Chapter 88: Win Over
Ancient Linburg..
The Chairman’s meditation room.
Drip, drip…
On the grayish-white walls, black blood dripped down along the patterns.
On the smooth marble floor, pools of congealed, foul blood and broken limbs were scattered.
On the wool carpet, a semi-humanoid object, covered by a black robe, struggled and writhed incessantly.
Large and small worms kept emerging from this half-human corpse and the severed limbs on the floor.
The “Chairman,” or rather the object that had once played the role of “Chairman,” was groaning in pain.
It didn’t understand.
It didn’t understand why its spiritual power was suffering such a severe backlash.
Everything should have gone smoothly.
It had long ago placed a “worm” near Sea Moon City.
Every August, this worm would automatically awaken, hunting ability users for it and continuously supplying it with spiritual power.
This had been the case for so many years, without any mishaps.
This time, it had merely sensed a large number of ability users gathering there and had awakened the worm slightly earlier.
To speed up the feeding process, it had even transferred a portion of its spiritual power over, personally directing the worm.
But what exactly had those humans done?!
That worm, which had already evolved, had actually been killed by them?!
And so quickly—
It had only had time to sense the wine that the worm was addicted to nearby, as well as the barrels it relied on, and the next second, the connection of spiritual power was severed!
The “Chairman” kept making “gurgling” sounds from its throat, as if blood was constantly gushing out, drowning its voice.
Its spirit was now extremely scattered.
The sudden interruption of spiritual power was like a heavy hammer blow to its already fragile skin sack.
This skin sack had actually fallen apart just like that.
The result of the skin sack breaking down was not only the inability to hatch this nest of “worms.” More critically, it could no longer think normally or release spiritual power to sense anything.
For the bug race, it was now almost deaf, blind, and somewhat senile.
The only thing it could do now…
Was to change its skin sack again.
At this point, it no longer cared whether the new skin sack was suitable or whether its physical endurance was sufficient.
As long as it was skin that could hold the existing “worms,” that was enough…
A new skin sack… where was it…
The “Chairman” wriggled on the ground, crawling instinctively towards the door of the meditation room.
*
The waters off Sea Moon City.
Above the “Lost Soul Graveyard.”
Chu Jiu took the small, iridescent “stone” held tightly in Little Can’s paw.
What was this…?
This shape!
Chu Jiu recognized it. This shape was clearly the tip of the [Primal Tree branch] that he had attached to the head of Lu Qingyan’s spear.
However, the branches of the Primal Tree were clearly black, so why had it now turned almost transparent and was emitting such a mesmerizing light?
[Ding!]
A system notification sound rang out.
[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the rare item – “Heart of the Undead”!]
[Heart of the Undead: It is said that if a “branch of the Primal Tree” continuously purifies a large number of undead, it may transform into the “Heart of the Undead” under special circumstances!
The holder of the “Heart of the Undead” will be respected by the undead and will not be rejected by them.]
…?
This was indeed a transformation of the [Primal Tree branch].
It seemed that the “Queen Barrel Worm” had indeed imprisoned many lost souls.
When Lu Qingyan killed the Queen Worm, he naturally completed the purification of those lost souls.
As for the “special circumstances” the system mentioned, could it be enough high temperature and heat to turn charcoal into “diamonds”…?
Just as Chu Jiu was trying to forcibly find a scientific explanation for this unscientific world, the little Seal A Li “woofed” and raised its paw, pointing at the sea:
“So many! So many lost souls are emerging!”
“They’re all floating up to the sky!”
Chu Jiu followed his paw’s direction:
Among the undulating white foam, countless “souls” floated ethereally like mist and smoke.
These lost souls must be the ones Lu Qingyan had just purified…
Just then, perhaps because of the sea breeze, these “souls” actually drifted towards the ship.
The little Seal suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “Woof! Why are they coming over here!”
Chu Jiu, however, stood up.
