It's so painful! So hard! So difficult!

As the young man stood up, several young men around him who were close to him looked at each other and stood up as well.

"Aqi is right. It is indeed very useful."

"Yes, yes, Lord Saint, you must come and take a look. These are all very useful things."

The chatter was like a stone thrown into the water, causing ripples of language to spread out. The various strong men sitting on the ground also responded with some surprise,

"Hey, so that's how it came here? We thought you guys did it yourselves."

"...You two guys, didn't you always bully Aqi before? How come you're so close all of a sudden? Is this thing so profitable that it would make you give up extorting protection money from him?!"

The two young men standing next to Ah Qi blushed after being exposed in public. One of them hesitated for a long time, clenched his fist, patted his chest proudly, and said loudly,

"Under Aqi's guidance, we have realized how stupid our previous behavior was, so we are now Aqi's friends and are learning relevant knowledge from him!"

"Mankind's greatest weapon is the mind. Knowledge equals power!"

After these words were spoken, there was silence for a while, and then, as expected, there was thunderous laughter compared to previous years.

"You're so young, it's really funny that you suddenly say something like this. Knowledge? Can knowledge help me plant more crops? Can it allow us to just sit at home and harvest the harvest?"

"That's right. If you had said that two years ago, I would have believed you two were kind-hearted fools. But now, after bullying him so many times, you're still turning over a new leaf? It's really outrageous that Qi would accept you as his friends!"

The wanton insults and sarcasm, like the cacophony of noise emanating from a city window before bed, stung the eardrums and tormented the mind. However, as the crowd grew increasingly noisy, the quietness of the younger, more mature men in the back row became increasingly apparent. Their expressions showed a hint of struggle, while others were more resolute. Bai Lin immediately realized that those people were likely friends of Ah Qi.

At times like this, the leader should step forward. Qi adjusted his glasses, swallowed, and swept away his previous nervousness, shouting loudly,

"It doesn't matter. We always have to look forward! No matter how badly they did to me before, as long as we can absorb knowledge and master wisdom, we can be reborn! So, they are my friends, even if they weren't before, they are now!"

When Ah Qi spoke, the uncles sitting there fell silent again. When they spoke again, the previous noise was gone. One of the uncles was silent for a while, then slowly said,

"It's a good thing that the former Ah Qi has suddenly stopped being a coward, but have you really been brainwashed? Are you such a pushover? And the reason we made peace with those alien races was just because it was beneficial, right? Taking their things and making friends with them? How could we possibly do such a thing?"

"Isn't it also beneficial to learn more wisdom and open up your mind?"

A Qi pushed back without hesitation, but his face seemed to have turned red, which made Bai Lin realize that this might be the limit of this young man.

These uncles nowadays, having lived in the village their entire lives, must have received little education. It would be a miracle for a newly enlightened, particularly simple intellectual like Ah Qi to be able to explain things to them. Honestly, the fact that Ah Qi had such a strong following among those who agreed with him was already enough to surprise Bai Lin.

So, in order to avoid the situation becoming too tense, Bai Lin used her current bureaucratic status to her advantage. She coughed twice and looked at A Qi and said,

"Your name is Aqi, right? Sit down first. I've already seen all the things of the Periya people, so I don't need you to show them to me again. Let me tell you my judgment first. Those things are indeed useful. You can choose not to learn or understand them, but there is no need to reject them like this. And don't be ashamed of learning them and attack young people like Aqi like this."

Then, in the somewhat stunned eyes of the uncles, Bai Lin continued,

"Learning is not a problem. Most humans only possess a small amount of magic power. So how did humans survive until now? Is it because they rely on those with magical powers to protect them? Of course not. It's simply because we have wisdom and can create tools to equip ourselves, repair our homes, and protect ourselves. Therefore, learning knowledge is a very important part of our culture."

Chapter 671 This is a material issue

Although Bai Lin looked as young as those young people, her words made people feel that "this person is naive and naive". However, Bai Lin was not that kind of person. She knew it, and the person sitting across from her also knew it, because her eyes, which were filled with the years, explained everything.

Sometimes, speaking of the most basic truths does not necessarily mean that the person only knows these most basic truths.

As soon as Bai Lin finished speaking, the audience fell completely silent. Looking at this expected result, Bai Lin said very naturally,

"However, while that's reasonable, it's not so easy to say what kind of people your new neighbors are. As an envoy from Camitlan, besides recruiting talented individuals, we also have to maintain peace and tranquility in the surrounding villages."

At this point, Bai Lin's expression changed, and he said with a smile in a slightly more relaxed tone,

"To be honest, I'm relieved to be in your situation. I was ready for a big fight, but I didn't expect you to just come here to play."

