Black Wind Village bandits

Long Qian clicked his tongue: "The things in the Heavenly Court are indeed extraordinary."

Xu Zhixun thought for a moment and said to Long Qian:

"From now on, you can use lighters to start cooking."

"However, lighters cannot be exposed to high temperatures, otherwise they will explode."

Long Qian smiled and said, "Okay, I understand."

After saying this, he kept 10 lighters for himself and asked Eunuch Yang to distribute the remaining 40 lighters to the soldiers.

Next, the Dragon Subduing Sect soldiers used lighters.

The soldiers found the lighters particularly useful and were overjoyed. They took the lighters and started lighting them.

For a time, the Dragon Kingdom's military camp was bustling with noise and excitement.

"Sixth Prince, I want a lighter too!" Zhang Fuyao said in a sweet, coquettish voice to Long Qian.

Long Qian took an orange-red lighter from the cardboard box and handed it to Zhang Fuyao:

"Use it carefully, don't get burned."

"I know!" Zhang Fuyao took the lighter and went to the stove next to her to light the fire.

Afterwards, Long Qian gave each of Marshal Zhang, General Zhao, and Eunuch Yang a lighter.

After receiving the lighters, everyone beamed with joy and thanked Long Qian repeatedly.

In no time, the compressed biscuit porridge was ready.

Everyone chatted and laughed as they ate breakfast.

After breakfast, everyone boarded a carriage and headed to the capital of the Dragon Kingdom.

Xu Zhixun shared a carriage with Long Qian, Eunuch Yang, and others.

Halfway there, Xu Zhixun glanced at the servant Qingshan, then smiled and said:

"Green Mountain, your name reminds me of a poem."

Qingshan smiled broadly: "May I ask, Miss Xu, which line of poetry comes to mind?"

Xu Zhixun smiled gently: "I see all living beings as grass and trees, but I see only you as a green mountain."

Everyone was amazed by these words.

Qingshan was both surprised and delighted: "Miss Xu, you are so clever!"

"My name was chosen by a scholar at my father's request, and it was taken from the poem you mentioned!"

Xu Zhixun chuckled, "Really? That's quite a coincidence."

Long Qian picked up the hot tea on the small square table and took a sip slowly:

"Zhi Xun, do you know what my name means?"

Xu Zhixun pondered deeply: "Long Qian... this name may mean 'a dragon hidden in the abyss, soaring to the heavens,' or 'a dragon in hiding, concealing its sharpness and guarding its simplicity.'"

Long Qian laughed heartily: "You are indeed very smart. It seems you have read a lot of books."

"My name was given to me by my mother."

"It means 'a dragon hidden in the abyss, which will surely soar to the heavens.'"

Xu Zhixun beamed with joy: "Hey, I guessed right!"

A gentle smile flickered in Long Qian's dark eyes:

"Yes, you guessed right, you're really amazing."

And so, everyone continued chatting inside the carriage.

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At two o'clock in the afternoon, Xu Zhixun heard a man's loud shout coming from outside the carriage window:

"This road is mine, these trees are mine, if you want to pass, leave your toll!"

Xu Zhixun: "..."

Suddenly, the carriage stopped.

A soldier hurriedly reported to Long Qian:

"Your Highness, we have encountered bandits from Black Wind Stronghold! They want to steal all our provisions!"

Long Qian's face darkened: "Outrageous! These bandits are far too arrogant. I'll go and confront them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Long Qian, Zhang Fuyao, and the others got off the carriage one after another.

Xu Zhixun was very curious and followed her off the carriage.

On a sunny afternoon, a large group of bandits appeared on the mountain road ahead, numbering about five hundred.

They were dressed in coarse cloth, carried large knives, and had fierce expressions.

The bandit leader was a middle-aged man, broad-shouldered and burly, exuding a murderous aura.

"Sixth Prince, that man is Yao Zhentian, the leader of Black Wind Stronghold!"

A soldier immediately pointed at the bandit leader and reported the situation to Long Qian.

Long Qian looked at Yao Zhentian, his brows furrowed: "Chief Yao, we are the Divine Dragon Army, the army of the Dragon Kingdom."

“Your raid on the Divine Dragon Army is punishable by the extermination of your entire clan.”

Yao Zhentian said nonchalantly, "Recently, Youzhou has suffered a severe drought, and our brothers from Black Wind Village are about to starve to death."

"Cannibalism has occurred in various places. I had no choice but to rob the Divine Dragon Army. I hope the Sixth Prince will do me a favor and leave the grain behind."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhixun immediately looked at the soldiers behind the carriage.

Beside the soldiers were many horse-drawn carts carrying grain.

The carriage was filled with sacks of grain.

"Chief Yao, to be honest, our Dragon Army is also short of food and water." Long Qian's face was grim as he continued to negotiate with Yao Zhentian.

"Therefore, we cannot give you these provisions."

These bandits are despicable! How dare they rob an army!

Xu Zhixun frowned and immediately used her mind to put all the grain on the carriage into her personal space.

Her personal space was exceptionally large, consisting of a manor villa with gardens, a plaza, a swimming pool, and more.

Xu Zhixun placed hundreds of cartloads of grain and fodder in the square in front of the villa.

In the blink of an eye, a one-eyed bandit pointed at the empty grain wagons and cried out in terror:

"Brother, look! The grain supplies are gone!"

Yao Zhentian: "???"

Long Qianhu's body trembled, and he quickly turned around. Sure enough, he saw that all the grain wagons were empty!

