Mountain and Forest Kingdom

Winter day, near the town of Pumixiu.

A few boys and girls were playing on the frozen river, and not far away there were adults digging through the ice for fishing.

Umu ran over from a distance with a puppy and stood looking around.

Soon Umu saw the girl he was looking for.

She was a chubby girl who looked about twelve or thirteen years old, but was actually younger.

Um's growth is not slow, and Gurney's growth is a bit fast, which is in line with the growth rate of most barbarians in the Ice Land.

Generally, people who like to eat and work frequently tend to mature early.

The clumsy Um thought of what happened yesterday. Yesterday, when his mother Emma came over from the owner to ask about some things about the New Year celebrations in the church, she took the time to tell him that he should get to know Gurney of the Fleis family and take good care of her.

Although clumsy, Um is not shy and is looking forward to getting married.

Gurney used to play with Tim a lot, and Um knew Gurney at that time. In the past few years, they had often met in town, mostly at church.

There are so many boys and girls in the town, and they all know whose parents are who. Some can play together, and some can't.

Umu and Geni said the same thing, that is, they seldom spoke.

Um quickly walked to Gurney's side.

Gurney was playing with her younger siblings and the neighborhood children, and everyone was watching the adults fishing or skating on the ice.

"Umm! Rigg!"

Umu's puppy was soon discovered by the boys nearby, and everyone quickly came over to play with Umu and the puppy.

Dogs can eat. Except for sled dogs, other people basically don’t keep dogs.

The land's dogs were concentrated near farms and some workplaces, guarding Lawrence's homes rather than wandering around town.

Rigg is a very ordinary puppy. He is only less than one meter tall when he is over a year old. His body is not considered strong, but it is okay for the caretaker to warn him in advance.

Umu chatted with some friends she knew, and soon ignored the puppy Lige and walked near Gurney to look at the ice.

"Genny, what are you playing here?"

Gurney glanced at Umu, and then quickly looked at the people fishing near the ice cave.

"I'm watching fishing. Our family now lights a fire in the morning and evening. It would be great if we could catch fish."

Gurney's younger brothers and sisters also sat quietly by the river and waited.

The man fishing was from the Wave Kingdom. He was a slave selected from a group of captives after Fleiss attacked the Kingdom a few years ago.

Fleiss was not a slave of Lawrence, so he was one of the few people who could legally own a slave.

The slave was not mistreated and was somewhat like Fleiss's lieutenant or subordinate follower.

In Fleiss's family, this slave is somewhat similar to a subordinate under the official system. The family gives him a little respect, and he has to serve the family free of charge.

Because Lawrence's manor law still has binding rights, slaves who work for a long time will automatically be converted into farmhands, and will be converted into farmhands in the Kingdom of the Stars, not slaves of Fleiss.

So this man only needs to work for a few more months before he can become a legally staying farmhand, even if he doesn't work for Fries.

It won’t be too bad, nor will it be too good. To be precise, it is in the period of running-in and exploration.

Wu Mu also knew roughly what happened to the Frys family. He knew that Frys would go to the tavern every now and then to drink and eat meat, and that there was still some land harvest in South Town that could be collected. The prophet entrusted some land in South Town to Frys. Sri Lanka.

But Fleiss prefers to stay here and is not worried or concerned about things in his hometown.

When I return to my hometown, I have to start construction again. Everything is naturally available here, so anyone else has to think carefully about it.

Fleiss was wealthy and generous, but he was not generous to his children, and he would rather go to a pub to eat and drink than eat at home.

Even when eating at home, Fleiss enjoyed the rich food exclusively, followed by the boys in the family and the slaves who worked. Women and girls did not have much to eat.

Um suggested: "It's too cold here, let's go to the church to play? There is no wind there."

Gurney heard Umu's suggestion and quickly looked at Umu happily, "Can we go to church to play? No one will hit us when we go to church, right?"

"No!" Um said happily, "Probably not."

There is nothing interesting to see by the river. The boys are skating and having snowball fights here, but the girls are not willing to suffer the cold here.

Soon Gurney went to the church to play, while the younger siblings were left in the care of the fishing man.

Um shouted, and the puppy Rigg quickly followed from the crowd.

