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Chapter 34 Spicy Village

three days later.

Chen Xuan, carrying the supplies he had purchased online, pushed open the back door of room 201. This time, the entrance had changed location again, moving from the hilltop to a cave on the edge of the mountains. According to Liu Shuyue, it seemed that as long as she designated a place as her residence, and it possessed certain room characteristics, room 201 would be connected to it.

For example, this cave... doesn't even have windows, just a wooden door, and a straw bed inside, which can be considered a dwelling.

Liu Shuyue was not in the cave.

This is quite normal; she's been incredibly busy lately, either leading everyone to explore the resources around the mountains or traveling to central Qingzhou to guide new disaster victims to this area. To ensure Chen Xuan could reach her at any time, Liu Shuyue not only entrusted him with her room key but also left him five communication talismans, saying she would arrive as soon as she received any news.

As Chen Xuan stepped out of the cave, a little boy at the entrance immediately clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Greetings, Shopkeeper!"

He recognized the other person as Xue Xiaojin, one of the most talented children among the first batch of disaster victims. After being inspired by the dragon's blood, he had already cultivated the Heart Cleansing Technique and the Spirit Sword Technique to the third level.

"The Immortal Master went to explore the mountains. He said that if you come, you can wander around the village first, and I will show you the way."

"What's the date today?" The first thing Chen Xuan did every time he came over was to confirm the time.

"November 5th," Xue Xiaojin answered fluently.

The day of the dragon's slaying occurred three weeks ago.

When I arrived yesterday, only 15 days had passed here.

In other words, unless the door to room 201 is always kept open, time on both sides will pass at a relatively changing rate, and there will be no discernible pattern.

Of course, there are still general rules: the closer the customer's connection with the shop, the smaller this time ratio becomes. For example, it only took a few days to see Liu Shuyue before, but five years seemed to have passed in an instant.

"Give this to the person in charge of farming." Chen Xuan took off his backpack and tossed it to Xue Xiaojin.

The latter immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Could it be that the contents of this bag are the 'immortal seed' that the Immortal Master mentioned before?"

"Yes. All the vegetables that can be grown are listed on the packaging. If they grow well, you might even be able to harvest some before winter."

"I'll take it over right away, sir, please wait a moment!"

"Hmm, I'll go take a look at the lake."

Seeing the other person leave as if they were carrying a treasure, Chen Xuan couldn't help but smile. Those weren't anything precious; they were all carefully selected seeds bought online. There were spices like onions and garlic, as well as easy-to-grow vegetables like cabbage and water spinach. There were also two large bags of potato and tomato seeds, totaling less than five hundred yuan. But their advantage lay in their superior genes, coupled with magical growth-promoting techniques, so the final planting results should be quite pleasing.

On the shimmering lake, several simple boats were patrolling back and forth, casting their fishing nets. Of course, he had bought these nets too, and they could catch several thousand fish every day.

The lakeside served as a drying ground, with densely packed wooden racks hanging not only with fish but also with animal meat and hides. The latter were the spoils of hunting teams—they crafted superior bows, arrows, swords, and shields from dragon tendons, teeth, and hides, easily becoming the masters of all living things in the area. It must be said that the natural resources here were incredibly abundant; schools of fish could be seen swimming in the azure lake with the naked eye, and wild wolves and foxes in the forest would boldly approach to beg for the entrails dissected by the disaster victims.

By the way... it's no longer appropriate to call them disaster victims.

Liu Shuyue named the village "Mala" (Spicy).

So they are already residents of the spicy village.

As for why she chose that name… her answer left Chen Xuan speechless. The village couldn’t have been established without his help, and the shop he ran had a sign that read “Mala Tang” (a type of spicy hot pot).

It seems that changing the store name to a formal name is imperative.

"Manager, the seeds have been delivered!"

Xue Xiaojin ran back happily.

"Hmm. How many of you are there now?"

"Around 31,000."

"A lot."

"Yes, the Immortal Master said that once we have gathered 40,000 people, we will conduct another dragon blood bath so that those who come later can keep up with our pace."

