I sat in my dusty home after the successful negotiations. It was a nice change of pace. No arguing, no toiling in the fields, no almost dying from getting stabbed. I quite enjoyed it. I didn't feel the best about it since it felt like I was receiving a lot for not that much, but my leverage was knowledge, and I planned to use it well.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of firm footsteps approaching my house. Getting up and heading to the door, I see a small squadron of six guards approach. I sized them up as they did their customary bow.

The tallest of the guards, with sharp features, addresses me. "Priest Xuán Shān has sent us. I, Li Wei, and my squad are at your disposal."

I nodded, "It is good to meet you. I will only need two guards at a time. From sunrise to sunset and sunset to sunrise. I figure it would be best to rotate guards in that shift."

They all nodded in unison. "I think it would be best to start with you, Li Wei and anyone of your choosing to get to know me and how I go about my day."

I let them sort themselves out as I headed inside to grab a quick snack and a sack before we headed out. Once I left the building, there were only two guards left standing. Li Wei and another thinner but toned man. I didn't know how to break the ice since it was all business, and we weren't friends, so I decided not to. I decided to simply get into the meat of it as we walked towards the fields.

"My job as a Sage in this city is to monitor the fields to ensure the plants are watered appropriately and not infested with insects. I also sometimes have to quell disagreements, where I expect you guys to be most alert." They nodded gravely, "I will also have meetings in the council where you will stay outside during the duration. Any questions?"

Hearing no question asked, I returned to my thoughts as they trailed behind me. I didn't want them in the council room because I had never seen any guards in the main hall, and I was not planning to break the status quo.

Once we were in the fields, I did a quick skim to ensure nothing was awry before heading towards a separate and smaller field. This field had some plants we could recover from the "Embrace of the Evil Spirit," as some people have started to call it. It was a wild assortment of plants, and I had no idea if they were of any use. Still, just the fact they didn't wither, or at least stayed alive in the environment, marked them as special.

I took more time with this field, looking over every leaf and feeling the soil. The guards watched curiously as I examined everything. At the same time, the workers simply greeted me, congratulated me on my recovery, and continued working unbothered. I gathered a few plants and some grew berries, which I snagged, putting them in my bag. I would be testing them on animals first to ensure they weren't harmful for consumption. I could then categorize them into herbs, foods, or unedibles'.

Some plants were a little sickly, probably due to not being in the right environment to grow. Unfortunately, I didn't have the necessary tools to get proper soil and support, even if the people I sent knew how to gather the relevant information. I'd just have to hope that they either survive or that they are of no use anyway.

Once I was done gathering the relevant plants, I headed towards a newer area I had ordered to be built right before I got attacked. Approaching the giant fenced-off area, I see multiple people watching the fence and testing its integrity. Seeing me approach, some workers split off to approach me.

"I am overjoyed to see you walking in great health, Sage." Shan said as he bowed and looked at the new faces behind me. "We have been building the wall as you instructed, with no gaps, with a gate at the front. We have also started building some of the… big bowls you asked of us."

As he walked around and showed me the progress that had been made, he kept talking about how successful it was and that we could start using it at full capacity. Looking at the fence, I thought about all the animals we could get in here.

I asked Shan, "Have you gotten the animals I told you about yet?"

"We have, indeed, right this way." He walks us towards the gate, where he carefully opens it and takes a look before opening it a little wider. Behind the gate on the other side of the field was a small… ox? I think it's an ox. It could be a cow or anything else, really. All the animals here looked slightly different than the ones back on earth, but close enough that I could simply assign them labels like bear or wolf.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Were there any accidents while trying to corner and transport her here?" I asked while carefully examining the calf. Shan grimaced, and I instantly looked at him with full attention. That didn't sound good.

"We had a bit of an accident." He answered, "Once we split the calf from the herd, the mother followed the calf. One of the youth got impatient and got too close to the mother, resulting in her being able to stomp him."

I grimaced at the visual but continued to ask, "How is he?"

"He was able to get out alive, but with a broken leg, we ended up needing to shoot it to get it away from the poor sap."

