By the time the sun had climbed high into the sky the next day, the group finally stirred awake one by one. For them, this was a rare moment of true rest and relaxation, and none of them was going to let it slip away.
After waking up, they quickly freshened up and prepared to head out for breakfast. At that moment, Zhang Nu took out the remaining silver. There was only enough left to cover a single meal. He immediately called everyone into his room to gather.
He placed the coins on the table in front of them and said, “This is all the money we have left. Every last bit.”
“We’re facing a serious problem—if we eat breakfast with this, we’ll have nothing left. We need to find a way to make money. Otherwise, we’ll be sleeping under the stars again, maybe not even able to afford an inn.”
Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized the gravity of the situation. They had only just enjoyed the comfort of a proper inn, and the thought of giving that up so soon was dreadful.
Zhang Nu had rightly brought up something they couldn’t ignore. They needed to figure out how to earn enough silver to support themselves.
“How about we go hunt down some evil YaoGuais?” Ling Xi suggested brightly. “We’re all cultivators, right? We could earn good money for it.”
Zhang Nu nodded thoughtfully. It wasn’t a bad idea, but there were caveats.
“Not every place has monsters,” he said. “And not everyone who needs help has money to pay us. It’s a good plan in theory, but there are a lot of impracticalities.”
Hearing this, Ling Xi instantly deflated like a pricked balloon and flopped down onto the bed.
“I don’t know what to do then,” she muttered, frustrated. “That won’t work, this won’t work… I’m out of ideas. You guys figure it out.”
The room fell into an unusual silence. Even Zhang Nu didn’t know what to say right away.
Then Lin Xiao, who had been quietly thinking, finally spoke up. He actually agreed with Ling Xi—there was merit in her suggestion.
“Ling Xi’s idea still makes sense. Even if we don’t find paying clients, we can hunt down those YaoGuais that have done real harm and sell their inner cores. A single powerful YaoGuai core could fetch a good price.”
Zhang Nu’s eyes lit up slightly. That… was a new angle. If that worked, it could be their best option.
“Alright, then it’s settled. Let’s go see if there are any YaoGuai nearby. If anyone finds something, report back immediately so we can deal with it together.”
Everyone nodded, and the group quickly split up to begin their search. Lin Xiao was paired with Ling Xi—it gave everyone peace of mind. After all, she was still a girl, and if she were to run into trouble alone, it could end badly.
The rest went off in separate directions, though they did wonder why they were going to so much trouble. But a moment’s thought reminded them: they needed this money to keep going. A little work now would save them a lot of hardship later.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiao and Ling Xi made their way up a nearby mountain, only to find that there weren’t any dangerous monsters around. Instead, they encountered several kind and gentle YaoGuais, not unlike Ling Xi herself.
Ling Xi ended up chatting warmly with these small YaoGuais. Just before they were about to leave, a thought struck her: why not ask them if they knew of any truly malicious YaoGuais in the area?
Turning back, she looked at the little YaoGuais. “I have something really important to ask you. Are there any dangerous or evil monsters nearby?”
“We want to help protect people,” she explained, “but we don’t know where to start.”
The little YaoGuais didn’t hesitate—they nodded quickly. But it turned out the evil YaoGuais weren’t hiding up in the mountains. They were down in the town, possessing human hosts.
“There are monstrous YaoGuais, yes,” one said. “But, they’ve taken over people. Are you sure you’re strong enough to handle that?”
Ling Xi’s expression grew serious. This wasn’t just a lead—it was a potentially urgent threat. She couldn’t afford to delay.
“Of course, we can handle it. Please, tell us everything. We want to help before anyone gets hurt.”
Moved by her determination, the YaoGuais didn’t hold back. They told her and Lin Xiao everything they knew.
As they listened, Ling Xi and Lin Xiao exchanged a heavy glance. This was no small matter. They had to alert the others—immediately.