Thanks to Katy for the kofis, enjoy these bonus chapters!

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“Brother Cen, Brother Cen,” Xiao Ji ran up from ahead. “There’s an injured woman at the foot of the mountain. It looks like she fell from the mountain.” 

Cen An was startled. “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know—she’s still unconscious,” Xiao Ji said with a wry smile. “Team Leader Liao told me to come get some medicine.” 

“What’s the point of getting medicine now?” Cen An pointed ahead. “Take me there.”

Just as they were speaking, someone landed beside them. Su Rui had returned from who knows where, his clothes still damp with moisture. “What’s going on?”

“Someone fell off the mountain and got hurt,” Cen An said, expertly leaning against him. “Hurry up and take me to help her!”

Then, in a flash, the two of them found themselves at the foot of Dongying Mountain.

A woman lay in the grass, with a head wound and numerous abrasions all over her body. A long string of negative statuses hovered above her head: [Severe Injury], [Fracture], [Hunger]…

Having spent so much time in Yongning Village, Cen An hadn’t seen anyone in such a terrible state in a long time. He quickly administered some medicine and then found two female ability users to help bandage the wounds.

After a busy half-day of work, the woman’s condition finally stabilized.

Cen An wiped the sweat from his forehead. “She’ll be fine once she wakes up.”

Team Leader Liao squatted down beside him with a carefree air and scratched his head. “What do we do now? Should we head up first?”

Tian Yuan replied, “We could go straight up. Before we arrived, Captain Shi had already sent word, so Dongying Village knows we’re coming.”

“Then let’s head up,” Cen An said, glancing at the woman who was still unconscious. “And while we’re at it, let’s take her home to recover.” 

The others, of course, had no objections.

It was out of the question for Cen An to climb on his own; even if he were willing, the others wouldn’t feel comfortable letting him, so Su Rui ended up carrying him up. It wasn’t the least bit of a hassle.

The rest of the group were all ability users, so this mountain path was no problem for them; they even carried the injured woman up with them.

At the entrance to Dongying Village, Cen An looked at the houses of various sizes lined up along the mountainside. “Hmm… they’re a bit more run-down than I imagined.”

In his mind, since Dongying Village rarely suffered from beast tides, it should have developed better than other villages. Yet these houses looked far too dilapidated—not to mention, compared to Yongning Village, they didn’t even measure up to Stone Spring Village.

Could it be that the village’s unique topography left it lacking in resources?

Turning his head again, Cen An suddenly spotted a rather imposing structure. While it couldn’t exactly be called grand, compared to the other houses, it was practically from another world. If the other houses were on par with those in a poor mountain village, this building was like a two-story Western-style mansion… Pointing at it, he asked, “Whose house is that? Is the wealth gap in Dongying Village really that wide?”

“It doesn’t belong to anyone in particular—that’s the village ancestral hall,” a voice suddenly called out. The group looked up and saw a middle-aged man leading a group of people out of the village. He bowed his hands in greeting upon seeing them, displaying a somewhat old-fashioned manner. “My name is Han Chengye, and I’m the village chief of Dongying Village. Are you the distinguished guests from Yongning Village?”

Cen An and the others nodded.

Han Chengye looked up. “Please, come inside at once. Thank you for the grain Yongning Village sent a few days ago—it truly saved us from an urgent crisis.”

Cen An’s expression was complex. No wonder Dongying Village, despite being so unwelcoming, was willing to let them in—so Team Leader Shi had sent them grain? Their “Team Leader Shi” really had a lot of tricks up her sleeve…

Once inside the village, the contrast became even more stark.

The homes of ordinary villagers were practically in ruins—with rotten doors, holes in the roofs, and walls half-collapsed… Then there was the ancestral hall: blue bricks and black tiles, bright and spotless, with door sills made of the finest ebony.

Cen An also noticed that several villagers even had tree bark and grass roots drying in their courtyards. Yet inside the ancestral hall’s wide-open doors, the offering table was set with a row of fist-sized steamed buns and fragrant rice cakes.

