Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

Feeling the gazes of the three people—no, Fang Xiaoshi could clearly feel that everyone at the banquet was focused on him.

These gazes contained jealousy, hope, and tension, but Fang Xiaoshi didn't care about any of them. He only cared about a gaze that carried a warning meaning.

That gaze came from his father.

Fang Xiaoshi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, there was a hint of despair in them.

Children's thoughts are mostly written on their faces, and Fang Xiaoshi's expression caught the attention of everyone at the banquet, causing the villagers to burst into joy.

The hunter, who knew Fang Xiaoshi best, felt a sudden unease.

Fang Xiaoshi stood there in anguish, doing nothing and saying nothing, just like his name, stubborn as a stone.

"Little Stone, speak!" the hunter said in a deep voice.

"...Father, Village Chief," Fang Xiaoshi said through gritted teeth, "Do you want me to plead for them? Do you want Wei Yanwu to directly allocate the quota to Moushan Village?"

The atmosphere at the banquet suddenly became awkward.

The village chief chuckled dryly and waved his hands repeatedly: "You silly child, what are you saying? I just wanted you to thank Lord Wei properly for taking you home."

"Okay, then I will thank him, even though going home was not my intention."

Fang Xiaoshi looked up at Wei Yanwu sitting in front of him and said firmly, "But the quota should be a matter of fair competition. Why should it become something you can arbitrarily allocate because of these messy things?"

Moushan Village needs subsidies for road construction, but don't other villages nearby need them too? I support the decision to pursue fair competition.

The banquet was deathly silent.

Only Chen couldn't help but smile: "This kid is not bad."

Qi Yan swallowed the pastry in her mouth, licked her fingers, and said softly:

"Unfortunately, he is not Officer Chen from Longmen; he is just a small stone in the mountains."

And do you think Fang Xiaoshi can simply refuse what Wei Lao Er wants to give away?

Before Chen could ask further, Wei Yanwu, who was sitting in the main seat at the banquet, spoke up.

"This child has ambition," Wei Yanwu praised with a smile. "Originally, I was hesitant about the quota for building the highway, but it's rare and precious that Moushan Village can raise a child with such a righteous heart as Fang Xiaoshi."

It's just a matter of one spot. After I leave tomorrow, I'll write to Yumen and ask them to add one more spot for this region as a reward for Fang Xiaoshi.

As Wei Yanwu finished speaking, the banquet fell silent for a moment, before an unprecedented burst of enthusiasm erupted.

The atmosphere reached its peak in the blink of an eye, with people clinking glasses in celebration, and the village chief's face crinkling with laughter.

The hunter's gaunt face finally broke into a relieved smile as he looked at the village chief and Fang Xiaoshi, his back bending even more.

Wei Yanwu seemed unaffected by the lively atmosphere, picking up his teacup and taking a sip.

He then turned his face away, spat out the tea foam, and muttered to himself:

"What rubbish tea! When will Yan Kingdom be able to drink edible tea anywhere? I don't ask for anything fancy, just something not this hard to swallow."

Qi Yan walked through the crowd and came to Wei Yanwu's side, just in time to hear him muttering.

"A chivalrous knight-errant who roams the world with a sword wouldn't grow tea," Qi Yan said with a smile.

"That's why I quit a long time ago."

"Politicians wouldn't do that either."

"But politicians can make the tea that is grown have the opportunity to enter ordinary people's homes."

"This is even more difficult than a knight-errant planting tea."

"So I passed this task on to the biggest politician in the court."

Qi Yan chuckled softly and didn't reply.

The banquet did not last long. After Qi Yan and the others had eaten and drunk their fill, they were taken to rest by the people arranged by the village chief, and the crowd soon dispersed.

The night passed peacefully, but the next morning Qi Yan was dragged out of bed by Wei Yanwu.

Then, one of them appeared before everyone, yawning repeatedly, while the other had a black eye.

Wei Yanwu calmly waved his hand to interrupt the village chief's concern, urging everyone to get in the car quickly. Under the village chief's curious gaze, he practically fled the village.

The off-road vehicle traveled along the bumpy dirt road outside Moushan Village. Inside the vehicle, Qi Yan was drowsy, while Chen and Qiu Bai silently looked at the scenery outside the window.

Both girls had mixed feelings.

After witnessing the attitude of the villagers in Moushan Village yesterday, they were both dissatisfied. Although they had some differences in their attitudes, neither of them doubted whether Qi Yan and Wei Yanwu could handle the problems in this village.

But everything was too uneventful. There was no minor punishment to serve as a warning, no tearful repentance, and not even a angry outburst of anger.

Before the group arrived, the village looked like this; before they left, the village seemed to have improved, but this improvement felt so unreal.

The off-road vehicle crawled silently up the hillside, struggled to cross the top, and began to descend, then suddenly stopped.

"Get out of the car," Wei Yanwu said.

While Chen was still confused, Qi Yan, who had been dozing off, opened the car door and jumped out, then turned around and beckoned the three girls to join him.

Although Chen was puzzled, he still got off the bus with Qiu Bai and Qi Lin.

Wei Yanwu rested his arm on the car window and asked Qi Yan:

How long do you think it will take?

"About three days."

"Time is running out, the shadow guards are in for a lot of work."

"The shadow guards are busy, not you, so what are you worried about?"

"Can't I be considerate of my subordinates?"

"How is that employee who was kept behind to work overtime by a ruthless businessman and accidentally injured by the Crimson Sky Sword Qi during the Chernobog incident doing lately?"

"...Time is tight, we have to go now!"

In Yumen, Zuo Le was forcibly woken up early in the morning by someone banging on his bedroom door.

He opened the door sleepily, and was immediately startled when he saw who it was: "Lin Qingyan?!"

