Chapter 12

"Look at this first!" Jiang Chenxin took out a cloth bag from his chest and handed it to Meier.

"What is this... Ah!" Meier took it with a puzzled look, the cloth bag made a rustling sound. When she opened it, she let out a scream. The bag was full of yellow crystal coins, dazzling her eyes.

If the little girl was just pleasantly surprised when she saw the meat, now she was shocked. She really couldn't imagine how her brother could bring back so much money after just one day out.

"This morning, I went to the market and heard someone talking about the Purple Thorn Mercenary Group..." Soon, Jiang Chenxin briefly recounted the events of the day.

The little girl's mouth was slightly open, staring straight at Jiang Chenxin, her mind somewhat numb, finding it hard to believe his words, feeling as if he was telling a story.

"Don't believe it, huh!" Jiang Chenxin chuckled and took out a piece of white silk: "Look, this is the contract I signed with the Purple Thorn Mercenary Group!"

Meier took it and opened it, reading it carefully twice. The expression on her little face slowly changed, her smile gradually growing, and finally turning into wild joy, emitting a laugh that far exceeded her age.

"Ha ha ha... fifty-fifty split, brother! You're amazing, we're rich this time..."

After saying that, the little girl hugged Jiang Chenxin's head and kissed his face. Ten pounds of meat, three hundred yellow crystal coins, and a partnership with the Purple Thorn Mercenary Group, like three waves, continuously impacted her heart. The joy almost completely enveloped her mind, making her consciousness somewhat blank.

"Ha ha!" Jiang Chenxin touched the spot where the little girl had kissed him and smiled. Seeing Meier happy, his mood was indescribably pleasant.

However, it wasn't over yet. When Meier's laughter subsided a bit, Jiang Chenxin said, "Also, I've already activated the Yuan Spring!"

"What?" Meier's laughter abruptly stopped, the words "activated the Yuan Spring" sounding like a thunderclap in her ears. After a long while, she could finally react.

"Brother activated the Yuan Spring?" Meier asked as if in a daze.

"Yep!" Jiang Chenxin nodded with a smile.

"Whoosh!" Two streams of tears welled up, and Meier suddenly started sobbing. She was only thirteen, no matter how strong she was, she was still a child. Because of Jiang Chenxin's predecessor's attempt to activate the Yuan Spring, she had been under immense pressure in recent years. Now, with the sudden relief, she could no longer control her emotions.

Jiang Chenxin reached out and gently held the little girl in his arms, softly saying, "From now on, Meier won't have to suffer anymore. You can enjoy life at home, and whatever you want to play, I'll play with you. I won't ignore you like I did when I was practicing martial arts before..."

"Sniff sniff~" Hearing this, the little girl cried even louder, leaving Jiang Chenxin at a loss. He had meant to make her happy, but the overwhelming joy had made her cry uncontrollably.

Feeling somewhat helpless, Jiang Chenxin could only gently pat Meier's back, offering silent comfort.

After a long time, Meier's crying gradually subsided, her breathing became even, and the room fell silent...

Just as Jiang Chenxin thought Meier had fallen asleep, the little girl suddenly lifted her head and asked, "How did brother get the secret recipe to remove the meat's fishy smell? I remember you never had anything to do with the kitchen... Also, how did you activate the Yuan Spring!"

Jiang Chenxin was startled, exhaling, "You scared me, why are you so jumpy!"

"Answer me quickly! No hiding, or I won't talk to you!" The little girl ignored Jiang Chenxin's words, pouting and pressing for an answer.

"That... do you remember how I was always spacing out the past few days?" Jiang Chenxin asked softly.

"Yep!" Meier nodded.

"That's because, after taking the fake medicine, I had a strange dream! In the dream, there were many strange things, including this secret recipe..." This was the explanation he had prepared, though it sounded full of holes, dreams were something no one could verify, especially with the fake medicine, and Meier was just a thirteen-year-old girl.

Sure enough, the little girl didn't dwell on the strange dream, her attention was entirely on the fake medicine.

"Could it be that the medicine brother took wasn't fake, it just took longer to activate the Yuan Spring..." Meier frowned, then seemed to accept this answer, nodding firmly.

"Seems like that person wasn't a fraud, I won't ask the mercenary group to catch him anymore... If it weren't for this medicine, brother wouldn't have become like this!" The little girl thought, a smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

"Brother, don't hide things from me in the future, okay?" Meier said seriously to Jiang Chenxin.

"Okay! I'll tell you everything in the future!" Jiang Chenxin smiled and agreed, affectionately ruffling the little girl's head.

"Also! You clearly know how to stew meat and remove the fishy smell, why did you let me do it just now!" Meier asked another question.

"Uh!" Jiang Chenxin's mouth twitched, looking at the little girl speechlessly: "Did I tell you to do it? I wanted to do it, but you were waving that cleaver around, how could I dare to step forward! Besides, you said you had been cooking for three years, who knew you were at this level..."

