Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Just a little while ago, Xuan Cui had been resting when Xie Licheng suddenly came looking for her.

He told her that from now on, she'd have free access to his farm, and ordered her to go over and take care of Gu Zhangyuan right now.

Yuan Qiao got pretty annoyed when she heard this, because Xie Licheng had only let Xuan Cui in, not letting him tag along.

Xuan Cui was still hurt, but he didn't pick Yuan Qiao—he went with Xuan Cui instead. That stung Yuan Qiao a little.

To be fair, it wasn't like Xie Licheng had anything against Yuan Qiao.

It was just that he knew Xuan Cui better. They'd worked together before... well, more like she was his boss.

Xuan Cui, being his senior and superior, had always looked out for Xie Licheng.

And the farm was Xie Licheng's turf—he was super territorial. He really didn't want strangers stepping foot on his land. If Gu Zhangyuan didn't need someone to look after him, honestly, he wouldn't have let Xuan Cui in either.

Gu Zhangyuan thought about how Xie Licheng hated letting outsiders into his space, yet because of something he'd said last night, he'd let Xuan Cui in anyway. He couldn't help but feel a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

He figured Xie Licheng must really like him, or else why would he be so good to him?

Thinking that, Gu Zhangyuan couldn't help but sneak a smile.

Xuan Cui noticed his smile and asked, "Young master, did something good happen?"

Gu Zhangyuan didn't explain what he was smiling about. Instead, he took the food box from her hands, looking concerned.

Gu Zhangyuan asked, "Are you feeling better? You're still hurt, and you still came all this way."

Xuan Cui: "I'm doing a lot better now. As long as I don't go out and work the fields with the servants, I'm fine."

Her injuries really had improved a lot—as long as she didn't do anything too strenuous, she'd be okay.

Xuan Cui followed Gu Zhangyuan inside, chatting as she walked: "Master, I brought you something tasty—the wet nurse made it just for you."

Gu Zhangyuan led her into the living room and sat down by the window to have his meal.

He knew Xuan Cui wasn't fully healed, so he didn't make her serve him like she usually did.

Gu Zhangyuan motioned for her to sit and eat with him. Since they were close, Xuan Cui didn't bother with formalities.

She sat across from Gu Zhangyuan, used her own bowl to grab some food, and the two of them chatted while eating.

Back at the Gu estate, the rules were strict. Xuan Cui would never have dared to sit and eat with Gu Zhangyuan, let alone chat casually while he was dining.

But now, in this new place, with none of the Gu elders around, both of them had loosened up a lot.

Xuan Cui asked, "Master, have you and Master Xie already... you know, done it?"

As she said that, she instinctively glanced at what Gu Zhangyuan was wearing.

Gu Zhangyuan was wearing Xie Licheng's clothes. At first he'd only had on the top, but then he felt it was too indecent to have his legs out, so he dug out the pants and put them on.

Even so, by ancient standards, his outfit was still pretty... scandalous and weird.

Gu Zhangyuan: "Not yet."

"So... tonight, are you staying here, or coming back with me?"

"I'll head back first—I need to get everyone ready to move."

The house in town was nicer than the one in the village, so he wanted to move his family there first.

As for whether he'd come back tonight, he'd decide after seeing what Xie Licheng was up to.

If Xie Licheng left the pocket world in the evening, he wouldn't want to stay alone at the farm, so he'd naturally move to the new place with everyone else.

If Xie Licheng wasn't going out, he'd definitely stay with him.

While Gu Zhangyuan was taking his sweet time eating, over on the other side, Xie Licheng had already taken out the bandit leader at the temple.

With the leader dead, the temple area was now linked to the town.

The temple was right next to town, so it'd be super convenient for people to come burn incense and pray from now on.

Temples were a big deal for people who believed in the gods—they were like a spiritual anchor.

Now that they had a temple, it'd also make everyone feel more at ease.

After killing the leader, Xie Licheng also got a treasure chest.

This time, the chest didn't have seeds or fertilizer—it had a red potion and a blue potion.

Anyone who'd played online games knew red potions were for restoring HP. Even if you were on your last legs, one red potion could bring you right back.

