Chapter 107: Little Snow Gets into Trouble

"How about I help you break it open?" Tang Wei offered, seeing Shi Zaitian looking half-dead and desperate.

Shi Zaitian glanced up at her, a faint glimmer of hope flickering in his eyes. Yet, recalling Tang Wei’s unreliability, he couldn’t help but sneak a look at Zixuan, hoping to hear his opinion.

"It seems that’s the only way. The keys from your several great families might be difficult to open," Zixuan said without changing his expression, endorsing Tang Wei’s suggestion and giving her face.

Tang Wei didn’t argue; she was about to use her luck to strike the stone door when the old patriarch of the Xuanyuan family suddenly shouted, "Ah! How could this happen? How could this be?"

Ignoring her own tasks, Tang Wei’s curiosity got the better of her and she hurried inside to see what was going on. To her surprise, the cave looked as if it had been raided by thieves. Jade boxes were tossed into disarray, a thousand-year-old wild ginseng root on the floor had bite marks halfway through, and several bottles of pills were toppled over with their stoppers nowhere to be found. Only the magical artifacts remained intact on the shelves, alongside a few jade slips—likely cultivation notes left by the Xuanyuan ancestors. A quick glance around the cave made Tang Wei think only one phrase could describe the scene: utterly devastating.

As she surveyed the area, Tang Wei noticed Zixuan watching her with a half-smile, half-smirk, which puzzled her. Her gaze caught a small hole about the size of a blue orb, smooth and just large enough for an animal the size of Xiaoxue to pass through.

"Xiaoxue-sized?" Tang Wei was stunned, realizing that the thousand-year ginseng Xiaoxue had just carried might have come from here. Good heavens! After all this time, there really was a thief—and that thief had been sound asleep right in her hands! No wonder Zixuan had been looking at her so strangely.

Tang Wei suddenly didn’t know whether to hide or just confess. Seeing the two Xuanyuan gentlemen’s expressions full of grief, she steeled herself and decided to take responsibility. After all, it wasn’t like she was short of a few things. Why not let them tally the losses and compensate them with her own pills? It wouldn’t cost her much.

Without hesitation, Tang Wei spoke up, "Xuanyuan Daoist, since you’re so heartbroken here, why don’t you count the losses, and I’ll compensate you."

The two men looked at her strangely, probably not yet understanding the full situation. So Tang Wei pointed to the small hole in the corner and explained, "I think the damage inside was caused by this little one in my hands. It just bit a thousand-year ginseng root to give to me! Do you see that hole? It must have come in from there."

"How could we ask a senior to compensate us?" The Xuanyuan patriarch felt a hundred times inclined to accept Tang Wei’s offer, but still felt a bit embarrassed.

"It’s nothing. Don’t be upset. Xiaoxue will stay with me now. If it causes trouble, I’ll take responsibility. Feel free to investigate. Once you calculate the losses, I’ll compensate you with pills." Xiaoxue, sensing everyone’s attention, squirmed nervously in Tang Wei’s arms, and she gently patted its back to calm it.

"Well then, Xuanyuan will humbly comply. Thank you in advance, senior!" Seeing Tang Wei wave off their concerns, the patriarch’s sorrow turned to joy, and he began to tally the losses.

Even without Tang Wei watching, the two Xuanyuan men dared not be careless in their reckoning. They may have underestimated slightly, but never exaggerated—after all, angering two Golden Core cultivators would bring trouble. Holding this in mind, they did not expect an unexpected gain from the process.

After Tang Wei finished breaking open the stone door of Shi family’s cave, she obtained the Xuanyuan family’s damage report and carefully settled the accounts. She offered fifty pills as compensation, generously adding half more for the old patriarch’s honesty. Naturally, the Xuanyuan family was overjoyed.

However, the pills still needed to be remade after returning to the Xuanyuan family. Normally, Tang Wei would have simply used her spatial power to refine them in a few moments. But since no one had seen her refining pills outside before, and they might grow suspicious over time, she planned to demonstrate her skill in front of everyone, even if it meant letting Zixuan steal the spotlight.

Zixuan and Tang Wei sat comfortably by the stone table, showing no curiosity about what ancestral treasures the families had stored inside. It wasn’t that they weren’t curious, but after seeing the Xuanyuan ancestor’s arrangements and the inventory list, they understood the items weren’t very valuable. So they patiently waited while everyone else packed up the treasures. The two from the Xuanyuan family either went off to sift through junk or reminisce about their ancestors’ grace—they didn’t disturb them.

Watching the crystal fish swimming freely in the hot springs, Tang Wei suddenly asked Zixuan, "Xiao Xuan, are these fish tasty? Should we cook a few to try?"

Zixuan smiled indulgently, "You little glutton! Seeing such a beautiful scene and you’re already thinking about eating? I really admire you."

"So what if I think about eating? If you can, don’t eat later!" Tang Wei walked to the edge of the spring, took a net bag from her spatial ring, and actually planned to catch one. But the fish, small though they were, were extremely agile. Every time she cast the net, they darted away. After several attempts, not a single fish was caught. Seeing Zixuan’s smug grin, Tang Wei was both embarrassed and furious, channeling her spiritual power to try harder.

Recalling how at the waterfall in Changbai Mountain, she had used water spiritual power to gather fish into a large group, Tang Wei looked around to make sure no one was watching, then quickly converted the fire and wood spiritual energy in her meridians into water energy, which flowed from her fingertips.

Seeing her about to do something dangerous again, Zixuan hurried over to stop her and whispered in her ear, "Senior sister, why not collect some fish into your spatial ring? That way, catching them will be easier. You can get them anytime you want to eat. There are so many people here; it’s easy for them to discover you’re using other spiritual energies. These people aren’t as naïve as Xuanyuan Che and the like—these old fellows are all quite cunning."

"Who told you not to help me and just watch me make a fool of myself?" Tang Wei rolled her eyes and pouted, complaining. She looked just like Ya Ya when angry; if anyone doubted they weren’t mother and daughter, she’d give them a good scolding.

Zixuan never let her have the last word and quickly tried to appease her, "Alright, alright! I’ll help you. Women are really troublesome!" Seeing Tang Wei glare at him again, he shrugged helplessly, realizing he was out of luck—his sharp tongue had done him no favors.