This Plus This, Can It Survive

On the rural path at sunset, the setting sun painted the shadows of two people. They walked along the line where the light and shadow of the wheat field were divided, passing through the floating mixture of light and darkness.

The young girl led his hand and walked in front. The wind blew her hair gently, and a faint fragrance wafted to the young boy's nose.

She used her other hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, but she didn't want to let go of the hand holding his.

Li Mo suddenly felt that the scene in front of him was familiar yet somehow unreal.

It was as if he had seen it in a dream, forgotten it after waking up, and only felt a sense of deja - vu when he encountered a similar picture.

He associated it with Monet's "Woman with a Parasol", but it was a sunset version...

Immediately afterwards, Li Mo was stunned.

"Fairy sister, is this the way back to the village? Why are there fewer and fewer trees as we walk..."

Ying Bing was also taken aback. She looked around, frowned and said, "This isn't the way back to Li Mo Village, is it? It really doesn't seem to be..."

Li Mo: "??"

"Fairy sister, don't tell me you're direction - challenged?"

"Of course not. I was just thinking about something just now."

"Right."

The fairy sister must have come to save him on purpose that day.

Although he didn't know the reason, if she was direction - challenged, how could she have found him precisely?

It couldn't be possible, right... It couldn't be possible... Maybe...

Half an hour later, Li Mo looked seriously at the group of pheasants not far away. They were looking at him fiercely, scratching the ground with their claws.

These pheasants had a strong sense of territorial protection and could even fly. Even a tiger would suffer if it entered their territory.

Since they were already there.

On the way back, Li Mo carried several frozen pheasant ice sculptures on his back.

"So, fairy sister, did you lead me here because you wanted to eat wild pheasant meat from the start?"

"Right, that's exactly it."

The fairy sister looked aloof, and it was hard to associate her with being direction - challenged. Then she said,

"Okay, let's go back quickly. It's almost dark."

Then she followed Li Mo closely.

Li Mo: "....."

When they got home, the last ray of twilight had just faded.

The fire in the blacksmith's forge was burning, but what was emitting was the smell of cooking smoke. The bones of the wild pheasants were used to make soup, the meat was shredded to make shredded chicken, and the leftovers were stir - fried to make spicy chicken offal. One chicken was cooked in three different ways, and it was all well - arranged.

Ying Bing was pinching a needle made of condensed ice crystals with her fingertips, threading the needle by the firelight.

"If only it could always be like this."

Li Mo thought so.

And in fact, it was indeed the case.

It was as if the time in the Landscape and Social Order Diagram had been fast - forwarded.

For the next ten - odd years, it was this kind of idyllic life of a man farming and a woman weaving. During this process, young blacksmith Li became Blacksmith Li, and the children in the village back then had all grown up.

The old village head had passed away. When he died, he gave the key to the village ancestral hall to Li Mo and asked him to carry his memorial tablet into the ancestral hall with his own hands, which meant that he had become the new village head.

Of course, during this period, the area and population of Dawang Village had doubled. The "Thousand Forms Skill" provided the village with more abundant productivity.

Moreover, in these ten - odd years, demons and monsters could no longer pose much of a threat to the village. In the past, if they were unlucky, only a few people in the whole village might survive.

Now, ordinary three or two large - sized beasts were just that.

This different kind of martial art had also spread to several neighboring villages, and more and more people were learning it.

Everyone said that it was the fairy lady from the Celestial Clan who was spreading the teachings.

"I just like to watch rural love stories!"

"If it's all fast - forwarded, what am I going to watch?"

"I just want to watch every moment of these ten - odd years. These days are just a blink of an eye."

Of course, only a small number of people were dissatisfied with the time - line skipping in the Landscape and Social Order Diagram.

After all, there was a fifty - year interval between each round of natural disasters.

Shang Qinqing was dissatisfied mainly because she was still in her rebellious phase despite being several thousand years old.

"Does it seem that the Underworld City has submitted to the rule of the Celestial City?"

"The gap between the people of the Celestial City and the Underworld City is just like that between the Underworld City and the Mortal City..."

"Oh right, there were three people participating in the Celestial - Human Trial this time."

"Jiang Yu's idea is good. If the three cities could become a whole, the probability of surviving the difficulties together would be much higher. After all, the people in the Mortal City can't even fight against natural disasters."

"Why do I feel like I've seen this set - up before? Inner and outer cities, outside the Central Divine Continent..."

Many martial artists from other places who came to the Imperial Capital looked at each other in surprise.

After laughing for a while, they suddenly couldn't laugh anymore.

"Cough, according to this development, will His Royal Highness probably be the top scorer in this trial?"

"After all, every decision of his can affect the entire Celestial - Human City, while Young Master Li and Fairy Han have been living a rural idyllic life."

Moreover, although Young Master Li had practiced the "Thousand Forms Skill" for many years, he was essentially from the Mortal City.

His lifespan would probably end after the first round of natural disasters.

But no one knew whether Fairy Han would return to the Celestial City by then, so it was hard to draw a conclusion for now.

At this time.

In the Landscape and Social Order Diagram, Jiang Yu's decrees had begun to spread outward through the Underworld City.

In the ancestral hall of the remote Dawang Village, there were two men and one woman sitting under the memorial tablets of the ancestors.

They were wearing exquisite and luxurious clothes, and their every gesture exuded the dignity of those in high positions. Although they were not as divinely endowed as the Celestial Clan, they were obviously different from the villagers gathered inside and outside the ancestral hall.

"Who is the village head?"

The middle - aged man from the Underworld City in the lead took a sip of tea, frowned and spat it out.

"I am."

Li Mo walked out without averting his eyes and sat upright across from him.

The three envoys from the Underworld City exchanged glances. They all thought this Dawang Village was a bit strange. Ordinary rural folks would either tremble with fear or flatter them when they saw them.

What was wrong with the people in this Dawang Village and the neighboring villages?

"We're here this time to convey the decree of the upper - class of the Celestial City. The requirement is simple."

"From now on, you will replace all the memorial tablets enshrined in the ancestral hall with those of the Celestial Clan masters. And from now on, you will share the annual grain harvest with the Underworld City in a 3:7 ratio."

After saying that, he calmly wiped his mouth.

The villagers in the ancestral hall looked at each other in surprise.

"How can we replace the memorial tablets of our ancestors?"

"We've worked hard all year round. Why do we only get 70%?"

"70% is theirs!"

Ignoring the noisy villagers, the middle - aged man from the Underworld City in the lead looked at Li Mo:

"Village head, what's your opinion? No matter how much it costs, it's always better than the safety of future generations."

"As far as I know, the people of the Celestial City don't need to eat, unless they have a craving. What do they need so much grain for?"

Li Mo neither agreed nor refused. Instead, he raised a question.

The three of them: "?"

How did he know that the Celestial Clan people didn't need to eat except when they were craving something?

The young man from the Underworld City was not as calm - tempered. He said impatiently, "Naturally, it's for us."

"But isn't it the Celestial Clan that protects us?"

"First, it's us. Only when we can't handle it will the Celestial Clan step in. So the offerings and reverence are for the upper - class of the Celestial City, and the grain is for us."

Li Mo stared at him: "With 30% of the harvest, even in a good year, everyone can only have a thin porridge to barely fill their stomachs. If so, won't we become like livestock living a muddled and aimless life?"

"So what if one has to live a humble life? If it weren't for the large size of your King's Village, many would envy the chance to live like a brute."

Slap—

A sickle was slapped onto the table.

Li Mo asked again, "With this, can one survive?"

"One can survive, but like a brute."

Slap—

A forging hammer was then slapped onto the table.

"With this, can one survive?"

"One can, but only a few."

The hammer was picked up and placed on top of the sickle, with the two stacked together.

"With this, and this, can everyone live with dignity?"