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Wei Yuan's heart skipped a beat.
Wait—someone's here?
He quickly hid the machete behind him and cautiously edged the temple door open just a crack. Outside, he saw a man and a woman standing not far from the entrance.
The man, whose skin was dark and tanned, frowned when he saw Wei Yuan.
"Er Gouzi? What are you doing here?"
Er Gouzi? Wei Yuan's mind raced. That wasn't his name.
He didn't recognize these people at all.
A wave of confusion washed over him.
"Er Gouzi, what happened to the village?"
the dark-skinned man pressed, his frown deepening.
Wei Yuan remained silent, his mind a blank slate.
He had no memory of this village or who this "Er Gouzi" was. How could he possibly answer?
Seeing him just stand there, unresponsive, the woman—dressed in simple peasant clothes—snapped impatiently,
"Wang Hu, are you daft? He's always been slow-witted, barely able to string two words together.
Why are you even bothering?"
The dark guy, Wang Hu, slapped his forehead.
"Right, right, my bad."
Then, without waiting for a response, he pushed the temple door open wider and strode in.
He cast a sweeping glance around the interior.
"Whoa, not bad at all! Always thought you were a complete simpleton, Er Gouzi, but look at you! You've got a knack for making yourself comfortable.
Must have gone around snatching all the best bits from the village, eh?"
The woman followed closely. She sighed, her eyes scanning the humble surroundings.
"Who would've guessed?
We just nipped into town, and we come back to find the whole village… gone.
Wrecked.
Mountain bandits, most likely—what else could wipe everyone out like that?"
Suddenly, Wang Hu's attention was drawn to Wei Yuan's bed.
He bent down and opened the wooden box beside it. Instantly, a dazzling array of gold, silver, and jewels shimmered into view.
The woman gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief.
A small cry of excitement escaped her lips.
Wang Hu turned sharply at her sound and froze, his jaw dropping at the sight of the glittering treasure. His eyes bulged. Meanwhile,
Wei Yuan's heart hammered against his ribs. A knot of apprehension tightened in his stomach.
This was wrong, terribly wrong.
"Where in the heavens did all this come from?"
Wang Hu blurted out, his voice thick with shock. He whirled around, his gaze sharp and accusatory as he fixed it on Wei Yuan.
"Where did you get all this?!"
The woman was already reaching out, her fingers tracing the smooth surfaces of the jewels, a wide, avaricious grin spreading across her face.
"Where else?
After the village was destroyed, the poor fool must have just wandered through the ruins, picking up whatever shiny things he could find.
Looks like he stumbled upon all the valuables."
"You sly little rascal," Wang Hu chuckled humorlessly.
"No wonder I couldn't find anything worthwhile in the wreckage earlier—you were hoarding it all here."
As he spoke, his own hand reached out, unable to resist the allure of the gems.
He began to fondle a jade pendant. Watching the raw greed contorting their features, a cold dread washed over Wei Yuan.
His inability to speak or remember anything made him feel vulnerable and exposed.
After a few moments of awestruck handling of the treasure, the couple exchanged gleeful looks, unable to contain their excitement.
"We're rich! Finally rich!"
"Hahaha, no more scraping by for us!"
They spoke as if he weren't even there, their focus entirely consumed by the newfound wealth.
Then, Wang Hu's eyes fell upon several neatly arranged items on the floor.
He moved closer to inspect them.
"Damn… this is a fortune in ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms.
At least a hundred taels, easy." His voice filled with excitement, he beckoned the woman over.
She gasped again, equally thrilled. She turned to Wei Yuan, her eyes now narrowed with a calculating glint.
"Er Gouzi, where did you get all this?"
Wei Yuan blinked, his mind still struggling to grasp the situation. He lifted a hand and slowly pointed towards the nearby mountain, hoping they would understand his gesture.
He didn't speak, couldn't speak, but he hoped his meaning was clear.
"Picked it from the mountain? Figures. Dumb as dirt, but luckier than most," the woman muttered, her gaze on Wei Yuan sharpening. Then she called her husband over to help gather the money and herbs.
"Honey," Wang Hu said, his brow furrowed, "our house is gone. What do we do now?" The woman's eyes gleamed with newfound ambition.
"That's simple. We lived in that broken-down hovel because we were penniless.
Now that we have money, we're obviously going to buy a proper house in town."
"You're absolutely right, sweetheart,"
Wang Hu said, slapping his forehead with a wide grin.
Then, a thought struck him, and he glanced at Wei Yuan.
"What about this Er Gouzi? Just leave him here?"
"Honestly, you can be so thick sometimes," the woman scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Look at him—scrawny, yes, but he's got two arms and two legs.
Why leave him behind when we can sell him and make even more money?"
"You're a genius, babe," the man said.
He got up and walked over to Wei Yuan, towering over him.
"Er Gouzi, the whole village is gone. You're all alone now. How about coming with us? We'll take you to town—you'll eat well, live large, have the time of your life."
As he said that, he casually grabbed a rope, clearly getting ready to tie Wei Yuan up.
"....."