As soon as Sada finished speaking, the fox clan chief's voice came from outside the door, "Zifan? Are you there?"
Sada's face darkened as she walked over with the painting to block his way. "What are you doing here again? Why are you always haunting me? Zifan already said he doesn't like you anymore, but you come here every single day. Don't you find it annoying?"
Su Xin saw the painting in his hand, took it in surprise and unfolded it, "This was painted by Zifan? It's amazing, it looks just like the real person! I want to have one painted too."
"You don't get any!" Sada snatched the painting away, turned around and went to the spot she had just chosen to hang it up. "Su Xin, if you have something to say, say it. If not, get lost. Today is a day of celebration. We have our own program and don't welcome outsiders."
Su Xin walked over to Xu Zifan and sat down as if he hadn't heard her. A smile appeared on his charming face. "Zifan, I came here specifically to see you. Thank you for bringing such a good life to everyone. The fox clan's population has increased again, all thanks to you. You've done so much more than I, the clan leader. I think you'll definitely have even more to do in the future. I'm willing to contribute. Can I help you by your side? I'll do a lot."
Xu Zifan smiled distantly, "Clan Chief Su, everyone is working hard and there is something to do everywhere. I have three younger brothers here to help me, so there is nothing that cannot be handled. I will not trouble Clan Chief Su."
"Zifan..."
"You heard what Zifan said." Mengya grabbed Su Xin by the collar and dragged him out the door. Before closing the door, he said coldly, "Also, 'Zifan' is not what you call him. Remember to call him 'Master Wise,' and don't come back."
With a bang, Meng Ya slammed the door shut. Xu Zifan looked at Mo Wen and asked, "What drug did you give him just now?"
Mo Wen looked down and fiddled with the small medicine bottle in his hand. "It's nothing, just a little laxative to cleanse his intestines."
Xu Zifan raised an eyebrow but remained silent. Over a dozen beastmen had pursued him that year, and two females had even confessed their feelings, but only Su Xin was particularly persistent, probably hoping to benefit the fox clan by virtue of her good looks. With three people protecting him, Xu Zifan didn't really need to do anything; he just needed to make his stance clear, and no one could bother him. That was pretty good, wasn't it?
Since the three of them had tacitly accepted the brotherhood, Xu Zifan acted as the eldest brother and treated them as his younger brothers, further demonstrating that they were all immature younger brothers in his eyes. He constantly expressed his clear and unambiguous attitude, and so far it seems to have worked well; at least they no longer showed any intention of pursuing ambiguity.
Mengya returned to Xu Zifan and sat down in a chair, saying, "Today, Zhuifeng came back from hunting and said he saw the Tiger Clan nearby. Not the ones in the city, but the ones who refused to come before. Zhuifeng said they looked terrible. Half a year ago, a huge forest fire there destroyed their hunting grounds. They moved their tribe several times but still often went hungry, and many died. Now, more than thirty of them want to enter the city and are asking Zhuifeng to intercede for them. Zifan..."
Xu Zifan took a sip of tea. "No wonder you were so irritable just now. Are Bai Yi and Mu Ci here?"
Mengya glanced at him, paused for a moment, and then said, "Zhuifeng specifically checked. They're not here. The original clan leader died from serious injuries and didn't receive treatment. They had a falling out with Bai Yi and split into two groups."
Xu Zifan nodded, "Then you handle this matter. See what their character is like. If you can accept them, let them mine for a year first. If you can't accept them, then kick them out."
"Okay. But they must have been desperate to get here. Bai Yi's group is probably in a similar situation. I think he'll come looking for trouble sooner or later."
"We'll see when the time comes." Xu Zifan's mission was to become a female admired by all, making those who mocked and looked down on him regret their actions. Bai Yi and Mu Ci, of course, were the ones who should regret it the most. Xu Zifan felt that he had already completed his mission, but if he could see the fate of those two in person, the original owner would probably be even more satisfied.
Mengya glanced at him again, nodded thoughtfully, and went upstairs to his room.
Xu Zifan paused, glancing at Mengya's retreating figure. "[Shaohua, why do I feel like Mengya's a little angry? What's he angry about?]"
[Shaohua: This concerns your love life. You said I shouldn't pay attention to this kind of thing, I didn't know that.]
Xu Zifan felt that Shao Hua had almost become a spirit after experiencing so much with him.
Sada hung a group photo of the four of them in a prominent spot right inside the entrance to the hall, and another group photo in the conference room so that the tribal chiefs could see it whenever they came to a meeting. Their individual portraits hung in their rooms, which they naturally found quite attractive—something unique and unlike anything else they had.
Winter, though called a holiday, doesn't mean everyone is idle. With ample food and warm houses, people no longer worry about survival and can use the season to learn more in the city. Xu Zifan taught a very talented female to read Chinese characters, and everyone learned with him daily. Others wove baskets, polished stone tools, made clothes and shoes… basically, everyone did what they could. They experienced the joy of production, so few were truly idle. Therefore, many factories in the city remained operational, and the trading post and quest hall were still bustling; only fewer people went hunting.