Umu remembered her mother's instructions and whispered as she and Gurney walked towards the church: "My mother made a pair of shoes for my sister, but my sister didn't wear them properly, so she gave them to me."

"I will definitely be laughed at if I wear girls' shoes. Gurney, try them on. If you can wear them, I'll give them to you."

Gurney looked at Umu happily, "Really? Then I'll try!"

The simple girl was very happy and looking forward to it.

Wumu was a little embarrassed, but also very happy.

"When wages are paid during the Chinese New Year, I'll treat you to mutton soup! Pancakes!"

"Really?" Gurney looked at Umu excitedly, with a big smile on her face.

"Really!" Wumu quickly confirmed that although it would cost a lot of money, her mother would definitely not talk about herself.

Gurney said expectantly: "Then I will come to play with you in the future!"

Um said happily: "Okay!"

Gurney was extremely happy, smiling with her mouth open all the way, looking forward to the arrival of the New Year.

It's not just Gurney who's looking forward to the New Year, but Eve, another eliminated girl, is also looking forward to it.

Eve, who was sent to work on the farm because she ate the mistress's food as a child, and was then arranged by Lawrence to be a maid's apprentice to the beekeeping witch, is now a little more sensible.

Most people have been slaves since childhood, so they don't see any problem with class.

Eve has also received a lot of favors from Lawrence in recent years. The beekeeper's hut of the Beekeeper Witch has also changed from wooden to a neat and beautiful red brick hut, which looks like an exquisite small house.

Lawrence would often send people to give the beekeeper witch some daily necessities, and would invite her to the Star Church every other month to pray, eat good food, and replenish some daily necessities.

In the cold winter, Eve, who does not need to study or take care of the bee colony, is cleaning livestock manure.

Just when he was dragging a basket of feces out and planning to dump it in the pit, he saw a man riding a black beast approaching.

"Master!" Seeing this, Eve quickly wiped her hands on the front of her apron and quickly ran over and shouted: "Master, the prophet is here!"

Lawrence quickly arrived on the snow in front of Eve, jumped off the unicorn, and stood firmly on the compacted ice and snow.

There were still two baskets hanging on the unicorn, and Lawrence turned around and started unloading.

"Eve, come here, I brought you a little winter gift."

Eve quickly walked over and said excitedly after getting close: "Master, she may still be sleeping and needs some time."

"It's okay." Lawrence smiled, placed both baskets on the ground, then lifted one basket with one hand and walked towards the house.

Eve picked up another basket and found that this basket was not heavy. It was probably some clothes and paper.

Normally, someone would bring food here. There is no shortage of food and water here, and the wild beasts and the like have also been driven away.

The two of them walked into a somewhat quiet house. The living room was relatively simple in layout, except for a table and two chairs, as well as some boxes and hanging flowers and plants.

There are some purchased paintings on the walls, some hanging flutes and xylophones, and carved murals of beauties.

Emma, ​​the beekeeper witch, came in from behind the curtain somewhat awkwardly. She had just slept in the warm bedroom and did not expect Lawrence to come in person.

"Prophet." Emma said quickly: "Thank you for your gift. I recently made some sugar bowls with honey. I hope you will like it."

Lawrence smiled and said: "I'm not here to do business. Just like in previous years, if you have time this winter, you can go to my place to spend the winter. There is still some time, so I will send you some New Year gifts in advance."

"The basket next to Eve is new clothes, five of yours and one of Eve's. Here are some cooked meats, some jars of oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, and two jars of candy."

Lawrence looked at the happy Eve nearby, smiled and took out a few pieces of candy from his pocket, "These are for you, you must learn from Ms. Emma."

"Yes, Your Majesty the Merciful Prophet!" Eve took the candy with both hands and thanked her excitedly.

Emma was very smart and had noticed Lawrence's kindness a long time ago. She smiled and said, "This child is not very smart, but it is enough to do something that is not hard."

"That's good." Lawrence quickly said to Eve: "Eve is going to cook, and I will go back after finishing the meal. Don't interrupt our conversation before the meal is ready."

"Yes!" Eve agreed quickly.

The person cooking here is not Eve, but a woman from a nearby farm.

There is also a stove room near the hut for the healthy women who come to help. They usually do some heavy physical work, and then give these people some valuable honey as reward.

