Learn one small skill every day

After replenishing his water supply in the donkey village, Bai Miao sat in front of the carriage, watching the sunrise slowly rise on the horizon.

At least here... you can still see the sunlight.

The convoy moved forward slowly. After Chen Dalong revealed his identity, he was no longer so reserved and readily agreed to help if any danger arose on the road ahead.

Instead of protecting only Ji Shaoqing's safety as originally planned.

He was confident that he could lead Ji Shaoqing directly to Da Shang on his own.

"Ah—uh—ah!"

A series of braying sounds came from the herd of donkeys nearby, and Bai Miao subconsciously looked towards the herd.

But that one glance made him realize something was different.

Spot the difference

There seemed to be only twelve donkeys here last night, how come there's one more now?

And why is the extra donkey a little different?

Judging by the aura observation technique, it seems to exude an air of wealth and nobility?

"Wait! Stop the car!"

"what happened?"

Bai Miao jumped off the carriage and was about to walk into the herd of donkeys to see what was going on when he was stopped by the village chief of the donkey village.

"Lord Commander! These donkeys are the last ones left in our donkey village! The entire village depends on these donkeys for their livelihood! Could you please show some mercy..."

"Then let me ask you, why is there a donkey whose posture is obviously different from the other donkeys, and why is it the extra donkey?"

Bai Miao felt a chill run down his spine: "Where did that palace maid go? Tell me honestly, do you know anything about it?!"

Chapter 42 Creating Animals

Faced with Bai Miao's repeated questioning, the village chief of Donkey Village could only kneel on the ground and kowtow repeatedly: "This humble one truly does not understand what you mean, sir! If you want the donkey, just take it away, why make things difficult for this humble one?!"

"Then do you dare to gather all the dogs in your village? I'm not good at interrogating people, but I can chat very well with dogs!"

"Wang!"

Bai Miao called out to the carriage, and the black dog he bought in Mozi Village immediately jumped off the sedan chair, wagging its tail and running towards Bai Miao.

"Wang Wang!"

"Wang!"

With the [Learn to Bark] skill activated, Bai Miao's voice was completely indistinguishable from that of the black dog. Even Chen Dalong thought that Bai Miao could really talk to a dog.

"See that? Bring all the dogs here! I refuse to believe that not a single dog hasn't smelled that palace maid's scent!"

Bai Miao's words completely shattered the village chief's mental defenses, and he hurriedly begged for mercy, "My lord! My lord! I know I was wrong! I confess! It was Zhang Fugui who did it! Zhang Fugui turned that palace maid into a donkey! But my lord, please let me explain..."

"What about people?!"

Before Bai Miao could finish his question, he saw a man wearing a white headscarf running away into the distance. Bai Miao immediately took out his flintlock pistol and shot the man in the knee.

"what!!"

Zhang Fugui let out a scream and fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding knee.

He stared at Bai Miao with a vicious look in his eyes: "You...you dare to kill me?!"

"Why wouldn't I dare kill you? And why do you turn a living person into a donkey? What kind of evil magic is this?"

The village chief of Donkey Village cried out from behind, "My lord! In recent years, our donkeys have not given birth. If we can't sell our donkeys, everyone in the village will starve! If it weren't for Zhang Fugui learning the art of animal husbandry and giving us donkeys, our village would probably have become outlaws long ago! Please, my lord, spare Zhang Fugui's life for the sake of the taxes our village pays every year!"

"Lu Gou Dan! You bastard, you betrayed me, and now you're kindly speaking up for me? I don't care!"

Zhang Fugui cursed, then looked at Bai Miao: "The donkey is me in disguise! Come on, kill me!"

"Don't be impatient yet."

Bai Miao looked at the village chief of Donkey Village: "Was Zhang Fugui's action accidental or intentional?"

The village chief of Donkey Village almost kowtowed until his forehead bled: "Your Excellency! Last night was purely an accident! Our Donkey Village has always only created animals that enter the village to steal chickens and dogs, burn, kill, and plunder. We have never oppressed the good people!"

"Last night, that palace maid was hungry and sneaked into the kitchen to steal some feed meant for the donkeys. That feed wasn't for humans! The only way for her to survive was to become a donkey..."

"My lord... if that palace maid dies, I'm worried that Donkey Village will be punished. I had no choice but to turn her into a donkey and hide her... Please forgive me, my lord!!"

Bai Miao turned to Zhang Fugui and said, "Then what's wrong with you? Why do you keep saying I wouldn't dare kill you?"

Zhang Fugui snorted and ignored Bai Miao.

The village chief of Donkey Village intervened, saying, "He... he learned his animal-creating technique from the White Lotus Sect, so he's practically a member... If you kill him, the lord will be hunted down by the White Lotus Sect..."

Upon hearing the name of the White Lotus Sect, Chen Dalong's eyes gleamed: "Good! They've actually colluded with the White Lotus Sect!"

Then he changed the subject: "But you're lucky! The Qingqiu Temple has not listed the White Lotus Sect as a heretical sect that must be exterminated. It only prohibits the White Lotus Sect from preaching within the territory of Qingqiu. Otherwise, I would have massacred Donkey Village!"

"How could you people possibly comprehend the magnificence of the Eternal Mother? Come, I've turned your palace maids into donkeys and killed me! Let's see if the White Lotus Sect will avenge me!"

