Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 112: Pumpkin Seeds

Under the veil of night, the barking of the wild dogs outside Kakh City rose and fell continuously, seemingly also harboring a trace of panic.

A kind of terror toward the descent of disaster.

At this time, Li Wei was in the Abandoned Farmstead. He was resting, but also desensitizing the wild dog pack so that they wouldn't constantly remain in a state of terror.

Just like that, at roughly midnight, Li Wei finally packed up properly. He threw his backpack into the abandoned thatched cottage, taking only an Iron Spear, a bow, and all his feather arrows.

Of course, valuable items—such as those two One-Star Quality Eagle Feather Arrows—definitely had to be carried on his person.

Just like this, he seemed to blend into the night, quietly returning.

He didn't walk fast, moving virtually silently. He knew dogs had night-vision capabilities, and likewise knew that dogs were more sensitive to objects moving at night.

However, under the cover of night, his two-star Leather Armor similarly possessed a certain degree of concealment capability.

Furthermore, it was actually very dark outside Kakh City. There was no moon, only faint starlight. The bonfires lit by the militiamen would conversely attract the wild dogs to approach even more.

In truth, this was indeed the case. Outside Kakh City at night was the wild dogs' domain. They ran in swarms and packs, barking madly at the patrolling militiamen, probing them. The moment the patrolling militiamen displayed a gap, they would rapidly charge into the shack district, followed immediately by a swath of panicked crying and shouting. They would retreat instantly the moment the militiamen rushed over. If lucky, only a dozen or so people would be bitten and injured. If unlucky, a child would have already been dragged away.This scene played out every night; this was the wild dogs' highlight moment.

Those blood-red eyes of theirs would stubbornly stare ahead, completely disregarding the darkness behind them.

Li Wei circled around in a large arc, patiently lying dormant, waiting, and searching. Whenever a pack of wild dogs assembled to launch a provocation against the patrolling militiamen, he would silently draw a feather arrow—either firing three shots in succession, or five.

He might not achieve a 100% hit rate, but basically every time, he was able to leave behind two or three wild dogs that were either shot dead or injured.

And interestingly, the panicked wild dogs conversely did not frantically scatter and flee like they did during the day.

During this night, they quickly regrouped and attempted to assault the shack district once more; the thirst for fresh flesh and blood caused them to ignore all else.

Li Wei unhurriedly and calmly reaped them. From over a hundred meters away, he calmly drew his bow. The faint firelight was thoroughly sufficient for him; the clustered wild dogs were the best targets.

Once the wild dog pack became too stressed and scattered to flee, he immediately distanced himself, going further away to wait quietly. Then, when the wild dogs gathered again, he would sneak over once more.

Back and forth, until the dawn of daybreak.

Li Wei had already shot all of his ordinary feather arrows.

He didn't know how many wild dogs had been shot dead—probably around fifty. However, he wasn't going to go cut off their dog heads to claim the bounty. Perhaps the refugees under the city walls needed a pot of dog meat soup?

Who cared?

When he returned to the Abandoned Farmstead and retrieved his backpack, he utilized the ruined thatched house to pitch his tent and enjoy a tremendously comfortable, deep sleep.

The grand dog-chasing drama would not be staged today.

When he woke up again, it was already noon.

After packing up a bit, he slung on his backpack. Just as he was preparing to return to Kakh City, he was stunned by the scene before his eyes.

He saw five militiamen escorting over twenty refugees having already arrived at the village entrance of this Abandoned Farmstead.

No, wait, what's going on?

Li Wei was startled. His first thought was to rejoice that he hadn't buried the Table Salt inside the houses.

But his second thought was that this wasn't right. Why were they running back to this Abandoned Farmstead instead of going to Kakh City to make a living? In this Farmstead where the wind leaked everywhere, over a hundred wild dogs could tear them apart at night—

Wait, there weren't that many wild dogs anymore.

Li Wei abruptly understood.

"My Lord, good day!"

Upon seeing Li Wei, those five militiamen immediately walked up to him and greeted him in restrained yet ingratiating tones, acting very uncomfortable.

Li Wei laughed it off and didn't converse much. He merely smiled at them before heading straight to Kakh City. They were people from two different worlds; there wouldn't be any intersection in the past, present, or future.

He didn't butcher the wild dogs for their sakes, either.

However, the moment Li Wei brushed past this group of refugees, several lines of information abruptly emerged.

[Those who uphold justice are often the dog butchers! You have cumulatively shot and killed 85 man-eating wild dogs outside Kakh City (including a portion that were injured by your shots and subsequently killed by the militia). Although some wild dogs have fled into the wilderness, it is now difficult for them to impact the surroundings of Kakh City ever again, even though from beginning to end, those persecuted by them were only lone travelers and homeless refugees.]

[You have obtained a new title: Dog Butcher!]

[Upon equipping this title, you will gain an additional 1 Agility point.]

[Your Kakh City Reputation is continuously rising. With every additional person who learns of your deeds, you will gain one Kakh City Reputation point. It is estimated to break through 500 points in three days. You don't have much time left.]

[Your Hunter Destiny Grid has increased to 40.]

—

Eh, not bad at all!

Li Wei immediately unequipped the Bear Hunter title and equipped the Dog Butcher title. His Strength became 14, while his Agility became 11.

Switching titles like this was exceptionally convenient; it only took a single thought.

Yet it was exceedingly suited for combat. When Strength was needed, he would directly equip Bear Hunter; when Agility was needed, Dog Butcher.

For instance, when he needed to engage in a rapid forced march, there wasn't much of a difference between 15 Strength and 14 Strength.

