The majority of buildings within Gu Yue Village had been destroyed.

Many of those that were still standing, or at the very least slightly functional, and had no owners, were basically being taken up in a free-for-all. Naturally, disputes occurred, with people saying or claiming that their relatives owned such and such plot of land, and therefore they should be entitled to the same.

It was a massive headache for the elder in charge of clan records to try to untangle this mess. In the meantime, many people simply squatted wherever they found a place that was comfortable.

Yu Sai was lounging in one of these buildings. The hut he used to live in, where Fang Yuan had broken through to Rank 3, was gone.

If there was a silver lining, though, he might end up getting a slightly better house. That was the only true silver lining he could think of in the current situation.

As the sun set, he was joined by Li Mei, who knocked on the door before coming in.

The two of them had been fortunate enough to survive Lord Sky Crane, first gen Ancestor, and Bai Ning Bing’s detonation.

Of course, they couldn’t have known that they had died during the previous turn of events; otherwise they might have been a bit happier right now.

Li Mei glanced around furtively, as if wondering whether or not someone was spying on them. She didn’t see anyone, though in a world filled with Gu Masters, that was no guarantee they weren’t being watched.

However, both of them kept a low profile and were of little interest to anyone.

Normally, they would have bemoaned such a situation, but that was also a layer of protection in a way. It meant that no one with power really bothered to mess with them so long as they fulfilled their duties.

Yu Sai reached into his aperture and retrieved something from a storage-type Gu worm: three Moon Orchid petals. This was an ordinary enough sight during ordinary times in the village, but during times like these, these leaves might as well have been coated in gold for what they were worth.

Li Mei hurriedly fed her Moonlight Gu with those petals.

“You’re lucky I had some of them still lying around,” Yu Sai said. “I don’t even have a Moonlight Gu with me right now. I was just keeping a few I managed to barter for earlier, thinking I could resell them later at a higher price.”

Hoarding essentials during times of war and jacking up the price was, no doubt, a crime, both from a legal standpoint as well as a moral one. Yu Sai was not even an elder or someone who would have the influence to be able to do so without any repercussions.

At the same time, he was a small-time dealer and felt that he would have been able to find a willing buyer if it hadn’t been for everything which had happened.

Now, Moon Orchid Petals were so valuable that no one could get their hands on them.

Rank 2 Gu Masters had been given just enough to stop their gu worms from starving, but the elders hoarded most of them.

It was to the point that many people would have considered it worthwhile to kill Yu Sai for those Moon Orchid Petals if they knew he had them.

Indeed, they were so valuable that someone as lowly as him could not sell them safely, which is why he was just handing them over to Li Mei like this. There was another reason, of course, that he hid, though he didn’t express it.

“I heard news that they found a way to fix the Moon Orchids,” Li Mei said. “They might start selling Moon Orchid petals again.”

“Really, how did they do that?” Yu Sai asked.

“Yes, apparently Clan Head Fang Yuan managed to find a way to fix them,” Li Mei said.

“Of course, he did,” Yu Sai said. He had nothing against Fang Yuan, at least not until recently. Even then, his feelings were somewhat childish, though he couldn’t stop himself from having them. He paused, thinking. “Do you think they’re really going to allow the mortals to possibly become Gu Masters?”

Li Mei sighed. “It looks like the elders are slowly changing their minds regarding that. If they do so, I can’t see how anyone else is going to stop them.”

Yu Sai groaned. Both of them were bottom-of-the-barrel talents, stuck at Rank 1 forever.

Out of all the Gu Masters in the village, they had the most to lose from the mortals becoming Gu Masters, even if they were all just D- or C-grade talents.

There would be immense competition for people like them if this happened.

Of course, for Fang Yuan and the elders, it wouldn’t matter that much.

They needed more rank-and-file soldiers and logistical Gu Masters for various tasks. That was why the elders were slowly coming around towards Fang Yuan’s idea. They saw what the lack of ordinary Gu Masters in terms of manpower was doing to the village and hampering its growth.

Yu Sai had often cursed his own lack of talent, but he had come to terms with it before.

He had decided that, given that fate had given him practically nothing, he would do his best to live an easy life and contribute as little as possible to society.

Life could have continued that way until recent events. His family had been chilled by the wolf tide, and there was no way that they were going to let him lay idle all the time anymore. No, they were going to end up working him to the bone.

‘There’s a reason ‘may you live in interesting times’ was often considered inviting misfortune upon someone,’ he sighed to himself. ‘The clan had stood for a thousand years. Why did something like this happen just when I had been born?’

There was another reason, one less obvious, that he cursed his own lack of talent: the girl sitting next to him.

He had never considered Li Mei to be anything more than a close friend, and not even that close back during the academy before the events of the wolf tide.

His father had often told him that it was natural for men to be providers and to protect those they love. Ye Zan couldn’t imagine ever wanting to risk his neck for anyone. And yet, he had done so simply to save this girl.

Why, though, he often wondered himself. Li Mei could not be considered a beauty; if anything, quite the opposite. Her looks, much like her talent, were completely at the bottom of the barrel. He had to fight that objective fact, but he couldn’t help but feel that it was so wonderful when she smiled, when she giggled. He couldn’t help but notice how thoughtful she always was, and she was always cheery despite the dire situation they were in.

She had been quite thankful for his actions in saving her. Although it had been that strange power which had ultimately saved them later on, she wouldn’t have lived to see that moment if it hadn’t been for him. Although he tried to downplay that, he was secretly quite happy about it and would often reminisce about how tightly she had clung to him during that time.

Of course, he knew that her heart belonged to Fang Yuan and that he had no hope whatsoever. Hence, his resentment towards the latter, though not that his resentment could really do anything.

‘Ha! Who would have thought that I would end up like this?’ Ye Zan thought to himself. If anyone had told him this would be the scenario he would find himself in after graduating, he would have laughed at them, not necessarily just because of the events after the wolf tide.

As Li Mei’s Moonlihgt Gu finished munching on the Moon Orchid Petals, he couldn’t help but wonder what the future was going to bring.

‘Maybe I should go ahead and marry a mortal woman if she can cultivate,’ he thought to himself.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep