Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

On a summer night, the chirping of insects filled the air. A gray wolf raced down the main road, then through the suburban woodlands.

In the orchard ahead, lights shone from every tree, and a faint smell of smoke drifted through the wind and rain. We've arrived at Xizhen.

The gray wolf slowly stopped and lay down.

"What's wrong, Third Sister?" Liu Xingmo asked.

"Hiss~" The giant snake flicked its tongue. "This wolf is badly injured, so I can only take it this far. Young master, now you should follow those two foxes to the central city to meet the elders."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work today."

"Don't forget what you promised them."

"I can't forget it. When I have time, I'll definitely read you a novel."

"It's a deal!"

"Okay, it's a deal."

Liu Xingmo opened the rattan door and went outside. He went to the other side of the rattan cage and released the airship refugees.

"Everyone, follow me. I'm going to hire some cars. Don't cause trouble. Remember, this is Black Dragon Village territory."

Led by the old lady, the group followed quietly.

However, a few of them were not so resigned to their fate, especially the four second-tier swordsmen, whose bright eyes looked around as if they were looking for an opportunity.

The two fox instructors of the city guard walked silently on either side of the formation, exuding an invisible pressure.

The team moved forward in an orderly fashion.

Liu Xingmo led the team to the bus station, which was located next to the Xizhen market.

The evening market was bustling with activity, filled with shouts of vendors and the sounds of bargaining, all amidst the aromas of fruit and medicine.

Liu Xingmo heard the whispers behind him.

"Hey, look! What a huge he shou wu!"

"Hey? Is that ginseng that's being sold in pieces next to that radish?"

"What is that rabbit stealing? Where's the manager? Where did the manager go?"

……

Liu Xingmo didn't even turn his head, casually saying, "Don't make a fuss. This is the West Town Market, which is basically a vegetable market. Also, our contracted beast is very well-behaved; it only eats the feed given to it by its master and won't steal anything."

Whispers turned into gasps of amazement.

"Is this a farmers' market? No wonder it's deep in the mountains; precious medicinal herbs are everywhere!"

"They actually fed rabbits with miraculous medicine? The herbs we risked our lives to dig up in the mountains are less valuable than animal feed!"

"Wait! A contracted beast is a rabbit? You need at least Tier 2 strength to contract such a wild animal, right? Does that dark-faced merchant have that kind of strength?"

……

Liu Xingmo turned around and said loudly, "Stop arguing, this is nothing. If you went into the pharmacy and took a look around, you'd be shocked."

These elite students from the highest academy of the Yin Kingdom, though silent, were somewhat unconvinced. As for the old lady leading the group, she narrowed her eyes, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepening.

Liu Xingmo paid out of his own pocket to hire five Wild Rabbit buses.

The teachers and students boarded the bus one by one and headed towards the treehouse city along the birch tree avenue.

At the station at the end of the avenue, someone had already received the message and was waiting there.

Several enormous and ferocious beasts, each tens of meters long, were present. Each of them was a renowned fourth-tier steward. However, they all yielded their positions to the two tiny humans.

Five Wild Rabbit buses stopped in sequence.

Liu Xingmo got out of the car and greeted the young man in the green robe: "Good evening, great-grandfather."

"Hahaha! You really leave me speechless." Great-grandfather shook his head and chuckled.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you." Liu Xingmo bowed and apologized.

"No trouble at all. It would be better if such interesting things happened every day." Great-Grandpa smiled kindly and pointed to the woman beside him, "This is Elder Liu Qitong. She is in charge of matters related to spiritual herbs."

"Greetings, Elder." Liu Xingmo bowed.

"Yes, bring her over." Liu Qitong was dressed in a white silk robe, with the appearance of a young woman and a cold expression.

"Yes."

Liu Xingmo opened the doors of the Wild Rabbit Bus one by one, leading all the airship refugees to the elders and stewards.

"Reporting to the elders, the people of Yin Kingdom who were found in the wild fruit garden, which is located northwest of Black Dragon Village and spans twenty-one hills, are all here. There is a damaged airship at the scene, which is consistent with their testimonies."

"Yes, you did a great job."

Great-grandfather nodded and walked towards the crowd.

In the dim night, this person's eyes were unusually bright, as if they contained the sun, moon, and stars, flowing seemingly slowly yet swiftly.

Liu Xingmo felt as if his consciousness was being sucked into it...

He didn't know whether a moment or an hour had passed when he suddenly woke up.

What just happened? I suddenly felt dizzy! Could this be the so-called soul-path technique? It's truly impossible to resist.

The great-grandfather in front nodded and announced loudly, "I am Elder Liu Piaoxu of Black Dragon Village. Since you have all come here as guests, let me give you a proper welcome. Afterwards, I will organize people to send you back to your country. Please rest assured and have no worries."

The elderly lady leading the group quickly bowed and said, "I am deeply grateful for your kindness. Upon returning home, I will truthfully report this matter to the Central University of Da Yin."

The tense atmosphere between the two sides eased.

Does that mean the inspection passed?

Knowing that he was no longer involved, Liu Xingmo quietly stepped aside.

With so many important figures involved, it's unlikely we'll be able to retain many talented people to work in the factory. What a pity.

We need to hurry and seize any opportunities we can. There are other people's belongings still inside the wicker cage.

Liu Xingmo rushed home and went to his neighbor's farm first.

"Third Sister, are you back?"

"I'm here, young master."

"Great! Could you move the refugees' belongings to my house? I'd like to check their books!"

"Um."

A moment later, in the main hall of Mushroom Castle.

The Ling Shi lamp was turned on at maximum power, illuminating the vast space.

Sumali pulled a thick book from the pile of backpacks scattered on the floor: "Is this the standard textbook for alchemy in the Yin Kingdom?"

She flipped through the pages quickly: "Excellent! It contains all correct knowledge. Even without cultivation techniques, it would be a huge boost for independent cultivators in the community."

"Alright! I'll gather some elixirs and exchange them for textbooks later. Losing a few books in such a major incident shouldn't be a problem."

Liu Xingmo was also browsing quickly, but he was looking for notebooks.

"Mary, come here quickly! This is clearly a good student's notebook. Look for any knowledge that isn't in the textbook! It might contain guidance from a god-level expert, and the key to advancement might be in there."

"Okay, let me see." Su Mali picked up her notebook and, once she started reading by the light, she couldn't stop.

Liu Xingmo quickly reminded her, "Mary, stop looking! There's plenty of time later. Our task today is to sift out the useful information and write it down!"

Reluctantly, Su Mali put down her notebook and began to quickly browse through it.

As she flipped through the books, a stack of books piled up at her feet.

She picked up an old book, and as soon as she opened it, her body froze.

Liu Xingmo noticed the situation: "What's wrong?"

He leaned closer to take a look and felt that the handwriting in the book looked familiar.

Whose notes are these?

Oh right, I've seen it appear together with foreign languages ​​before...

The book "Basic Magic" left by my father-in-law!