Chapter 37: Entering the Space

Fortunately, the castle was not very large, and the speed of the stones was extremely fast. Within a few breaths, Zhao Hai and the others had already entered the rooms of the main keep.

The room, which was not large to begin with, felt extremely crowded because too many people had entered at once, but fortunately, no chaos broke out.

The slaves were well aware that if they were disobedient now, the result awaiting them might be death, so they behaved very submissively under Mutou's arrangement as they entered the house.

As soon as Zhao Hai entered the room, he immediately said to Merlin and the others, "Grandma Merlin, you go into the Space first. Once those slaves enter the Space, please arrange them so they don't run around aimlessly. Mutou, Shitou, guard the door. Meg, Ju, and An, organize everyone to enter the Space."

Since Ju and An had not entered the Space, Zhao Hai asked Meg to act as the organizer with Ju and An assisting her, while letting Merlin enter the Space to settle the people who had just arrived. Shitou and Mutou stood guard in front of the main keep's door to prevent magic beasts from suddenly charging in.

Then, an opening appeared beside Zhao Hai. The slaves were not unfamiliar with this opening; it was the same one that appeared when Zhao Hai was improving the land.

It wasn't that Zhao Hai didn't want to bring all these people into the Space at once, but he found he couldn't do it. He discovered that when he tried to take the slaves in, the Space failed to respond, which gave him quite a shock.

Fortunately, when he took Merlin in, the Space responded immediately, and Merlin appeared inside the Space instantly, which put Zhao Hai at ease. Ultimately, he had to make a hole-like opening appear here to see if the slaves could enter.

The slaves were originally somewhat afraid, not knowing where Zhao Hai was taking them, but once they saw that Merlin had already gone in, they knew Zhao Hai would not harm them. Under Meg's organization, they immediately began to enter the opening slowly.

By this time, the roars of magic beasts were already echoing from the outer castle, and the iron gates of the castle were being struck with loud thuds. Merlin organized them even faster. Fortunately, the opening Zhao Hai had created this time was large enough for four people to walk side-by-side, allowing the slaves to enter the Space in a standing line.

In a short while, all the slaves had entered the Space, and Meg, Ju, and An had entered as well. With a thought, Zhao Hai appeared inside the Space along with Mutou and Shitou.

The slaves who had just entered the Space stared at their surroundings in a daze, but Zhao Hai ignored them. He noticed that the radishes had matured, but he had no time to harvest them now. Standing in the Space, he shouted loudly to the slaves, "Listen up! This is my Space. Do not wander around aimlessly. Everyone find a place to sit down. And pay attention—do not step on the crops in the fields!"

Fortunately, aside from the farmland, there were some empty areas in the Space that could not be cultivated. Zhao Hai had tried using a small shovel to turn the soil there, but just like in a game, the ground showed no reaction.

Although the slaves did not understand what this Space was, they obediently sat down. Zhao Hai glanced at them and then turned to Merlin, saying, "Grandma Merlin, I will take out some empty cups in a moment; please distribute them. If anyone wants to drink water, tell them to go to the spring and drink for themselves. Also, take out some quilts so they can use them to sit on." After speaking, he walked to the warehouse and, with a thought, a large pile of cups appeared in front of the warehouse door. These were wooden water cups, the cheap kind that Green and the others had specifically bought for the slaves.

Originally, these slaves had been allocated such cups, but because of the emergency, they hadn't brought their belongings in, so they had to be distributed again.

Merlin immediately led Meg and the others to distribute the cups. Then, Zhao Hai took out many quilts and spread them on the ground for the slaves to sit on.

After finishing this, Zhao Hai also took out several straw mats. These were the mats the slaves had just woven, which Zhao Hai had casually collected into the Space earlier.

Zhao Hai didn't bring out the mats for the slaves to sit on, but to build latrines. With over a hundred people entering the Space City, it was hard to guarantee no one would need to relieve themselves. Since there were both men and women in the Space, it would be very inconvenient without some form of partition.

Fortunately, Green and the others had bought some timber previously. Although there wasn't much, it was enough to build two latrines.

Mutou and Shitou led several male slaves to the back of the thatched house and the warehouse, respectively, using the straw mats to partition off areas. The area behind the thatched house served as the female latrine, and the area behind the warehouse served as the male latrine.

Only after all this was finished did Zhao Hai and the others breathe a sigh of relief. Zhao Hai immediately harvested the radishes and promptly planted a new crop.

