117 A Bird Startled by the Mere Twang of a Bowstring

"Oh, is that so? Congratulations, Master Los, or should I say, future Master."

"So it’s true that you are the priest’s student? Alas, how unfortunate—no, wait, I mean how fortunate! May the Lord bless you forever, Los."

Hearing Wu Qingchen’s reply, Scott and Quincy fell silent for half a second before offering their congratulations in unison.

Though they both forced smiles onto their faces, with Wu Qingchen’s observational skills, it was easy to detect the clear disappointment and the equally obvious insincerity in their tones.

*Those two scoundrels, they’d give anything for me not to become the priest’s student!*

This was only natural.

The possibility of the priest making Los his student had been circulating in Eakly Village for a long time. When Wu Qingchen was first exempted from summer labor, the villagers had some inkling. Later, his curing of the plow oxen was clear evidence that the priest had begun to instruct him. Following that, the priest’s push to make Wu Qingchen the ox-herd confirmed his favor, and with Andre acting as a human loudspeaker, most villagers were well aware of Wu Qingchen’s standing in the priest’s heart.

If he truly became the priest’s student, whether he ended up as a registered member of the clergy or an unregistered church land administrator, Los’s future would be bright indeed.

For the ordinary villagers of Eakly, such a future was a noble status they dared not covet. However, if Wu Qingchen were merely an ox-herd with his current position and skills—but not the priest’s student—he would be the perfect candidate for Scott and Quincy to pursue for a marriage alliance.

Now that Wu Qingchen had personally confirmed Father Playa’s intentions, their hopes were extinguished, and it was only natural that Scott and Quincy were not in the best of moods.

Following the insincere congratulations and the brief silence that ensued, Wu Qingchen noticed out of the corner of his eye that Mr. Rupert, the father of the last girl from the plow-cart, was heading their way, likely having noticed the commotion.

*I can’t afford to check on the new home for the wild bees by the plot right now!*

A strong sense of crisis prompted Wu Qingchen to shout toward Old William, who had already entered the plot, "Father, I’m leaving now! I won't be able to visit the other plots; there’s still plenty of work to do at the livestock shed."

"Alright, Los, go ahead!"

Hearing the exchange between father and son, Rupert quickened his pace, shouting, "Wait, wait, Los! I have something to discuss with you—"

"No time! It’s too late!" Wu Qingchen didn't dare stop and took off running. "Whatever it is, talk to my father first!"

*Thank goodness the Earth training team taught me the most scientific way to escape!*

Rupert chased him for a few steps, but soon realizing the distance between them was only growing, he stopped and sighed helplessly. "Sigh, this lad, he runs so fast! Tsk, running like that, what a good boy he is!"

"What good does being a good boy do? Don't get your hopes up, the priest has already..."

Misery loves company, and Quincy, who had been watching from the sidelines, silently watched Wu Qingchen disappear before immediately setting out to spread negative energy to Rupert or other competitors.

The appearance of the beautiful women near the beehive plot felt as if a switch had been flipped in this medieval world. After more than forty days, Wu Qingchen had thought he was quite familiar with Eakly Village, but as he witnessed the subtle side of this medieval world, he discovered many hidden traps.

*Don't think there are no schemes just because it’s a village!*

Have you heard of "borrowing something and then returning it" just to create two opportunities for contact?

As he walked along the muddy country path:

"Good day, Los," a middle-aged villager greeted him. "What a coincidence! You’re heading to the livestock shed, right? By the way, could you lend me your pitchfork? I wasn't paying attention when I came over earlier and don't know where I dropped it on the road!"

*Dropped it, my foot!*

With his heightened awareness and the advanced environmental observation skills gained from his training, Wu Qingchen immediately noticed that while the man spoke, his daughter—who was standing nearby with her head bowed and face flushed—kept sneaking glances to the side.

Following her gaze, he saw the tail of a pitchfork sticking out of a nearby bush.

"Oh, so it was there! Huh, how did I miss that earlier?"

Have you heard of "creating common topics" to enhance mutual rapport?

As he walked across the rickety wooden bridge:

"Phew... Los, this is the bridge you repaired a while back, isn't it?" A middle-aged villager panted as he greeted him. "Oh my, it seems to have loosened up a bit again. Phew... good thing you’re here! Phew, Mandy, go down and pick up some stones, phew, and help Los fix it again. Phew, there’s so much work today, phew, the sun is so hot, I’m so tired and hot..."

*Yes, how could you not be tired? How could you not be hot!*

Wu Qingchen looked at the sweating father and daughter, then at the position of the logs, and felt speechless:

The stones had been carefully placed and interlocked using Earth’s engineering, architecture, and mechanics principles. You two had gone and dug them all up; of course you’d be sweating!

Have you heard that "private space" helps foster romance?

As he passed the scattered wooden houses:

"Los, Los!" a female villager called out. "Oh, could you help me move the hay inside? The door is too heavy, it’s very inconvenient! My family is all out working and I don't know when they’ll be back. It’s perfect that you’re here!"

*You’re lying to a ghost!*

Fortunately, when he was helping the botanist and the master carpenter verify information a few days ago, Wu Qingchen had glanced at the file on this girl’s family and roughly knew their labor schedule.

Hearing her request, Wu Qingchen didn't stop; instead, he quickened his pace.

