Chapter 49: Many hands

Adam set off to Chonghui’s as soon as it was light and found him ready and waiting. So they set off briskly, hoping to make the most of the excellent weather.

Back at Binyon, the kids were getting antsy. Finally, Thawain’s son Shuga said, “We need to do more than cut bamboo to make our stay here successful. To build a home, we must make connections and trade.” Shuga had fancied himself as chieftain from a young age and was more than willing to oversee a few kids. The kids all nodded eagerly, as his sentiment sounded right, even to the little children.

“So what do you suggest?” said Ash eagerly.

“Well, we should offer our services around the village.” Said Shuga before he was interrupted by a chorus of the children.

“For free?” said Higan.

“Aren’t we working for free now?” said Shuga waiting for a pause as all dissent was halted.

“Working among the villagers will make them see that we can be of value and also will allow us to gather information and skills.” Continued Shuga. The children all felt Shuga had put much thought into his talk and didn’t want to interrupt after their initial objection had been overturned. After all, they had all heard Shuga practicing his speech last night, muttering to himself into the small hours, and hadn’t entirely listened to all of it.

Shuga seeing no more disquiet, delegated tasks to all the children. He had split them into teams to make it easier to organize. First, Sela, Higan, and Theia would take some wood to Linlang’s mother and ask if they could help her. He felt she would be helpful to befriend as her dumplings had been heavenly. Next, Frey, Ash, and Clay would see Shiau Yongshi, who required help collecting crafting resources. Finally, he would see Bai Bo-Xue and ask what else they could do to help Binyon.

This would leave the rest with Thawain at their plot.

However, Ash desired to be part of the team remaining at the house to continue collecting wood. Ash wanted to do something entirely different but needed the time to test a theory before telling everyone else.

As Adam had no map, he felt dependent on Che Gongnui. So he resolved to trust him.

“Che Gongnui, I have abilities that I have been reluctant to share, as I do not want it to become common knowledge.” He hedged.

Does this fool think these old eyes have grown dull? How could I be a hunter with such eyes? Thought Gongnui to himself. He had already seen the young man using some ability to catch fish. No man could be so incompetent yet so swift and stealthy simultaneously. He chose some little entertainment to string the young man along.

“And you are wondering if I can be trusted?” said Che Gongnui making Adam fidget uncomfortably.

“I have no choice but to trust you, old man. I am greatly in your debt already, but I must impose.” Adam said, bowing low.

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“Get up! Get up. You are embarrassing an old man with little to do but listen to your plea wholeheartedly.” Che Gongnui said, thinking this young man an idiot but seemingly well-intentioned. He had once been an idiot as a young man and would not hold it against anyone.

At this point, we started hunting, and I gave up any pretense of hiding my abilities altogether. I needed beast cores, so I would have to trust this old guy. But, again, it was different from the fact that I had abilities. It was the fact that my particular set of capabilities was unusual, making me easy to identify.

I explained that I needed a guide and could kill any beast we came upon quickly with my abilities. The old man looked skeptical but nodded, saying, “If you say so.”

Back at the village, Zhang Wang Sheng was greatly relieved to see several kids had visited. This way, she could feed some of the poor souls. She had spent much of the last night worrying about how the poor dears would survive the winter in those dirty old shacks with a man to look after them. A very well-natured man, she was sure, but also, it seemed likely a very inexperienced one where parenting was needed.

She eagerly ushered them in. She thought the kids looked awful, unwashed, and wore strange clothes. She hugged each one in greeting, secretly testing to see if they were too thin.

And she sat them down to have a good old chat and find out what had happened to them to bring them to Binyon of all places.

Bai Bo-Xue was taken aback when Shuga arrived to find him at the village square. The silver-haired youth also had a silver tongue. It was true that they could do with all the help they could get and not just because of the approach of winter. All the surrounding villages and even Weihou had lost people to faction subscription, and now the war was coming meaning many would not return. He would take any help he could get but wanted to see the newcomer’s angle. There had to be some angle, after all. Had there not?

Shiau Yongshi was more than happy for some help; as the sole crafter of metalwork and timber-made goods, he always had his hands full. So he set the kids to work immediately, turning the lazy shop into a hub of activity.

Adam had resorted to shadow-jumping Che Gongnui to the top of the tallest nearby trees to get a good vantage point. Che Gongnui had remarked that this was more fun than he expected to have before lunch on a Tuesday. Adam took that as an ok and asked Che Gongnui to point out all the places he could spot. Unfortunately, it took much work for Che Gongnui to do so as he would generally follow well-worn tracks, which could not be seen from his new vantage point.

Adam was temporarily flummoxed at this obvious blunder on his part. Until that is, Che Gongnui could make out the general direction they would need to take when he spied a nearby hillside.

Having borrowed a wooden sled from Che Gongnui for this exact purpose, Adam set off with Che Gongnui hanging on for dear life. He raced through the undergrowth, making his trail as he wove among the trees. Adam sensed more numerous prey as they neared their destination. Boars and wolves. He killed nine boars and four wolves before moving to the next area. Fortunately, this part of the country was heavily forested, but it was still slow going as by the end of the afternoon, he had found no higher level beasts than twelve, which was a giant old boar.

He had forty-three beast cores which would have been good if it had not been for the fact that he was completely out of mana and would now have to run the thirty or so miles back home to Binyon.

This strategy could result in getting enough SP together for the PD to provide a safe place for the kids. But then there would be no more beast cores in the area, meaning they might as well move on again. Adam did not want the kids to suffer that kind of upheaval. As a kid, he had to move from place to place all the time due to his father’s work. He did not want that for them. He wanted to give them better. He wanted to provide them with a home. Adam realized that he got very attached to them despite only being with them for a couple of weeks.