Talisa knelt in the spacious wooden cabin, unconsciously rubbing the corner of her skirt, her face flushed, trying hard to control her breathing, gazing ahead with a blurry look.
She really couldn't bear to destroy the beautiful scene. She even felt that just watching it secretly brought her a deep sense of guilt.
The morning sunlight shone on Mu Zhou's long eyelashes, casting curved shadows on his delicate cheeks that seemed to radiate a divine glow.
His furrowed brows made people feel pity, while his narrow eye slits trembled occasionally as if they would open at any moment, revealing the black gem hidden within.
His even breathing emanated from his exquisite nose, and his pure, crystal-like cherry lips seemed to emit an enchanting sweetness.
His long, straight purple-black hair was like the most premium silk, covering his streamlined body. The tattered black cloak not only didn't destroy the perfect view but added a layer of eerie, beautiful mystery.
The exposed ivory-white arms looked fragile and easily broken, and the five dark green slender fingers were buried tightly in the cushion, seemingly enduring something.
If possible, Mu Zhou wished his ears weren't so sensitive.
Perhaps it was because he had been living in the quiet, uninhabited bronze pillar forest that he didn't feel any discomfort. But once he was in such a human-inhabited environment, the noisy sounds became crystal clear to his ears.
"Hmm... Talisa~~~~~"
Although he didn't open his eyes, he could clearly sense her presence.
He gestured to her to come to him.
"Master Mu Zhou!" The voice's owner was like a child whose prank had been discovered, feeling a bit guilty but obediently approaching.
"Hehe~~"
Suddenly, Mu Zhou pulled Talisa into his embrace.
"Mmm! Mmm!"
Talisa let out a cute, animal-like cry.
"Ah~ hehe~~~"
Mu Zhou didn't care, holding her in his arms and lazily rubbing against her.
【Ah~~~ I'm becoming more and more defenseless against this cute little creature】
After the initial surprise panic, Talisa quickly behaved obediently, not resisting Mu Zhou's affection, but her face grew increasingly red...
In the end, the increasingly noisy sound outside stopped their actions, and Mu Zhou got up from the cushion.
He tidied up his now somewhat fluffy long hair, slightly furrowing his eyebrows.
【It's getting in the way】
Unknowingly, his purple-black hair had grown so long that it could cover his backside when standing up.
He pulled it a bit harder, his eyebrows furrowing tighter.
He held his hair in one hand, and the other hand formed a blade shape, flicking upwards from bottom to top.
In that instant, there seemed to be an invisible glow on his hand. Talisa suddenly felt as if something dazzling forced her to close her eyes momentarily. But when she opened them, she didn't notice anything.
If one carefully observed the ceiling, they'd find a palm-sized hole had appeared.
A cloud that accidentally floated above the house was quietly divided into two in the sky.
Mu Zhou silently looked at his undamaged hair with a gloomy face.
【Damn monster...】
Feeling helpless, he muttered to himself and flung his hair behind him.
He straightened his tattered cloak, walked out of the cabin, followed by Talisa.
Stepping outside, the sunlight did not obstruct his vision, but he squinted habitually.
The whole village was bustling, with people shuttling back and forth in the streets and alleyways, holding various items in their hands.
【What are they doing...】
The busy villagers were not disordered; they each took things from different houses and put them together in the central square of the village, which now had a mountain of items.
【Are they preparing for a celebration or getting ready to relocate? After all, something like that happened, relocating the entire village wouldn't be surprising】"Yo! Respected strong one! How did you sleep last night? I hope you will forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality." A hearty voice accompanied by Tamu's hearty smile appeared beside the wooden boat. After a brief encounter yesterday, Tamu thought Mu Zhou was not a difficult person to get along with, except for some quirks. In addition, after a night of calm, the post-disaster relief of being saved and the joy of gratitude filled his heart, making this forthright man more sincere and less cautious when talking. Mu Zhou quite liked this feeling and responded with a smile and a nod.
