Chapter 12: The Herbalist's Troubles, a Solution, and the Dwarfs Picking a Quarrel

"My lord, there are two matters. The first concerns my family here in Torito Cunzi," said the Herbalist Zuojigela.

Jier raised his hand: "Please, go ahead, I am listening."

Seeing that Jier was truly listening and not just pretending, the Herbalist nodded inwardly; clearly, the respect Jier showed made him feel at ease.

"I previously strayed into Huitou Forest while gathering herbs and was detained by the Dwarfs here, just like the others. However, because I possessed some useful knowledge of herbs, those Dwarfs half-used me and half-accepted me into their circle," said the Herbalist.

Jier nodded: "You have told me all of this before."

The Herbalist Zuojigela looked dejected: "That is where the problem lies. Because to the Human Villagers in Torito Cunzi, I am neither a locally born Human, nor did I refrain from crossing them to become close with the Dwarfs as an outsider. I had been teaching the Dwarfs how to prepare and concoct several common types of Healing Ointment, and they hired me to be in charge of medical matters."

He sighed: "This gave me some status in the village, but this status was built upon the Dwarfs. In the past, when the Dwarfs' words carried weight in the village, this was not a problem, but now it is."

Jier interjected: "Is this your trouble?"

Unexpectedly, the Herbalist Zuojigela waved his hand and said: "No, no, that is not it. I was never from here; my home is in Yemei Town. Even if you did not value or hire me, I would have returned to the town to work. My status here is actually not important. The key is, uh..."

He hesitated: "You know, I got married again here."

A smile appeared on Jier's face, carrying a hint of teasing.

The Herbalist Zuojigela's face flushed: "There was no other way. The other villagers were forcibly detained here by the Dwarfs. The first batch of people have already reproduced for four generations. Before you defeated the Dwarfs, no one thought this place wouldn't be managed and controlled by Dwarfs in the future. An ordinary person like me with a bit of herbal knowledge had no possibility of escaping this region. So, I hardened my heart at the time and acted as if I had died while gathering herbs."

"Plus, there have always been some Human Villagers in the village who relied on the Dwarfs and had good relations with them, so with the introduction of some Dwarfs, I met my current wife, married, and had children. Even the house I live in in the village was built for me by those Dwarfs. So now, everything I have in the village has become a big problem."

Jier immediately understood where Zuojigela's trouble lay. Because most of what he had in the village was obtained through his close relationship with the Dwarfs, including his house and family, these things had become problematic now that the Dwarfs were about to leave.

"Do you need me to go to Torito Cunzi in your stead and speak with the village elders? I believe I still have a bit of face; they should not trouble your family once I explain that you work for me," Jier offered a solution.

Unexpectedly, Zuojigela waved his hand.

Jier said again: "Then how about this: move your family from Torito Cunzi and settle down in New Xiwang Town. Although there is nothing here yet, precisely because there is nothing, and because you work for me, your family will only be respected here and will not be harassed. The people here respect me more, because it was I who saved them from hunger and hardship."

But the Herbalist Zuojigela still waved his hand, saying embarrassedly: "My lord, Lord Jier. Thank you for your kindness, but I am asking you this because I hope you can allow me to take my family with me this time, to let them go with me to my hometown of Yemei Town, and let them live there."

"That is fine, I agree. Hey, this is just a small matter. If you need to handle your property issues in Torito Cunzi, you can go find Mr. Bafute. Just tell him it is my wish; you can completely sell your house in the village and some things you cannot take to him, and try your best to move with portable money and some valuables."

"Thank you, thank you for your help. This is a great help to me, because knowing I am not a local, when I expressed my intention to sell my house, the compensation offered by the people in the village was very low, and some even wanted to seize my house and property through some underhanded methods. For the past two days, half my mind has been troubled by this problem."

Jier was curious: "Then what is the other problem that troubles you? Why not tell me? If I can help, I will certainly help you."

Speaking of this, the Herbalist Zuojigela became even more embarrassed, and his face showed some shame as he lowered his head.

"Please, speak boldly. It is just the two of us here, and I am not the type to be loose-lipped; I will not wantonly spread others' privacy," Jier persuaded.

"Thank you for your concern, Knight Jier. You are a great man with a good upbringing, and I feel at ease speaking with you," Zuojigela hesitated, but still spoke, as he could not solve this problem on his own at all.