He asked the little Seal and the spirit beasts, “Did you hear them talking?”
The little Seal and the spirit beast babies all shook their heads, saying no.
Chu Jiu looked up at the lost souls.
He saw blurry shadows one after another.
He saw those pale and weak faces break into smiles under the sunlight.
He was certain that the lost souls were constantly saying, “Thank you, we are free…”
But it seemed that only he could hear these voices.
Perhaps this was one of the effects of the [Heart of the Undead].
He waved at the lost souls: “Please go in peace.”
The lost souls spun around twice, then lightly floated into the sky and disappeared into the golden sunlight.
Chu Jiu looked down at the [Heart of the Undead] in his hand, quickly made a thin rope, and hung the shimmering stone around his neck as a pendant.
Through his pocket, he gently stroked the sleeping Little Can curled up inside:
“Lu Qingyan, Little Can, they are all thanking you.”
“You guys… sleep well…”
*
The victorious guard ship quickly returned to port.
After returning to Sea Moon City, Chu Jiu helped the welcoming guards first send the wounded who had been stabbed by demon beasts on the ship to the makeshift “medical area.”
The medical area was not far from the port and was converted from a large warehouse that had previously been used for storing goods.
Now, simple beds made of dry grass were laid out inside, and many people injured in this “sea monster attack” were sleeping on them.
Fortunately, due to the timely retreat and orderly evacuation, most of these injuries were minor scrapes and bruises, with no serious broken arms or legs.
But the bad thing was, Chu Jiu noticed that although there were dozens of injured people here, there were only two real “doctors.”
He heard that one of them was even temporarily borrowed by Clara from the royal family.
Clearly, these two doctors were completely overwhelmed.
Forget prescribing the right medicine, it was difficult even to listen to the patients’ complete stories.
Chu Jiu observed for a while and found that, just as Douglas had said, although these two doctors were frantically busy, their actual “medical advice” boiled down to: “bandage this,” “apply some wood ash to that,” “let this one drink wine, drink a lot of it.”
Chu Jiu sighed silently in his heart, thinking that under these circumstances, unless they could find that legendary “physician village,” his idea of opening a clinic in Bean Village was undoubtedly a pipe dream.
Just as he was thinking this, the younger doctor looked up and wiped his sweat: “It’s too hot here, sweating so much, I’m afraid it’s not good for the wounds.”
Chu Jiu blinked and blurted out, “Need ice? I have ice here!”
The doctor raised his head wearily: “You have ice?”
Chu Jiu: “Yes, a lot!”
The doctor didn’t recognize Chu Jiu. Assuming he was one of the ice-type ability users, he waved his hand: “If you have some, bring it over and pile it up on the side. See if it can cool this place down and make the patients more comfortable.”
Chu Jiu immediately ran to the side, took out a large bucket, and began to quickly make ice.
Although the doctor didn’t recognize him, the guards who came to help all knew him, knowing that Chu Jiu was a pioneer whom even the City Lord held in high regard.
Now, while Chu Jiu focused on making ice, they stayed by his side. Every time Chu Jiu made a bucketful, they carried it to the hottest places to let the ice cool the surroundings.
After making dozens of buckets in a row, a guard ran over and said, “Lord, the ice buckets have all been placed in the corners. The doctor said we don’t need any more for now. Please take a rest.”
Only then did Chu Jiu stop.
He thought for a moment, wondering if there was enough wood ash and herbal paste here. Maybe he should make some more for them to use.
Thinking this, he strode outside, preparing to ask the guards who were pounding the herbal paste.
He had only taken a few steps when a gust of wind carried the sound of hushed discussions from some unknown corner to his ears—
It was the residents of Sea Moon City, probably the family members of the injured.
A loud male voice boomed, “What nonsense! I say we shouldn’t have signed any agreement with those Seal Clan people.”
“Look at what’s happened now! Sea monsters have never come this close before.”
“This time, we’ve brought the trouble right to our doorstep!”
