Chapter 635: On the Way Back, the Priest's Troubles, and a Friend

Two days later, that afternoon.

Jier organized the last group of people remaining at the Forward Yingdi, packing up the various items they needed. Afterward, everyone would have to work hard to transport most of these things using human labor, and a small portion using animal labor, out of the forest.

In this regard, Jier's Tianxuecao and several Plowing Oxen could play an important role.

The horses capable of pulling carts had long since been taken by the first batch of drivers who went out, and they were diligently traveling back and forth between the Temporary Yingdi at the edge of the forest and Changmai Cunzi. Therefore, without the help of the drivers under his command, Jier had been taking care of the warhorses himself for the past two days.

"Some useless things, things that won't be needed in the future, things that aren't worth anything, just leave them here. I think, none of us will ever want to come back here again in this lifetime, right?" Jier asked with a grin.

Some Villagers and Warriors who were reluctant to part with their belongings thought this made sense, so after making another difficult choice, they left behind the things that were truly of no use.

Finally, everyone was packed and ready to go, carrying various items on their shoulders and in their hands. Each Plowing Ox was tied with ropes to the main beams of two large tents. Jier's warhorse was even stronger; after drinking water containing the blood of the monsters from the clouds for the past two days, it had become visibly stronger and taller, as if it had been drugged.

At first, Jier was a bit worried about this sudden change, but seeing Tianxuecao wagging its tail and looking full of energy, he felt relieved.

In fact, Jier did not know that this situation was like ordinary people consuming monster meat; initially, it looked like a great increase in strength, and one didn't need to eat, but in reality, monster meat is poisonous to ordinary people. If they cannot find a way to detoxify, they will die in a year or two. The same applied to horses; the blood of the monsters from the clouds possessed mysterious power, and although it would strengthen the warhorses for a short time, if no solution was found afterward, they would suddenly die after two years.

However, Jier did not need to worry; as long as he found someone to perform physical enhancement on the Knight's warhorse, the monster blood consumed at this time would instead be a form of assistance.

When Aoni and the others returned here on foot at noon and rested after eating, everyone set off. Only things that could not be taken or did not need to be taken were left in the Forward Yingdi. Everyone carried their own belongings, and under the protection of Aoni and his ten Warriors, they walked along the forest path, which had already been trampled into a clear road, all the way out of the forest.

There was nothing to say on the road; Aoni and the others had already walked this path many times over the past few days. Some wild beasts that peeked at them in the forest were chased down and killed by the Warriors, who then cut off their heads and hung them on the trees beside the path with ropes.

In this way, no animals dared to approach the entire path.

Small animals, upon smelling or seeing the heads of the fierce beasts hanging on the trees, would bypass the area. Other fierce beasts were not stupid either; with the former having lost their lives, these predators in the mountains and forests would certainly not take the risk and would also avoid this place.

Therefore, along the way, except for everyone being exhausted from having to carry more things because they were the last to leave the Forward Yingdi, they did not encounter a single bit of danger.

Moreover, for the difficult sections of the forest, after repeated trips over these days, the Warriors had specially marked the places that needed attention, carving eye-catching warning words and notes on the trunks of large trees nearby with Daggers.

Although not many people were literate, they could barely recognize some of the most commonly used vocabulary.

"So, how is the situation at Changmai Cunzi these past two days?" Jier was putting in extra effort at this moment, carrying two boxes of valuables heavier than the tent poles, talking to Weier beside him as he walked.

Because Weier was responsible for acting as the team's guard, he answered with his hands empty: "It's chaotic, too chaotic."

Jier raised his eyebrows: "How so?"

Weier wanted to help carry some things, but he had been rejected by Jier at the very beginning. Since the Warriors could ensure the safety of the road back and forth these days, it was better for him, a Knight with great strength, to help carry more things; the safety of the team was left entirely to the Warriors under his command. If they really encountered monsters that were difficult to defeat, it wouldn't be too late for Jier to take action.

After hesitating for a moment, as if organizing his words, Weier then said: "The problem lies in the internal conflicts among the Villagers, and the fact that the village caught fire earlier, burning down one-third of the Villagers' houses."

"Tell me in detail, and how the Priest is handling it," Jier requested.