He felt inexplicably uneasy and couldn’t help but say, “Village Chief Han, your village’s ancestral hall is so beautifully built—why not repair the villagers’ homes as well?”

A hint of pride flashed across the faces of Han Chengye and the group of men behind him. “Have you noticed that, Mr. Cen? We built this ancestral hall with the combined efforts of the entire village. It houses the spirits of all our ancestors and stands as a testament to our villagers’ filial piety. How could it possibly be compared to the houses we live in?”

Cen An paused for a moment. He wanted to say that wasn’t what he’d asked, but he felt it would be pointless to explain to this group.

Han Chengye led them to a house that, while not as grand as the ancestral hall, was still far better than the average villager’s home. “Please come inside, gentlemen.” Cen An wanted to say something but forced himself to hold back.

Su Rui glanced at him and asked, “Didn’t you also save a woman?”                        

“Oh, right,” Cen An replied immediately. “We found an injured woman at the foot of the mountain. Why don’t we take her home to recover first?” As he spoke, several ability users lifted her up.

Han Chengye peered over, and his expression darkened slightly. The group behind him exchanged puzzled glances, as if they hadn’t expected this turn of events. Cen An asked in confusion, “What’s wrong? Isn’t she from your village?”

“She is.” Han Chengye smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Cen, for saving her. Han Si, isn’t this your niece? Take her home to recover, and tell her to be more careful in the future.”

The man named Han Si, who looked a bit younger—probably in his thirties—replied respectfully, “Yes, Third Uncle.” Han Chengye then invited everyone inside.

Cen An reluctantly went inside and sat down for a while. After chatting with this Village Chief Han for a bit, he realized this wasn’t a good partner to work with. The man showed absolutely no concern for the villagers’ livelihoods, yet he spoke with great authority on matters like the ancestral hall and ancestral rites. Young Boss Cen couldn’t understand it: Aren’t the living more important than the dead? And aren’t the villagers, after all, his relatives by blood or marriage, even if they share a common ancestor?

When people don’t see eye to eye, there’s no point in prolonging the conversation. After sitting for a short while and explaining his purpose, Cen An found an excuse to leave.

Han Chengye was quite enthusiastic. “I’ve found rooms for you all in the village; you can stay there for the next few days. There are plenty of Divine Flowers on Dongying Mountain—you can take your time looking for them.”

After seeing him off, Cen An and his companions entered the rooms prepared for them.

No sooner had they closed the door than Xiao Ji muttered, “I’m a little skeptical about whether our plan will go smoothly. That Han Chengye doesn’t seem like a good person.”

Cen An rubbed the side of his forehead. “I think so too…”

Team Leader Liao didn’t want to overthink it. “Chief, if it comes down to it, let’s just beat him up. I just took a look at their ability users—we can definitely handle them.”

Cen An looked at him with concern, then turned to look at Su Rui.

Seeing someone else’s “fool” made him feel like his own wasn’t so bad after all.

“Why don’t we get rid of Han Chengye and put someone more to our liking in his place?” Yu Lin suggested. He wore a veil over his face—not because he was shy about being seen, but because, aside from Cen An, he didn’t care at all what others thought of him… It was just that he’d noticed that ever since he’d started wearing the veil, Brother Cen’s gaze toward him had grown even more full of concern. As a master at vying for attention, he certainly wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip by.

“That’s exactly the problem,” Cen An said, spreading his hands. “I just took a look at the villagers—they don’t seem to think their current lives are all that hard.”

He doesn’t know whether to call it ignorance or isolation—Yongning Village even has some outsiders, but Dongying Village has none; everyone there is a native-born villager. They’ve lived in this little village for generations; changes in the outside world have nothing to do with them. They’ve been shaped to fit this land perfectly.

Cen An couldn’t very well ignore the villagers’ wishes and forcibly replace their village chief, could he? He might as well just have Team Leader Liao take Dongying Village by force! “Well, let’s just look for the Sacred Flower first,” the Chief said finally, with a sigh. “We’ll deal with the rest later.”

The group rested for the night.