Blue potions were usually for restoring mana. But since Xie Licheng's stat panel didn't have a mana bar, this one was probably for stamina.

Xie Licheng took out the two potions and checked them—they were exactly what he'd expected.

The only surprise was that these potions weren't just for him—other people in the pocket world could use them too.

By "other people," he meant Gu Zhangyuan and the rest.

But since Xie Licheng was the one keeping everyone safe, he was definitely gonna keep these potions for himself first.

Take the blue potion, for instance—Xie Licheng really needed that one right now.

With a blue potion as backup, even if his stamina hit zero while he was out, he could pop one to recharge.

Xie Licheng figured this was a solid haul. After unlocking the temple area, he opened the map to check the next region.

The next area he could unlock was a bigger one, and it needed a population of 200.

Xie Licheng guessed the new area was probably a county seat, but since they already had two places to live, he didn't see any rush to unlock it.

Once the town's population grew, there'd be plenty of time to unlock the new area later.

After that, Xie Licheng didn't teleport straight back. Instead, he decided to walk toward Peach Blossom Village, clearing out any wild beasts on the way.

He wanted to see if the beasts on the road would respawn the next day.

If the road beasts respawned every day like the ones in the mountains, he'd need to get some able-bodied young men to clear them out regularly.

If they didn't clear the beasts, they'd start breeding. Eventually, there'd be more and more of them on the road, and it'd get dangerous for the elderly, the weak, women, and kids passing through.

He'd gone through all that trouble to save these people—no way he was gonna let a bunch of code mess that up.

Xie Licheng slowly made his way back, taking out three wolves, two wild boars, and two snakes along the way.

As for the rest—pheasants, rabbits, wild ducks, and the like—Xie Licheng didn't bother with them.

These little critters were less dangerous than a kid. Even if folks ran into them on the road, nobody was gonna get hurt.

Then Xie Licheng hoofed it back to Peach Blossom Village, while Gu Zhangyuan had the Gu family servants getting ready to move.

Seeing the Gu family was moving, Xie Licheng, being their son-in-law, had to pitch in.

He had a portable backpack and could also teleport straight to town.

He emptied out his backpack and helped haul the bulky stuff—beds, cabinets, tables—over first.

Thanks to Xie Licheng, the Gu family got the whole move done in one trip.

The Gu family's new place in town was one of the two houses Gu Zhangyuan had been eyeing.

The new place was a three-courtyard layout: front courtyard, main courtyard, and back courtyard.

The front courtyard housed the male servants and guests, with seven rooms total, kitchen included.

The main courtyard had just four rooms, but each was plenty big, and the biggest one even had two side rooms.

The biggest room was, of course, for Elder Master Gu.

The other three rooms went to Gu Zhangyuan, Gu Yangxue, and Gu Tinghe, one each.

Ever since Xie Licheng beat him, Gu Tinghe had calmed down a whole lot.

Plus, with Elder Master Gu having him watched, he couldn't even roam around the house, so even if he wanted to stir up trouble, he couldn't.

This time, when they moved, a room in the main courtyard was set aside for him. But since Gu Zhangyuan came back every day, and when he did, Xie Licheng would surely tag along often, Elder Master Gu ended up putting Gu Tinghe in the back courtyard.

The back courtyard was mostly for the male attendants and maidservants. Elder Master Gu personally walked Gu Tinghe to the back courtyard, watched the servants lock him in a room, and only then let out a sigh and turned to leave.

Gu Zhangyuan got everyone to sort out the rooms, then promptly headed next door with Yuan Qiao.

He'd originally liked a different place, but to make it easier to go back and forth, he picked the one right next to the Gu family's new home.

The place next door was a lot smaller, with just a tiny courtyard.

Counting the kitchen and woodshed, it had five rooms in all.

But since it was so close to the Gu family, he figured smaller was fine.

Anyway, judging by Xie Licheng's vibe, they probably wouldn't be in town for long.

Once a better spot came up, he'd definitely follow Xie Licheng.

With that in mind, Gu Zhangyuan stopped fussing and got to work with Yuan Qiao and two maidservants.