The apiary is not just a small hut. The beeswax honey that Lawrence needs is not a small amount. Now it has expanded a lot with the beekeeper's hut as the core.

Under the guidance of the queen bee, swarms of bees branched out to build hives based on flower fields, and nearby beekeepers also used the hives as a guide to establish beekeeper villages.

Candle workshops, honey workshops, and flower and plant shops have gradually evolved into several branches like running water from the source.

After Eve went out to do her business, Lawrence and Emma entered the warm cabin and sat down to talk.

Lawrence sat near the fireplace. Although briquettes were provided, the smell of burning coal was not liked by some people, such as the beekeeper.

The fire here is still wood, and there is a special woodshed near the house, which has already stored wood for the winter.

"This is the honey tea I brewed, please use it."

"good."

Lawrence took the hot tea handed over by the beekeeper unceremoniously.

After taking a sip, Lawrence smiled and said: "It tastes good, very refreshing, and I feel a lot more energetic."

The beekeeper sat opposite Lawrence and nodded gracefully, "As long as you like it."

Lawrence quickly said: "I have to re-maintain the Crow Feather Colossus recently. Delen's witchcraft is not that easy to use. There are many wizards in the territory who are not willing to show their power."

"I would like to ask you to go to Phumexiu Town and Dumu Harbor for a walk next year when you are free. Witches should be better able to spot witches."

"I don't force those people to work for me, nor do I pursue their past. You can just tell them something tactfully."

Lawrence paused and said seriously: "If you pay, you will be rewarded. This is my rule here."

"If they want to stay like this for the rest of their lives, I won't force them to do anything."

"If they want more, then they can consider playing for me."

The beekeeper girl nodded and asked with some confusion: "Forgive me for being stupid, why are you looking for me? There are obviously many witches around you."

Lawrence sighed, "I don't know, maybe it's because your perception is more acute and you understand the rules of wizards outside better than the witches here."

In fact, I feel that Salil and others have been spoiled by the generous material life, and they lack the vigilance and instinct they used to have.

In the past, there was a very clear feeling between witches and witches, just like when Sariel discovered Sophia.

But in recent years, women in the family have not been prohibited from going out. These people have also gone out for shopping and delivering orders, but it has been several years and they have not introduced any female talents to themselves.

Khalan was too lazy to go out and spent most of his time studying in the house.

If Salil didn’t feel clearly, then Sophia must have deliberately not said it!

Sophia, who has the ability to perceive, should have been the most proactive person to provide information about witches, but she is no longer the little treasure-hunting girl she used to be.

Gale brought back more things than she did.

The beekeeper girl nodded, feeling that she could control the bee swarm and was indeed better at finding traces of some wizards than others.

"I will do this for you. I also know some wizards outside. In the past few years, wars have been going on outside and the situation is turbulent. I don't know if they are still there. I can introduce them to you."

Lawrence is no longer as resistant to wizards as before. When he met a wizard in the early days, he would kill him!

It is different now. The Kingdom of Gran with a population of 900,000 and the Kingdom of Io with a population of more than 500,000 are both ruled by themselves. The Kingdom of Stars, with a population of nearly 2 million, is the strongest overlord in the West.

"Okay, I'm happy to accept the surrender of these people."

Lawrence nodded in agreement.

After eating a not-so-good meal, Lawrence and the Black Unicorn walked home through the snow. When they went back, they did not ride the Black Unicorn, but walked forward step by step.

While walking, I was thinking about what happened this time.

[Sure enough, sometimes outsiders are more reliable, and it is more reassuring to leave things to capable people. 】

[It’s better not to take people into your home from now on, as this will make people useless. 】

[Dogs too. 】

Lawrence thought about dogs and pigs.

If Hayate is no longer the boss dog of the manor, but becomes a pet dog here in his castle, he will be raised and scrapped.

After Doug was raised by himself, although he had a powerful dog son and pig brother, Doug's abilities were actually very average.

Lawrence was a little sad, Doug was the dog he had raised since he was a child.

The same is true for Pige. If Pige had been raised in a pig pen by himself since he was a child, he would definitely not be a wild boar Pige now, and it is not even certain whether he would survive.

Lawrence opened his arms and shouted to the sky under the incomprehensible eyes of the black unicorn: "Freedom! Wildness! Power!!" (End of this chapter)