“I think those Seal Clan people are just bad luck!”
“And that pioneer or whatever, why couldn’t he just stay put in his village? Why go and provoke those spirit creature races? Does he really think he’s some legendary hero?”
Chu Jiu wasn’t a short-tempered person.
But at this moment, he only felt anger rising within him.
He was about to roll up his sleeves when he heard another rough voice:
“Did the sea monsters scare your brains out?”
“I think you should take advantage of the doctors being here and go get yourself checked out.”
“What do you mean we provoked the sea monsters? Have you forgotten that every August we don’t dare to go out to sea and have no income at all?!”
“Have you forgotten how terribly those fishermen used to die, dragged into the water by the monsters?”
“Now that we’ve finally found the Seal Clan and completely driven away the sea monsters, you’re still standing here whining!”
“If you’re full of bread and have nothing better to do, go help chop herbal paste!”
The loud male voice was about to continue when a “thwack” sound was heard—
Like a slap landing on a bald head.
Then, the loud male voice turned into a high-pitched cry of pain: “Ouch, ouch, Auntie, why can’t you speak nicely!”
A somewhat rough female voice said, “Talking to an idiot like you is a waste of breath.”
Then, the female voice raised its volume a bit: “If you keep being so ungrateful, when your mother gets home, I’ll tell her to beat you to death!”
“Let’s go! Let’s go back!”
Those few people left.
Chu Jiu stood stunned by the roadside for a while, then smiled and gently touched his chest pocket: “Hmm, there are still more normal people.”
It seemed that the city residents hadn’t wasted Clara’s painstaking efforts.
The day before yesterday, in the brief moment when the big cat was carrying him towards the sea, the big cat had said, “If we don’t solve the sea monster problem this time, Sea Moon City’s ‘lighthouse’ will go out.”
At that time, he was still a bit confused.
The big cat added, “Didn’t you want to ask me why Clara split the ‘cooperation with the Seal Clan’ into two separate events?”
“This is her way of lighting the ‘lighthouse’ for Sea Moon City.”
Chu Jiu had already guessed a bit, and hearing what the big cat said, he understood completely.
Clara was using this form to awaken people’s yearning for a “better life.”
One cooperation, one ceremony, one victory could ignite people’s hope for the future.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but whisper again to Little Can, “It’s so good that you guys wiped out the ‘sea monsters’.”
Chu Jiu busied himself here for a while, and then Clara arrived.
She had come to visit the injured.
Upon seeing Chu Jiu, her face was stern: “You’re not even in a hurry to report the victory to me, and you ran over here first?”
Chu Jiu honestly replied, “I thought someone would definitely report to you, so I might as well come here and do what I can.”
Hearing this, Clara instead smiled: “Indeed.”
This young man… truly had no interest in easily obtainable fame and fortune, not even bothering to rush to curry favor.
She already knew at this point that “Lord Chu Jiu made a lot of ice in the afternoon” and “Lord Chu Jiu also brought out a lot of herbs.”
She sighed, “Besides coming to see them, there’s nothing else I can do. But you can indeed do a lot for them.”
Chu Jiu said earnestly, “It’s not that.”
“I can only do some specific things. But allowing them to rest here and receive treatment is something only you, City Lord, can do.”
Speaking of this, Chu Jiu thought for a moment and said directly, “However, City Lord, we still have too few doctors.”
“Have you ever heard of… the ‘Physician Village of the Carrot Continent’? I heard that there are many villagers in that village who have practiced medicine for generations.”
“If we could invite them out…”
Sea Moon City could have more doctors, and our Bean Village could also have its own clinic.
Clara meaningfully “ah-ed” and said slowly, “Not only have I heard of it, but I have also sent people to look for it.”
Chu Jiu was first delighted: “You know about it?”
Then he realized: That’s not right. If Clara had sent people to look for it, why didn’t Sea Moon City have any decent doctors even now?