While Gu Zhangyuan was cleaning up with the servants, Xie Licheng was over on the other side signing contracts with the Chen family.

The Chen family—that is, Doctor Chen's family.

Chen Youchen had his eye on the medical clinic in town last time, and now that the Gu family had already moved here, he wanted to follow suit.

The Gu family were Xie Licheng's in-laws, and he treated them real well.

The fact that the Gu family dared to move now meant the town was safe.

The Gu family were good people, and everyone in Lingzhou City knew the Gu family's eldest young master.

He figured that as long as they followed the eldest young master, they definitely wouldn't run into trouble.

So he talked it over with his family and decided to buy the medical clinic in town first.

No matter what happened later, having a home would give them peace of mind.

Gu Zhangyuan had already drawn up the contract for the shop purchase.

Since all the properties here belonged to Xie Licheng, the contract had to be signed with him, naturally.

So the Chen family shelled out twenty-five taels of silver and got themselves a medical clinic in Peach Blossom Town.

After wrapping up with the Chen family, Xie Licheng signed another contract with the Gu family.

The contract with the Gu family covered not just the two houses and two shops he'd promised Gu Zhangyuan, but also a house and two shops Elder Master Gu was buying from him.

Gu Zhangyuan's properties didn't cost anything, and the deeds were all in his name.

Elder Master Gu's properties cost money. One house was in the next alley over, which he'd bought specifically for Gu Yangxue.

When Gu Yangxue was ready to get married, he'd find her a husband to take in.

Being in the next alley meant she'd be close to the Gu family, so they could look out for each other.

The house cost fifteen taels, and the two shops together ran forty-five taels.

With so few people in town right now, honestly, even if they bought shops, it'd be tough to do much business.

But Elder Master Gu figured Xie Licheng was a capable guy.

As long as Xie Licheng was willing to take people in, with how chaotic things were outside, he'd definitely attract a ton of folks.

In other words, the town definitely wouldn't be short on people in the future.

To keep good shops from getting snatched up later, he figured it was better to buy two now and hold onto them.

As it was getting dark, Xie Licheng planned to head out and check things over.

He hadn't been out since yesterday, and things outside could change in a heartbeat, so he figured he might as well go out under cover of darkness.

Just as he was about to head out, Gu Zhangyuan came in with a bowl of sweet soup for him.

They were now in Gu Zhangyuan's little place, and only a few rooms had been cleaned up so far.

Xie Licheng had just finished putting up the bed canopy and was resting at the table in the room.

Gu Zhangyuan, knowing Xie Licheng had been busy all day, had gone to the kitchen to simmer him a bowl of sweet soup.

The kitchen here was pretty bare, so the sweet soup only had pears and a few red dates, which made it look a bit plain.

Gu Zhangyuan came over, sat down across from Xie Licheng, handed him the soup, and asked, "You heading out?"

Xie Licheng took a sip of the sweet soup first, silently thinking how great it was to have a wife.

Back in the day, no matter how tired or worn out he was, nobody had ever made him sweet soup.

Now that he had a wife, looking back, he felt his old days had been truly bitter.

Xie Licheng: "Mm, let's go out and see how things are outside."

With that, he lifted his gaze to Gu Zhangyuan and asked, "Do you want to come out with me for a look?"

Gu Zhangyuan's eyes lit up slightly at his words, then he said, a little uncertainly, "If I tag along, won't I just be a burden?"

He knew his own limits well and worried he'd just slow Xie Licheng down.

"It's fine. If we do run into danger, I'll just send you back in."

Taking Gu Zhangyuan out more often would show him just how dangerous the outside world was, and how peaceful and stable the pocket world was by comparison. With such a stark contrast, Gu Zhangyuan wouldn't keep thinking about going out all the time.

Besides, Xie Licheng's pocket world would definitely keep taking in more people.

His main reason for taking people in, besides wanting to unlock new maps, was to provide for Gu Zhangyuan.

Only when more and more people came into his pocket world would it get closer to a normal, ordinary world, letting Gu Zhangyuan and the others live the peaceful life they used to have.

Since it was all for Gu Zhangyuan's sake, the people he brought in should ideally be people Gu Zhangyuan would get along with.