Weier let out a breath and said with a helpless look: "At first, it was a matter among the Villagers. Some people, because of the pressure they received while in the Mine, decided to follow Bata'er Jiaoshi to New Xiwang Town afterward, voluntarily giving up their land in Changmai Cunzi. However, they needed the Priest himself to guarantee that he would provide them with land in New Xiwang Town corresponding to the number of people in their families. In this way, they were willing to follow the Priest to develop New Xiwang Town and fully support Bata'er Jiaoshi in the newly developed area."

Jier thought for a moment: "Isn't that good? There is still a lot of land in New Xiwang Town that hasn't been cultivated. If we clear-cut the entire Huitou Forest, not only will the Villagers have the building materials they need, but there will also be new land."

Weier shook his head: "That's true, but the problem lies in the houses. Some of the Villagers who want to leave Changmai Cunzi still have their houses in the village, while the houses of other Changmai Cunzi Villagers who don't want to leave were accidentally burned down in the previous village fire."

Jier said "Ah" in surprise: "So, these Villagers who have no houses and don't want to leave have set their sights on the houses of those who still have them but don't want to stay in Changmai Cunzi?"

He then added: "The chaos you mentioned earlier is because these Villagers who aren't leaving the village and want other people's houses have nothing in their hands, and they want to take advantage of this?"

Weier nodded. He himself felt that this kind of thing was very troublesome because, in the whole affair, the Villagers whose houses didn't burn down and who didn't intend to leave Changmai Cunzi, and the Villagers whose houses were burned down and who intended to leave Changmai Cunzi, were not the ones speaking out.

The former retreated into their own messy houses to lick their wounds and mourn the family and friends lost in this incident. The latter were resigned to their fate and intended to follow the example of the elders when they were young, becoming migrants, moving household by household from Changmai Cunzi to follow Bata'er Jiaoshi to the Priest's New Xiwang Town.

They had known Bata'er Jiaoshi for many years and knew what kind of person the Priest was. Being rescued by him even in such a terrible situation this time, following him to New Xiwang Town was naturally a choice based on trust.

But the problem lay with the two groups of Villagers: those who wanted to leave but still had houses, and those who didn't want to leave but whose houses had burned down.

The former intended to dispose of their houses left in Changmai Cunzi in exchange for some funds or supplies to take to New Xiwang Town, so that they wouldn't be starting empty-handed and life would be easier. Because for Villagers in this kind of village, their two biggest assets are their farmland and their houses.

As for the latter, they didn't intend to leave Changmai Cunzi, either because they were afraid of the outside world or because they had banded together in the Mine and offended many people, so they intended to stay in the village. But as luck would have it, their houses were burned down by the fire caused by the Defeated Soldiers.

In the ruins, there was nothing valuable to be found, and usable things were even scarcer, so the houses of some Villagers who had houses and wanted to leave were coveted.

"Then how did Bata'er Jiaoshi handle it? He hasn't finished dealing with this kind of thing yet?" Jier exclaimed.

Weier shook his head: "It's not that the Villagers who want the houses are greedy; they also proposed that it would only be a temporary stay, considered as renting the houses of those who don't need them for a period of time. They guaranteed that after next autumn, they would take the grain produced by their own families as rent and personally deliver it to New Xiwang Town to return to the families who rented out the houses."

"That's not bad, but where is the problem stuck?" Jier thought about it; if it were him, he could accept it.

Weier spread his hands helplessly and said: "But everyone knows that the first year of migration and development is often the most difficult. Therefore, those Villagers who have houses and are leaving Changmai Cunzi firmly demand that they don't want the houses, but the price for giving up ownership of the houses is that they must be given a batch of sufficient supplies. Only with the guarantee of these supplies can they safely live a good new life in their new home."

"That is also very necessary, and they aren't wrong. Heh, so that's where it's stuck? Can't Bata'er Jiaoshi handle it?" Jier asked.

Weier shook his head: "It's hard to handle, because besides this most thorny and noisy issue, there are simply too many other things, and now they are all weighing on Bata'er Jiaoshi alone. And we have to run back and forth twice a day to bring Bata'er Jiaoshi more Villagers and trouble."

Jier laughed: "Hahahaha, that's true. Just as things are finished here, you guys bring back fifty more Villagers, and there you go, new problems arise. And the things that can't be handled just keep piling up like this. I guess the situation in the village isn't very good?"

"Right now, Bata'er Jiaoshi is very much looking forward to you coming over as soon as possible, because he says that the affairs of Changmai Cunzi must have a batch of sufficient funds and supplies to help untangle the complex knot. Relying only on the miserable, dilapidated Changmai Cunzi, no problems can be solved. The only good thing is that when we attacked Changmai Cunzi, we saved the village Grain Warehouse, which stored a large amount of grain, so no matter how chaotic or noisy it gets, everyone at least won't go hungry," Weier said with a shrug and a chuckle.