But 11 points of Agility could absolutely give him far superior bodily balance. His dynamic sensing and sensory feedback of his surrounding environment would be much more flexible, thereby subsequently reducing his Stamina consumption.

This was the optimal choice during rapid forced marches in the wilderness or when fleeing.

Next, Li Wei didn't dare to dawdle. He returned to Kakh City without stopping, stayed in the caravan's covered wagon for a few minutes, and then exited the city once again.

It wasn't until evening, right before the city gates were about to close, that he returned to Kakh City once again.

Task progress: three-fifths.

When he arrived at the Mare Inn and pushed open that decayed door, he was surprised to see a candle actually lit in the inn's lobby. Not very bright, the small ball of light illuminated a corner where the woman behind the counter stared fixedly at him. Even though he couldn't see her expression, and the scene remained extremely eerie, Li Wei could still sense that the other party seemed very pleasantly surprised.

It could only be said that staying alive was very difficult.

Li Wei stepped forward, placed a silver coin on the counter, and took the small half-segment of a candle from the woman's hand.

Nothing was said throughout the entire process.

That woman seemed to want to say a little something, but didn't dare. She merely nodded slightly, watching Li Wei swiftly head upstairs.

Li Wei quickly noticed that the stairs had been cleaned, though the room he was staying in remained unchanged.

This night was still very ordinary.

There were no accidents or thrills. It seemed this was how things were originally supposed to be.

In the morning, when he went downstairs, he saw that woman crouching inside the counter with her back to the door, seemingly chewing some kind of food.

Hearing the sound of Li Wei coming downstairs, she immediately stopped, remaining completely motionless, as quiet as a little mouse.

The first-floor windows were still open, but the putrid stench hadn't abated.

Li Wei hesitated for a moment before finally speaking cautiously, "I will still come to stay at this inn tonight. Could I entrust you to help me buy some seeds?"

Li Wei actually had no other options left either. He had walked all over the market over the past two days. To be reasonable, goods were actually quite abundant, but it solely lacked all sorts of seeds.

Currently, the only two things he discovered that counted as seeds were wheat and Beans.

The former didn't need to be bought, while for the latter, ten catties (five kilograms) was actually entirely enough to plant and breed on his own.

After all, how much could he carry away as a single person?

Therefore, what he needed were varieties, not quantities.

"Seeds? Guest, what seeds do you wish to buy?"

Behind the counter, that woman let out a somewhat strange voice; it seemed she still had food in her mouth.

"Edible ones. As long as they're edible."

Li Wei spoke very cautiously, but in reality, he didn't know how effective this would be either.

Perhaps this innkeeper could provide him with a bit of a pleasant surprise? He was truly turning to whatever doctor he could find in an emergency.

"Edible seeds? You mean seeds that can be used for sowing, right, Guest? Forgive my bluntness, but I'm afraid this might be somewhat difficult. The seeds used for sowing every year are strictly controlled. Purchasing them privately violates Kakh City's laws."

"However, I believe you. How bad could a Bounty Hunter willing to hunt wild dogs possibly be? I still have some pumpkin seeds here that I can give you as a gift. You can give them to whomever you want. In previous years, I would always plant them on the rooftop terrace; the green vines would climb down, bearing golden pumpkins, as if the sunlight itself had been preserved..."

That woman didn't continue speaking. Instead, she fumbled around inside the counter for a long while before pulling out a very small, moldy cloth bag.

Li Wei took out a silver coin and placed it on the counter. After thinking it over, feeling a bit guilty, he left another one, then took the cloth bag and hurriedly left. The woman also didn't say another word.

But he couldn't help but feel a pair of eyes tracking his figure.

Because this inn landlady had misunderstood his intentions. She thought he was going to give the seeds to those refugees returning to the Abandoned Farmstead. However, how could that be possible!

Waiting until he was further away from the inn, he finally carefully opened that moldy cloth bag. A layer of stench likewise saturated it, as if some unknown liquid had previously fallen upon it.

There were a total of twelve pumpkin seeds inside the cloth bag, but an overwhelming seven were moldy and spoiled, leaving only five intact.

As if he had found a precious treasure, Li Wei selected them out, carefully wiped them down, and even cut a piece of waterproof Cloak to meticulously wrap them up and keep them secure close to his body.

And almost right after he finished processing these, a long-absent line of information finally emerged.

[You have successfully purchased a small amount of pumpkin seeds in Kakh City. Quality: One-Star. You may choose to donate them to the family, which will yield 20 Contribution points. Alternatively, you may choose to plant them yourself, and they will become your personal property, capable of being taken out of this world.]

—

Sure enough! A mere five pumpkin seeds could actually amount to 20 Contribution points!

This was a very high value, yet its value wasn't solely reflected in the one-star pumpkin seeds themselves, but equally in the method of acquiring the pumpkin seeds!

First, one had to travel over fifty kilometers on foot to arrive at Kakh City. They had to figure out a way to obtain the qualifications to enter the city and resolve their identity status. They also had to stay in the inn for two days and hunt down wild dogs so that the refugees could return to the Abandoned Farmstead. Only by fulfilling this entire series of conditions could one purchase this rank of One-Star Quality pumpkin seeds.

On the other hand, substituting five kilograms of ordinary Beans, which were also considered seeds, would only yield 5 Contribution points upon donation.

At this moment, Li Wei firmly decided not to donate them. He was going to plant them in his Private Field. Rather than donating the seeds, it would be better directly donating the pumpkins.

He even wanted to keep them to carry out of the current world.