"It’s actually much better now—with those specialty products, everyone’s life has improved," He Nanqing said happily, a hint of confusion flickering across Agunas’s tail.
"Why don’t I see any change, then?"
Agunas received a mysterious smile in response.
Feng Yuan seemed to come to a realization, probably guessing what it was about. Nearby, Lanadi looked at the simple buildings and sighed,
"It’s a pity we can’t develop tourism here; otherwise, it would probably become a famous attraction."
"And then Captain Yan and his team would really have a headache. If it really became a popular attraction, keeping the secret of the Yognots would be impossible."
Feng Yuan commented and glanced at the little Yognot following He Nanqing. Indeed, this was why Lanadi and the others didn’t know what Yognots looked like. Otherwise, with the Yognot following He Nanqing so aimlessly, who wouldn’t be able to guess what the situation really was here?
"Speaking of which, the Hunters have been quite fierce lately. It really would be problematic if they set their sights here."
Lanadi expressed her concern. The place was quite remote, and it would be difficult to discover anything happening in a timely manner. Shrugging, Feng Yuan said with a slight amusement,
"If they’re not afraid of death, they could try and go after a Yognot. Unlike Divine Beasts, there’s no good way to deal with a special Spirit Beast like a Yognot. It’s indiscriminate damage as soon as they show up. The Hunters would be crazy to lay hands on them."
Agunas flicked its tail, agreeing with Feng Yuan’s statement. After all, the power of the Yognots was too special, and they couldn’t control the force of their attacks. The Hunters dared to attack Divine Beasts because those beasts measured their attacks and wouldn’t use full strength unless absolutely necessary. But the Yognots were different—they went all out as soon as they attacked, and the Hunters really couldn’t withstand that.
Looking at the huge screen on the wall of the main hall, Feng Yuan had a look that said ’just as I thought.’ He had suspected as much beforehand, but was still surprised to see it in person. Lanadi and the others were shocked, and Gladys kept sizing up He Nanqing,
"I didn’t expect the ones who bought the conceptual machine at the department store to be you? I remember that thing being quite expensive, right?"
"About that, it’s the price of an ordinary commercial house in the suburbs of Maomu City."
He Nanqing said somewhat proudly, a surprise evident in Agunas’s voice,
"Have you... gone mad?"
"Not really, it’s just that this is where everyone gathers for meals, so we all agreed to get a better monitor for the place."
Looking at the gigantic screen that covered an entire wall, Lanadi didn’t know what to say. She had heard of this item—it was an experimental product recently developed by the Great Xia’s Image Research Institute. Due to the extreme difficulty in manufacturing, the Rising Sun Group produced it in small quantities as a conceptual product.
Reportedly, the Rising Sun Group hadn’t intended to sell it, but who would have thought that someone here actually bought it? Feng Yuan looked at the huge screen and sighed,
"Seems like you’ve really made a lot of money to be able to afford such an item."
"Improving life, after all. Actually, if we don’t move out to live, having too much money isn’t really meaningful."
He Nanqing spoke with a laugh. Before Feng Yuan’s arrival last year, they had been worrying about living expenses, but unexpectedly, in just a few months, they had started to view money as trivial.
"That’s also true, you don’t have that many places to spend money here."
Feng Yuan said understandingly. To ensure the safety of the Yognots, many things couldn’t be brought in. Issues like housing renovation weren’t necessary; despite these buildings looking old, they were actually more solid compared to most of Maomu City’s buildings. As for cars and such, not to mention, even back then, they’d found plenty of Spiritual Medicine and Materials suitable for Spirit Beasts.
Many rare Spiritual Medicines and Materials couldn’t just be bought with money. The currency common people used might be indispensable to some extent, but for a Beastmaster, it wasn’t very important. As the strength of the Beast Tamer increased, obtaining the necessary Spiritual Medicine and Materials through money would likely still be difficult.
"Really makes one envious."
Seeing the understated luxury of the great hall, Lanadi said with envy, if only the Thousand Stars Tribe could be one day. Feng Yuan was surprised to see the food on the table and said,
"Is all this prepared for us?"
"That’s right, hearing that you were coming, everyone brought out their best skills. Maybe it’s too much?"
Looking at the food-filled long table, He Nanqing also felt a bit embarrassed. It was already the amount of a normal banquet, but it was only for the three of them, Feng Yuan and his companions. It indeed seemed to be too much.
"Won’t others come to eat?"
Feng Yuan was puzzled as He Nanqing picked up the little Yognot that was turning around beside her and said,
"Everyone is busy harvesting the Muzi Fruit; for some reason this year, the Muzi Fruits don’t seem to be growing very well."
"Muzi Fruit? I remember that’s quite a delicate spiritual fruit. However, given your situation here, it shouldn’t be like that."
Feng Yuan was puzzled. The Muzi Fruit tree requires a high-quality environment, so there aren’t many places that can grow such a thing. But correspondingly, its price was terrifying, and even without exchanging it for money, it could be traded with Beastmasters for high-level Spiritual Medicine and Materials.
After all, it was one of the few fruits that could effectively heal most Spirit Beasts’ wounds. Not to mention, it also had remarkable healing effects on humans. Of course, environmental limitations are a concern for other people, but for places like Fire Stronghold, which has been blessed by various Divine Beasts, it would be strange if Muzi Fruits couldn’t grow here.
"I don’t know, but this year’s Muzi Fruits really aren’t growing as well as in previous years. It’s a pity we didn’t discover this sooner."
He Nanqing said with some regret. If it had been a few months earlier, she might have felt incredibly heartbroken, because before no one knew about it, the Muzi Fruits were just left to rot on the ground. They were only harvested for medicine when injured.
Now, even though Muzi Fruits could be used as trade items with other Beastmasters for Spiritual Medicine and Materials not purchasable with money, it was just Muzi Fruit after all. They still had plenty of other treasures, more than enough to support the young Beastmasters of Fire Stronghold in pursuing their dreams.
As for hoarding riches gradually? He Nanqing was well aware that just relying on Yognots, they couldn’t fend off the wolves that wealth would attract. If they kept accumulating wealth, they would face ever stronger enemies. She firmly believed in the notion that you should possess wealth equivalent to your strength.
At least until the Beastmasters within the stronghold grew stronger, they didn’t plan on accumulating too many high-value items in the stronghold.
"How about this, after we finish eating, shall we go have a look?"
Feng Yuan suggested, looking at Lanadi, as he was accompanying her for a visit and couldn’t just leave her behind. Seeing Feng Yuan’s gaze, Lanadi smiled and said,
"That would be great. In fact, I’m quite interested in the Muzi Fruit, if the Thousand Stars Tribe were able to grow it..."
"The Muzi Fruit here is the same as those from other places, requiring the same environment, so it’s unnecessary."
Feng Yuan interjected, implying that obtaining Muzi Fruit seeds wasn’t a big issue for Lanadi, a high-ranking member of the Alliance. The fruit wasn’t that rare yet.
"That’s true, but there are so few places that meet the growing requirements."
Lanadi said with some regret. Although most of the Mordan region still maintained its pristine appearance, the Muzi Fruit itself required an extremely high-quality environment. Even in the original areas, there were very few that could meet the growing conditions.
While conversing, everyone continued to eat. Partway through the meal, Feng Yuan called in the kids who were running around to join in and share the feast.
"Is this the Muzi Fruit Forest? It’s truly enviable."
Looking at the nearly wild orchard, there was no need to ask. Lanadi could guess that no one was taking care of this place. Observing the trees laden with Muzi Fruits, she could only lament internally that tribes with Divine Beasts as their patrons were indeed fortunate. Why couldn’t the Thousand Stars Tribe have such luck?
Yet, she subconsciously overlooked Lorna, not realizing that although Lorna was in charge of handling issues throughout the Mordan region, she usually prioritized the Thousand Stars Tribe’s affairs.
Feng Yuan furrowed his brows, puzzled as he looked at the Muzi Fruit Forest before him. A breeze blew through, and Xiao Ji felt strangely refreshed.