Chương 18: Half a Year

Giant Willow Village, Ghost Lake. Knowing Old Li's timid nature, Song Que didn't tell him the full truth, casually glossing over the details.

"It was that simple?" Even so, Li Tie still wasn't quite at ease. The legends surrounding Ghost Lake were absolutely horrifying; how could the monster just die so easily? This was, after all, a Nightmare-level instance! And you, a kid in full basic white-tier equipment, dare claim you solo-cleared it? Unless there was a bug? If Grandee Song could hear his thoughts, he would definitely nod in serious agreement. He really did have a bug! He smiled and said:"It was just that simple.

Maybe it's because I'm still a virgin boy; I hear masculine yang energy is highly effective at suppressing evil spirits. Anyway, Uncle, put your worries to rest. This lake is absolutely safe now. I'm actually planning to build a house here." With Song Que's repeated assurances, and seeing Lord Husky running wildly all over the place without any issues, Li Tie finally relaxed completely, walking around to inspect the area.

"Actually, this really is a fine piece of land."

"Hehe, Uncle, look. I plan to build a three-room house right here. Over there will be a storage shed. This area will be the training ground, and around it, I'll plant vegetables and flowers. I'll also build a stone wall around the perimeter..." Song Que genuinely had the idea of building a lakeside villa here. Leading Old Li around Mirror Lake, his mouth didn't stop running. The uncle and nephew discussed enthusiastically, not reluctantly heading home until noon.

From then on, the two tentatively decided they would use this route to enter the Great Ridge Mountains, temporarily hiding from the Zhao family's eyes. With no worries about their livelihood now, they didn't need to enter the forest as frequently as before. In their free time, they would stay at Mirror Lake to clear the land. Using his Storage Space to transport stones, Song Que set his first goal: building a two-meter-high stone wall, over two hundred meters long, to enclose the clearing.

Outside the wall, he would plant bamboo and vines; inside, he would clear the ground for a garden. A myriad of modern architectural designs he had seen flashed through his mind. Thinking of living here in the future, it didn't seem bad at all. As for the farmland... He had money now anyway. If Li Tie wanted to farm it, he could; if not, they could rent it out. It was no big deal....

While Grandee Song was happily planning his future, he had no idea that elsewhere, a certain Lord Hu was panting with rage, smashing tables and chairs to vent the fury in his heart. When the Zhao father and son heard Li Hui's report, they were initially surprised that someone dared to publicly defy their orders, followed immediately by intense anger. If there hadn't been an outsider present, Lord Hu would have long since unleashed a torrent of vicious curses. After waving Li Hui away, Old Zhao's face darkened.

His small, cunning, and malicious eyes glinted as he lowered his voice to plot with his son. Song Que and his uncle remained completely oblivious to all this. Even if Song Que knew, he wouldn't care. In his eyes, the Zhao father and son were merely normal mobs—they hadn't even reached the level of elite mobs. There was nothing to worry about. Summer passed, and autumn returned. The Great Ridge Mountains were gradually shedding their old green coats, leaving a thick layer of withered yellow at their feet.

More than half a year passed just like that. Giant Willow Village remained as it was: calm and stagnant as always. If there was any difference, it was that the villagers now frequently gossiped about the Li family and Song Que. During this time, the uncle and nephew kept an extremely low profile. They didn't hunt often, only entering the forest once every ten days or half a month.

Their movements were highly secretive, causing Zhao Hu—who wanted to find an excuse to make trouble for them multiple times—to tear his hair out, not knowing where to start. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Freed from financial pressure, Song Que poured all his heart into studying and practicing martial arts. After all, there was no other form of entertainment here.

Every two or three months, he would take a trip to town with the supply caravan, always tagging along with Zhong Kui. Zhao Hu considered him part of Old Zhong's entourage. So, despite his inner displeasure, he merely glared at him without taking any extreme action. Song Que didn't think as deeply as Zhao Hu, and even if he knew what the man was thinking, he wouldn't care. He tagged along with Old Zhong simply because the caravan stayed in town for a night each trip.

This aligned perfectly with Old Zhong's schedule, so the two agreed to travel together for convenience. As for Old Zhong, he knew the Zhao father and son were displeased, but who was he? Naturally, he couldn't care less about their attitudes. In his heart, he valued Song Que far more than them. And where was Song Que? Staying overnight in town meant, of course, it was time to harvest some leeks. Every time the great Oscar-winning Actor Song performed at the casino, he drew immense sympathy from the audience.

There was no shortage of broke gamblers who wanted to befriend him and drown their sorrows in cheap wine together. Naturally, Grandee Song maintained a solemn face, declined their offers, secretly stashed a few dozen taels of his "performance fee" into his Storage Space, and left highly satisfied. Aside from visiting the casino, every time Song Que came to town, Zhong Hong enthusiastically showed him around, recounting interesting local tales. His relationship with the Zhong family grew quite close.