To be honest, it wasn’t as comfortable as being in their own village; without the cooling effect of the livestock sheds, it was really hot. But since everyone had been traveling and roughing it all along, they weren’t going to make a fuss over such a minor inconvenience.

Early in the morning, thinking of the villagers nearby who were still subsisting on grass roots and tree bark, Cen An wasn’t in the mood to prepare a lavish breakfast. He simply cooked a plain multigrain porridge, served with hard-boiled eggs and the pickled vegetables they’d brought along—a simple meal.

Of course, “simple” was relative—at least by Yongning Village standards. The villagers of Dongying Village, catching the aroma wafting from the courtyard, were already drooling uncontrollably.

Cen An soon spotted a little head peeking over the edge of the courtyard. He looked up, and the little head immediately ducked back in fright—but he caught it just in time.

He beckoned to the frail figure: “Want to come in?” The little boy shook his head quickly.

Cen An didn’t press the issue; he reached out and handed the boy an egg. The boy still didn’t dare take it, so Cen An simply cracked the shell and popped it into his mouth. The boy began chewing instinctively.

Cen An asked, “What’s your name? Do you live around here?”

The boy nodded and pointed to the house next door, indicating that he lived there. “My name is Shitou.”

Cen An said gently, “This house is even nicer than yours. Why is it empty? Can’t you move in here?”

The boy swallowed the egg in his mouth and shook his head. “No, we can’t. This is a big house with four rooms—only people of higher status can live here! Our family isn’t high enough in the family hierarchy.”

Cen An was taken aback. “So… it’s just sitting empty like this?”

The child nodded. “Yes. A four-room house can only be occupied by people of the ‘Cheng’ generation, but there are only three people left in the village from that generation, and there are four rooms, so this one’s been left empty.”

Cen An found it hard to believe. “Why not let someone else live there? Such a nice house is just sitting empty, while the villagers have to live in dilapidated ones?” The child stared at him with wide eyes, a look of utter bewilderment on his face, as if he’d never heard of such a thing before.

Cen An’s mouth dropped open, but he finally gave up and slipped another egg into the boy’s pocket. “If you want more, come find your big brother.” Xiao Shitou nodded obediently and hopped away.

“Don’t worry, Cen. Actually, situations like those in Dongying Village and Anjun River Bay are the norm.” Someone spoke from behind him; he didn’t even need to turn around to know it was Tian Yuan.

Tian Yuan possessed his own unique blend of maturity and thoughtfulness. As the first friend Cen An had made in this world, he understood Cen An even better than Qu Yue and the others—yet he wasn’t childish enough to vie for attention like Yu Lin.

Cen An turned back, a hint of sadness still visible on his face. “I know. You all say this is normal. But to me, none of this seems normal at all.”

In his previous life, he’d also known of an isolated village. Later, a group of people installed steel railings on the mountain to ensure the villagers could travel up and down safely. In the end, they even relocated the entire village, allowing them to leap forward several decades in a single step and live the normal lives of modern people.

Here, however, the villagers would even leave their nice houses empty while their entire families crammed into dilapidated, leaky shacks. Cen An found it hard not to want to do something about it.

“If you want to do it, just do it,” came a voice from beside him. Su Rui’s tone carried a hint of nonchalance mixed with the carefree confidence of someone in complete control, making him seem anything but timid. “No one can stop you from doing whatever you want. I guarantee it.”

Tian Yuan smiled, rubbed his nose, and raised his hand. “Count me in, then.”

Not far away, Team Leader Liao, Wang Lie, Qu Yue, Zhao Wu… as well as Yu Fei and Yu Lin all raised their hands with smiles. “Count us in.” Cen An suddenly burst into laughter. “Don’t worry—if we really do something, you won’t be able to get out of it.”

Still, no matter what they decided to do, the first step was to find the Divine Flowers. Otherwise, if something went wrong and they got kicked out, that wouldn’t be good…

The group split up into several teams to search in different directions. Cen An, of course, was with Su Rui. Su Rui held him in his arms as they flew low, scanning the ground for any signs of the Divine Flowers.

