The man on the right narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Zhong Shenxiu again. Relying on years of experience, he could vaguely discern that this young boy was different from the others, though exactly how, he couldn't pinpoint yet.
"My good man, are you intending to buy these stones? What do you need them for?" the elder asked earnestly.
"Are you the one in charge here?" Zhong Shenxiu countered without answering.
"I am the village chief!" The elder chuckled.
"Name your price!" Zhong Shenxiu got straight to the point.
The elder was momentarily taken aback but still smiled broadly. "Little friend, if you can tell me your reasons, I'll give you all these stones for free!"
The elder's generosity actually surprised Zhong Shenxiu a little.
Zhong Shenxiu smiled back, with a hint of cunning in his eyes. "If I said it was because I liked you, would you believe me?"
The elder had initially intended to probe Zhong Shenxiu, but he hadn't expected the boy to be so difficult to handle. For a moment, he was left unsure how to respond.
"Little friend, carrying so much money, do your adults know about it?" Qiao Ji, standing nearby, couldn't help but ask.
He had been utterly stunned by the string of surprises and would have thought of this earlier otherwise. It was too strange for a child to carry so much money, and even stranger that he immediately wanted to buy the stones here!
The elder seemed to finally find a topic to engage in and chimed in, "Little friend, spending money carelessly is not a good habit. Where are your adults? Did they come with you?"
Zhong Shenxiu once again felt the awkwardness of not having Caine by his side. He knew the chief was treating him as a child and didn't want to engage deeply, which, while understandable, deeply irritated him!
Zhong Shenxiu was a man of principle. He didn't choose the quickest route to resolve the situation; instead, he sent Robin to fetch Caine!
Fortunately, the tribe was small. After only a short while, Caine arrived, led by Robin. Niu Niu wasn't with her; presumably, Angelia and the others were looking after her!
With almost no verbal communication needed, just a single look, Caine understood Zhong Shenxiu's intent. Following Zhong Shenxiu's gaze, she glanced at the massive boulder and immediately knew how things were supposed to proceed!
Under Caine's persuasive onslaught—appealing to emotion and reason—the old chief finally relented, agreeing to give all the stones to Zhong Shenxiu. Of course, Caine didn't let the chief make the sacrifice in vain; in the name of the "Ethereal Mercenary Group," she donated ten thousand to the tribe.
To billionaires like Zhong Shenxiu, this sum was negligible, but for this tribe that relied on animal husbandry for survival, it was an astronomical figure!
When the old chief took the money, his aged hands trembled, and overwhelming emotion shone on his face.
With this money, their tribe could improve their lives, and their children's tuition fees would be secured!
Seeing the old chief tremble with barely contained excitement, Caine quickly said, "Old Chief, you don't need to thank us; we are all family with Xia Luo!"
She said this with a smile. They truly were becoming family; it seemed even their official status was being settled!
This statement struck a chord deep within the old chief's heart, making him overjoyed that Xia Luo had made such wonderful friends.
The next issue was collecting these stones. However, Zhong Shenxiu had no interest in the others; he walked directly to the enormous boulder. Since the deal was struck, he wasn't worried about hiding his focus on this particular stone.
"Old Chief, why is this stone so big?" Caine asked, feigning curiosity to prevent an awkward silence.
"This stone has been in our tribe for five generations. Legend says anyone who can move this stone with bare hands will receive the protection of the gods. But this stone is simply too heavy; it's impossible for anyone to lift it by sheer strength alone," the old chief sighed as he spoke.
Due to its unique formation process, the "Wind Cry Stone" had incredible density, weighing several times more than other stones of the same volume!
"Oh? How heavy is it?" Caine inquired again.
"I don't know exactly, but it's certainly over several thousand pounds," the old chief was saying when his eyes suddenly widened several times, as if struck by shock.
It wasn't just him; everyone else also widened their eyes, some even paling slightly! Good heavens! This, how could this be possible?
Following their gaze, they saw Robin using her small hands to pull the massive boulder out from the weeds in the corner, still looking completely effortless—no different from the smaller stones she had moved before!
The old chief gasped, sucking in a sharp breath. This was a stone that more than ten of their strongest young men couldn't budge, yet this little girl lifted it as if it were a puff of cotton candy. Was this not too monstrous?
The old chief had never experienced such a shock; his heart rate spiked, and he nearly fainted. Luckily, Caine noticed and subtly channeled a bit of true energy into him, which helped him recover slightly!
Even so, the old chief's heart hammered like a war drum!
