Chapter 4

Yi Xingchen inherited the king's farm and the message of the king's soul, which was equivalent to having the key to open the portal to another world—the blue light gate.

Connecting the dots, Yi Xingchen finally understood that this "King's Farm" was actually a medium between Blue Water Star and another world, a passage between the two worlds.

Yi Xingchen slowly sorted out the situation he faced. The people kneeling before him seemed to be the subjects of the king who left the will. They had clearly already regarded Yi Xingchen as their king.

"Who are you?" Yi Xingchen asked in a feigned indifferent tone.

Although Yi Xingchen had received the king's legacy and the ability to speak the language of the other world, he was essentially still a human from Blue Water Star, an ordinary person. Facing the dozens of people kneeling in the rock hall, he couldn't help but feel nervous. However, he couldn't let these people see through him, so he had to try his best to maintain a calm exterior.

"Your Majesty, I am your court steward, Xian," the man in court uniform who knelt first replied respectfully.

Yi Xingchen was not used to sitting on the stone chair and slightly moved his buttocks. He thought for a moment and, based on the king's legacy, asked, "Xian, I want to know the situation of our kingdom after our defeat."

Upon hearing this, Xian recalled the hard times of the past, and his voice was tinged with sorrow as he said, "The kingdom was defeated, and the nation and families were destroyed. The entire kingdom's territory was divided, and the people were sold into slavery. Later, thousands of people who did not want to be slaves fled and migrated, enduring great hardships, and finally stopped in the Valley of Forgetfulness.

Now, after ten years, we have also taken root in the Valley of Forgetfulness. However, we have never forgotten the former glory of the kingdom, and we have always hoped that one day, Your Majesty would return to lead us and rebuild our home.

Finally, we have waited for this day!" Xian's voice trembled as he spoke, and the tough man could not help but choke up and shed tears, overwhelmed with sorrow. "Now, ten years have passed. In the Valley of Forgetfulness, there are only 538 citizens of the kingdom left. Among them, there are 100 adults, 338 elderly people over 50 years old, and 100 children under 10 years old."

"Why are there so few people left?" Yi Xingchen asked in doubt.

"The Valley of Forgetfulness, although not invaded by enemy countries, has a harsh environment and fierce beasts, which have taken the lives of many of our people..." Xian replied sadly.

Yi Xingchen frowned. Although he was not in their situation, he could still empathize with Xian's sorrow. A once great nation, after its defeat, had almost lost everything, and the pain was indescribable.

Next, Yi Xingchen continued to learn about the specific situation in the Valley of Forgetfulness from Xian.

Currently, the number of the kingdom's remaining people was too small. Rebuilding a country was not impossible, but it would be very difficult. More importantly, the environment in the Valley of Forgetfulness was extremely harsh. First, the climate here was unpredictable and unsuitable for farming; second, life here was constantly threatened by fierce beasts.

In the Valley of Forgetfulness, the temperature during the day was usually above 25 degrees, and at night, it dropped below 10 degrees, with a large temperature difference. The resistance of the remaining people was weak, making them prone to illness. In the first year after settling, a flu epidemic claimed the lives of over a thousand people.

The outer area of the Valley of Forgetfulness was a sparsely populated primeval forest, so the valley often saw the appearance of fierce beasts and venomous insects.

To survive, the remaining people, unable to grow food, had to rely on the edible plants in the valley, which were insufficient. They had to go hunting, but in the process, they often encountered fierce beasts. Although the beasts were their prey, in the eyes of the beasts, humans were also their prey.

These remaining people learned how to survive in the Valley of Forgetfulness at the cost of many lives. Even so, no one felt safe.

This life of constant fear would not last long. Perhaps, before long, the remaining people would either disappear in the Valley of Forgetfulness or have to continue fleeing.

As the only remaining court steward and the only church priest of the kingdom, Xian knew about the plan for the king's sanctuary and had always believed that the kingdom would rise again. Every night, he would hold a "Key of God" left by the church and lead everyone in prayer.

In fact, this "Key of God" functioned similarly to a positioning device.

Not long ago, Xian was leading a group of remaining people in a prayer ceremony in the rock hall. This was why, when Yi Xingchen opened the blue light gate, the other exit appeared in the rock hall.

After hearing Xian's account, Yi Xingchen thought for a moment and asked, "So, are you currently very short of food?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, we lack food! But we hope you can lead us out of the Valley of Forgetfulness and re-establish ourselves on the continent," Xian said, looking at Yi Xingchen with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Let's solve the problem of your food first!" Yi Xingchen waved his hand and said. Perhaps influenced by the king's soul, he truly regarded them as his people and felt a deep compassion for these remaining people.

After a brief pause, Yi Xingchen continued, "Does the Valley of Forgetfulness have any specialties? For example, precious minerals, precious wood, or precious herbs. If there are any, I can use the spatial passage to travel to another world and exchange them for food, so you can have a full meal. If there is any surplus, we can also buy some warm clothes to get through the cold."

Xian immediately turned and looked at the people on the steps, saying, "You have heard the king's command, right? Bring all the items we have collected to the palace and let the king inspect them to find the valuable ones."

Since it concerned their future and survival, the people in the hall did not hesitate and dispersed.

In fact, the rock hall was just a stone house. The place where the people lived was clearly not far from the rock hall. It didn't take long for the people to return with a variety of items, placing them one by one in the center of the hall.

Looking at the almost full hall, Yi Xingchen walked down from the throne on the steps and carefully examined each item.

The items placed at the front were what the people in the hall considered the most valuable, mainly complete animal skins. However, they did not know that animal skins were the first items Yi Xingchen would exclude.

What a joke, if Yi Xingchen dared to bring these animal skins back to Blue Water Star, the Earth Animal Protection Association would likely be the first to find him and demand an explanation for the source of these animal skins.

Perhaps, the Chinese police would fine Yi Xingchen or even arrest him for poaching rare animals, which was entirely possible.