A bitter feeling surged in his heart as Wan Mingchuan remembered the small courtyard his grandfather had personally built.
The still relatively young hunter carried a baby in swaddling clothes. After the village elder and the clan elders of Riverfront Village agreed to let them join, his grandfather spent a long time building a thatched hut that could shield them from the wind and rain.
As he gradually grew up, his grandfather also gradually aged. They cultivated the barren lands distributed by the village, of which more than half of the harvest had to be handed over every year. To fill their stomachs, the two of them had to risk hunting in the forest to supplement their household expenses. For over a decade, they couldn't afford to build a sturdier adobe house and could only live in the patched-up thatched hut.
Wan Mingchuan had planned to take advantage of the spring revival to hunt. This year, he intended to hunt more rabbits and foxes with valuable furs, so his grandfather could rest more. They could save enough money to build a sturdier adobe house that would be warm in winter and cool in summer.
However, a man-made disaster ensued: the flame spewed by an elder mouse spirit turned the warm home into ruins, and he no longer had a grandfather.
Wiping away tears from the corner of his eyes, he gazed at the familiar thatched hut and made up his mind. He must diligently cultivate to avenge his grandfather, support the oppressed family for years, and repay the master who provided him with a glimmer of hope!
His grandfather gave him a new life when he took him in;
How could his master not have given him another kind of rebirth? Otherwise, apart from finding an opportunity to kill Han Ya to avenge his grandfather, he couldn't think of a better way than to escape from Riverfront Village and wander the wilderness.
Now everything had changed, he could learn magic and, when he succeeded, return to Riverfront Village with strength and uphold justice!
[Disciple Wan Mingchuan Affection +20]
[Affection +10]
......
Jiang Yuan quietly opened the details, surprised at how quickly Wan Mingchuan had filled ten hearts, now reflecting an extremely close and reliable relationship.
But the +1 figure kept bouncing higher, hinting at a diamond heart level.
"Wow, once ten diamond hearts are collected, can they be exchanged for a crown? And ten crowns for a golden crown?" Seeing the clear data, Jiang Yuan's anxious heart finally relaxed; such a sincere child shouldn't be so unreasonably extreme, "Indeed, this is the home I built. You will live here from now on."
He took the lead in crossing the wooden bridge and pushing open the wooden door to enter the yard, but his disciple was halted just behind him.
Feeling complex emotions of excitement and gratitude as he followed his master home, Wan Mingchuan took half a step and felt a transparent barrier blocking his path.
He patted the air in front, but couldn't move through, starting to feel a bit uneasy, "Master, Master, I..."
[Detected Wan Mingchuan attempting to enter home]
[Allow Wan Mingchuan to enter?]
Seeing the system notification, Jiang Yuan's sense of security was immediately maximized. Indeed, after upgrading to a Level One courtyard, the protective effect was remarkable!
Although it couldn't withstand a Foundation Establishment Realm demon beast forcibly charging in, providing comprehensive protection was already very good. If he worked hard to clear land, farm, and gather resources to upgrade, one day even a Daluo Golden Immortal wouldn't be able to enter!
Jiang Yuan clicked to allow entry, then waved and called, "Okay, you can come in. There is a protective shield around my yard that can safeguard us within a certain range. After I set it up, you can freely come and go."
Wan Mingchuan didn't fully understand the mysterious scene but found his master's image even more mystical and grand.
What kind of power could have such a miraculous effect? He soon recalled the dangers after the wilderness descended could also be warded off, his heart pounded, and his breathing became rapid; how safe it would be to sleep in master's courtyard at night!
This was far superior to Riverfront Village's Level Two divine statue's power!
[Affection +1+1+1...]
[Please configure disciple Wan Mingchuan's permission to operate within the home]
As he entered the yard, a long list of permission settings popped up, and Jiang Yuan skimmed through it quickly.
The permission to freely enter and exit the yard had to be enabled; entering and exiting rooms needed to be accessible, and the rest... using the well, moving furniture, all that trivial stuff were temporarily closed.
For now, ensuring he can sleep protected indoors was enough. The permissions about accessing water sources could be considered after some time for observation.
Moving furniture was impossible, with the Divine Mountain Statue under the bed. What if he moved it away carelessly?
The more the system managed, the more secure Jiang Yuan felt. After saving the settings and permissions, he walked to the well, drew a bucket of water, and placed it beside the strawberry field, "I don't have pots and pans here, so I can't boil water. Just drink some cold water to moisten your throat. Avoid drinking the raw river water; it's unclean and causes illness easily."
"Thank you, Master!" A string of Affection +10 popped up above Wan Mingchuan's head again.
Washing his hands clean, he took a few sips from the well and was immediately astonished but couldn't think of any adjectives, only asking with awe, "Master, is this the legendary Spiritual Spring? Why does it taste so sweet and delicious?!"
Jiang Yuan agreed with the disciple's question because he thought the same when he drank it, but still smiled and replied, "It's just ordinary well water, sweet and gentle in taste, with no special effects."
As they spoke, the wilderness descended again, and they looked up at the rolling black clouds pouring down as if merging the whole world with a new layer. The gentle moonlight pierced through the dome of soft light and illuminated the courtyard.
Jiang Yuan returned to his room to sort out his storage bag, handed a book to his disciple for cultivation at home, and admonished him to rest early if tired.
Bringing Wan Mingchuan into the wilderness now was too risky; this trip wasn't for monster hunting but to gather stones to construct the floating market, a journey that would take at most two hours with an additional burden causing delays.
Establishing a floating market surely promised more new possibilities, and he was eager and impatient!
"Master, please be safe, Master!" Wan Mingchuan insisted on following his master into the wilderness, feeling he could at least assist in leading the way. His proposal was sternly rejected, so he stood like a "sad bride," waiting at the bridgehead until he couldn't see his master before returning to his room to practice cultivation earnestly.
He thought he was too weak now, but once he could spit powerful flames through cultivation, he would be of great help to his master. Then, he would definitely accompany him in exploring the wilderness to seek fortune!
"Finally, I don't need to pretend to be blind!" Jiang Yuan weaved through the forest, casually swinging the jujube wood stick, feeling completely at ease.
Who would've thought a soft heart today would result in accepting a disciple, and he hadn't explained his ability to see yet? He intended to openly confess the truth after carefully observing Wan Mingchuan's character for a few more days.
He ventured through the bright moonlit forest toward Lushan, while in the cave at the foot of Lushan, the sound of a whipping resounded again, "Stand up! If you can't find any ores today, I'll cut off pieces of your flesh, making you unable to live or die!"
The rat spirits, who had their cultivation abolished and covered with wounds, woke up from a stupor, making squeaky cries under the whipping.
"Boohoo, King, come save us! Where are you, King?"
"Why hasn't the blind man arrived? If he doesn't come soon, we'll be beaten to death!"
"Heaven and earth above, I wish for the king's twenty years of life in exchange for the blind man saving us from this misery..."
......
Amidst the horrible cries, a burly rat spirit was dragged away with iron chains.
The Ice-winged Eagle leader Yun Mo's gaze was cold enough to freeze. Last night, the subordinates dispatched to search for the blind man failed to find any trace of a person; the rat spirits only cried out without contributing, and since reclaiming Lushan, he hadn't seen even one Spirit Stone ore!
Absurd! Is it because I lack education that I don't deserve any ore?