Xu Zifan wasn't idle either. He redrawn a large map, adding the terrain descriptions given by the hunters and visiting tribes over the past year to the original map. It might not be entirely accurate, but given the current conditions, it was the best it could be. Based on everyone's observations, he marked several locations on the map where metal mines might be found, deciding to go and investigate. If they could mine metal, it would make building things much easier in the future.
After arranging things in the city, he set off for the mining site with Sada, Mengya, and Mowen. He almost always took things from his spatial storage in front of the three of them, so the four of them had no inconvenience at all when traveling; they could take whatever they needed. Mengya had already met with the thirty-odd tiger clan members and sent them to the mining site to work in the quarry. If they could work for a year, they could join the group; if they couldn't, they could leave on their own.
The four arrived at a mining site. Xu Zifan first took out some food for everyone to eat, then asked Sada to lead him around freely, while Shaohua scanned for metal ore. About half an hour later, Shaohua notified Xu Zifan, "[Iron ore found, location marked, it's a very large mine.]"
Xu Zifan immediately patted Sada on the back, "Sada, let's go over there."
Sada ran over and put Xu Zifan down. Xu Zifan saw some fallen iron pieces and iron filings on the ground. He took out a stone pickaxe, found an easy spot to cut into, and smashed it down.
"Zifan, give it to me." Mengya stepped forward, took the stone pickaxe, and told Xu Zifan to step back a little before forcefully smashing it against the spot where Xu Zifan had previously smashed. He was strong, so mining wasn't difficult for him. After smashing it a dozen times, a large clump of rocks fell down, revealing the iron ore inside.
Mo Wen stood next to Xu Zifan and asked, "How did you find it? Can you teach me this method?"
Xu Zifan shook his head. "I feel that I can't teach this. Everyone has to figure it out on their own. In the future, everyone will find mines on their own, accumulate experience, and then pass on that experience."
Mowen had encountered this situation many times before, so he didn't ask any more questions. He stepped forward and touched the iron ore, saying, "This is very solid."
"It can be used to make pickaxes, sickles, and all sorts of tools, much better than stone." Xu Zifan also went over and touched it; it was actually the first time he had ever seen iron ore. "You have to soften it with fire and then hammer it into the shape you want. The knives can be sharpened very quickly, which is very convenient. We'll send people to mine here in the spring, and we need to make a batch of tools as soon as possible."
Sada glanced at the sky. "Zifan, there's no time to go anywhere else today. Let's find a place to rest first."
"Alright, I'll mark this. This is the mine of the Wise Man's City." Xu Zifan took out his sword and carved the mark of the Wise Man's City onto the stone. This might not be useful, but it's a habit to make it so that if someone else takes it, they'll take it back.
Sada found a suitable place to rest. Xu Zifan took out four sleeping bags made of animal hides and two large animal hides to make blankets, so that those who didn't want to rest could sit on the blankets. Xu Zifan was a little tired. Seeing the three of them studying the iron block, he crawled into a sleeping bag, intending to take a nap. But just as he was drifting off to sleep, he heard Shao Hua's warning.
[Shaohua: Bai Yi has appeared! Zifan, Bai Yi, along with Mu Ci, seven tiger-clan beastmen, and three tiger-clan females, is approaching us. They must have been attracted by the smell of food.]
Xu Zifan opened his eyes, and Mengya was the first to notice something was wrong and ran over to check.
"Bai Yi?"
"Ferocious Fang?" Bai Yi squinted at Ferocious Fang, who was dressed even better than the clan leader, and then looked behind him. "You're here, so is Xu Zifan here too? What a coincidence, even the Beast God is guiding me to seek revenge on you!"
Fierce Fang stared at them warily and said coldly, "Do you want to get struck by lightning again?"
Sada stood defensively beside Mengya. "Bai Yi, your hatred is inexplicable. Mengya and Zifan owe you nothing. The tiger clan members who were punished back then are now living comfortably in the city, well-fed and clothed. If anyone should hate someone, it should be the remaining tiger clan members who hate you. You're the one who harmed them."
Bai Yi, his eyes filled with hatred, said to the tiger clan members behind him, "Don't listen to their excuses! Xu Zifan is a jinx! He cursed us! Ever since he appeared, our tiger clan has been wiped out! He is our enemy, and we must avenge our dead loved ones!"
Xu Zifan stood up, with Mo Wen protecting him. He walked towards them, looked Bai Yi and Mu Ci over, raised an eyebrow and smiled, "You two are living such a miserable life, really... you deserve it."
"Xu Zifan!" Mu Ci screamed, "It's you who ruined us! It's you! You have to give back our tribe!"
Bai Yi roared and transformed into his beast form, lunging at Xu Zifan. He was knocked aside by Mengya, who had also transformed into a beast. However, Bai Yi, having roamed freely and become incredibly ferocious, charged at Xu Zifan again. Mengya was about to attack when Xu Zifan raised his hand to block him, drawing his Xuan Iron Fan to meet the attack. Although he couldn't cultivate and wasn't particularly strong, his agility was unmatched; Bai Yi couldn't hit him at all!
Bai Yi felt that Xu Zifan was just toying with him by dodging left and right. He suddenly pounced, and Xu Zifan slid down his stomach. Xu Zifan raised his iron fan and scratched his stomach. Xu Zifan swung his hand back and scratched his hind leg!
"Xu Zifan! You deserve to die!" Bai Yi was furious.