While thinking, he picked up the purple crystal and examined it closely, feeling it was rather unbelievable. He always thought these spirit coins and spirit stones were extremely valuable things. If Little Lily or that Young Mr. Smith carried them around, that would be understandable, but this pouch was casually taken from a Mr. Smith, so how could there be so many? If even the servants have these things, how could they be worth much?

Counting carefully, there were actually thirty-two pieces of this purple crystal, which made Henry Foster feel even more incredulous. He also realized that this pouch didn’t look very big—just about the size of a palm—and seemed even smaller than the combined volume of these purple crystals. So how did all these crystals fit inside at once? Could it be that this little pouch was also a treasure?

Henry Foster's expression gradually became a bit dazed.

He also realized a very serious problem...

“It seems like their servants really are richer than the masters around here...”

Did he really miss out on a great fortune?

Maybe he should have used a coin to divine his luck just now!

But this thought only flashed by, and then he thought: “I, Henry Foster, am a descendant of immortals. When the immortal elder comes to take me back, who knows how much glory and wealth I’ll have? I wouldn’t even want to be the Mr. Carter, let alone a rich servant...”

Thinking this way, he felt much better, and began putting the purple crystals into the pouch one by one.

Feeling delighted, he thought, “I’ll take this money back as a betrothal gift, marry both Ruby and Widow Flowers at once, buy ten jars of wine and a hundred fat chickens for the wedding, and then after the bridal chamber, I’ll take my recommendation letter and go cultivate at the immortal sect...”

He stuffed the pouch into his chest and then jogged off toward Niutou Village to get himself a wife.

At the same time, inside a law boat slowly sailing above the nine heavens toward the Eastern Lands, in the most exquisite and comfortable cabin, Little Lily Carter was squatting on the floor feeding a nest of rabbits with grass. The green-robed maid and the black-clad old woman stood respectfully to the side. After a long while, once they were sure no one was spying around, the green-robed maid slowly turned her head to look at the black-clad old woman.

“After all, a thread of karma was still left behind?”

The green-robed maid did not speak, but a wisp of divine sense entered the black-clad old woman’s sea of consciousness.

“The young lady’s fate is too bitter!”

The black-clad old woman was silent for a while before she said softly, “One more thread of karma means one more variable in the future!”

The green-robed maid seemed a bit surprised and said, “How can you tell that this country bumpkin boy has any chance of helping the young lady?”

The black-clad old woman hesitated for a moment and said, “Maybe it’s just that he’s naturally likable?”

Chapter 9: Everyone’s Gone

Henry Foster was only twelve, and truly quite likable.

It wasn’t that he was especially handsome, but with his round, tigerish face, and his natural ability to say the right thing to the right person—talking to people like a person, talking to ghosts like a ghost—he could act cute whenever he wanted, and there was never a single flaw to pick out. But when he got a mischievous idea, his eyes would instantly fill with cunning, always giving people a different feeling.

Usually, in Niutou Village, where even a single pickled vegetable had to be split into two meals, he could always manage to trick, steal, or mooch a bite of meat from time to time, and never got beaten to death for it. In a way, he owed this to his naturally likable little face...

But this time was different!

In Niutou Village, except for Ruby and Widow Flowers, everyone else had developed a strong immunity to his charming little face and no longer secretly slipped him treats. But now, Henry Foster’s luck had turned, and he had a lot of money on hand!

Earlier at the manor, Henry Foster had already asked the black-clad old woman about the location of the manor and knew it wasn’t far from Niutou Village—about forty or fifty li of mountain road. Now, carrying the pouch full of purple crystals, he ran lightly all the way toward Niutou Village.

For some reason, even though he’d just been through a rough time, he felt like he had endless energy in his body. The faster he ran through the mountains, the warmer and more comfortable he felt, as if there was a spring of strength bubbling up from his belly.

Forty or fifty li of mountain road would take an adult most of a day to walk, but Henry Foster ran all the way back and arrived near Niutou Village before nightfall.

Seeing the big locust tree at the village entrance, he felt even more cheerful, shouting as he ran toward the village, laughing, “You bunch of paupers, I, Henry Foster, have struck it rich! Do you know what I—”

“Huh?”

Before he could finish, he suddenly stopped.

Today, Niutou Village looked completely different from usual.

The mischievous kids who were always making a racket in the village—and who had all been beaten up by him more than once—were nowhere to be seen. Widow Flowers, who always sat by the well at the village entrance sewing shoe soles and batting her eyes at passing burly men, was gone too. Even Ruby, the girl who always ran over to greet him the moment she saw him return, pestering him with endless questions, was nowhere to be found...

“Where is everyone?”

Henry Foster stared blankly for a long while, thinking, “Could they all be hiding somewhere eating meat?”