On the country path at sunset, the evening sun cast the shadows of two people, who walked along the boundary of light and shadow in the wheat fields, passing through the floating patches of light and dark.
The young girl held his hand and walked ahead. The wind blew her hair, carrying a faint fragrance to the young man’s nose.
She used her other hand to brush her hair back but didn’t want to let go of his hand.
Li Mo suddenly felt that the scene before him was familiar yet somewhat unreal.
It felt like he had seen it in a dream, forgotten upon waking, only to feel as if he had experienced it when encountering similar scenes.
He thought of Monet’s “Woman with a Parasol,” except it was a sunset version…
Immediately after, Li Mo was taken aback.
“Fairy Sister, is this the way back to the village? Why does it seem like we’re walking into a more desolate area…”
Ying Bing was stunned, glanced around, and frowned: “This isn’t the way back to Li Mo’s village, right? It doesn’t seem to be…”
Li Mo: “??”
“Fairy Sister, could you be directionally challenged?”
“How can that be possible? I was just thinking about something.”
“True.”
Fairy Sister had come specifically to save him that day.
Though he didn’t know why, if she were directionally challenged, how could she have found him accurately?
It wouldn’t be possible… right?…
Half a moment later, Li Mo looked seriously at a group of pheasants not far away. They were fiercely staring at him, claws digging into the ground.
These pheasants had strong territorial awareness and could even fly. Even a tiger would suffer entering their territory.
Since they were already here.
On the way back, Li Mo carried a few blocks of frozen pheasant ice sculptures.
“So, Fairy Sister, did you start out wanting to eat wild pheasant meat?”
“That’s right, exactly so.”
Fairy Sister looked aloof, making it impossible to associate her with being directionally challenged. She added:
“Alright, let’s head back. It’s almost dark.”
She followed closely behind Li Mo.
Li Mo: “…..”
When they returned home, the last rays of twilight were fading away.
The blacksmith shop’s furnace was lit, but it emitted smoke instead of fire. The bones of the wild pheasant were stewed into soup, the meat was shredded for pulled chicken, and the scraps were stir-fried into spicy chicken offal. The whole chicken was utilized in three ways, clearly arranged.
Ying Bing twirled an ice needle made of ice crystals, threading it by the light of the fire.
“If only things could always be like this.”
Li Mo thought.
Indeed, things were like this.
The Jiangshan Yizhi Map seemed to have been fast-forwarded.
Over the next dozen years, it was a life of men farming and women weaving. During this period, the blacksmith Xiao Li became Li the Blacksmith, and the children in the village grew up.
The old village chief passed away, handing over the key to the village ancestral hall to Li Mo, asking him to personally bring his tablet into the hall, signifying his becoming the new clan leader.
At this time, the area and population of Great King Village doubled. The Thousand Forms Secret Art provided the village with more abundant productivity.
Moreover, over these dozen years, demons became less threatening to the village. In the past, bad luck could result in only a few survivors in the entire village.
Now, it was merely a few larger beasts that occasionally appeared.
This unique martial art also spread to neighboring villages, with more and more people learning it.
Everyone said it was the celestial race’s fairy lady who was spreading it.
“I’m happy to see some rural love stories!”
“What do I watch if everything is fast-forwarded?”
“I’m happy to watch all of it, it’s just a matter of moments.”
Currently, only a small part of people were dissatisfied with the Jiangshan Yizhi Map’s accelerated timeline.
After all, each cycle of disaster occurred every ten years.
Shang Qin Qing was dissatisfied because she was still in her rebellious phase despite being several thousand years old.
“It seems the Underground City has submitted to the rule of the City of Heaven?”
“The gap between people from the City of Heaven and the Underground City is like that between the Underground City and the Human City…”
Many wandering martial artists from outside came to the Imperial Capital, exchanging glances.
Laughing, they suddenly stopped laughing.
“Cough, if this continues, the top prize for the trial will likely be the Crown Prince?”
“After all, his decisions affect the entire City of Divine Beings. Young Hero Li and Cold Fairy are just playing farm games.”
Furthermore, Young Hero Li had practiced the Thousand Forms Secret Art for many years, essentially being born in the Human City.
His lifespan would reach its end after the first cycle of disasters.
As for whether Cold Fairy would return to the City of Heaven, it was uncertain for now.
At this time.
In the Jiangshan Yizhi Map, Jiang Yu’s orders began radiating outwards from the Underground City.
In the remote Great King Village’s ancestral hall, there sat two men and one woman under the ancestors’ tablets.
They wore exquisite and luxurious clothing, exuding the aura of those in power. Though not as divine as the celestial race, they were clearly distinct from the villagers inside and outside the hall.
“Who is the village chief?”
The leading middle-aged person from the Underground City took a sip of tea, frowning and spitting it out.
“I am.”
Li Mo walked out straight-faced and sat directly opposite him.
The three envoys from the Underground City exchanged glances, feeling something strange about Great King Village. Ordinary villagers would either be terrified or flattering when they saw them.
What was going on with the people of Great King Village and the surrounding villages?
“We have come this time by the order of the upper realm of the City of Heaven. The request is simple.”
“You will replace all the ancestral tablets in the hall with those of the heavenly elders. Each year, the grain collected will be split three to seven with the Underground City.”
With that, he calmly wiped his mouth.
The villagers in the hall looked at each other.
“How can we replace our ancestors’ tablets?”
“Why only seven-tenths of the harvest? That’s theirs!”
Ignoring the noisy villagers, the leading middle-aged person from the Underground City looked at Li Mo:
“Village Chief, what is your opinion? No matter how much it costs, nothing is more important than the safety of future generations.”
“As far as I know, people from the City of Heaven don’t need food unless they crave it. What do they need so much grain for?”
Li Mo neither agreed nor disagreed but raised a question.
The trio: “?”
How did he know that people from the City of Heaven only ate when they craved it?
The young person from the Underground City was less composed and impatiently said: “Since we are the ones making the demands.”
“But aren’t the celestial race the ones protecting us?”
“First us, then the celestial race if we can’t handle it. Therefore, offerings and respect are given to the upper realm of the City of Heaven, while grain is given to us.”
Li Mo stared at him: “Three-tenths of the harvest, even in a good year, would barely allow everyone to have a thin porridge. If this is the case, wouldn’t we become livestock living in obscurity?”
“Living is enough, even if it means living meagerly. If not for the large scale of your village and the number of people, many would jump at the chance to be livestock.”
Bang—
A scythe was slammed on the table.
Li Mo asked again: “Can we live like this?”
“Yes, but as livestock.”
Bang—
A forging hammer was slammed onto the table.
“Can we live like this?”
“Yes, but not many.”
The hammer was picked up and placed on top of the scythe.
“Can we all live upright together?”
