Chapter 23: Confession

After breakfast, Merlin had Meg lead the slaves to continue organizing the caves, hoping to cut down all the trees on the mountain to see if they could make a small boat, so they could explore the lake in the mountains. Merlin, however, planned to explore the surroundings of the castle to find a suitable place for improving the land.

In Merlin's view, improving the land was the top priority. Only by improving the land could they have a solid foundation for survival and a hope of living on.

Although she didn't know what Zhao Hai's space farm was, seeing that he could improve the land and produce 80,000 pounds of radishes at once, she deduced that his ability was related to agriculture.

Although Merlin didn't know the wonders of the space farm, she was a smart person with a wealth of life experience, so she had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

But since Zhao Hai didn't tell her, she didn't ask further. She knew that Zhao Hai was now in charge and had become much more decisive than before. If she pressed him, it would seem inappropriate.

When Zhao Hai heard that Merlin wanted to explore the surroundings of the castle, he insisted on going along. In the few days since arriving in this world, he had only been in the castle or on the mountain, or busy in the space. He had never explored the surroundings, and today was a good opportunity to do so, as this was his territory after all.

Zhao Hai wanted to go, and naturally, MuTou and ShiTou also wanted to follow. However, Zhao Hai only took MuTou, leaving ShiTou behind to help Meg supervise the slaves. He was a bit worried about leaving Meg alone to watch over a hundred slaves.

Zhao Hai and Merlin came out of the castle, with MuTou walking on the mountain, carefully examining the terrain. Zhao Hai and Merlin, however, walked along the foot of the mountain. Merlin was old and a mage, so her body wasn't in the best condition, and neither was Zhao Hai's. They didn't go up the mountain, as they would likely be exhausted after a short while.

This was the first time Merlin and Zhao Hai had ventured so far from the castle. As they walked, they looked around. The Black Earth Wasteland was indeed peculiar. The semi-circular mountain was covered with small trees and sparse grass, while the vast plain surrounded by the mountain stretched as far as the eye could see, with nothing particularly interesting to look at. The terrain on the mountain was a bit more complex, but since the mountain wasn't very high and had few trees, the terrain could be seen clearly from the bottom, so there was no need to worry too much.

They walked along the foot of the mountain for over three hours, feeling increasingly desolate, but finding nothing new. The black earth remained black earth, and the barren mountain remained barren.

Zhao Hai looked around and turned to Merlin, saying, "Grandma Merlin, let's rest for a while. Our fief is too large to explore in a day or two. If it's too difficult, we can wait for Grandpa Green to return and ride horses. Walking like this is really tiring."

Merlin was also exhausted. She was a mage, not a warrior, and her body wasn't strong. She could handle household chores, but this kind of travel was too much for her.

They found two stones to sit on. Seeing them sit down, MuTou immediately ran down the mountain and said to Zhao Hai, "Young Master, rest here. I'll go and check the surroundings."

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Alright, be careful." MuTou responded and ran back up the mountain, showing no signs of fatigue.

Sitting on the stone, Merlin looked at the vast black land before her and sighed, "When we first heard that the empire had given us this place, we were truly desperate. Everyone knew that the Black Earth Wasteland was a dead land, where nothing grew, and it was right next to the Corpse Swamp. Being assigned here meant we had no choice but to wait to die."

She paused, lowered her head, and her eyes showed a look of reminiscence, "When Green heard the news, he immediately used all the money we had to buy supplies. He wanted us to hold on for a few more years. Once the old nobles stopped paying attention to us, we could find other ways to earn money. No matter what, we couldn't let the Buda family perish in our hands."

Merlin was silent for a while, as if recalling the desperate situation. Zhao Hai didn't speak, understanding her feelings. The Buda family was their home, and they could only watch it be assigned to this dead land, where they would wait to die. The despair must have been overwhelming.

After a while, Merlin took a deep breath and turned to Zhao Hai, "Fortunately, Young Master, you woke up and have this miraculous ability to improve the land. This gives us hope. Young Master, the revival of the Buda family depends on you."

Green had said something similar to Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai understood that this was Merlin and Green's expectation of him, but the more he understood, the more he felt the difficulty of the task. If even someone as capable as Green and Merlin couldn't achieve it, it would be hard for him to do so.

To revive the Buda family, they would have to face the oppression of all the old nobles in the Aksu Empire, including the royal family.

But at this moment, he couldn't say these things. He could only nod forcefully, "Don't worry, Grandma Merlin, I'll do my best."

Merlin nodded, looking at Zhao Hai and smiling, "The heavens have not abandoned the Buda family. They have given you this miraculous ability, which means they want us to flourish again."

Zhao Hai smiled slightly, "Grandma Merlin, I'll take you to a place." With a thought, they appeared in the space farm.

Merlin and Green were people Zhao Hai could completely trust. He hadn't taken Merlin to the farm before because, besides the need for secrecy, there were many things in the farm he couldn't explain to Merlin. Zhao Hai was also afraid that Merlin and Green might discover that he had taken over Adam's body, which could lead to them killing him.

But now he wasn't afraid. He knew that Merlin and Green had no suspicions and had already seen him as the hope of the Buda family. As the only heir of the Buda family, even if they discovered the truth, they might not harm him, as killing him would mean the end of the Buda family, and the empire would reclaim their title.

Merlin was stunned when she entered the space. Seeing the sprouting radishes and the nearly ripe corn, her mind struggled to comprehend.

Zhao Hai explained, "Grandma Merlin, this is my special ability. In this land, we can grow crops and vegetables, and the growth time is much shorter than outside. That's why I could produce 80,000 pounds of magic radishes in such a short time."

Merlin looked at the land and turned to Zhao Hai, "Young Master, where did you store those magic radishes? I don't see them."

Zhao Hai pointed to the warehouse, "They're all in there. The room is like a spatial item, capable of storing a lot of things. Not only the magic radishes, but also the supplies I collected are stored there. I can retrieve them whenever I need them."

Merlin's eyes sparkled as she nodded, truly amazed by the warehouse's capabilities.

Zhao Hai continued, "The land and water in this space can be used to improve the black land outside. I used a mixture of this space's land and water to improve the black land. This is a new plant I've grown, called corn. If this field of corn matures, the seeds produced will be enough to plant a thousand acres, with some left over. However, I'm not sure if the corn grown in this space can be used as seeds, so I need to test it. The corn stalks can be used for firewood, making it the most suitable plant for us to grow."

Merlin looked at the corn field, her eyes sparkling. She understood what Zhao Hai meant. If the corn could be grown and used, they could solve their food and firewood problems.

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "If we find a suitable location, we'll start by improving a thousand acres of land and planting corn. Once the corn matures, we won't have to worry about food or firewood. With food, we can sell the magic radishes for money, and gradually, the Buda family can grow and thrive."

Merlin nodded forcefully and turned to Zhao Hai, "Young Master, don't tell anyone else about this. How many people know about this now?"

Zhao Hai shook his head, "Only you, MuTou, and ShiTou have been to this space. Grandpa Green and Meg haven't been here."

Merlin nodded, "You can trust us, but not others. Young Master, don't mention this to anyone else. If others find out, you'll be in danger."

Zhao Hai nodded, "Don't worry, Grandma Merlin. I won't tell anyone. Let's go back. If MuTou can't find us, he'll be worried." With a thought, they reappeared at the foot of the mountain.