The next day, Xu Kuang appeared in everyone's sight with big dark circles under his eyes, shocking everyone.

Ryan quickly stepped forward and asked:

"Master, what's wrong with you? Are you okay?".

Xu Kuang smiled and said to Ryan:

"It's okay, by the way, Grandpa Ryan, I broke something in the room, don't forget to pay for it.".

Ryan nodded doubtfully but said nothing.

Hathaway came up and asked:

"What's wrong with you? What happened?".

Xu Kuang smiled and said:

"It's nothing, I just failed in researching alchemy tools.".

Xu Kuang did fail, but he didn't expect it to be so complete. He didn't succeed even once in one night.

His problem is not that he has insufficient key attributes. If his intelligence attribute exceeds 40 points and his mana exceeds 2,000 points, he can try to make a space ring. What really bothered him was how to perfectly connect the last stroke with the first stroke.

This is the most difficult.

Xu Kuang glanced at his watch and asked:

"Are you all ready?".

Ryan nodded.

Xu Kuang nodded and waved his hand:

"Let's go."

The group left the inn and headed to the city gate.

After everyone left the inner city, they were quite sad when they saw the scene in the outer city.

Ryan couldn't help but sigh:

"We are the same city, why are there such big differences between the inside and outside...".

Xu Kuang sighed and said to Ryan:

"Moguling will be like this in the future, but it will be different from here."

Hathaway couldn't help but ask:

"Why?".

Xu Kuang smiled and said:

"It's simple, because we only have enough energy to develop a small part now, and the remaining part can only be put on hold temporarily. By the time the remaining part can be developed, the developed part is already prosperous enough."

Hathaway asked again:

"Even so, the later parts may not be able to catch up.".

Xu Kuang smiled and said:

"That's true, but have you ever thought about it. The later developed parts bordering other lords' plots will attract talents from other territories, and the places developed first will attract talents from newly developed areas. One will eliminate the other. In the long run, the places that are developed first will be the biggest beneficiaries."

Hathaway nodded, but her little head seemed to have endless questions, so she asked again:

"Then why do you say we will be different from them?".

Xu Kuang answered Hathaway's doubts in just one sentence:

"Since you came to Mushroom Ridge, have you ever seen a citizen of Mushroom Ridge starving to death?"

Xu Kuang pointed to the body next to him that was beaten to death for stealing bread and said:

"When did this happen in Mushroom Ridge?"

Hathaway nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, from a hotel ahead, four or five vicious guys ran out chasing a little boy.

"stop!".

Xu Kuang, who was about to pretend he couldn't see it, looked at Hathaway in shock.

Hathaway stuck out her tongue at Xu Kuang, and then said to the guys in front:

"Why are you chasing him?".

This group of guys are also good at looking at people. When they saw Xu Kuang and his group dressed in gorgeous clothes, they all became more honest. One of them stood up, saluted Xu Kuang and others, and said:

"This guy came to our store to steal food, so we chased him."

Hathaway frowned slightly and asked:

"How much money did he steal? I will pay for it!".

The guy scratched his head in embarrassment and said:

"There is no need to pay compensation, because what he stole was swill...".

Xu Kuang couldn't listen anymore and threw a gold coin in front of the group of people and said:

"move.".

The group of people got a gold coin and turned around and left.

The little boy gave Hathaway a big salute and then said:

"Thank you very much."

Hathaway took out ten gold coins directly from his pocket, dismounted and handed them to the little boy, saying to him:

"Don't steal anything in the future. These ten gold coins are enough for you to start a small business. Let's go."

After saying that, he got on his horse.

Xu Kuang sighed and took the lead in moving his horse forward.

The crowd left here in a mighty manner.

At this time, the group of guys came over and gave the little boy the gold coin Xu Kuang had just given them.

"Don't steal food from now on. We are also trying to make a living. The boss has spoken and I have no choice but to chase you. Take this gold coin and do some small business."

The little boy looked at the group of people in astonishment.

One person laughed and said:

"Okay, you kid, you really thought we couldn't catch you. We all know you have a sister to support, so we turn a blind eye every time.".

Hearing this, the little boy burst into tears. He knelt down respectfully and kowtowed to several people, saying:

"Dear uncles and uncles, if I, Zou Henxu, get along well in the future, I will definitely repay you a hundred times a thousand times."

Everyone laughed and said with a smile:

"Then we'll wait."

The boss in the distance yelled, and a group of guys ran back quickly.

Zou Henxu looked at the city gate, as if he had decided something, and quickly ran back to his residence.

It's a doghouse, a real doghouse, and there's even a dog half as tall as a man chained outside.

Zou Henxu threw two pieces of bread on the ground, and then kicked the dog. The dog immediately stood up and ate the bread.

Zou Henxu then got into the kennel, carefully opened the iron cage at the deepest part of the kennel, and took out a baby girl from inside.

Zou Henxu coaxed the baby girl lovingly, with tears in his eyes:

"Sister, you and I are the only ones left in the family. If this continues, we won't be able to survive. Now that I have a good place to go, I can't leave you behind. You have to hold on along the way."

The dog suddenly spat out the bread in its mouth and kept rubbing its head on Zou Henxu's leg.

"You want to come with me too?".

The dog whimpered twice.

"Okay, I understand, then you can come with me. From now on, the three of you and I will be partners. I hope we can all find our benefactor alive."

…

Xu Kuang helplessly said to Hathaway:

"You're going to hurt them.".

Hathaway asked puzzledly:

"Why?".

"You gave that boy ten gold coins in front of so many poor people. Do you think he can keep it?".

When Hathaway heard this, she immediately regretted it. She stopped her horse and said to Xu Kuang:

"Then let's go back and take him with us...".

Xu Kuang shook his head and said to Hathaway:

"No need, maybe he is dead now, or maybe he is lucky enough to hide. In short, we won't find what you want when we go back."

Hathaway was a little angry:

"Then why didn't you stop me just now?".

Xu Kuang asked calmly:

"Then will you believe me?".

Hathaway was speechless.

There was no doubt that she would not believe it. People are like this sometimes, they will get into trouble, especially when they think that the evidence is conclusive, and they will not listen to other people's dissuasion. Only when the bloody facts are placed in front of him/her, he/she will wake up.

"Then how much should I give just now?".

Xu Kuang said helplessly:

"You still don't understand, you can't give me even a copper."

Hathaway shed tears of regret.

But Xu Kuang rode forward, waved his hand and shouted:

"Brother Henry! You're here so early.".

…

Perhaps Xu Kuang and Hathaway did not expect that Hathaway's unintentional move would bring an unparalleled warrior and a wise and almost demonic female official to Mushroom Ridge.

But that’s a story for another day.