Clara shook her head: “The exploration team returned empty-handed.”
“I don’t know if the information wasn’t accurate enough or for other reasons, they simply couldn’t find this village.”
“In the end, they could only return without success.”
Chu Jiu hurriedly said, “Is it because this village is in the wilderness? If so, I’m willing to give it a try.”
“After all… after all, I’m already a very experienced pioneer.”
Having been to the center of the earth, the “polar region,” underwater, and inside a volcano, what terrain could possibly stump me?
Clara tilted her head to look at Chu Jiu, pondered for a moment, and said, “I can have someone give you the maps and information.”
Chu Jiu’s eyes lit up: “Really? That would be great!”
Clara: “For me, if you can really find that village and bring back doctors for us, that would be the best possible outcome.”
“But for you…”
“For example, I will soon announce that Black Wheat Village will be merged into Bean Village and become the new Bean Town.”
“In all of this, don’t you have anything else you need to be busy with?”
Chu Jiu thought for a while and said, “I do have something.”
“Like the sugar mill I’ve been thinking about for a long time, I have to hurry back and draw up the blueprints.”
“As for the follow-up matters, Douglas and the old village chief are both very reliable people.”
“Just leave it to them, it’ll be fine.”
Clara couldn’t help but chuckle: “All this ‘business’ you mentioned, is that really it?”
Hadn’t he thought about seizing this opportunity to gain something for himself?
Chu Jiu was a bit confused: “Huh? That’s all I can do.”
“I’m a ‘Pioneer,’ I can collect useful materials from the wilderness, I can get to know other races in the wild… that’s what I can do.”
What else could there be?
His pioneering progress wasn’t even at 50% yet. The development of Bean Village couldn’t stop, and exploring the wilderness map couldn’t stop either.
Clara smiled gently: “Alright.”
“In that case… tomorrow morning, let’s have breakfast together as a farewell.”
“Then you can continue your ‘pioneering’ work.”
Chu Jiu accepted the invitation and left on his own.
After the young man had walked far away, Clara looked at the ice cubes in the corner that hadn’t completely melted yet and scoffed softly:
“Judging by this child’s temperament, Halsin probably has no hope of winning him over.”
When Chu Jiu returned to the inn, he first saw Douglas, who had accompanied him to Sea Moon City, and then saw Lauren, which surprised him slightly.
Wasn’t Lauren staying behind in Bean Village to guard against the association causing trouble? Why was he here? Could something have happened in Bean Village?
Fortunately, Lauren just smiled and said that he had come over for other matters and happened to hear about Chu Jiu and the others’ extermination of the sea monsters, so he came specifically to congratulate them.
Only then did Chu Jiu feel a little relieved.
Douglas also told him that the City Lord had sent them a formal invitation to dine with her the next morning.
Chu Jiu nodded, saying he knew and that they could go together tomorrow morning. After breakfast, they would return to Bean Village.
Douglas looked at Chu Jiu’s face and sighed, “Alright, you should go back to your room and rest. Look at the dark circles under your eyes.”
Chu Jiu forced a smile and returned to his room.
After Chu Jiu entered the room, Lauren said, “Heavens, no wonder you said now wasn’t the right time to tell Little Jiu about Bean Village—Little Jiu’s face is black with exhaustion.”
In fact, Lauren had rushed over this time to ask Chu Jiu to return to Bean Village as soon as possible.
Because a “person of unknown origin with abilities” had appeared in Bean Village. But by carefully searching the things he carried, it wasn’t difficult to discover that this guy was from the association.
It seemed the association was secretly making moves again.
But this ability user had been talking nonsense and unable to communicate with anyone since the day he was discovered.
The only thing Lauren and the others were sure of now was that this ability user had been thrown into Bean Village by a demon beast from the wilderness.
To find out what this ability user had done in the wilderness and why he was thrown into Bean Village by a demon beast, they could only go find that demon beast.