Jier chuckled twice: "But perhaps it is precisely because everyone isn't going hungry that they have the energy to argue and make a scene, right? Is there some truth to that?"

Weier thought about it, and it might really be the case.

If Changmai Cunzi had been completely burned down, then there would be nothing to say; all the Villagers would have to work hard and follow Bata'er Jiaoshi to migrate to New Xiwang Town.

And if the village's Grain Warehouse had been burned down in the previous battle, then everyone probably wouldn't have time to argue, but would be thinking of ways to replant grain or borrow grain from other nearby villages to survive the year.

But as luck would have it, Changmai Cunzi was in a state where the village was damaged but the Grain Warehouse was intact, which led to new problems, but everyone didn't need to worry about the grain issue. The grain in the Changmai Cunzi Grain Warehouse was enough for the Villagers to eat for many years.

"Lord Jier, do you have any way to help the Priest solve this?" Weier added: "The Priest himself is embarrassed to ask you for help. After all, rescuing the Villagers has already completed your rescue mission, and he is embarrassed to trouble you with such small matters afterward."

Jier hummed twice: "Just as he analyzed, the reason why things are arguing and can't be solved for several days is that the Priest doesn't have enough resources on hand, not counting the grain in the Grain Warehouse. In fact, it would be much easier to solve if Bata'er Jiaoshi had a batch of funds or a batch of tools and items."

He continued: "He can, in the name of the Agricultural God Church, buy the houses of those Villagers who want to leave at a low price, using money or a batch of tools and supplies—all things that the migrating Villagers can use. As for grain and such, there is plenty in Torito Cunzi Cunzi next to New Xiwang Town, so anything other than grain can be exchanged for a lot of grain in Torito Cunzi Cunzi."

"First buy those Villagers' houses, and then, as those Villagers who have no houses and don't intend to leave the village said, rent them out temporarily. It is even possible to sell them in disguise by using future harvests as collateral. Of course, a certain amount of interest needs to be charged in the middle. In this way, it will only take a few years, at most no more than five years, for this investment of funds and supplies to be recovered, perfectly solving the problems of both the Villagers leaving the village and those staying in the village."

Weier thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "You are right. It should be solved this way. So..."

"You're asking if I should help Bata'er Jiaoshi, right? But the difficult part for the Priest is that I have already helped him a lot, and this help might take several years to pay off. By then, he and the village will certainly be there, but I don't know where I will be. I might have died in this war, or I might have returned to the distant Northwest Province long ago. Wanting to send this loan or investment to my hands in the Northwest Province, even with the Agricultural God Church spread throughout Human society, is not easy for a common village-stationed Shepherd Priest like him, right?"

Jier said in one breath everything that Weier wanted to say, hadn't said, and hadn't even thought of.

Weier could only shrug at this: "Then what do you think?"

Jier smiled: "What do I think? I don't think at all. Over these days, Bata'er Jiaoshi has been traveling with me, we have led the team together, fought against various enemies together, and everyone has even been eating the grain that the Priest himself conjured using Divine Art. Having experienced so much together, although the time is not long, he has already become my important friend."

"When such a friend encounters a difficult situation and needs help, even if he is embarrassed to ask me, I should take the initiative to step forward and help him out of his predicament."

"Even without a return?" Weier took a deep breath and looked at Jier, who had said these words, with burning eyes.

"Hmph, if I were looking for a return from him, I wouldn't be a loyal friend. This friendship is a hundred times, a thousand times more important than those returns. It cannot be measured by value, because because of this experience, these companions and friends who have resisted hardships together, and the journey with them, have already become an important part of my life. It cannot be measured by value, because this is my life."

Jier said affirmatively.

"Likewise, all the experiences during this period of time must also be quite profound for Bata'er Jiaoshi, right?"

From then on, Weier did not discuss these topics again along the way, because he also wanted to have a loyal friend and companion like Jier, who could stand firmly by his side and give him trust and support when he faced powerful enemies or difficult situations.

Especially since he bore the responsibility of avenging his entire family and reviving his family.

Although he already had some clues, it was clear that completing the two tasks above would require him to devote his entire life, his whole self, and perhaps even a lifetime might not be enough.

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