To stabilize the slaves' emotions, Zhao Hai specifically gave each of them a large radish to eat. To be fair, the taste of these white radishes was quite good—sweet with a slight spicy kick. However, the sight of over a hundred people gnawing on radishes together was quite a spectacle.

The slaves ate happily. After hearing Merlin's explanation, they realized these were actually magic vegetables; they had never even seen them before, let alone eaten them. Each person ate cautiously, treating the radish as if it were a peerless delicacy.

Fortunately, the slaves' emotions remained relatively stable. Zhao Hai returned to the thatched house. For a long time, he had hardly entered the house; there wasn't much in there anyway. Although there was a screen, it could only be used to access the shop, and since Zhao Hai didn't need to enter the shop to buy things, he had never gone inside.

However, the house did have a bed, and Zhao Hai wanted to have a good rest. The recent commotion had left him exhausted.

Although the area of the Space was vast, this small thatched house was tiny, only large enough for one person to sleep. Of course, a few people could sit at the table, but he believed sitting there wouldn't be as comfortable as being outside.

Although Zhao Hai desperately wanted to sleep, he knew now was not the time. After entering the house, he called Merlin and the others inside, leaving only Ju and An to watch over the slaves.

Merlin and the others looked around the thatched house curiously, but after a while, they couldn't make out anything special and simply sat obediently on the stools.

Standing in the room, Zhao Hai said, "We don't know the situation outside yet. I only hope those magic beasts return to the swamp soon. However, we must be prepared for long-term living here. In a few hours, the corn will be ripe. Combined with the grain we brought from outside, food won't be an issue. Once the corn is ripe, firewood won't be a problem either. But if we let the slaves stay idle all the time, that won't work. Grandma Merlin, do you have any good ideas?"

Merlin thought for a moment, shook her head, and said, "The Space is already so large, and they don't need to till the land. There really isn't a good way. Young Master, what do you think?"

Zhao Hai paced around the room and said, "When I first arrived, I collected all the books from the study into the Space. Grandma Merlin, how about you teach the slaves to recognize characters? If our Buda family wants to develop, we can't rely on just a few of us. I believe these slaves won't betray us; if we let them learn some words, it might be useful in the future."

Upon hearing this, Merlin nodded happily. "Good, that's a great idea, Young Master. Since there is nothing to do in the Space right now, letting them learn some characters will surely be of great use later. We will do as you say."

Zhao Hai nodded and waved his hand. The books from the study appeared before him, along with some paper and pens. Zhao Hai pointed to these items and said to Merlin, "Grandma Merlin, take a look and see which book you want to teach them."

Merlin carefully examined the books and pulled one out from the middle. "Young Master, let's use this one."

Zhao Hai looked and saw that Merlin had picked a collection of miscellaneous notes, and a relatively simple one at that, titled *Travelogue of the AKS Empire*. Zhao Hai nodded and continued, "There's no need to make them learn right away. They just arrived and are still shaken; let them rest before they start learning."

Merlin nodded and looked at the exhausted Zhao Hai. "Young Master, you should get some rest as well. We will head out."

Zhao Hai knew the room was too small for them to rest, so he nodded. "Alright." He then took out a few more quilts and placed them near the warehouse. "Grandma Merlin, if you are resting outside, remember to spread plenty of them."

Merlin nodded and led Meg and the others out of the thatched house. Mutou and Shitou remained at the door, standing on either side like door gods.

Merlin didn't mind. She walked up to the slaves, who were sitting there looking lost, and said in a heavy voice, "The place we are in now is the Young Master's magic Space. Everything here is under the Young Master's command. The magic beasts and undead outside have likely already attacked the castle, and this is the only safe place. Therefore, you must be obedient, otherwise, Zhao Hai will kick you out of the Space. Do you understand?"

The slaves immediately stood up and shouted in unison, "Understood!" This was a result of their training by slave traders; any trader, after acquiring slaves, would conduct basic training before selling them. Drills, counting, responding, kneeling, and kowtowing were the simplest forms, so these slaves had developed a conditioned reflex.

Merlin nodded. "You have done a lot of work today and have been through a fright. The Young Master said you are tired and can rest well. Now, go rest. Remember where the latrines are, do not wander around, do not approach the Young Master's room, and do not touch things in the Space aimlessly. Do you understand?"

The slaves responded in unison once more.