The next morning, Ning Zheng stepped into his third day as Manor Master.
With his messy hair like a bird's nest, he got up, combed his hair, washed his face, brushed his teeth, went to the bathroom, and started another ordinary day.
Today, there wasn't much to teach, so he planned to get down the mountain a bit earlier, before noon.
After all, he wanted to rush to break through to the next Realm.
Although he could cultivate at the manor, it was too inefficient; the people were loud and noisy, truly not conducive to focusing.
Humans are just such cheap creatures. When it was quiet, they complained about being bored and wished for guests, creating a lively atmosphere and some human interaction.
Now, after just a few days, he's annoyed again, thinking that peaceful times are more comfortable.
However, Ning Zheng quickly noticed something was amiss.
[Today's Qi Fortune: 485]
?
Why has the Qi Fortune Value dropped by fifteen points today?
Am I about to experience some unlucky event?
Ning Zheng frowned.
If he only had 15 points of Qi Fortune like before, wouldn't he be about to die?
Ning Zheng looked closely, and suddenly the prompt box above his head changed again.
[Qi Fortune Value -1]
?
It's dropped again!
How inexplicable.
Ning Zheng pondered, "Is it continuous, maybe dropping one point every hour or so?"
This drop in Qi Fortune might be a warning.
Some danger might be approaching him or the manor?
He wasn't too anxious and decided to eat breakfast before heading out to check the manor.
In his view, there weren't many crises he faced.
1. River Demon.
Have I caught too many River Demons, and now they're causing trouble for me?
That seems quite logical.
Taking Ning Jiaojiao to their territory almost every day, performing seductive dances, flaunting, singing, luring away some of their good sons?
And now, after several years, they're only just getting angry. They're definitely the patient types!
But what can Ning Zheng do? Ning Jiaojiao just wants to eat meat!
2. Crows.
Crows are not River Demons; they have explosive tempers.
I've never dared to provoke them.
Because I've personally seen the white-haired brother selling pork on the neighboring street being attacked daily.
Through indirect questioning, I found out that during his lifetime, he had attacked crows with a broom, and now they hold a grudge!
Even though he died over a hundred years ago, they still constantly drop feces on him, bullying a vulnerable Yin Spirit; this is probably what they call a lasting connection.
He's not prematurely white-haired but as a Yin Spirit doesn't wash his hair, and the crows help by washing his hair daily, causing white hair over time.
So, Ning Zheng is currently definitely not daring to rile them up.
But who knows, maybe the crows suddenly find me displeasing?
The probabilities with the River Demon and Crows are small; even if it happens, Ning Zheng thinks he can escape. Instead, he focuses on the following two major concerns.
3. New Year Market.
Could there be some Great Calamity from the neighboring Spirit Manor, not liking me while shopping?
A circle of Spirit Manors surrounds the manor at the bottom, seven or eight of them, and Ning Zheng has no desire to explore recklessly, having barely visited the neighboring Spirit Manors; there could truly be something fiercer than Ning Jiaojiao.
Perhaps at the New Year Market, encountering an attack, clearing Ning Jiaojiao's mind and not even her complete form can defeat the opponent.
Thus, this trip is dangerous.
4. Demon Men on the Manor, and remnant forces?
"Regarding the New Year Market, if there's danger, I won't go." Ning Zheng thought for a moment, slightly anxious, "On the contrary, if there are still Demon Men or remnant forces, that is the most dangerous."
Ning Zheng, without any commitment to righteousness, but certainly all Demon Men on the manor are likely dead.
But what if they have relatives?
Or friends, coming for a visit, only to find a loss of contact?
After all, living in the world, who doesn't have a few friends.
Birds of a feather flock together, inherently not good.
"I need to eliminate these dangers one by one, confirming where they originate." Ning Zheng pondered.
He wasn't nervous since he's seen too many crises.
Hiding in the Lower Spirit Manor, exploring patterns and living among terrifying creatures, curse-killing Demon Men, when isn't it a narrow escape? When isn't it walking the tightrope?
He went along the mountain road, opened the manor gate.
Discovered that the open-air blacksmith shop was still bustling, Duang~Duang resounded across the heavens.
This group of people was quite enthusiastic, now practically in love with this forging workshop.
After starting to forge, many of them wanted to forge +13 legendary weapons.
Of course, most of their luck wasn't very good.
The weapons they crafted had many flaws, with strict requirements for the Magic Artifact Coarse Embryo to be integrated, no cracks, no hidden defects, etc., many failed [forging failed], [forging failed]...
"Failed quenching again, this Emperor Crack is way too big, it definitely won't pass the chopping test."
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"Wasn't forging the embryo supposed to be simple? Why can't I even shape something solid and sturdy!"
"It's all practice, all practice, the big results are coming soon!"
"Exactly, exactly! The more I fail, the more my proficiency increases."
"Might as well go forge some iron pipes, simple and easy, and there's a task for it right now. The dormitory pipe construction just happens to need this, and forging ten pipes can get you a magic coin."
The atmosphere was bustling with activity.
Mainly, their luck wasn't very good.
Since forging is heavily reliant on skill, condition, and luck.