As soon as these words were spoken, some villagers laughed along. After all, no matter how sarcastic the jokes were, they had to be laughed at. What's more, what Bai Lin said was quite funny to them. Besides, she was a beautiful girl, so who wouldn't be willing to laugh along with her?

After making the atmosphere a little more relaxed, Bai Lin coughed twice and continued,

"That's actually the case. So, according to procedure, I still have to stay here for a few days to see what's going on here and observe your new neighbors."

"This will make it easier for my good friend to write his work report."

As she spoke, Bai Lin patted the shoulder of Yamashita Kanon, who was standing next to her and was slightly shorter than her. The latter looked at Bai Lin with a puzzled look and asked in a low voice,

"When did I say I was going to write a work report?"

"come on."

Bai Lin briefly handed over the most difficult task of this mission to the professionally trained Prime Minister, and then said to the people in front of him,

"That's it. Now that we're done, one of you will take me to the tent we agreed on this afternoon."

"I'll come, I'll come!"

Ah Qi was the one who reacted the fastest, but to be honest, the crowd was quite excited, and immediately the people in the lower row started to surge. This caused the officer next to Bai Lin to yell at them again and said,

"You little bastards, you weren't so enthusiastic when we were pulling up the tent earlier, and now you're so enthusiastic after discovering that the Saint is a beautiful woman? How can such a beautiful thing happen? All of you, get out of here right now, I'll take care of it."

Deterrence is often very important in such a mixed place. It is obvious that the officer next to Bai Lin is not good at other things, but he is still a bit powerful. In this way, Bai Lin was pulled to the side of a small temporary tent by the officer. The officer looked at Bai Lin and said with some concern,

"Is this really okay? With your status, you actually want to sleep in the same place with us..."

"That's not true. There's no king in the army, let alone a mere saintly child like me. Don't worry. After all, I'm an adventurer. I've slept in more outrageous places than you can imagine. I'm already happy to have someone pitch my tent for me."

Bai Lin said very straightforwardly, sweeping away the doubt on the officer's forehead. The officer quickly nodded to Bai Lin and replied,

"Well, I'll take my leave now. The army will sound the signal to light the lights at 5:50 this morning. If you need to sleep longer, you can think of a way in advance..."

"Don't bother worrying about it. I'll just get up earlier than you."

The unnecessary persuasion made the commander look a little embarrassed. He smiled, waved his hand, and walked away. Looking at the other person's back, Yamashita Kanon frowned and commented,

"The people here are so unreasonable. Even the officers only have the temperament of a soldier."

"Come on, this is the environment they grew up in. They're not even regular soldiers. How can you expect them to be like the guards around you? Miss Yamashita Kanon, please hold back. This is a poor and remote area. We're lucky there aren't any really bad people here."

For example, in the Dragon Blood Village where Bai Lin originally lived, she had experience dealing with many unruly people, so of course she was very knowledgeable. However, after she finished speaking, Yamashita Kanon's frown did not relax. Instead, she sighed, glanced at Bai Lin, and said,

"When I was Prime Minister, the public's awareness was much higher than theirs. While high-ranking officials weren't necessarily incredibly bright, they were still much better than here. Even so, I still can't see the future, the future Sakura longs for, a future where she can hold power and rise to prominence. Seeing these people, don't you worry about the future of humanity? If everyone is like this, how long will it take for us to return to our peak? Aren't you anxious?"

Yamashita Kanon's string of questions was thrown at Bai Lin. She seemed to be really thinking about Bai Lin's wish to save the world. However, Bai Lin didn't even think about this question for long. He put his hands on his hips and looked at Yamashita Kanon and said,

"Yamashita Kanon, this isn't a spiritual issue, it's a material one. If you give me 500,000 e in cash and an equivalent amount of supplies every year, I'm confident that within a hundred years I can raise the overall quality of life in Camitlan and the surrounding villages. They're struggling to even survive and eat, so how can you possibly expect these people to develop any awareness or conviction? One out of every hundred is a good thing."

"People only appear when disaster strikes. This is normal for ordinary people. As long as there's a way out, people will always fail to do their best. Besides, you Sakura people are not that good. Didn't you mention the large number of people who were affected by the Rakutenxiang incident last time?"

"You know, what you said back then was that we should squeeze out those useless scum of society and concentrate funds on more progress. Are you, Sakura, made up of scum?"

Bai Lin's ironic words pierced Yamashita Kanon's heart. This made the latter's face darken, her eyes turned cold, and her fists clenched tightly. But after a few seconds, she also took a breath and said helplessly,

"I have to admit, my decision-making in that incident was flawed. I guess those who encouraged me to do this had already planned to replace me, the Prime Minister, to take the blame. They profited from it while getting rid of a difficult person like me."