He could only hope to seek help from his future superior, although this was a matter difficult for any man to bring up.

"The matter concerns my family in Yemei Town..." he hesitated, speaking painfully and slowly.

"A few days ago, during the time you set off south with Priest Bata'er to rescue the villagers of Changmai Cunzi, I broke out of Huitou Forest with the three Tusi brothers. The Dwarfs did not stop us."

Jier smiled and interjected: "That is only natural. They are leaving; they do not care about anything here—no, except for that mine located underground. Naturally, they would no longer try to restrict you from leaving this place."

The Herbalist nodded: "We parted ways at Shitui Cunzi, where there was not a single person. The three of them walked all the way west, while I spent a few days traveling north from Shitui Cunzi to Yemei Town."

"Is the situation in the town still as I described before?" Jier had previously told others about the situation in Yemei Town, and even if he hadn't, others would know that the situation in Yemei Town was not very good right now just by asking the people in the Refugee Team.

Parasitic vines were running rampant in the wild, and a large number of people from the outer villages had been summoned by a single order to gather outside Yemei Town, so as not to be broken one by one by the parasitic vines and increase their numbers.

And the large number of people temporarily summoned, limited by food, drinking water, fuel, and so on, were being constantly exploited for their wealth by Yemei Town.

Internal trouble and external aggression, full of contradictions, plus the adventurous ideas of a Baron Heir—this was the actual situation in Yemei Town now.

"The situation in the town might not be that bad. The Baron's family used food to hire many surrounding villagers, letting them dig a larger and deeper moat on the outskirts of Yemei Town, and they plan to divert water from a small river in the north, so that the Monsters attempting to approach can never get close. At the same time, some of the strongest people were also summoned; I heard that the Baron Heir in the town at this time wants to counterattack the Monsters' lair. Before I left, there were really quite a few people participating!"

Zuojigela murmured.

Jier raised his hand: "Then what is your difficulty?"

Sighing, the Herbalist Zuojigela said with difficulty: "It is about my family. You know, I was trapped here for several years, and my family also suffered quite a change because of my disappearance. I am not the only child in my family; I have an elder sister and younger siblings, and they are not many years apart from me. Because of the work of a Herbalist, my family was relatively wealthy, but after I disappeared, for various reasons, my siblings wanted to 'make use' of my house. They were willing to accept my children, but as for my wife, they believed she brought bad luck to the family, so they planned to drive her out."

Jier sneered: "A fine 'make use'. Simply put, everyone thought you were dead, so your siblings took a fancy to your property. Because your children have your bloodline, they were willing to accept and raise them, but your wife is an outsider, so after they occupied your house and property, they dissolved her marriage and drove her back to her family?"

Nodding and then shaking his head, Zuojigela said regretfully: "My wife took my children away, and as for my house and property, except for a portion that had to be divided for my children which my wife took away, the rest was divided by my siblings."

He shrugged dejectedly and consoled himself: "It is nothing. If any of my other siblings had disappeared, I probably would have done the same thing. But the problem is, I love my wife and children, but after I disappeared and she was forcibly divorced, she remarried with my children."

Scratching his head, the Herbalist pursed his lips: "I... I do not want her to have remarried, because this time when I went back, I heard that in the new family, my children are not living well. And because she has not given birth to any children, my wife is also not living very well."

Jier shook his finger: "Although it is a pity, please note, Mr. Zuojigela, she is no longer your wife, because after you disappeared, your family already acted on your behalf to have her dissolve the marriage with you. Perhaps you yourself did not agree to this matter, but on a social level, this is a decided matter, and it is a matter recognized by everyone in society."

"I know... but I, I am not reconciled. I love her, I love my children, I love my family," the Herbalist Zuojigela said loudly.

But Jier smiled and teased him secretly: "Then what about your wife and children here in Torito Cunzi? Is it the same weight of love?"

These words made the Herbalist Zuojigela blush deeply, and he stammered, unable to speak.

"So, what is your difficulty? Do you hope that after disappearing for several years, you can reappear and be reunited with your wife who has already remarried and is not living well, along with your children? Then what about the family here? You previously said you wanted to take them back to Yemei Town together. If the former really comes back, how do you plan to handle the two families? Live together? Merge into a new family? Just as you are about to set off with my team."

The Herbalist Zuojigela was silent for a long time.

