Chapter 7

This village has been established here for countless years, and since the time of Grandpa Ren Jiu, it has never been attacked. The place is remote, far from the emperor's reach, and local officials have always preferred to avoid trouble rather than seek it. Who would bother to manage them? Upon hearing Chu Kuang's words, Ren Jiu simply nodded in agreement, stirring the dish that had been laced with medicine a couple of times with his chopsticks, and placed it in front of Chu Kuang: "I just cooked this dish, have some while it's hot."

Chu Kuang nodded solemnly: "Understood"

Chu Kuang glanced at the plate of vegetables that Ren Jiu had stirred, then took out the box from yesterday from his pocket, retrieved a pill, and swallowed it: "I have already stated yesterday that I do not require your food, but I appreciate your kindness, thank you." After saying this, he immediately continued from where he left off, "I hope you can promptly send someone to guard the vulnerable areas in the west; this is not an exaggeration..."

I know that I haven't disinfected and shouldn't touch you, but aren't you wearing gloves?" Ren Jiutou did not respond, "Moreover, there are so many people now; wouldn't it be more troublesome if we got separated? Can you stop being so fussy like a woman?"

Of course, what Ren Jiu said was just for fun. Zhi Liang Town, along with the neighboring Xiao He Township and Da He Township, is included within the jurisdiction of Zhi Liang County. This is a small county town with a relatively low population, and the county magistrate is not particularly knowledgeable. In this remote area, County Magistrate Liu does not expect to be promoted. He does not engage in any serious business and only knows how to extort from the people, colluding with his relatives to dominate the local community, having committed numerous acts of bullying against both men and women.

Ren Jiu curled his lips and pulled Chu Kuang up: "Everyone has their difficulties. Moreover, sending him to the authorities may not guarantee any action from them. It is better to avoid trouble than to invite it, let’s go, let’s go"

Chu Kuang looked at her silhouette and suddenly felt a deep sense of helplessness

Although Ren Jiu lived on the mountain and had not experienced much oppression, he was still aware of these matters. At this moment, the shouts to send him to the authorities were merely a result of hearing his foreign accent, intended to frighten him a little.

Chu Kuang stared blankly at this scene, devoid of discipline and order. Although it was a chaotic chase filled with noise, it strangely evoked a sense of tranquility, much like the sound of sunlight warming a blanket, producing a soft "puff puff" as it was shaken, instilling an inexplicable sense of peace and serenity.

Ren Jiu remained silent for a moment: "What about water? You must drink something."

Chu Kuang cast a glance at Ren Jiu and said: "Your money pouch"

Chu Kuang returned to his room and closed the door, yet the oil lamp remained lit. Ren Jiu squatted at his door for most of the night, but there was not a single sound from inside. Instead, she was irritated and restless, tempted by the lingering fragrance in the room, and had to go out several times to splash cold water on her face to calm down

These creatures should be humanely exterminated. Upon entering the town, in the bustling market, Chu Kuang's expression was cold and hard, and even his walking posture became slightly unnatural. "Why did you not inform me in advance that this is a gathering place for non-human entities? The omission of such important military information could lead to exile according to the laws of the Alliance..."

Chu Kuang's voice was not loud; in the noisy environment, it resembled someone muttering to themselves. Ren Jiu was eager to go to the pharmacy to confront the owner selling counterfeit medicine, and for the moment, he did not care about Chu Kuang's awkward feelings. He grabbed his hand, their fingers interlocking tightly, and said, "There are many people, stay close to me"

After she finished washing the dishes, Chu Kuang also perfumed the room, and even thoughtfully perfumed Ren Jiu's room. Ren Jiu was very satisfied, thinking this was excellent, as it made it convenient to conduct affairs in any room. The most important thing was that the spices were brought by Chu Kuang for the fumigation! The man who was most affected by the fumigation was indeed this man!

"Oh, how are you finding it?" Ren Jiu said while inviting Chu Kuang to sit down at the table.

Until someone called out to Ren Jiu, she looked up, breathless, at Chu Kuang standing at the door. She paused, waved her hand, and said: "Hey, there is a market in the town at the foot of the mountain today, do you want to go take a look?" Ren Jiu said to him

"It's not a big deal." Before Chu Kuang could finish speaking, Ren Jiu had already run up to him, grabbed his wrist, and started dragging him down the mountain. "We're just going to the market, how much time could it possibly take? Let's go, let's go. I haven't been down the mountain in a long time. Later, I'll accompany you to take a look at the terrain around the government office."

Ren Jiu slapped the table and laughed, saying: "Good! Good!"

To entice a man, there seems to be no way; food and drink are ineffective. You still have to breathe, right? Fortunately, the bandit A is clever and brought back some aphrodisiac spices. She still doesn't believe that this won't work. Ren Jiu randomly took a couple of bites of food and said: "This weather has a lot of mosquitoes, so today I will give you some mosquito repellent medicine."

