What? A Famine?!

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?"

"Brother Lin Xiao! This is terrible! We're going to starve to death!"

Lin Xiao's eyes went wide as he dug at his ears in disbelief.

"What?! Say that again—what happened?!"

"We're running out of food! We're going to starve to death!"

Ning Rongrong honestly cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and shouted it again.

Once he confirmed he had not misheard, Lin Xiao was filled with confusion.

"Although the Gugas do eat a tiny little bit more~~"

He held up his hand and pinched out a tiny gap, demonstrating a fingertip-sized universe, before continuing:

"But can't we just go to Heaven Dou City and buy food?

Don't tell me all the food in such a huge city has been eaten up, or that the sect has been eaten into bankruptcy?"

"Ah! Rongrong doesn't know either! Brother Lin Xiao, hurry and come take a look with us!"

As Ning Rongrong spoke, she hooked her arm around his.

Together with Xiao Wu, one on each side, she pulled Lin Xiao toward the Seven Treasures Pagoda.

Lin Xiao stumbled as they dragged him along.

Honestly, he was a little uneasy as well.

With the Gugas' appetites, if they were not in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, with abundant resources supporting them,

then if they were thrown out into the world, he and the Gugas probably would not last a month.

Within a hundred-mile radius, every flower, blade of grass, leaf, root, and fruit in the fields—anything edible—would be devoured by them at least once.

If they were truly starving, they would probably scrape off a whole layer of earth.

But if they were running out of food while inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, then the problem was serious.

Following Rongrong into the main hall at a brisk pace, Lin Xiao found the atmosphere inside heavy.

Ning Fengzhi sat in the seat of honor, his brows tightly furrowed.

Chen Xin and Gu Rong sat to one side, while several stewards stood below with their heads lowered in despair.

When they saw Lin Xiao and the two little girls arrive,

Ning Fengzhi immediately put on a smile.

"Little Lin? What brings you here? Are you short on any resources?"

Lin Xiao shook his head.

"Uncle Ning, what exactly is going on? I heard from Rongrong that the sect is running out of food?"

Ning Fengzhi sighed helplessly.

"Not yet. Your little fellows eat several tons of grain a day.

If it were all wheat, the pile would be as high as a small mountain.

But the entire Heaven Dou City only has so much food in total, and they cannot possibly sell all of it to our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

As for the specifics, Steward, you explain."

The steward beside him replied with a bitter expression:

"Young Master Lin Xiao, it is only the beginning of the year. If they keep eating like this, we simply will not last until the new grain harvest.

According to our calculations, by around midyear, all the food circulating on the Heaven Dou City market will be sold out.

If we relied on hunted Spirit Beast meat to sustain them, we would need an enormous number of Spirit Beasts. That would be tantamount to digging up the foundation of the entire Soul Master world.

Spirit Hall and the two great empires will never allow us to do that."

Lin Xiao's mouth twitched.

What kind of situation was this?

With the power of my thousand Gugas, I had dragged all of Heaven Dou City into an age of famine??

But he could not really cut off the Gugas' food supply, could he?

He cautiously looked up and asked,

"Then what do you mean, Uncle Ning?"

Ning Fengzhi sighed and rubbed his brow, looking troubled.

"I plan to have Uncle Gu go to the Star Luo Empire to purchase grain and buy back as much food from the market as possible."

Lin Xiao nodded.

That really was a good solution.

One country's yearly grain production could satisfy the Gugas' massive appetites for half a year.

Two countries would be just right—one responsible for the first half of the year and the other for the second.

"Uncle Ning, how about I go with Bone Grandpa?

This matter started because of me, so I should do my part too.

Ninja Guga's sealing scrolls can store a lot of things.

We can probably buy everything in one trip and save Bone Grandpa from making repeated journeys."

Ning Fengzhi pondered for a while before nodding in agreement.

"Mm... that works. Uncle Gu, I'll trouble you to keep Little Lin safe."

"Don't worry. With me around, nothing can go wrong."

Gu Rong smiled at Lin Xiao.

But that smile, like the face of a dried-up corpse, radiated an eerie chill from every corner.

Lin Xiao could not help shuddering, feeling that he would have nightmares that night.

Ning Rongrong, hiding behind him, poked out her little head and cautiously said:

"Bone Grandpa, Rongrong wants to go play with Brother Lin Mo too!"

Being called Grandpa nearly melted Gu Rong's heart.

He had only ever been able to envy that old swordsman before, but now he got to enjoy it too! This feeling was wonderful!

"Hahaha, everyone can go!"

Chen Xin rolled his eyes at him.

"Tch~ Look at you..."

But Gu Rong was in too good a mood today to bother bickering with him.

"Come on, Grandpa will take you there right now!"

He flashed in front of Lin Xiao.

The next second, three figures vanished from the middle of the hall in a flash of spatial light.

With her cover gone, Xiao Wu visibly panicked, and even her rabbit ears trembled.

Just then, Chen Xin's gaze swept lightly over her.

At that single glance, Xiao Wu's heart skipped a beat.

How could she dare stay any longer? Terrified, she turned and ran, darting out of the hall in a blur without even daring to look back. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Meanwhile.

The scene before Lin Xiao's eyes constantly shifted throughout the journey.

Each time Gu Rong activated spatial teleportation, the scenery outside rapidly changed.

One moment there were rolling green mountains; the next, an endless forest. In another instant, flat plains stretched beneath their feet.

Waves of intense dizziness burrowed into Lin Xiao's head.

Lin Xiao's head spun, and his stomach churned violently. Only after closing his eyes did he feel a little better.

Ning Rongrong, on his back, did not look much better either. Her little hands circled Lin Xiao's neck, and her small face was pale.

It was not until the second day that they arrived within the Star Luo Empire.

The Star Luo Empire had a somewhat different style from the Heaven Dou Empire.

Whether it was the buildings or the clothing, everything carried a rugged sense of strength.

Perhaps it was related to the people here valuing martial prowess.

Lin Xiao hitched the sleeping little girl on his back higher, then summoned Ninja Guga and Evil Fat Guga to guard his sides.

Gu Rong glanced at the exhausted pair.

"Let's go. First, we'll find an inn and rest for a day to recover our strength. Tomorrow morning, we'll make large-scale purchases from the major grain shops."

The group followed the street toward the luxurious inns in the bustling part of the city.

Inside a luxurious suite

After settling the sleeping Ning Rongrong, Lin Xiao could not hold on any longer. He threw himself onto the large soft bed, buried his entire face in the blankets, and let out a long wail.

"Ah~~ I regret this. Business trips are pure suffering. I was even thinking of enjoying a company-paid vacation, but this is nothing but torture... Flying on a sword would have been far more comfortable."

Evil Fat Guga waddled over with its round body, and Ninja Guga quickly followed. The two little fellows squeezed into Lin Xiao's arms at once, rubbing against him and clingingly demanding cuddles.

The two Gugas rubbed Lin Xiao until he was itchy all over. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Snap—

A flash of light appeared, and a Guga wearing a maid outfit bounced out, her skirt swaying back and forth.

"Maid Guga~ Help me relax."

"Guga~"

Maid Guga answered, then nimbly climbed onto Lin Xiao's back. Her little hands pressed against his head and began kneading it over and over.

"Mm, that feels much better. Your skills really are the best—you understand exactly what I like~"

Maid Guga's eyes curved into crescents.

"Gugu Guga~ Guga~"