Chapter 115: Can’t Afford It

Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Can’t Afford It

A Lord pressed, "That’s fake, right? How can the difference be that big? What if we buy your Guide and don’t get the yield you’re talking about?"

Assistant Little Liu smiled gently. "That would mean your cultivation conditions didn’t meet the standards required by the Guide."

Another Lord, a woman in her forties, asked, "Young lady, what are these cultivation conditions you’re talking about?"

"That involves our Lord’s patented technology. You’ll only find out after you purchase the Guide."

’Scammers. They’re definitely scammers!’ The other Lords lost interest in buying. Only Lords one through ten, who had dealt with Li Si before, were still tempted.

Ji Li, the representative from Land No. 7, wasn’t tempted, confident that Territory Land No. 7’s cultivation techniques were just as good as Territory No. 9’s.

Zhao Ze turned his gaze to Xiaqing, his tone sour. "Xiaqing, you bought so many rice seedlings. Aren’t you going to buy a Guide to boost your yield?"

"No points left." Xiaqing’s answer was blunt. ’Even if I had the points, I wouldn’t buy it anyway. I can just trade with my idol for it privately. It’ll just cost me a fish.’

Hearing Xiaqing say she was out of points, Qi Fu, Shi Zhong, and Kuang Qingwei all sighed at the same time. To fleece the Safe Zone for all it was worth, they had also spent all their points and really couldn’t afford the Guide.

The truck fell silent again. Xiaqing keenly noticed the Lord from Territory No. 15, who was sitting in the truck, glance several times at Tan Junjie, who was maintaining order. Only after Tan Junjie gave a slight shake of his head did the man look away.

’What’s the relationship between the Lord from Territory No. 15 and Tan Junjie? Or rather, what’s the relationship between Territory No. 15 and Tan Junjie? Could it be that Tan Junjie is the Lord of Territory No. 15?’ The more Xiaqing thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

After the Lords from territories twenty-nine to fifty got off one after another, the military truck sped up through the town ruins. Xiaqing closed her eyes, leaned against the truck bed, and listened intently to the sounds outside. She didn’t hear a child’s cry the entire time the truck passed through the ruins and entered the wilderness.

Xiaqing opened her eyes and saw that most of the Lords were hugging their supplies, drowsy. Only Little Liu, the assistant beside her, had her head down, writing and drawing in a notebook. ’No wonder she’s nearsighted. Human visual nerves may have evolved, but they can’t withstand that kind of abuse.’

When Little Liu finished writing, she nudged Xiaqing with her shoulder, signaling for her to look down. Only then did Xiaqing realize Little Liu had written it for her to see. She looked down and saw that Little Liu was asking if the substance she had applied to her skin was Evolutionary Blood Vine Juice.

Xiaqing nodded lightly, confirming her guess. ’Little Liu knew how many spices Tang Huai used in his fried cicadas just by smelling them. She must be an Olfactory Evolutionary, so it’s not surprising she can tell what I’ve put on my face. This stuff can only fool amateurs.’

Little Liu lowered her head again and scribbled two more lines, pitching her territory’s specialty product to Xiaqing: *Need a medicinal juice that both protects and dyes the skin? One thousand points for 20 ml. If you only apply it to your neck, face, and hands, it can last for a month.*

’One thousand points?’ Xiaqing took Little Liu’s pen and wrote three words on the paper: "Can’t afford it."

’Even if I could afford it, I’d be reluctant to buy it. One thousand points for a month’s supply means twelve thousand points a year. That’s just outrageous.’

Little Liu regretfully put away her pen and paper and began to carefully inspect the rice seedlings in her hands. From leaf to root, she examined each one meticulously.

Xiaqing didn’t ask what she was checking for, not wanting to give Little Liu an opportunity to pitch the Guide to her.

After the military truck entered the area of territories one to twenty-six, it slowed down, and the Lords got off one by one. When the route ended, Xiaqing said goodbye to Wei Chengdong and Tan Junjie, the only ones left on the truck, and returned to her territory with her bountiful haul.