“Huh? Why are there houses over there? Are they part of Dongying Village too?” Cen An suddenly pointed ahead, and sure enough, several more houses appeared. He glanced back—they were already quite a distance from Dongying Village; it would take at least three or four hours to walk there.

Dongying Village wasn’t densely populated, so if this was a village, why didn’t everyone live together? “Let’s go down and take a look.”

These courtyards were much cleaner and tidier than those in the village. Rows of freshly washed clothes were hanging out to dry, and a woman was busy taking them down one by one. “Hello,” Cen An said, tapping lightly on the wooden door so as not to startle her. “Excuse me, is this Dongying Village?”

The woman turned her head; her face was a bit pale but very pretty. She didn’t seem startled as Cen An had expected, but instead nodded at him: “You must be the distinguished guest from Yongning Village? This is indeed Dongying Village.”

Cen An asked in puzzlement, “Then why didn’t you build the houses all together?”

The woman replied, “Did you see the open space outside? Before the Cataclysm, that was the village’s farmland. These few houses were where villagers stayed to watch over the fields at night. Later, the land became uncultivable, but the houses were still fine. It would have been a waste to leave them empty, so a few families moved in.”

“I see…” Cen An’s curiosity satisfied, he was about to leave. He had already spotted a large patch of Divine Flowers not far away. The woman suddenly asked, “Have you been to the north side of the village?”

Cen An shook his head. “No.”

The woman cautioned, “The northern part of the village is off-limits. They say there are very dangerous caves there, so it’s best not to go unless you have to.” 

Cen An nodded. “Thanks for the warning.”

The woman smiled at him and went back to folding her clothes.

Once they’d walked a bit further away, Su Rui whispered, “Want to check out the caves?”

Cen An looked a little puzzled. “Why do you ask?”

Su Rui shrugged indifferently. “That woman wants you to go, and you look like you really want to go, too.” Cen An chuckled; this guy seemed to have suddenly gotten smarter.

Indeed, if she really didn’t want him to go to the cave, there would have been no need to bring it up at all—or she could have simply said, “Don’t go to the north side of the village.” Moreover, there was that phrase, “They say there’s a very dangerous cave”—the words “they say” were particularly worth pondering.

He glanced back at the houses growing smaller in the distance and murmured, “We’re not going there right now anyway. Let’s go pick the Divine Flowers first.”

【Congratulations on obtaining Divine Flowers x3】

[Congratulations on obtaining 5 Divine Flowers]

[Congratulations on obtaining 1 Spirit Divine Flower]

Cen An straightened up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had picked a full 300 flowers from an entire field of Divine Flowers, yet had only obtained 6 Spirit Divine Flowers and 2 Nightmare Divine Flowers—not a single Holy-God Flower in sight.

“That’s strange…” Cen An said, puzzled. “The mutation rate for Spirit Flowers is relatively high, so getting six of them is actually pretty normal. But the mutation rate for Nightmare Flowers is even lower than that for Holy Flowers—so how come there are two Nightmare Flowers but not a single Holy Flower?”

Or maybe the odds in the game are different from those in real life?

Cen An glanced at the two pitch-black flowers in his hand, which were still emitting black fumes, and stuffed them into his backpack. “Let’s head back for now.” Su Rui immediately hoisted him onto his back and carried him back.

Tian Yuan and the others had already returned; seeing him, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.                        “How was the haul?” Cen An had already taught them how to identify the Divine Flowers and their three mutant varieties, so he asked.

Qu Yue and Zhao Wu, who were in a team together, reported, “We found 150 Divine Flowers, including 3 Spirit Divine Flowers and 1 Nightmare-God Flower.” Tian Yuan and Xiao Ji, who were also in a team, added, “We found 78 Divine Flowers, including 1 Spirit Divine Flower.”

Team Leader Liao had been assigned to Wang Lie’s group. Wang Lie looked three years older than when they’d set out and said listlessly, “Twenty-three rotten Divine Flowers, fifty-seven intact Divine Flowers, and one rotten Spirit Divine Flower.”

Everyone’s lips twitched. Rotten ones…

Team Leader Liao scratched his head and apologized, “Sorry, I used too much force. Next time, I’ll just use my earth-element ability to bring the whole flower field back.” 

