Chapter 251: The Only One Who’s Different
Hua nodded as if she half understood; their knowledge of humans mostly came from data files.
The files showed that, in ancient times, salt was strictly controlled by the authorities, and the tax revenue from salt accounted for an unimaginable proportion of the nation’s wealth.
Even the files nowadays, when Ding Ning was learning to cook, the recipes only said to add a small amount of salt.
"It seems that’s true. All the sources I’ve seen say to add ’a little’ salt."
"Yeah, so it seems that even now, salt is still a precious thing for humans."
"Yes, yes, look at those humans who go into the Dungeons—they bring a lot of food, but very little salt." Ding Ning let out a sigh as she spoke telepathically; people brought all sorts of food into the Dungeons, and they could casually scavenge leftover human food from all over.
But finding a single bag of salt was next to impossible.
Now, they couldn’t go outside, the passageway wasn’t open, so it was impossible to gather more salt.
The more things were like this, the more convinced they became of how valuable salt was; humans who came to the Dungeon would clutch their wealth in their hands until their last breath.
They’d seen plenty of people come to the Dungeon without survival gear, without weapons or equipment, but they’d have precious watches, necklaces, and bracelets with them—whatever treasure wouldn’t hinder their movements, they’d bring along.
In their words, it was for burial with the dead.
Humans liked carrying their treasures so they could die with them.
They said you can’t take wealth with you when you die, but they still brought it anyway.
"So salt must be extremely rare and precious for someone to bring it along, and even then, just a small bag." Ding Ning sighed; she’d seen plenty of recipes, and most of them only called for half a spoon of salt at most.
No wonder Jiang Che’s emotions just now were so complicated.
He must be eating this much salt for the first time in his life, right?
Ding Ning felt a bit proud in her heart: this is her beloved, she’ll naturally give him the best things!
"Now the Dark Forest has swallowed up large areas outside; who knows how much salt is left." Ding Ning leaned into Jiang Che’s arms, speaking telepathically with Hua, a trace of worry flashing in her eyes.
This was already a precious thing—she could only imagine how hard it would be to find it in the future.
"What’s wrong?" Jiang Che sensed Ding Ning’s mood had shifted and looked at her with concern.
"It’s nothing, I just thought about having your friends over for dinner in the future. I’m worried my cooking might not fit their tastes." Ding Ning shook her head, trying to throw her worries from her mind.
She steadied herself and tried to act as if nothing was wrong. She couldn’t let Jiang Che notice her troubles now.
She was a Lord, after all—even if gathering salt was tough, as long as she set her mind to it, she could do it.
"Next is some combat training. There will be many battle simulations—Hua built them based on various evil spirits’ abilities and the Lords’ models." Ding Ning pointed to another orb of light, where it was nothing but tedious training.
In training, dying was a regular thing. It hurt a lot, but it wasn’t like when Jiang Che entered hallucinations; she didn’t have to worry as much.
The will was always the hardest thing to temper.
Now that her biggest worry was past, she believed Jiang Che could get through any harsh training.
Jiang Che seemed to know this, too—he looked at the orb and nodded firmly.
He sensed that, when Ding Ning spoke of the combat trials, there was a flash of relief in her tone.
After a bit of small talk, Jiang Che headed toward the trial orb.
This time, he found even his steps lighter.
As soon as Jiang Che left, Ding Ning quickly set her plan in motion. She wanted to order her people to search for more leftover salt in the Dungeon—but thinking about it, all the salt in the Dungeon was already in her hands; searching would probably turn up nothing more.
If she wanted more salt, she’d have to go to the Human Realm.
Suddenly she thought of Xiong Jie outside; lately, she’d rarely used Xiong Jie to observe Jiang Che.
She very rarely gave Xiong Jie any orders now—eventually, she just regarded Xiong Jie as Jiang Che’s friend.
"Uncle Xiong, can you do me a favor?" Ding Ning reached out to Xiong Jie with telepathy again.
Xiong Jie, who was outside building the Dark Wood Bus, was full of energy. Now that Jiang Che had left, Ren Fengxiang kept chopping trees nonstop.
The method for making the bus, Jiang Che had already shown them, and now it was up to Xiong Jie to lead the design.
Once the Dark Wood was felled, it would no longer absorb human life. Even lower-level humans could cut it—though for them it took a lot of effort.
The group’s speed at building the bus couldn’t keep up with Ren Fengxiang’s pace at chopping trees.
The felled trunks had already piled into a mini mountain nearby.
Xiong Jie divided his people into several groups, each with different responsibilities. Even the shapes they had to cut were different, and assembly was done in batches, with everyone responsible for different parts.
Maybe one day the evil spirits would teach the Dark Wood Bus method to other humans, but for now, the construction technique was theirs alone.
Xiong Jie knew that sooner or later, outsiders would find out. Even splitting up the build process couldn’t keep it secret forever.
But all he could do was slow down how fast others learned. By the time Jiang Che’s side monopolized the market, others who built their own buses could at most use them for personal errands. The main power would still be in the testers’ hands.
Xiong Jie was calling out orders, working in high spirits, when suddenly Ding Ning’s telepathic voice reached him.
He hadn’t heard the master’s voice in a long time. Sometimes he wondered if the master had taken back his control.
Now he started thinking of Jiang Che’s Dungeon as home, and Jiang Che as a cherished junior.
This sudden contact was like a bucket of cold water dumped over his head.
Out of all these people, he was the only one who was different.
Everyone lived in Jiang Che’s Dungeon, but didn’t have a true master-servant relationship with him.
Jiang Che’s treatment of everyone made them more like workers laboring for a boss here.
"Uncle Xiong, can you do me a favor?" Ding Ning asked again when there was no reply from the other end.
"I’m here. Just tell me what you need." Xiong Jie bowed his head, steadying his nerves, but there was a bitter taste in his mouth.
If you could be free, who would want to be a slave?
Ding Ning immediately sensed Xiong Jie’s mood and suddenly understood, "Uncle, the only reason I haven’t lifted the control is because it makes communication convenient."
"The situation’s unusual right now. Once the passage opens, I won’t keep doing this."