An Unexpected Encounter with a Treasure-Seeking Mouse, a Wonderful Fate

The auction was drawing near, and Li Wuyang was worried about spirit stones, which dampened his enthusiasm for browsing the stalls. One day, he was wandering aimlessly through the relatively quiet miscellaneous goods section, with Huaihuai carrying him and Little Fire lazily trailing behind, while Yingying dozed on his shoulder.

Suddenly, a flash of gold in his peripheral vision caught his eye – a familiar tiny golden figure was peeking around a stall.

It was that golden bandit squirrel that had stolen his Lingzhi Mushroom and pine nuts before!

The little squirrel was eyeing a golden spirit fruit, the size of a longan and emitting an alluring aroma, on the stall. Its tiny paws twitched restlessly. The stall owner was a bear demon with a brutish face and a fierce aura, dozing off.

Li Wuyang's anger flared instantly. "Well now! It's you again, you little thief! I finally caught you today!"

Just as he was about to rush forward and catch it red-handed, he saw the little squirrel move with incredible agility, transforming into a streak of gold and zipping past the stall. The golden spirit fruit vanished instantly! The bear demon remained completely oblivious.

Having succeeded, the little squirrel turned to flee.

How could Li Wuyang let it get away? He immediately urged Huaihuai to give chase, shouting, "Stop thief! That squirrel stole something!"

The bear demon was startled awake. Seeing the spirit fruit gone, it roared in fury and gave chase, howling.

The little squirrel was terrified and fled desperately, darting and weaving between the crowded stalls with astonishing speed.

Li Wuyang, riding Huaihuai, pursued relentlessly. Little Fire also perked up, joining the chase with a low growl. For a moment, it was chaos, drawing curious glances from stall owners and passersby along the way.

In its panic, the little squirrel ran blindly into an extremely narrow, cluttered dead-end alley by the roadside!

"Let's see where you run now!" Li Wuyang and the bear demon blocked the alley entrance.

Trapped in the corner, the little squirrel clutched the golden fruit, trembling all over, its large eyes filled with despair.

The bear demon, furious, moved to crush it.

But Li Wuyang's heart stirred, and he stopped the bear demon. "Brother Bear, wait a moment!"

The bear demon glared at him impatiently. "What is it? It stole my Golden Scale Fruit!"

Li Wuyang smiled. "It's just a little squirrel; it doesn't deserve to die. How about this: I'll compensate you for the fruit it stole. What do you say?" He took out a mid-grade spirit stone he had obtained from his earlier stall.

The bear demon looked at the spirit stone, then at the trembling little squirrel, and snorted. "Consider yourself lucky!" It took the spirit stone and lumbered off, grumbling.

Only Li Wuyang and the little squirrel remained in the alley.

The little squirrel looked at Li Wuyang with surprise and uncertainty, not understanding why this human was helping it.

Li Wuyang crouched down, offering a smile he thought was friendly. "Little one, we meet again. You stole from me last time, and I caught you again this time. What do you say we do about it?"

The little squirrel tucked its neck in and hesitated for a moment. Then, it cautiously pushed the Golden Scale Fruit it was holding towards Li Wuyang, its small eyes full of appeasement.

Li Wuyang chuckled. "So you know how to curry favor now? What were you doing before?" He didn't take the fruit. Instead, he extended a finger and gently tapped its little head. "You seem very clever. How about following me from now on? I guarantee it'll be better than being a thief."

The little squirrel tilted its head, seemingly in thought. It sniffed the aura on Li Wuyang (the residual Dao Rhyme from the Great Dao Imprint), then looked at Huaihuai and Little Fire behind him, and Yingying peering curiously from his shoulder.

Finally, it seemed to make a decision. Holding the Golden Scale Fruit, it scrambled up onto Li Wuyang's other shoulder, the one not occupied by Yingying, nuzzled his neck affectionately, and then pushed the Golden Scale Fruit into his hand.

"Squeak! (Boss, I'll follow you from now on! This is a welcome gift!)"

Li Wuyang held the Golden Scale Fruit, still warm from the squirrel's touch, and couldn't help but laugh. Was this considered... meeting through conflict? Trading a mid-grade spirit stone for a treasure-seeking mouse?

He stroked the little squirrel's smooth fur. "Alright, then from now on, your name will be... Jinbao! You'll specialize in finding treasures for me!"

Jinbao squeaked happily twice and settled comfortably on his shoulder.

And so, Li Wuyang's team gained a new member: the treasure-seeking mouse Jinbao.

With the new member, Li Wuyang's mood lifted greatly, feeling it might be a good omen. He decided to try his luck again at the auction house entrance, hoping for an opportunity.

He arrived at the Myriad Treasures Tower. The auction was about to begin, and various figures were entering. Li Wuyang, being a "miscellaneous person," was naturally stopped outside.

As he was looking around, Jinbao suddenly became restless on his shoulder, tugging at his hair with its little paws and pointing at a sachet hanging from the waist of a richly dressed young man who had just alighted from a luxurious carriage and was surrounded by people.

"Squeak! Squeak! (Treasure! Boss! There's a treasure there! A very fragrant treasure!)"

Li Wuyang followed its gaze. The sachet looked ordinary, but Jinbao's excitement indicated it was extraordinary! The richly dressed young man exuded an noble aura, and his guards were numerous and formidable; he clearly wasn't someone to be trifled with.

"How... how do I get it?" Li Wuyang was troubled. Did he have to steal it? The risk was too great!

Just then, the richly dressed young man seemed to get into an argument with another group, and the situation became somewhat chaotic.

An opportunity!

Li Wuyang's mind raced. He whispered to Jinbao, "Jinbao, it's up to you! Be careful!"

Jinbao received the order and transformed into an almost invisible golden thread. Seizing the chaos, it silently slipped over, brushed against the young man's waist, and its tiny claws swiftly hooked—

Swish!

The sachet vanished!

Jinbao instantly returned to Li Wuyang's shoulder, thrusting the sachet into his hand. The entire process was as fast as lightning, and no one noticed!

Li Wuyang's heart pounded. He quickly stuffed the sachet into his robes and pulled Huaihuai, ready to leave this troublesome place.

After only a few steps, he heard the enraged voice of the richly dressed young man from behind: "Where is my Spirit Calming Sachet?! Who stole my sachet?!"

The guards descended into disarray.

Li Wuyang didn't dare to look back, quickening his pace, melting into the crowd, and disappearing rapidly.

Back in his inn room, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and took out the sachet. It was exquisitely made, emitting a faint, calming fragrance. He opened it and found that besides the spices, there was a small, warm, and translucent purple token, neither gold nor jade, engraved with an ancient character: "Xuan."

"What... is this?" Li Wuyang held the token, feeling a trace of peculiar spatial fluctuation and hidden Dao Rhyme within it.

Jinbao squeaked triumphantly, seeking praise.

Li Wuyang rewarded it with a spirit fruit and studied the token carefully but couldn't figure it out.

"Never mind, I'll put it away for now. It might be useful at the auction," he thought. He had a vague feeling that this token might bring a turning point.