The scorching sun hung high, and sand and dust filled the air.
A dilapidated long-distance bus rumbled down the country dirt road, its engine roar clearly audible.
On the bus, sitting in a corner of the back row, was a young man in his early twenties. He wore a white T-shirt with a pair of bleached jeans that were plain yet clean.
As the youth sat in the bus, he looked out the window at the fields with a complex look in his eyes.
Three years ago, after being kicked out by his father, Zhao Yang left his home village a thousand miles away and wandered to many places before joining a hunting team to track game in the mountains.
In an attempt to rescue a companion, he accidentally fell off a cliff, narrowly escaping death.
Looking back now, everything seemed like a dream.
Today, he had returned, and the familiar countryside was before him; memories of Li Family Village flitted one by one through his mind.
The blaze that soared to the sky, the cold stares of the villagers, and his old man's face distorted with incomparable anger—as if it all happened just yesterday…
The bus reached a stop and three or four people got on.
As Zhao Yang was lost in thought, a pleasant fragrance wafted to his nose, prompting him to turn his head and notice a girl had sat down beside him.
There were more empty seats on the bus, but the fact that the girl chose to sit next to him suggested she didn't dislike him, at least.
Zhao Yang might not have been particularly handsome, but he was no eyesore either.
From the moment the girl sat down beside him, Zhao's gaze hardly ever left her face.
Arched eyebrows, eyes like autumn waters, cherry-red lips, a delicate nose, and a melon seed face so pale it was almost translucent.
The girl was extremely beautiful, even more so than those on the covers of fashion magazines.
If not for the girl's somewhat dated clothes, Zhao Yang might have mistaken her for a cover model.
A light red plaid shirt, paired with light blue denim shorts, carried the unique freshness of a country girl.
Unwittingly, Zhao had been watching her for several minutes, and the girl's face had turned increasingly red.
The weather was hot and dry. Her blouse was open at the neck, revealing her snow-white, jade-like neck. The tight denim skirt she wore was very short, exposing her thighs and accentuating her attractive figure.
Zhao Yang was a man, just a regular man.
The girl, feeling increasingly uncomfortable under Zhao's gaze, blushed and reproached him, "Hey, have you seen enough?"
"No," Zhao Yang replied honestly.
"What exactly are you trying to do by staring at me like that?" the girl asked, somewhat annoyed.
"I'm thinking."
This time, the girl was both embarrassed and angry, her face turning so red it could almost drip blood, and she blurted out two words, "Pervert!"
Just then, the bus suddenly came to an abrupt stop. The passengers, caught off guard, moved as one, their foreheads crashing against the backs of the seats in front of them!
The girl next to him gasped in shock, bracing for a painful bump on her forehead, only to realize with surprise that what touched her was unexpectedly soft!
She blinked open her eyes and saw a strong hand, preventing her forehead from crashing into the seat in front of her.
She looked at Zhao Yang, and realizing his good intentions, her look of disgust softened a bit.
Zhao Yang smiled faintly, withdrew his hand, and thought to himself that he couldn't bear to see such a pretty face get hurt.
At that moment, the driver opened the door cursing, and a woman in her thirties rushed onto the bus in a panic.
Just now, the woman recklessly stopped in the road right at the curve, and when the driver saw her, he had no choice but to slam on the brakes.
"This woman's really damn crazy, risking her life just to get on the bus!" A few passengers in the front seat gossiped amongst themselves.
Clutching a worn-out backpack, disheveled, with a white plaster on her face, and dirtied all over, the conductor, with a look of disdain, barked out, "Pay for your ticket!"
Zhao Yang, sitting in the last row, also turned his attention to the woman.
She looked around timidly and hesitated for a long while before finally saying, "I… I didn't bring any money."
"Didn't bring any money?" the conductor drew out the sentence, thinking to himself how unlucky this was, almost running someone over and now she claims to have no money!
The woman nodded timidly, "I… I escaped."
Hearing the woman say she "escaped," Zhao Yang frowned slightly, sensing that something was amiss. On long-distance buses in rural towns, women who claimed to have escaped were usually trouble; they were either forced off the bus or sent back to their village.
There was no choice; whoever dared to pick up such a woman would no longer be able to drive this bus.
