Night fell, the moon shone faintly, and the stars were sparse over the dilapidated temple in the desolate mountains.

This mountainous area was still some distance from Lvzhou City, with no villages ahead or stores behind. Consequently, the commerce caravan had no choice but to rest for the night at the unnamed, decrepit temple halfway up the slope.

Since it was a small temple and not very spacious, the caravan members set up their bedding inside. They stacked their goods in a corner of the courtyard and tied their horses outside in the yard.

As for the few wing rooms barely fit for dwelling, they were all vacated and cleaned out for use by the womenfolk.

The so-called womenfolk, naturally, were not from among the caravan's ranks but were the women Wanli Fengdao had rescued from the bandits' lair.

These bandits had roamed the nearby region for several months, escaping one military encirclement after another thanks to their Carefully Cautious tactics.

In fact, calling it an encirclement was a stretch. Nan County was in turmoil, and most of the government soldiers were nothing more than military riff-raff and rabble, long unaccustomed to battle. Whether they could withstand the bandits without fleeing was questionable.

Moreover, there was collusion between officials and bandits, hand in glove, with no real effort made to root out the banditry.

These poor women had mostly lost their husbands to the bandits. With the current strict social customs, they would likely be ostracized even by their own families if they tried to return home.

Li Ang, clad in a dark cloak, sat cross-legged on the freshly swept ground, flipping through the observations and records written by Scholar Zhu by the light of the campfire.

Sobs continuously emanated from the wing rooms. Li Ang sighed softly, then spoke to the Merchant Team Manager behind the fire, "Manager Xu, all those bandits have bounties on their heads from the government, don't they?"

Hearing the words of the esteemed figure, the plump Manager Xu quickly lifted his head from his bowl and said with a smile, "Indeed. That stout man who leads the bandits, known as Short-legged Tiger, is responsible for dozens of lives and has a bounty of two hundred taels of silver on his head."

After saying this, worried that Li Ang might misunderstand, Manager Xu quickly added, "As soon as we reach Lvzhou City, I will inform the authorities. Not only is there a bounty of two hundred taels of silver, but there are also rewards for eliminating other outlaws, as well as a gratuity from our firm..."

"There's no need for that," Li Ang said, waving his hand. "You can distribute that money to those women for me. Help those who wish to return find a way home. For those unwilling to go back, help them settle down in Lvzhou City and find a livelihood. Consider this your way of repaying me for saving your life."

Manager Xu, caught off guard by Li Ang's words, glanced at Li Ang's serene expression, pursed his lips, and said with clasped hands, feeling moved, "Your compassion is boundless, Daoist. I will make sure to carry out your commands."

THUD.

Four palm-sized gold ingots were tossed from Liu Wu Dai's hand into Manager Xu's embrace.

"Distribute a bit more money."

Liu Wu Dai withdrew her hand and, without lifting her head, uttered another sentence, then continued to study the paper records.

The young heiress was as generous as ever.

Li Ang smiled and picked up a piece of dry ration flatbread from the caravan, eating it with the thick soup.

Ordinary players, when entering a script mission, should bring not only necessary combat supplies but also some hard currency that can circulate in the script world, such as gold and silver ingots, or cheap jewelry crafted using modern techniques (like glass beads specifically used to deceive natives in ancient-themed scripts). These items take up very little space but can prove extremely useful.

This was just like how Li Ang previously obtained precious supernatural materials from a group of demons in the Solitary Cold Temple using small trinkets as deception.

As the portly Manager Xu, holding the gold ingots, spoke a few words inside the wing rooms, the cries of the women inside gradually subsided.

The moonlight dimmed. Manager Xu returned and arranged for several people to take turns on watch, while the others, lying on their bedding, drifted into a deep slumber, using dreams to escape the torment of a day that had brushed with death.

Wanli Fengdao yawned and fell asleep. Liu Wu Dai leaned against a column, feigning sleep. Xing Hechou, with his eyes shut, polished a piece of iron; he had taken the Special Affairs Bureau's standard-issue pills, which allowed him to go days and nights without sleep, though he still felt somewhat mentally fatigued.

Li Ang sat gazing at the campfire, lost in thought.

The second layer of the Shengnan King's Dream was akin to a small world, complete with all its elements. Without prior knowledge, it would be hard to imagine this was a dream realm.

Li Ang mused to himself, The bandit I encountered during the day, who had mastered the indestructible body, also possessed abilities that were genuinely feasible. According to what Scholar Zhu recorded in the documents, this world's White Lotus Cult has a method for ordinary people to gain low-level mana by consuming others of their kind.

"What's so strange about that?" Miss Chai asked curiously. "Don't we have similar skills in the real world?"

"It's not the same," Li Ang muttered. "Every creature and object in this world, from the flora and fauna to the pedestrians, is exactly like the real world. But there's one odd thing—the humans here seem to provide me with more Power of Faith."

"Eh?"

Miss Chai was taken aback. Previously, in the world of modified fairy tales, Li Ang had posed as an Eastern Monk with healing skills and treated many people within Rune Kingdom. During this process, he managed to gather a small amount of Power of Faith from the patients and their families—energy for the Swamp God Mark.

Based on Li Ang's speculations, as long as he gained the admiration or trust of others, the Divine Mark could acquire Power of Faith; it wasn't necessary for people to worship him as the sole true deity.

A common person who had been greatly helped could offer a point of Power of Faith. A nominal believer could offer three points.

So, when Li Ang had saved the lives of the caravan members earlier that day, they had provided him with almost a hundred points of Power of Faith, far exceeding what could be obtained in the real world or the modified Fairy World.

Could it be because this is the Shengnan King's Dream, and the essence of all living beings here is Telekinesis?

Li Ang spared a glance at the slumbering caravan members from the corner of his eye. Is this world real, or is it false?

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