As soon as Xu Zifan spoke, the surroundings fell silent.
Shao Hua joined in the fun, saying to Xu Zifan, "[Based on a comparison of the three of them with other orcs, they are courting you, hoping to form a real family with you.]"
[Are you bored? How about we develop a body for you so you can marry an orc?]
[Shaohua: I am genderless. If you set me as female or woman, I have no problem with it.]
Xu Zifan ignored him speechlessly and laughed, "What kind of group photo do you want to be drawn? Human or animal? Actually, I've never had any siblings, so it's really great to have met you three brothers. We all share the same ideals, and if we work together, we'll definitely be able to build a powerful future empire. In the future, we might be busy for the rest of our lives, and we'll have fewer and fewer moments like this to leisurely enjoy the night view."
Mo Wen glanced at him, then looked away. "If I'm really as busy as you say, then I won't have time to think about other things, which is not bad." He stood up and walked towards the lake. "The snake race's beast forms are also beautiful. I want to paint one in the water."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly transformed into a giant, dark-colored python with beautiful patterns and leaped into the lake. Then, he burst out, drawing an arched semicircle in mid-air, with his head and tail touching the water's surface. The splashes he created adorned the area around him, making him look like a beautiful painting under the moonlight.
[Shaohua: The image data of the ink pattern has been recorded.]
[You're getting more and more mischievous, but it's okay, you can just copy my drawings from now on.]
[Shaohua: Are you really not planning to consider them? I've read so many beastman novels, and the time travelers were eventually moved by them, discovered their good qualities, and fell in love with them.]
[Sexual orientation is innate and cannot be changed; I only like women. You should spend your time thinking about whether you can improve those medicinal fields that require spirit stones to cultivate. Don't worry about these trivial matters; you don't need to concern yourself with my love life.]
[Shaohua: Okay, then you'll have to spend the rest of your life with your right hand. I was just thinking about your sexual happiness and didn't want you to waste the opportunity for dual cultivation.]
Xu Zifan was stunned for a moment, truly not expecting Shao Hua to say such... such vivid words. He took a deep breath, "[Shao Hua, from now on you're not allowed to read novels randomly. You can only read the ones I've edited!]"
Shao Hua immediately muted himself and pretended not to hear. Xu Zifan was both amused and exasperated. Just then, Sada pulled him aside and asked him which position looked best for each person in the group photo, so he started chatting with Sada.
They sat by the lake for a long time that night. Sada even caught some prey to roast and eat. They didn't return until the tribe's bonfire party ended. The first thing Xu Zifan did upon returning was to go into his spatial dimension and delete all the pornographic novels and videos. He also set a restriction on the system, forbidding Shaohua from viewing unhealthy content. Shaohua's protests were ineffective, and she silently disappeared. Xu Zifan then took out a brush and drawing paper and began to paint. Since they all knew he could conjure things up, there was nothing wrong with conjuring up an extraordinary painting. As for whether future archaeologists would be stumped, he didn't care.
He knew their feelings were genuine, and he couldn't reciprocate, but he didn't take them lightly, so he painted each picture with great care. Just as Sada had said, he painted one human figure and one animal figure for each of them, and also one group portrait of the four of them in human form and one group portrait in animal form, of course, with the three of them transformed into animals. So many paintings couldn't be finished in a day. The next day, Sada pressed him for details, but Xu Zifan only said it would take more time, prioritizing the city's construction first, and then they went to their respective posts to supervise the work.
The beastmen fired bricks to build city walls, while the females cooked and delivered meals to them. They also set traps to hunt using the methods Xu Zifan had taught them, and cultivated the land. Everyone was busy and full of passion, believing that living in the city would bring about a qualitative leap in their lives. Most other tribes also sent many people to join, who learned quickly and worked very diligently.
Their actions spread rapidly throughout the continent, and the Wolf Clan finally couldn't resist sending people to submit. Previously, when Xu Zifan used an array to trap the twenty wolf-men, some Wolf Clan members came to rescue them, but no matter what methods they used, they couldn't save the beastmen. They could only confront Xu Zifan with the Leopard Clan, and naturally, they were defeated. Afterwards, Xu Zifan imprisoned the twenty beastmen in a demon beast cage, securing them outside the Leopard Clan's tribe with an array. The Wolf Clan could provide them with food to ensure they didn't starve, but if they wanted him to release the beastmen, the entire Wolf Clan had to submit and perform two years of hard labor without pay.
The wolf clan naturally disagreed, leading to a stalemate until people from various tribes arrived to build the city, and Xu Zifan's forces grew several times larger. No matter how much the wolf clan plotted, they were powerless and had no choice but to submit. The wolf clan chief still wanted to negotiate and join the city's life, but Xu Zifan flatly refused. For at least two years, the wolf clan would be considered criminals, relegated to mining. Ultimately, the wolf clan chief compromised and accepted the situation; under Xu Zifan's military intimidation, he dared not entertain any thoughts of escape for the time being.
