Chapter 023: Returning to Hidden Immortal Town

After pondering for a long time, Mu Tong let out a bitter laugh: What would it matter if I figured it out? Whether Shen Kai was a normal mortal or a being manifested from the essence blood of a god, he is now nothing more than a passing cloud.

This drop of essence blood showed great joy when touched by Mu Tong’s divine sense. If it possessed facial features, one could surely see the gamut of emotions it expressed.

Believing this was likely the divine essence blood of Shen Kai, Mu Tong decided to keep it safe. She had no intention of refining or absorbing it. While doing so would greatly assist her breakthrough and perhaps even optimize her inferior five-element spirit root, she wondered: if this truly was the essence blood that had once transformed into Shen Kai, could it, under certain conditions, be reincarnated as a human again?

Because of the accident that befell Shen Kai, and fearing that she might also be taken from her parents and family by some unforeseen event, Mu Tong decided to equip them all with the storage items she had crafted.

Hastily, she placed rings and bracelets on her sleeping parents, brother, and little nephew, feeling a sense of relief wash over her. She bound each item to their respective owners and set strict seals on them. Even if something were to happen to her, these seals would automatically break, revealing to her family everything about her life and the supplies she had prepared for them within the storage gear.

With these seals in place, she did not fear others stealing them; the items would be useless to anyone but the intended owners. Even if she were not by their sides, these gifts would ensure they lived well.

Looking at the bracelet she had prepared for Zuo Xiaojun, Mu Tong smiled and put it on herself: Since the sister-in-law is no longer a sister-in-law, there is no need to give this away.

To save her brother from his deepening depression, Mu Tong decided that starting tomorrow, she would have him help her upload her novels and manage the comment sections. In short, she needed to find him something to do to distract him. Although Mu Chang’s physical health had recovered, he no longer wanted to drive his truck and lacked the spirit to engage in anything.

However, when Mu Tong gave him the follow-up content for three of her novels, Mu Chang was stunned: Is this the writing my sister works so hard on every day? No wonder it is so popular online.

Every day, Mu Chang organized Mu Tong’s novels, uploaded the chapters, and became immersed in the strange worlds she created. Through managing the comment sections and interacting with readers, Mu Chang gradually emerged from his gloom and became more cheerful.

The small dot indicating the path to Hidden Immortal Town was about to glow. Mu Tong went to collect her custom-made goods, then headed to the forest pasture to retrieve Xiao Qiang and her puppets. She could bring these puppets to Hidden Immortal Town to help her around the courtyard. Besides, she would be in the town for a year, but time would not have passed at all when she returned.

She harvested everything ready in the pasture, leaving the young animals to grow freely.

Before leaving for Hidden Immortal Town, Mu Tong visited Shen Kai’s grave. Although it was merely a cenotaph, she felt she had to pay her respects. To keep up appearances, the Shen family had eventually set up a memorial for him. She had been with him for several years, but due to her deliberate concealment, the Mu family did not know she had had such a boyfriend.

At Shen Kai’s grave, the golden blood bead hidden inside the small orb remained perfectly still. Even when Mu Tong took the orb out, there was no reaction.

As she left, Mu Tong ran into Shen Kai’s mother, He Meiqi. He Meiqi had never approved of her son’s relationship with Mu Tong. She never expected that the forced marriage with the Jiang family, which led to Jiang Tao drugging and driving Shen Kai away, would result in her son’s tragic end—a pain that would remain in her heart forever.

Had she known it would come to this, she never would have urged her husband to force their son into the alliance with the Jiangs. Now her son was dead, and the Shen and Jiang families were bitter enemies. She remembered how, on his deathbed, her son had begged her not to trouble the Mu family and to protect them.

She would fulfill her son’s final wish. At the very least, she would not let the Jiang family ruin what he had requested.

Looking at Mu Tong, He Meiqi felt a complex mix of emotions; she could not say if it was hatred or distaste, but she certainly could not bring herself to like her. In the end, her son’s departure was inextricably linked to this woman.

The two women stood silently facing each other, neither speaking, just watching one another for a very, very long time.

On another enchanting night, after entering her bedroom, Mu Tong traveled to Hidden Immortal Town.

She appeared once again in her small courtyard. The scenery remained charming, the air as fresh as ever, as if she had never left.

After some farming, she filled her empty storage items with the various fruits and vegetables she had harvested. After preparing some delicacies, she prepared to go hunting in Xiaoyao Mountain. She had left the remaining food made from beast meat in her family’s storage items; when they eventually had the fortune to open them, that energy-filled food would be of great help to them.

Returning from the hunt in Xiaoyao Mountain, Mu Tong was in high spirits. It was, of course, delightful to be free from Yun Feng’s pestering. Hearing that the young man was still in seclusion, Mu Tong hoped he would remain there for a long time, ideally until after she had left Hidden Immortal Town.

With the puppets helping her, Mu Tong prepared many delicacies from the beasts she had hunted. She planned to run her small shop for a few days before buying materials for alchemy and artifact refining.

The aroma from the kitchen, released after she opened the isolation shield, had long since spread across the town. As usual, the area outside the shop was crowded. As soon as Mu Tong opened the doors, the crowd swarmed in, quickly filling the ten tables.

Fatty Sister-in-law occupied a seat as always, with her husband, Yun Ting, whom she had dragged along. Yun Ting was not picky about food, as long as it was rich in spiritual energy, but since his wife had brought him, he did not want to dampen her mood.

Everyone opened their eyes wide, wondering: What delicious food will little Tongtong make for us this time?

Squid in pickled pepper, delicious roasted squid, steamed conger eel, braised crab roe and shark fin, boiled beef, cumin magic rabbit meat, stir-fried silver-thread mushrooms, oyster sauce winter flowers, garlic black fungus, blueberry goji berry fermented rice wine soup...

There were ten dishes, all equally fragrant and rich in spiritual energy. The immortals drooled with desire, and once Mu Tong collected the payment, they dove in, fearing that if they were too slow, they would miss out.

The shop remained open for ten days, and Mu Tong sold almost all the food she had prepared. She did not open on the eleventh day, choosing instead to go to the street to shop.

She filled the storage rings and bracelets for her family with the pills, talismans, formation flags, magic tools, and puppets she had crafted previously, along with spiritual stones, cultivation manuals, and high-tech products she had gathered. Of course, she also included essential currencies from various countries on Earth, plus all her assets: antiques, calligraphy, paintings, gold and jewelry, property deeds, and so on.

In short, she had emptied more than half of her inventory. She needed to hit the streets to acquire materials and refine items that she herself could use.