Chen Xuan nodded. In Liu Shuyue's eyes, that dragon was a treasure trove, and they would definitely squeeze every last drop of value out of it. He had witnessed the amazing nature of that thing before; even after being stripped for so long, its blood and flesh remained intact, as if it still possessed life.

"Young man, how do you feel about life here? Do you regret coming to this desolate wilderness?" "Of course, sir! These past few days have been like a dream!" Xue Xiaojin replied without hesitation. "Before, we couldn't even get a decent meal. We were always afraid of being eaten on the road. Every night when we closed our eyes, we thought we might not make it to tomorrow. Things only got better when the Immortal Master distributed relief food. But now, my mother and I can eat meat every day, learn immortal techniques, and have inexhaustible strength!"

"What about before the famine?" Chen Xuan asked curiously.

“If there hadn’t been a famine, that would have been the best… at least my father and brother wouldn’t have died.” The boy’s voice lowered slightly. “But it has already happened, and I won’t fantasize about things going back to the way they were before. From now on, I will protect my mother!”

"Good determination."

"Could you perhaps give me a skill set that's better suited for combat? I feel I'm more suited to joining the hunting team than logistics!"

"That's not up to me; it requires Master Liu's approval. Besides, the hunting team only recruits adults, right? You're still a long way off."

During their conversation, Chen Xuan suddenly saw a plume of black smoke rising from the mountain behind him.

"What is that smoke?"

“It’s a beacon fire.” Xue Xiaojin’s expression immediately turned serious. “One wisp means that unidentified people are approaching from the north.”

The north... Chen Xuan thought for a moment and realized it probably referred to the heart of Qingzhou, since the refugees had already fled to the southern border region.

"Shopkeeper, could you please go to the front of the village to help us?" he said urgently. "The Immortal Master should be arriving soon, and until then, we need your strength."

Well, didn't Master Liu tell them that the shopkeeper wasn't good at fighting people head-on?

However, Chen Xuan wasn't worried. Since Liu Shuyue was still in the Wanshan Wilderness, it would only take a quarter of an hour to get back to the village. Besides, almost everyone in the village had reached the Qi Refining stage, which would be considered entry-level cultivation level outside the village. Ordinary enemies really couldn't do anything to them.

"Okay, take me there."

Upon arriving outside the village, at the very spot where the dragon was first slain, Chen Xuan encountered the group of "unknown people." They numbered only about a hundred, half of whom were armored and appeared to be a well-trained army.

Are these people here to attack the disaster victims of Qingzhou?
But a hundred people are far too few. Even if these refugees were not bathed in dragon blood, thirty thousand people would be enough to tear them to shreds.

The warriors of Mala Village are ready.

Nearly five hundred able-bodied men gathered here, dressed like tribal savages, their bodies wrapped in animal skins, their weapons mainly consisting of wooden spears and longbows. Judging by their appearance alone, probably no one would associate them with the lofty cultivators. However, combat prowess has nothing to do with attire; once a fight breaks out, each of these men could take on ten opponents.

"Chen Xuan!"

A fragrant breeze wafted in from the side.

Before she could finish speaking, Liu Shuyue suddenly braked and landed beside him.

"You used the Wind Riding Talisman again?" Chen Xuan nodded at her. "Aren't these precious talismans becoming increasingly rare with each use?"

When she killed the dragon before, she used this move to rush into the sky and cut the demonic dragon down with one sword.

Liu Shuyue smiled and said, "My talisman-making skills have improved recently, and I can now use dragon scales to refine them, so there's no need to be too stingy, especially when I sensed you coming here."

For Chen Xuan, they were only separated by one day, but in her eyes, they had been apart for fifteen days.

Her smile made the surrounding lush green fields seem somewhat dim.

Chen Xuan felt that her mood had improved a lot since she came to the Great Wilderness of Ten Thousand Mountains, as if she had completely shed some kind of restraint.

“They don’t seem like enemies.” Liu Shuyue glanced at the distant hillside. “With General Gong’s courage, he would never dare to come looking for trouble with so few men.”

Chen Xuan used his divine eye technique to carefully examine the crowd and suddenly spotted an unexpectedly familiar face in the crowd.

"Oh? Why would he come here?"

"Who?"

"Prefect of Zhangwei, Shen Fang."

(End of this chapter)