Chapter 672 Is there an instruction manual?

Genius or not, in a place like this, might not matter all that much. Even if Yamashita Kanon performed well as a prime minister, she's unlikely to have many genuine supporters in a place like Sakura. But there are probably many who want to overthrow her and replace her with a more easily controlled puppet prime minister.

Looking at the somewhat enlightened Yamashita Kanon, Bai Lin tilted his head, flipped his fingers, took out a cigarette, waved it in front of her eyes, and handed it to her, saying,

"You've been feeling miserable with the Periya tribe for a long time today. Try smoking something to wake yourself up. Don't worry, it might be a little worse, but it won't be much worse than what you're smoking in your pipe."

Perhaps it was the first time for Yamashita Kanon to smoke a cigarette. And now she was even more certain that when she was observing Bai Lin that day, Bai Lin had indeed seen through her completely. In this case, Yamashita Kanon would certainly not give in. She took the cigarette and curled her lips and replied,

"Then why don't you give it to me as soon as we get out? Why are you awake now..."

"Yes, yes, I'll light it for you. Please don't hold it against me, sir."

Bai Lin casually reached out, and a small flame ignited from the fingertips of her armor. This was one of the functions that Kong had added to Bai Lin's cloak. Sometimes, a stable fire source can be very useful for adventurers.

Yamashita Kanon took a deep breath and let out a long exhale. The melancholy in her eyes also dissipated as her mind relaxed. She didn't take another breath, but let out another sigh, as if she was thinking about something, and then lowered her head and stopped thinking. At this time, she looked at Bai Lin next to her and found that he was looking at her with empty hands, doing nothing, so she asked,

"Why, you bring it with you, don't you smoke it?"

"Me?" Bai Lin was suddenly called out, and replied with some surprise, "I've been trying to quit smoking recently for some reasons... Never mind, I'll share a cigarette with you."

Bai Lin lit up the cigarette in his hand. To be honest, she felt okay when she was with Miyu. Apart from the worries about possible attacks from various monsters during the journey, the dangerous cultural customs of various ethnic groups like living sacrifices, and the fear of people coming to hunt her for various reasons, she didn't feel too stressed.

After all, while this mission was dangerous, it essentially required Bai Lin to gather intelligence on all alien races. Wandering across the vast and fantastical land with such a lively wolf girl naturally relieved a great deal of the pressure. But upon returning to Camitlan, looking at the streets that still hadn't fully recovered, seeing old friends who hadn't yet awakened, and seeing Katie and the others living peaceful lives, she could feel the burden weighing on her again.

Being a hero is such a tiring thing.

A cigarette burned out quickly. Bai Lin took Yamashita Kanon's cigarette butt and burned them both together, saving the problem of littering cigarette butts. Then, she walked into the tent and said to the outside as if she suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Yamashita Kanon, you know how to set up a tent, right?"

"what?"

Yamashita Kanon was shocked by this sudden question, but she thought about it and realized that Bai Lin's question was indeed quite correct. Because... the soldiers only had one tent for the two of them.

Normally, even if camping was close to a village, it was rare to bring extra tents, as that would add a significant transportation burden. Even bringing one extra tent was considered exceptional, let alone two. And for a pampered young lady like Yamashita Kanon, sharing a small tent with Bai Lin would be like sharing a bed with her, and naturally, she would be unlikely to accept it.

With Yamashita Kanon's personality, when she realized that this was something she should do but couldn't do, she naturally wouldn't answer so easily. She looked at Bai Lin with a struggling expression, and after a long while, she finally replied with five words.

"Is there an instruction manual?"

"How could it be possible? You can go out and research it yourself. I'll leave the things to you. You can sleep whenever you finish building it..."

"You're almost there!"

In the end, Bai Lin spent another familiar day setting up her own tent, but she still slept in the tent prepared by the soldiers because Yamashita Kanon disliked the sweat smell of the places where these men had slept.

All I can say is that when necessary, Bai Lin will still be humble enough to tolerate the bad temper of this young prime minister.

This was Yamashita Kanon's first camping experience. Lying in the unfamiliar, cramped tent, she seemed to be able to smell Bai Lin's scent (unbeknownst to her, Bai Lin usually slept in a camisole, and the scent in the tent must have been from another woman). This made Yamashita Kanon's heart restless for a long time. Somehow, she couldn't help but think of the woman who had been so rude to her.

To be honest, with the constant contact, Yamashita Kanon's understanding of Bai Lin has also begun to change. It seems that apart from occasionally liking to use words to attack her and disgust herself, her brain is just a little stupid from time to time.

Her awareness and spirit were completely unlike those of an ordinary adventurer. Her kindness, coupled with her unwavering will, made her heart truly resolute, unlike the ordinary fool who lavished her kindness without reason, a kindness that not only hurt herself but others as well.

