Pov: Vik
I yawned and slowly opened my eyes. I saw Pushpa licking my face while I lay coiled around a branch. Carefully, I got down from the tree with Pushpa. I checked the time using the system and confirmed it was 5 o'clock in the morning.
I crawled toward the anonymous hall, where I found both of my disciples awake. After we all refreshed ourselves, two of them used the facilities in the anonymous hall while I took a swim in a nearby pond in my snake form. I also took Pushpa with me, despite her protests.
Once I was all cleaned up, I returned to the anonymous hall. My disciples were waiting for me in the main area. I took the main seat and, as they awaited my orders, I said, "Disciples, today we will do some training before heading back to the city. We will begin with body training and finish with Spiritual energy manipulation training."
They nodded in response. Without wasting any time, I led them out of the anonymous hall. Standing in the open forest, I watched as my disciples began their usual physical training routine. I stopped them and said, "Today, we will do a different type of physical training."
Lu Xiaoran asked, "Master, what type of physical training will we do?" Roman looked just as confused. To satisfy their curiosity, I replied, "We will do farming today."
They looked even more puzzled, so I explained, "To earn money for our future activities and build our presence in this world, I've decided to start a business growing crops to sell in the city. This will be our first business. Today, we will prepare the fields for planting."
After I explained, they understood. Without further delay, I began choosing a plot of land for our crops. I couldn't just cut down trees for farming, as that would be unfair to the forest. I remembered a flat grassland a little further away.
Soon, I reached a grassland with my disciples. This area had few trees and flat geography, making it an ideal spot for growing crops. I instructed my disciples to plow the land. To help with that, I conjured a traditional plow. Looking at the plow, they appeared confused, and Lu Xiaoran asked hesitantly, "Master, can't we use a tractor or a more modern tool instead?"
I replied, "Disciples, this is a traditional plow used long before tractors were invented. Typically, two oxen pull it, but since we don't have any oxen here, you two will plow the land."
I said this with a smile. Without waiting for their response, I secured them to the plow so they couldn't release themselves until I allowed it. I then instructed them to start plowing. They slowly began their work as I watched them with Pushpa in my arms, supervising their efforts.
Pov: Third person
In the village, the atmosphere felt grim. Even though Vik left by his own choice, some villagers felt guilty about it. Old man Zhou was among them. He sat on a stool with some other elders near the main gate.
With a sigh, Old man Zhou said to the others, "You made a big mistake letting him leave. I don't know much about those three, but I know they aren't bad people."
Another man responded, "Zhou Lan, I understand your guilt, but we had no other options. We are farmers, not warriors, we can't fight them. Now that we have a chance to resolve this peacefully, we should at least try. It's not like we forced Vik to leave; that was his choice. As he said, if those people don't keep their promise, they will come back."
Zhou Lan listened but had no words to contradict him. He partly agreed with the man. Just as they were talking, a commotion arose. A man rushed in from the gate, shouting that Lin Chen had arrived with his entourage.
Soon, a few SUVs pulled up at the gate, along with a luxury car from which Lin Chen emerged, accompanied by his guards. The villagers immediately grew alert. The women rushed their children inside, retreating to their rooms, peeking out from windows and balconies. The mood quickly turned serious.
Lin Chen walked slowly toward Old man Zhou and bowed. This unexpected gesture surprised everyone present; they didn't expect him to act this way. Still bowing, he said, "I apologize to everyone affected by my actions. It was not my intention to cause you any trouble. It was my underlings who acted without my consent."
He signaled his men to bring something forward. They retrieved documents from the car and brought out three disheveled men showing signs of having been beaten. To the villagers' shock, these three men were the ones who had kidnapped villagers: Hyena, Boar, and Lion, from the jungle gang.
In front of the gathered villagers, Lin Chen took a metal pipe and began beating the three men, only stopping after he broke their legs. He then faced the villagers and said, "I'm sorry for everything. I only ordered them to negotiate about your village land, but they took actions on their own. Today, I will punish them on your behalf."
He handed the signed documents to Old man Zhou and bowed again, saying, "I know you may not believe me, but I have no intention of harming you. Please give me a chance to earn your forgiveness. Tomorrow, I'll host a party for all of you and personally drive you back to your villages afterward. Please come to the party. I'll send transportation tomorrow at 4 PM."
He spoke sincerely, showing no signs of deceit. After that, he didn't wait for a reply from the villagers and got back into his car. His guards also took the three men back into their SUVs, as they were still moaning in pain.
Inside his car, Lin Chen turned to his side, where Lu Zhang sat. Lu Zhang had been waiting in the car without getting out. Out of curiosity, he asked, "Brother Lin, I don't understand why you're doing all this. We could take the land by force."
Lin Chen smiled and replied, "Lu Zhang, sometimes using force only leads to more problems. The tougher people appear on the outside, the softer they often are inside. If I were to take their land by force, it wouldn't bring me any satisfaction; it would just feel like a regular day. Now that Lu Xiaoran is involved, this has become personal for me. I will work to become the hero these villagers need while making sure they grow to hate Lu Xiaoran. When he has no one left, I will kill him just like before. You know, when I was weak, I was always humiliated by Lu Xiaoran's presence. Now, I'll return that humiliation a hundredfold."