Chapter 41: Chapter 41: The Mountain Lord Reappears (Please follow, seeking Yue tickets at month’s end!)
After updating the progress bar for the “Five Elements Fist” and “Yijin Scripture,” Wang Sheng enjoyed over ten days of tranquility, during which he made considerable progress with some skills.
However, the peaceful days in Qingshan Village did not reflect the outside world.
Two months had passed since King Yong Nian, Zhou Wutong, breached Jiangyuan City. Repairs had been completed, and it was expected that King Yong Nian’s army would soon advance down the Yellow Dragon River.
Village head Zhou Zhengwen was making final preparations.
So, he sought out Wang Sheng again.
After returning from the previous visit, the village head had deliberated for a long time. Perhaps due to wishful thinking, combined with the fact that Qingshan Village was not yet habitable, he decided to delay their departure.
Nevertheless, there were still tasks that could be done.
“Yun Sheng, I’m afraid I must trouble you again. Before moving into Qingshan Village, we need to transport some food there first.”
After Li Yongfeng brought back the news, the village head began organizing the villagers to prepare food supplies.
So, Qingshan Village actually had quite a stockpile—if utilized frugally, surviving the most challenging initial period should be no problem.
However, since Qingshan Village was currently uninhabitable and relocation would take some time, Zhou Zhengwen decided to start by transporting a portion of the food to lighten the load later.
The food only needed a dry place; the requirements were not very high.
Of course, there was a critical point.
“Yongfeng found out that King Yong Nian’s people have started forcibly conscripting food. They say they barge into homes and search, taking even the hidden supplies. How can they leave no room for survival?”
This was what the village head was most worried about.
If they took all the food, there’d be no point in hiding in Qingshan Village.
Hiding anywhere would be futile.
Taking various factors into account, he decided to send food and other essentials into Qingshan Village first, keeping only a bit for immediate use.
Wang Sheng didn’t know how to judge this forced conscription of food by King Yong Nian.
Was it because this world had individuals who consolidated great power, influencing the course of war, that they felt compelled to conscript food?
Since ordinary people couldn’t influence the battle, their opinions mattered little, and thus the forced conscription of food happened without concern for losing the people’s support.
Or did he think he was bound to lose, so it didn’t matter?
Wang Sheng always felt King Yong Nian had ulterior motives.
Before this, King Yong Nian did not engage in such foolish acts; his domain might not have been thriving but was at least well managed.
After pondering for a while, Wang Sheng decided not to think further.
To make one mad is to hasten their demise.
By acting this way, King Yong Nian, Zhou Yuanqing, was only speeding his own downfall.
This wasn’t something he could control.
He nodded in agreement to the village head’s request. Although it would take several days, it wasn’t a big issue, especially since there were no threats like a Martial Artist plague chasing after him; a few days wouldn’t allow much progress on his progress bar anyway.
…
Village head Zhou Zhengwen’s efficiency was still so high.
The very next day, he found Wang Sheng, ready to depart.
Wang Sheng followed Zhou Zhengwen to the foot of the mountain, where many villagers, all robust youths, were waiting.
Many of these young men were not typically in the village, but due to the war, they had returned gradually, making Qingshan Village quite lively.
Each of the young men had a bamboo basket filled with grains, ready to carry them into the mountains.
“This is Yun Sheng, he will protect you all to Qingshan Village. There shouldn’t be any danger this time, but it will be tiresome for you.”
“Village head, why even say these things? We’re also doing it for ourselves.”
“Yeah, it’s not just for one family or another.”
Under the influence of the old Scholar and village head Zhou Zhengwen, the villagers of Qingshan were very united.
Although there were minor squabbles, there were no true enemies.
So, upon hearing this task, nearly everyone with some strength joined.
Village leader Zhou Zhengwen laughed, the more times like this, the more the villagers should stick together, and now things were going well.
He gave a few more instructions, and then a group of people set off with great vigor.
Over the next few days, they would need to go back and forth between Qingshan Village and Qingshan Fort. It was alright for Wang Sheng, as he was a martial artist, but it was tough for the others.
After entering the mountain, Wang Sheng, carrying the most food, walked at the back, while the old hunter, Li Peng, led the way at the front.
Of course, they didn’t let Li Peng carry any food, given his old age.
About half an hour later, when everyone planned to stop for a rest, Wang Shing noticed some disturbance ahead.
He put down the food he was carrying and walked toward the front of the group.
The people at the front of the group, on their first trip into the mountains, were almost scared out of their wits. How could there be such a huge tiger? It could already be called the Mountain Lord, right?
Wasn’t it said that the Mountain Lord hadn’t appeared for a long time?
The guide, Li Peng, seemed a bit calmer.
“Everyone, stay calm, do not attack, wait for Yun Sheng to arrive.”
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Wang Sheng had already made large strides to the front.
Those scared people thought Wang Sheng would start fighting with the Mountain Lord.
What they observed was incomprehensible to them; the Mountain Lord was submissive and docile in front of Wang Sheng, exhibiting a posture of obedience.
“Uncle Li Peng, what’s going on…”
The speaker was a generation older than Wang Sheng, hence calling him “uncle.”
Seeing the Mountain Lord’s submissive demeanor again, Li Peng also felt somewhat emotional.
Mountain Lord, the king of the mountain, behaving like this upon seeing Wang Sheng!
Still, he recounted the story of their last trip into the mountain.
The people were even more astonished; it turned out he was subdued through combat.
Their admiration in their gazes towards Wang Sheng increased.
If Mountain Lord was comparable to a Third Grade Martial Artist, just how strong was Wang Sheng?
A profound sense of security filled them, much like what Li Peng and others felt last time.
Wang Sheng naturally overheard their conversation.
He felt somewhat helpless inside.
It had started with him subduing the creature, but now the behavior displayed by the Mountain Lord wasn’t just because he couldn’t overcome Wang Sheng; something else was much more important.
“You want this, don’t you?”
What he took out was naturally the Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill.
The Mountain Lord immediately showed a longing look, almost drooling.
Wang Sheng, looking at him, felt he resembled less a mighty tiger that instilled fear across the mountains and more a naive husky.
But the Mountain Lord had its reasons.
Wang Sheng was unaware of how cautious and painstaking it had been when it sought resources to enhance its strength before.
Now that it could obtain resources even better than before so easily, it naturally desired them.
Last time it ate those pills, its strength had notably increased.
Wang Sheng didn’t know what the Mountain Lord was thinking, but since it had appeared willingly, he naturally wouldn’t miss the opportunity to make use of the “tiger cart”.
“See that food? Help transport it to Qingshan Fort, and I’ll give you two pills. How about that?”
The Mountain Lord understood.
Ah, transporting items again. This task it was familiar with; it was up to the task.
It promised to deliver the food perfectly intact to that fort!
And so, the scenery of the food transport team changed once again…