Simply put, Yamashita Kanon no longer considered Bai Lin a bit of a jerk with some skills. If she had to define Bai Lin, she'd say he was a rough-talker, but his heart was as bright as the sun, positive and strong. Compared to her, the likes of saints and bishops were either more talk than action or lacked the real power.

I guess Bai Lin doesn't have such a high opinion of himself.

So, what was she thinking? Yamashita Kanon couldn't help but ponder this question, a question she had been pondering ever since she left Sakura. She was born and nurtured to be the Prime Minister, just like Bai Lin was chosen to be the Holy Son. She, too, was artificially chosen.

Having lost this identity, what should I do? Should I wash away the shame and regain that position?

Honestly, Yamashita Kanon was shaken. Over the past decade, Bai Lin's actions and words, along with her recent experiences, had shaken her considerably. She was beginning to doubt the correctness of her past actions.

Chapter 673 Why Do You Learn From Him?

And what will happen to your future?

It's so nice... I wish I could have a goal I was sure of, like that guy. Being chosen, being guided down a path I could be sure of, the right one.

Yamashita Kanon, quite frankly, without suppressing her feelings, thought so. It seemed that now she wasn't as awkward with her emotions as she had been in front of others.

...Why do you always think about her? Stop thinking about her and go to sleep.

-

And just like that, our Prime Minister's first camping experience was over. Sakura often slept on the floor, so she wasn't too uncomfortable sleeping in a tent with a mattress. The only difference was that the space was much smaller. Even if Bai Lin's room was enough for three people to sleep together, it was still much smaller than Yamashita Kanon's usual room.

Besides, she didn't have the chance to change into her pajamas this time. Fortunately, although she was a bad sleeper, her clothes, other than her outer layer, were mostly close fitting and wouldn't get messed up too much.

(Perhaps because of this, Bai Lin had to pay a lot of accommodation fees to Kong)

When she walked out of her tent with a confused look on her face, the dim light from the horizon also illuminated her sight. She saw in front of her was a knight wearing full armor, practicing his martial arts. The cold breath made Yamashita Kanon also feel much more energetic. She looked closely and saw that it was Bai Lin.

"So diligent, starting so early in the morning?"

Yamashita Kanon, whose consciousness was still a little hazy, asked this question subconsciously. And Bai Lin, who was dancing with the sword, also replied,

"I woke up with nothing to do. I can't go visit the elderly people in the village in the early morning. I can handle it, but they can't. By the way, how are you? It's your first time sleeping in a tent. How is it?"

"It's okay... I'm going to go wash up first."

As the two of them exchanged pleasantries, Bai Lin suddenly reached for his waist and threw a kettle towards Yamashita Kanon. The other party subconsciously reached out to catch it, rubbed his eyes, and asked,

"Why are you giving me this?"

"Wash yourself up. You don't expect a bathroom here, do you? A toilet is good enough. Just go to the back of the tent and freshen up a bit."

At this point, Yamashita Kanon was completely refreshed, as if the cold water in Bai Lin's pot had been poured down from above her head. Her eyes trembled as she savored Bai Lin's words, then looked at Bai Lin and replied,

"You mean... I won't have anywhere to take a shower for the next few days?!"

"Not entirely. There are always places to bathe in the village. But don't even think about arranging a separate one for you. I don't think there is such a treatment. You should also be more restrained and stop bothering others."

Bai Lin was like dealing with a child, talking about serious matters while trying to calm the other person's temper. But how could she possibly accept Yamashita Kanon taking a bath with someone else? Her face flushed, her eyes became sharp, and she subconsciously bit her thumbnail, as if she was looking at Bai Lin, but it seemed not to be. After holding it in for a long time, she said,

"I don't care, I'll pay! I'm not backing down from this!"

After saying this, Yamashita Kanon walked to the back of the tent and began to wash up for the day. Bai Lin breathed a sigh of relief as he watched her leave.

In fact, back in Dragon Blood Village, although Bai Lin's family didn't have a private bathroom, each household still had its own bathtub. Although Yamashita Kanon might not be used to it, she was satisfied with a private bathing place. There shouldn't be a shortage of such things here. She could just borrow a spare room and arrange everything for this young lady.

But for some reason, Bai Lin just wanted to tease him like this. Perhaps, he simply wanted to see the Prime Minister embarrassed, and there was a bit of a bad taste in his mouth.

"But...it seems like she's not that difficult to deal with anymore."

Bai Lin paused swinging his sword and thought to himself. Yamashita Kanon hadn't seemed to be stingy with her praise these past two days, and she hadn't been angry with her much either. It seemed like he had been a little...