But Ning Zheng believed that diligence could overcome bad luck.
After making a round, he found everyone was well-arranged.
They were distributed into chefs, miners, blacksmiths, and an enforcement team, to prevent theft. Everyone had to weigh in and out, and a giant scale called the Fair Scale was set up in the distance.
Everyone had to step on it when coming or going, and could weigh themselves as a bonus.
You could see that the management system had improved significantly.
After all, the manager takes a 5% cut, so Jiucai Rong certainly wouldn't let those treasure-seeking bastards rob him.
A group was busy in the dormitory, further renovating with things like shower pipes and feeding mechanisms.
Ning Zheng went to take a look.
The current dormitory is like a super large square toilet, the ground dug very deep, as tall as four or five floors, with regular shower rinses, and each rotating iron net bed frame suspended in mid-air.
At this height, Ning Zheng looked down, feeling a bit afraid of heights!
It was equivalent to sleeping on suspended iron net hammocks in a tall building.
If someone falls in, they can't swim back up, only slowly slide down the slope into the septic tank. That muddy smell, is just too miserable!
But some people weren't afraid, what they played with was excitement.
At this time, those people were working high up without safety ropes, and even jumped back and forth deliberately on the iron pipes and beds, like monkeys showing off skills, laughing and playing extreme sports.
They weren't afraid of falling.
They even shouted, "We'll get into trouble sooner or later, but it's fine if I play it at noon," "I can get Red Bull sponsorship," all sorts of nonsense, showing how stubborn they were.
Walking around, Ning Zheng wasn't surprised anymore, and instead kind of admired their hands-on ability.
In just two days, things changed so much. This level of organization and enthusiasm...not to mention, Money Child's great strength, naturally a perfect laborer for moving bricks, and a master at digging holes and mining.
Truly like an Otherworld pangolin, perfectly matched to the job.
Ning Zheng pondered for a moment and was surprisingly satisfied: "Looks like I can raise my expectations of them! This Sword Casting Manor might really grow and become powerful?"
Just then, Jiucai Rong came over, paying his respects respectfully: "Master Manager, we want the method to forge the finished magical artifact."
If it were another game.
This [Skill Book] would definitely be something you buy or exchange from an NPC.
But this game is generous, especially the old manager, who has a gentle personality and tries to help with reasonable requests.
"What do you want it for?" Ning Zheng frowned, "Aren't you just starting with the magic artifact coarse embryo?"
He had previously given them the first volume of basic forging books, and still had the second volume in hand. There was originally no need to give them the method for forging magical artifacts, especially since they had no materials.
"We want to forge magical artifacts." Jiucai Rong said, "As for materials, we're attempting to hunt crows."
Ning Zheng was startled.
So that was the source of danger, these guys want to provoke the crows from the start?
Crows usually air-drop, that's a show of respect, a favor from the crow lords, do you really think they are defenseless in direct combat?
Scratching isn't a joke, they might even peck, and with flocks of them flying around together, just thinking about it is terrifying.
Messing with them?
At least tens of thousands.
What an exaggerated number, no need to elaborate further.
According to the manor's population ratio, it's a hundred people against tens of thousands of crows, pecked to death alive.
But just as he was about to stop them, he thought about it and didn't say anything after all.
Risk and opportunity coexist.
If they succeed, it is indeed a good thing.
Besides, if there's a grudge, it would be against them, what does it have to do with me?
Just as well, he wasn't planning to go up the mountain frequently anytime soon, might as well keep some distance, watch the tiger fight from the mountain, and observe the crow airdrop and crow swarm battle from below the mountain.
If they lose, they could hide in the dormitory, staying indoors, and the crows couldn't get in, they'd just fly outside.
Anyway, Money Child doesn't need to bask in the sun, he likes living in caves, worst case scenario, switch to an underground manor, forge underground, set up a subterranean manor.
If successful, there's a chance to turn the crow demon beast into a meat field.
Ning Zheng never had an escapist attitude.
Not competing for resources, not becoming stronger, hiding, or avoiding, would never lead to a peaceful life.
Because eventually, being too weak would turn you into someone's cultivation resource, and by then, you'd only regret being hesitant and wasting precious time before.
You never know which will come first, danger or tomorrow.
Moreover, if you kill enough of them, and lure out the crow leader, Ning Zheng might have the chance to use "lucky" precision to kill the opponent with hidden arrows from a bow, just perfectly.
This is the chance to obtain a meat field.
If realized, cultivation would indeed speed up.
Ning Jiaojiao also needed a meat field; consuming a large amount of flesh and blood would accelerate her metamorphosis, giving her a higher sense of self-awareness and breaking free from her past shackles, potentially living again on the path of Yin cultivation.
"You are very brave, wanting to change your fate as manor slaves, I am very glad, but this will also be a very dangerous challenge."
Ning Zheng said, "If you insist on doing so, I suggest you reinforce the next floor's dormitory and cover the second-floor blacksmith shop to make it less exposed."
Jiucai Rong touched his chin, "You're afraid of rain, so we can't forge?"
"Yeah, more or less, rain makes it impossible to forge." Ning Zheng thought about the scene and felt it was too beautiful to behold.