Ruan Tianyin was “crushed” by Ning Tao, but fortunately, the vase stayed sound. Ning Tao carefully placed the vase on the beach and reached his hands out to Ruan Tianyin. With a grateful smile, he said, “Thank you, Ms. Ruan.”

He meant to pull her up.

Ruan Tianyin shook her head, her voice was weak, “I can’t. I broke my bones.”

“What?” Ning Tao was shocked, as he was “embedded” into Ruan Tianyin’s body and didn’t feel any quiver on landing. He didn’t expect to break her bones.

Besides, do clams have bones?

Before he could ask that question, Bao Zhimei raised her hand and shouted, “March together!”

Wahhh!

Dozens of mermaids flocked to him.

“Stop!” Yang Sheng yelled angrily, “Bunch of idiots! From now on, Doctor Ning is our head! Even I need to address him as master, how dare you move him! Do you wish to rebel?”

The crowd of mermaids stopped at once and looked at each other.

Bao Zhimei stared at her man, not knowing what to do. Even if they let Ning Tao leave, she expected nothing but friendship. But master? Wasn’t it a bit out of the blue? The whole village couldn’t follow along.

Yang Sheng strode at once to Ning Tao, kneeled on one knee with hands clenched, “Master, sorry to have frightened you.”

It was a traditional greeting when meeting superiors, it could often be seen when gangsters met their mob boss. He did it to remind the villagers of Ning Tao’s current status.

As expected, villagers kneeled after Yang Sheng, some on both knees, some on one knee, and some in a squat. There was one villager who kneeled to the sea with his back to Ning Tao. The whole scene was a mess.

Ning Tao never expected the monsters to be a team or follow disciplines in a short time. He helped Yang Sheng stand up and raised up his voice, “Come to your feet. Since you made me the head, I’d do everything in my power to benefit the village. I’m a cultivating doctor, good at refining pills and magic tools. I shall work out a recipe later, specially designed to refine pills that can help your cultivation. Any of you who have broken magic tools, I shall repair them for free. Plus, I’ll give a million allowance to the village each month so that you can buy whatever you want. ”

Cheering voices filled the dock.

Following the lead of the cultivating doctor was like entering capitalism from feudal society, with enough cores to eat and the convenience of magic tool repairment. Most importantly, there were allowances. Who could complain for more? If any protestor stood out now, he would be beaten up before Ning Tao could say anything.

Bao Zhimei was overjoyed and winked hard at Ruan Tianyin.

Ruan Tianyin, who was still on the ground, might have missed Bao Zhimei’s hint, but she made a painful sound, “Ouch……ouch….”

The painful moaning pulled Ning Tao back from being the hero. He looked at Ruan Tianyin and remembered leaving her on the ground after breaking her bones. He crouched and grabbed Ruan Tianyin’s wrist, evoking his eyes and nose to the state of looking and smelling. Before he diagnosed her, Bao Zhimei’s voice came from behind.

“Master, she couldn’t hang any longer. Let me bring her to your home so you can treat her. She’s a poor kid. Born as a clam and lost her parents, she has no one to take care of her,” Bao Zhimei said.

Ning Tao nodded and carried her in his arms carefully, not forgetting to remind her about the vase, “Careful with my vase.”

If it weren’t for the two vases, he couldn’t give the village military payment.

Bao Zhimei took the vases made in Yue ware in her arms and led ahead, “Worry not, master. They won’t be broken.”

Ruan Tianyin’s place was beside a palm tree. It was more like a shelter rather than a house. A few wooden sticks served as a crude frame, with thatch as the roof and palm leaves as walls. In fact, most houses in the village were like this. Only Yang Sheng and his five wives lived in a “mansion”.

Ning Tao wasn’t familiar with the other four wives of Yang Sheng and he had no interest to know them. Visiting the village for the second time, he could see that Bao Zhimei was the boss while the other four being merely decorations.

Bao Zhimei led Ning Tao through the door. She left the house after putting down the vases and closed the door behind her.

Simple and crude, the only furniture in the house was a wooden bed and a closet. But the clam girl kept the place so tidy, even the quilt was folded in order. Ning Tao thought he was in the room of a female soldier.

Ning Tao placed Ruan Tianyin on that simple wooden bed.

“Ouch… It hurts…” Ruan Tianyin moaned.

Ning Tao smiled, “Where?”

Ruan Tianyin slightly frowned, putting on a painful face, “I think you crushed my ribs. Can you check if they’re broken?”

Ning Tao looked at her big breasts hiding under rough linen. Her skin was white and smooth like jade. To be honest, the clam girl’s face and body were top-level. She stood out in the village full of models. Just a glance at her could make a man have dirty thoughts, and she was inviting him to touch her, but…

“Come on, I know you are not hurt,” Ning Tao said.