Cen An: “…Next time, Team Leader Liao should just stay home and guard the place…”

If an earth-type ability user were to move an entire flower field, the people of Dongying Village would see it and think they were trying to wipe them all out.

Yu Fei, Yu Lin, and the other ability users also reported their hauls one by one. The final tally was as follows: over 600 Divine Flowers, 12 Spirit Divine Flowers, 4 Nightmare Divine Flowers, and zero Holy Divine Flowers.

These figures were clearly off.

Cen An said, “If the Divine Flowers themselves aren’t defective and unable to transform into Holy Divine Flowers, then there must be something nearby causing them to mutate.”

He went on and on about “Divine Flowers” this and “Divine Flowers” that, making it sound like a tongue twister, but everyone did their best to follow along.

“What could that ‘something nearby’ be?” Yu Lin, whose single eye retained its natural skin tone, wore an expression somewhat like a meme of someone observing from the shadows. “I kept an eye on the surroundings today too, but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.”

“Hmm…” Just as Cen An was about to mention the woman he’d encountered earlier that day, a sudden commotion erupted outside. The group exchanged glances and stood up to investigate.

Their lodgings were very close to the ancestral hall, and the noise was coming from there.

In fact, they had noticed earlier that the houses were arranged in concentric circles around the ancestral hall, with the ones closest to it being the best.

When the group rushed to the ancestral hall, they saw a man beating a child mercilessly. Cen An recognized the child at a glance—it was Xiao Shitou, whom he had just met that morning!

No matter how even-tempered Cen An was, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He reached for his iron sword—but the others quickly stopped him. With so many ability users present, could they really let their leader engage in hand-to-hand combat?

A vine shot out along the ground, instantly binding the man and gagging him. Qu Yue said coldly, “Where is Village Chief Han? Why is someone in Dongying Village beating a child in public?”

A stir ran through the onlookers. Dongying Village’s xenophobia was no secret; even though Cen An and the others had been there for so long, aside from Xiao Shitou and that mysterious woman, not a single villager had ever approached them to speak.

After a long pause, someone finally plucked up the courage to shout, “Someone’s gone to find the village chief. Please wait a moment.”

Cen An didn’t have a high opinion of these villagers either. He’d seen clearly just now that while the man was beating Xiao Shitou, the villagers had merely gathered around to watch the spectacle—not a single one had tried to stop him. If this had happened in Yongning Village, they wouldn’t even have had to wait for the Ability Squad; someone would’ve pinned the man down long ago.

He stepped forward to help Xiao Shitou up. The child had been shoved to the ground and kicked in the head several times; fortunately, he hadn’t suffered any broken bones, just a few superficial injuries. The Chief was furious—this kind of attack was clearly meant to kill! What deep-seated grudge could possibly justify treating a child this way?

He took out some medicine and applied it to Xiao Shitou. “Does it hurt? Are you dizzy? Does anything else hurt?”

To everyone’s surprise, Xiao Shitou didn’t even cry. He simply shook his head, his face covered in dust, as blood trickled down his gaunt little face. One hand was pressed tightly against his pocket.

Cen An ruffled his hair and asked softly, “Who is that to you? Why did he hit you?” Xiao Shitou whispered, “He’s my uncle. He said…”

Before Xiao Shitou could finish, Han Chengye finally arrived.

He maintained his usual polite and refined demeanor, bowing his hands in greeting and smiling as he approached. “What’s going on here? What could have disturbed our distinguished guest? Please accept my apologies.”

Qu Yue sneered, “It’s actually us who should be apologizing to your village for disrupting the villagers’ fun of beating a child.”

Han Chengye seemed to only just notice the bound man on the ground; he frowned. “Han Liang! What’s gotten into you? Can’t you discuss this at home? Causing a scene out here just makes us a laughingstock to outsiders!”

Cen An’s brows furrowed. Did that mean it was acceptable to beat a child at home?

Qu Yue loosened the vine binding his mouth, and the man spoke up: “Third Uncle, that kid stole the offerings from the ancestral hall! Don’t I have every right to beat him?”

