Volume One, Chapter Seven: The Villagers' Special Skills

“Feishang, you’re injured!”

Hearing Lin Xuan’s concerned words, Jiang Feishang’s lips curled into a slight smile as he chuckled lightly. “It’s nothing serious, Village Chief!”

Lin Xuan didn’t feel reassured. He hurried directly in front of Jiang Feishang and pulled open his clothes to inspect the wounds. “What happened? How did you get hurt?”

Seeing the wounds were indeed shallow, Lin Xuan finally exhaled in relief.

After all, Jiang Feishang was the first warrior he had recruited and currently the only one under his command. If something happened to Jiang Feishang, his own safety would be at risk!

“There were a few bandits chasing this young lady here. At first, we didn’t want to get involved, but unexpectedly, those bandits targeted us first!” Jiang Feishang explained as he took two steps to the right.

Lin Xuan then noticed a girl standing behind Jiang Feishang.

She looked about sixteen or seventeen, not strikingly beautiful but very delicate and fair, with long flowing hair.

“With my strength, a few bandits wouldn’t normally be a match for me, but I had to split my attention to protect the villagers, so I got a few minor injuries.” Jiang Feishang explained, then pulled a pouch of coins from his bosom and handed it to Lin Xuan. “Village Chief, these were taken from those bandits.”

Lin Xuan nodded and took the pouch from Jiang Feishang’s hand.

Upon opening it, he found over thirty gold coins inside!

“How could a few bandits carry so much money? And this girl… judging by her clothes, she doesn’t look like she’s from an ordinary family!” Lin Xuan studied the pouch, then glanced at the frightened girl, his mind racing with suspicions. “This matter… doesn’t seem so simple.”

He wanted to ask the girl some questions, but seeing her so scared, he swallowed the words.

Turning to Jiang Feishang, he said, “Feishang, let’s end today’s exploration here. Let’s head back.”

“Understood, Village Chief!” Jiang Feishang replied, then turned to instruct the villagers to pack up and prepare to return.

He had come alone but was now returning as a group — not only with villagers from Linjia Village but also an unfamiliar girl.

For a moment, Lin Xuan was unsure if this girl would bring fortune or trouble.

After a while, he withdrew his gaze from her and shook his head, refusing to dwell on it.

No matter the outcome, Lin Xuan believed that as long as he was strong enough, he had nothing to fear!

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“With these thirty-plus gold coins, tomorrow I can buy more grain and iron ore in Jiyin City. Not only can we train soldiers, but the Village Chief’s Hall should also be able to upgrade to level one!”

Lin Xuan calculated the cost of training fifty soldiers and the materials needed to upgrade the Village Chief’s Hall.

After careful reckoning, he realized that by tomorrow, he might just have enough to upgrade the hall!

Upgrading the Village Chief’s Hall to level one required more than materials; three conditions had to be met:

First, the refugee camp had to be built; second, the basic barracks had to be constructed; and third, Lin Xuan needed to have at least fifty soldiers within his domain.

Now, the refugee camp and the basic barracks were already built.

They just needed to train fifty soldiers tomorrow, and the Village Chief’s Hall could be upgraded!

With this in mind, Lin Xuan’s worries lifted. He could hardly wait for today to end so he could head to Jiyin City to buy grain and iron ore.

By the time Lin Xuan and his group returned to the village, the sun was about to set.

After dinner and settling the frightened girl, Lin Xuan returned to his room.

The next morning, Lin Xuan rose early and headed straight to the refugee camp.

Sure enough, when he arrived, a new batch of villagers had appeared in the camp.

Unlike yesterday, today there were nine new arrivals!

Lin Xuan checked each one’s attributes and found that six of them possessed special talents.

Among these six talented individuals, two even had professions.

“As I suspected, villagers’ professions are linked to their talents!” Lin Xuan mused.

[Huang Sheng]: 26 years old
[Domain]: Linjia Village (Lin Xuan)
[Loyalty]: 92
[Profession]: Hunter
[Strength]: 60
[Intelligence]: 57
[Leadership]: 33
[Politics]: 34
[Specialty]: Hunting

Besides this hunter named Huang Sheng, the other professional villager was a tailor — a young woman named Zhang Xiaoyan.

Zhang Xiaoyan had two younger sisters, Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Xiaofei, both sharing their sister’s special talents.

Their arrival helped narrow the gender gap in Linjia Village.

After arranging the nine new villagers, Lin Xuan instructed Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Xiaofei, who specialized in cooking, to prepare a meal.

Once the sisters finished cooking, Jiang Feishang emerged from the villagers’ quarters.

“Feishang, you’re up. Let’s eat first. Afterward, we’ll set off for Jiyin City!”

After a hearty meal, Lin Xuan and Jiang Feishang tidied up briefly and then called on Huang Sheng to join them.

Huang Sheng was not only a professional villager but also had a strength value of 60, just one point shy of the 61 required to be a one-star warrior.

After some thought, Lin Xuan decided to bring Huang Sheng along for added security.

The three left Linjia Village and headed straight toward Jiyin City.

Thanks to their previous experience, it took them less than two hours to reach the city gates.

“Feishang, take these ten gold coins. You’ll go to the Liu family blacksmith shop in the western part of the city to continue purchasing iron ore,” Lin Xuan said, handing a pouch of gold coins to Jiang Feishang upon entering the city.

He continued, “Huang Sheng and I will buy grain directly. Have someone transport all the iron ore to Warehouse Number Three. Once Huang Sheng and I finish buying grain, we’ll meet you there.”

Warehouse Number Three was one of the five warehouses Lin Xuan had rented yesterday.

Warehouses One and Two had just been stocked with two thousand units of wood and iron ore, which were likely depleted now, but Lin Xuan preferred to avoid them today.

Warehouse Three, the second largest after Warehouse Five, could hold ten thousand units of iron ore—enough for their needs.

After instructing Jiang Feishang, the three split up to procure supplies.

Over an hour later, Lin Xuan stored twenty thousand units of grain into Warehouses Four and Five, then headed with Huang Sheng toward Warehouse Three.

Upon arrival, they saw Jiang Feishang surrounded by a crowd at the warehouse entrance.