Chapter 74: Origin (IX)

"Cough… cough…"

Dust swirled everywhere, and Bai Youyou's delicate cheeks were stained grey, yet she did not stop what she was doing.

Bai Youyou's tender, fair palms were now rubbing straw and mud back and forth, quickly leaving a few shallow red marks on her fingertips.

She carefully smeared the mixed mud into the wall cracks, diligently filling every gap; although her movements seemed a bit clumsy, she did not slack off in the slightest.

Beads of sweat kept seeping from her forehead, dampening a few strands of her dangling dark hair.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, but accidentally smeared the dust on her face even more evenly.

After a while, she stood up; her originally beautiful face was now covered in a layer of dust.

Dust crisscrossed the tip of her nose and her cheeks, making her whole pretty face look as if it had been daubed with mud, with even a bit of dust sticking to the corners of her mouth.

Yet she didn't care at all; she simply wiped the sweat from the tip of her nose with her still-white hand, caught her breath for a moment, and crouched down to continue working.

"Cough… cough…" Bai Youyou couldn't help but cough twice more, so choked up that tears were almost coming out.

She glared at the mud and straw in her hand with some disdain and muttered discontentedly, "Why is there so much dust… you're really not well-behaved."

After saying this, she gently clapped her hands, looked up at the repaired wall, and a hint of a satisfied smile flashed in her eyes.

Then she turned and walked toward the other wall, continuing to immerse herself in the repairs.

It is unknown how much time had passed, but the farmhouse had been repaired.

"Brother Bai Fan, take a look at how I did with the repairs?" Bai Youyou wiped her dust-covered hands and smiled with a bit of pride on her face.

Bai Fan finally snapped out of his ethereal state and scanned his surroundings.

He saw that the originally dilapidated walls had been completely restored, the cracks filled with fine mud and bits of straw, tight and seamless, with not a single gap in sight.

Although the room was still simple, the cold wind that had previously blown in wantonly had disappeared, and the room had become much warmer.

"Mn, Youyou, you are truly amazing." Bai Fan praised her sincerely, his gaze soft and full of approval.

"Hehe, of course!"

Bai Youyou blinked playfully, reverting to the appearance of that mischievous and cute little fox.

"Right, I also found this while I was repairing!"

Bai Youyou suddenly seemed to remember something; her eyes lit up, and she ran excitedly to the corner of the wall.

She bent down and tugged hard on a bulging sack.

A few silver banknotes were vaguely visible at the mouth of the sack.

And when she used more strength to pull the bag out, the bottom was actually full of gleaming white silver, stacked neatly, filling an entire large sack!

[This was exactly the 50,000 taels that Lin Fan had obtained, the corrective education service fee.]

"So heavy…" Bai Youyou barely managed to grab the mouth of the sack with both hands, but was swayed by the weight, almost losing her balance.

She hurriedly called out, "Brother Bai Fan, come over and take a look, I can't move it!"

Hearing her cry, Bai Fan hurriedly stood up, walked quickly to Bai Youyou's side, reached out to steady her shoulders, his eyes filled with astonishment.

"Youyou, where… did you find these?"

"Right there in the crack of the wall corner; I accidentally pulled off a piece of loose plaster while repairing, and then I saw it."

Bai Youyou caught her breath, a fine layer of sweat seeping from her forehead; it was clear she had used a lot of strength just now.

She tilted her head slightly to look at Bai Fan, her eyes full of curiosity and excitement:

"Brother Bai Fan, why do you think there is so much silver in this bag?"

Bai Fan was stunned for a moment and looked down at the heavy sack.

On the few banknotes at the mouth of the bag, it clearly read "Silver Banknote 5,000 Taels," and the mountain of loose silver underneath was a huge sum totaling 50,000 taels.

This was exactly his "corrective education fee"! But he no longer had the memories of Lin Fan, so for a moment, it was difficult for him to recall the origin of this money.

Bai Fan frowned, vague fragments flashing in his mind, but he could never see them clearly.

"Mn… this money might belong to the previous owner of the farmhouse," he said hesitatingly.

"How is that possible!" Bai Youyou immediately shook her head in denial, her eyes full of doubt and confusion.

"Brother Bai Fan, do you know that this is 50,000 taels of silver! What kind of farm owner could have so much money? It's probably some bandit or robber who hid it here secretly, intending to come back and retrieve it after the heat dies down."

Bai Fan was slightly taken aback, seemingly touched by her analysis regarding some doubts in his heart, and he nodded gently:

"Youyou, your analysis makes sense."

"So, we must move it away quickly!"

Bai Youyou clapped her hands and said seriously.

"Those bandits and robbers are not good people. If they happen to come back to get the money and bump into us… we'll be in trouble."

Upon hearing this, Bai Fan couldn't help but frown. He knew that everything Bai Youyou said was the truth; anyone else in this situation would choose to run away immediately.

But deep down, he had an inexplicable feeling—that this money did not seem to pose any danger.

"Youyou, I just feel that this money is safe; we don't need to move it. If any bandits really do come, you can just turn back into your little fox form. That way, they won't be tempted by your beauty. Then we can just return the money to them."

"What?!" Bai Youyou frowned, her little mouth slightly agape, wearing an expression of disbelief.

"Give so much money to those bandits just like that? Those are all bad people!"

"There's no other way; those are desperate criminals, and it's not worth risking our lives against them."

"Hmph, I am not reconciled!"

Bai Fan smiled lightly and stroked her little head, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.

"Youyou, if we run away with this money, how would that be any different from those bandits?"

Bai Youyou was choked by his words and was speechless for a moment; she could only pout her little lips and mutter discontentedly, "Fine, then I'll listen to you."

Bai Fan smiled slightly, his tone full of confidence.

"Don't worry. I will definitely pass the Liangjing imperial examination. By then, we won't be short of money, and I will buy you whatever you want! What does this little bit of silver amount to anyway?"

Hearing this, Bai Youyou's eyes curved into crescents, and she said happily, "Good, then… from now on, you will provide for me, and I will dress up beautifully every day waiting for you to come home!"

"Mn!" As he spoke, Bai Fan reached out and pulled her into his embrace.

With her delicate body in his arms, carrying an intoxicating fragrance, Bai Youyou's body stiffened slightly; she subconsciously hid her hands behind her back, her eyes darting away.

"What are you hiding?"

Bai Fan frowned, a trace of doubt rising in his heart. He gently pulled over the hand she was hiding behind her back.

He was stunned—Bai Youyou's originally beautiful, long nails were now oozing blood.

Bright red bloodstains were dripping down from her nails.

"Youyou, what happened to your hand?" Bai Fan's voice suddenly deepened, his eyes filled with heartache and worry.

Bai Youyou lowered her eyelashes, whispering an explanation as if she had done something wrong: "I… I accidentally scratched it just now while pulling this sack."