By now, Robin had placed the massive stone next to Zhong Shenxiu. It landed almost silently, barely making a sound, though it did leave a significant impression on the ground!
It must be said that children's capacity to accept the unusual is several times greater than adults'. While the old chief and Qiao Ji were still stunned, the other children had already surrounded Robin again, staring at her with fervent eyes. Their adoration was akin to watching Ultraman fight minor monsters!
"Sister, please teach me, okay?" The youngest girl among the children asked in a milky voice, sucking her finger. Robin's status in their minds had reached its absolute zenith!
"Don't talk!" Robin said calmly. She didn't want the children distracting Zhong Shenxiu from his research.
As if under a command from their leader, these children immediately sealed their lips tight, looking perfectly behaved!
"Robin, put it away," Zhong Shenxiu said, retracting his gaze from his observations.
Robin flicked her wrist, and the huge stone before them vanished into thin air, an act just as uncanny as before!
"Wow!" The group of children exclaimed in unison, their worship for Robin increasing yet again.
※
The morning clouds at dusk were as red as fire, and gazing at them closely was bound to spark one's imagination.
At this moment, Xia Luo was looking up at the fiery expanse of the sky. The soft light illuminated her face, lending her an indescribable beauty!
Xia Luo's mood was very tranquil. After a long talk with her mother today, she had come to terms with certain things and learned a great deal!
Just then, the sound of footsteps interrupted her thoughts. Turning around, she saw her younger brother walking in, looking preoccupied.
"Little Brother, where have you been?" Xia Luo asked curiously.
Mike looked up and, seeing his sister, seemed momentarily stunned. "I took brother-in-law to look around, and then he told me to come back first!"
Xia Luo could now react to the term "brother-in-law" with composure, so she continued, "What are you thinking about? Why do you look so absentminded?"
"Sister," Mike hesitated, as if weighing whether to speak.
"What is it? Just say what you need to say!" Xia Luo knew Mike well enough to guess what he wanted to bring up.
"Sister, when we came back this morning, brother-in-law said some very strange things to me. Like, 'Though aptitude is average, there is still great room for development,' and he mentioned 'remodeling,' or something similar. Then, my vision suddenly went black, and I don't remember anything after that." Mike paused, then added, "When I woke up, it was already this time, and brother-in-law gave me a very strange pill later, and that pretty sister gave me a dagger."
As he spoke, he pulled out these items.
Unbeknownst to him, as he narrated, Xia Luo's eyes began to shine with excitement. She knew Zhong Shenxiu and realized his words were clearly meant to help her brother. Although she was strict with Mike in daily life, sometimes not acting like an older sister at all, she cared deeply for him, just struggled to express it!
"Mike, did your brother-in-law give you this?" Xia Luo pointed to the light green pill in Mike's palm. She was so excited that she didn't realize her previous sentence had exposed her feelings toward Zhong Shenxiu!
Mike didn't pay much attention to that; perhaps in his eyes, it was already an established fact. Seeing Xia Luo ask so anxiously, he quickly nodded and added, "Sister, what is this pill? Is it really safe to take?"
"Little Brother, you are blessed. Don't say anything else now, just take this pill first!" Xia Luo urged, as if afraid the medicinal effect would weaken if she delayed even a moment.
Mike trusted Xia Luo implicitly. Without hesitation, he swallowed the pill!
"How do you feel?" Xia Luo looked more nervous than Mike himself.
"No feeling," Mike replied truthfully.
Perhaps the effect hadn't kicked in yet, Xia Luo thought, and she didn't press further. She knew of Zhong Shenxiu's alchemy skills; to use a vivid analogy, the living who took his medicine would gain longevity, and the dead would achieve permanence!
"Sister, should I accept this dagger?" Mike asked again. In truth, his expression showed he deeply liked the weapon. He was just hesitant because he knew it wasn't proper to readily accept gifts from others.
"Yes, accept it, it's fine!" Xia Luo knew the dagger must have come from Caine. She and Caine were extremely close, their bond akin to that of sisters. Accepting a small gift was nothing.
"Really?" Mike's face immediately lit up with joy, as if the dark clouds had instantly cleared.
"Little Brother, you must work hard in the future; you will surely become stronger than your sister someday," Xia Luo encouraged him.
"Mm!" Mike nodded, carefully storing the dagger away. Then, he solemnly asked, "Sister, may I ask you one more question?"
"What is it? Go ahead!" Xia Luo smiled gently.
"Who exactly is that little girl accompanying brother-in-law?" If you wish to know what happens next, please log on to [Website/Platform], for more chapters. Support the author, support genuine reading.