Ren Jiu had finished preparing dinner and opened the spring medicine bought from the bandit. Hesitating about which plate to put it in, she suddenly heard Chu Kuang's footsteps approaching from outside. In a moment of panic, her hand trembled, and a whole packet of medicine spilled onto one of the dishes. Ren Jiu was momentarily stunned, and as she heard Chu Kuang's footsteps nearing from behind, she hurriedly crumpled the oil paper and stuffed it into her bosom.

Water purifiers extract hydroxides from liquids and recombine them into pure water molecules, purifying all other elements to ensure that officers have clean drinking water while deployed in the field

As Chu Kuang was pondering, Ren Jiu, who was walking in front, was suddenly bumped and stumbled back. Chu Kuang instinctively reached out to support her, but saw a man in gray swiftly pass between the two of them.

Chu Kuang refused to change out of his mysterious black attire. Unable to persuade him, Ren Jiu found a camel-colored cloak for him to wear and placed the hood of the cloak over his head, advising him: "Here, we believe that our bodies and hair are gifts from our parents, and except for criminals, no one shaves their head. Therefore, you must not let anyone see your hair, do you understand?"

Chu Kuang pondered for a moment, silently closing his mouth, allowing the warmth of another person to pass through the gloves to his skin. It was a strange sensation. The Allied forces possessed the most advanced weapons, and there was simply no opportunity for physical contact on the battlefield; even in death, one would die in their own aircraft. ... Yet in peacetime, a group of officers like him, who could not comprehend, would touch others in such a manner ...

Ren Jiu looked at him with dead fish eyes and said, "What on earth is this?"

In terms of the military strength of your planet, this stronghold is advantageous due to its elevated position, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, thus it is a good location. However, this should not lead to negligence in defense. To the west of this mountain lies a grove of elm trees, which provides the enemy with ample cover to launch an attack up the mountain. Your Excellency has not made any defensive arrangements for this area, which is a significant oversight. I recommend that personnel be dispatched tonight to guard this location.

Oh dear... please spare my life, I will never dare to do it again! I have another child at home waiting for food, I truly cannot go on like this...

Chu Kuang nodded

The air quality is excellent, the humidity and temperature are suitable for human needs, and there is no discomfort

The sunlight cascades down, and the faces of the men and women working in the village are all smiling, their gazes following the figure of Ren Jiu.

Early the next morning, Chu Kuang woke up, finding that it was nearly half an hour later than his usual rising time, which was quite unusual for him. ... Last night ... He seemed to have slept unexpectedly soundly. After a brief wash, he opened the door and heard Ren Jiu shouting in the village: "Stop right there!"

Not hearing Chu Kuang say much, Ren Jiu looked up and saw the pharmacy. He placed Chu Kuang at the entrance of the pharmacy and, as if soothing a child, patted his shoulder: "Wait here for a moment. After I discuss things with the pharmacy owner, I will come out. Don't run around, okay?" Without waiting for him to respond, Ren Jiu strode into the pharmacy.

Everyone was looking at him, and Chu Kuang was momentarily stunned, then immediately stood at attention: "According to the plan, today ... ... "

Ren Jiu chased after his subordinate, who was referred to as Bandit A, and was being pursued to the point of hiding and dodging, lamenting: "By heaven and earth, even if I had ten times the courage, I would not dare to deceive you, Master Jiu! If the medicine is fake, it was the apothecary who sold me the counterfeit. Why are you chasing me, Master Jiu?"

Ren Jiu's eyes brightened, and with a quick turn of her gaze, she said, "Alright! However, I still need to wash the dishes here. Later, I will give you the spices, and you can take them to fumigate the house yourself." Once the fumigation is done, it will be dark, and after the training, everything will be just right. Ren Jiu's mind was racing with calculations.

Oh. Ren Jiu nodded, "So that means, with this thing, you won't need to eat our food here, right?"

Chu Kuang did not suspect anything else, nodded in thanks, and finally said: "The training was not completed during the day, so while the night is still young, let us finish what we started this afternoon"

Chu Kuang nodded: "Of course, you and I are currently in an alliance, and you carry my identifier. Since I have compelled you to stay by my side, I naturally have the obligation to protect you"

Ren Jiu then saw that the thief was actually holding a beautifully embroidered pouch in her other hand, one that she recognized all too well: "You scoundrel!" Ren Jiu exclaimed in anger, "How dare you steal from me! Do you believe I will send you to the authorities?"

Ren Jiu Da Xi: "Good! I see you haven't had any water all day, let me get you some tea." She stood up and was about to walk out, but Chu Kuang called her back: "No need to trouble yourself." Saying this, he took out a tube-shaped object the size of a fist from his pocket, opened one end, then scooped a spoonful of the bean sprout soup that Ren Jiu had cooked into the tube, sealed it, shook it a couple of times, and then opened the other end to reveal a cup of clear water, no trace of the bean sprout soup remaining. Chu Kuang drank the clean water in one go.