For a moment, Tamu felt his heart skip a beat. Talisa stood beside Mu Zhou, glanced at the chief, then looked up at Mu Zhou. The clever girl did not mention Mu Zhou's name. Mu Zhou's gaze shifted to the pile of items on the open ground in the village and then back to Tamu, who was standing nearby.
Noticing the questioning look in Mu Zhou's eyes, Tamu hesitated for a moment before turning around and shouting loudly, "Put down everything in your hands and gather here quickly!" A large group of people quickly gathered around, surrounding Mu Zhou and Tamu with an awkward Talisa by their side.
Tamu's expression struggled as if he had something difficult to say. Suddenly, as if making a certain decision, the tall man knelt before Mu Zhou. Following his actions, the villagers also knelt down one after another. "Sir! Can you please... I know we have no right to ask, but we beg you! Please allow us to continue living here!" His muscular arm supported him as he hit his head hard on the ground. "We... we will offer tributes regularly, so... please protect us!" Tamu gritted his teeth and finished before pressing his head heavily on the ground.
The villagers around him did the same. Even Talisa hurriedly wanted to kneel, but Mu Zhou quickly grabbed her. He glanced around and calmly expressed: "I can't understand what you're saying!" In his heart, he tried to explore using [Listening], but still received vague and mixed feedback.
After looking at the panicking Talisa's helpless eyes, he tried his best to read the vague thoughts. [Protection? What is protection?] It didn't seem right to just stand there, so after pondering for a moment, he made up his mind. He decided to use the old method - nodding. He immediately nodded while still thinking, "What is this 'protection' thing..."
At that moment, he suddenly felt a slight suction from the ground beneath his feet, as if it was asking him for something. This force was minuscule to him, but out of curiosity, he did not resist. Instead, he actively sent some energy towards the suction.
After a short while, the weak force disappeared as if it had been saturated. Nothing around him changed, and everything seemed normal. Mu Zhou felt a little disappointed. He was indeed expecting something miraculous to happen. "Thank you!!!" The booming voice startled Mu Zhou.
Tamu raised his head, his eyes bloodshot and mouth stretched to the roots of his ears. Mu Zhou was puzzled... what did he do that made Tamu so overjoyed? "We will do our best! We will spare no effort to guard your territory!" With a bang, Tamu slammed his head on the ground again.
"Don't you feel pain...?" This time, Mu Zhou even saw a red liquid slowly oozing out from the ground where he hit his head. In order not to complicate things further, Mu Zhou hurriedly diverted Tamu's attention by pointing to the pile of vegetables on the ground that he had tasted the night before and found delicious.He wanted to ask when they would have dinner...
"Oh? Oh! Look at my forgetful mind! Sir, please accept these gifts! This is our modest token of gratitude!"
Well... this sentence was quite easy to understand.
【These? For me?】
Mu Zhou looked up at the pile of various items that reached roof heights. He suspected that almost all of the village's possessions were concentrated here...
He hurriedly waved his hands and thought for a moment.
Walking up to the pile of items, he pulled out a thick, square piece of cloth and carefully placed the items on it.
Tamu looked at the size of the cloth, and after pondering for a moment, asked tentatively, "Sir, are you going to travel?"
Mu Zhou nodded.
Indeed, Mu Zhou had decided to leave. Not that he had a specific destination in mind, but he simply wanted to see more of this world. To put it in simpler terms, the parallel world was so vast, and he wanted to explore it.
He picked some exotic vegetables, some animal fur blankets, and picked up a gourd-shaped container with a sealed opening. Hmm... for some reason, he still hadn't found any clothes.
He wrapped all these items together to form a package about as tall as a person.
He then turned around and saw Talisa, who was holding her dress tightly, looking lost and anxious, wanting to say something but hesitating.
"Sir... Mu..."
Mu Zhou gave her a gentle smile, reached out his hands through her armpits, lifted her over his head, and placed her on top of the package, allowing her to sit on it. Her expression changed from disbelief to delight.
He then patted the package, as if to say:
These! I'm taking them with me!
At this moment, Mu Zhou didn't realize the extent of the astonishing, earth-shattering changes that would take place in this small village due to his curiosity.
