Chapter 217
“Sorry for our earlier rudeness,” Village Chief Sang Tian said apologetically as he approached.
“It’s fine.” Chu Feng smiled and glanced at the young man standing behind the chief.
“Village Chief, is Illya to assist this young man in dyeing?”
Sang Tian nodded. “Yes. Sang Jin awakened his ability at the age of six—he’s the blessing of our tribe.”
He looked at Sang Jin with pride in his voice.
The silks from Rainbow Silkworm Village were already famous, but since Sang Jin’s awakening, he had created many rare colors and earned the village a great deal of money.
Sang Jin eyed the newcomers with curiosity. Born and raised in the village, he had never met other ability-users before. Earlier, when Sang Tian had spoken with Jocelyn, he’d revealed that all of them were ability-users, which only heightened Sang Jin’s interest.
“The dyed silk really can be given to us?” Chu Feng asked.
Sang Tian nodded briskly. “Of course.”
Chu Feng smiled innocently. “That’s wonderful. Rainbow silk is expensive—I’ve always wanted clothes made from it, but I could never afford any.”
Jocelyn looked at him and felt as though a giant fox was wagging its tail.
In truth, Chu Feng didn’t wear rainbow silk—not because he couldn’t afford it, but because he only wore Green Silkworm Silk.
Sang Tian said proudly, “Our village’s silk is indeed renowned far and wide.”
Jocelyn mentally rolled his eyes. These villagers had been secluded too long to notice that Chu Feng was playing innocent, and they still had the mood to brag.
Chu Feng signaled Illya with a glance, and Illya gave a subtle nod.
Illya took Sang Jin’s hand and channeled his power into him. Sang Jin felt a surge of overwhelming strength flow into his body—a completely new sensation. He waved his hand, and a bolt of gauze bloomed into seven brilliant colors.
One after another, Sang Jin dyed more than ten bolts in a row. Normally, he would be exhausted after just two, but now it felt as though he had limitless energy.
Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet—the drying yard was soon filled with bright, multicolored silk. In no time, half of the white bolts outside had been transformed.
Sang Tian was first stunned, then alarmed.
He had only wanted to confirm Jocelyn wasn’t lying, but Illya’s power had completely unnerved him. Remembering his promise to give the dyed silk away made his heart ache.
One after another, white bolts turned into dazzling colors, the pace accelerating.
Sang Tian shot urgent looks at Sang Jin, whose face flushed red and eyes filled with panic.
He wanted to stop, but the power was out of his control, and more and more silk was being dyed.
Sang Tian could feel the suppression—Illya’s ability was clearly far stronger than theirs, and there was no resisting it.
Finally, Illya dyed the last bolt into a regal purple-gold before stopping.
Sang Jin stared at the pile of colorful silk with the expression of someone who had lost the will to live.
Chu Feng saw the boy’s bewildered, pained face and felt quietly pleased.
Sang Tian, seeing Sang Jin’s expression, seemed to realize what had happened and sighed helplessly.
Jocelyn, noticing Sang Tian’s face turn bright red, silently felt nervous for him.
This old village chief was going to pay dearly for this.
Offending someone as petty as Chu Feng—Sang Tian really was unlucky.
“This friend’s ability is truly remarkable,” Sang Tian said at last.
He was already thinking: if Illya’s power was real, then Jocelyn’s claim that Chu Feng could slay fierce beasts with a blade was probably true as well.
Illya withdrew his spiritual power, and as it suddenly left Sang Jin’s body, the boy staggered back a few steps, feeling completely drained.
Sang Jin lowered his head and stood behind the village chief, looking at Illya with a mixture of apprehension and anticipation.
“Village Chief, are all these silks being given to us?” Chu Feng clasped his hands behind his back and asked with a bright smile.
Sang Tian’s expression turned a little sour. “Well…”
Before Sang Tian could answer, Chu Feng smiled and cut him off. “Village Chief, you’re far too generous—so many, and all for us. This is the first time I’ve seen so much silk at once. With all this made into clothing, I should be set for a long time. Truly, you are a most generous man!”
Sang Jin frowned, wanting to say something, but not knowing how to start.
“Village Chief, do we really have to give them all this?” an elder leaned toward Sang Tian’s ear and whispered.
Sang Tian clenched his fist, feeling stuck in a difficult spot.
Ignoring Sang Tian, Chu Feng glanced at Sang Jin and said, “Little brother, your ability is quite impressive!”
“Not at all, senior, you flatter me.”
On his own, he could only dye two bolts of cloth per day—hardly worth mentioning—but with Illya’s help, they had just dyed over a hundred bolts, the equivalent of two months of his normal work. If anyone’s ability was truly powerful, it was Illya’s.
Chu Feng took out a witch stone wrapped in green silk and tossed it to Sang Jin. “A meeting gift for you.”
Sang Jin stared blankly at the stone, then suddenly realized what it was.
