99 Ecstasy

"Yes, Master..." "Understood, Teacher..."

Upon hearing the priest's instructions, Wu Qingchen and little Andre hurried out of the church and stepped onto the stone path laid out amidst the wild grass. Once clear of the path, Andre oriented himself and straightened his sleeves.

What on earth was he planning?

Knowing Andre's age, understanding his way of thinking, and seeing him poised to start running at any moment, Wu Qingchen quickly grabbed his arm. "Andre... how do you plan to find the village guards?"

"Run, of course!" little Andre replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The priest needs seven guards, so I have to be fast!"

"Seven..." Wu Qingchen couldn't help but look up at the sky. "Seven guards—where are you going to look for them?"

"At their homes, obviously!" Andre answered matter-of-factly.

"Andre..." Wu Qingchen shook his head helplessly and pointed at the sun, which had now fully risen. "It's this late already. Do you really think you'll find anyone at home?"

"Hmm... is it really that late? I suppose they wouldn't be home, would they?" Andre hesitated for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "It’s fine, I’ll go look for them in their allotted fields!"

Such a guileless child!

"Do you even know how many plots of land they each have? Do you know where every single one is? Do you know how far each one is from here? ...By the time you finish running to all of them, the whole day might be over!"

"Ah..." Andre tilted his head, pondered for a moment, and had to admit that everything Wu Qingchen said was true. "Then what should I do? Should I go back and ask the priest?"

Such a sincere, simple-minded child...

The essence of flattery: when a superior is clearly making a mistake, do not point it out, do not question it, and absolutely do not correct them on the spot. The most appropriate way to handle it is to silently compensate for the error during execution, and ideally, take the blame for the superior while you're at it.

"No need to ask. The Master just wants guards; he doesn't actually care who those specific guards are..."

Holding Andre back, Wu Qingchen even provided the solution: "In a moment, just pick a direction and walk a half-circle. Whenever you see a guard while passing through the fields, call them over. Don't worry about whether they are the specific ones the Master wanted. Once you’ve gathered seven or eight, you can bring them back to the church."

"Hmm... that..." In truth, before Wu Qingchen spoke, little Andre had vaguely realized that going back to question the priest would probably be a poor decision.

Recalling the conversation in the church, Andre’s brow smoothed out. "Yes, that’s a good plan! Let’s do that. Thank you, Los."

"It's nothing. I have more to thank you for."

"What?"

"Nothing..."

"Oh!"

Andre's face was filled with a bright, beaming smile. Whether on Earth or in this medieval world, a child's intuition is the sharpest.

Until just a moment ago, although little Andre had always felt that Wu Qingchen (Los) was approachable, enthusiastic, attentive, and caring, Wu Qingchen’s previous displays of friendliness—driven by clear ulterior motives—had always left a faint, intangible sense of distance.

It wasn't until this very moment, when Wu Qingchen had a flash of inspiration—unplanned by his advisory team, but stemming purely from his own reasoning and genuine concern for the boy—that he offered this guidance. It was the first time the child, who had followed the priest to Ecli Village for nearly three years, felt true sincerity and care from someone his own age.

The feeling was subtle; due to his age and experience, little Andre only sensed it vaguely and lacked the capacity to analyze it.

Likewise, Wu Qingchen did not realize that the secret, second round of brainwashing conducted by the advisory team the day before—using photos and videos to solidify his empathy—was what had caused Andre's reddened fingers from hauling water, his joyous smile when sharing white bread, and his worried expression while watching the church door during the rainstorm to be so deeply etched into his heart.

That was why, the moment Wu Qingchen saw Andre preparing to run, he had immediately begun helping this medieval child find a more efficient solution.

Of course, one couldn't say there were absolutely no other motives involved.

"By the way..." Wu Qingchen asked again, "casually" and "inadvertently": "Andre, once you see the guards, how will you tell them why they need to come to the church?"

"The priest wants them to protect you while you go into the forest to look for herbs!"

"Hmm... not quite..."

Wu Qingchen shook his head. "If I were just treating the plow ox by myself, I would have enough herbs already, and wouldn't need to head into the forest, right?"

"Right." That was obvious; having overheard the entire conversation in the church, Andre nodded.

"It’s because I need to teach the ox-herd assistants how to treat the cattle that I need more herbs, right?"

"Right." That, too, was obvious.

"So..." Wu Qingchen drew out his words.

"So, you should tell the guards that the priest wants them to accompany the ox-herd assistants to find herbs."

"Exactly..." Wu Qingchen added a little something "by the way": "But, I’m worried they won't recognize the real herbs. So, to make things go smoother and save time, I’ll go with them the first time they enter the forest."

"Yes! Yes!" Little Andre nodded repeatedly. "Los, you really are a good person."

"It's nothing..." Wu Qingchen smiled slightly. "I'm just thinking a bit more for others."

For instance, thinking a bit more for the ox-herd assistants: since they would be returning to their own villages after learning the craft anyway, they surely wouldn't mind bearing the resentment of a few Ecli guards.

"Alright! I'm off... Los, you should hurry too!"

"Go on."

And so, little Andre headed east, while Wu Qingchen headed south.

The livestock shed belonging to the Baron was very close to the church. A few minutes later, after rounding a corner, the expansive shed appeared before Wu Qingchen, just dozens of paces away.

By now, the summer morning sun was already beginning to make one feel the heat.

From Wu Qingchen's position, he could hear the cacophony of cows, sheep, and chickens, along with the two ox-herd assistants who had already risen, shouting commands at the serfs.

Dean, from Floran Village, and Elmo, from Oray Village, were the brightest boys chosen by the stewards of their respective villages. Being in the prime of their youth, they had spent these three days in Ecli Village learning to understand the local dialect with the help of the two messengers, guides, and temporary translators, and could now stutter out their own meanings.

"Good day, Los."

As Wu Qingchen walked into the livestock shed, Idra...