Ruan Tianyin froze for a moment, “You…”

Ning Tao laughed, “Your body structure is special. Your bones are soft and flexible, like springs to my understanding. I did crush heavily on you but you recovered instantly, didn’t you?”

Ruan Tianyin face turned red and avoided Ning Tao’s eyes, she was shy.

“You shouldn’t listen to Bao Zhimei. She only gives you bad suggestions. I can tell you’re not easy, and I’m not that kind of man,” Ning Tao said.

Blushing, she nodded and said in low voice, “I’ll listen to you in the future, not her. You’re our head.”

“Tell me, what can you do?” Ning Tao asked.

Ruan Tianyin thought for a while before replying, “Cooking, roasting, folding quilts, catching fish… and…”

“And what?”

“Produce pearls.”

Ning Tao was silent.

Ruan Tianyin added, “Don’t underestimate the pearls I produce, they are spiritual material called Ocean Jade Elixir, useful to a cultivating doctor for refining pills. Grinding into powder, it can make you more beautiful, whiten and moisturize skin, and nourish yin and tone yang.”

“I meant at fighting,” Ning Tao was speechless and gave her hint. As a natural monster, a clam from the ocean, she must have some abilities?

Ruan Tianyin thought for a moment and climbed out of bed. She bent backward with her back touching her butt, and her head kept lowering until it touched her ankles.

The tiny linen on her body couldn’t be called as dress, so her action was as exciting to Ning Tao as chewing chilies and wiping his eyes. It was so hot. He tried to look away, but he was too attracted and couldn’t. He wanted to chant but his heart refused. His mind and body conflicted with each other in a short time. He was feeling mixed emotions.

Ruan Tianyin poked her head out between her calves and moved upward until her head eventually stopped at her thighs…

She wasn’t showing off battle skills but the real talent of a clam monster.

Of all the things to say, she said in a serious tone, “Does this count as a battle skill?”

Against his conscience, Ning Tao nodded, “Yeah… Uh, just stop. What if you hurt your back?”

Ruan Tianyin smiled, “This is nothing. I can fold myself into a circle and put myself in a bag.”

Ning Tao couldn’t think of any reply.

His confidence began to shake. If every sea monster were like this clam girl, what army could be made out of them? One million for military payments would be wasted.

Ruan Tianyin released her body and sat on bed, staring at Ning Tao in silence as if reading his mind.

Ning Tao said, “I have a task for you.”

“What task?” Ruan Tianyin was a bit excited.

Ning Tao said, “I need you to write down every villager’s name, species, and abilities, and then hand them to me, okay?”

“No problem,” Ruan Tianyin promised immediately and continued looking at Ning Tao silently.

Ning Tao stared back at her and realized that not every monster was impressive. She was a living example. Who would expect a clam to bite sharks or kill eels? In the ocean, clams were at the bottom of the food chain. Nature had its design. A rabbit could never fight a wolf. They were born this way.

Now, he could only count on some tough fish in the village, sharks like Yang Sheng or crabs, snakes or electric eels.

Looking at each other, slowly they grew awkward.

Ning Tao gathered up his thoughts, “I’ll leave a blood lock in your room, don’t wipe it and I’ll come straight to your room next time, is that okay?”

Ruan Tianyin asked curiously, “What’s a blood lock?”

Ning Tao bit his fingers and drew a blood lock on the bearing column, “This is my blood lock, a kind of magic art.”

“Wow, that’s impressive!” Ruan Tianyin left her bed to study the blood lock closely.

Ning Tao said, “I need to go back.”

Ruan Tianyin moved her eyesight to Ning Tao, looking disappointed, “You… You’re leaving so soon?”

Ning Tao said, “I need to go back and refine pills. Give this underwear to Yang Sheng and tell him that I’ll return soon.”

He took out the Heavenly Gem from the small medicine chest and gave it to Ruan Tianyin. Then he carried those Yue ware vases in his arms, ready to activate the blood lock and leave.

“Wait a second. I have something for you,” Ruan Tianyin said.

“What?” Looking at her humble place, Ning Tao couldn’t think of what she had to give him.

Ruan Tianyin turned back and “vomited”. When she turned around again, a clear and shining pearl was lying in her palms. The pearl was as big as a grape, surrounded by spiritual energy. Obviouly it was a precious spiritual material.

“This…” Ning Tao froze, “What are you going to do if you give it to me?”

Ruan Tianyin put the pearl into Ning Tao’s hands, and smiled, “This isn’t the pearl of my life. I can’t give you that. This is the pearl I produce once every month. Other women have periods, and I have pearls.”

Ning Tao didn’t say a word.

He didn’t know what awkward topic would come up if he stayed any longer.

Ning Tao said thank you and opened up the convenient door and walked inside.

The blood lock on the column was all there left, Ruan Tianyin watched him disappear with eyes wide open. She stared blankly and stayed awed for some time.