Chapter 6: Chapter 6 Gold is a bumper crop, silver is hard work
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~"
The Black Leather Book opened within Bai Luo's consciousness, a total of ten pages, each page completely blank.
"Only ten pages?"
"No, there should be more than ten pages."
Bai Luo didn't know how he came to this conclusion, but he just felt that the Black Leather Book had more than ten pages.
The reason he could only open ten pages now was because its power had not fully awakened.
"But I can't figure out its use at all."
Bai Luo stroked his chin, sitting on his bed, his contemplative appearance to outsiders indistinguishable from daydreaming.
"Hey, can you talk?"
"Spirit of the tool? Are you there?"
"What about the system, is there a system, activate the system."
"....."
Bai Luo tried many things, practically exhausting all the methods to activate a 'golden finger' that he knew from his previous life.
Unfortunately, it was to no avail.
Bai Luo also wanted to perform a blood pact, but since the book was in his consciousness, he couldn't bleed on it.
"It's over, could this book be a fake miracle?"
Uncle had told Bai Luo about many kinds of miracles, powerful artifacts, and various strange creatures, but he had never mentioned anything like the Black Leather Book.
"Whoosh~"
Suddenly, just as Bai Luo was troubled by not understanding the Black Leather Book's ability, the pages began to turn, stopping on the first page.
"Hmm?"
On the page, which should have been blank, a piece of text appeared.
[Gold is a bountiful harvest, silver is diligence. When you open it, what you may receive is not the harvest, but certainly the hope of a harvest —— 23:59:57]
"What is this?"
Bai Luo didn't understand the meaning of this sentence; it was like a riddle.
As for the time mentioned, it was a countdown, because with each passing second, it was decreasing.
Besides that, there was also a compass.
"So are you a map?"
Bai Luo was puzzled, he really wanted to ask Uncle if there were map-like miracles.
Having an elder around, whose wealth of experience is right there yet still wandering aimlessly by oneself, would be truly foolish.
But now with Uncle absent, Bai Luo could only rely on his own exploration.
"Anyhow, let's go take a look first."
Bai Luo decided to follow the direction indicated by the compass.
If it was too far away, like some deep forest, then with Bai Luo's current condition, he definitely wouldn't go.
He would have to wait for Uncle and Inya to return, with their protection, the three of them could explore together.
As for how to explain at that time.
Uncle trusted him unconditionally, and Inya was even more obedient to Bai Luo's words.
Do I need a reason?
Do I, Bai Luo, need a reason to go out and wander?!
"Hiss~~~"
However, the next moment, Bai Luo felt a sharp pain in his wound.
"Times have changed, I'd better bring along my weapon."
Bai Luo fastened the Cross Sword that Uncle had used in his youth to his waist, and hung two throwing axes for ranged combat onto his back; then, leaning on his cane and limping, he started following the direction indicated by the compass.
"Slow down, slow down, Miya."
On the grassy slope, two children were walking one behind the other, Bai Luo recognized them.
The older boy was called Shuster, and the other was called Miya, they were the orphaned siblings that Bai Luo had mentioned before, the ones taken in by the Blind Girl Alaiya.
"I've already told you, you're carrying too much, brother."
Little Miya quickly set down her basket, then shifted some of the pigweed from Shuster's basket into her own.
"How is that too much, it's just this little bit, I, I am a man."
"All right, stop pretending you're okay,"
As Miya spoke, she suddenly realized someone was calling her.
"Brother Bai Luo~~"
Spotting Bai Luo, Miya quickly ran over, leaving Shuster utterly helpless, "Hey? Aren't you going to share a bit more? It's still very heavy."
"Hey, Little Miya, good afternoon."
Bai Luo looked at the small girl who had run up to him, about eight or nine years old, and gently touched Miya's head, "You've picked so much pigweed today."
Pigweed, a plant used to feed the village's 'mountain boars' that were like domestic pigs.
Humans couldn't eat it, but for omnivorous animals like mountain boars, they weren't picky and would eat anything.
The only problem was that mountain boars, unlike domestic pigs, had poor reproductive abilities, making them less cost-effective to raise.
"I started picking it early in the morning; this is the third batch already."
Miya was just a girl, and still young, not yet of age to receive warrior training, so she could only do what was within her reach.
"You have the style of Inya in her younger days."
Bai Luo smiled and asked, "Have you had lunch?"
"I brought a cake when I set out in the morning, and my brother and I each had half."
"Huff, huff."
Shuster was a bit older than Miya, ten years old this year, but he was weak and often ill, frailer even than his younger sister Miya.
"Big Brother Bai Luo!"
Shuster also spotted Bai Luo then, and he greatly admired him, "Is your injury all right now?"
The incident of being knocked over by a boar had already spread in the martial world, hadn't it?
"It was just a minor wound; it's mostly healed now."
His leg still hurt quite a bit, but in front of the two children, even if Bai Luo were dying in pain, he couldn't lose face.
"And you?"
Bai Luo also touched Shuster's head, who was unusually short for his age, "Is the medicine from last time still working?"
"Much better! Thank you, Big Brother Bai Luo!"
When Shuster fell ill the last time, Bai Luo had heard that a certain herb could benefit his health, so he traversed mountains and dangerous forests without sleep for three days and nights to bring the medicine back for him.
Not just that once, every time Shuster fell ill since he was young, it was Bai Luo who went to find the herbs for him.
Though they had lost their parents when they were little, in the hearts of the boy and his sister, Bai Luo was no different from being another parent or brother.
"Where are you going, Brother Bai Luo?"
Curious, Miya eyed the direction Bai Luo was heading, which seemed to be towards the farm fields, but they were empty since they hadn't been seeded yet.
"I can finally get out and about, so I came out for a walk."
The two children wanted to stay with Bai Luo, apparently worried about his injuries.
But they still had a task, to deliver the pigweed.
"You guys go back. I'm just going to walk around nearby; it's good for my leg injury."
"Understood!"
The two kids were very simple and trusted Bai Luo completely, so they turned around and left.
"Let's continue."
Bai Luo kept walking straight ahead, but he soon came upon a stream.
The stream wasn't deep, only reaching a person's neck, but Bai Luo, still not fully healed, couldn't risk wading across. Falling over could spell disaster.
"Is this as far as I go?"
Standing by the riverbank, Bai Luo sighed, thinking to himself, 'I might still need to get Uncle and Little Miya to explore with me.'
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Bai Luo noticed a change in the Black Leather Book; the compass direction had reversed itself.
It was like a needle that should point north became attracted to a magnet, and now, no matter which way Bai Luo went, the needle pointed in the same direction.
"What is this..."
The change in direction could only mean one thing: Bai Luo had walked past his destination, so he immediately turned around and, following the compass, he eventually pinpointed the exact location.
"It's gone!!!"
The needle had disappeared, replaced by a map with a small red dot and a large blue dot.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone