Life returned to tranquility.
As time passed, everyone in Galor Village came to understand Joe Di's temperament. He was not a talkative outsider; every so often he would stroll to the edge of the village, but most of the time he stayed in his small wooden cabin.
His only flaw was that he never participated in any labor.
After learning that Joe Di disliked manual work, villagers would bring him food from time to time. The people of the mountain village were kind-hearted; though some looked down on Joe Di's laziness, most did not mind.
To these villagers, Joe Di was missing a leg, and besides, he had been brought here by Glen Rivers, even bringing auspicious signs to Galor Village.
Any villager who brought something for Joe Di would simply leave it in the little storage shed outside his cabin. Whenever Joe Di closed his door to heal, no one ever saw him.
In the eyes of Galor Village's people, Joe Di was tactful—he never asked for food from anyone. If someone delivered something to his cabin, he would never return it. If anyone regretted their gift, they could take it back at any time, and Joe Di would never say a word.
The one who brought Joe Di the most was Glen Rivers, but the person who visited him most often was Rona Grace, the most beautiful flower of Galor Village.
Yet whether it was Glen Rivers or Rona Grace, they seldom saw Joe Di. Only when Joe Di came out for a walk could they catch a glimpse and exchange a few words with him.
No matter what, since Joe Di arrived, the quality of life in Galor Village had greatly improved. Illnesses disappeared, and food became plentiful.
Moreover, the fruits in Galor Village were tastier than anywhere else.
Some enterprising villagers began to gather various fruits from Galor Village and sell them at markets a hundred miles away.
Soon, the fruits became popular and their prices kept rising. Many villagers made a small fortune, buying large amounts of cotton and silk, and some even started purchasing luxury goods only city folk would buy.
Joe Di was naturally unaware of all this. He had been in Galor Village for over a year now. In that time, he had recovered a great deal. Though his leg was still broken, he could heal it whenever he wished.
However, Joe Di knew well that this kind of recovery was not the one he truly wanted.
What he needed was for his leg to recover without affecting his Grand Dao—in other words, both his body and Dao Mind had to recover together.
Since he could not achieve that yet, Joe Di was in no hurry to heal his leg.
In Joe Di's view, his Dao Mind was still lacking, and his Path of Laws was incomplete. If his Dao Mind were perfected, he would be able to restore his leg with ease.
The peaceful life in Galor Village helped mend his Grand Dao, but something was still missing. Perhaps it would take time to fill that gap—something he could not obtain simply by wishing for it.
...
On Blackmarsh Star, Prime Empire was the most powerful nation.
Prime Empire's strength lay not only in its formidable military, but more importantly, in its all-powerful Imperial Advisor.
Any problem that could not be solved would be easily handled once the Imperial Advisor intervened. Even things like praying for rain during a drought could be entrusted to him.
Every kingdom surrounding Prime Empire had to pay tribute each year.
Moreover, all the vassal states and city-states under Prime Empire also had to pay annual tribute. Fortunately, Prime Empire was rich beyond compare, so the tribute did not need to be especially precious—novelty and uniqueness were enough.
Today was the day for the vassal city-states to pay tribute. Emperor Samuel Farr of Prime Empire sat upright in the Golden Throne Hall, his face mostly hidden by the many-colored tassels of his imperial crown.
At that moment, none of the officials dared to raise their heads. If anyone did, they would see that the exposed part of the emperor's face was unnaturally pale. His cheeks were sunken, clear evidence of overindulgence.
No one in the Golden Throne Hall dared to look up, except for one person—Advisor Nate Easton. It could be said that Prime Empire owed its current status largely to him. Emperor Samuel Farr trusted Advisor Nate Easton completely and followed his every word.
Advisor Nate Easton sat beside Samuel Farr, not just beneath one man and above all others, but truly as an equal.
Samuel Farr glanced at Advisor Nate Easton, who nodded back. Only then did Samuel Farr sweep his gaze over the officials prostrating themselves below. After a long while, he finally spoke with satisfaction, “Rise, all of you. Steward, let the tribute-bearing officials present their gifts.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” A pale-faced, beardless eunuch quickly bowed and replied, then called out loudly, “Let the tribute-bearing officials offer their gifts in order!”
As the command echoed through the hall, the first tribute-bearing official was led by a junior attendant to the front of the throne.
The steward announced in a sharp voice, “King Sam Heath of Sahe, a vassal of Prime Empire, presents one hundred pounds of purple gold, one hundred pounds of finest incense, and a meteorite from beyond the stars...”
As the steward read out the gifts, they were carried in a circle behind him and then taken away from the Golden Throne Hall.
The steward took more than ten breaths to finish reading the list of gifts.
Seeing Emperor Samuel Farr nod, the steward continued, “The gifts are accepted. King Sam Heath has traveled far; please take your seat in the royal hall.”
Upon hearing this, the kneeling man shouted three times, “Long live the Emperor!” in gratitude, then stood up and followed a eunuch out of the Golden Throne Hall.
After King Sam Heath left, another man entered and knelt. The steward continued, “King Eugene Wing of Yiyong, a vassal of Prime Empire, presents a pair of twin incense maidens, and one hundred and eight deep-sea pearls...”
At the top of the hall, Emperor Samuel Farr's eyes lit up at the mention of the twin incense maidens. When he saw the two beautiful, graceful girls enter, he laughed and said, “King Eugene Wing, you are most thoughtful. These beauties need not leave—come, sit by my side.”
The two girls obediently replied, “Yes, Your Majesty,” and gracefully walked to sit beside Samuel Farr.
Samuel Farr inhaled the faint fragrance, growing even happier, and even reached out to embrace the two girls.
The steward continued announcing gifts, which were paraded around the hall. Yet none of this held Samuel Farr’s attention; his focus remained entirely on the two incense maidens at his side. Their subtle scent left him somewhat dazed.
The steward announced, “Lord Wang Xie of Jasper City, a vassal of Prime Empire, presents ten Sunset Peaches...”
Even the steward was stunned; in all his years of announcing tributes, he had never heard of anyone offering only ten Sunset Peaches. He wanted to believe he had missed something, but after those ten peaches, there truly was nothing else.
“Hiss!” The steward couldn’t help but suck in a breath. Was this person courting death? Not only the steward—even all the officials in the hall were silent. This was clearly an act of defiance. If you want to die, don’t do it here; the emperor would never let you die easily.
“Hmm?” Noticing the silence, Samuel Farr looked up. “What’s going on?”
It turned out he hadn’t heard the steward’s announcement clearly.
“Your Majesty, just now a city lord offered only ten Sunset Peaches,” one of the incense maidens beside Samuel Farr whispered.
“What?!” Fury surged in Samuel Farr’s heart.
Not even the neighboring kingdoms would dare offer such a common tribute as Sunset Peaches, and yet a mere vassal city had done so. Worse, it was only ten peaches—was this a direct insult to Samuel Farr?
He didn’t care about the quantity of tribute, but this was a matter of dignity.