The small, translucent brown ball opened its two large, round, black eyes and blinked at Han Weishu, as if it were processing what she had just said.
A moment later, it seemed to understand and swiftly burrowed into the ground, disappearing from sight.
Earth spirits are rare creatures born from the earth, and each one is extremely precious. As long as they are on the ground, they can travel at incredible speeds over thousands of miles and can easily sense information coming from the earth within a certain range.
However, in the mortal world, many people are unaware of the significance of earth spirits, and some don't even recognize them. Moreover, Han Weishu's mother had repeatedly warned her to be cautious, so Han Weishu rarely summoned her earth spirit.
Because of her five spiritual roots, Han Weishu's cultivation was weak. Although she had started cultivating at the early age of three, by the age of sixteen, she had only reached the first level of the Qi Refining stage and had yet to break through to the second level.
Despite being the daughter of Han Shangyi, the Sect Master of the Qinghe Sect, fewer and fewer people paid attention to her as time passed. After all, what could a person who had cultivated for over ten years and remained at the first level of Qi Refining accomplish? No matter who her father was, it was unlikely that the Qinghe Sect would ever allow someone with such a low cultivation level to become the Sect Master, and the elders wouldn't permit it either.
She would likely live for just a few decades and then pass away from old age.
Because of this, no one knew that she had an earth spirit.
At that moment, far from the Qinghe Sect, in Xiushui Village.
In the lush forest behind the Lingxian Sect, Jiang Youfu was walking his chickens.
Yes, he was walking Little Luan and Big Tao.
Earlier that day, Little Luan had complained to him that the bugs in the sect were becoming monotonous, and it wanted a change of taste. So, it had asked Jiang Youfu to bring it and its disciple to the forest behind the mountain for something different.
But Little Luan found the dense forest a bit intimidating with its towering trees that seemed to block out the sky, so it had asked Jiang Youfu to accompany them.
Jiang Youfu figured he could also search for some fresh mushrooms while he was there, so he led Little Luan and Big Tao to the back of the mountain.
Now, Jiang Youfu was diligently searching for mushrooms, while Little Luan and Big Tao trailed behind, occasionally burying their heads to eat.
Suddenly, while Little Luan was busy eating, something hit its head.
Thinking that Jiang Youfu had turned mean and was bullying it, Little Luan looked up in disbelief, only to see Jiang Youfu still picking small white mushrooms from the ground.
It turned its head and saw the culprit that had hit it—a dried-up bundle of wild vegetables lying on the ground.
Little Luan clucked in outrage, calling Jiang Youfu over to point at the wild vegetables on the ground and complain about how it had been hit, and how its head was now in pain.
Jiang Youfu looked at the bundle of wild vegetables on the ground, then at Little Luan, who had already reached the eighth level of Qi Refining.
He comforted it, "Alright, Little Luan, don't be mad. I'll take these wild vegetables back and cook them for you to eat. That'll be your revenge!"
With that, he picked up the bundle of wild vegetables, stashed them in his storage pouch, and continued gathering mushrooms from the ground.
Satisfied with this, Little Luan nodded in approval and resumed eating with Big Tao.
Meanwhile, the earth spirit, Qiuqiu, who was tracking in this direction, suddenly lost the trail of Han Weishu's presence on the ground and came to a halt.
It carefully sensed the area again but still found nothing.
Feeling dejected, the earth spirit had no choice but to return empty-handed to Han Weishu in the small dark room.
When she saw Qiuqiu return empty-handed, Han Weishu was furious. It was all her father's fault—why had he thrown away her wild vegetables?
Those wild vegetables had been collected by A Liang before dawn two days ago. Although it was winter, and while the southern winter wasn't bitterly cold, food was still scarce for the poor. A Liang had saved up those wild vegetables to thank her, and now her foolish father had casually tossed them away.
Those vegetables were likely picked up by an animal or a poor family by now. What a waste!
Han Weishu pursed her lips tightly as she surveyed the small dark room she was locked in.
It was obvious that her low cultivation of only Qi Refining stage one was being looked down upon. The room she was locked in was just an ordinary one, with no restrictions set up or guards outside. It was merely locked from the outside.
Han Weishu knew she was currently on her father's mountain peak, and many of his disciples were likely around, so she couldn't simply break out of the room—it would be too noisy.
First, she asked Qiuqiu to confirm her father's current location. After learning that he was still meeting guests, she began planning her escape.
She pulled a wooden hairpin from her hair, then removed a long, thin iron needle hidden within the pin.
She pierced the paper covering one of the window grids, and through the fist-sized hole, she extended her hand and used the iron needle to quickly unlock the door.
Once she was outside, she instructed Qiuqiu to keep an eye on the movements of the people nearby.
Carefully avoiding others, she snuck out of the Qinghe Sect through a little-known path far from the main gate.
As soon as she was out, Han Weishu ran as fast as she could.
By the third morning, she had rushed to Niutou Village at the southern border of Pusi Nation, where she saw A Liang, carrying a shabby bundle, bidding farewell to his uncle and aunt.
Han Weishu didn't approach him; instead, she hid in the grass by the roadside about a hundred meters away, waiting for him to finish his goodbyes.
Not long after, Tong Jialiang finished saying his farewells and walked out of the village.
But he hadn't gone far when he heard Han Weishu's voice.
"Where are you going?"
Surprised, Tong Jialiang turned to see Han Weishu emerging from the grass.
"Ashu? I thought you'd returned home. I didn't expect you to come out again so soon."
Han Weishu frowned unhappily and stared at him. "What? Were you planning to leave while I was away?"
"No, no, you've misunderstood," Tong Jialiang quickly waved his hands in denial, his face turning red as he explained, "I received a letter from my cousin yesterday. He said he has important work coming up that will require help, and he urged me to come quickly. Since it was urgent, I didn't have time to say goodbye to you. I already told my uncle and aunt that if you came looking for me, they should tell you I had left."
Hearing this, Han Weishu's mood brightened, and she smiled at him. "That's more like it. So, where are you headed?"
Tong Jialiang replied, "Didn't I tell you before? My uncle and aunt's second son, my cousin, sold himself years ago to provide food for the family. Luckily, he found a good master, and now he's serving in the capital. He's even able to send letters back home from time to time.
It's this cousin of mine who asked me to go to a town called Songyang County in the Hufang Province to meet at an escort agency there. He told me to wait for him there."