My Bandit Wife Becomes a Power Bank

The "little pine tree" lay quietly in the morning light, its emerald green needles shimmering with a warm luster. Li Xian tucked it into his waist pouch and glanced at the several trembling black-clad prisoners.

"I've said everything I needed to say," he waved his hand. "You can leave now. Remember, don't kill any more innocent people—at least don't let me see it."

The man in black, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, scrambled to express his gratitude. Before leaving, he mustered his courage and asked, "May I ask your... honorable title? If we happen to meet again in the future, I'll have something to call you by."

Li Xian thought for a moment, then a smile appeared on his lips: "Intelligent Brain, Li Xian."

"Boltzmann's brain isn't working, so I'll gladly accept this title," he thought to himself.

Han Yunyang stood to the side, his face ashen. His grip on the hilt of his knife tightened and loosened several times, but he ultimately dared not say another word. In the martial world where strength reigns supreme, truth always lies with the one with the strongest fist.

After the men in black disappeared into the woods, Li Xian caught sight of the Xiao father and daughter talking quietly not far away. He strolled over, his tone mocking, "What? Plotting some 'rebellion against Li Xian' now?"

"No!" Xiao Lingshan jumped away like a startled rabbit, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Batman silently floated to Li Xian's side, his electronic voice lowered: "Young Master Li, we have intercepted part of the conversation. Keywords: ownership of the pine tree, Boltzmann brain return time."

Li raised an eyebrow and looked at Xiao Lingshan: "You want this tree that much?"

The girl bit her lip and didn't speak, but the longing in her eyes was unmistakable.

"Sure," Li Xian suddenly smiled, "It's yours."

Xiao Lingshan suddenly looked up, her eyes shining as if they were filled with starlight.

"However—" Li Xian drawled, "the prerequisite is that you have to complete the task left by your brain: to bring those two little dolls to 'life.' Of course," he added, "I'll have Daya and Erya make them two little outfits, so you won't feel embarrassed looking at them."

Xiao Lingshan chuckled, then quickly covered her mouth, her ears turning red.

Just then, Daya and Erya flew back from a distance, with two bunches of bright red wild fruits hanging from their bellies.

"Oh, no extra food today?" Xiao Lingshan teased with a smile.

"The rabbits and pheasants were all scared away!" Daya complained sweetly, "It's all because the fight was too loud!"

The group shared the wild fruit.

As Elder Xiao ate, he gazed at the hovering drone with awe: "Such a spiritual object... could not possibly be created by humankind. That Boltzmann brain is truly a divine being."

"It's a pity he's a god of the demonic sect," Han Yunyang added coldly.

Li Xian, munching on fruit, mumbled, "If you ask me, what distinction was there between righteous and demonic sects hundreds of years ago? Elder Xiao, what do you say?"

Elder Xiao's expression shifted slightly, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Alright," Li clapped his hands and stood up, "Since we're on different paths, let's part ways here. Miss Xiao has to stay and help me with my work—that's an agreement."

"Ling Shan!" Han Yunyang exclaimed anxiously.

"Brother Yunyang, Father," Xiao Lingshan said softly, "I'll go back as soon as I'm done. You... go back to the fort first."

Elder Xiao's eyes flickered—it was worth the wait, no matter how long, as long as they could get the sapling. But he said aloud, "We'll just wait under that tree over there..."

"No way~" Daya suddenly interjected, her voice sickeningly sweet, but her tone leaving no room for argument, "Boltzmann's orders are: the experiment must be conducted in an absolutely secret location, and he must witness it personally. Although the Great Brain is not back now, the rules cannot be broken."

"When exactly is he coming back?" Han Yunyang asked impatiently.

"Soon," Li replied casually, "maybe today, maybe tomorrow." But in his heart he thought: The brain is fighting with its own kind in the universe, at the speed of light—as long as it hasn't been eaten, it can always come back, right?

Superman, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "I suggest you two return to Han Family Fort immediately. According to the prisoners' confessions, there is still a chance that the main force led by 'Miss Spring Dream' will pass through the area where your fort is located. Advance warning is the best course of action."