And Chu Jiu was the only person they knew who could “communicate” with demon beasts.
As a result, Douglas said that as long as the ability user had been controlled, they shouldn’t urge Little Jiu to return and should at least let him rest for a day.
So Lauren had made up some lies, intending to tell Chu Jiu about this after they set off tomorrow.
After listening to Lauren’s sigh, Douglas on the other side also sighed, “Ever since the ‘sea monsters’ appeared, Little Jiu probably hasn’t gotten much sleep. He’s really too tired this time.”
*
Chu Jiu had indeed barely slept for two consecutive days.
He had to find out the truth about the sea monsters, design a trap to catch the Barrel Worm, and use his spiritual power to create such a huge wooden barrel…
He also had to take care of the sleeping kitty, feeding it honey water every two hours.
By the time he could finally lie down on the bed with Little Can in his arms, he was so drowsy and exhausted that his eyelids felt like they were about to close on their own.
But at this moment, the system sent a continuous stream of reward notifications.
Pioneering points increased, pioneering progress increased to 38%, pioneer level increased, spirit beasts—except for Little Can—all leveled up…
Chu Jiu groggily glanced at the map:
[Area Map Openness: Forgotten Forest – 100%; Sunny Plateau – 86%; Sanctuary Valley – 73%; Howling Wind Rock – 45%; Frost Shadow Hills – 20%; Azure Icefield – 10%; Azure Realm – 2%]
The “Azure Realm” was the sea area where the Seal Clan lived.
Chu Jiu really hadn’t expected that after running around so many places in the sea, the openness of this map was only at 2%. Even the openness of the Azure Icefield was higher than it.
The sea was indeed much wider than the land.
Just as Chu Jiu closed the map, the system rang again:
[Host can now possess a new “Title.” The title has been automatically generated based on your experiences.]
[Host’s New Title: “Eye Protector.” When non-human intelligent creatures deliberately conceal their whereabouts, loudly announcing this title will help the host discover their traces.]
…Alright then.
This title was probably generated based on “fitting the little Seals with glasses.”
Seeing this title, Chu Jiu couldn’t help but recall a conversation he had with the big cat while they were rushing on their way the day before yesterday.
The big cat had praised him at the time, saying that it was fortunate that he had fitted the Seal Clan with glasses in time, otherwise, with their blurry vision, they would have been even more prone to making mistakes and struggling to fight back during this sudden attack.
Chu Jiu didn’t remember how he had replied.
But he seemed to have said something like, “The little Seals look not only clearer with their glasses, but also super cute!”
At that time, the big cat had let out a low “purr”: “Cute?”
Chu Jiu: “Yeah, super cute.”
Big cat: “Not as cute as you are wearing cat-ear hats.”
Chu Jiu: “Huh?”
Before Chu Jiu could react in any other way, the big cat had already carried him to the seaside, with no more time to say anything else.
Thinking back now…
Chu Jiu’s face, 48 hours after the event, began to burn.
Thinking and thinking, he let out a long sigh and turned over, burying his face in the pillow.
Next to the pillow, Little Can was naturally sleeping soundly.
Knowing that Little Can wouldn’t wake up at this time, Chu Jiu closed his eyes and said to himself:
“Little Can…”
“I really miss Lu Qingyan a little.”
It wasn’t that he had any questions to ask him.
He just wanted to know how well he had recovered and if he was alright.
Oh, and he also had to tell him: they probably wouldn’t be able to eat grilled squid.
Then… what should they eat together next time?
…Speaking of which, he didn’t even know when they would see each other again…
Thinking and thinking, Chu Jiu, who was already drowsy and exhausted, completely fell asleep.
And Little Can, who was originally “sleeping soundly” and wouldn’t wake up at this time, suddenly opened its eyes.
Its eyes were wide, and it first wiggled its tail, then started chasing its tail in circles until it spun itself dizzy and fell down on the spot.