Every time he returned, although his cart was piled high with goods, only he and Zhong Kui knew about it, so it didn't cause any stir in the village. Furthermore, following the continuous renovations by Song Que and the Li father and son, the scenery around Mirror Lake had drastically transformed. The small path leading in was flanked by newly planted bamboo. Though still young saplings, they were already as tall as a man, growing with a remarkably vibrant green hue.

Given more time, they would form a dense wall completely separating Mirror Lake from the outside world. Next was a two-meter-high stone wall stretching over three hundred meters, enclosing three sides of the clearing. This massive project was undertaken entirely by Song Que himself. He couldn't remember how many trips he made into the Great Ridge Mountains, picking up rocks, stuffing them into his Storage Space, and hauling them back.

Even with the Tesseract continuously supplying him with stamina, he felt as tired as a dog. Originally, he wanted to build a lakeside villa inside. But unfortunately, neither of them knew the first thing about construction. The villagers didn't dare come here, and even if they did, their craftsmanship would be lacking. So, he could only throw up a temporary shed in the area designated for the storage room. He wasn't living here yet anyway; it was merely used as a training ground.

Having a place to shelter from the wind and rain to rest was sufficient. The courtyard was divided into several sections where he planted some spices he had harvested in the Great Ridge Mountains—chili peppers, lemons, ginger, and herbs—along with some flowers and plants. It actually looked quite decent.... Giant Willow Village. Mirror Lake. Under the gentle midday sun of early winter, the weather was mild. Song Que stood in the courtyard, brandishing his steel saber.

The blade flashed so fast the eye couldn't track it, making it seem as if he were enveloped in a shimmering white dome. Occasionally, a few stray leaves would fall. If one looked closely, they would discover that every single leaf, upon hitting the ground, was neatly sliced in half, right down the central vein. Such precise blade work would leave anyone clicking their tongue in awe. Over this half-year, Song Que had shot up in height. He was now 1. 6 meters tall, scarcely shorter than Li Tie.

His physique didn't look overly bulky, but it concealed a terrifying, explosive power. Not long ago, he had tested his strength on a massive boulder that would take two men to hug. By his estimation, it weighed over a thousand catties—which, in his past life, meant nearly 600 kilograms. Yet, he managed to hoist it over his head with only a bit of effort. In the modern world, he would absolutely be considered Superman. The only pity was that as his physique improved, the Tesseract's effectiveness steadily decreased.

Once his strength reached over a thousand catties, the growth plateaued, leaving Song Que quite depressed. Fortunately, he made a new discovery. When he used the Tesseract's energy to focus entirely on strengthening a single specific body part, the feeling of rapid enhancement returned. Because of this, Song Que's five senses were now incredibly acute. Calling him "eagle-eyed" and "dog-nosed" would not be an exaggeration. Song Que sheathed his saber and jumped into the lake for a quick wash.

Catching the towel handed to him by his loyal canine lackey, Husky, he dried himself off. Glancing down at the 'heavy artillery' below his navel, his satisfaction with the Tesseract rose another notch. Husky was now as tall as his waist, having grown astonishingly fast. Crediting the Tesseract's physical enhancement, the wolf had surpassed its late father, the Wolf King, in every aspect. It was undoubtedly a formidable apex predator in the forest.

With the constant guidance from Song Que's symbiotic split soul, its intelligence far exceeded ordinary animals. Right now, its intellect was probably on par with a six- or seven-year-old child. Song Que was extremely satisfied with all this. He planned to temper himself in this mountain village for another half-year until he possessed enough self-preservation capability. Then, he would step out to see this vast world. One man and one dog strolled leisurely on the path back home.

Calculating that it was almost time for lunch, he led Husky straight to the Li residence, pushing the door open with practiced ease. In the courtyard, Li Tie lay comfortably on a lounger, basking in the sun. Beside him sat a pot of tea. He looked incredibly relaxed and content, occasionally taking a sip. Regarding his current life, Lord Li truly had zero complaints. He ate well, dressed warmly, and his house lacked nothing. The farm work had been rented out to others.

Having nothing to do all day, he simply basked in the sun or helped his wife with minor chores. What was there to complain about? If there was one tiny flaw, it was his brat, Gou'dan. Just look at Song Que! At the same age, he already knew how to work and make a living, behaving with mature stability. Furthermore, he was hardworking; didn't he even buy books to teach himself how to read? But look at his own unfilial son! All he knew how to do was play all day.

Once his belly was full, he vanished, crawling around in some random dusty corner. And the moment you told him to read, he immediately complained of a headache. He truly offered no peace of mind. Moreover, with such an excellent role model standing right in front of him, Old Li found his own son more displeasing to the eye by the day, often sighing heavily in frustration.