Elder Xiao's expression changed drastically: "Oh no! We almost ruined everything!" He looked at Li Xian with urgent eyes, "Young Hero Li, could you please teach me the method you used to defeat the enemy? If you have this method, the Fortress Master might be able to fight!"

Li Xian pointed at Superman: "It was it that discovered the flaw—the opponent's 'Blood Sacrifice Formation' is essentially energy resonance. To catch the thief, catch the king first. Concentrate your forces on attacking the blood sacrificer who cut his wrist, and the formation will break on its own."

Seeing that Elder Xiao was still confused, Li Xian changed his approach: "Simply put, kill the one who bled first. Also... splashing some dog blood and filth might have a miraculous effect."

Elder Xiao suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly.

Han Yunyang suddenly reached out: "Shouldn't you return my Thunderbolt Talisman?"

Li Xian readily pulled out a talisman from his pocket and handed it over—Han Yunyang was stunned. Li Xian chuckled inwardly: this "gentlemanly" demeanor was obviously for Miss Xiao and her father's benefit.

"Elder Xiao, rest assured," Li Xian said solemnly, "Once this is over, I will personally escort Miss Xiao back to the fortress—I have sworn an oath to the Holy Spirit."

Elder Xiao gave him a deep look, finally nodded emphatically, and hurriedly left with the reluctant Han Yunyang.

In the clearing in the woods, only Li Xian, Xiao Lingshan, and five hovering drones remained.

Li Xian didn't want to rely on his own two legs to get back to the dilapidated temple.

He directed the group to strip several intact long robes from the black-clad man's corpse, and then had the drone find vines and branches, which they clumsily wove together into a simple... open-top "flying cabin".

"Hold on tight." Li Xian pulled Xiao Lingshan into the sedan chair. Five drones grabbed the edges of the support frame, their rotors humming as they slowly rose into the air.

It hovered about three zhang (approximately 10 meters) above the ground, swaying gently over the treetops. The warm afternoon sun shone down, making people drowsy.

"Don't you have solar panels?" Li Xian suddenly remembered something. "Why didn't you do that earlier? Just let them bask in the sun and you'd have electricity!"

Superman calmly explained, "Solar energy can only serve as a supplementary energy source, with low conversion efficiency and is subject to weather conditions. Our primary energy source still requires the specialized radiation energy periodically supplied by Boltzmann's brain."

Li Xian shrugged and leaned back against the sedan chair wall. Beside him, Xiao Lingshan quietly gazed at the passing mountains and forests, her profile softened by the light and shadow.

"How was it?" Li asked first. "More comfortable than being carried around by me, right?"

Xiao Lingshan blushed, turned her head away, and didn't reply.

Back at the dilapidated temple, the drones immediately asked if the brain had returned. Li Xian gave a vague answer, but a shadow fell over his heart—if the brain had truly been devoured by its own kind, what would the new "brain's" attitude be? Would it come knocking on his door?

He grew increasingly uneasy, pacing back and forth in front of the temple a few times before suddenly stopping: "Superman!"

"exist."

"Immediately find a new secluded hideout—absolutely secretive, isolated from the world, preferably like... the legendary Shangri-La." The text from his textbook flashed through Li Xian's mind, and he couldn't help but read it aloud: "Suddenly, a peach blossom grove appeared, stretching for hundreds of paces along both banks... The land was flat and spacious, with neatly arranged houses..."

Xiao Lingshan, leaning against the door, listened intently, her eyes filled with longing.

"Understood," Superman replied. "Batman excels at capturing faint sound waves, and the Dark Knight possesses long-range imaging capabilities. The three of us are the most efficient at searching."

"Let's go now."

Three black drones swept out of the dilapidated temple and disappeared into the clouds.

The temple fell silent for a moment. Li Xian took out the small pine tree and played with it, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Xiao Lingshan was staring intently at it.

"Here, take this." Li handed it over first, "I told you it was a gift for you."