It stared blankly at the ceiling, then kept rubbing its face with its cat paws:
Just now, just now, did Chu Jiu say he missed Lu Qingyan?
What did that mean? What did that mean?
It felt like it meant something very important! But Lu Qingyan over there seemed to be sleeping so soundly that it couldn’t summon him or let him know about this!
Ah, was there anyone it could discuss this with? What exactly did it mean?
Little Can propped up its head, looking at Rawr Rawr Rabbit and the others sleeping soundly beside it, thinking that when they returned to Bean Village… it definitely had to discuss this properly with everyone!
*
The next morning.
When Chu Jiu groggily woke up, he was pleasantly surprised to find Little Can sitting on the pillow, its eyes wide open and looking at him!
He scooped up the little guy and rubbed its face vigorously against his cheek a few times: “You’re awake! That’s great!”
“Are you hungry? Here’s some dried fish and milk!”
Little Can: “Meow! Meow!”
Having slept his fill, Chu Jiu felt much more energetic. He tossed aside the little bit of lingering emotion from last night and started chatting with Little Can about other things.
As they were talking, the people sent by the City Lord to pick them up arrived.
Chu Jiu, along with the spirit beast babies, Douglas, and Lauren, got into the carriage.
*
When they arrived at the dining hall, Chu Jiu noticed that there were other people attending the “breakfast banquet” today.
It was a middle-aged man he had never seen before.
This man had blond hair and blue eyes, was tall and broad-shouldered, with an open and friendly face, and seemed very familiar with Clara.
When Douglas and Lauren saw him, they both bowed respectfully: “Prince Halsin.”
Only then did Chu Jiu realize that this person was the King’s younger brother, Halsin.
After everyone was seated, the servants first brought up “delicious” aperitifs and then served “carefully prepared” food.
Chu Jiu could only grit his teeth and take two sips of the not-so-sour honey tangerine wine.
During the meal, Clara discussed some administrative matters with Douglas and the others. Chu Jiu had no interest in these and couldn’t understand them anyway, so he could only focus on the food on his plate, trying his best to cut out edible parts from the creaking roasted chicken.
Unexpectedly, Prince Halsin didn’t participate in Clara’s conversation with the others. Instead, he very kindly asked Chu Jiu about his background.
Questions like his age, why he chose to be a pioneer, where he was from…
Chu Jiu followed the persona given by the system and fumbled through them one by one.
Although the meal was called “breakfast,” it was more like “brunch.”
A full two hours later, the servants finally brought up after-dinner wine, marking the end of the meal.
Chu Jiu was waiting for Douglas and the others to say a few more polite words to conclude the meeting when Prince Halsin cleared his throat and started a new topic:
“Pioneer Chu Jiu, you mentioned earlier that you are not yet married, correct?”
Chu Jiu: “Yes, Your Highness.”
Prince Halsin: “Do you know, I have three daughters…”
As soon as these words were spoken, before Chu Jiu could react, Douglas beside him had already turned pale, his eyes filled with “No way!”
Prince Halsin glanced at Douglas’s expression, then looked at the clean and well-behaved Chu Jiu. A thought flashed through his mind, and he continued with a smile, “I also have two sons.”
Douglas: “!!!”
Chu Jiu: “?”
What did this have to do with him?
Prince Halsin: “Pioneer Chu Jiu, are you interested in becoming a member of the royal family?”
Chu Jiu looked completely bewildered: “Your Highness? I’m afraid I don’t understand your meaning…”
Prince Halsin: “Pioneer Chu Jiu, I am proposing marriage to you.”
“My daughters and sons are not much older or younger than you, and they are all unmarried.”
“Why don’t you come back to the royal capital with me and see which one you get along with better?”
Chu Jiu: …… What?!
Had he misheard? Or had this person had too much to drink?
While he was still in a daze, Little Can on his shoulder suddenly leaped up and, with unprecedented ferocity, shouted loudly, “Meow! Meow meow meow!”
