Is Zhu Qing truly distressed over Zhang Yiyi? That's another matter entirely, but Zheng He certainly wasn't.

Being able to bring Zhang Yiyi back safely—no matter the cost—was worth it, even if it meant giving up more. In fact, neither of them doubted Zhang Yiyi's account, thinking it was entirely normal for her to deplete her resources to ensure her safety.

After all, escaping from such a perilous place was already a stroke of luck. Any price was worth paying. From their perspective, Zhang Yiyi had no reason to lie from the beginning to the end. The only thing they found puzzling was why she risked following Bai into the Black Marsh to work as a miner.

But now, that was no longer important to them. On the contrary, it was quite satisfying to see the Bai family in such a mess. It was likely that the entire Jia Gu Guan City wouldn't have peace anytime soon.

Finally, the group left the Black Marsh without further hindrance and returned to the city.

Upon entering the city, Zhang Yiyi entrusted Shi Feng to Zheng He, asking him to take care of him for a while. She said they'd decide what to do after the Bai family's issues with the Liuyun mine had calmed down, which would also ensure Shi Feng's safety.

"Brother Han, aren't you coming with us to the City Lord's Mansion?"

Seeing that Zhang Yiyi seemed ready to leave and had no intention of joining them, Shi Feng grew anxious.

He knew very well that being able to leave that ant nest unscathed and escape the Bai family's sight, along with having a safe place to stay, was all thanks to Zhang Yiyi. Without her, he didn't know how many times he would have died already.

"Yes, Linlin, where are you planning to go now?" Zheng He was also surprised. He hadn't expected that at this point, Zhang Yiyi still didn't seem worried about the Bai family acting against her and wanted to leave on her own.

"I have to go back for a while; there's something I need to deal with."

Zhang Yiyi understood that Zheng He wanted to protect her, but the Bai family was likely too overwhelmed to bother with her now. After all, her position was already clear, and the Bai family knew full well that Zheng He and Zhu Qing were protecting her. If something were to happen to her now, it would only add more trouble for the Bai family.

"But what about the Bai family...?"

Zheng He was genuinely worried. How could this girl not know fear at all? Although the Bai family wouldn't dare openly target Zhang Yiyi now, who knew what they might do in secret once she was out of their sight?

"Brother Zheng, don't worry. I can protect myself. If you're really concerned, you can send someone to check on me anytime at my current residence."

Zhang Yiyi had already given the address of Liuzi's small courtyard to Zheng He and Zhu Qing, so they wouldn't have trouble finding her if anything came up. The fact that Zheng He and Zhu Qing had sought her out and helped her unconditionally this time made her consider them as true friends.

Knowing her personality, Zheng He didn't insist when she refused to go back to the City Lord's Mansion with him. Instead, he sent two of his men to follow and protect her discreetly, making sure that she would be safe and that they could stay in contact.

These two were Zheng He's personal guards, not under the City Lord's control, so there wouldn't be any issues in deploying them to protect Zhang Yiyi. They would only act in the shadows and not interfere with her daily life, so Zhang Yiyi accepted this goodwill after expressing her thanks.

After parting ways with Zheng He, Zhang Yiyi returned directly to her temporary residence.

Liuzi wasn't home at the moment, and his grandmother, upon seeing that Zhang Yiyi had returned, quietly retreated into her own room without saying much. Zhang Yiyi didn't mind. Liuzi's grandmother had a deeply ingrained fear of cultivators, and despite Liuzi's repeated assurances that Zhang Yiyi was a good person, she couldn't help but remain fearful.

However, after seeing Zhang Yiyi return safely, though she said nothing, the old woman did seem to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Squeak! I was suffocating in there!"

As soon as she entered the room, Maoqiu, who had been confined in the beast bag, leapt around the room before finally settling back on Zhang Yiyi's shoulder, its favorite spot for reasons it couldn't quite explain.

"Alright, don't be so dramatic. Think about all those Liuyun stones we've got, the spirit stones we can exchange them for, and all the high-grade beast cores you've collected..."

Zhang Yiyi set up a barrier around the room and began talking to Maoqiu without any reservations. "Considering all the benefits we've gained, staying in the beast bag for a while was a small price to pay. A true warrior must endure. With such a windfall, staying in the bag a little longer would have been worth it."

As expected, Maoqiu's mind immediately conjured images of piles upon piles of high-grade beast cores, and suddenly, the beast bag didn't seem so bad anymore.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's sell those Liuyun stones and get me my beast cores!"

Zhang Yiyi lightly tapped Maoqiu on the head. "What's the rush? Do you think the Bai family's just going to roll over and play dead? Not now, and not anytime soon. We can't risk selling them just yet."