If the woman really refused to get off the bus, the only option would be to take her back to the village. Coming and going like that would waste a lot of time.
"My husband always beats me, I can't take it anymore, I'm going back to my parents' house!"
Hearing the woman's words, the passengers all breathed a sigh of relief, and the conductor shouted sternly, "That doesn't mean we can take you for free though!"
"Big brother, please help me out, I really can't stay at home any longer, my husband beats me every day, look…" As she spoke, the woman rolled up her sleeves to reveal skin bruised blue and swollen beyond recognition, "It's even worse on my body, if you don't believe me, I'll take off my clothes to show you!"
As she spoke, the woman began unbuttoning her clothes!
The whole bus was shocked and everyone craned their necks to see.
The woman pulled open her jacket, revealing her fair skin. Zhao Yang thought to himself that he hadn't noticed it before—the woman's face was dark, but she had such fair skin!
Quickly, the woman ripped open her jacket to reveal a black bra underneath!
Zhao Yang swallowed hard, feeling a bit thirsty. This woman wasn't too shabby looking; her husband really had the heart to hit such a woman!
As everyone took in the view, they suddenly noticed that beneath the woman's exposed fair skin were shades of bruising. Many clenched their fists in anger and even began to curse.
At that moment, a man sitting next to her suddenly grabbed the woman, "Sister, what are you doing? This isn't the place to be taking off your clothes!"
"You don't believe me, what else can I do…" The woman looked as though she would cry.
Seeing this, the conductor withdrew his lascivious gaze, fuming inside, and gave the interfering male passenger a glare before raising his voice to say, "It's not that we don't believe you, but this bus isn't a charity service. It's only right to pay for your ride, isn't it?"
"Big brother, I really didn't bring any money, but wait, I took a bag from home, there's a bundle of bills in it, my husband always treasured it like it was precious, maybe you can see if it's worth anything."
The woman opened her backpack and took out a bundle of green bills that looked like money, though it was unclear what country's currency it was.
The conductor was taken aback, "What are all these?"
Several passengers in the front leaned forward to see, but none recognized what the bills were.
The passengers discussed among themselves, and just at this time, the man next to her suddenly said, "This, this looks like Xi Luo currency."
"Xi Luo currency?" the conductor looked at the man who continued, "I've seen this currency on TV... that's right, on the news!"
"Ah, if this is Xi Luo currency, then it's valuable! I heard Xi Luo currency is worth more than Black Gold; one Xi Luo currency can exchange for several standard money units."
"I heard it can exchange for seven or eight units, this bundle of Xi Luo currency could be worth tens of thousands, right?"
At this time, the woman said, "My husband grows maca at home, often foreigners come to buy it, maybe it's from the foreigners."
"Maca? Good stuff! I heard it can cure impotence; your husband has got some skill! "
"No matter how skilled, that's no excuse to beat your wife!"
"Maybe he ate too much maca, it's good alright, but it shouldn't be consumed indiscriminately."
"My husband usually eats it like potatoes, frying it and stewing it with chicken; I can't get used to the taste," the woman said.
"Then your husband usually, hehe... must be quite vigorous, right?" a male passenger said leccherously.
The woman, unembarrassed by this comment, replied, "Exactly, I... I can't take it..."
"Wow!" Everyone was shocked.
"Nonsense, it can't have such an effect!" a man said, not convinced.
"If it doesn't have the effect, why would foreigners come to buy it?" the man opposite him said.
"Big brother, can I use this as my fare?" she said, pulling out ten bills.
The Xi Luo bills had denominations on them. Each was worth ten units; ten bills amounted to one hundred Xi Luo currency, which at the very least could be exchanged for five or six hundred local currency.
The conductor's eyes glittered, about to take the money but then hesitated, "Wait a minute, what if this money is fake? That would mean you'd be scamming me!"
Yeah, it better not be fake. The woman might look pitiful, but who knew if the Xi Luo currency obtained by her husband was real or not?
As everyone was grappling with their doubts, a man in a sharp suit walked over from the back rows.
Carrying a very refined bag, his gaze landed on the bills, and he said, "I work at a bank, let me have a look at them."
The woman quickly handed the bills to the man, "This is definitely real money, buddy, please check it for me!"