Earthworm Beast Spurs Me On

"This year's weather has been terrible. It's been dry for months already. If this keeps up, there probably won't be much of a harvest. Life will be hard."

"We're doing a little better. Our taxes are much lighter. The people outside the manor are the ones truly suffering. The drier it gets, the more bugs there are. Who knows what's going on."

"The manor got a new owner this month. They say he doesn't know a thing about farming, has never grown grain or Medicinal Herbs, and is just someone living off others. There's no way he can help us solve our troubles."

"When winter comes, I'm afraid quite a few people will die again. I only hope the new manor owner won't squeeze us too hard. He has to leave us enough to eat, so we don't starve to death. Sigh."

Hearing these discussions, Song Ankang fell silent. Qiushi beside him was somewhat indignant. "These people are going too far, gossiping behind your back again. Just watch me deal with them."

"No need to mind them. They're telling the truth too." Song Ankang stopped Qiushi, and much of his good mood from earlier faded away.

Given Song Ankang's status, he could have had these Tenant Farmers slapped for gossiping, or even whipped them. No one else would have said anything.

But Song Ankang had only just transmigrated from the modern world and was not used to doing such things. Besides, back on Earth there had been plenty of employees gossiping behind their bosses' backs, yet he had never seen a boss slap or whip an employee over it. He had complained about bosses himself, so he did not punish them.

Chaoyun Manor's taxes were not heavy. In a normal year, after paying taxes, the manor would still have around twenty percent of its grain and ten percent of its Medicinal Herbs left.

Of that, ten percent of the Medicinal Herbs and five percent of the grain belonged to the manor owner, who could decide freely how to use them. The remaining fifteen percent was the tenants' harvest.

It looked rather harsh, but outside the manor, even in normal years, villagers had to pay more than ninety percent in taxes, with only ten percent belonging to themselves.

Chaoyun Manor's share could reach fifteen percent, far exceeding that of the villagers outside. Naturally, many people flocked to it, hoping to become Tenant Farmers of Chaoyun Manor.

But this year's severe drought had greatly affected both grain and Medicinal Herbs. Yet the taxes would basically not be reduced and might even be increased, which meant the Tang Family would take a greater share of Chaoyun Manor's harvest.

In that case, let alone retaining twenty percent of the grain and ten percent of the Medicinal Herbs, they likely would not even keep half that much, perhaps even less.

Even so, Song Ankang, as the manor owner, would still take a considerable share, and what remained would belong to the Tenant Farmers. There would surely be almost nothing left, making survival difficult.

Yet even under such circumstances, not many people would consider it excessive. In fact, basically no one would.

Because these taxes were not handed over to the Tang Family, nor were they embezzled and stuffed into anyone's private pockets. Most of them were transported to the front lines.

As mentioned before, the Profound Desolate Great World was home to countless races. The Human Race was merely an inconspicuous small race of the Lower Three Ranks, occupying only a single province. Many races bordered their territory, including quite a few far stronger than the Human Race.

Two of these races had been at war with the Human Race for years: the Merman Race and the Angel Race. Within the Human Race, Demonic Creatures and Ghosts also wreaked havoc. Their situation was precarious, though the greatest danger still came from the front lines.

Whether it was the Heaven-Human War Front or the Merfolk War Front, if either one fell, the Human Race would not be far from extinction.

To hold these two fronts, the entire Human Race tightened its belt to support the soldiers at the front. Going hungry was nothing; it was better than dying out as a race.

The soldiers on the front lines were fighting desperately for them. Wasn't it only natural for them to contribute more in taxes?

Thus, no matter how much tax the state collected, basically no citizens opposed it, because everyone understood that it was for the soldiers on the front lines—and for themselves as well.

Song Ankang once again felt how difficult the Human Race's situation in the Profound Desolate Great World was. Saying they were walking on a steel wire would not have been an exaggeration.

With a sigh, his thoughts, which had just relaxed, tensed once more. Just as he was about to return to cultivate, waves of startled cries came from atop the stockade wall.

