"It's full?"
Upon learning this, Mr. Qi directly stated, "Then let's use this opportunity to expand Xiangshui Village."
The children eagerly crowded around, asking,
"Are we going to build lots and lots of new houses?"
Mr. Qi replied, "Yes, not only will we build houses, but this time we will also build walls!"
The children only heard the first half and were overjoyed.
"Building houses is great, I can get married later."
"Little Tiger wants a house too!"
"Me too!"
Listening to the children's innocent words, the adults in the village couldn't help but laugh heartily.
"You little ones have quite the imagination, hahaha..."
"Thinking about wives at such a young age!"
"Little devils, hahaha!"
While the villagers laughed,
they still planned for the children's future living spaces.
After a period of time—
With the joint efforts of all the villagers, Xiangshui Village underwent an expansion.
Compared to the small village it was before, it was at least several times larger.
Moreover, an outer wall was added around the perimeter.
The patrol teams were also increased as a result.
The overall scale of the village suddenly grew.
Gradually, outside villagers began to want to join.
Xiangshui Village also slowly became a new force in this chaotic era.
A place where people could be self-sufficient and live in peace.
...Natural disasters seemed to have disappeared from this place.
Upon realizing this, the villagers were immensely proud.
And the outsiders, they scrambled to become members of this place.
Even though so many years had passed, many people still remembered the 'curse of the gods.'
—Only when a wise ruler appears, can there be peace!
During these years of vying for power among various factions, natural disasters continued to plague the land.
Everyone thought that only after a wise ruler ascended the throne would everything end.
But now,
the natural disasters in Xiangshui Village had actually disappeared!?
What did this mean?
It meant that there was a wise ruler in Xiangshui Village!
It wasn't that natural disasters would disappear only after a wise ruler ascended the throne, but rather that where a wise ruler resided, there would be days of peace!
"Go to Xiangshui Village, there is a true wise ruler there!"
"Are there really no natural disasters in Xiangshui Village?"
"I heard they are already self-sufficient, and the people live in peace and contentment. Bountiful harvests every year!"
"Let's all go! As long as we follow the right wise ruler, good days will not be far off!"
As soon as the news spread, people drifting all over the chaotic world were drawn to it.
Those who were sallow and emaciated, sitting and waiting for death, had light in their eyes again.
They had hope to live!
They packed their tattered belongings.
Whether alone or in groups, they set off in the direction of Xiangshui Village.
If they could live, if they could have a good life.
No one wanted to die!
Seeing that everyone was preparing to leave, Ah Qing, who was eleven or twelve years old, turned and ran out.
Barefoot, he ran all the way to a dilapidated house.
"A Ya! A Ya, come out quickly!"
As he shouted, he went to a corner of the bedroom.
He moved a cabinet, took out two bricks, and retrieved the last remaining provisions from inside.
—A bag wrapped in burlap, so hard it could only be ground with teeth, of dry rations.
A Ya poked her head out from the corner, her little face smudged with dirt.
Uneasily, she asked, "Brother, what happened?"
Ah Qing put the dry rations on his back and put on an adult's jacket over himself.
He covered himself and the bag of rations tightly.
After completing this series of actions, he then looked at his younger sister.
On his dirty face, only his eyes shone with light, "Let's go! We're going to Xiangshui Village!"
A Ya asked, "What is Xiangshui Village?"
Ah Qing replied, "A place with no natural disasters, where we can eat our fill and be warm!"
The siblings held hands.
They followed behind the large group heading towards Xiangshui Village.
Moving forward, filled with hope.
...
"Is this the effect of a wise ruler... I wish it could continue like this forever."
Xu Nan couldn't help but murmur.
"Yes, I wish it could continue like this forever."
A voice echoed from beside him.
At first, Xu Nan thought the machine ball had returned.
But upon closer thought, the machine ball didn't have this voice!
He turned his head and saw a Qilin... a phantom?
Above the Qilin horn placed on Captain Jiang's desk,
a miniature, palm-sized azure Qilin phantom appeared.
Xu Nan blinked, "Are you talking to me?"
The azure Qilin turned its head to look at him, "Indeed."
Xu Nan blinked his eyes, looked at Captain Jiang, then at the Qilin phantom.
Then he looked at Xiangshui Village.
"Are you... that Mr. Qi?"
Why was Mr. Qi here?
The azure Qilin nodded, then shook its head.
"As I am now, I am merely a remnant soul left within the Qilin horn. I am no one."
Jiang Lin looked at it and directly asked, "What happened afterwards?"
Xu Nan: ...Captain Jiang is going to let the protagonist spoil the plot in advance?
The azure Qilin sighed and uttered two words:
"Greed."
...
As Xiangshui Village grew larger,
the number of passing merchants also increased.
Gradually, the news reached the ears of others who wished to conquer the world.
They secretly sent people to inquire about Xiangshui Village.
After confirming that there were indeed no natural disasters in Xiangshui Village,
all factions treated it with extreme caution.
Regardless of whether Xiangshui Village truly had a wise ruler or had found a way to evade natural disasters,
it was not good news for those who wanted to conquer the world.
After a period of investigation, they discovered that Xiangshui Village's military strength seemed to be not very strong.
Several factions felt there was an opportunity.
Some wanted to recruit Xiangshui Village and make it their own.
Some wanted to occupy it.
And some, simple and crude, prepared to destroy Xiangshui Village directly!
"What wise ruler appearing? Only the one who reaches the end is the true wise ruler!"
...
The conflicts between several factions made the situation in Xiangshui Village somewhat chaotic.
There were also a few battles fought, and some people died.
But under Mr. Qi's coordination, everything was still under control.
It was like a treasure appearing; some wanted it, and some wanted to destroy it.
As long as one understood the psychology of the various parties, they could make them check and balance each other.
Moreover,
the spread of news from Xiangshui Village was not without its benefits.
Basically, every so often, talented individuals would come to pledge their allegiance.
This also further strengthened Xiangshui Village's power.
By now, Xiangshui Village was less of a 'village'
and more like a city.
The villagers who joined Xiangshui Village the earliest were now considered old members.
Their assigned tasks had also changed.
Some joined the guard team and became squad leaders.
Some were responsible for arranging the living, food, and accommodation for newly arrived villagers.
Some led the later villagers in daily logging, construction, or farming.
Those children also began to gather information and collect intelligence.
The rudimentary form of a nation had begun to appear.
...
"I'm actually witnessing the path to emperorship of a generation's ruler!"
"Mr. Qi truly gives me the feeling of a behind-the-scenes boss, strategizing everything. 666!"
"My intuition tells me that the chaotic era is about to end!"
The viewers in the live stream were deeply moved. For some reason,
as they watched the scenes unfold, a sense of heroism inexplicably arose in their hearts.
Was it because of Mr. Qi's strategic planning?
Or because the chaotic era was about to end under their witness?
They were unsure.
Perhaps, this was the self-cultivation of onlookers?
"Those who left back then must be regretting it to death."
"No, I saw that Chun Hua sneakily returned again, blending in with the crowd. It's just that no one bothered to pay attention to her."
"Looking forward to Mr. Qi's enthronement!"
"Looking forward to it too!"
Just as the viewers' blood was boiling with excitement,
the live stream screen suddenly changed.
Under the night sky,
in Mr. Qi's room, an oil lamp was lit.
A figure silently appeared behind him.
...