With these threats to the tribe resolved, everyone focused on building the city. Winter arrived just as the city walls were completed. Xu Zifan instructed everyone to plan their building locations within the city, each choosing a site to construct simple wooden huts first, and then build brick houses after winter. The elderly and young children, whose resistance was low, gathered together, covering their wooden huts with furs and keeping warm by the fire each day.
At this time, the ham, sauerkraut, dried meat, dried fruit, and other food stored by the various tribes according to Xu Zifan's arrangements came in handy. During the first winter, Xu Zifan implemented an accounting system. If someone was short of food while someone else had plenty, the person with the abundance could trade with the person in need. If there was nothing to trade temporarily, it was recorded in a book. This book was personally managed by Xu Zifan, and the consequence of defaulting on a debt was expulsion. In this way, the entire winter was essentially a resource sharing effort.
It was a fair and equitable experience, and no one objected. Those who had worked hard to store food even earned a lot from it, which was undoubtedly the best encouragement.
Xu Zifan had already seen many females gathered together discussing what to plant in the spring; their awareness of their own property had increased significantly. The tiger clan remained on the fringes, and the wolf clan couldn't even enter the city; their fates were in the hands of destiny. Their fates served as a reminder to everyone not to have unrealistic ambitions, or they would end up like them.
Thanks to Xu Zifan's meticulous planning, the winter wasn't too difficult. The sick were all cured by Xu Zifan, and out of the more than two thousand people in their tribes, not a single one died that winter! By the end of the winter, the people had completely won over Xu Zifan and were full of enthusiasm when they started work.
The following year, they finished building the brick houses. Xu Zifan's city was very large, and the several residential areas were also very large. Each family had a brick house and a small courtyard. The brick houses had heated brick beds, so in winter, each family could burn charcoal to keep warm and no longer worry about freezing to death.
After a year of hard work, the city was finally completed as Xu Zifan had described. Everyone had been working tirelessly, and the females were much stronger than before. When winter came again, no one felt anxious anymore. When Xu Zifan walked to the altar to announce the completion, he smiled at the joyful crowd and used spirit stones to set up an amplification array on the altar so that everyone could hear his words.
"Our basic city walls are now complete! Today, I declare the project finished. Specialized construction teams will continue the work, but not everyone will be involved. I believe that through this year's hard work, everyone understands their strengths. So this winter, carefully consider what you want to do in the future and choose what you excel at. I hope everyone will not slack off and will continue to diligently learn from the teachers."
Starting next year, the land will no longer be centrally cultivated; instead, it will be allocated to each household for individual cultivation. Those who don't know how to farm can rent out their land to others and collect rent, or they can post tasks in the task hall to hire people to farm for them. In short, those who are capable will do more, and this will never change. I hope everyone will continue to be diligent.
He glanced at Fierce Fang and said, "There's one more thing to announce. From now on, everyone from the Tiger Clan will enjoy the same treatment as everyone else. You all know what kind of people they are after spending so much time together. Now that the punishment period is over, everyone is equal. No matter which clan you're from, once you enter Wise Man's City, you're all Wise Man's City people, without distinction. Alright, I hope everyone has a comfortable winter and can recharge for next year's endeavors. Of course, those who want to have babies shouldn't miss this opportunity!"
Xu Zifan's last sentence made everyone laugh, especially the couples who had just applied for marriage; they were all teased and blushed. Winter was everyone's holiday, and everyone cheered. Standing on the altar, looking at their happy smiles, Xu Zifan suddenly felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment, a sense he had never felt before when closing a deal or learning anything. "Construction" was truly fascinating; the process of creating something from nothing, watching a barren land gradually transform into a city, was simply magical.
Sada called to him from beside the altar, "Zifan, let's go. Don't you dislike noise?"
Xu Zifan nodded, walked down the steps, and saw Mengya and Mowen there as well. He walked with them towards the only thousand-foot garden villa in the city, which was the Hall of Wise Men, his residence. The three of them insisted on moving in, saying that brothers should live together and that they would only move out after the marriage. He was the one who said "brothers," so in the end, Xu Zifan agreed, except that the three of them lived on the second floor, and he lived on the third floor.
Sada was always the most talkative among them. As soon as he entered the villa, he said, "Zifan, is your painting finished? I was so busy that I forgot to ask. It should be finished by now."
"Yes, I finished drawing them a long time ago. I had forgotten about them, I've been too busy lately." Xu Zifan waved his hand, and eight scrolls were piled on the table.
Sada immediately opened one of the images, which showed the Mo Wen beast leaping out of the water. He quickly handed it to Mo Wen, saying, "Come and see, it's so lifelike! It's just like seeing you in person!"
Mo Wen and Meng Ya went up to look at the paintings, and in the end, all three of them took the two group photos. Sada looked up at the wall facing the gate and said with a smile, "Let's just hang it there. Everyone can see it when they come, so everyone will know that this is our home and won't bother Zi Fan anymore."