Ren Jiu opened the money bag and counted the copper coins inside; there were no shortages. Although she felt angry, she had no choice but to wave her hand and say it was fine. However, Chu Kuang did not let go. He glanced at Ren Jiu and said seriously, "It is necessary to transfer this matter to the law enforcement agency for punishment. Although he has his reasons, this does not excuse him in the eyes of the law."

Ren Jiushun casually grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at Bandit A, saying: "Stop talking nonsense! I won't let you argue your way out! I won't let you argue your way out!"

Ren Jiu was already laughing inwardly.

As they descended the mountain and got closer to Zhi Liang Town, the number of people increased significantly. Along the way, there were more and more individuals carrying chickens, ducks, and large white geese. Chu Kuang's face, obscured by a large hat, grew increasingly sullen.

As the evening approached and the training was nearly complete, Chu Kuang's expression showed no signs of discomfort. Ren Jiu, unable to contain himself, asked: "Do you feel a bit hot? Is there something off? Or is there an unsettling feeling gnawing at your heart?"

Seeing that she had not taken his words to heart, Chu Kuang felt somewhat helpless. However, this was ultimately a military deployment of his side, and it was understandable that she did not trust him. Chu Kuang temporarily set aside this proposal and replied earnestly: "This is reserve food supplies, essential items for officers when making an emergency landing on planets outside the jurisdiction of the alliance, ensuring energy supply, and must be carried at all times"

Chu Kuangyi turned his head and saw the man gazing at him with tearful eyes. Chu Kuangyi sighed: "There is no system at all, truly a dark planet"

Bandit A! What kind of fake medicine did you buy for me! Return the money!

Ren Jiu was still overjoyed by Chu Kuang's support when he suddenly felt a gust of wind on his back. Turning his head, he found that the figure had vanished. Ren Jiu was taken aback, only to hear a man from the crowd cry out in despair: "Hero, spare my life! I will return the money pouch!"

He stood at the door for a while, hearing cries coming from the street corner ahead. He frowned slightly and glanced back. It was Ren Jiu arguing fiercely with the boss, but it seemed that Ren Jiu was about to jump over the counter to attack someone. After a moment's consideration, Chu Kuang lifted his foot and went in another direction

The onlookers laughed heartily. Someone shouted, "Little Jiu'er hasn't accomplished anything yet and is still in a fit of anger. Jia, why don't you just let Jiu Ye vent his frustrations?" It seemed they were already accustomed to such scenes.

Alright, alright. Ren Jiu ambiguously replied, but his gaze remained fixed on the box containing the white pills. "Do you... have you always carried this thing with you?"

Indeed

Of course

Although the scene was somewhat chaotic, Ren Jiu still could not help but be captivated by Chu Kuang's dashing figure. He truly was the man she had set her sights on, effortlessly overshadowing other men with such charm

Ren Jiu pushed through the crowd and ran over, only to see Chu Kuang pinning a man in gray clothing to the ground, twisting the man's palm like a flower, causing the large man to cry out in pain, calling for his parents. Meanwhile, Chu Kuang casually pressed down on his hat with his other hand, clearly having remembered Ren Jiu's instructions well

Ren Jiu clutched her head in pain and rubbed it for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes brightened, and she cautiously asked, "The air you breathe should be the same as the air we breathe, right?"

Chu Kuang was momentarily taken aback

Chu Kuang is not someone who easily changes his plans, but today he changed his plans so effortlessly, allowing Ren Jiu to grasp his wrist, and together they walked a considerable distance.

"Where have you been all afternoon?" Ren Jiu asked with a smile, her expression slightly unnatural due to the quickness of her smile. Chu Kuang took note of her expression and replied nonchalantly, "Due to your lack of cooperation in training, I modified the afternoon schedule and conducted a survey of the terrain here."

The gaze of Chu Kuang fell like an arrow upon the clasped hands: "Forgive my frankness, you have not..."

After letting the thief go, Ren Jiu pulled Chu Kuang forward for quite a distance, suddenly coming to her senses: "Ah! Could it be that you were just protecting me!"

Although Ren Jiu does not understand much, she roughly comprehends... this refined young man is indeed unyielding, right...

No, you are overthinking it

It is almost time to rest. Chu Kuang placed a hand on his shoulder, slightly bowing. Even in his greeting, he was so straightforward and decisive, without any hesitation. "Good night, Your Excellency"

The lost hope of looking at him.

Ren Jiu was moved: "You are in me, and I am in you; a love that cannot be abandoned and cannot be let go of, ah! What a heart-stirring emotion!"