He started by killing his abusive father, and from then on, he embarked on the road to wealth.

Chapter 154 Agreed Upon

She stepped forward, her expression urgent: "Come down, this matter concerns you..."

Meng Fuqing mimicked the little girl's tone from before, raising her voice, "Grandma, don't worry, I'll bring my little brother down."

Grandma Su was completely bewildered, not understanding when they had become so close.

Watching Meng Fuqing's figure disappear into the cave entrance, Xie Jin approached Granny Su and hid himself in the shadows where he couldn't be seen from the cave entrance.

After confirming that Granny Su could hear him, he hurriedly said, "Stay here and don't make any rash moves, and don't reveal her identity, otherwise those people above will kill you, or I will."

After speaking, he turned and left through the tunnel.

In the village, the food was ready, but Meng Fuqing was nowhere to be seen, and Shan Qiyu couldn't help but get anxious.

Remembering that Meng Fuqing had left with Yan He, she looked for Yan He but couldn't find him either. After searching for a while, everyone eventually learned that Meng Fuqing and Yan He had disappeared.

So everyone set out to search for them, and finally found Yan He and Xie Jin's men in the courtyard of a house at the village entrance.

When Yan He, Mu Sheng, and the others went into the cellar earlier, they found nothing unusual.

They returned to the village entrance to wait, and noticed that Meng Fuqing and Xie Jin had not returned for a long time. Their faces remained calm, but they were considering going down to check on them. Just then, Du Zhong arrived with his men.

Yan He immediately gave a brief account of the tunnel in the house and the whereabouts of Meng Fuqing and Xie Jin. After a moment's consideration, Du Zhong decided to go down and investigate.

Before they could make a move, Xie Jin appeared.

His tone was cold. "The rest of you should continue with what you're supposed to do. Mu Sheng, lead your men to guard the perimeter of the village. How about Chief Du joins me for a drink?"

They hadn't noticed the presence of those people along the way, which meant that these people were not as simple as the refugees they had encountered before. It was best not to alert them until Meng Fuqing made a move.

The question "Where is Miss Meng?" was stuck in Du Zhong's throat. He noticed Xie Jin's abnormality and immediately stopped asking questions, leaving with Xie Jin.

On the other side, as soon as Meng Fuqing stepped out of the cave, two knives were immediately held to his neck.

Her gaze swept around and she saw many burly men holding torches. A tall man stood with his back to her, casually placing one foot on a stone, while the boy knelt in front of him, almost curled up in a ball.

She quickly averted her gaze, her body stiffening, too afraid to move an inch.

The man turned around and looked at the newcomer with interest. "Another brat? Is he here to rescue someone?"

Meng Fuqing swallowed hard, looked up at the man, and said, "He is my brother. You can leave whatever you want to me to do. I will do it. Don't make things difficult for him."

The man before me was dressed in a red brocade robe, wearing a jade crown, with jingling pendants at his waist, Buddhist beads wrapped around his wrist, and a thumb ring on his right thumb—he was incredibly flamboyant.

She never expected to see someone dressed like this during a famine, as if they were wearing all their jewelry and saying to everyone, "Come and rob me, I have money!"

The boy's view had been blocked by the man, so he didn't know who it was. Now he was staring straight at Meng Fuqing, shocked and confused.

However, he quickly lowered his head to prevent those around him from noticing that something was wrong.

"Oh?" The man spoke with a faint smile, pointed at the boy, and teased, "Little lady, you're much braver than him."

He changed the subject, asking with a hint of doubt, "Young lady, your hearing is quite remarkable. Have you ever practiced martial arts?"

Meng Fuqing knew why he had this question. The place where the man and the boy were talking was two zhang away from the cave entrance, and the cave entrance was very high. At such a distance, ordinary people would not be able to hear.

"I……"

The boy kneeling on the ground spoke first, "My sister has had excellent hearing since she was a child, she didn't eavesdrop on purpose."

Upon hearing this, the man glanced thoughtfully at Meng Fuqing, but did not press the matter further. He then gave a wink to the two people behind Meng Fuqing.

The large knife at Meng Fuqing's neck was withdrawn, leaving two red marks from which blood seeped.

"Now that you know what I had your brother do, what do you plan to do?"

Meng Fuqing pursed her lips and said bluntly, "I can do it, but I don't want to die."

The man was handsome, and when he suddenly smiled, he looked even more beautiful in the firelight.

"I like your personality. What's your name?"

“Xiuer,” Meng Fuqing said.

“My older sister’s name is Chi Xiuer,” Chi Ye added.

Meng Fuqing knew he was reminding him of his surname.

The man turned his head and glanced at him indifferently. "Did I ask you?"

Chi Ye lowered his head and dared not speak again.

Qin Su made no attempt to introduce himself, but instead gestured for Meng Fuqing to look at the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand. “I am a Buddhist and have never liked to kill innocent people. Since you are working for me, I will naturally protect you.”

Upon hearing this, Meng Fuqing quickly lowered her eyes, not letting her inner thoughts show through her gaze.

It's hard to imagine that the person who just now kept talking about eating and cooking people could now claim to be a Buddhist.

It's almost like telling a demon you're not a demon.

She lowered her head and said, "The tunnel leads to the village. My brother went to peek during the day, but the people there were very wary. He almost got caught after just one glance. Even at night, I'm worried about being discovered..."

"Of course I know, otherwise why would I have come to you?" Qin Su said somewhat impatiently, twirling the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand.

Meng Fuqing continued, "You're short of water, and they're probably short of water too. If you're short of food, since you've discovered us, you can use the water in the cave to trade with them for food..."

Qin Su looked at Chi Xiuer with a half-smile. "You have a little cleverness, but not much. If I only wanted their little bit of grain, why would I go through all this trouble?"

Meng Fuqing cautiously looked up at him, "You want to give them all..."

She paused, hesitated, and then made a throat-slitting gesture.

Qin Su was amused by her hesitant movements, but after laughing, his expression suddenly changed. "Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."

The two burly men standing behind Meng Fuqing were itching to do something again, but Meng Fuqing quickly said, "If you won't sell water, I will! I'll use the excuse of selling water to build a good relationship with him, and then secretly sprinkle the powder into every bucket of water..."

Hearing this, Qin Su's expression softened slightly. After thinking for a moment, he narrowed his eyes and said, "If things are exposed, I will try to rescue you if you don't betray me. Otherwise, I won't interfere with whether you live or die."

Meng Fuqing picked at her fingers, "I won't betray you. You can take my brother hostage, like Granny Su and the others..."

Chi Ye: ...

He hesitated, but ultimately didn't dare to speak.

"They'll be fine too."

Upon hearing this assurance, Meng Fuqing feigned a relieved expression.

"Don't worry, I will try my best."

Qin Su chuckled, "Good boy, much better than your younger brother."

The two reached an agreement, and Qin Su left with the reluctant Chi Ye, while Meng Fuqing quietly wrapped the vines around Chi Ye's ankles.

If she's too far away, she might not be able to manipulate the vines to do anything, but that would be enough to find out roughly how many people are in this man's lair.

She harbored ill intentions, and Qin Su also distrusted her, so two more people were placed in the cave to monitor Meng Fuqing.

They changed into the appearance of refugees, ostensibly claiming to be Chi Xiuer's two uncles.

Meng Fuqing didn't give them a chance to monitor him and immediately suggested going to the village.