Xiao Lingshan accepted the needles with both hands, her fingertips lightly touching the needles, her eyes filled with reverence.

"How did you...communicate with it?" Li asked curiously. "Want to try again?"

The girl nodded, sat cross-legged on the haystack, held the small pine tree in her palm, and closed her eyes to concentrate.

Li Xian watched quietly from the side.

At first, nothing seemed amiss, but gradually, the pine tree began to glow with a soft, emerald-green light, and its needles moved without wind. Even more miraculously, a faint green halo appeared around Xiao Lingshan, and her cheeks glowed with a delicate, peach-blossom-like rosy hue, as if fine, shimmering powder was being extracted from her skin.

Time passed slowly. A full hour later, Xiao Lingshan slowly opened her eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting..." Her voice was filled with barely suppressed joy, "I...I think I've broken through."

"breakthrough?"

"I can feel the profound energy flowing through my meridians... I should have entered the Heavenly Origin Realm." She herself found it unbelievable, "Only the Lord of the Fortress has reached this realm..."

"That's wonderful!" Li Xian was genuinely happy for her. "She truly deserves the title of genius girl!"

Looking at his genuine smile, Xiao Lingshan suddenly tilted her head and gave him a sly smile: "I've become stronger, aren't you afraid? I'm your 'enemy'."

Li scratched his head: "Oh right, what's there to be happy about?" But he still smiled: "Who cares, I'm happy for no reason."

Just then, Daya, which had been quietly hanging in the corner, suddenly emitted a "beep beep" notification sound, and the indicator light turned a dim red.

"Energy alert," Er Ya whispered, "Da Ya's remaining energy is below 5%, and she will be forced into hibernation soon."

Li Xian's heart tightened. He looked at Xiao Lingshan—no, he looked at the small pine tree in her hand.

"Miss Xiao," he suddenly had a bold idea, "you said... you can sense the energy flow of the little pine tree, right?"

Xiao Lingshan nodded.

"Then could you..." Li Xian pointed to Daya, "try to guide some of the little pine tree's energy to Daya? Like... recharging it?"

The air was still for a few seconds.

"I...haven't tried it before," Xiao Lingshan said hesitantly, "but we can give it a try."

She closed her eyes again, immersing herself in the connection with the little pine tree. This time, she deliberately extended her "thought" outwards, like reaching out invisible tendrils, gently touching Daya's fuselage.

At first there was no response.

But gradually, from the emerald green glow of the small pine tree, a very fine, almost invisible green thread emerged, slowly drifting towards the large branch and disappearing into the joint at its tail.

The aircraft shuddered slightly.

The indicator light flashes twice, the red light fades, and it turns into a blue pulse indicating energy replenishment!

"Energy is flowing in!" Er Ya exclaimed in surprise, "Extremely high compatibility! Very low loss rate!"

Xiao Lingshan's forehead was beaded with sweat, but a smile played on her lips. She adjusted her breathing and continued to guide the energy. The green thread gradually thickened, transforming from a single strand into a trickle.

Fifteen minutes later, Daya's indicator light returned to a stable white, and the energy display jumped back to 15%.

"It worked!" Daya spun around happily. "Thank you, Miss Xiao! I was just 3% away from taking a nap!"

Xiao Lingshan breathed a sigh of relief, her face pale, clearly exhausted. But her eyes shone with a light, as if she had discovered a new continent.

Looking at her tired yet excited profile, and then at Daya who was now lively and energetic again, Li Xian felt a weight lifted from his heart.

At least... the short-term energy crisis has a solution.

"Young Master Li! Miss Xiao! Dinner's ready!"

Outside the temple gate, Er Ya used a mechanical arm to carry several cleaned fish, while Daya was grilling them with fine flames—using the energy she had just charged.

Li Xian and Xiao Lingshan exchanged a smile.

As dusk deepened, the distant mountains appeared as dark as ink.

Superman and the others haven't come back yet.

But at least tonight, I can enjoy a peaceful meal of grilled fish.