If they sold such a large amount of Liuyun stones all at once, the Bai family would immediately notice, and the price would drop. Zhang Yiyi had no intention of making such a rash move.

"When, then? How can I not be anxious? All those stones are meant to be exchanged for my beast cores!"

Maoqiu was clearly unhappy, but Zhang Yiyi, unbothered, said, "Even if we sell them now, we'll still have to wait until I return to my sect to refine the beast cores for you."

At this, Maoqiu quieted down. Although impatient, it knew Zhang Yiyi was right. High-grade beast cores couldn't be trusted if bought from the outside world, and only Zhang Yiyi could make the ones that met its standards.

Resigned, Maoqiu let the matter drop, while Zhang Yiyi planned to take the Liuyun stones back to her sect for processing rather than selling them in Jia Gu Pass City. She wasn't desperate for spirit stones and didn't want to take unnecessary risks.

After a short while, Liuzi returned, ecstatic to see Zhang Yiyi safe and sound.

"Hey, you've already started cultivating? Well done, Liuzi."

Zhang Yiyi immediately noticed the change in him.

"Thank you, Sister Han! I've successfully started cultivating, and it's all thanks to you!"

Liuzi felt a bit embarrassed by the praise, but the joy and gratitude in his heart were impossible to hide.

He had only successfully channeled Qi into his body last night, and he didn't expect that Sister Han would return today as well.

"Keep working hard. I believe you'll continue to improve," Han said with encouragement.

Zhang Yiyi also couldn't help but feel happy for the boy. Given Liuzi's potential, successfully channeling Qi into his body was no easy feat. Seeing his determination, she naturally hoped he could go further on his path.

After searching through her storage ring, she found a few bottles of pills suitable for cultivators at the Qi Refinement stage and gave them to Liuzi as a gift for successfully channeling Qi into his body.

Liuzi, unlike her, needed the assistance of such pills. Without them, the limitations of his aptitude would only further hinder his cultivation progress. Unfortunately, since Zhang Yiyi had never relied on these types of pills and had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, she had very few left that would be useful for Qi Refinement cultivators.

Nevertheless, the pills she gave him would last Liuzi for a considerable amount of time. Beyond that, he would have to rely on his own efforts to continue progressing.

"So many pills! I can't accept this," Liuzi said, quickly declining when he saw how many pills Zhang Yiyi had given him. He already felt deeply indebted to her for the tremendous help she had provided, and to take more would seem greedy.

"Take them. These are only useful during the Qi Refinement stage. They're of no use to me now," Zhang Yiyi said as she packed the pills into an empty storage pouch and handed it to him. "Consider this my gift to congratulate you on successfully entering the path of cultivation. Use them wisely to aid in your progress, but remember, don't become too reliant on these external aids."

Seeing her firm attitude, Liuzi felt he couldn't refuse any longer. While accepting the gift, his gratitude toward Zhang Yiyi reached new heights, to the point where he felt he could never repay her kindness, no matter what.

"By the way, Liuzi, I need you to look into something for me," Zhang Yiyi said, changing the topic before Liuzi could become overwhelmed with emotion. She then assigned him several important tasks.

Liuzi listened attentively and replied, "It might be difficult to look up the Bai family's records from over six months ago, as I've heard they have a habit of periodically destroying unimportant documents. And now that you've mentioned the major incident at the Bai family's Liuyun Mine, they'll definitely be more cautious."

"You have another plan in mind?" Zhang Yiyi asked, noticing that although Liuzi said it would be difficult, he didn't seem discouraged, hinting he might have another approach.

"Sister Han, we can start by investigating the rogue cultivators who frequently enter and exit the Bai family's Liuyun Mine. I happen to know of several cultivators who didn't sign up for this trip, and we might be able to get some information about what happened over six months ago from them."

Liuzi knew that Sister Han suspected the people she was looking for had encountered trouble in the Bai family's mine around six months ago, but cross-referencing names on the roster might not be effective.

Even if the Bai family hadn't destroyed their records, it was possible the three individuals had used aliases.

The best approach was to track down people who had been in and out of the Black Swamp Liuyun Mine during that time to verify in person.

Zhang Yiyi nodded in agreement, realizing Liuzi's suggestion was indeed more practical. She then conjured the appearance of the three outer sect disciples for Liuzi to remember.

"Go ahead with your plan. Also, bring me any other unusual findings you've gathered lately. If they haven't entered the Black Swamp, we might need to look into other leads."

By now, Zhang Yiyi hadn't hidden much from Liuzi, except for the true identities of the three people she was searching for.

In fact, she believed that with Liuzi's sharp mind, it wouldn't take him long to deduce their identities during his investigation.

Liuzi also sensed Zhang Yiyi's trust in him, which further strengthened his resolve to not let her down.