The contamination level of the paddy rice was the lowest he had ever seen, ten percent!
Generally, some cultivated plants had the pollution level around twenty five to forty percent. Even with the effort of some beastmen with the ability for cultivation, it was still so high.
Xie Ziyuan took a deep breath. The wheels in his mind turned. With such a low contamination level, unfortunately, they couldn't bring it outside or it would invite trouble for themselves.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had dropped the key in the region most beastmen wouldn't dare to venture unless they were forced to.
For the time being, the existence of the castle was safe.
In the morning, he found out that the paddy rice in his inner space was ready to be harvested. Yet, that person was nowhere to be found.
He stared at the four plots of paddy rice. Each of them was plump, like some golden seeds. He waited for another half an hour. No one showed up.
A frown marred his forehead. He decided to take it to his own hands to harvest the paddy rice. The lands on his inner space had become so magical; the harvest time was unexpectedly so fast.
He couldn't let it go to waste.
Xie Ziyuan took around half an hour to harvest the paddy rice. He didn't know much about rice planting, so he just divided the paddy rice he had separated from the stem into four portions and scatter them to the plot land.
He didn't forget to take water from the river and flood the land.
Ever since the warehouse appeared, the dry river nearby began to flow again. The water was fresh with low contamination level.
"Master Xie," Lin Yuyao greeted him the moment he exited the inner space.
She was only momentarily shocked seeing him suddenly appearing in front of her. Soon, she controlled her expression into a neutral one.
Xie Ziyuan saw Lin Yu'an in the distance. He was sweeping the front area of the castle while his sister cooked. They were so diligent.
Although the front area of the castle was only a distance away from the fortress, they were surrounded by tall trees. So, inevitably, some leaves would fall into the castle and fortress.
In just a day, quite a few leaves had scattered around.
"We found some bird eggs," Lin Yuyao reported. They didn't dare to touch the goat's meat without Xie Ziyuan's permission.
He had kindly let them stay, so they had to treasure this chance. Lin Yuyao had lectured her brother as soon as they came back last night. The castle owner even gave them separate rooms and comfy bed.
"Cook the goat from last night." He told her.
Lin Yuyao hurriedly nodded, a little embarrassed. This man seemed to be a high-level beastman. It was natural few bird eggs wouldn't be able to satisfy his appetite.
Even she had to admit that after the sumptous meal last night, her power not only had been restored, but also advanced a little. The goat must have been a fierce beast with a high level order.
As per Xie Ziyuan's order, they cooked all remaining goat meat.
"Master Xie, sorry, I haven't finished sweeping the castle and fortress," Lin Yu'an hung his head low.
Lin Yuyao was also a little anxious; they didn't remember Xie Ziyuan's previous words about doing the work within their ability at all. In their minds, they were just afraid they hadn't done enough and it made him displeased.
Xie Ziyuan's movement faltered a little. He swallowed the roasted goat he had just chewed. The girl's craft was passable, even with the limited ingredients—the wild spices she had found outside.
"The castle is too vast to be taken care of the two of you alone." He narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
He suddenly thought of that person. His mind went to his inner space; a little disappointed nothing had changed except for the sprouting paddy rice.
The person hadn't visited again yet.
So, it meant that they didn't monitor him twenty four hours a day.
The pair of siblings nodded. They were curious about the origin of the castle, but they didn't want to pry too much.
Lin Yu'an hesitated before he opened his mouth, his voice trembling slightly. "Master Xie… do you need more people?"
"Yu'an!" Lin Yuyao hurriedly jumped to cover her younger brother's mouth.
Xie Ziyuan's sharp eyes shot toward them, a little intimidating.
Lin Yu'an held his breath, panicked that he had said something wrong. His sister had read his mind at a glance. He bit his lip as she slowly released him.
She hurriedly apologized, "Sorry, Master Xie. Yu'an might have overstepped."
He had known that the story behind the pair of siblings might not be that simple. His brows furrowed in contemplation. Honestly, he disliked meddling into other people's business. However, if that what that person wants… he could consider it.
"Tell me," He ordered. The cat boy might have access to more people they could recruit.
Lin Yu'an's eyes lit up. He glanced at his sister first in hesitation. Seeing her nodding, he opened his mouth. "There is a place quite far… far away from here."
Seeing her brother struggling to come up with an explanation, Lin Yuyao took over from her brother. "Master Xie, I am sorry for not telling you the truth before. Actually, we were kidnapped by some beastmen traffickers."
"We ran away when they weren't at that place and had been hiding for a week." She paused. "We don't mean to bring you trouble. If you want us to leave this place, don't worry, we will keep ourselves quiet…"
Lin Yu'an bit his lip sadly. He hadn't admired the castle enough, but his sister was right. Their situation might bring Xie Ziyuan trouble if these traffickers came looking for them.
Xie Ziyuan's eyes flashed. "How many people are there? What's the traffickers' power level?"
The pair of siblings stared at him with disbelief. They exchanged glances; pleasant surprises mirrored each other's faces.
"We don't need to leave, right, Master Xie?" Lin Yu'an asked with hopeful eyes.
Xie Ziyuan hummed, nodding at him. Not only were they allowed to stay, he might try to help the people if it was possible.
He was really looking forward to that person's response!