Sword Shatters Stars

Chapter 34: Exhaustion means bearing too much.
Zhao Youyue served Lin Xiufeng a bowl of wolf bone soup. Lin Xiufeng's appetite was already fully satisfied, and he didn't want to eat anymore.

"I'm already full!"

"Don't waste it, it's precious."

Zhao Youyue was clearly responding to Lin Xiufeng's question about whether the bones in the soup could still be used to make bone meal.

"I don't have this habit. Wouldn't it be a bigger loss if I overeat and hurt myself?"

Lin Xiufeng twisted open the bone powder he had exchanged with Qin Yong.

Zhao Youyue also peeked out with great curiosity.

It was full of powder, all sorts of colorful powder.

Moreover, it was very clear that it was a highly concentrated form of Heavenly Martial Power.

Although it's called bone meal, it has clearly undergone special processing.

"Judging from Qin Yong's words, this stuff should be worth ten pounds of bones for every gram of it."

"I guess only Heavenly Warriors can use it? The triangular-eyed man's diary didn't mention it at all."

Zhao Youyue's speculation was also Lin Xiufeng's judgment.

So I carefully covered it up and put it away.

Lin Xiufeng recalled Sanjia Village and said with suspicion:

"Would the pharmacies in Sanjia Village be able to handle it?"

"Then let's hurry out of the mountains and find a village to ask!"

Zhao Youyue couldn't wait any longer.

Lin Xiufeng was still worried that Qin Yong might find help to steal the bones, so she wanted to go as far away as possible.

The two immediately started packing their things, only to find that they had way too much.

Even with all the bags I've packed, I still need to bring four bags.

The wolf bones and meat were even more plentiful.

Although the Heavenly Martial Soul possesses astonishing power, the Hound Wolf weighs four tons.

Bleeding and removing internal organs will result in a weight loss of about 25%.

The fur makes up more than ten percent of the product, and even after drying it and making it lighter, it still has to be carried around.

Bones, meat, fur, and at least 70% of its weight, weighing 2.8 tons.

Lin Xiufeng and Zhao Youyue could only carry a pair of shoulder poles each as they made their way through the mountains.

Qin Yong, carrying the wolf bones, traveled for several days. Before they could be ground into bone powder, he delivered them directly to his master.

When the origin of the wolf bones was mentioned at the banquet, everyone said that Lin Xiufeng was generous and forthright.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yong's master inquired about Zhao Youyue's height and physical characteristics with great interest.

Finally, he asked about Lin Xiufeng's situation.

Everyone felt something was amiss. Qin Yong pressed for details, and his master said that Zhao Youyue shared the same name and surname as his niece, and their height and appearance were similar. However, his niece was still a senior in high school on Tianlan Star two months ago, so she shouldn't be here, much less have become a Heavenly Warrior.

Qin Yong silently made a mental note of this and decided to find out about it when he had some free time.

Whether it is or not, you'll know once you meet and ask.

At this moment, Zhao Youyue was still traveling in the mountains, carrying more than a ton of wolf bones and meat, and had been walking for several days.

"I don't want the meat anymore! I don't want it at all!"

"How can we not want this? We'll be out in a few days!"

Lin Xiufeng was unwilling to give up the valuable wolf meat.

"I don't care! I don't want it! You can keep it if you want, I just want the bones!"

Zhao Youyue unloaded the wolf meat from both ends of the carrying pole, and immediately felt relieved.

Lin Xiufeng gritted her teeth and took it with her, determined not to lose it.

Seeing that he was tired from picking, Zhao Youyue took some over and said:
"It's okay to bring this little bit; it'll lighten your load."

Lin Xiufeng really didn't want to argue about it; the meat had already addressed his concerns.

It was really too much trouble!
He suddenly understood why those five Heavenly Warriors had brought a group of Heavenly Martial Souls with them.

The Armadillo King's offspring, the Heavenly Warriors don't need to choose for themselves!

"I think it's still necessary to have a team. When we encounter newcomers, we can bring them along."

"You're looking for someone to do manual labor, aren't you?"

Zhao Youyue saw right through it.

“We’re at least at the seventh level of the Heavenly Martial Soul realm, so it’s only right that we bring along a few people at the zero or first level of the Heavenly Martial Soul realm. Shouldn’t they put in more effort?” Lin Xiufeng didn’t feel ashamed.

"If someone helps you... it's not bad, and with more people, it's less likely to be bullied."

Zhao Youyue originally wanted to find a team, but now she has a lingering fear and doesn't dare to join someone else rashly.

