Not only Henry Clark, but others had the same question, yet the officer and the knights remained silent, and no one dared to ask further.

Kao Shan Village was surrounded by a wooden fence, more than two meters high, built to keep wild beasts out at night.

The main gate stood open, and Henry Clark caught sight of more than a dozen people watching from there.

Soon, they entered the village.

“Kao Shan Village has been reached. Next, I have some matters to announce…”

The officer had just started speaking when he was interrupted by a loud shout.

“Don’t come, don’t come! If you come, you won’t be able to leave! You’ll all die, all die here!”

A village woman, thin and gaunt, her hair disheveled, her pale face twisted with terror, stared at Henry Clark and the others, screaming hoarsely at the top of her lungs.

“Where did this lunatic come from? Drag her away at once.”

The officer’s face changed, and he shouted sternly.

A knight was about to charge forward on his horse, but several figures rushed out from within the village. Two village men grabbed the crazed woman, and an old man fell to his knees with a thud, his body trembling with fear, and said, “Please have mercy, sir. My daughter is insane, she babbles nonsense all day. I’ll take her away right now.”

“I’m not crazy! Dead, all dead! This is a man-eating village, vengeful ghosts are claiming lives…”

The woman kept screaming, her hysterical voice, twisted face, and terrified eyes sending chills down everyone’s spine.

One of the village men quickly covered her mouth to stop her from making any more noise.

The officer’s face was as dark as water. “Take her away. If this happens again, she will be executed without mercy.”

“Yes, yes, thank you, sir.”

The old man kowtowed repeatedly, then he and the two village men quickly led the woman away.

William Clark and the others looked at each other, still feeling uneasy, the chill lingering in their hearts.

“Vengeful ghosts claiming lives—nonsense.”

The officer sneered and said, “To tell you the truth, Kao Shan Village suffered a plague not long ago, causing many villagers to die, which is why so many houses are vacant. But rest assured, the plague has long been contained, so you can move in without worry.”

“Also, the fields left behind by the deceased villagers will be allocated to you for farming. After next year’s harvest, you only need to pay fifty percent of the taxes.”

There’s even land allocation?

Everyone was overjoyed, and the chill in their hearts faded a bit.

As for the fifty percent tax, they simply ignored it.

They were on the verge of starving to death—who cared about a fifty percent tax? Besides, in these war-torn times, fifty percent wasn’t even high.

“Next, there are two more things to announce.”

“First, out of compassion, the head of the household allows you to borrow grain—up to three dou of brown rice per household. You can also borrow potato seeds, but after next year’s harvest, you must pay an extra fifty percent as interest. If you wish to borrow, register one by one.”

The officer continued to announce.

The crowd stirred, excited.

They could even borrow grain and seeds.

One dou was about twelve and a half jin, so three dou was over thirty-seven jin. Combined with wild vegetables, fruits, and grass seeds, a family could easily survive a few months.

And now it was the eighth day of the ninth month, the season for planting potatoes. Potatoes matured quickly, usually in just over two months. If planted now, they could be harvested in November.

As long as they made it to then, they would survive.

“I’ll register…”

“I’ll register…”

Each household sent a representative, and everyone registered.

“In a while, grain and seeds will be delivered. Now, the second announcement.”

“The Liu family needs the army to defend their home, so they are recruiting a group of young people for training, ages fourteen to twenty. Not only will food and drink be provided for free, but you’ll also be taught martial arts cultivation methods, and receive a monthly wage of three hundred wen.”

The officer continued.

This made many people’s eyes light up.

Free food and drink, plus a monthly wage of three hundred wen.

Because of the war, food prices had risen year after year. Now, brown rice cost about two wen per jin, so three hundred wen could buy one hundred and fifty jin of brown rice. If rationed, a family of three could eat for two months without a problem.

Most importantly, they could learn martial arts.

In this world, martial arts reigned supreme. In times of war, martial prowess was valued over learning. If one succeeded in martial arts, they could rise above others—who wouldn’t be tempted?

Although joining the army was dangerous, it was still better than starving to death.

One good news after another completely dispelled the unease brought by the crazed village woman.

Immediately, many who met the requirements stepped forward to sign up.

“Father, mother, I want to sign up.”

Henry Clark said.

Over the past half month, plus the memories of his predecessor, Henry Clark understood very well that as someone at the bottom, he had no ability to protect himself or take risks. His life was in the hands of the strong, and the slightest misstep could mean death.

Having lived twice, he didn’t want to go on like this. He wanted to cultivate martial arts, become strong, and have the ability to protect himself and his family, rather than be a fish on someone else’s chopping block, waiting to be slaughtered.

But wanting to practice martial arts was easier said than done. Unless someone discovered a special talent, otherwise, getting into martial arts required a lot of money to study at a martial arts school.

But where would he get the money? Farming for a lifetime wouldn’t be enough to cover the cost of martial arts training.