Novel Bin Chapter 6: Villagers Asking for Favors
Chapter 6: Villagers Asking for Favors
Locating at the east end of Feiyun Village, the cottage where Lin Xun stayed for now had three rooms and a sturdy weeping willow in the courtyard. It was abandoned for years.
A thick growth of weeds covered the vegetable field on each side.
It was his first real house since he arrived at Ziyao Empire. He had planned to clean it up and make some necessary repairs first thing tomorrow.
The next morning when he opened the door, he never expected to see dozens of villagers gathering in his courtyard.
More surprisingly, most people had something in their hands, such as pheasants and hares, pots and pans. Some were weeding in the courtyard, while some stronger men were repairing the roof and walls.
Everyone was busy with something. No matter what they were doing, they voluntarily kept their voices down, as if they feared to disturb someone.
Lin Xun looked thoughtful, and then a faint smile stole over his face, seemingly he had figured out the reasons.
“Look, Brother Lin is up!”
“Fuck. I told you to keep quiet, Old Yang. Now you wake him up. Look what you have done!”
“Excuse me? How dare you blame me for this? You are the one hammering the roof. A dead pig would be awakened by you, let alone Brother Lin.”
Seeing Lin Xun, the villagers stopped whatever they were doing and rushed to him in an attempt to take up a good position.
“Uh, what is this all about?”
Taken aback by their hospitalities, Lin Xun promptly asked.
“Brother Lin, we saw you wipe out the pests in Tieshan’s spiritual land yesterday. That was truly amazing, and we were impressed…”
A burly man came out of the crowd and grinned.
Whereas a middle-aged woman interrupted him, “Cut the crap! Don’t you see Brother Lin is not interested?”
Then she looked at Lin Xun with a great smile, “Brother Lin, we all see you as one of us now. We worried it was not easy to live all by yourself, so we brought you some daily supplies.”
Other villagers nodded instantly, “Mrs. Liu is right. That’s what we are going to say. She really knows how to chat.”
Lin Xun gave out a sincere smile on his pale thin face, and cupped one hand in the other, thanking them all.
After this, the villagers continued to clean the courtyard and arrange furniture and household articles for him.
Lin Xun wanted to help but was stopped by Mrs. Liu. She brought some hot water for him to wash at first, and then served him a bowl of spiritual grain porridge and a large portion of salted beast meat as breakfast.
As he couldn’t bear to reject her hospitality, Lin Xun kindly accepted. He even called her Aunt Qiao instead of Mrs. Liu after some small talk, making her beam with delight.
When he finished the breakfast, the shabby cottage was renewed. The ground was paved with slates, smooth and clean. The vegetable field was ploughed up and sowed with spiritual seeds.
A thick layer of golden straw was laid over the roof, shining in the morning light.
Pots and pans were placed orderly in the kitchen, and beast meat and other game were hung on the walls.
Not until now was the cottage cozy enough for living.
Lin Xun looked at it with a smile, feeling somehow moved by the rustic and zealous gestures that he had never experienced.
Once things were done, the villagers were about to leave. As if recalling something, Lin Xun said, “Wait a moment please.”
They all stopped, looking towards him.
Aunt Qiao, as forthright as she usually was, asked immediately, “What’s the matter? You need something else? If so, just tell us. We’ll get it for you.”
Lin Xun shook his head, and replied, “Please allow me to explain. I believe you all have witnessed what I am capable of last night. I may look like I know little, but I do know a few tricks to cure your spiritual land from pests. If you need any help, please do not hesitate to ask.”
Hearing this, Aunt Qiao patted her forehead and laughed, “I almost forgot. Brother Lin, let me tell you the truth. I have 0.4 hectare of spiritual land suffering from pests just like Tieshan’s. The spiritual grain is withering and dying. It’s really killing me. So could you also do me a favor?”
The others lost their patience right away. The reason why they rushed to offer help before daybreak was not just to get acquitted with Lin Xun, more importantly they wanted to ask for help.
Their spiritual rice, without exception, was facing threats of pests, and a year’s hard work was about to be wiped out in one day. How couldn’t they worry so much?
What Lin Xun did last night undoubtedly gave them some hope.
After all, things happened in Tieshan’s spiritual land, a golden beam soaring into the sky attracting silvery moonlight to eliminate the pests once and for all, was so miraculous that the villagers were shocked in an unprecedented way.
“Brother Lin, well…pests have also plagued my 0.6-hectare of spiritual land. It’s very bad. If you can help me out, I will treat you as my family and provide for you.”
“Could your situation be worse than mine? In less than seven days, my 0.46-hectare of spiritual grain will be completely screwed!”
Once the floodgate was open, the villagers, who were in desperate need for Lin Xun’s help, all started to talk at once.
Lin Xun was a little overwhelmed, for he did not expect to find so many villagers suffering.
He hesitated for a while, not sure who he should promise first.
At the present stage, he could inscribe only one Light-attracting Tattoo in one day. Only when he reached the third level Viscera Opening of Martial Realm could he inscribe one more such tattoo within a day.
Apparently it was not possible now.
Having been stuck in Viscera Opening level for two years, he couldn’t dare to tell when he would break through and rise to the next level.
But what should he do now?
Who on earth should he help first?
The eagers and expectations in the villagers’ eyes made him unable to decide.
At that point, he heard a deep voice, saying, “All of you step down. Your problems shall be addressed after my discussion with Lin Xun.”
Then an aged and tall figure entered the courtyard. It was the village head, Shiao Tianren.
Lin Xun greeted him and said, “Uncle Shiao, you’ve come just at the right time. I just got here, and I really don’t know anything yet. It’s best if you could make the arrangements.”
Seeing that Lin Xun had agreed to help, the villagers gladly left. The rest was up to the village head.
Soon only Shiao Tianren and Lin Xun were left in the courtyard.
“More than a hundred years ago, when I was 14 years old, there lived another spiritual tattooist…”
Shiao Tianren paced to the sturdy weeping willow with hands behind his back. While he was stroking the large trunk, memories started to flash back.