Jingzhe outside the door stared at Zuo Le with hostile eyes.

Faced with Jingzhe's gaze, Zuo Le's sleepiness vanished instantly. She shrank back and obediently changed her tune:

"Aunt, why are you here?"

"Where is Qi Yan?" Jingzhe asked bluntly.

"He's been gone for a while now. If you're looking for him, you're way too late," Zuo Le said with a wry smile.

"This guy, as expected, is like a wild dog that can't be caught once he steps out the door!"

Jingzhe was so angry that she gritted her teeth.

Zuo Le's gaze darted around, silently agreeing in his heart, but he didn't dare to say a word.

He still remembers how he offended Qi Yan with something he didn't know, and as a result, he was hung on the wall to be exposed to the wind until the battle of the giant beasts ended before his father took him down.

Then, a few days later, my own father also went up there...

Patting his face, Zuo Le shook off the filial thoughts in his mind and said seriously:

"If you want to find Qi Yan, you can head south. He's going to Lateran for the World Summit."

“The World Summit…” Jingzhe frowned. “Then I don’t need to keep an eye on him. Someone will handle him.”

After speaking, Jingzhe turned her gaze to Zuo Le:

"Since you happen to have some free time recently, come with me to the capital. I have some things to investigate."

"Who said I don't have any missions?"

“I said, if you’re not convinced, go and complain to your father.”

A single sentence from Jingzhe made Zuo Le behave himself again.

"Hmph, forget it, don't say I'm bullying you." Jingzhe turned and walked away. "Come with me to see General Zuo, report on the matter that you are now under my jurisdiction, and visit him while we're at it."

Zuo Le hurriedly went back into the house to put on his coat and followed Jingzhe with a miserable expression.

When the two arrived at the general's main tent in the military camp, they saw two shadow guards leaving from inside, looking travel-worn.

Both of them were curious, but they also knew their limits and didn't speak up when they shouldn't.

The two entered the main tent, and Zuo Xuanliao saw Jingzhe, his face immediately showing surprise and delight:

"You've finally arrived. The Grand Tutor said that with your personality, you would definitely catch up with Qi Yan. I knew he wouldn't be wrong."

Jingzhe's face darkened slightly: "Since he knew, why couldn't he even wait for me?"

Zuo Xuanliao quickly laughed it off:

"The matter is indeed somewhat urgent, and it's all out of necessity. Let's not talk about that for now. Can you please stop chasing after Qi Yan? I have something important to ask you."

"what's up?"

"Come with me to the Great Wilderness City."

Upon hearing this, Jingzhe frowned, pondered for a moment, and shook her head, saying, "I want to go to the capital."

Zuo Xuanliao didn't ask her what she wanted to do, and repeatedly said:

"It's the same. Once I've persuaded the old Celestial Master to come out of the mountains, you and she will go to the capital together."

Jingzhe raised an eyebrow, thinking about the matter she needed to investigate. If the Old Celestial Master had his support, there would definitely be far fewer obstacles.

“I agree to this, but Zuo Le will also be under my command from now on. I need someone fast to assist me, and his lightness skill is passable.”

Jingzhe and Zuo Xuanliao worked together to clearly arrange Zuo Le's fate.

Zuo Le stood aside, not daring to even sigh, and could only let the two of them torment her. She was so tired that she suddenly wanted to go to Rhodes Island to report for duty.

During a casual chat with Taihe, he heard Taihe remark that the work atmosphere at Rhodes Island must be very relaxed.

In Zuo Le's heart, the three words 'Rhodes Island' gradually became gilded and faintly shone.

Chapter 950 Goodness

"Xiao Shi, go and take this animal skin to Aunt Zhou at the east end of the village. She caught a cold a couple of days ago, so ask her to make a new blanket for her."

The hunter stuffed a piece of animal hide into Fang Xiaoshi's hand, then turned and brought over a jar: "And this pot of medicinal wine. Your brother on Saturday at the west end of the village twisted his ankle these past few days. Take it to him so he can apply it to his wound."

Fang Xiaoshi, holding two items, asked in confusion:

Why send them these things?

"You child, everyone in the village helped us a lot, we must thank them properly," the hunter admonished.

Fang Xiaoshi's eyes widened slightly: "They're helping us? Didn't we help the village?"

“If it weren’t for your stubbornness, why would we have to go through all this extravagance to host this banquet?” the hunter said sternly. “Don’t you know how difficult things have been for the village these past few years? Everyone has put aside their past grievances, and our family must seize this opportunity.”

Seeing his father trying so hard to please others, Fang Xiaoshi was so angry that his body was trembling.

"Listen to me, consider it a begging from your father."

Faced with the hunter's repeated pleas, Fang Xiaoshi could only grit his teeth, lower his head, and quickly flee his home.

After he delivered both items, suppressing his resentment, he walked alone through the village, occasionally encountering other villagers who mostly avoided him from a distance.

Even if they accidentally bumped into each other, the villagers would just give a simple greeting with strange expressions and then turn away, pretending to be busy.

Fang Xiaoshi took a deep breath and forced himself not to lash out.

But when he encountered several children of similar age, he witnessed their parents rushing forward and pulling them away, clearly not wanting their children to have anything to do with him, Fang Xiaoshi.

Fang Xiaoshi's resentment surged to its peak in an instant.

"Xiao Shi, what are you doing here?"

An aged voice came from behind, interrupting Fang Xiaoshi's impending outburst.

Fang Xiaoshi turned his head and saw who it was, but his expression wasn't very friendly either:

"Village chief, did you need something from me?"

The village chief smiled gently, his wrinkles smoothing out slightly.

He stepped forward, patted Fang Xiaoshi on the shoulder, and took out another small bag from his waist pocket: