Gift Giving

A few days later, all the conscripted laborers for this corvée had arrived, and the repair work on the Guchuan Dam officially entered its most intense phase.

However, for Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao, standing guard here was somewhat boring. Although there were more people, the sheer number meant that personnel rotation became more frequent, and everyone's resting time increased significantly.

Furthermore, Prefect Tong had always strictly enforced personnel safety. So, despite the significant increase in numbers, the daily accidents didn't increase by much.

The number of people Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao saved in a day numbered no more than three digits.

Therefore, most of the time, they were idle.

So Sun Yigao took out a book to read.

Lin Xiao, on the other hand, released his divine sense, monitoring the Guchuan Dam on one side while studying whether his Item Synthesizer could create anything else.

Ever since Qin Jianghe wrote to him last time, he felt that message transmission in this ancient era was too inconvenient. To convey something, one had to have someone specially run all the way from afar to deliver it. If that person encountered an accident on the road, or if the letter was destroyed, the message would be cut off entirely.

Then, both the sender and the receiver might remain completely unaware.

This was a huge drawback.

Thus, he pondered if he could come up with something slightly more convenient.

Previously, when flipping through the Encyclopedia of Basic Talisman Drawing, he discovered that among the basic talismans, there was a Voice Transmission Talisman. However, this talisman could not fly directly into the hands of the intended recipient; just like a letter, it needed to be physically delivered to them.

He wondered what would happen if he put a Voice Transmission Talisman and a Teleportation Talisman into the Item Synthesizer together.

Thinking so, he did exactly that.

Then, as expected, the Item Synthesizer produced a Targeted Voice Transmission Talisman for him.

He immediately placed it into his private inventory to appraise it.

The method of using this Targeted Voice Transmission Talisman was for the user to inject their spiritual energy into it as a record. Then, the person who needed to send a message would hold it and speak the words they wanted to convey, lasting no more than fifteen minutes. After that, the talisman would automatically teleport to the location of the person whose spiritual energy was recorded in it.

After confirming that this item could be synthesized, Lin Xiao immediately made twenty more.

The reason he didn't synthesize too many was, firstly, because he hadn't made many Voice Transmission Talismans before coming out—only twenty.

Secondly, the Teleportation Talismans were not made by him, but bought from the system shop.

Although the drawing method for the Teleportation Talisman was in the Encyclopedia of Basic Talisman Drawing, because it was not among the simplest types, he hadn't had the time to learn it yet.

Thirdly, they currently didn't have many situations that required this Targeted Voice Transmission Talisman, so he wasn't in a hurry to mass-produce them.

He would make more once the dam guarding duty came to an end and he returned.

Out of the twenty he just made, Lin Xiao gave ten to Sun Yigao.

Coincidentally, Sun Yigao was going to take the college exam in two days.

Just like that, Lin Xiao buried himself in researching various things every day, occasionally saving people.

Perhaps because he had been projecting his divine sense every day to monitor the surroundings, he felt that his divine sense had grown somewhat stronger.

During this period, the Targeted Voice Transmission Talisman wasn't the only thing Lin Xiao created.

Many things were useless right now, but he figured they might be useful in the future, so he stored all those miscellaneous items in his private inventory.

He also threw the farm tools he had bought earlier into the Item Synthesizer, along with some improvement blueprints he had drawn himself.

For example, the plows were all transformed into curved-shaft plows.

After modifying these items to varying degrees, he looked at the freshly minted spiritual farm tools in his private inventory, already imagining his father's happy smile upon seeing them.

His face would definitely be wrinkled with joy.

Fortunately, having recently started cultivating, his father's skin, which was dark red from years of sun exposure, had slightly improved.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, a month had passed.

Because so many hands were dispatched at once this time, the repair work on the Guchuan Dam was nearing completion. Now, most of the work was just finishing touches with little danger.

Having not needed to intervene for a whole day, Lin Xiao planned to stay on guard for another day or two before returning to Xiushui Village.

Early the next morning, at the main camp for the Guchuan Dam repair work, the earliest batch of conscripted laborers had already begun packing their bedrolls.

Seeing the exhausted faces of the laborers, yet noticing their eyes filled with joy at the prospect of returning home in one piece, Lin Xiao also felt a heartfelt happiness.

Sun Yigao had left Guchuan Dam ten days ago to continue his exams. Lin Xiao had stayed here alone for ten days. Although he played with the Item Synthesizer every day, to be honest, it was still a bit boring.

Now, these boring days were about to end.

The successfully stabilized Guyue River also seemed to celebrate everyone's victory; the water flow had gradually weakened over the past few days. Although still surging, it was no longer as high as before.

Having sat for a long time, Lin Xiao stood up out of boredom and stretched.

He leisurely observed the river he had been watching for a month. Suddenly, within the coverage of his divine sense, on the Guchuan Dam where few people lingered, a figure fell from the edge.

Without a second thought, Lin Xiao used the Void Stepping Art to fly over and save the person.

When he caught the person, he noticed that the man was wearing a long gown, entirely different from the conscripted laborers who wore short tunics, undershirts, or were even bare-chested.

Furthermore, the man was about forty years old. Although his face was somewhat slack, his features were refined, his expression gentle, and his clothes clean. He looked just like a scholar.

He certainly couldn't be a laborer participating in this corvée.

Moreover, the man was clutching a large bundle in his arms; it was unknown what was inside.

However, Lin Xiao could feel the panic of the person in his arms from the fall, so he carefully brought him to the shore.

After setting the man down, he was about to turn and leave when he heard the man bow deeply to him. In a deep, steady voice that also revealed a trace of fearful reverence, the man said:

I am Xue Chengfeng, unworthy advisor to Tong Shuzheng, the Prefect of Liaoju Prefecture. I have come specifically on behalf of the Prefect to thank you, Immortal, for your days of protection over all the laborers!

Prefect Tong is well aware that the Immortal does not wish to expose himself. Seeing that the construction period is nearing its end, he felt that if he did not express his gratitude, he would be failing in his duty as the local magistrate. He originally wanted to come in person, but considering his status as a magistrate, I pleaded with him earnestly to let me come in his stead to see the Immortal off.

This is a small token of Prefect Tong's appreciation. I earnestly hope the Immortal will accept it.