Seeing Jiang Chenxin's strange look, the little girl seemed to realize something, her face turning red!

"Let's forget it today, I'll cook for you tomorrow, I promise you'll even swallow your tongue!" Jiang Chenxin patted Meier's shoulder and said, "I'll go make water, go to bed early! Tomorrow we'll go to the market, first to the pharmacy to treat the wound on your hand, then buy new clothes, and go to the noble district to see if there's a house of a thousand square meters..."

"Brother!" Meier suddenly interrupted Jiang Chenxin.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Chenxin was taken aback, looking at Meier curiously.

"I want to go home!" Meier said softly, gently hugging Jiang Chenxin's arm, "Our little village is better than Hongyuan City, even though it's poor, everyone is friendly, there are no bullies, and no unscrupulous merchants... There's a small mountain behind the village, and beyond the mountain is a river. Standing on the mountain and looking far away, you can see the misty mountains, it's so beautiful..."

Meier spoke in a low voice, as if recalling, with a serene smile on her face. From her words, Jiang Chenxin could already picture a beautiful scene.

After a moment, Meier stopped, looked up, and said, "Brother! Now that you've activated the Yuan Spring, and we have money to buy medicine, we don't have to worry about martial arts hurting your body. We can definitely advance to the Inner Qi realm! Sooner or later, we'll meet the standard for a baron! Besides, our land is just a remote small village, no one will like it, so we might be able to get it back!"

Jiang Chenxin thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay! I'll do my best to get our home back... But we still need to buy a house of a thousand square meters in Hongyuan City, we can't keep renting!"

"Yep! Brother can definitely do it!" Meier smiled, like a blooming flower, then skipped away, "Brother, I'll go heat the water for you!"

Jiang Chenxin quickly grabbed the little girl, scolding her, "Your hand is injured, go heat the water? I'll do it myself! You don't need to wash today!"

Pulling the little girl to the bed, he instructed her to sleep well, then turned and left the room.

Meier watched Jiang Chenxin leave, suddenly burst into a fit of joyful laughter, then turned and hugged a quilt, rolling into the bed...

Jiang Chenxin, however, was not as happy after leaving the room. Now he realized that the little girl's greatest wish was to return to that small village, which was her true home, a safe haven. However, getting the land back was not that easy. He had only activated the Yuan Spring, and he himself could not practice martial arts. No matter what realm, it had nothing to do with him. He had only agreed to Meier to comfort her, not wanting her hope to be shattered.

After boiling the water and soaking in the hot water basin, Jiang Chenxin closed his eyes slightly and began to adjust his breathing. The meat he had eaten that night still made him feel a bit nauseous.

"Exhale, exhale, inhale..." As he adjusted his breathing, a warm current from his stomach flowed to his head, gradually dispelling the greasy feeling. The sensitive array in his mind grew by an imperceptible thread. However, this time was different. Jiang Chenxin felt as if his body had undergone a subtle change. He couldn't describe the change, but he could feel it.

Although he still didn't know the function of the sensitive array, any change was good. Jiang Chenxin felt a surge of joy and sat up straight, ready to study it carefully.

Sitting up suddenly, the water in the basin splashed. Jiang Chenxin immediately felt a warm object hit his eyes, and he quickly turned his head.

A small splash of water flew past his face and landed on the ground beside the wooden basin.

After dodging the water, Jiang Chenxin quickly reacted, seeing the splash out of the corner of his eye.

"How did I dodge that?" He paused, frowning in thought.

After a moment, his frown relaxed, "Could it be that the function of the sensitive array is to enhance the body's perception and sensitivity... Sensitive array, sensitive array, that's right, it must mean that!"

Jiang Chenxin was overjoyed. If his body's perception and sensitivity were enhanced, could he practice martial arts? If so, it might really be possible to get his land back.

This thought sprang to mind and grew like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. He couldn't resist trying again.

However, after the attempt, he was completely discouraged! Although he had learned from his previous mistake and only used a little force, the tearing pain was even more intense than with the Tai Chu array.

"It seems practicing martial arts is really not for me! I won't try it again in the future!" Jiang Chenxin looked at the sensitive array in his mind, which was already somewhat blurry, and made a firm decision. Not being able to practice martial arts was fine, but if he lost the array, he would have nowhere to cry. Although he still didn't know the specific function of the array, from the Tai Chu array, he could see that the sensitive array must also be significant.

"Slap!" Jiang Chenxin slapped the water, splashing it on his face. This time, he didn't have the same feeling as before.

"Ah! I can't help it..." Sighing, Jiang Chenxin got up, wiped himself, and dressed.

Just as he left the kitchen and walked to the bedroom door, someone started banging on the courtyard gate.