113: Building houses

Rumbles and booms continuously echoed from beneath the ground.

Chu Jingyu continuously adjusted his position in mid-air, his gaze fixed below the adjacent platform.

Some bolder Villagers gathered at the edge of the square, craning their necks to look down the mountain.

They didn't see the base of the mountain, but rather a flat, vast platform about forty to fifty meters wide that had appeared on the mountainside, dozens of meters below the peak.

This platform was firmly welded onto Qixia Mountain like a belt.

That wasn't all; the changes on the mountain hadn't stopped. The inner mountain wall next to the platform became smooth and steep, as if it had been cut, leaving soil on the platform.

The soil was covered by a layer of golden light, as if a skilled hand mixed and molded it, and in no time, a two-story building was constructed.

Chu Jingyu landed in front of the first small courtyard that was generated, touching various spots on the wall with his hand, then walking into the rooms to inspect them.

Because space on the mountain was limited, and the back of the mountain was unsuitable for habitation, Chu Jingyu conceived the idea of building two stories; otherwise, the circle near the mountaintop might not be enough for all these families.

The first floor had a living room, a kitchen, plus two bedrooms, and the second floor had four bedrooms, totaling six rooms—which was certainly enough for an average farming family.

However, for large families who had yet to split their households, six rooms would be quite cramped.

Chu Jingyu communicated with the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast again, asking it to add another floor on top of the two existing ones.

With a Spirit Rank Source Beast taking action, the Villagers had no need to worry about the strength of the rooms; let alone earthquakes, even if an Uncommon Rank superior Source Beast attacked with its full skill, these walls could withstand it.

With ten rooms across three floors, Chu Jingyu felt it was sufficient, so he nodded and instructed the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast to construct eighty identical houses according to this specification.

These small buildings were neatly arranged at equal distances on the mountainside platform; even someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder would find the sight pleasing.

Eighty small buildings were entirely enough for the Fuhe Village residents moving up the mountain, as the Village Head had roughly tallied that only fifty-two families had followed them up.

Many Villagers who had gathered at the edge of the platform to look down frequently let out sounds of astonishment; they had never known that building a house could be such a simple matter.

Source Beasts, in their impression, had always been synonymous with power, ferocity, and terror. It turned out that when they were building houses or constructing roads, they were equally formidable.

A house that might take generations of effort for them to build was created simply by a lift of the Source Beast's 'hand.'

They were now both astonished and apprehensive. Were these rooms really meant for them to live in? Could a house built so casually truly be habitable?

Once all the small buildings were successfully constructed, Chu Jingyu floated up to the platform at the peak. He wasn't entirely clear on the Villagers' psychological state, and even if he were, he probably wouldn't bother explaining.

"You may temporarily reside in those rooms. To avoid disputes, each residence has a number. Village Head, have them draw lots before distributing the houses."

The Village Head excitedly agreed. Chu Jingyu had no intention of managing the subsequent distribution; he returned home, taking the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast, which had just finished constructing the zigzagging mountain path between the two platforms.

He then wrote three letters, tied them to the ankle of the White-Browed Mountain Eagle, and instructed it to deliver them to the Village Heads of the remaining Three Villages.

It was already late today, and even if he went to the Three Villages, it wasn't suitable to have them travel at night. Therefore, Chu Jingyu first had the White-Browed Mountain Eagle deliver the information to the Village Heads of the Three Villages so they could prepare a response.

Watching the White-Browed Mountain Eagle disappear into the sunset, Chu Jingyu summoned the Head Steward, Zhang Heng.

"The Villagers of Fuhe Village came up the mountain in a hurry and likely don't have much food. Considering their numbers, open the warehouse and send them some provisions."

"Yes." Wu Heng, having received the order, quickly took several servants to make the arrangements.

Given the current size of the Chu Family, supporting a few villages of ordinary people was naturally no problem, but the Chu Family was not running a charity. Once all the villages were settled, they would still need to find tasks for them to perform.

Otherwise, these Villagers could easily become spoiled, which was likely not what Ancestor Chu wished to see.

"Master, Young Master Fan has returned. He is currently in the Central Hall. The Young Master sent us to inform you." The announcement came from a Young Attendant outside.

Upon hearing that Chu Shengfan was home, Chu Jingyu's face did not show joy, but rather a slight frown, his expression seemingly displeased.

"Why did you return at this time?"

He rose from his seat, flicked his sleeve, and hurried toward the Central Hall.

Upon reaching the Central Hall, the Chu Family Member were all gathered there, and seeing Chu Jingyu arrive, they greeted him one by one.

Chu Jingyu looked at the slightly pale Chu Shengfan. It seemed he had sustained some injuries on the way home, and not minor ones, either; otherwise, his Flower Medicine Butterfly would have been able to heal him easily, and he wouldn't currently need to be chewing on a Ginseng Baby leaf.

Since his child was injured, Chu Jingyu couldn't bear to reprimand him harshly, yet there were some things he absolutely had to say.

"Did you not receive the news at the Town Chiefs Mansion? The entire Heyu Town is currently riddled with Rift Channels, and countless Source Beasts have slipped through. It is extremely dangerous, so why did you rush home?"

"Precisely because of this, I wanted to come home to guard the family. An extra bit of strength is always beneficial."

"Beneficial? Now you're back here injured, requiring people to be diverted to take care of you. I truly don't know if you returned to contribute strength or to be a burden."

Hearing his Grandfather speak this way, Chu Shengfan's face flushed. "These are minor injuries; nothing serious. I'll recover by tomorrow."

"What if it wasn't just an injury, and you died on the road halfway? Do you think your Grandfather can't protect the Chu Family? Or do you believe your Medicine Beast, which lacks combat ability, can slaughter its way through all directions?"

"I didn't mean that." Seeing his Grandfather growing angrier, Chu Shengfan's voice, used in his defense, involuntarily grew softer and softer.

Chu Jingyu sat by the main table, snorted, and said, "It's a good thing you promoted to Uncommon Rank. Otherwise, your Grandfather would be searching high and low for your corpse, and maybe, if I found it, there'd only be a skeleton left for me."

Seeing Chu Jingyu getting increasingly worked up, Qin Hui also tried to mediate. "Father, Young Fan is fine, isn't he? He only came home because he promoted to Uncommon Rank and felt confident. Young Fan isn't an impulsive person."

"Did I not mention you? I haven't settled the score with you yet for secretly running off when I told you to guard the Ancestral Hall!"

Seeing him bring up the matter of the Ancestral Hall, Qin Hui immediately shrank his neck and dared not speak. Why did it feel like Father's temper and attitude had become much younger after promoting to Spirit Rank?

Chu Jingyu rubbed his forehead. "Forget it, forget it. I don't want to lecture you two right now. Young Fan, tell me, what was the situation like on your way back?"