Chapter 97: Premium Inspirational Wisdom

Page 1/3

The usual excuses about injuring too many oxen were no longer effective... Nor was the persistent rumor among the villagers entirely accurate... Even the two oxherd assistants from another village were surprisingly earnest in imparting their skills... The three reasons painstakingly concocted proved useless, leaving Playa somewhat perplexed.

Very well, since the oxherd assistants were so sincere... why not simply speak a good word for them?

Having made up his mind, Playa stopped beating around the bush and asked directly, "Los, those two oxherd assistants from the neighboring village are working so hard. Have you started teaching them how to treat the oxen yet?"

"No..." Wu Qingchen shook his head. "Not yet."

"Why?"

As he posed the question, the priest was already calculating silently:

If Wu Qingchen answered, "There’s just too much going on recently," the priest would say, "Then teach the assistants quickly so they can help treat the oxen and ease your burden."

If the answer was, "I want them to work a few more years," the priest planned to promise, "Soon I’ll bring more assistants from other villages; they can help you too."

If the answer was, "Because my parents and brothers are worried," he intended to reiterate, "In Eckley Village, there will never be a second family entrusted with the care or treatment of draft oxen..."

In his mind, a rapid stream of counsel and persuasion flowed.

"Why?"

Opposite him, Wu Qingchen slowly raised his head, his expression seeming surprised that the priest would ask such a question. "...Because... because you never told me to teach them!"

"What? Because I never told you?"

The answer caught Playa completely off guard. His chest tightened, and instinctively he blurted out the first thought that came to his mind: "Because I never told you… well, now I am telling you… will you teach them then?"

"Yes..." Wu Qingchen nodded in confusion. "Master, do you want me to teach them?"

"…Uh… yes..." The priest hesitated, puzzled, then said, "...Alright, you go teach them."

Page 2/3

"Very well, Master..." Wu Qingchen lowered his head again, responding respectfully and obediently, "Once I return, I will immediately teach them how to treat the draft oxen!"

So straightforward? Not even a single question about why he needed to teach the assistants?

After so much effort, circling around multiple possibilities, thinking it would take considerable work to achieve the goal, it was unexpectedly accomplished with such ease.

This...

"Los..."

Wu Qingchen did not hesitate for a moment, nor did he show any signs of reluctance, simply agreeing right away. The priest found it quite strange. "I asked you to teach the assistants quickly. Don’t you want to know why? Don’t you want to ask something?"

"No," Wu Qingchen shook his head slowly but firmly.

"Why?"

The priest’s third "why" slipped out. Realizing the possible ambiguity, Playa quickly clarified, "I mean, why don’t you want to know?"

"Because... whatever you ask me to do is surely to help me!"

"Hmm?"

Before Playa could fully grasp the meaning, Wu Qingchen continued.

"Master, you first asked me to clean the church, which exempted me from summer labor... then you taught me to treat oxen, saving my entire family... you let me treat the village’s oxen, making me an oxherd..."

At this point, using the corner of his eye, Wu Qingchen noticed that Playa had, without realizing it, tightly clasped his hands together several times—an unmistakable sign of the lord’s emotional turmoil.

It was time.

Following instructions from the Earth team, Wu Qingchen subtly adjusted his posture, lifted his head slightly at just the right angle to reveal a faint mist of emotion in his eyes, and modulated his voice into a trembling, choked tone filled with gratitude:

"...Master... you have been so... so kind to me... always taking care of me... now that you ask me to quickly teach the oxherd assistants, how could I ever ask why?"

A powerful combination of light, angle, and posture—an effect distilled from countless classic inspirational scenes—whose impact defies any statistical measure.

On another planet, beneath a giant screen surrounded by countless monitors, numerous witnesses observed this touching moment between teacher and student:

Seeing Wu Qingchen's carefully crafted demeanor, Priest Playa stood dazed for at least five seconds, his tightly clasped hands trembling, veins bulging on his arms, fingers pressing deep white marks into his skin.

Page 3/3

"Good, good, good..." Playa repeated three times, his voice thick with emotion, "Good, Los... good child!"

Having heard Los’s heartfelt words and achieved the first goal of urging him to teach the assistants quickly, Playa no longer wished to use rhetoric, deception, or temptation for the second goal.

"Los, after you finish teaching these two oxherd assistants how to treat oxen..."

Playa confessed, "...or perhaps before you even finish, more assistants from other villages will come. When that time comes, you must also teach them quickly. Understood?"

"Yes!" Without disappointing Playa, Wu Qingchen immediately agreed again. "Rest assured, Master, I will teach them as fast as I can!"

"Very good!" The priest nodded vigorously, then paced back and forth several times along the pulpit.

Stopping once more, he fixed his serious gaze on Wu Qingchen’s eyes and spoke slowly, with utmost gravity:

"...And, Los... in the future, no matter what happens... whether good or bad, remember to come and tell me, do you understand?"

"Tell you no matter what good or bad happens..."

This sentence had been said just a short while ago, in the same place, but this time the tone, expression, and underlying meaning were entirely different.

Since Wu Qingchen first arrived in this medieval world, marking the starting point of the era, he had already spent 42 days here.

During these days, the Earth team had gathered quite comprehensive data on the native figures of the medieval world—John/Playa/Ackford—the grassroots leader of Eckley Village, identified by the initial "B," a key figure second only to Wu Qingchen’s family.

Based on this data and various preset scenarios, a rich model of responses had been established.

According to the data and models:

John/Playa/Ackford, the grassroots leader of Eckley Village, constrained by family, environment, and background, occupied one of the most fiercely competitive tiers within the feudal lord hierarchy;

Among peers of the same rank, resource struggles, power plays, and scarce opportunities for advancement were the norm.