"Run! You'll be safe once you get back into the manor! There are Qinggang Stone slabs in many places inside the manor. Standing on them won't be too dangerous!"

"Don't look back! The Earthworm Beast is right behind you! Shan Wa, you have to outrun it!"

"Help! Somebody save me!"

Song Ankang's expression changed, and he hurried toward the stockade wall. Quite a few people were already standing atop it. When they saw Song Ankang approaching, they quickly made way for him.

Song Ankang soon reached the top of the stockade wall and saw what was happening outside.

Beyond Chaoyun Manor lay vast stretches of forest and grassland, where grain and Medicinal Herbs could not grow. Only after years of reclamation could the land gradually be put to use.

Beasts often appeared in the forest, which was why Chaoyun Manor had built the stockade wall—to ward off some small and medium-sized beasts and protect the tenants.

At this moment, on the grassland north of the manor, a Tenant Farmer in coarse hemp clothing was frantically fleeing. Behind him, a raised line of earth was racing after him.

If the original owner's memories were correct, that was an Earthworm Beast, a fierce beast whose strength rivaled a martial artist at the Inner Refinement Second Layer. It was active in the Red Leaf Forest around the manor and occasionally fed on humans.

Clearly, this Tenant Farmer named Shan Wa had been targeted by an Earthworm Beast while outside. It wanted to devour him, and he had run desperately all the way back near the manor.

Though many people atop the stockade wall were shouting, not one dared go down, because going down would basically mean courting death.

At present, the strongest person in Chaoyun Manor was only at the Outer Forging Fourth Layer, more than two realms below the Earthworm Beast. Moreover, the gap between Outer Forging and Inner Refinement was even greater.

Not to mention that when the Earthworm Beast hid underground, even martial artists beyond Inner Refinement could do nothing to it. Thus, no one dared go down to save him.

Splat...

Just as Shan Wa was a few dozen meters from the stockade wall, the pursuing line of earth suddenly accelerated beneath him. Then a bald-headed, gray-black Earthworm Beast, as thick as a water barrel and three meters long, burst from the ground and swallowed him whole before swiftly burrowing underground and vanishing.

Unless something unexpected happened, this Tenant Farmer named Shan Wa could not possibly survive.

The surroundings fell deathly silent. A moment later, crying broke out. It came from Shan Wa's relatives and friends.

"He was only a little short. If Shan Wa had been just a bit faster, he could have escaped into the manor. There are Qinggang Stone roads in the manor, and Earthworm Beasts can't travel through them."

"What a pity. This was Shan Wa's first time leaving the manor in months, wasn't it? He had only wanted to gather some wild vegetables for his family, yet he never came back."

"If the harvest were good, who would be willing to risk going outside? The drought is getting worse and worse. Who knows how much we'll harvest this year. I hope the manor owner takes a little less, so we can stay alive."

"The manor owner has people to support too. Chaoyun Manor has quite a few overseers, and they need to make a living as well."

The roughly ten percent of Medicinal Herbs and five percent of grain Chaoyun Manor received in normal years did not all belong to the manor owner either. As the owner of Chaoyun Manor, he also had to cover the monthly salaries of many manor administrators.

Song Ankang's monthly salary now still came from the surplus saved during last year's bountiful harvest. If this year's harvest was poor, Song Ankang and Chaoyun Manor's administrators would not have a very comfortable time next year either.

With a sigh, Song Ankang had someone handle Shan Wa's funeral arrangements. In truth, there was not much to handle. He had been swallowed whole, so there was basically no need for a coffin or grave. At most, they could make a symbolic grave and bury a few garments he had worn in life.

He returned to his residence with Qiushi, only to hear knocking at the door outside. "Son-in-law, I'm back!"

"It's Instructor Jiang. Instructor Jiang is finally back." Hearing the voice outside, the listless Qiushi immediately perked up and hurried toward the courtyard gate.