"Ahhh! Where did the grain go?" Eunuch Yang exclaimed in alarm. "Where did the grain go?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces showed fear, and they began to murmur amongst themselves:

"In broad daylight, are we going to encounter a ghost?"

"What will we eat from now on? We'll starve to death!"

"Why did hundreds of cartloads of grain suddenly disappear?"

"It's terrifying! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed such a thing could happen!"

"That's good, the bandits can't steal our supplies anymore, and we'll all go hungry!"

...

Everyone was incredibly excited and chattered incessantly.

Long Qian was also taken aback.

However, he quickly guessed that Xu Zhixun might have hidden the supplies.

Therefore, he calmed down and coldly said to Yao Zhentian:

"Chief Yao, as you can see, all the grain and fodder have vanished without a trace."

"Even if I wanted to give you the provisions, I couldn't."

Upon hearing this, the one-eyed bandit beside Yao Zhentian immediately said to him:

"Brother, I heard that more than three months ago, the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden descended to the mortal realm to help the Sixth Prince attack the Xia Kingdom!"

"Now it seems that this is true!"

Yao Zhentian frowned deeply as he looked at Long Qian:

"Sixth Prince, among these women beside you, is there any Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden?"

As Yao Zhentian spoke, he scanned Xu Zhixun, Zhang Fuyao, and the other women with his sharp gaze.

Zhang Fuyao rolled her eyes, immediately pointed at Xu Zhixun, and said loudly:

"Chief Yao, she is none other than Xu Zhixun, the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden!"

Xu Zhixun: "..."

Long Qian's expression changed, and he immediately shielded Xu Zhixun behind him:

"Guards! Protect the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden!"

"Yes!" The soldiers responded and immediately rushed forward, forming a circle to protect Xu Zhixun.

Yao Zhen took two steps to the side and looked at Xu Zhixun.

Xu Zhixun was very curious when she saw ancient mountain bandits for the first time, so she also stared at Yao Zhentian.

Yao Zhentian looked at Xu Zhixun for a moment, then suddenly knelt on one knee and respectfully clasped his hands in a fist salute to Xu Zhixun:

"This humble citizen, Yao Zhentian, pays his respects to the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden!"

"This humble subject was unaware of the arrival of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden and has failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me, Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden!"

Seeing their leader kneel before Xu Zhixun, the bandits immediately followed suit and all knelt before her.

"This humble subject pays homage to the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden!"

Long Qian: "..."

Xu Zhixun was flattered to see the bandits kneeling before her: "You may all get up!"

"Thank you, Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden!" Yao Zhentian then stood up.

Immediately afterwards, the other bandits also got up.

“Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, Youzhou is suffering from a severe drought, and the people of our Black Wind Stronghold are starving to death.”

Yao Zhentian looked at Xu Zhixun and said politely.

"I wonder if the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden would have the mercy to spare us some food?"

Xu Zhixun thought for a moment, then smiled slightly: "I'm sorry, I'm not Guanyin Bodhisattva, so I'm not as kind as the Bodhisattva."

"If you want provisions, you can buy them with silver. I can sell you some provisions."

"However, the amount of grain is limited, and the Dragon Army is also short of grain, so I cannot sell you too much grain."

These words caused an uproar among the crowd, who began to whisper among themselves.

One-Eyed Dragon, a bandit leader, is the second-in-command of Black Wind Stronghold.

He was both shocked and furious, and immediately roared at Xu Zhixun:

"How could you just stand by and watch someone die? What kind of fairy are you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, many bandits immediately echoed his sentiments:

"That's right, Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, you should be kinder and give us the grain instead of selling it to us!"

"How did you become a fairy when you're so greedy?"

"A woman as greedy as you doesn't deserve to be a fairy!"

"In my opinion, you're not a fairy at all, but a fox spirit!"

...

The bandits were very frustrated and kept complaining about Xu Zhixun.

Long Qian immediately gloated: "Everyone, you should be content!"

"The drought is very serious now. Within a radius of a hundred miles, only the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden has food and water."

Xu Zhixun chimed in, "That's right, I'm not Guanyin Bodhisattva. Even though I'm a fairy, I still have to support my family!"

"If I give you food and water for free, my parents and I will starve!"

Yao Zhentian looked at Xu Zhixun with a puzzled expression:

"Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, you just said you needed to support your family?"

"But you are a woman, shouldn't it be a man's responsibility to support the family?"

Xu Zhixun took the opportunity to pour out her grievances to Yao Zhentian:

"No! In our Heavenly Court, all the gods, regardless of gender, need to support their families!"

“It’s very hard for me to support my family. If I don’t earn money, I’ll get scolded by my parents when I get home!”

Upon hearing this, the bandits were terrified and began to discuss it amongst themselves.

Yao Zhentian's expression was complicated, and he sighed, "Alas, it seems that being a fairy isn't easy!"

"I always thought that fairies must live a carefree and happy life!"

Hsu Chih-hsun: "Fairies just have a better life than mortals, but they also have a lot of troubles."

Yao Zhentian pondered for a moment, realizing that there was indeed no food or water to be found within a hundred miles of Yong'an City.

If he doesn't buy food and water from Xu Zhixun, the people of Black Wind Village might not last more than a few days and will starve to death!

So, Yao Zhentian clasped his hands in a fist salute to Xu Zhixun and spoke in a deep voice:

"Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, this humble subject wishes to purchase some grain from you. How much silver should I pay?"

Xu Zhixun looked at Long Qian: "Long Qian, you set the price!"

"Sell some military-grade compressed biscuits to the people of Black Wind Stronghold!"