He spoke with righteous indignation and, emboldened, turned to Qu Yue: “I’m beating my own child—what business is it of yours? Even his own father wouldn’t dare say a word against me for this!”

The villagers around them immediately began to murmur. “Stealing offerings? He deserves a beating! A good thrashing!” 

“If he’s stealing offerings at such a young age, what will he be like when he grows up?”

“We’ve never had such an unfilial person in Dongying Village!”

Han Chengye’s expression darkened slightly. He waved his hand, and the crowd fell silent. Only then did he say to Qu Yue, “Ladies and gentlemen, this matter has nothing to do with you. We’ll handle it within our village.”

As he spoke, several people stepped forward to take Xiao Shitou away.

A flash of fear crossed Xiao Shitou’s eyes, and he instinctively hid in Cen An’s arms. Cen An patted him soothingly. “Wait a moment.”

He pulled out an egg. “When you said ‘stealing offerings,’ were you referring to this egg?”

“So what if it is?” Han Liang, seeing that Han Chengye supported him, puffed out his chest even more. “His father went up the mountain to gather bark. He’s just a kid—where would he get an egg?”

“I gave him this egg,” Cen An repeated coldly. “This morning. What—are you going to investigate whether I’m capable of giving him an egg?”

His anger was plain to see. Team Leader Liao, Yu Fei, Wang Lie, and several other ability users all stepped forward. As these ability users unleashed their full aura, they instantly forced the people across from them to take a few steps back. Su Rui didn’t even move; he merely raised his eyes to glance at them, and the others felt as if they were being stared at by a ferocious beast, a chill running down their necks.

Their expressions changed. With that level of power, he must be a Level 4 ability user… In the entire village of Dongying, there was only one Level 4 ability user, and because he was too junior in the village hierarchy, he wasn’t qualified to accompany the village chief—and he wasn’t even there right now.

Han Chengye’s expression shifted, eventually settling on one of resignation. He lectured him earnestly, “Han Liang, Han Liang, look at you. I’ve told you time and again that you need to work on your temper—you’re far too impulsive! Those who know you understand it’s out of filial piety, but anyone else would think you beat the child on purpose! All right, go home right away and reflect on your actions. Wrap up a piece of meat and take it to your younger brother’s house as an apology.”

Han Liang wanted to say something else, but seeing Han Chengye’s expression, he finally walked away, feeling wronged. The other villagers also dispersed, and their curses could still be heard—though no one knew who they were directed at… Surely not their respected village chief.

Cen An watched coldly, saying nothing.

Han Chengye turned back. “Leave the boy to me. I’ll take him…”

Cen An brushed his hand aside. “No need. I’m partly to blame for Xiao Shitou getting beaten up like that. I’ll take him home and look after him for a few days.”

Taking a child away without his parents’ consent was certainly wrong. But he didn’t dare take a chance on whether Xiao Shitou’s parents would be reasonable people… Han Chengye hesitated for a moment, then surprisingly agreed right away, “All right, I’ll talk to his father.”

The group returned to the room, now accompanied by a child.

Wang Lie said, “It seems they don’t believe that egg was from you, Cen.”

Cen An was unusually angry. “I don’t care if they believe it or not. If it comes to it, I’ll just take Xiao Shitou back to Yongning Village when we leave!” Xiao Shitou, with a bandage wrapped around his head, looked up at him with bright, sparkling eyes—a gaze that felt very familiar to everyone present.

Cen An ruffled the boy’s hair, his anger temporarily subsiding. “All right, let’s continue.” He then went on to recount his encounter with that woman.

“The cave to the north…” Yu Lin lowered his head in thought. “My brother and I went north, but we didn’t find any caves. There were a few mountain caverns, though, that looked like they were inhabited. I suspect they’re where Dongying Village stores their grain. To avoid any misunderstandings, we didn’t go near them.”

Now he regretted it. If he’d known the people of Dongying Village would make Brother Cen so angry, he would’ve just set their granary on fire. Yu “Chaotic Evil” Lin looked deep in thought.