The Ability Granted by the Blessing

The moment Xian spoke, the middle-aged man in the sheepskin robe quickly rose to his feet, a trace of embarrassment clearly appearing on his wrinkled face.

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, respectfully placed the gray rabbit he was carrying on the ground, then turned to leave.

Seeing this, the blonde girl hurriedly called out to him. After the two exchanged a few words in a language Xian could not understand, the man wore an expression of sudden realization.

He gave Xian a reserved smile, said quite a few things to the blonde girl, and only then left in satisfaction.

After returning to the wooden house, the girl stood before Xian, holding the rabbit by its ears in one hand while extending a slender finger with the other to point at herself.

"Anlìyà."

The girl spoke softly to Xian.

"Anlìyà." Xian slowly repeated the girl's name.

At that, the corners of the girl's lips lifted slightly, revealing a dazzling smile as warm and bright as the winter sun.

Xian was briefly left staring in a daze. Fortunately, Anlìyà soon turned and headed into the kitchen, not noticing his lapse in composure.

Under Xian's watchful gaze, the girl tied up her hair, put on a linen apron, and skillfully began preparing the rabbit on the chopping board with a kitchen knife.

Her hands were nimble yet strong. With a single precise chop, she removed the rabbit's head, then skinned it, removed the organs, cut it into pieces suitable for cooking, and added vegetables. In only a short while, the plump gray rabbit was in the pot, boiling together with sliced mushrooms and some wild greens he did not recognize.

A faint aroma of meat began to fill the room.

Having finished everything, the girl seemed somewhat tired. Beads of sweat appeared on her fair forehead, dampening the golden strands of hair hanging before it.

Seeing this, Xian thought for a moment, scooped half a bowl of water from the water vat with a wooden bowl, and held it out to Anlìyà.

But the girl's reaction was strange. Her expression turned frightened as she repeatedly waved her hands, as though he had done something he should not have.

Only after Xian insistently offered the bowl to Anlìyà again and again did she reluctantly accept it. Obvious gratitude showed on her lovely face, as if she had received an immense favor.

It was only a bowl of water. Xian's mouth twitched.

After drinking half the water, the girl pointed at what remained in the bowl and said, "Water."

"Water."

Xian repeated after her. He knew the girl was teaching him the language of this place.

"Meat."

"Bamboo shoot."

"Salt."

Over the next few days, Xian stayed in the wooden house and learned the language from Anlìyà. Every day, the middle-aged man in the sheepskin robe respectfully brought food over—usually rabbits, though sometimes a basket of fruit or a leg of lamb.

For some reason, Xian seemed divinely inspired. He instantly remembered and understood everything Anlìyà taught him without ever forgetting it, and he could even draw inferences from one example to figure out the names of other things.

In just three short days, he was already able to hold ordinary conversations with Anlìyà naturally.

At the same time, he finally understood where this place was and why the people here treated him with such respect.

According to Anlìyà, this was Fruit Basket Village, a village on the outskirts of the Black Wolf Territory along the southern border of the Sossia Kingdom on the West Continent. It was named for its abundant high-quality fruit, and their lord was the noble Viscount Hughes.

The forest where he had become lost was called Wolf Howl Forest. Many packs of wild wolves lived there, and there were even rumors that terrifying magical beasts known as Black Abyss Wolves dwelled within.

As for why the villagers treated him with such respect... Xian glanced at the long string of white words above his head in the reflection of the water vat, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

In this world, all intelligent beings—humans, elves, beastmen, and so on—had an identity label above their heads: commoner, noble, king, or something else.

The origin of these labels could no longer be verified. Some said they came from the lofty Creator of the World, while others claimed they were the work of the great Seven Gods.

These labels were not merely decorative. They also granted their owners all sorts of wondrous abilities. For example, a noble's label could improve one's appearance, physique, talent, and even intangible luck, while a commoner's label could make one less susceptible to hunger.

To express their gratitude for the benefits these labels brought, people called them Blessings—meaning divine protection.

And the Blessing above Xian's head translated to—Heir to a Kingdom of 1.4 Billion Citizens. Of course, it could also be shortened to Heir to a Kingdom of 1.4 Billion Citizens, or Heir to a Nation of 1.4 Billion People, and so on.

Now he understood why those villagers had all knelt the moment they saw him. Putting himself in their shoes, if he were a medieval villager who had never even left his village and saw someone dressed "luxuriously," with fair skin and hands free of calluses, bearing such an insanely impressive Blessing, he would probably kneel at once and kiss the tip of that person's shoes. Right, since Blessings granted wondrous abilities, then that meant... At that thought, Xian narrowed his eyes.

He focused his gaze on the words above his head in the water vat. After staring for around three to five seconds, a new line of text appeared beneath the white words.

Language Comprehension: Communication is the foremost prerequisite for understanding. You can learn a language in an extremely short time and reach native-level proficiency.

That's it?! Was that long-ass title really worth it?!

Xian sighed, feeling as though his future was pitch-black.

In other words, after transmigrating into this medieval-like fantasy world, his only cheat was the ability to quickly learn the local language. Other than that, he had no family, no land, no friends, and not even a single coin. His only possessions were the modern clothes on his body and a phone that had run out of battery and shut down. He could not even afford to pay Anlìyà for feeding and sheltering him these past few days. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

Xian collapsed onto the floor of the wooden house, his mind buzzing.

The moment people in this world saw his Blessing, they would probably assume he was a prince from some superpowerful kingdom. After all, 1.4 Billion Citizens was a number that would be absolutely earth-shattering in the Middle Ages! But only he knew... Heh, on Blue Star, there were another 1.4 billion minus one heirs like him.

"I can't just keep pretending until I actually establish a nation with 1.4 billion people, can I?" Xian mocked himself.

The Cold Joke made even him laugh.

"Your Highness Mingyu, Robert, the village chief and my adoptive father, wishes to request an audience with you."

At that moment, someone gently knocked on the door, followed by Anlìyà's soft voice.

Although Xian had asked the girl several times over the past three days of language lessons to simply call him by name, she still maintained a level of respectfulness so excessive that it made him uncomfortable.