"Instead of joining someone else, why not build your own team? We'll have control and the power to evaluate people. Besides, we're such reliable people; anyone who joins our team is incredibly lucky!"

As Lin Xiufeng spoke, she felt the weight on her shoulders increase. After a pause, she continued:
"Once we get out of the mountains and find the village, we'll start looking for candidates."

Zhao Youyue began to seriously consider building a team.

“You’ll be the leader, and I’ll be the deputy leader. If we disagree, we’ll have the members vote, and the minority will obey the majority. You’ll be in charge of the finances, so be careful; I’ll be in charge of personnel, because I’m more reliable than you.”

"You've completely sidelined me right from the start!"

Lin Xiufeng didn't expect Zhao Youyue to be so serious and to have considered so many things so quickly.

"Then it can be the other way around. You manage personnel, and I can manage finances if I study hard."

"Are you kidding me? Of course, you're the most reliable person in charge of personnel. You can definitely record the family background, personality traits, strengths and weaknesses, preferences and behavior style of each member clearly and easily."

"What about the principles for future profit distribution?" Zhao Youyue was thinking more deeply, showing her planned nature.

"A portion is allocated as a shared resource for the team, and the remainder is allocated based on the proportion of each member's strength, with adjustments made based on their contribution to the action."

Lin Xiufeng thought it was better to keep things simple and easy in the early stages.

“If we don’t take the lion’s share, the group members will be well-off and have the capital to pursue higher returns, making it easier for them to leave and work independently. Many examples have been given by relatives and friends who have started their own businesses.”

Zhao Youyue felt it was inappropriate.

"Set a high percentage for the team's shared resources. To put it bluntly, this part is under your and my control. The rest can be divided equally. That sounds much better."

Lin Xiufeng originally thought that Zhao Youyue would understand immediately upon hearing this.

"When someone leaves, they cut it up and take it with them."

"Take him away? Take him away? What are you talking about! He's already left the team, so he's not involved in the public areas anymore!"

Lin Xiufeng thought to himself that this was simply a matter of strength being the most important factor.

As long as you don't become a pushover, you won't be taken away by those who leave.

"You're quite ruthless."

Zhao Youyue agreed with this idea; it appeared fair on the surface, but was actually quite cunning.

"What am I compared to this? You even said that if I betray you, it's a fight to the death. That means leaving means certain death!"

"How can it be the same?"

Zhao Youyue laughed, noting down the finalized allocation rules. Before Lin Xiufeng could ask why they were different, she chuckled and said:
"Two newcomers with only a month of experience and no knowledge of many things are appointed as team leaders. Every team member knows more than any of us."

"They don't have the strength of the seventh level of the Heavenly Martial Soul Realm. No matter how much they know, they can't compare to our luck and courage. Common sense is easy to learn, but luck and courage are not so easy to come by."

"The scarcity is indeed different. Commander, let's rest enough and set off quickly, so we can get out of here as soon as possible and get rid of the embarrassment of being a commander without any troops."

Lin Xiufeng shouldered the carrying pole and strained to lift it.

"It's so heavy! We'll lose a fortune if we can't sell it for a good price. By the way, what's the team's name..."

"Since you've become the leader, the naming rights should belong to me. Otherwise, I'll become the leader and you can have the naming rights."

"It's yours." Lin Xiufeng didn't really care about the name anyway.

Despite the heavy burden, Lin Xiufeng was actually unwilling to stop and rest frequently.

A bunch of things, you have to set them up when you stop, and then put them away and hang them up again when you leave.

The process itself was very troublesome, especially the wolf pelt. They couldn't bear to cut it up haphazardly, so they rolled it up and made it bulky, which they tied horizontally across the carrying pole.

If they're spread out during a rest, they become annoyingly curled up.

"It would be great if there were a place to charge my devices here. With a butler robot, I could go back to the days when I could just be waited on hand and foot."

On Sky Blue Star, everyone has robots doing things for them!

Even if you're too lazy to pick up food, you can just open your mouth and that's fine.

Now, the two of them are carrying so much stuff, walking day after day through the endless wilderness and mountains, which is really exhausting for them.

These days, Zhao Youyue hasn't been singing, nor has she been writing poems or lyrics out of fleeting emotions.

I can't practice swordsmanship; my only fun is using the horns of a wolf to stab any hard object I see.

It's mainly big rocks.

........................

An extra chapter has been added. Thank you to the patron 200712252008 for their support.

(End of this chapter)