallowed her words, and turned to step outside. There stood Yin Luan, shouting at the top of her lungs.
“I’m right here,” she replied. “What’s wrong? Have outsiders broken in?”
“No!” The Little Snake Demon shook her head vigorously. “It’s the little carp… it’s flipped belly-up!”
At those words, everyone’s faces drained of color, both inside the house and out.
Yin Luan, Ren Tan, and the young maiden hurried to the Ancestral Hall together. The Village Chief and several elders knelt by the Sacred Pond, murmuring prayers.
The young maiden paid them no mind and strode straight to the bathtub. Inside floated the golden little carp, bobbing on the surface as if it were on its last breaths—gasping out but drawing none in.
“It has nothing to do with me,” Yin Luan declared preemptively. “I haven’t done a thing… Everyone knows I don’t like eating fish.”
“It’s not any of your doing,” the young maiden said, slipping her hand into the water to gently stroke it. “It’s the carp itself… Its power is almost completely depleted.”
For thirty years, it had stood guard, protecting the village.
That was an unimaginably long time for a little carp.
The little carp twitched twice, as though trying to comfort the young maiden, but its condition showed no sign of recovery.
It likely couldn’t hold out much longer.
The young maiden turned to the village elders and shook her head.
“Th-this… this…”
The Village Chief’s wrinkled face trembled uncontrollably.
She was their savior. Without her, this village might have crumbled into ruins decades ago!
His lips quivered twice before he steeled himself with a resolute expression. He turned to Yin Luan.
“We—we know you possess great power… Please, save the Divine Woman! She is the ‘treasure’ cherished by every soul in our village! We’ll pay any price you demand!”
Yin Luan blinked, then asked gently, “Is this truly your wish?”
“Yes! This is our wish!”
“Understood.”