It was disappointing to lose the mother of the calf, as I didn't know if it was still on a milk diet. If it was, this would become more difficult. But what was more important was the man.

"Is the injury permanent?" I asked, and Shan looked away uncomfortably. "Is it just the legs, or is anything else broken?"

"Only one of his legs was broken, and it doesn't seem like it would heal right, even with the technique you have shown our healers. I'm sorry, Sage, that I couldn't perfectly handle the operation." Shan was holding a bow towards me.

I raised his head while shaking my own, "I have no doubt you tried to the best of your abilities to ensure that everything would go without accidents. There is nothing to apologize for. It was simply not fated that it would do so. Where is he now, and what are his current prospects?"

He looked at me curiously, "He is in his abode, but what do you mean prospects?"

"Well, I will not let my men that work for the betterment of this city starve and rot away. What is he currently able to do? If there is nothing, I will talk to one of the Elders in charge of craftsmen to have someone apprentice and train him." I say back proudly.

It was due to my orders he got hurt for life. And by the sounds of it, he just recently became an adult, so I doubted he was older than his early twenties. I felt guilt, but I knew this was just part of life now. At least nobody died. I had no idea how I would handle such a situation.

"I… I'm sorry, Sage, but I don't know. I'll talk to him and get back to you about it."

I nodded, "Make sure he is getting his food and his needs are met for now."

Shan nodded and called someone over to convey the orders. I look back at the calf and consider the best ways to domesticate it. I could starve it and feed it to show that we brought the food, but since there is grass in this field, I doubted we could starve it without digging up the soil. Perhaps we could try the treat route? But that has its own complications.

I knew that animals, like dogs, cats, and cows, were, from generation to generation, domesticated, and even then, they became wild the moment one generation ended up in the wilderness.

Seeing the feeding trough off to the side, I carefully walked in. The calf watched me warily across the field, and I watched back. I didn't want it to feel threatened and charge me. I've had enough injuries to last me a lifetime. I didn't want another. Once I got close to the feeding trough, I emptied the sack's contents and walked back out. I didn't have the time to do a diligent trial. I would see which he ate if he ate any. If the calf didn't die, it was safe for humans to try.

Once I was done emptying the contents when I was close to the door, the calf gained the courage to charge me, and I quickly scurried to the gate, which was promptly shut once I was through.

Now that I was done with that, I needed to talk to the Chieftain about starting another project in the near future. I was running out of things to assign to people, and I'm sure other Elders were struggling with the same thing. I planned to dig up deep holes in the ground and bury grains to keep them safe from the withering effect of the plague.

It could work if it's air- or maybe even sunlight-based. Perhaps it was an ozone issue, although I don't know if a missing ozone would actually cause people to get sick and die. Still, it was possible as far as I was aware. If even that didn't protect the grains, then there was nothing we could do to stay safe from the plague. We'd simply have to tank it, hope to survive, and treat it the best we could.

As I headed towards the town hall, I left the assistant to do his own thing. Approaching the city from the fields, I started seeing houses pop up, and the closer we got to the wall, the denser it got to the point that it began to become its own mini-city outside the main walls. That was even accounting for the people who decided to continue their journey southward. We couldn't house all the refugees, so we started helping them build their own huts outside the city walls. The buildings were sad to even look at, as they were made haphazardly to outbuild the demand of new incoming refugees. I was surprised that major crime hadn't erupted in such a state. But thankfully, it all remained petty crime.

Walking through the streets to even get to the city, I was stared at by all the passing refugees. Some stared at me in admiration and hope, while others stared at me skeptically. I felt like some even stared at me with hostility. The guards went alert ever since we started getting to the packed part of the street. My back ached at the thought of the stab. Perhaps it was simply paranoia because I hadn't felt like this before the stabbing. Or maybe I was naive about being loved and respected by everyone beforehand? I felt more relaxed once we entered the main gate, and we swiftly approached the hall.

Once inside, though, I got stopped by one of the guards, "Priest Xuán Shān requests that you hold your end of the deal."

I wanted to talk to the Chieftain about my plans, but that could wait. I guess it was time to teach the poor Priest the Latin Alphabet.