Chapter 142

The Blood Hunter glanced around and lowered his voice.

"I need to breed. Let my 【Big-Headed Blood Dog】 mate with the wild 【Big-Headed Blood Dogs】 in the Maple Leaf Forest to produce new 【Big-Headed Blood Dog】 pups. As far as I know, a litter yields at least three to five pups; with proper training, they'll serve me until retirement."

He paused, glancing at Fang Yue: "If Deputy Captain Ye is interested, I can give you one of the pups. The price is you helping me during the Maple Leaf Forest trip—ensure the two 【Big-Headed Blood Dogs】 breed successfully."

Breeding…

Fang Yue frowned: "Can this be forced?"

The Blood Hunter chuckled softly: "Ghosts and Hunters defy ordinary logic. Just cooperate with me, and I'll handle the rest."

"... Alright, it's settled."

"Mm."

Saying this, the Blood Hunter pulled out 5g of Black Ember and handed it to Fang Yue.

"Deposit."

"Then I won't be polite."

Fang Yue quickly took it—now he had 10g of Black Ember, enough to let the Parchment answer ten questions…

【REPAY THE DEBT!!】

As the sudden text appeared in his mind, Fang Yue's face darkened.

…Fine, nine questions.

He still owed the Parchment 1g of Black Ember.

After bidding farewell to the Blood Hunter, Fang Yue fed the Parchment 1g of Black Ember.

Text quickly surfaced on the Parchment.

【I am Fang Yue. I repaid my debt and destroyed the IOU. The great and noble Parchment Lord is delighted!】

【Therefore, the great and noble Parchment Lord's favor toward me has increased by 1 point!】

…Who cares about your favor? Shut up!

Fang Yue ignored it, tucked the Parchment away, and headed toward the Guard Station.

At the Guard Station, Lin Ling was still frantically arranging personnel and organizing supply lists.

Fang Yue slipped past quietly, not wanting to disturb him.

Inside, Fang Yue searched around, then scowled as he found Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu napping lazily.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

"Ah!"

Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu shrieked, then rubbed her eyes upon recognizing Fang Yue.

"Ye Ge, what's up?"

"You sleep in the game too? What's it feel like?"

"Just normal. No different from sleeping in real life."

"... Fine. Why aren't you eating?"

Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu immediately pouted, patting her now-flat stomach: "I just ate… By the way, Ye Ge, I'm sick of those dishes—can we switch?"

Sick of eating? You big dummy!

Fang Yue's fierce glare silenced Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu's next words.

"Enough. No eating today. Prepare yourself—we leave for Mo Cun tomorrow."

"Mo Cun?"

Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu looked utterly confused.

"Where's that?"

"Far away. Several days' walk."

"What?! We're leaving the village?! No no no—I heard leaving the village means certain death!"

"What do you mean? Do you think I'm running a charity? Work!"

"... Ye Ge, it's too dangerous. Maybe you shouldn't go either."

I wish I could!

Fang Yue glared at Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu: "Still want to eat?"

"No… Yes yes yes! Don't glare at me!"

"Then work. This trip gives maximum Lifespan reward and plenty of Silver. Later, you can pick your own meals—stop making me pay."

"Alright…"

Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu clearly lacked motivation. Fang Yue frowned.

"The wilds are dangerous. If I encounter a Ghost, I might not be able to protect you—you'll have to survive on your own."

"What?! Ye Ge is supposed to save me!"

"You've got 3 points in stats—you're a big girl now. Take care of yourself. Go on."

"No, Ye Ge!"

"Fine, fine—I'll protect you. But don't do nothing. Eat more, raise your stats. Higher stats mean faster running. If trouble comes, at least you can escape."

"Yes…"

After giving her two more reminders, Fang Yue let her go prepare.

With that settled, Fang Yue went to summon Niu Niu.

While waiting for Niu Niu, Fang Yue noticed Lin Ling approaching.

"Uh… What is it?"

Lin Ling glanced at him: "Hua Wuye asked you to deliver a letter to someone named Hua Qiuqiu in Mo Cun."

"Hua Qiuqiu? Her... family?"

"Something like that, a distant relative, with some blood relation. But because they're far apart, and there were issues with the elders a few generations back, they haven't kept in touch much. Now that something this big has happened to the Hua Family, we definitely need to notify them."

After a pause, Lin Ling continued: "Also, Hua Wuye said if you run into any trouble in Mo Cun, just drop Hua Wuye's name—Hua Qiuqiu will help you out."

"Uh... is she very powerful?"

"She's the village chief of Mo Cun."

"What?!"

Fang Yue's eyes instantly went wide.

Such an important thing—please don't say it in such a casual tone, okay?!

Fang Yue was completely dumbfounded. The village chief of Mo Cun! Hua Wuye's relative is amazing!

Lin Ling glanced at Fang Yue and said flatly: "I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong. Hua Qiuqiu hasn't even entered Martial Dao—she's just a martial practitioner with some crude Martial Arts basics."

"Huh? Then how is she the village chief?"

"Who told you a village chief needs to be strong? A village chief just handles all the trivial little matters in the village. By the way, our village doesn't have a village chief."

"Huh? Then what position does Lord Han hold?"

Lin Ling said, puzzled: "Lord Han is Lord Han—what other position could he hold?"

... So he has no position?

This...

Just feels kind of off somehow.

"Right, why doesn't our Gu Yue Cun have a village chief? Is it okay not having one?"

"The village chief is just decided by the village itself; the Qing Si above doesn't bother with that, as long as there's a Chief Captain of the Guard Team. As for why there isn't one, that's a leftover historical issue of Gu Yue Cun—it's a bit tedious to explain. If you're interested, go look through the records in the Guard Team yourself later."

"... I don't like flipping through books, just give me the short version."

Lin Ling furrowed her brow, probably finding Fang Yue annoying.

"Simply put, the village once had people die fighting over the village chief position, so they just left it empty."

"Oh... so that's all it is. Isn't that something you could've explained in one simple sentence?"

"Hmph! If only it were that simple. I'm too lazy to go into detail—the matter is far more complicated than you think."

Lin Ling gave a cold snort, tossed down Hua Wuye's letter, turned around, and left.

Fine, maybe it really is complicated, but I'm not going to look up the records—it's none of my business anyway!

Fang Yue thought to himself, and seeing Lin Ling heading outside, couldn't help asking: "Are you done with your work?"

"All wrapped up. What's left is just small stuff—I've asked Luo Xin to handle it."

"Luo Xin?"

"One of the five Deputy Captains going with the escort team this time. An old partner of mine for many years—you can trust him without worry."

Same old rules, those who know, know; if you don't get it, I can't explain either. Too many insiders, going dark.

(End of Chapter)