Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 88 Receiving Signals

"No time to lose, all the fifteen and sixteen-year-old girls who aren’t engaged, come draw lots!" The village chief placed the bamboo tube and sticks on the stone and scanned the dirty, dark, and skinny girls with his eyes.

Someone questioned, "Isn’t Dumb Girl just sixteen? Why doesn’t she have to draw?"

The village chief immediately replied, "Dumb Girl is engaged, she’s no longer an unwed girl and can’t participate in the draw. Stop dawdling, come quickly to draw. The chosen River God bride will have porridge and meat tonight and get washed and dressed to meet the River God tomorrow morning."

There were thirteen unengaged girls of the right age, lined up to draw lots one by one.

"Too bad I wasn’t chosen!" A little girl almost cried, holding an empty stick. She was so hungry that if she were chosen, she could eat her fill of porridge and meat and wouldn’t have to wake up hungry early tomorrow to work.

Even dying full was worth it, not to mention marrying the River God. If she served him well and gained favor, she would not only be secure for life but also be able to take care of her family. If she bore a son or daughter, she wouldn’t have to worry about anything for the rest of her life!

Lin Chunxi stood in the line, feeling apprehensive, desperately hoping not to be chosen!

Even the blind boy didn’t like her; how could the awe-inspiring River God take a fancy to her? If chosen and sent over, the River God might ignore her altogether, letting her drown!

With fear and anxiety, she reached out and randomly drew a stick from the bamboo tube.

"Lin Chunxi has been chosen!" The village chief saw the red on the end of the stick and immediately announced with jubilation, "Congratulations to the Lin Family, they’ve got a River God bride!"

The crowd, who had craned their necks and looked on with anticipation, fell silent, then began to murmur quietly. Most envied the Lin Family for their luck. However, the buzz was like a bolt from the blue to Lin Chunxi.

"No!"

Almost simultaneously, Lin Chunxi and her mother Qiao Mei cried out in despair.

She held the red stick, bewildered, for a few moments before shoving it into the hands of the nearby girl who was envious and wished it was her who had drawn it. "You want to go, then you go!"

"Yay! Lin Chunxi gave it to me, I want to become the River God’s bride!" The girl excitedly waved the red stick at the village chief.

The village chief’s face fell as he scolded, "Nonsense! This is for marrying the River God, how can it be child’s play for you to switch back and forth? Lin Chunxi is chosen, now go eat porridge and meat, eat your fill and rest well, tomorrow morning you’ll be dressed and ready."

Qiao Mei felt as if the sky had fallen.

No matter how she and her daughter pleaded bitterly, it was useless. To maintain the sanctity of the River God’s marriage and further subdue the commoners, neither the three families’ clan elders nor the Xu Family’s son-in-law village chief would agree to replace the chosen bride.

The dark and skinny Lin Chunxi was tugged and surrounded by the women of the three families into a small, makeshift room to eat alone. The table was laden with rich dishes: fresh vegetables, meat, rice porridge, and white steamed buns—cuisine she could only dream of. But Lin Chunxi found it all tasteless.

The thought of being drowned alive tomorrow filled her with despair, leaving her too weak to say a word besides shedding tears.

After the wilderness descended, fearing the "bride" might escape, the village chief confined Lin Chunxi alone in a small cave corner and had someone guard her, calling it: protecting the River God’s bride.

Qiao Mei didn’t sleep that night, wracking her brains but finding no way out.

She originally thought that as long as there was an opportunity, she could take the gold coins and the children to settle in the town, but ever since the children brought back the gold coins, the three of them had no time to escape.

Riverfront Village was too far from Anping Town; even an adult with good endurance would have to hurry half a day on mountain paths, and it would be even slower with two underfed children. The wilderness was too dangerous, and by day they were closely watched by their group members. Even with money and a chance to change their fate, the village chief’s decision trapped them inescapably.

She regretted not once that if she hadn’t worried about the villagers snooping around the children about the demon rabbit and had taken the gold coins and kids to break through to Anping Town the morning they processed the rabbit meat, wouldn’t they not have to worry now?

Of course, Qiao Mei knew well the greater likelihood was being caught, which would result in losing not only the money but also their lives.

Yet, with the crisis at hand, the previously unrealized path turned into a missed opportunity for survival she herself had abandoned, increasing her despair.

Lin Chunxi also stayed awake all night. For the first time, she had eaten her fill and, despite having strength, couldn’t escape; she could only sit in a daze in front of the stone wall.

The flickering flames reminded her of the scene not long ago when she first met the boy at the mining site, where he seemed to shine as he descended like a deity to save her.

Now, the same flickering flames couldn’t illuminate anyone who could save her.

"The boy is as powerful as an Immortal. If you can hear my prayers, please... save me!" Lin Chunxi closed her eyes, her mind filled with the image of Jiang Yuan’s side profile under the firelight.

She kneeled before the stone wall, blank but yet with determined devotion, praying, "Save me, please come to save me!"

[Prayer signal received, insufficient Faith Value to activate believer’s connection, unable to respond to the prayer]

Suddenly receiving a system prompt, Jiang Yuan was dumbfounded.

I am not some kind of radio wave receiver, so how did I receive a signal? The system didn’t explain how to activate the believer’s connection either, nor who was praying, or what Faith Value was. What should I do?

Tonight he went to Lushan for a spin. It seemed the spirit stone vein didn’t need his daily presence as a miner, so he directly ended his deal with Yun Mo.

Both went their separate ways; he wouldn’t take a cut, nor would he need Eagle Fifty-Third to transport him anymore, parting on good terms.

Yun Mo, moved to tears, gifted him a pile of ores and held a farewell feast with the other Ice-winged Eagles, excluding the one in seclusion, Eagle Twenty-One, for Mr. Jiang.

He took a golden eagle to Swallow Valley to collect fruits, then went fishing at Crescent Lake. Just as he was enjoying fishing, he got the prompt, but pondered and still couldn’t figure it out, so he chose to ignore it.

He hadn’t been to the Market these days mainly because the food from the last supply was still ample. The Melting Workshop had forged the needed iron ingots for the stove and Bait Workshop quickly. During the Wilderness Ascension, Jiang Yuan had dragged the stove from the primary workbench and placed it in a corner of the straw hut.

[Stove constructed successfully, need to acquire recipes to assemble ingredients for cooking]

"It would be great if the Melting Workshop could upgrade. The forging speed is a bit slow now." He added enough iron ore, calculating the time.

Since acquiring the Heaven-Burning Flame skill, he would kindle whenever it cooled down. Just that afternoon, Jiang Yuan upgraded the Heaven-Burning Flame skill to Level Three and had now replaced the Melting Workshop furnace fire, producing about five iron ingots every three hours.

Building the primary Bait Workshop for the task requires another day.

He figured that once the task was complete and he obtained recipes, he could at least make white rice from his cultivated rice on the stove. Later when visiting the Cyan Fish Mountain Market, he could save some money by packing food.

Then he would try the taste; if it was good, he would explore taking the rice to the real world.

Sales would be unsuitable. Unlike high-end fruits that could sell for lofty prices, but where traceability to the place of origin is not an issue and are typically exclusive. Things that sell for less wouldn’t be worth it.

He thought of eating them for himself, sending some bags to his parents via courier so they, too, could taste the delicious rice!