Chapter 45: Wealth

The two men led their horses by the reins and looked back at the group standing behind them.
Mu Qingnan gave a wave of his hand. "Father, Mother, everyone else, you should head back now."
Yu Qi smiled at them and said, "Don't worry, Uncle Mu, Auntie Mu, I will take good care of Qingnan."
Then, amidst the reluctant gazes of their loved ones, the two mounted their horses and galloped away.
Yu Qi's attire was simple, save for a sword now strapped to his back—a demonic seed whose length resembled that of a dagger.
Mu Qingnan, however, was quite the opposite; he carried a bulky pack on his back, large enough to obscure his waist, though its contents remained a mystery.
"Big Brother, where are we heading?" Mu Qingnan asked.
"Back to Cang Commandery," Yu Qi replied.
He wanted to return there to bury his clansmen properly and pay his respects to his father along the way.
"Cang Commandery? I went there with my father when I was little. I certainly miss it," Mu Qingnan said, leaning forward over his horse's neck. It was during that childhood trip to the Yu family in Cang Commandery with Mu Wenfen that he had first made Yu Mo's acquaintance.
By nightfall, the two had left the territory governed by Mu Wenfen.
Following the main road, the silhouette of a small town came into view before them.
"We can finally get a good rest," Mu Qingnan said, stretching his back. Lugging such a massive pack had worn him out completely along the journey.
The two found an inn, ordered some food, and then retired to their room.
Yu Qi glanced at the pack on Mu Qingnan's back, feeling rather curious. "Qingnan, what on earth do you have packed in there?"
Mu Qingnan let out a cheeky laugh. "Big Brother, these are my treasures in here. Let me show you."
With that, he untied the bundle and pulled out several books. Yu Qi glanced over them and realized they were all popular tales and anecdotal records.
"Qingnan, why did you bring these along?" Yu Qi casually picked one up and began to flip through it.
Mu Qingnan neatly stacked the books and smiled. "To pass the time, Big Brother. Otherwise, with nothing fun to do, it would be so boring."
Feeling somewhat amused and helpless, Yu Qi put the book back down. Suddenly, the corner of his eye caught another book resting inside the package: *The Illustrated Compendium of Myriad Artifacts*. "I never expected you to bring this thing along."
*The Illustrated Compendium of Myriad Artifacts* was a book that recorded the strongest weapons in the world today. Of course, the rankings within it made no distinction of relative strength; after all, as long as one reached the Unity Realm and birthed a weapon spirit, any weapon could be recorded within its pages.

Although Yu Qi came from the Yu family, the only weapons he was intimately familiar with were the three divine artifacts that had once belonged to his clan. He remained deeply interested in the other entries within the compendium.
He opened to the first page.
Greeting his eyes was a sword—a sword whose entire body seemed to be forged from solid ice.
As Yu Qi looked at the illustration, a sense of familiarity washed over him. After a moment of careful thought, he remembered that the white-haired man he had encountered when lost in the mountains earlier was wielding this very sword.
Upon checking the name of the sword's owner, Yu Qi was struck with utter astonishment, for the text read: Sword Name: Snow Walk, Owner: Jian Li.
"He is actually the legendary Sword Saint Jian Li!" Yu Qi found it hard to believe, a surge of excitement welling up in his heart.
In this day and age, what swordsman did not strive toward the legendary Sword Saint Jian Li? Countless practitioners of the blade yearned to become his disciples and receive his guidance.
It was said that among the three supreme powerhouses of the Yu family in the past, at least one had received his tutelage before leaping into the ranks of the supreme masters.
In this era, Jian Li could be said to be the ultimate faith of all swordsmen, and Yu Qi had crossed paths with him quite by chance. How could he not be thrilled?
Suddenly, as if recalling something, he hurriedly flipped toward the back of the book.
When he turned to a certain sword, he stopped. His gaze instantly searched for the owner's name with high hopes, but what was written there left him bitterly disappointed.
Sword Name: Green Bamboo, Owner: Unknown.
His fists clenched fiercely. For this sword was none other than one of the three divine artifacts possessed by the Yu family.
If the name of the owner had been recorded here, perhaps he could have discovered the identity of his enemies. Yet now, it simply read "Unknown."
At this thought, a wave of anger surged back into Yu Qi's heart. He closed *The Illustrated Compendium of Myriad Artifacts* and forced himself to calm down.
Just then, Mu Qingnan walked over, retrieved a box from the depths of his bundle, and waved it in front of Yu Qi. "Big Brother, do you know what's inside this?"
Yu Qi looked at him, asking in confusion, "What is it? Why are you being so secretive?"
Mu Qingnan flipped the box open, revealing its contents.
Yu Qi peered inside, his eyes widening involuntarily. "So many bank notes?"
Inside the box lay a thick stack of bank notes, each bearing a denomination of one thousand taels. Such a thick stack amounted to at least tens of thousands of taels.
"I took these from home. Since we're going to travel the four directions, how can we manage without money?" Mu Qingnan closed the box with a smile.

Yu Qi could not help but feel a twinge of shame. As the heir of the Mu family, he certainly had wealth to spare; he brought tens of thousands of taels just for a trip out. Even back when Yu Qi was staying in the Yu family, the money he managed to save up over a whole year amounted to only a few thousand taels. Indeed, some people simply could not be compared.
After resting for the night, the two continued their journey the next morning.
What they did not know was that in a corner of the town, a pair of eyes watched their receding figures with a sinister smirk playing at the corners of a mouth. With a wave of a hand, the watcher gave an order to his subordinates.
Behind him, a dozen men dressed in night-walker garments immediately set off in the direction Yu Qi and his companion had taken.
Yu Qi, riding on horseback, was chatting idly with Mu Qingnan when he suddenly sensed slight movement in the nearby woods. He lowered his voice and said, "Qingnan, someone is lying in ambush ahead. Be careful."
Hearing this, Mu Qingnan nodded, maintaining the appearance of knowing nothing.
The men in black hiding in the forest saw that the two travelers remained completely oblivious and drew their weapons.
As the pair rode a little further, the ambushers suddenly leaped out from the trees.
Their weapons flashed as they simultaneously struck toward the two horsemen.
Having long been on guard, the two youths executed a nimble flip, vaulting backward out of the attackers' striking range.
When their surprise attack missed, the men in black realized that these two youths possessed a degree of skill. However, they showed no panic, simply turning their bodies to face the pair once more.
One of them looked at the heavy pack on Mu Qingnan's back and spoke in a deep voice, "Leave the money behind, or die!"
"Are we being waylaid by highway robbers?" Yu Qi glanced at the dozen or so men, realizing their cultivation was roughly on par with that of Shi Mingfeng back then. A smile touched his lips. "Qingnan, I'll leave them to you. Consider this a good opportunity for combat practice."
Mu Qingnan nodded. He knew his practical combat experience was lacking, and using these people to hone his skills was the ideal opportunity.
He handed his pack over to Yu Qi and stepped forward.
Seeing Yu Qi treat them with such contempt, the man who had spoken earlier felt a surge of anger. "Arrogant fools! Kill them!"