Coincidentally, Gu Zhangyuan had just finished his work, so he figured he might as well take him out for a look.

If they happened to run into someone Gu Zhangyuan liked, they could bring that person in right away.

"So what should I prepare? Should I change my clothes?"

The clothes he was wearing now were pretty elaborate; he figured they wouldn't be convenient for running around with Xie Licheng.

Hearing this, Xie Licheng glanced up at him and said casually, "It's fine, you look good as is."

Gu Zhangyuan felt a bit helpless at that. He stood up and spun around in front of Xie Licheng.

"I'm not asking if I look good. I'm asking how I should dress to be more practical. So I don't end up slowing you down when we go out."

"You won't. Even if you were covered in hairpins and ornaments, I could still protect you."

With that, Xie Licheng downed the rest of the sweet soup.

Hearing him say that, Gu Zhangyuan didn't worry as much as before.

But since this wasn't just a pleasure trip, he still took off his hairpin and slipped into a pair of comfortable shoes before leaving the pocket world with Xie Licheng.

Xie Licheng didn't have Gu Zhangyuan prepare anything, but he himself came out ready with weapons.

A miao dao he used often, a gun with a silencer, and two small daggers.

No matter what danger he'd faced before, Xie Licheng had never used a gun.

This time, he deliberately brought the gun along, not just to avoid breaking his promise to Gu Zhangyuan, but also because he planned to teach Gu Zhangyuan how to use it.

It was said that with truth in hand, even a young girl could take down a few big guys.

Thinking about how the pocket world would keep gaining more people in the future, there was no way it could stay as peaceful as before. Xie Licheng couldn't be by Gu Zhangyuan's side all the time, and Gu Zhangyuan would have to manage the houses, shops, fields, and a whole bunch of other stuff, dealing with all kinds of different people. If any of those people meant harm to Gu Zhangyuan, Xie Licheng worried he might run into danger in the future.

As the saying goes, mountains can crumble and people can run off. Xie Licheng felt that rather than having Gu Zhangyuan rely on him, it was better to teach him how to defend himself. After all, he'd collected quite a few guns in his past life, and now they finally had a use.

The last time Xie Licheng entered the pocket world, he was outside the city, so this time when they came out, they appeared outside the city too.

Xie Licheng returned to the courtyard with the secret passage and found signs that someone had been rummaging through it—someone must have come out through there.

He didn't rush back into Lingzhou City. Instead, he took Gu Zhangyuan's hand and wandered around outside the city first.

There were guards at the city gate, but they weren't the city's garrison—they were the rebels from the protagonist's side.

At this point, the Great Zhou hadn't completely fallen into chaos, so everyone still called them rebels.

Xie Licheng held Gu Zhangyuan's hand and stood at a distance, only able to glance over from far away.

Gu Zhangyuan could see quite a few rebels cleaning up the corpses scattered around the city gate.

Among the bodies were both garrison soldiers and rebels, and the scene was extremely brutal.

Xie Licheng said to Gu Zhangyuan, "In a bit, I'll take you into the city to look around."

Gu Zhangyuan said fearfully, "Right now... the city's probably already occupied by the rebels. If we go back at a time like this, it'll be really dangerous."

"There's some risk, but it's not much. As long as you stay close to me, I won't let anything happen to you."

"Really? But... what would we even do by going back now?"

The Gu family members who could be saved had all been saved. Gu Zhangyuan didn't seem to have any real reason to go back.

"Teach you how to kill people."

"Huh?!"

Gu Zhangyuan was startled at his words and quickly waved his hands at Xie Licheng.

"No, I don't want to. I'm scared."

"What's there to be afraid of? With me here, they can't hurt you."

"I—I'm not scared I can't beat them. I'm scared of seeing those dead people."

As he said this, Gu Zhangyuan quickly moved closer and grabbed Xie Licheng's arm.

He only got clingy like this when he was scared—Xie Licheng had noticed that long ago.

Seeing that he was genuinely scared, Xie Licheng didn't force him to learn these things right away.

"Alright then, we won't learn for now. Let's head back into the city first and see if we can save some people?"