Even though she had only been gone for two days, Xiaqing really missed home, and she really missed Sheep Leader.

She hurried along the path she had cleared, crossed the overgrown farmland, and first went home to drop off her things before rushing toward the farmhouse.

The Auditory Evolution Evolver, Da Jiang, had heard the truck long ago and was waiting by the house. "Sister Qing, Sheep Leader is waiting for you by the Northern Isolation Zone."

"Okay, thanks for your hard work these past two days." Since Xiaqing often entered her private training grounds through the Northern Isolation Zone, Sheep Leader must have thought she’d gone there again, which was why it was waiting for her by the zone’s edge.

Seeing the filthy Sheep Leader in the distance, its wool growing in uneven patches, Xiaqing called out excitedly, "Leader!"

Sheep Leader turned its head, saw Xiaqing unexpectedly coming up from the bottom of the slope, and charged, pawing the ground and showing its spiral horns. Guan Tong shouted, "Sister Qing, watch out!"

"It’s fine, you just back up." Xiaqing didn’t dodge or yield, but charged straight ahead.

BANG! The person and sheep collided, and then, Xiaqing went flying.

Guan Tong grimaced at the sight. He had fought two rounds with Sheep Leader yesterday and knew just how much a hit from it hurt.

Xiaqing, knocked into the air, spun around mid-flight and landed steadily on her feet, once again facing the fiercely charging Sheep Leader.

This time, Xiaqing didn’t meet it head-on. Instead, she went with the momentum and wrapped her arms around Sheep Leader’s neck. "Leader, I brought you back some tasty treats!"

With that, Xiaqing pulled a bar of compressed rations from her pocket, tore open the packaging, broke off a small piece, and stuffed it into Sheep Leader’s mouth. "It’s an improved version of your favorite flavor. How is it? Tasty, right?"

Sheep Leader chewed a few times and squinted at Xiaqing.

Xiaqing quickly fed it another piece. Having gotten its delicious treat, Sheep Leader quieted down.

Guan Tong was impressed. "While you were gone these past two days, Sister Qing, it wouldn’t eat anything we fed it."

’Of course. It’s my sheep, my companion.’ Xiaqing rubbed Sheep Leader’s hard forehead. "Thanks for your hard work these past two days."

"It was no trouble." ’It was quite an eye-opener, though. Turns out Sister Qing is a completely different person when dealing with people versus dealing with her sheep.’ From the head-on collision between Xiaqing and Sheep Leader just now, Guan Tong judged that Xiaqing’s Strength Evolution Level was definitely higher than Level 5.

’She’s not just strong, she’s also personally taught by Brother Luo. I’m not good with words... I don’t think I’m a match for Xiaqing anymore. It’s better to just behave. That way I can avoid getting beaten up by the sheep, only to get beaten up by Xiaqing afterward.’

After seeing off Da Jiang and Guan Tong, Xiaqing chatted with Sheep Leader as they patrolled the territory and farmland. Then she returned to the low-slope planting area, moved the three large boulders blocking the entrance to the Spring Cave, and collected some Pollution-free Spring Water.

While collecting the water, Xiaqing praised Sheep Leader. "You’re so smart, Leader. You didn’t dig away the rocks to drink water these past two days, so you protected our territory’s biggest secret. Did your friends come looking for you?"

Because Hu Zifeng’s team didn’t know about the spring’s existence, Xiaqing had repeatedly trained Sheep Leader and fed it a bunch of "seductive soup" to make it understand that it could only drink the spring water after she had collected it.

However Sheep Leader understood it, the point was, it had learned its lesson. When thirsty, it should go home and drink the water in the basin, not run up the slope and laboriously paw at the big rocks.

After collecting the water, Xiaqing picked some vegetables before heading home with Sheep Leader. The sun was setting, and the evening glow dyed the sky red, tinting Sheep Leader’s wool with the same color. Xiaqing felt that the sunset in her territory was countless times more beautiful than the one in the Safe Zone.