Bai Miao ignored Zhang Fugui and instead looked at the village chief of Donkey Village: "Can you guarantee that everything you just said was true?"

"My lord! I swear by the heavens! This matter concerning the palace maid was truly an accident! It was absolutely not Donkey Village's intention!"

In this kind of world, making such a vow is undoubtedly a heavy one.

"Okay, then I won't kill you."

Bai Miao's words startled Zhang Fugui on the ground: "You, you're not going to kill me? Are you afraid the White Lotus Sect will seek revenge?"

"Can you please stop being so foul-mouthed? Since I know this was an accident, and that you had no choice but to turn her into a donkey, wouldn't it be unreasonable for me to kill you?"

Bai Miao sighed: "Can't you not sell the donkey that the palace maid turned into? Keeping her to do hard labor in the village would be the least you can do for her."

"You are so generous, sir! That is exactly what I was thinking!"

The village chief of Donkey Village was overjoyed and immediately sent someone to deliver a large pile of thank-you gifts.

When Bai Miao questioned him, he was prepared to sacrifice Zhang Fugui.

He had witnessed Bai Miao's battle with the demon from the Heavenly Dao Palace last night, where he blew the heads off three people in succession. The brutality of his methods left a deep impression on him.

If such a ruthless person doesn't get a satisfactory answer, the entire donkey village might be doomed!

However, sacrificing Zhang Fugui would also mean that Donkey Village would have no donkeys to sell in the future, and sooner or later the whole village would turn to the mountains to steal.

But now, Bai Miao has actually let Zhang Fugui go so easily. Is he really such a knowledgeable and reasonable person?

Zhang Fugui, enduring the pain, knelt on the ground and bowed to Bai Miao: "Thank you for sparing my life, sir! I was just being petty and judging you by my own standards."

"These items are useless in Donkey Village, so we'll hand them over to the adults, hoping they can still be put to good use by them."

Upon seeing the pile of strange and unusual objects, Bai Miao asked, "Where did these come from?"

“Those bandits and robbers have many treasures on them. I don’t think the lord would care about gold and silver, but he should be able to take a liking to these rare items.”

"Okay, then I'll accept it."

Bai Miao never expected it to turn out this way.

At first, I just felt that these eunuchs and palace maids had followed me for so many days without ever complaining or showing any signs of fatigue; they were all just trying their best to survive in this chaotic world.

It's so unfair that they were turned into donkeys.

What Bai Miao wanted to do was also to seek justice for this palace maid.

But who knew that in the end, he only had himself to blame.

From the items given by the donkey village, Bai Miao found three items with ratings.

A Teth-level bone scraper, a Teth-level luminous pearl, and a Zain-level skull ornament.

The skull accessory has an interesting effect: it reduces Charisma by 2 points while increasing Spirit by 2 points.

It's worth noting that the double cap calculation for Abyss Howl takes effect after the 2-point Spirit cap calculation for the Skeleton Trinket.

In other words, equipping this item will increase Bai Miao's maximum mental strength by 4 points.

Bai Miao planned to give the bone-scraping knife to Wang Tan, since Wang Tan hadn't gotten anything good from this trip to Donkey Village, but Wang Tan refused outright.

The reason is that this was something Bai Miao discovered on his own.

It was Bai Miao who discovered the extra donkey, it was Bai Miao who found out the reason, and it was Bai Miao who made the village chief of the donkey village willingly give him a gift.

Wang Tan resolutely refused to accept it.

The group continued their journey. The loss of the palace maid made everyone more cautious, and it also made Bai Miao more respected in the caravan.

If before it was simply out of fear of Bai Miao, then Bai Miao's willingness to help the palace maids find the truth brought a long-lost warmth to these servants in the palace.

After Chen Dalong's identity was exposed, his journey became much easier in the following days. Once the name of the Zhen Tian Si was revealed, everyone, whether they encountered robbers or corpse drivers, wished they had two more legs.

Finally, a black city wall came into view.

We have arrived in Shangqiu City.

Chapter Forty-Three: The Price of Demanding a Title, Crimson-Level Trial

Shangqiu City, as its name suggests, is a neutral city located between the two kingdoms of Da Shang and Qingqiu, and was jointly built by the two kingdoms.

All trade between the two countries was conducted within this city, making Shangqiu a city as prosperous as the capital.

Every day, countless people of all kinds come and go. In order to suppress these outsiders, both countries have sent people from the Heavenly Suppression Division and the Demon Suppression Division to guard this city.

Once they reached Shangqiu City, Bai Miao and his group's escort mission was essentially over.

Ji Shaoqing will receive special protection, and the eunuchs and palace maids will also receive rewards along with him. What about Bai Miao and the others?

Bai Miao had no idea what would happen to the character he played, the commander, after he returned to reality.

If I enter this instance again, where will I start?

Bai Miao currently knows of at least four copies of this world.

The White Lotus Clan seems to be related to the White Lotus Sect, the Raising of Strange Immortals dungeon looks like the underworld, and the Heavenly Dao Battle has the feel of all events coming to an end and all sides gathering together.

As Bai Miao rode forward in the carriage, he felt as if he were passing through a wall of mist.

Suddenly, everything in front of me became blurry, and I didn't know when I was standing on the ground, surrounded by endless wheat fields.