“This is… far too valuable,” Sang Jin stammered, his face flushing red.
Chu Feng waved a hand casually. “It’s for you, so just keep it.”
Sang Tian, who had been silently mourning the loss of so much silk, suddenly felt differently after seeing Chu Feng casually hand out a witch stone.
“So, what exactly brings you here?” Sang Tian asked seriously.
Chu Feng replied lightly, “Didn’t Jocelyn tell you? I want green silk, as much as possible.”
Sang Tian shook his head. “To be honest, our village does have some in storage, but not much—likely not enough to meet your needs.”
“I figured as much,” Chu Feng said. “What I want to know is—can production be expanded?”
Sang Tian hesitated. “That…”
“I’ve heard that jade mulberry trees are difficult to grow, but if Illya and Jocelyn use their powers together, cultivating a grove shouldn’t be hard. You’ve already seen their abilities—don’t you think so?” Chu Feng said.
Sang Tian’s face went through intense changes, as if torn between hope and worry.
Illya noticed that the man’s emotions were in great turmoil, a tangle of expectation and apprehension.
Sang Tian frowned. “Green silk is the unique product of the Sang Maiden Tribe, and the tribe’s location is top secret…”
Chu Feng smiled. “It’s about twenty li from here, isn’t it?”
Sang Tian’s eyes widened. “You… how do you know?”
Chu Feng chuckled. Sang Jin didn’t look like a pure human—there was a trace of Sang blood in him. His mother was probably a Mulberry Maiden Maiden. Manning had discovered that one of his relatives was in that direction, which should be where the tribe was located.
“Village Chief, don’t worry—if I truly had ill intentions, you wouldn’t be able to stop me,” Chu Feng said.
He made a few casual slashes in the air toward a large tree nearby. The tree, over ten meters tall, split into dozens of pieces and crashed to the ground.
“Ah!” Several onlooking villagers gasped in fear at the sight.
Jocelyn’s power inspired wonder and fascination, but Chu Feng’s power brought nothing but dread.
Sang Tian’s face went pale, then flushed, then pale again. Looking at the shattered remains of the tree, he realized clearly that if the man wanted to attack, the villagers wouldn’t even be able to slow him down.
Sang Jin’s eyes widened in surprise. Rou Jin had long known that there were many other ability-users in the world, but she hadn’t imagined anyone could wield power to such a degree.
In the face of overwhelming strength, all schemes seemed pointless.
Sang Tian looked at Chu Feng and said grimly, “Your ability is truly remarkable.”
Chu Feng clasped his hands behind his back. “Much obliged.”
Illya leaned toward him and whispered, “Aren’t you being a bit too direct?”
Chu Feng smiled. “This is just the polite warning before force.”
He was a busy man—he didn’t have time to dance around the subject. A direct display of strength could save a lot of time. This village chief had been treating him like a thief from the start.
Sang Tian took a few people and went to the Sang Maiden Tribe.
The tribe had only a little over thirty people left, many wearing expressions of worry.
“What should we do? There are only eighteen jade mulberry trees left.”
“At this rate, the silkworms won’t have enough to eat!”
“Who knows how many silkworms will die this year…”
“There are a few saplings, but they’ll take a long time to mature.”
“If only we could get help from the Elves.”
“The Elves’ own situation doesn’t seem good—we haven’t heard any news from them in a long time.”
The whole tribe was steeped in gloom.
Chu Feng, along with Sang Tian and Sang Jin, teleported directly near the Sang Maiden Tribe.
Sang Tian, who usually had to walk for a long time to reach the tribe, was bewildered at how they had arrived instantly.
“Sang Tian, I told you not to bring outsiders here.”
A Sang maiden suddenly dropped down from a tree, her body wrapped in silk, looking somewhat like a specter.
Chu Feng thought her movements resembled those of a spider.
Sang Tian said nervously, “I know, I know—but I brought a friendly ally from the Elves. This one is an Elf.”
“An Elf?” Sang Xue looked toward Jocelyn. “You really are an Elf!”
The Sang Maidens had just been talking about the Elves earlier. Though they had hoped for their arrival, they thought it impossible. Now that an Elf had suddenly appeared before them, Sang Xue felt like she was dreaming.
Jocelyn nodded. “Yes, I am an Elf.”
One by one, the Mulberry Maiden dropped from the trees, staring curiously at Jocelyn.
Chu Feng looked at them, each wrapped in silken threads, and couldn’t help thinking they looked like a group of people collectively hanging themselves.
Seeing them dangling from the trees, Chu Feng thought: Good thing I came in the daytime. If it were at night, I’d think I’d stumbled into a graveyard.
Originally, a few from the Mulberry Maiden’s tribe had been somewhat resistant to Chu Feng’s group, but when they heard Sang Tian say Jocelyn was a plant-ability-user, their expressions changed at once, treating him like a savior.