Ten steps later, after rounding a cluster of trees, Wu Qingchen saw exactly what he expected: the girl’s family was working in the plot closest to the house, casting expectant glances toward the cabin!

Outwitting them and overcoming these trials, it took him a full half-hour longer than usual to finally reach the lord’s livestock shed.

*Thank heavens, I finally made it.*

Standing at the entrance, Wu Qingchen let out a long sigh of relief. Having realized just how sought-after he was in the Eakly Village marriage market, he felt quite fortunate.

*Fortunately, Andre helped publicize Father Playa’s intentions.*

*Fortunately, the number of villagers who possess the combination of "persistence," "a quick mind," and "drive" is still relatively small.*

Otherwise, Wu Qingchen doubted he could have stood here safely before nightfall.

Perhaps the "Master's" property attribute of the livestock shed provided a certain level of deterrence, as no other villagers came to harass him for the rest of the day.

As night began to fall, Wu Qingchen finished checking the oxen and gave the ox-herd assistants and serfs the approximate time for them to meet that night to move the third beehive. His work for the day was done.

As he walked out of the shed and stretched, a villager’s voice reached him from behind.

"Los."

Wu Qingchen turned and saw one of the unlucky souls directly affected by the beehive operation.

"Oh, Uncle Hansel, what is it? Here to check on your ox again?"

"Yes, just wanted another look. Sigh, it’s not much use, it’ll still be quite a while before it can work."

Because one of his plots was near the new beehive location, Wu Qingchen had artificially extended the recovery time of Hansel’s ox to ten or fifteen days by reducing the effective ingredients in the herbs. Because of this, Wu Qingchen had felt a slight sense of guilt, but upon seeing this unlucky fellow, his suppressed resentment flared up again.

*That bastard was part of the farce regarding the plot exchange!*

"That doesn't matter!" Wu Qingchen forced himself to remain calm, barely suppressing a bitter retort. "At least someone is already helping you work your plot!"

"Heh, yes, Quincy is so enthusiastic!" At the mention of this, Hansel’s eyes squinted with a smile.

"Right, he really is a good neighbor," Wu Qingchen drawled.

"Hmm, a good neighbor... right, Los," Hansel suddenly lowered his voice and leaned in secretively. "There’s something I need to tell you."

*Again?*

*Is it not enough to send three ogres to gang up on me?*

*You’ve already gotten the benefits of the plot exchange, and you’re still not done with me?*

"No, no, no—I don't want a big girl, and I don't want a young girl! Besides, the priest might be taking me as his student!"

Wu Qingchen dodged quickly. As his back hit the wall of the livestock shed, he suddenly remembered a piece of information that felt quite important at the moment: "Wait, Uncle Hansel, I remember you don't have a daughter, do you?"

"I don't! What? What are you talking about, Los?"

Wu Qingchen remained vigilant, observing him carefully. Only after confirming that the surprise on Hansel’s face didn't look faked did he relax slightly and let him lean in to his ear.

"Los, I must tell you first, Uncle Hansel isn't the type of bad person who likes to gossip behind people's backs... but I’ve thought about this, and I feel I must let you and your father know."

Hansel’s tone was solemn as he spoke. Wu Qingchen focused his attention, also confirming the character of this unlucky bastard in his head: *The whole village knows Uncle Hansel is reliable.*

"Good." Having gained Wu Qingchen’s trust, Hansel felt much more at ease. "Just now, while my wife was gathering firewood, she saw Sanchez and his sons... right, Los, you know Sanchez, don't you? The brother of that damn beast, Brown/Rodriguez?"

"I know!"

*I know more than just that!*

Hearing the names of the former ox-herd and his brother—names the Earth staff had repeatedly emphasized and kept under extreme surveillance—Wu Qingchen’s expression turned grave. "What about him? What happened to Sanchez?"

Perhaps influenced by Wu Qingchen’s tone, Hansel lowered his voice even further. "My wife saw Sanchez and his sons, looking all furtive as if afraid of being seen, sneaking into the shack by the cliff where Brown and his people have been staying since they were kicked out!"

"What??!"

*These potential danger-makers, together with the even more dangerous ones who have already caused trouble, actually teamed up...*

*What are they planning?*

"Los? Los?"

Before he knew it, Wu Qingchen’s brow had furrowed tightly, and his hands were unconsciously clenched into fists. He hadn't heard a word of what Hansel said next.

"Los, Los, Los! Are you listening?" Hansel raised his voice.

"What?" Wu Qingchen snapped out of it, turning his head sharply to stare at Hansel. "What did you just say?"

"I said..." Perhaps intimidated by the intense, burning look in Wu Qingchen’s eyes, Hansel swallowed the words he had been about to say.

"Cough." Wu Qingchen realized his reaction might have been too extreme and coughed lightly, softening his expression. "Sorry, Uncle Hansel, I didn't hear you clearly. Could you say it again?"

"I was saying, Los, you seemed to mention girls just now... actually, about girls..."

Hansel looked awkward, the thin, dark-skinned man hesitating. "My wife is pregnant again, and several of the old neighbors said, judging by the shape of her belly, it’s very likely to be a girl this time..."

*You old bastard!*

*You absolute scoundrel!*

In that instant, Wu Qingchen completely forgot about the fact that the former ox-herd and his brother were sneaking around together.

He felt an urge to run back to the livestock shed and halve the effective herbal dosage for the injured ox belonging to this unlucky, meddling bastard who had dragged him into the beehive mess!