Fan Sheng knew that now was not the time to talk, so he drove the carriage at high speed all the way to the prefectural city.
After entering the city, Fan Sheng took the people to the small courtyard he had bought in the prefectural city.
Because he had to come over every month to check the accounts, staying in a guesthouse was inconvenient and not cost-effective, so he simply bought a small courtyard.
The courtyard wasn't large; besides the main room and kitchen, there were only three rooms, which was more than enough for the few of them to live in.
Once home, Fan Sheng finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Xia Qingqing excitedly, saying, "Qingqing, how are you so amazing? I thought today was going to be a disaster."
"Of course, I promised my sister-in-law and Yaoyao that I would protect them, how could I go back on my word?" Xia Qingqing said in a relaxed tone.
Luo Suyue was not really clear about what had happened. She was holding her daughter tightly in the corner of the carriage and didn't dare to even open her eyes, let alone lift the curtain to look.
Through this incident, Xia Qingqing gained a better understanding of public security issues in ancient times: "Brother Fan, these bandits are so arrogant, why doesn't anyone do anything about it?"
"Alas, the government probably can't manage it all," Fan Sheng sighed.
Actually, these bandits were very shrewd and never messed with people they shouldn't, so the government generally didn't bother to deal with them.
Unless these bandits run into a brick wall, the government might not send troops to suppress them.
Of course, the government also offered rewards for the heads of those bandits. If any chivalrous person was willing to take the initiative to eliminate the bandits, they could receive a considerable reward.
After Fan Sheng learned that Xia Qingqing was quite capable, he felt much more at ease letting her take Luo Suyue and Fan Yao out to play.
For the next two days, Fan Sheng helped with the accounting at the dessert shop, while Xia Qingqing and the other two wandered around the city, buying a lot of useful and useless things.
It wasn't until the third day that the group set off back to Ping'an County.
After returning to Ping'an County, Fan Sheng went out again the next day. In the past few years, in addition to the two dessert shops in the county town and the prefectural town, he also opened two branches in the two neighboring counties.
If he weren't worried about expanding too much, and if he weren't too lazy to manage it, he might have opened even more.
Xia Qingqing stayed in Ping'an County for about two months. Apart from occasionally going out with Fan Sheng to check accounts, she spent the rest of her time staying in the courtyard.
With the departure deadline fast approaching, Xia Qingqing and Fan Sheng said their goodbyes.
"Brother Fan, sister-in-law, I plan to go out for a walk and see the scenery. We'll meet again someday."
Fan Sheng had anticipated Xia Qingqing's departure, and although he was reluctant, he expressed his support: "Go ahead, and if... you can come back anytime."
"Yes, yes, I understand," Xia Qingqing nodded vigorously.
Luo Suyue hugged Xia Qingqing tightly, reluctantly: "Are you really leaving now? Why not stay a few more days?"
"Sister-in-law, I'm also reluctant to leave you, but I still want to take this last chance to go out and see the world, so that my journey here won't be in vain," Xia Qingqing said with a smile.
"Then be careful on your way. If you don't feel comfortable outside, come back." Luo Suyue's eyes were slightly red, and she tried hard not to let the tears fall.
Xia Qingqing retrieved some items from the system's inventory for Fan Sheng and the others, such as Vajra Talismans, colorless and odorless poisons, and healing potions. These items might not be needed now, but they could come in handy sometime in the future.
After leaving Ping'an County, Xia Qingqing randomly chose a direction and began her travel plans.
Since there were no maps in ancient times, she could only rely on her sense of direction. Sometimes, when she couldn't find an inn, she would find a deserted place in the wilderness and make do with a small house there.
Occasionally, she would secretly lend a hand when she saw injustice on the road, which was a kind of experience for her as an ancient knight-errant.
More than half a month passed like this, and one morning she woke up to find that her surroundings had changed.
Although both were in the wild, she remembered that she had camped at the foot of a flat mountain yesterday, while now she was in a dense forest.
Xia Qingqing took a deep breath: "This should be the last world, right? I wonder if I can go back after experiencing this world."
Knowing that this world was a world of cultivation, Xia Qingqing secretly became more vigilant.
She had read many cultivation novels before. The cultivation world was full of dangers. A cultivator might suddenly appear from any corner to kill and steal treasures, or a demon beast might appear to eat her.
Xia Qingqing carefully searched for a way out in the woods when she suddenly heard a rustling sound.
She used her mental power to scan her surroundings and discovered a large red snake, about the thickness of an adult's thigh, rushing towards her from her right rear.
She quickly conjured an ice blade and shot it toward the head of the red serpent.
The expected headshot didn't happen. The ice blade left a faint mark on the red serpent's head, which not only failed to kill it but also enraged it even more.
Those green eyes gleamed with ferocity, and with its gaping maw, it spewed a burst of flames toward Xia Qingqing.
Xia Qingqing quickly erected an ice wall to block it, and several more ice blades shot towards the red serpent's gaping maw. This time, the red serpent paused, rolled on the ground in pain, and kept hissing.
His gaze toward Xia Qingqing was filled with chilling intent, and he spewed fire at her as if it were free, but upon closer inspection, the flames were much weaker than before.
Xia Qingqing twitched her fingers slightly, and an ice wall blocked her completely, preventing the red serpent from raging.
Adhering to the principle of striking while the iron is hot, Xia Qingqing shot several more ice blades at it until the red serpent stopped moving completely before she breathed a sigh of relief.
I don't know what kind of snake it is, but its skin is like an impenetrable wall of copper, and it can breathe fire. It's much more difficult to deal with than the zombies in the post-apocalyptic world.
Fortunately, she has ice-based abilities, which are a perfect counter to fire-breathing snakes.
Xia Qingqing took one last look at the snake carcass lying on the ground before preparing to leave. She had no intention of storing the snake's body in the system's warehouse; it was too creepy.
She had only taken two steps when a clear, crisp voice called out to her.
"Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment."
Xia Qingqing turned her head and saw two handsome young men in white robes looking at her.
Xia Qingqing frowned: "Is there something you need?"
The slightly taller boy said with a smile, "It's nothing serious. I just saw you kill this fire python. Don't you plan to dig out its demon core? The fire python's corpse can also be sold for quite a few spirit stones."
Xia Qingqing raised an eyebrow curiously and asked, "How many spirit stones can it sell for?"
"This fire python is at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Its demon core, tendons, bones, and flesh are all useful. It should be able to sell for two hundred spirit stones without any problem."
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