He sat on a round chair inside the meeting tent, his hands clenching and loosening, loosening and clenching. Clearly, for this middle-aged man tossed about by fate, he could not let go of either side, nor could he give up either.

"Knight Jier, is there a possibility, a way to solve things perfectly?" Although he was more than ten years older than Jier, at this moment, he was looking at Jier, this seventeen-year-old young man, with eyes full of hope.

However, the difference in strength and status between the two was vast, so age and life experience were not important.

"There is," Jier said with a light laugh: "Don't worry about your hometown either. Since you are coming with me, why not take your family along the way?"

"What do you mean? My lord, I don't quite understand?" The Herbalist Zuojigela was a bit dazed and asked in a cautious tone.

Jier shrugged: "Simply put, since you are going with my team, why not take your worries, your troubles, your families, your two wives, and your children, all with you? Use your property in Yemei Town to buy a large carriage from the Merchant Guild, move your family into the carriage, and go with my team. Wherever you are, wherever your carriage is, that is where your family is. How about that? In the future, if you want to settle down in any place, whether it is some good place that is unfamiliar at the time, or your hometown of Yemei Town, or even New Xiwang Town in Babotali Valley, you can always drive the carriage back."

Jier then told him about the benefits of making a carriage one's home. He brought out some features of recreational vehicles from his previous life and gave a continuous, eloquent explanation that dazzled the middle-aged Herbalist.

In a daze, the Herbalist Zuojigela felt that the suggestion Jier gave was simply wonderful!

This way, the two wives and children he loved could always be with him. And because he himself was a Herbalist who often went out into the forest to gather herbs, he was also very skilled at and fond of traveling.

The only problem now was whether his family members could adapt to such a life?

"Instead of worrying, why not go back and ask? It just so happens that you are going to find the Merchant Mr. Bafute—oh, no, now you must address him as Mayor Bafute of New Xiwang Town. You go find him and let him acquire your real estate in Torito Cunzi and some fixed assets and large items that cannot be taken. Try your best to turn them into portable property and supplies. Once you have everything ready as soon as possible, bring your family to my caravan."

Jier added at the end: "Because everyone really cannot stand the Dwarfs, I will not stay here for long. At the earliest, I will set off with the Dwarfs the day after tomorrow."

After the Herbalist Zuojigela left, Jier welcomed a new guest into the meeting tent.

Five Dwarves.

The leading Dwarf was the Dwarves' Old Bandit Leader—"Iron Fist" Sike-Aobosi-Shitai. This old fellow seemed to have finally made a difficult decision that had entangled him for decades, and his whole person appeared much more spirited. Even with a young Dwarf following and supporting him, he moved with vigor and said to Jier in a fierce manner: "You've finally arrived, you're really slow enough!"

Seeing that the other party was about to lecture him, Jier took the initiative and spoke first: "Then have you prepared to set off at any time?"

This counter-question actually stumped the old "Iron Fist." He first shouted stubbornly: "Of course, of course! We Dwarves are different from you Humans; we are vigorous and well-organized. It's just a simple migration and long journey, so naturally, we've long been ready!"

"It's just that..."

"It's just that?" Jier asked with a smile.

"It's just that we encountered a small problem. The key lies with you new Humans who have been messing around here these past few days, cutting down the Forest and planning to fill in the tunnels beneath the Forest. And you don't know that deep beneath our feet right now, there are some of our tunnels; the tremors caused by digging pits above have caused the Mine below to show signs of instability."

Jier was not polite: "So, what does this have to do with you, who are planning to leave this place?"

The old Dwarf was stumped, but the other Dwarves beside him would not have their momentum suppressed just like that. In fact, they did not come here to pick a fight, but to inquire about Jier's situation and try to get Jier to give them more time.

Because the Dwarves were anxious about leaving the Treasure Mine where they had lived for a long time, leaving this familiar place to go to the Human society outside which had already changed drastically, and they hoped to make more preparations.

But where is the limit to preparation? The more they prepared, the more things they had, and the more complex the matters became. Some Dwarves even intended to bring along the glowing plants they had cultivated, as well as various small animals they raised.

The old Dwarf had lost his temper several times because of this, but it had no effect at all, because he himself had brought too many things he couldn't bear to part with.

Having no other choice, he could only come over and ask the returning Jier to wait for them for a few more days.

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