Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 46: Rumors Abound

"This tastes so good, and you only think it’s ’not bad’?"

Wan Mingchuan was stunned for a few seconds, then realized that his master must be a reclusive expert with vast knowledge and experience; something he considered a delicacy might not even catch his master’s eye.

With this comparison, he became even more curious about his master’s identity.

Why on earth would someone like this fall to such a state, dressed in coarse clothes and old straw sandals, living alone in the haunted Shuiyun Lake? And how did he silently construct a house overnight?

His mind was full of questions, but Wan Mingchuan remembered his place and dared not ask lightly.

Eating a piece of fatty braised pork paired with crisp, fresh vegetables, and a spoonful of soft, sticky rice soaked with the pork’s juices, the flavor filled his heart with gratitude and happiness.

Meanwhile, the villagers of Riverfront Village had just returned from the mountains to their cold homes.

"Xi’Er, take your brother to fetch some water from the river," Qiao Mei poured the last bit of water from a worn-out wooden bucket into a clay pot. She watched cautiously out the window to make sure no one was passing by before whispering to her daughter, "If anyone from the village asks about what happened at Shuiyun Lake yesterday, just cry, don’t say much."

"You and your brother should say you were so scared that you hid in the bamboo forest and then ran away. As for whether there was fire or not, just say you’re too short, walked too slow, and couldn’t see clearly."

Before the two children returned last night, rumors had spread through the village that the boy who saved them wasn’t human but a Thousand-Year-Old Rat Spirit that could transform into a human form!

They even said it’s no wonder those rat spirits obeyed him, and that the blind man had even higher cultivation!

The rumors became more exaggerated, with one man boastfully claiming he had seen the blind man’s fire, which was over ten feet long, directly subdue a ferocious rabbit demon, kill it, and turn it into a puddle of filthy water.

When she heard this, she anxiously rushed to Cat Ridge to find her children, only to see them carrying a fat ’rabbit demon.’ With the wilderness approaching, she had no time to clean up and had to hide it in the kang hole, returning home early in the morning to deal with the ’rabbit demon’ first.

Lin Chunxi nodded, drooling at the sight of the plump wild rabbit, "Mom, should we stew the meat or roast it? We haven’t eaten meat for over half a year."

The last time the family had meat was more than half a year ago, on Dad’s birthday. He helped Grandpa Wan repair his house, and Wan Mingchuan hunted a pheasant and caught a large snake on the way back. He stewed the meat and brought some to share.

The large clans in the village have always been skilled at squeezing, especially giving insufficiently productive lands to hunting families, forcing them to substitute wild game for the lack of grain.

However, Riverfront Village is remote, so even the most experienced hunter, Grandpa Wan, didn’t dare venture into the dangerous deep mountains and had to make do with nearby game. Even for the Wan Family, who had two generations of hunters, chances to eat meat freely were limited.

This time, bringing back such a large wild rabbit for a full meal made Lin Chunxi and his brother so excited last night that they could barely sleep.

"We can’t stew or roast it. After I clean the meat, I’ll dry it." Qiao Mei explained softly while busy boiling water, "The village just suffered a disaster. Even the He Family dare not openly eat meat. If we cook meat, we’ll be discovered immediately!"

"Yesterday’s event at Shuiyun Lake was too big. If people find out you two brought back a fire-scorched rabbit, it’ll be trouble. Bear with it, and when this blows over, I’ll make you some cured pork rice."

Lin Chunxi nodded obediently and called his brother to the river to fetch water.

The well in Riverfront Village was dug for the village, and the lower-class villagers who lived on the outskirts didn’t qualify for well water, so they had to fetch water from the river.

Yesterday’s downpour churned the river, making it as murky as a gigantic yellow dragon and swift. They could only collect water to settle and, when in a rush, boil porridge with slightly settled water, filling their stomachs with sand.

The siblings carried empty buckets on wooden poles out of a narrow, muddy alley, catching sight of the gray and charred remains of the Wan Family’s house. Lin Chunsheng sighed.

"Going to fetch water?" Chen Aunt from the back alley asked quietly, holding a cracked, blackened clay bowl and half a wild vegetable cake with curiosity, "They say Wan Mingchuan was eaten by the Thousand-Year-Old Rat Spirit, true or not?"

Lin Chunsheng shook his head, "I didn’t see it. Who told you that?"

Chen Aunt, with half her hair white and a black, thin, hunched frame, took a bite of her vegetable cake and nodded backward, "Stick told us on his return with you! He said the blind Rat Spirit’s fire scared you both, and when someone shouted, scared the blind Rat Spirit, it swallowed petrified Wan Mingchuan on the spot!"

"Oh, that boy’s strong and a good hunter. He seemed clever usually, how come he got so frightened compared to you two kids?"

Her words, muffled by the dry cake, became clearer after sipping some broth, "I heard the village chief and clan elders murmuring late into the night, scared of the blind Rat Spirit causing trouble, planning to gather everyone together for day work and sleep in the caves at night, ensuring that even a Thousand-Year-Old Rat Spirit couldn’t harm us!"

The siblings quickly fetched water and carried it home. Most didn’t even prepare breakfast and had gone to work, with only a few of the average villagers eating three meals a day.

"Chen Aunt told you that? That’s bad, her news is always spiritual communication," Qiao Mei frowned slightly.

She had intended to visit the town to see if three hundred gold coins would rent a small courtyard, planning for a little business with her children there instead of staying in a village without a Guardian God Statue and being exhausted.

But if they were to act together, her plan might fail, and who knew what other variables would arise while waiting around.

"Alright, Mom knows. You two drink some water and eat the cake, and I’ll finish up with the rabbit," Qiao Mei wasted no time and wielded a knife to skin the rabbit.

A good hunter could peel the hide neatly to sell well; she lacked the skill, and the rabbit’s fur was charred, not expecting a sale.

The rabbit was big and fatty, its skin large too. She planned to prepare the hide, tanning it for a vest’s lining in winter.

She chopped and sliced the rabbit meat, quickly boiling it, not waiting for the aroma to spread, coated it in warm ash, and laid it on a bamboo tray.

Fearing it being sniffed out by stray cats or dogs, she covered it with a breathable bamboo basket, hiding it in the cellar to dry.

Lin Chunxi helped rinse away the blood smell in the house with water; Lin Chunsheng, following his mother’s instructions, buried the rabbit’s hide in a cloth sack filled with sand, hiding it in the kang hole.

Qiao Mei put the three hundred gold coins in a cloth bag, buried it in an inconspicuous corner of the yard, and piled wood chips over it for cover.

As she hastily handled the rabbit and secured the coins, someone called out, "Lin Family, take the kids to the Divine Statue, the village chief has something important to say!"